Picture Book #26 Write-Up

Author: Harry Alland

Title: Miss Nelson is Missing!

Illustrator: James Marshall

Genre: Easy to Read

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: Students learning to respect their teacher and follow her rules.

Primary/Secondary Characters: Miss Nelson, Miss Viola Swamp, and her classroom of students

Award(s)/Publication Year: no awards presented/1990

Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin Books

Brief Summary/Book Usage: Miss Nelson is a grade-school teacher whose students constantly take advantage of her nice nature. After an especially rowdy day in Miss Nelson's class, her students discover that she is not coming to school the next day. Before they get the chance to make mischief, a substitute, Miss Viola Swamp, shows up. Miss Swamp is a strict disciplinarian and gives the students significantly more school work than Miss Nelson ever did. The contrast between the two teachers is so great that the students actively go looking for Miss Nelson and make unlikely conjectures about what may have happened to her. After many days of tyranny under Miss Swamp, Miss Nelson returns to class and the children rejoice. At the end of the book, it is implied that Miss Viola Swamp was Miss Nelson in disguise. I would definitely use this book in my classroom to read to the students and show them how they should teach and respect their teacher. Students need to understand that in order for learning to occur, they must first be willing to behave and want the learning to take place to begin with. The cute storyline and funny pictures I think the students would enjoy and maybe even learn a lesson in the end.

Picture Book #25 Write-Up

Author: Amy Hest

Title: The Dog Who Belonged to No One

Illustrator: Amy Bates

Genre: Easy to Read

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: The story of a dog wondering off and following a little girl home.

Primary/Secondary Characters: the dog, the little girl, and her parents

Award(s)/Publication Year: no awards presented/2008

Publishing Company: Abrams Books

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This story is about a little girl who is lonely and finds a stray dog that follows her home. She asks her parents if she can keep him and he has no collar so they say she can keep him. She takes the dog everywhere and they become the best of friends. She is no longer lonely because she has her dog to keep her happy. I believe this book would be great to use in the classroom with a young group of students. Many students can relate to having a pet that they are fond of and cannot live without. The cute story along with the wonderful autumn themed pictures make this book a great read for the younger audience.

Picture Book #24 Write-Up

Author: Kevin Henkes

Title: A Good Day

Illustrator: Kevin Henkes

Genre: Easy to Read

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: How a bad day can turn into a good day with just a little effort.

Primary/Secondary Characters: little yellow bird, little white dog, little orange fox, and little brown squirrel

Award(s)/Publication Year: no awards presented/2007

Publishing Company: Greenwillow

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This book tells of four animals-a sun-yellow bird, a white terrier, an orange fox and a brown squirrel who all face small disappointments that threaten to ruin their moods. The bird loses a prized tail feather, the dog tangles his leash around the fence, the fox has lost sight of his mother, and a meaty acorn plummets out of squirrel's grasp. The book goes on to describe how these animals do not let a little disappointment ruin their entire day. They go on about their day and deal with their problems and all is good in the end. It shows you that only you can decide whether you are going to have a good or bad day. I believe this would be a good book to share with a class to show younger students how to deal with an issue when they are having a bad day. I am sure all young children get upset over the littlest things so it is important for them to see how these animals deal with their problems and how they do not let it ruin their day or good mood.

Picture Book #23 Write-Up

Author: David Shannon

Title: No, David!

Illustrator: David Shannon

Genre: Easy to Read

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: A story of a little boy who just does not want to go to sleep.

Primary/Secondary Characters: David and his mother 

Award(s)/Publication Year: no awards presented/1998

Publishing Company: Scholastic 

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This picture book tells a story of a little boy named David who is trying any and every way possible to annoy his mother. He is full of ideas and bouncing off the walls and definitely refusing to settle down and get ready for bed. He wants to run around the house and play all night but his mother insists he gets ready for bed. She gives him a bath and soon after he is calmed down and ready for bed. This mother had a very eventful day with David, but he finally went to sleep for the night. I would use this book in my classroom again as a fun and cute story to read during storybook time. I know younger students can relate to wanting to stay up late and skip out on their bedtime. The pictures definitely add to the feel of the story and show just how bad David does not want to go to sleep. I believe students would find this story funny and enjoy the pictures as well.

Picture Book #22 Write-Up

Author: Doreen Cronin

Title: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

Illustrator: Betsy Lewin

Genre: Easy to Read

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: The funny story of seeing cows typing as if they were human.

Primary/Secondary Characters: the cows who type

Award(s)/Publication Year: no awards presented/2000

Publishing Company: Simon and Schuster

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This picture book tells a cute story of cows leaving their barn life behind and learning how to type on computers as if they were human. The pictures really help tell the story of how the cows learn to type and keep in communication with each other. Without the pictures the story just would not be the same. I would use this book in my classroom as just a fun story to tell during storybook time. I believe a younger audience would definitely enjoy this book with the cute pictures and funny storyline.

Picture Book #21 Write-Up

Author: Molly Bang

Title: When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry...

Illustrator: Molly Bang

Genre: Easy to Read

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: How a child likes to be by herself when she gets really upset.

Primary/Secondary Characters: Sophie and her parents

Award(s)/Publication Year: no awards presented/1999

Publishing Company: Scholastic

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This picture book is about a young girl named Sophie. She is always used to getting her way and once she does not, her feelings become hurt and she feels upset. She runs off into the woods by her house and finds a tree to sit up in and reflect. She sits up there for awhile and cools off and realizes that things do not always go her way and she should not get so upset so easily. She returns home and her parents seem worried and ask her if everything is fine. She tells them she just needed some time to herself and she is much better. I would use this book in my classroom so the students could relate to how Sophie feels in this story. I know young students feel upset when things do not go their way, so after seeing how Sophie deals with her anger could help students deal with how they feel sometimes as well. I believe many young students could relate to this story and the neat pictures depict a wonderful story for a young audience.

Picture Book #20 Write-Up

Author: Joyce Carol Thomas

Title: The Blacker the Berry

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Genre: Poetry

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: Poems that depict the beauty of being African-American.

Primary/Secondary Characters: the narrator telling the poems

Award(s)/Publication Year: Coretta Scott King Medal Winner/2008

Publishing Company: Harper Collins Publishers

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This picture book tells beautiful poems about being African-American. The poems speak of their dark-colored skin and their interesting heritage. The poems tell how proud one should be to be African-American and they should honor their heritage. The basic traditions that have been handed down from African-American families and how they affect and influences their lives are told. I would use this book in my classroom during Black History Month or when doing a lesson over poetry. The poems and pictures are so vivid and colorful that I believe the students would enjoy this picture book very much and want to read it over and over again. Also, learning about the heritage and culture of African-Americans will help students be more accepting of their diverse peers and see how everyone is different from each other.

Picture Book #19 Write-Up

Author: Lee Bennett Hopkins

Title: Alphathoughts

Illustrator: Marie Baggetta

Genre: Poetry

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: Learning the alphabet through catchy poems and pictures.

Primary/Secondary Characters: the narrator telling the poems

Award(s)/Publication Year: no awards presented/2003

Publishing Company: Word Song

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This picture book tells cute and catchy poems that help students learn the alphabet. Each letter comes with a fun poem children can follow along with to help them learn each letter they come across. The poems flow well with one another and each deal with animals and having fun outside. The pictures are so fun and colorful and they definitely help convey the poems that much better. I would definitely use this book in a kindergarten setting where the children could use the pictures and poems to better learn their alphabet. Also, going over poetry maybe in 1st grade this book could come into play while refreshing their minds on their alphabet and teaching them about poems at the same time.

Picture Book #18 Write-Up

Author: Golden MacDonald

Title: The Little Island

Illustrator: Leonard Weisgard

Genre: Fantasy

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: The beautiful details one comes across when visiting a local island.

Primary/Secondary Characters: the narrator and the animals found throughout the book

Award(s)/Publication Year: Caldecott Medal Winner/1993

Publishing Company: Doubleday Books for Young Readers

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This picture book depicts the beauties of a local island as told through the narrator's eyes. It tells about the animals that roam the island and the plants that grow on it as well. The book explains how the animals enjoy their time on the island and how beautiful the island is to visit to those who have not been before. The beauty of the flowers add to the peaceful feel of being right next to the ocean. I would use this book in my classroom when talking to students about geography and islands in general. The pictures show very vivid scenes of an island and I believe the students would enjoy the learning about the beauty an island exhibits.

Picture Book #17 Write-Up

Author: Jan Greenberg

Title: Ballet for Martha-Making Appalachian Spring

Illustrator: Sandra Jordan and Brian Floca

Genre: Biography

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: The biographies of a famous composer and choreographer who collaborate to create a great ballet production.

Primary/Secondary Characters: composer Aaron Copland, choreographer Martha Graham, musicians, and ballet dancers

Award(s)/Publication Year: Mildred L. Batchelder Winner/2010

Publishing Company: Flash Point (Roaring Brook Press)-A Neal Porter Book

Brief Summary/Book Usage: This book tells the biographies of the famous composer Aaron Copland and choreographer Martha Graham who put together the great ballet production of Appalachian Spring. It depicts the rehearsals and hard work each put into making this production wonderful. A great deal of work and practice went into creating the music and moves that the production included. It is a picture book that shows tons of pictures of everything that is going on throughout their lives during the production of this ballet. Overall, all the hard work pays off and the production Appalachian Spring was a great success. I would use this book in my classroom when teaching about famous composers or choreographers or even famous ballets. I think the students would enjoy all of the pictures this book includes along with the detailed descriptions of the final production.