Glogster

Once Upon a Picture by Sally Swain

I thought that Once Upon a Picture was a very interesting book. The author, Sally Swain, takes four famous pieces of art and says once upon a time this was created..., now upon a picture we might wonder... and creates a new story about the picture with more pictures.

I think this book would be great to use in an art class to discuss how people interpret different things from art. The end of the book offers an opening for the reader to create their own portion of the book by saying, "Next upon a picture you might wonder..." I love when books do this, becuase it really gets peoples imaginations going, and allows them to feel more open to expanding on the book.

Since this book is about famous artists, their work, and interpreting their work, it is very fitting that there are very few words in this book. I am very happy that the author chose this route, rather than explaining everything. I feel like this really helps to bring the book more alive, and make the art work more attainable to students, rather than so extraordinary, like it is usually portrayed.

The Sleepy Little Alphabet by Judy Sierra

I loved this book! I could definitely picture reading this book to my toddler's one day, but I don't think it is as good of a book for the classroom. I think if I were teaching preschoolers or kindergartners who have a nap time, it would be a good book to read then.

This book describes how all of the grown up letter has to get each small letter to go to bed. All of the small letters each acts a different way, or has some ritual they do before going to bed. "u takes off his underwear" and "a is wide awake and b still has a bath to take". I love how Sierra uses some rhyming throughout the story, as well as using other plays on the words and letters. The pictures are adorable and really help bring this story to life.

This story is very realistic, how each day bedtime can be a struggle in new ways. I know my little brother and sisters never wanted to go to bed. Maybe if after getting in the routine of reading this fun, educational book, it would become easier.

What's Wrong With My Hair? by Satoshi Kitamura

I thought this book was really cute. It is about a lion who wants to get its hair done for a party. It wants a new styles, becuase on the front of the book all of the other animals were saying how bad his normal hair looks. He then goes to the giraffe hair dresser, and the giraffe gives the lion all of these crazy styles for different types of parties: such as a bird's nest for a garden party. In the end he gets a star shaped hairdo.

One of the unique things about this book is that it has cut-outs. I love how there is a oval cut out on the last page with a star around it, so kids can put their face up to it and have a hairdo like the lions. Also, on the back of the book there are instructions on how to make your own cut out and decorate it, so that could be a great activity for younger students that could go along with this book.

Rotten Teeth by Laura Simms

Rotten Teeth is about a girl who doesn't know what to take to show and tell, in fact, she has never brought anything to show and tell. She is the shortest and quietest girl in her class, but after talking with her brother, they decide she should take her father's jar of rotten teeth for show and tell (he's a dentist).

I think a lot of kids would really enjoy reading this book, because it is kind of gross, kind of funny, and I think it is really something some kids have a problem with. The illustrations of the jar of rotten teeth is really quite disgusting and it makes me a little sick queasy just looking at it. The fact that it is so gross, kind of makes it funny. Who would think to bring in a whole jar of teeth? I am sure some students do bring in their one tooth they lost, but never a whole jar!

I remember show and tell was one of my favorite parts of school, but also one of the most nerve-racking. If you bring in something awesome, then you are going to be the most popular student for the day, that is a lot of pressure! I, as most student do, always contemplated for days on what I should or should not bring. Now that I am thinking about it, maybe it is more trouble for the students than what it was worth. Nonetheless, if I teach in lower elementary school, I think I will have a show and tell time, becuase I think it is a great opportunity to split up some of the monotony of the school day and give students a chance to speak to the class without having to "do work".

The Misfits by James Howe

I enjoyed reading this book a lot, mainly because the quintessential characters had so much depth. Howe does not come straight out and describe every aspect of their personalities, but rather their actions really do the job. By doing this, I feel like it leaves the reader more room to picture their own life and their own friends. I felt like I knew each one of them, but rather they were people I had went to school with, not "made-up" characters. I do not think that it would be possible to read this book and not add the names you were called as a child to the list.

The fact that we all went through this awkward time in middle school where everyone felt like a misfit, really drew me in. I am sure when students read this book they feel better about themselves and more "normal". When we know that we are not the only ones going through the same, tough things, it is comforting. I know when reading about the cafeteria scenes, I pictured my own and where all of the different groups sat at. It made me laugh thinking about how secluded and strict we all were on where we had to sit at during lunch.

The Easter Egg by Jan Brett

I loved this story. My birthday is at the end of March, so Easter is always one of my favorite times of the year. My family would always decorate eggs a couple of days before Easter. Although it was always fun, none of them turned out as great as the pictures or as we had imagined. Also, this book reminded me of how much fun I had last Easter. My mom and Aunts and Uncles hid eggs all over the yard, and expected us, 16-22 year olds, to find them. We were all up for it, but being the crazy family that we are, an egg fight broke out. I think this story is able to connect with a lot of people that way.

Another reason I loved this book so much is because the plot is very cute. Hoppi, the rabbit, wanted to decorate the most beautiful egg for Easter, so he went around getting ideas from everyone else. He said that he couldn't do what they did, he needed to make an egg that was his own. While going home blue bird's egg falls out of the nest and Hoppi can not leave it to die. He ends up staying on the egg all spring until it hatches. For his hard work, he ended up wining the prize for the best egg.

This story just seems to warm my heart. I think everyone needs to read this story once a month to remind themselves how much more important helping people is than winning. Hoppi is truly a great rabbit that any Doe would be lucky to have!