Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus - Series Study

I started reading Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, by Barbara Park, and immediately remembered why I loved these books as a kid. This is the first book in the series, but I was already addicted. It tells the story of Junie B.'s first day of kindergarten. She meets new friends and enemies such as that stupid Jim that she hates, she meets Mrs., her teacher, and she learns that she has to ride the bus and it's name is school bus, only she doesn't like the school bus. When her friend Lucille tells her that meanies on the bus are going to pour milk on her head, Junie B. decides to hide in the supply closet after school and get herself into a lot of trouble!

While I do love these stories, I think it is also important to note that Junie B.'s language skills are not always a good influence for young readers. She says things such as "Like when I do a somersault." as a full sentence. It would not be a good book for children who are learning about writing full sentences. I believe this would be a good read aloud. There are some pictures but not a lot, probably one every 2-4 pages. Junie B. is very expressive and I could see a lot of young girls loving this book. Actually, the 8-year-old I babysit at home loves this series!

Breakfast for Jack - Wordless Book

Breakfast for Jack is a very cute wordless book. When a little boy wakes up, his cat and dog are at his feet waiting to be petted and fed. Then he goes down for breakfast and the animals are both waiting at their food dishes. The boy feeds the cat and then goes to eat his own cereal. The dog, Jack, looks all over for his food and realizes the boy has forgotten to feed him. The boy realizes he hasn't feed Jack and gets up, opens his food can, and is about to feed him when his mom tells him he needs to go upstairs and get dressed. The family leaves for the day without feeding Jack! The dog is looking very sad but luckily the little boy remembers at the last minute and goes and puts the food in Jacks dish.

This book is a good start for children who cannot read yet to learn about plot, setting, and characters. Everything was clear, even without the words. I would not have this in my elementary classroom, but I would definitely recommend it for a preschool classroom.

The Gifts of Kwanzaa - Multicultural

I loved The Gifts of Kwanzaa, by Synthia Saint James. Personally, I didn't know much about Kwanzaa before reading this book, but I learned a lot through reading. It started out with an introduction about the history of Kwanzaa which lasted one page. After this, the book was a story told from the perspective of a child. It was good in that it gave pronunciation for all of the Swahili words and it explained what happened during a Kwanzaa celebration and why everything happened. I would keep this book in my classroom. I would be sure to use this if we were also talking about Christmas and/or Hanukkah because I believe that it is important to incorporate a variety of cultures in the classroom.

Food and Festivals: Mexico - Multicultural

Food and Festivals: Mexico, by Linda Illsley, was very informational and, I believe, well arranged. It started with a map showing Mexico's location in relation to the United States and giving a list of some foods grown in Mexico. Then it went on to talk more about the foods, where they are grown, what they are used for, and some beliefs about them such as that Mexicans used to believe that corn was a gift from the gods, but in 1492, wheat was replaced as the sacred food. After the section on foods, this book talked about Family Celebrations such as baptisms, birthdays, and weddings. It even gave recipes for popular foods during these celebrations. It went on to talk about other celebrations such as Easter, Day of the Dead, and Christmas. It continued to give the history, celebration, beliefs, and foods for each holiday. There were always pictures included which, I believe, would give students a much better grasp of the concept than the words alone.

I would have this book in my classroom, especially if I go home to teach. However, I would first have to make sure that all of the information is accurate. At home, the elementary school I went to is currently 49% Hispanic so I believe it would be good to educate the students about Mexican food, language, and culture. This book had a well-organized way of doing just that.

Freight Trains - Nonfiction: Informational

Freight Trains, by Peter Brady is an informational book about the different parts of freight trains and the function of each part. At the end, it also includes the different meanings of train whistles, how to make a train whistle, and definitions of some vocabulary words used in the book. This book has a lot of pictures and good, yet simple descriptions of each part of a freight train. It seems like it would be very easy for children to understand.

When I read this book, I thought back to when I interned in a kindergarten classroom. At library time, all the boys liked to get nonfiction informational books. I could easily imagine one of them choosing this book. While some of the words may be difficult for kindergartners or first graders to read, they were well-explained. I would consider having this book available for my students if they were primary grades.

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch - Realistic Fiction

I read Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli with pictures by Paul Yalowitz. This book was about Mr. Hatch who, everyday, goes to work at the shoelace factory, eats his cheese and mustard sandwich, buys a paper, buys a turkey wing for dinner, eats dinner, reads his paper, takes a shower, and goes to bed early so he can do it all over again the next day. On Valentine's Day, however, Mr. Hatch receives a large heart box full of candy with a note that says "Somebody Loves You". After that, Mr. Hatch wonders who loves him. He puts on a tie and walks around the neighborhood. He is friendly with everyone he meets. However, there is a twist at the end and the mailman learns that he has made a mistake and the box of candy was supposed to go to a different house. Mr. Hatch is sad and goes back to his old daily routine. The town is sad about this because they now love Mr. Hatch so they surprise him one Saturday and everyone is on his lawn to tell him they love him.
I liked this book a lot. I thought it was a sad book though. I felt sad for Mr. Hatch when the mailman told him that the Valentine wasn't for him. However, this sent a good message to children. When Mr. Hatch kept to himself all the time, nobody knew who he was, but when he was friendly and nice to everyone in town, they all learned about him and loved him and wanted to help him like he helped them.

Rules - Realistic Fiction

I absolutely loved Rules, by Cynthia Lord. I started reading this book because I heard it was about a girl and her autistic brother and Autism is something I'm very interested in. I hope to eventually get my masters so that I can work with Autism. However, this book was about much more than a girl and her autistic brother. Catherine, the main character, has a new neighbor who she hopes to befriend. However, she is so worried about looking good in front of other people, especially her new neighbor, that she tries to hide her brother from the world and she gives him "rules" to try and help him behave well in public. These "rules" are more of guidelines on how to act in public and understand others such as "sometimes people don't answer because they don't hear you. Other times it's because they don't want to hear you" and "if you don't have the words you need, borrow someone else's. If you need to borrow words, Arnold Lobel wrote some good ones." Her brother David uses (or tries to use) these rules, especially the second. Arnold Lobel wrote books where the characters were Frog and Toad, so often David's sentences include these characters such as when he apologizes to his sister saying "I'm sorry Frog".
Catherine also meets a boy, Jason at the clinic where David goes. Jason is in a wheelchair and he can't speak so he uses a book with words that he points to. Catherine makes Jason more words so he can express himself. She enjoys making words for Jason and spending time with him, but she isn't so confidant in public. She doesn't want people to know about Jason for fear they will look at him (or avoid looking at him) like they do to David. This book is about how she learns to understand that people are different and that different isn't' necessarily bad. She learns that it is not important what other people think and that she should stick up for her friends and always be herself.
This book really touched me and made me think of past experiences. One of my cousins has been diagnosed as Autistic and is also deaf and actually has a communication book like Jason has in Rules. However, he is so low-level functioning that he has trouble using the book. I think it would be interesting to understand what it's like to have to communicate in that way.