Picture Books

All posts tagged Picture Books

The Really, Really, Really Big Dinosaur, by Richard Byrne

Published May 9, 2013 by Dagmar

big dinosaurThis was a fun read.  Here’s your opportunity to use different voices, if you’re so inclined.  The illustrations are really cute and it was great watching my students smiling and then clapping at the end of the book.

Big dinosaur wants little dinosaur’s jelly beans.  Little dinosaur can’t give them away, because they belong to his friend.  Big dinosaur really wants those jelly beans… a lot.  The little dinosaur says his friend is really, really, really big. “Everyone knows I’m the biggest and strongest dinosaur around here!” Big dinosaur starts boasting about all the ways he is better than little dinosaur’s friend. Ooops. Big dinosaur gets his just desserts in a very funny way.

I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen

Published May 5, 2013 by Dagmar

IwantmyhatbackI just love this book.  Jon Klassen is a fantastic illustrator.  His illustrations are quite distinctive.  While this book looks really simple, the humor is dry and there is just that touch of darkness that older readers love.

“My hat is gone.  I want it back.”  A big bear is looking for his pointy red hat.  He asks lots of animals if they’ve seen his hat.  A rabbit wearing a red, pointy hat suspiciously answers the bear’s query by saying that he did not steal a red hat.  The book goes on until the bear remembers where he saw his hat.  I won’t tell you what happens next, but let’s just say that the bear gets his hat back.

Such a great book.  Enjoy!

Buying picture books for kids

Published May 4, 2013 by Dagmar

I’ve been a huge fan of children’s books since I was young.  I started holding on to my books as a child, started collecting my favorite titles as a young adult and haven’t stopped yet.  There is nothing like a great picture book.

I write about a lot of picture books from the perspective of my newest role as a children’s librarian at a public pre-k through middle school in Oakland, CA.  For those of you reading my reviews as parents, grandparents or friends buying books for children, it’s important to note that reading to children one on one gives caregivers the chance to explain concepts and gauge comprehension.  One on one, children can absorb concepts at a much higher level.

Reading aloud to large groups of students is challenging.  Read aloud books need to be able to keep students engaged despite distractions created by folks walking in and out of the library, students wiggling and so on.  A read aloud book also needs to be satisfying to students at all different levels within a class.  Read aloud books also sometimes, optimally, allow for interaction with students.

I only write about picture books that have really worked in a group setting.  There are incredible books that I read to my son that did not work at all with my students.  My hope is that if you’re buying books for your own or a friend’s children or grandchildren, that you’ll know that these books made a big group of children laugh, look thoughtful and/or clap and that you can probably read a book that I’ve written about at the 1st grade level to a preschooler or a 3rd grade book for a 2nd grader.

I hope that you’ll enjoy that books I’m recommending and that you’ll pass along this blog to other friends who might also be looking for books for kids.  www.kidslitcorner.com

All the best,

Dagmar

First the Egg, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Published May 4, 2013 by Dagmar

FirsttheeggThis is a Caldecott Honor Book and a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. I am drawn to this book, because the simple life cycle concepts and great illustrations.  The illustrations appear to be oil paint on canvas.  Not only are the colors really vibrant and attractive, but cut outs on the page create additional visual interest.

The book starts with “First the Egg” and on the next page “then the Chicken”.  Each life cycle covers three stages, so we start with the egg, then then chick, then the chicken.  The book goes on to include frogs, flowers and butterflies.  I like the page that turns words into stories and paint into pictures.  The final page brings the book full circle by saying “First the chicken” followed by “First the Egg”.

This book makes an great read aloud, because there are so many opportunities to interact with students.  I really like that the book shows three stages of the life cycle.  I highly recommend this book for prek through first grade as a read aloud.

Aesop’s Fables, by Jerry Pinkney

Published May 2, 2013 by Dagmar

Caldecottaesop-winning author and illustrator Jerry Pinkney’s Aesop’s Fables appear with Pinkney’s incredible illustrations.  I’ve seen a many versions of Aesop’s Fables and can honestly tell you that this is my favorite version.

It’s hard to deny the appeal of fables to children.  My students tend to want to read the most familiar fables, “The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf”, “The Tortoise and the Hare” and the “The Lion and the Mouse”; but, there are so many wonderful fables to explore in this book.  I love that this book appeals to children of all ages.

The Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney

Published May 2, 2013 by Dagmar

lionThis Caldecott Medal winning book is superb.  I have always been a fan of Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations, but this book is truly beautiful.  The Lion & the Mouse is a wordless retelling of  Aesop’s fable of a lion who spares a mouse’s life and then has his life saved by the mouse.  The moral of the story? “Even the strongest can sometimes use the help of the smallest.”

The illustrations in this book are breathtaking.  I love watching my students intently look at each page and then listening as they recount the story to me.  Pinkney says in his author’s note at the end of the book, “My curiosity and reverence for animal life has grown over the years, and my concern for them grows in equal measure.  It seemed fitting, then to stage this fable in the African Serengeti of Tanzania and Kenya, with its wide horizon and abundant wildlife so awesome yet fragile – not unlike the two sides of each of the heroes starring in this great tale for all times.”  It is clear that Pinkney loves animals, because I honestly believe that the detail is so wonderful in these pictures, that I can read the animals’ expressions.

This is a book that would be an incredible addition to any child’s library.

Swirl by Swirl, Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman

Published May 2, 2013 by Dagmar

This swirlmay be one of the most beautiful books in my library.  Swirl by swirl is full of illustrations by Beth Krommes (winner of the Caldecott Medal for The House in the Night)  that look as if they have been etched.  The colors are vibrant and really “pop” against the black background.  I use this book with my older grades to show them the incredible art work and talk about seeing shapes in nature.  I use the book in my younger grades to show the students all the ways that swirls exist in nature.  Either the way, the book is always a hit and would make a great gift for any young child at all interested in nature.  The words are simple, but the concept has lots of room for discussion.

“A spiral is a snuggling shape.  It fits neatly in small spaces.  Coiled tight, warm and safe it waits.”  The pictures show a woodchuck, an eastern chipmunk and a bull snake curled up in their burrows underground. “A spiral is a growing shape.  It starts small and gets bigger, swirl by swirl.”  This page includes a swimming nautilus and a cross section of a nautilus shell.  As the book progresses, we see ferns, snails, hedgehogs, millipedes, the horns of rams, octopi, seahorses, elephants’ trunks, spider webs, ocean waves, flowers, the Milky Way.  There are endless things to talk about.

This is an incredible book worthy of any school library or any bookshelf at home.  It’s a favorite of mine.  I hope you enjoy it!

If I Never Forever Endeavor, by Holly Meade

Published April 27, 2013 by Dagmar

If you knowIf I Never a child that is struggling with taking risks or overcoming a fear, this is an inspiring book.  I share this with my grades, 2nd through 6th but think it works best with 2-4th graders.  I had a great experience reading it to my third graders recently.  They were drawn in by the words, written in verse, and the simple but beautiful illustrations of a yellow bird, green trees and a blue sky.

“If in all of forever, I never endeavor to fly, I won’t know if I can…I won’t know if I can’t.  On the one wing, I could try and find that I flap and I flail, flounder and plummet, look foolish and fail.  On the other wing, I could try and take flight…If I did endeavor, and found my wings clever, I could see the world! Or get lost in it.”

I think this book really works with kids, because it acknowledges the fears that come with taking risks but also explores the possibilities and opportunities if risks are taken.  After I read this book, we had a great discussion as a class of times when students took risks.  They also talked about risks they were still scared to take.  I love this book, because it is thought-provoking at the same time it is comforting and uplifting.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, by Simms Taback

Published March 15, 2013 by Dagmar

josephThis beautiful book is a Caldecott Medal winner is based on a Yiddish folksong, “Hob Ich Mir a Mantl”.  I read it to my preschoolers and kindergartners and got a wonderful response.  This book is not only set apart because of its beautiful, colorful illustrations but because of the cutouts that show how Joseph creatively uses his old overcoat as it shrinks to a button and then, finally, to nothing.   “Joseph had a a little overcoat.  It was old and worn.  So he made a jacket out of it.”  My favorite message is on the last page.  When Joseph finally loses the small button he’s made out of the remains of his overcoat, he says, “So Joseph made a book about it.  Which shows…that you can always make something out of nothing.”  A great message and a beautiful book for little ones.

A Ball for Daisy, by Chris Raschka

Published March 9, 2013 by Dagmar

A-Ball-for-Daisy

The 2012 Caldecott Medal winner.  This is a terrific wordless story.  Students can follow along as I turn the pages and they “read” about Daisy the dog and her love for her red ball.  One day, Daisy goes for a walk in the park with her owner.  Daisy and a brown dog play with her red ball.  When the other dog pops Daisy’s ball by accident, and the ball is thrown away, Daisy goes home and puts her head on her paws.  No words are necessary to know exactly how Daisy is feeling.  Everyone’s hearts go out to her.  When Daisy goes to the park the next day, there is the brown dog with a blue ball.  They play together.  The book closes with Daisy happily sleeping on the couch with her new blue ball.

This book was so fun to show my K and Prek students.  The library was absolutely silent as my K students realized they had to follow each of the pictures in order to understand the story.  We then went through the book together as students retold the story.  My Prek students tended to shout out what they thought was happening.  Either way was fine and very entertaining to watch my students faces as I turned the pages.

The water color illustrations really shine.