INLS 123
This is a reading log created for INLS 123, a course in children’s literature offered through the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Our assignment was to answer three questions about each children’s book that we read for the semester:
1. What is this book about?
2. How was the book about it (the answer to number one)?
3. What do you need to know to read this book?
What follows are my annotations for the books that I read in the course of the semester’s class. The various types of books are arranged in the order that children may encounter them: picture books (which parents or other caregivers may read with the child), easy readers (for newly independent readers), chapter books (for more confident independent readers), and reference materials that adults can use to help identify books of certain genres, subject matter, or type. The entries of the books themselves are in alphabetical order by the author, which is likely how they would be located on library shelves. Because the contents of this bibliography are only gathered by the fact that I read them, my bias in choosing books to read for my own pleasure will certainly show. Browsers of this list will notice that I have a tendency to read many books by the same author. Several books by Jon Scieszka are included here as I am working on another paper in which his books play a key role. The slightly haphazard, and perhaps lopsidedness of this list aside, I hope that maybe it will be of value to someone looking for information about books in each of these levels of children’s reading.
Many people believe picture books to be created for young children to read to themselves, but many picture books require a certain level of sophistication that make them much better suited for a read-aloud situation with an adult who can answer questions, or guide the child to notice certain intricacies in the pictures or the play between the pictures and the words. Older children may enjoy reading and discovering these books independently of adult assistance.
Bemelmans, Ludwig.
Madeline’s Rescue. New
York: Scholastic, 1951.
This 1952 Caldecott Award Winner is about Madeline, the smallest girl at her boarding school, who falls off a bridge and is rescued by a stray dog. Since keeping a dog is against the boarding house rules, the girls and the headmistress must find a way to keep the loving pooch. This book is a great read-aloud, but it contains a rather sophisticated vocabulary for young children trying to read alone. Children may have trouble with the concept of vengeance (not to mention the word itself).
De Brunhoff, Jean. The Story of Babar the Little Elephant. New York:
Random
House, 1933.
One of my favorite childhood books, a rereading allows me to see that the elephants rarely act like elephants—even in the wild. When we first meet Babar, for example, he is riding on his mother’s back. He escapes the hunter who tries to catch him after killing his mother and then meets a wealthy lady in town who lets him live with her. On the day that Babar returns to the forest to live with the elephants, the king of the elephants eats a bad mushroom and dies, so the elders elect Babar king. I find it interesting that two characters are show to die in this book (both in the words and pictures), but there is no mention of grief or coping with these events. Before reading this book alone, children should have an understanding of the life-cycle and the difference between fiction and reality.
De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. Was it a Good Trade? illus.
Irene Haas. New York:
Harper Collins, 2002.
This funny rhyme of a man who traded his belongings until he got back what he started with is a fun read. Based on a folk song, it can be read, chanted or sung, and the music is provided at the end. This is a fun story about trading, the value of items, and the desire to have what you don’t. Young children will enjoy the repetitive rhyme, although the cursive font may make it difficult to read alone.
Lester, Helen. Tacky the Penguin. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1988.
Tacky is a penguin who lives life a little out of the ordinary. It turns out that it was a good thing for the other penguins that Tacky was there when the hunters came. This book is about acceptance, difference, and self-confidence. The colorful cartoon pictures interact with the words in a very meaningful way to help tell the story. This is a great book for a discussion of difference. Because there are few big words, this is an ideal book for early readers, although it is engaging for all audiences.
Dengler, Marianna. The Worry Stone. illus.
Sibyl Graber Gerig. Flagstaff,
Arizona: Rising Moon, 1996.
An old woman goes to the park and meets a young boy who is not accepted by his peers. She remembers back to when she was a young girl living with her grandfather and finds a worry stone. Her grandfather tells her the story of the worry stone. The old woman decides to share the stone and story with the young boy. This is a story about true worry, acceptance, friendship, death and storytelling. The lifelike watercolor and watercolor pencil pictures pull the emotions of the story into a very visual medium. This book is probably better for older elementary school readers who have enough concentration to follow the length of the book and the layers of stories within stories.
Mayer, Marianna and
Mercer Mayer. Me and My Flying
Machine. New York:
Parents’
Magazine Press, 1971.
A little boy builds a flying machine out of parts he finds in an old barn. That night, he dreams about how great it will be to have a flying machine. The pictures show him sleeping and what he dreams. However, he forgets to take into account the size of the barn door, and his flying machine falls apart. He will need to start over the next day. Although the pictures add meaning to the story throughout the book, the last page is especially poignant: The text reads: “Tomorrow I will build a row boat.” The tone of this phrase is very nonchalant, as if the demise of the flying machine is no big deal, but the picture shows a young boy walking away from the mess with his shoulders hunched to his ears and his fists clenched. It certainly was a big deal. Although the unhappy ending is a little unorthodox, this is a great book about imagination.
McCloskey, Robert. Make Way for Ducklings. New York:
Puffin Books, 1941.
In this 1942 Caldecott Award winning book, McCloskey uses beautiful pencil sketch drawings to capture the essence of life as a duck. The detail in the illustrations show that he researched how ducks looked, acted, and moved. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard look for a place to start their family. Once they find somewhere, the challenges of raising ducklings in a city take over. Although it is rather long, it is a great read-aloud. Some words may be too difficult for young children to read alone. This book is an endearing childhood classic.
San Souci, Robert D. Cinderella Skeleton. illus.
David Catrow. San Diego:
Harcourt,
2000.
A funny, rhyming version of a dead Cinderella who “lived” with her stepsisters (Gristlene and Bony Jane) and her stepmother (Screech), this book shows Cinderella with such chores as to strew leaves and dust on the floor and cobwebs around their mausoleum home. The full-page pictures are interestingly both bright and cool to show both the light-hearted nature of the story and the after-death graveyard setting. Before reading this book, children should know the classic Cinderella story and have some familiarity with rhyme and the concept of “spoof” or parody. Big words like “mausoleum” may be hard for young independent readers to sound out. The spooky setting may make this difficult for young children or very religious parents.
San Souci, Robert D. A Weave of Words. illus.
Raul Colon. New York: Orchard
Books,
1998.
Based on Armenian folk tales, this is a story about the importance of literacy and knowing a trade. It is also a good book on the equality of the sexes. A young prince falls in love with a weaver’s daughter, but she refuses to marry him until he learns to read and write and master a trade. Once married, she learns to ride a horse and wield a sword. Neither of them know how useful this knowledge would be until the day that the prince is captured by a demon. The tapestry-like pictures combine watercolor washes, etches, colored pencils and litho pencils on watercolor paper. Each picture is a complete tapestry portrayal of the story parts and matches the importance of reading both pictures and words. This is a rather long story, so a long attention span is important. Also understanding of the importance of tapestries as a way of recording a story may enhance the enjoyment of the pictures. Older elementary school children with experience of picture books will appreciate the importance of the pictures and the message of this book.
Schimmel, Schim. Dear Children of the Earth: A Letter From Home. Minocqua,
WI: North Word Press, 1994.
The narrative of this story is in the form of a letter. “Dear Children of the Earth,” it begins. Each picture contains an image of the planet Earth juxtaposed with a gorgeous picture of something of the earth—animal and landscape. The letter addresses children directly, asking for help to save the beauty of the Earth. The direct language and the spectacular paintings enforce the environmental theme. Before reading this book, children may need to understand some environmental issues and the format of letter writing. The acrylic paintings that illustrate this work will haunt your imagination and beautifully illustrate this plea from Mother Earth to take care of her.
Schroeder, Alan. Smoky Mountain Rose: An Appalachian Cinderella. illus.
Brad
Sneed. New York:
Dial Books, 1997.
This is a rousing, back-woods version of Cinderella in which the ball is a square dance, the fairy godmother is a pig, and the carriage is a mush melon. The bright, comical, caricature pictures enhance the fun of this dialectical story. Elementary school students studying folktales, especially Cinderella, will certainly enjoy this interesting take on the classic tale. The reader would certainly benefit from knowing the traditional version of Cinderella, as well as an understanding of dialect.
Scieszka, Jon. Baloney (Henry P.). illus.
Lane Smith. New York: Viking, 2001.
Henry P. Baloney is late for szkola. When his teacher demands an explanation, he explains that he lost his zimulis, found it only to end up taking a trip in a razzo, being almost eaten by Astro Guys, making a huge mistake and finally arriving at szkola. The unknown words are clearly explained by Lane Smith’s illustrations, and their definitions and origins are supplied in the decoder found at the end of the book. The “out-of-this-world” quality of this book is both puzzling and entertaining. Decoding and picture reading skills are necessary, and knowledge of school-related topics would be quite helpful.
Scieszka, Jon. Math Curse. illus. Lane Smith. New York:
Viking, 1995.
A young girl learns at school that everything can be a math problem, and then suddenly, everything was. This book is full of math problems, logic puzzles, and quiz questions. Any child who has ever been given math homework will appreciate this book of puzzles, and how the girl manages to escape her math curse. The end papers contain measurement conversion charts, and even the dedications are written as math problems. The dust jacket is also covered with math problems. This book is great for elementary school students who have some background in math terminology and equations.
Scieszka, Jon. Squids Will Be Squids. illus.
Lane Smith. New York: Viking, 1998.
The title page verso describes this book as one in which “contemporary fables with tongue-in-cheek morals address such topics as homework, curfews, and television commercials.” The “serious” foreward and afterword provide information about fables and Aesop in true Scieszka and Smith style. It contains a funny approach to serious topics, and the pictures certainly enhance the stories. This book is ideal for children who have some background in fables and other stories with morals.
Scieszka, Jon. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly
Stupid Tales. illus. Lane
Smith. New York:
Viking, 1992.
This book is a collection of 10 fairly stupid tales, which are interesting contortions of well-known fairy tales. The fun of this book is only partly in the tales, however. The book design is played with as well. The Little Red Hen tries to start telling her story on the end papers, and the narrator has to correct her. Chicken Little’s tale starts before the table of contents, which turns out to be what falls from the sky. This Caldecott Honor book engages the reader in the text and pictures in many ways. It is a great book for children who have prior knowledge of folk tales and some appreciation of parody.
Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
by A. Wolf. illus. Lane Smith.
New York: Viking, 1999, c 1989.
The 1999 edition of this book commemorates the 10th anniversary of its original publication and includes an update on A. Wolf’s present incarceration for his “crimes.” Jon Scieszka provides a voice for the wolf, who deserves to tell his version of the well-known “Three Little Pigs” in this brilliant point of view story. A cold and a need for a cup of sugar may explain the situation and make the reader question what he thought he “knew.” This book is well written and thought provoking. The illustrations complement the story quite well. This is a great book for children learning to understand different points of view, but watch out for the return of the original story with the wolf eating the little pigs.
Scott, C. Anne. Old Jake’s Skirts. illus.
David Slonim. Flagstaff,
AZ: Rising
Moon,
1998.
Old Jake lives by himself trying to get by as a rough, gruff farm man. Each year some plague or another visits him, which is how he keeps track of the time. Things changes for Jake, though, in the “Year of the Skirts,” and his world grows a little softer, and he becomes a little less alone. The oil paintings that serve as illustrations for this book are fabulous and complement the story well. This is a great story about superstition, outlook on life, and exploring one’s “feminine side.” This book reminds me of a man named Jesse who lived next door to my family when I was a kid. His life was changed when my family (five kids) began to visit him on a regular basis.
Van Allsburg, Chris. The Wreck of the Zephyr. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1983.
A young man finds a boat wreck high on a hill and climbs to investigate. There he meets an old man who tells him the fantastic story of how a boat could wreck so high on the hills. The pictures are gorgeous paintings framed in the white edges of the painting. The words and the pictures bring this story its power. There are a lot of words on each page, so it takes a relatively long attention span to read or listen to this story.
Wood, Douglas. Grandad’s Prayers of the Earth. illus.
P.J. Lynch. Cambridge,
MA: Candlewick Press, 1999.
This beautiful story is as much about the appreciation of nature as it is the topic of prayer. A young boy learns about everything from his granddad, and this is the story about a walk in which he learns about prayer, and how, much later, that lesson actually makes sense to him. The gorgeous watercolor illustrations add to the beauty of the words and act as a prayer in and of themselves. Although I highly recommend this book to individual readers, the subject matter will probably deter me from reading it at a public school story time. This is a great story for parents or grandparents to share with children, and upper elementary school children (and older) curious about prayer may benefit from this story.
Yolen, Jane and Shulamith
Oppenheim. The Sea King. illus.
Stephan Czernecki.
New
York: Crocodile Books, 2003.
This is a retelling of a Russian folktale in which an eagle promises a king a favor in return for sparing his life. Although the favor was repaid, the king makes a blunder in which he has to promise something for a favor from the Sea King. The king’s son goes to the Sea King to repay the debt and is tested by the Sea King. Eventually the prince marries the Sea King’s daughter, Vasilisa the Wise. This book is about fair play, keeping promises, and being polite, mostly explained by the story itself. As a typical Russian folktale, this story rambles a little. The pictures are bright and representational—they don’t add a lot to the story. Readers would need a background in Russian folklore to completely understand the inclusion of Baba Yaga, but upper-elementary school students with knowledge of folklore can follow the story.
Yolen, Jane. The Seeing Stick. illus.
Remy Charlip and Demetra Maraslis.
New
York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1977.
Hwei Ming (whose name means “dark moon waiting to become light”) is the emperor’s daughter, and she had been blind since birth. The emperor promises to reward anyone who could help her see, but everyone was unsuccessful until one day an old man showed up with his “seeing stick” on which he carves stories for the blind girl to see. She, in turn, teaches other blind children to “have eyes on the tips of their fingers.” The illustrations were created with wax crayon and pencil on vellum. The artists erased and drew over each others’s work. Interestingly, the pictures are in black and white until the emperor’s daughter is taught to “see,” when the illustrations become quite colorful. This is a great story about what it means to see and not see, as well as a marvelous way to acknowledge and appreciate a disability. It is a great story for older elementary school students who have longer attention spans.
Yolen, Jane. Where Have the Unicorns Gone? illus.
Ruth Sanderson. New York:
Simon
and Schuster, 2000.
In a very poetic story, a father explains to his daughter where the Unicorns have gone—fleeing from the modernization of the world. The author’s note tells a bit about the literary tradition of unicorns as well. The illustrations are painted in oils on gessoed Masonite panels. Some pages have textured surfaces made with pumice gel and modeling paste. The illustrations show the poetry of the words in a way that will help young children begin to experience the imagery of poetry. This is a very beautiful, artistic, creative story that is good for read-aloud. Although the unicorn is often left to the domain of girls, the boys in the classes that I read this book to also enjoyed learning about unicorns, listening to the poetic language and viewing the amazing pictures.
Easy Readers are books designed for young, independent readers. These are the books that many of us remember being the first ones we read by ourselves. I have only included a few of these books, as I chose to focus my reading this semester on the picture books and chapter books. Some libraries have these books separated out in their own section, but some have them interfiled with the picture books. Many libraries will designate them with some form of sticker that identifies them as “easy readers.” In addition to the authors I have listed below, you can also look for the books of Syd Hoff (such as Danny and the Dinosaur, Chester, Julius, and Sammy the Seal), Peggy Parish (who wrote the Amelia Bedelia books), and Theo LeSieg, Stan Berenstain, and P.D. Eastman, who all wrote books under the “Bright and Early Books” insignia.
Johnson, Crockett. A Picture for Harold’s Room. New York:
Scholastic, 1960.
Harold is a toddler with a purple crayon who decides he needs a picture on his wall. The narrative describes how Harold draws his picture, and you can watch him draw it as you read. This is an easy reader because of the simple sentence structures and “normal” words matched with the direct pictures. Older beginner readers would enjoy this book, as it doesn’t repeat as much as other easy readers, and it does require a relatively large sight-word vocabulary. (There are several other “Harold” books in this series, beginning with Harold and the Purple Crayon.)
Lobel, Arnold. Mouse Soup. New York: Scholastic,
1977.
A weasel catches a mouse and decides to make mouse soup, but the mouse convinces him that you need to add stories to mouse soup to make it taste good. Since the weasel doesn’t know any stories, Mouse tells four, and then sends the weasel out to find the ingredients from the stories. This book is made up of very repetitive, simple sentences. The four stories make the book seem like a chapter book for early readers. (Other books by Arnold Lobel include the Frog and Toad Books, Owl at Home, and others.)
Minarik, Else
Holmelund. No Fighting, No Biting. illus.
Maurice Sendak. New
York: Harper and Row, 1958.
Cousin Joan wants to read, and Rosa and Willy want to sit near her. As typical of children, they have trouble sitting still with their hands to themselves. Joan says they are little alligators and tells them a story about LightFoot and QuickFoot, two little alligators who constantly fight and bite. Illustrative pictures and repetitive text make this a recognizable easy reader. The four “chapters” make this an ideal book for more sophisticated beginner readers. (Other books by Else Minarik include the Little Bear books.)
Sendak, Maurice. Chicken Soup With Rice. New York:
Scholastic, 1962.
This book contains a month-by-month description of what to do with “Chicken Soup With Rice.” The repetitive words and descriptive pictures make this easily identified as an easy reader, and an easily recognizable childhood favorite. Rhyme, rhythm, seasons, and months can be practiced or reviewed by reading this book. (Maurice Sendak is probably best known for his award winning picture book Where the Wild Things Are, but he has also written several other picture books and easy readers.)
Seuss, Dr. (Theodore Geisel). The Foot Book. New
York: Random House, 1968.
This very repetitive, very easy to read book contains a very controlled vocabulary. There are only 47 different words in this 131 word book. Some rhyming and position words are taught through their placement on the page. This book is part of the “Bright and Early Books for Beginning Readers” insignia mentioned in the introduction to this section. Dr. Seuss is well-known for his desire to provide children with interesting stories that will increase their understanding of phonics and decoding skills. Many of his books are considered to be Easy Readers.
Seuss, Dr. (Theodore Geisel). There’s A Wocket in My Pocket! New York: Random
House,
1974.
In true Dr. Seuss fantastic rhyme, a young boy describes the strange things living in his house. Each creature’s name rhymes with its habitat, like the Zelf on the shelf. The pictures help, but not really, as is typical of Dr. Suess. This is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books because of the rhyme and rhythm. It is a great book for phonics, sound exploration and rhyming words. Although it can be a fun read-aloud, it is certainly designed for early readers to read alone. (Other Dr. Seuss books include Read With My Eyes Shut, Fox in Sox, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, and many, many others.)
Chapter books are those books designed for independent reading. Although many chapter books are read aloud in classrooms, they are designed for individual readers to engage in the reading activity. Chapter books cover a wide range of reading levels, from some of the multi-part easy readers described above to adult novels. For the purposes of this assignment, chapter books are those books containing chapters, mostly words and not so many illustrations, that may be read by elementary school students and middle school students. Because the reading abilities of children may vary dramatically from year to year and from student to student, it is difficult to say what ages may be able to read which books. The choices for my reading here have mostly been what interests me (usually fantasy), and books that I think will appeal to boys (for the other paper mentioned earlier). Notice again a list of books by Jon Scieszka.
Cooper, Susan. The Boggart. New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1993.
A family in Toronto inherits an Scottish castle from a distant relative. Although they sell the castle, the keep some of the furniture and ship something much older than the furnishings to Toronto. What do you do when old magic meets modern technology? Can you still believe in both? Susan Cooper does a wonderful job of melding these two worlds by using an interesting blend of Gaelic, computalk, Scottish and Canadian culture, Old Magic, and modern technology. Before reading this book, it helps to understand a little of the difference between fact and myth, and some of the nature of fantasy. This is a fantastic book that explores what it means to be a child, believe in magic, and live in a technology-based world. Pre-teens would love this book because of the age of the characters, but the reading level is certainly suited for junior high or high school level readers.
Cooper, Susan. King of Shadows. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999.
Nat Field is honored with a chance to join an American all-boy theater troup and play the part of Puck in the new Globe Theatre in London. The hurt from his past creates a void strong enough to pull him through time to trade places with another Nat Field and give him a chance to play Puck to Will Shakespeare’s Oberon. It is a great book about dealing with loss and moving on, loving, and acting. This book uses an easy narrative and fantastic attention to details of Elizabethan England to show the temporal nature of relationships and time itself. A great way to explore the historical and literary reality of William Shakespeare while also exploring the idea of temporal existence and immortality, the reader may need to know a little about history, drama, and Shakespeare to get the full impact of this book. Because of the historical nature of the work, I would recommend this book to intermediate and high school aged students.
Fagan, Cary. Daughter of the Great Zandini. illus.
Cybele Young. Toronto:
Tundra
Books, 2001.
A reporter spurs a magician back to the stage, but the magician’s son is unwilling to join him. It is up to Fanny, Daughter of the Great Zandini, to restore the family’s good name. In doing so, she magically reveals her own talent of illusion and the magic of a family’s love. This is a short, engaging chapter book that would be great for upper-elementary school or middle school readers struggling with identity definition.
Krull, Kathleen. Alex Fitzgerald’s Cure for Nightmares. illus.
Wendy Edelson.
New
York: Troll, 1998.
Fourth-grader Alex Fitzgerald is living with her dad for a year while her mom works in Japan. This means moving from Chicago to California, and she is having nightmares almost every night. She is afraid to tell anyone because she is afraid they will think she is a baby. When she finally asks for help, she tries several cures, but they don’t really work. The nightmares go away when she stops worrying about them. This is a great book for beginning chapter-book readers, many of whom are at the age where they are worrying about what other people think about them. Background knowledge needed may include an understanding of nightmares and a knowledge base of California images (palm trees, ocean, surfing, etc.).
Park, Barbara. Junie B., First Grader (At Last!) illus.
Denise Brunkers. New
York: Random House, 2001.
In the eighteenth book of the Junie B. Jones series, Junie B. is having trouble with the first grade. Her kindergarten friend has new friends, so she needs new friends, too. To make things worse, she needs glasses! The first-person narrative and journal entries help the reader to enter young Junie B.’s world. Athough there are parts that are highly unrealistic, such as the journal entry with “muscles” and “mustache” spelled correctly on the first day of first grade, the narrative is very entertaining. This is a great book for children needing friends or glasses! Designed for early chapter book readers, the retrospective look at first grade can allow older children to feel smart, while helping the younger chapter book readers enter the world of chapter books through a world similar to their own.
Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones and That Meanie Jim’s
Birthday. illus. Denise
Brunkers. New York:
Random House, 1996.
Going back to number six of the Junie B. Jones series, we encounter Junie B. as a kindergartener, and the only one in the class not invited to Jim’s birthday party. She is furious at being left out, but when she gets the invitation, she realizes that she doesn’t really want to go. Because of Junie B.’s age, most of the first person narrative is written in “kindergarten dialect,” with words like “perfectest.” Although the argument can be made that this is not a good model for young readers, it can also allow 2nd and 3rd graders to feel smart because they know better. Experience with reading and kindergarten are good pre-requisites for this book. It will probably also help to have some knowledge of social interactions between children.
Scieszka, Jon. The Good, The Bad, and the Goofy. illus.
Lane Smith. New York:
Viking,
1992.
In this third book of the Time Warp Trio series, Sam, Joe, and Fred use The Book to time travel to 1868 to experience life as real cowboys. Discovering that it is only somewhat like TV, they need to find their way home and solve a conflict between the white men and the peaceful Indian tribe before they are killed. Jon Scieszka writes the Time Warp Trio series for reluctant readers, mostly boys, and incorporates boy characters who do boy things. This is a great book for boys (or girls) who are beginning to read chapter books, either as young readers, or older readers who are afraid of chapter books. In contast to the picture books in which Lane Smith’s illustrations lend a lot to the books, in the chapter books of this series, the illustrations are more representational.
Scieszka, Jon. Knights of the Kitchen Table. illus.
Lane Smith. New York: Viking,
1991.
This is the first book of the Time Warp Trio series. It won the School Library Journal Best Books Award in 1991. Joe gets a book as a birthday present from his Uncle Joe, a magician in a traveling circus, and Joe’s idol. It turns out that this book can truly transfer the boys to adventures in other times, and their first adventure takes them to Camelot where they must prove themselves to King Arthur before discovering how to return home. The easy language and short length (55 pages) of this book make it an excellent choice for reluctant readers. It is an interesting commentary, too, on how books can take us places we couldn’t go otherwise.
Scieszka, Jon. Your Mother Was a Neanderthal. illus.
Lane Smith. NewYork:
Viking,
1993.
In the fourth book of the Time Warp Trio Series, the three boys travel to the year 40,000 B.C., hoping to impress everyone with their modern gadgets, but they show up completely naked. They now have to figure out how to survive in this prehistoric world and figure out how to get home from a time before writing, much less books, had been invented. They discover that the women and the men live in separate locations, and the women are more advanced (having already discovered fire) than the men. The leader of the female pack looks remarkably like Joe’s mom, which makes all of the boys a little uneasy. Like the other books in this series, the easy language and short length (76 pages) make this an excellent book for young or reluctant readers.
Snicket, Lemony. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Book the First: The Bad
Beginning. illus.
Brett Helquist. New York: Harper Collins, 1999.
The first of what promises to be a thirteen book series, this 162 page chapter book is an interesting twist on the neat “happy ending” stories usually provided for children. The author even warns the reader that if he/she is seeking a happy story, it may be best to look elsewhere. The Baudelaire children are intelligent and resourceful, and they are able to think their way out of horrible situations, but only to find that they are, after all, still children, and, as such, still vulnerable to adult dictates. Certainly satirical, and definitely sad, but also somewhat realistic, this story was adventurous, exciting, engaging and easy to read. The unhappy ending keeps the reader interested in more story and in search of the next book. Older children with longer attention spans and good phonics skills (as many new words are presented and explained) may find this book engaging.
Stine, R.L. Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes. New York:
Scholastic, 1995.
A young boy named Joe has a father who loves lawn ornaments. One day he buys 2 lawn gnomes, who, as it turns out, are Mischief gnomes pretending to be lawn gnomes. Strange things begin to happen at night, and Joe, his sister Mindy, and his best friend moose must discover the truth. A good chapter book for older elementary school children, this one of the Goosebumps series does keep the attention of the reader as he/ she tries to guess what will happen next. Third through fifth graders, who seem to enjoy the safety of being scared by a story, usually read Goosebumps series books. Having some background knowledge of reality vs. fantasy and horror conventions (such as fog at night) may help to enhance the enjoyment of this book.
This last section is devoted to descriptions of a handful of reference materials available to adults (and some older children) who are interested in locating what books are available by subject, genre, author, or type. The books listed below are ones which I looked at in the course of this semester, and I chose them to evaluate based upon my current background as a media specialist, so some may not be helpful to a parent or other caregiver. Reference books of this kind vary according to selection criteria, so it is always a good idea to check out the forward or introduction materials to find out what these criteria are. Another thing to note is that some of these materials contain price information, which varies year to year, so if the user is considering purchasing the book, it is best to locate a current catalog or check the prices at a local bookstore. Librarians are also good reference sources for materials, and they are knowledgeable about which books are available in their library that one of these reference books. To locate these or other reference books, check the reference section of your public library or ask a librarian for assistance.
Freeman, Judy. More Books Kids Will Sit Still For: A Read Aloud Guide. New
Providence,
NJ: R. R. Bowker, 1995.
The main part of this book is the annotated listing of books for read-aloud. This listing is separated by fiction by grade level followed by nonfiction/ biography and poetry. It includes a professional bibliography; author, title, illustrator, and subject indexes. The introduction is quite comprehensive as it includes three main sections: Looking for Read Alouds, Reading With Expression, and The Importance of a School Library/ Media Center Program. This final section includes lesson plans, curriculum information, information on flexible scheduling and technology. The annotations tell how long it may take to read aloud, as well as the bibliographic information, summary, and subject headings. This is a great resource for parents and teachers, and a must-have for elementary school media specialists as well as public library story time programmers.
Homa, Linda, ed. The Elementary School Library
Collection: A Guide to Books and
Other
Media, 22nd ed.
Williamsport, PA: Bodart Co.,
2000.
This is an annotated guide to 9,914 books and AV materials. The easy to read introduction explains the purpose, scope, title availability, evaluative criteria, and some trends in elementary education. Organized as a classified catalog, it contains six main section: professional collection, reference, periodicals, non-fiction, easy readers, and fiction. Each entry contains the call number, bibliographic information, price, “phase of acquisition” (based on a three year development plan), purchasing information (library, trade, paperback, etc.), citation number, annotation and subject headings. It also includes author, title, and subject indices, as well as appendices about materials for preschool, independent reading, author series, publisher series, and a directory of publisher and producers. This source was designed for the use of school librarians who are creating new libraries. It is a very think book with small print, and it is daunting and a little hard to use.
Lima, Carolyn W. and John
A. Lima. A to Zoo: Subject Access Guide to Children’s
Picture
Books, 6th ed. Westport,
CT: Bowker-Greenwood, 2001.
This book is prefaced by a section on how to use the book, explains the types of indexes within the book, and an introduction entitled “Genesis of English-Language Picture Books,” and an alphabetical list of subject headings. There are four main indices in this book: the Subject Guide, which lists the books in alphabetical order by subject heading, and then the author and title in alphabetical order by author; the Bibliographic Guide, which lists all titles in alphabetical order by the author then the tile with a full citation, complete with subject headings; the Title Index contains a list in alphabetical order by title, with the author in parentheses and the page number of the citation; and the Illustrator Index, which is alphabetical by illustrator then title with the citation page number provided. This is a very comprehensive listing of available books, but it requires a lot of flipping around if you do not know the author. It is a great source to find little-known books by subject.
Nichols, Margaret
Irby. Guide to Reference Books for
School Media Centers, 4th ed.
Englewood,
CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1992.
The table of contents in this book provides a good list of specific topics under broad subject headings. The book is organized mostly alphabetical by category and subject. The annotations provide the grade level code, bibliographic information, price, pages, ISBN and LC#, and a list of publications that reviewed the work. The publication abbreviation guide can be found in the introduction. This book includes an author/ title and subject index. It is now dated, and it would be nice if Dewey Decimal catalog numbers would be included since the book is geared toward media specialists.
Olendorf, Donna, ed. Something About the Author. Detroit:
Gale Research, [v. 105,
1999].
This publication is a continuously published series of reference books that contains a cumulative index every other volume. It is an excellent resource for information about authors of children’s books. This would be an excellent addition to school libraries that could afford it, and public libraries should certainly invest in it. The information about the authors is presented in long-article format, not just a blurb.
Rand, Donna and Toni
Trent Parker. Black Books
Galore! Guide to Great African
American
Children’s Books About Boys. New
York: John Wiley and Sons,
2001.
This is a great reference book for teachers and parents to use when selecting books for young African American boys. The books selected portray (positive active mail character[s]” who are “attractive, bright, thoughtful, strong, resourceful and capable” (1). The introduction provides information about types of books children enjoy and a “how to use” section. The body of the book contains annotations for 350 books, numbered sequentially and divided into three categories: Babies and preschoolers, early readers (k-grade 3), and Middle readers (grades 4-8). There are also brief biographies of authors and illustrators such as Julius Lester and Patricia McKissack. Many entries include pictures of the book covers, and there are also a spattering of “testimonials” from children. It also includes indexes organized by title, author, illustrator, and topic.
Senick, Gerard, ed. Children’s Literature Review. Detroit:
Gale Research, [v. 27,
1992].
This multivolume set is continually published in new volumes. It is an
excellent resource for information about authors and book reviews of their works, although it is a little difficult to use at first. It is necessary to locate an index (usually published in cumulative form every so many volumes), and then look for the volume in which your entry exists. This set is also referenced in Something About the Author, described earlier. This would be a great resource for school libraries to have, but it may be difficult to afford to keep it up to date.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that this collection of annotations was based on a “reading log” assignment for a class at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The contents represent materials that I read over the semester in which I took this course, and may tend to show more information about how I choose materials to read than a collection of works by subject or quality. My personal interests in genre, author, or type of book formed most of the decisions of which books I chose to read this semester. Some constraints for the assignment were, of course, followed as well, considering that we were instructed to “read as widely as possible” within these four given categories, and my natural inclination is to pick one topic, author, award, category, or genre and read continuously along that vein, as my other annotated lists on this web site may show. Please feel free to browse the other lists at your leisure, as they are more subject-oriented, and somewhat more comprehensive and cohesive than the list provided above.