Always searching for quality childrens book, here are a few that I found and reviewed. I highly reccommend these books for children, as they are quality literature, amazingly illustrated, and of high interest to kids.
Williams, Mo. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Hyperion Books For Children. 2003.
Gernre: Fantasy
This book takes interacting to another level when it speaks to the audience. It takes a direct approach to addressing the reader, making the pigeons emotions a highly personal experience. Characterization is shown through the pigeons pleading, sneakiness and eventual conniption. The text and the illustrations work together to enhance each other. The words inform us of why the pigeon is harassing the readers for permission to drive, and the illustrations let us see just how excited and enthusiastic the pigeon is about driving the bus. This book would be boring without one or the other, although the illustrations almost stand on their own with heavy lines effectively used to exaggerate emotion and movement. The way the pigeon interacts with the readers pulls them into the story and makes them feel responsible for the decision making in relation to the bus. I found it’s interactive style highly engaging. As a read aloud, I imagine the whole group literally screaming at the pigeon!
Willis, Jeanne. Illustrations by Tony Ross. I Hate School. Antheneum Books. 2003.
Genre: Poetry
Honor Brown, a typical kid? All signs point to yes, her devil tail and smart attitude included. She rhymes her way through all the reasons she hates school, exaggerating her teachers into toads and her cafeteria food into rabbit poo. Although it’s riddled with fantasy, real anxieties that many kids experience throughout the year are addressed through pictures and poem. Honor’s dialogue spreads itself through watercolor illustrations that set a murky mood, perfect for her express her fears about school, caves and all. Consciously or otherwise, readers feel Honor’s pain and laugh at her antics as her rhymes roll off their tongues with ease. Whether students like school or not, this book is surely enough to capture the attention of all those kids that dread reading boring, old poetry. She’s a typical kid for sure, and one that easily wins over the reader.
Helldorfer, MC. Illustrations by Elise Primavera. Jack, Skinny Bones, and the Golden Pancakes. Viking. 1996.
Genre: Tall Tale
In America, traditionally, Jonny Appleseed, Davy Crockett, and Paul Bunyan are recognized as tall tale heroes, but Jack and Skinny Bones? Jack seems mischievous on the cover, and those golden pancakes…what is he up to? After just enough background information, Granny and the devil go head to head over who has rights over Jack and Skinny Bones. Dark blacks and vivid reds bring the evilness of granny and the devil right into the open. The dialect of each character is written just carefully enough to match their personalities without placing them in any specific area. They are just in the hot, dry desert, a perfect place for the devil. While those two are busy making trouble over each other, Jack develops a plan of his own. Without a hitch, Jack tricks the devil into eating golden hot mustard pancakes that send him screaming back to hell, taking Granny with him. What a hero! Clearly, Jack’s attention to detail and hopeful spirit during his stay with Granny gave him the wits to overcome the evil duo. It’s a happily ever after ending. Creatively drawn and smeared desert landscapes, action packed battles of wits, and simple plot line make this book an effective adventure for any reader. Adhering to most of the ‘rules’ for folktales, this book could serve as a model for students wanting to write their own.