Children Just Like Me

Author: Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley

Publishing:  DK Children Publishing

Number of Pages: Hardcover—88 pages

Genre:  Nonfiction, Reference Book

Reading Level:  Ages 9-12

Summary: This book is about children all over the world.  It goes through and on every page it gives details of the child’s life that it is focusing on.  It talks about the age of the child and where exactly they live.  It talks about the family and the things that they do for careers in such.  It also talks about the child’s living arrangements as well as what they like to do, their favorite toy, and they favorite food—things like that.  It covers children from all sorts of different places, from Africa, to Europe, to the U.S. and everywhere in between.  It’s a great book for children to learn about different areas and different cultures.  There are also very nice pictures of the children and their family and the other things that it talks about.  Overall just a wonderful book for children (and adults) to learn from.

My Reaction to the Book:  I think that this is probably the best reference book that I have seen for children.  It gives a lot of information but at the same time it is very fun and interesting.  It’s a great book for children to sit down and look through and learn that they really aren’t that much different from other children around the World. 

Potential Problems:  I do not see any problems with this book—it is just packed with great information. 

Recommendations:  I think I would definitely recommend this book to anyone because it is a great learning tool for children plus it’s just a lot of fun.

The Great Gilly Hopkins

Author: Katherine Paterson

Publishing:  HarperCollins Publishers

Number of Pages: Paperback—178 pages

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Reading Level:  Ages 9-12

Summary: This book is about Gilly Hopkins, an eleven-year-old girl who is without her parents.  For most of her life she has gone from Foster home to foster home.   Gilly believes, though, that her mother Courtney will come get her and care for her someday.  At the start of the book we see Gilly arrive at her new foster mothers house, Maime Trotter.  William Ernest lives with Trotter and this is whom Gilly finds pleasure in bullying (Gilly is often angry and cynical, although she is also very smart and self-reliant).  Gilly is forced to deal with her problem of racism, as her teacher and Trotter’s blind friend are both African American.  When Gilly gets a postcard from her mother with a return address she writes back and says how horrible the foster home is that she is at and she begs to be rescued.  Shortly after, Gilly makes the plan to escape and go to her mother and be with her.  Gilly makes a plan to steal some money that she discovered at Mr. Randolph’s house.  She tries to leave but is caught by a police officer, and then she returns home with Trotter.  After a while, Gilly realizes that she likes living with Trotter and William Ernest.  Just as Gilly is finally settled in, her biological grandmother comes to get her because of the desperate plea that she put in her letter to her mother.  She is sad to leave Trotter and wishes that she doesn’t have to but she goes with her grandmother anyway.  That Christmas she finds out that her mother is coming to visit and Gilly gets really excited.  When she meets her mother though, she finds out that the only reason she came is because her mom bought the ticket for her and asked her to come.  This makes Gilly sad and angry so she calls Trotter and begs her to come get her and take her home.  Trotter explains that she is at home and she needs to cope with her situation and make the best of it—Gilly does just that, so that she can make Trotter proud.

My Reaction to the Book:  I actually really liked this book.  I remember reading it in fifth grade a liking it, so it was fun to be able to read it again.  I even think I liked it better this second time around because it was easier for me to be able to apply this in actual life and see where things like this would happen. 

Potential Problems:  Gilly tends to swear a bit, and she takes the Lord’s name in vain quite often.  She also says some very rude and undeserving things to and about people.  If this were a book read in a classroom then it would definitely be in need of some serious discussion on the rights and wrongs of the things that she says and does. 

Recommendations:  I think that I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.  It is a great book to learn from and it opens up your eyes to the world a little more.  Also it is just a very funny book, Gilly is quite funny throughout the whole book.

Stargirl

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Publishing:  Dell Laurel-Leaf

Number of Pages: Paperback—186 pages

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Reading Level:  Ages 9-12

Summary: This book is about a young girl named Stargirl.  She moves to a small town in Arizona and attends Mica High.  She stands out to everyone, not only is she the new girl but she is also extremely different from everyone else.  She sings to people on their birthdays (with her ukulele in hand), she dresses funny, and she carries around with her a pet rat named Cinnamon.  Leo is oddly smitten by her right away and after a couple days she captures the whole schools attention.  Everyone loves Stargirl and everything is great.  Then, things turn the other way when she always cheers for the other team during sporting events and people hate Stargirl.  After Stargirl’s popularity has ended, her and Leo continue with their friendship and it starts turning into more than that.  She takes him to her special place where they sit together and then a couple days later they kiss.  After this Leo and Stargirl spend as much time together as they can; he does things with her like leaves thank you notes and drop change on the sidewalk.  After a while Leo realizes that the whole school rejects them so he encourages Stargirl to become normal.  She tries this, but feels like the best way to win back the school is to win the speech competition.  When she wins and comes back to the school she is only welcomed by three people and she realizes that nothing has changed and that she would rather just be herself, but after she does this Leo, too, abandons her as he is confused with his feelings and desperately wants to be accepted by the school.  When the Ocotillo Ball arrives Leo decides not to go but he does watch the ball from a distance.  Stargirl regains her popularity at the ball as she arrives in a beautiful, flower-covered bike and then involves everyone in the “bunny hop” dance.  Hillary (a girl that has hated Stargirl all along) comes up to Stargirl after the dance and tells her that she ruins everything, and then she slaps her, and with this Stargirl gives her a kiss on the cheek.  The next day Stargirl has disappeared.  The story ends fifteen years later with Leo working as a set designer.  Also some changes influenced by Stargirl have happened at Mica High.  At the very end Leo receives a porcupine necktie from Stargirl and his hopes of her continue.

My Reaction to the Book:  I loved this book!  I thought that it was really fun and creative and just cute!  This is a very good book. 

Potential Problems:  The only problem that I can see there being is that Stargirl is rejected by her peers and a little different from everyone else.

Recommendations:  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone; I thought it was such a great book, everyone should read it because it helps you be yourself better.

Henry’s Freedom Box

Author: Ellen Levine

Publishing:  Scholastic Press

Number of Pages: Hardcover—40 pages

Genre:  Nonfiction

Reading Level:  Ages 4-8

Summary: This book is about a boy named Henry Brown who is born into slavery and then sold to a different home when he was a teenager, so he had to be separated from his family.  When he was on this new plantation he has to work really hard but luckily he meets a beautiful girl and marries her and is able to get married to her.  They have three children but then, sadly, while he is at work one day he learns that his children and wife are sold to a different plantation and this just crushes him because he has no reason to live anymore.  So one day he decides that he is going to make it to freedom.  He plans with a few of his buddies to fake an injury so he can’t go to work and then get in a box and mail himself to freedom.  Once in the box he is in there for 27 hours straight, sometime stuck upside down or sideways and rarely sitting up normally.  He can’t move because he is afraid that someone will notice.  Once he gets to freedom they open the box and he is a free man.  This is a true story of Henry Brown.  There is nothing more of his family though, sadly.

My Reaction to the Book:  I thought that this book was okay, it was very sad to read about especially knowing that it is a true story, but I thought it was definitely worth reading.  It made me appreciate my life better for sure. 

Potential Problems:  This book is based in a time of slavery, so obviously there is the problem of slavery in it.

Recommendations:  I think I would recommend this book to people because even though it was really sad, it was good to be aware of since it is a true story of Henry Brown and his journey to freedom from slavery. 

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O

Author: Shel Silverstein

Publishing:  Harper & Row

Number of Pages: Hardcover—104 pages

Genre:  Picture Book

Reading Level:  Ages 9-12

Summary: This book is about a missing piece that is trying to fit in with someone.  He tries many different other shapes that are missing pieces; some are too small, some are too big, some just aren’t even close to fitting, some just don’t work, and then finally, one fits.  They stay together but then, the piece starts growing!  And then he doesn’t fit anymore, so he has to continue on his search.  One day he runs into a circle, a Big O, with no pieces missing.  The Big O tells him that he doesn’t need to be looking for someone else to complete him, he can coplete himself, all he needs to do is start rolling.  The missing piece doesn’t think its possible—but then he tries:  “lift…pull…flop…lift…pull…flop…”  Soon the missing piece’s corners start getting rounder, so he continues on.  He keeps going and then he was bumping instead of flopping, then bouncing instead of bumping, and then rolling instead of bouncing.  He didn’t know where he was going and it didn’t matter because he was rolling, and he continued rolling… all by himself.

My Reaction to the Book:  I loved this book!!  After I read it I wanted to go out and buy it right away.  It is a very good book that can be related to anyone’s situation.

Potential Problems:  There are not any problems with this book.

Recommendations:  I would and will definitely recommend this book to anyone!  It is such a great book to apply in your life; it really makes you think about your life and what you are doing.  It is a very simple, yet amazing book.  

Olivia

Author: Ian Falconer

Publishing:  Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Number of Pages: Hardcover—40 pages

Genre:  Picture Book

Reading Level:  Ages 4-8

Summary: This book is about a pig named Olivia.  Olivia wears everyone out, even herself.  She has a little brother named Ian who liked to copy what Olivia does, so sometimes Olivia has to be firm with her brother.  She lives with her mom, dad, little brother, dog, and cat.  Olivia’s morning routines always take a while especially because she has to try on everything.  On sunny days, Olivia likes to go to the beach; she likes to make sandcastles because her mom taught her how.  Olivia is supposed to take a nap everyday but she is never at all sleepy.  On rainy days Olivia likes to go to the museum and she always goes straight for her favorite picture.  Another picture that she looks at she does not understand and so she recreates it herself, on the wall—for that she gets a time out.  Then she has to take a bath, eat dinner, and then it is time for bed.   Olivia gets five books to read but her mom only lets her read three of them.  In the end Olivia’s mom tells her that she wears her out, but she still loves her.  Then Olivia says that she loves her too.  And that’s how it ends.

My Reaction to the Book:  I thought that this was a cute book, not anything special, but it was still good.  I thought the pictures were cute, but I don't know that I would have given it a caldecott winner.

Potential Problems:  The only problem with this book is that Olivia paints on the wall and gets in trouble for it.

Recommendations:  I don’t know that I would specifically recommend this book to anyone because it wasn’t anything special.  

Trashy Town

Author: Andrea Zimmerman

Publishing:  HarperCollins

Number of Pages: Hardcover—32 pages

Genre:  Picture Book

Reading Level:  Ages 4-8

Summary: This book is about a trash man named Mr. Gilly who drives around the town and picks up trash.  First he stops at the school and picks up trash, then the book says: “Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the trashy town!”  Then he stops at the park and picks up the trash, and again, the book says: “Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the trashy town!”  Then Mr. Gilly stops behind the Pizza Parlor and picks up more trash and again, the same line is repeated.  Mr. Gilly then continues by stopping behind the Doctors, by the fire station, and then the whole town is cleaned so he takes all the trash to the dump.  Then he goes home and cleans up himself!!

My Reaction to the Book:  Obviously there isn’t much to this book but it is a good book for kids as it has a lot of repetition and it also has a good lesson in cleaning up the town and making it nice.   

Potential Problems:  There are not any problems with this book.

Recommendations:  I would recommend this book to parents of younger kids because it is a good teaching book and it has a great lesson in it.