A Bad Case of Stripes

Author: David Shannon

Publishing:  The Blue Sky Press

Number of Pages:  Hardcover picture book—31 pages

Genre:  Picture Book

Reading Level:  5-7 years old

Summary:  This story is about a little girl named Camilla who tries to fit in with everyone at school and in doing so she pretends that she does not like lima beans.  When she is about to head to her first day of school though she sees that she gets a bad case of stripes!  She gets completely covered in colorful stripes and no one can figure out what is wrong.  The people at school make fun of her and her case of stripes gets worse and worse.  One day, things reach their limit when she “becomes one with her room.”  This old lady then comes to the door and says that she thinks she can help.  She offers Camilla some lima beans but Camilla continues to pretend that she doesn’t like them even though he really wants them.  Finally she admits that she likes lima beans and when she eats them she gets all better.  She learned the lesson that you should always be yourself and now she eats lima beans at school everyday and she doesn’t care what anyone thinks.  All the illustrations are amazing and really fit in well with what the text is saying  at all times.

My Reaction to the Book:  I loved this book! I thought it was so cute and it teaches such a good lesson in it that a lot of kids can learn from.

Potential Problems:  I don’t know that there would be any problems with this book, maybe the girl trying to fit in by being herself would be a problem, but in the end the problem is solved so I think its good.

Recommendations:  I would recommend this book to anyone it teaches such a great lesson for kids and it’s just a fun, cute, colorful story.  It has absolutely beautiful and amazing illustrations.

The Andersen’s Fairy Tales

Andersen’s Fairy Tales I read:

-The Most Incredible Thing

-The Candles

-Sunshine Stories

-Good Luck Can Lie in a Pin

Book Summary:  Good Luck Can Lie in a Pin

Author: Hans Christian Andersen

Publishing: Grammercy Books and others

Genre:  Fairy Tales

Reading Level:  Varies

Summary: This fairy tale was about a man who never had any good luck in his life.  He grew up poor and married poor, so poor he stayed.  He made umbrellas that often broke and he had to mend them.  He had a pear tree in his yard but no pears ever grew on it.  One day the wind blew really hard and knocked one of the branches off the pear tree; so just as a joke, he carved the branch into big and little wooden pears and he gave them to the children to play with.  One day the umbrella broke again and so this time he mended it with one of the tiny pears he had carved, and this time the umbrella held up perfectly.  He sent his umbrellas and pears off to people and they found for themselves too that the pears work best in mending the umbrellas.  The old man decided to just start by making them that way and he made a lot of money as so many people bought them.  This is where the old man finally found his luck.

My Reaction to the Book:  I thought that the book was pretty good.  It was a happy surprising story so I enjoyed it.  I thought that it could be a little confusing at some points but overall I liked it.

Potential Problems:  The only problem that I could see in this story is the fact that the old man is poor but other than that I thought it was good.

Recommendations:  I think I would recommend this fairy tale to anyone because was just a happy, good story about good luck.

The Asbjornsen Fairy Tales

Asbjornsen’s Fairy Tales I read:

-The Fox as Herdsman

- The Cat on the Dovrefell

- How One Went Out to Woo

- Why the Bear Is Stumpy-Tailed

Book Summary: Why the Bear Is Stumpy-Tailed

Author: Peter Christen Asbjornsen

Publishing: A. L. Burt Company Publishers

Genre:  Fairy Tales

Reading Level:  Varies

Summary: This fairy tale was about a fox and a bear.  The fox just got done stealing some fish when the bear comes upon him and asks how he got them.  The fox lies and tells him that he cut a hole in the ice and stuck his tail in the hole and left it there for a long time.  He said that the longer that you leave your tail in the hole, the more fish you will get.  The bear sets off to get some fish and puts his tail in a hole that he cut out.  As the fox said, he leaves his long tail down there for a long time and then gives it a good tug.  When he does this, though, his frozen tail breaks off and that’s why bears have short, stubby tails even to this day.

My Reaction to the Book:  I thought this was an okay story, it was kind of silly and entertaining but nothing over the top in any way.  I did think it was a creative story, though, to explain why the bear has a short tail.

Potential Problems:  There is stealing in the story as well as lying.  Also the bear gets his tail torn off, so that could be a problem.

Recommendations:  I don’t know that I would recommend this story to anyone, I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way to do so, but I also don’t think I would not recommend it.

The Perrault’s Fairy Tales

Perrault’s Fairy Tales I read:

-The Master Cat or Puss In Boots

-The Fairies

-Little Red Riding Hood

-Cinderella

Book Summary:  The Fairies

Author: Charles Perrault

Publishing:  New York, Dover Publication

Genre:  Fairy Tales

Reading Level:  Varies

Summary: This fairy tale was about two daughters, one being really ugly, looking like her mother, and one being really pretty, looking like her father.  The mother did not like the pretty daughter and so she made her work and clean.  One day the pretty daughter went to get some water and what appeared to be an old woman came up to the daughter and asked her for a drink.  The daughter was very polite and gave her drink, then the old woman (who was actually a fairy) granted upon her a gift that whenever she spoke, precious stones and flowers would come from her mouth.  When the mother saw what was happening when the daughter spoke, she wanted the same thing for her ugly, ill-mannered daughter, so she inquired the pretty daughter what she did to get this gift.  The ugly daughter then went to the well and a beautiful lady (actually a fairy) asked her for a drink.  The ugly daughter denied her a drink because she was expecting a poor old woman.  The fairy then granted upon the ugly daughter a curse of having snakes and toads drop from her mouth when she spoke.  The mother found out what happened and she drove the pretty daughter out of the house.  The pretty daughter found a handsome prince and lived happily ever after while the ugly daughter was never able to find anyone who would take her in, so she lay down in the forest and died.

My Reaction to the Book:  I quite enjoyed this story because it was just kind of a change up of the normal fairy tales.  I liked that the beautiful daughter was kind and got what she deserved and at the same time the ugly daughter was mean and got what she deserved too.  It also has a good moral of always speaking good, kind words.

Potential Problems:  There would probably be a problem with the mother not loving her pretty daughter.  Also at the end when the ugly daughter dies.

Recommendations:  I think I would recommend this fairy tale to anyone because it was a good story and it just had a good moral too it.

The Jacobs’ Fairy Tales

Jacobs’ Fairy Tales I read:

-The Story of the Tree Little Pigs

-The Golden Arm

-Lazy Jack

-The Cat and the Mouse

Book Summary:  The Golden Arm

Author: Joseph Jacobs

Publishing:  Abela Publishing

Genre:  Fairy Tales

Reading Level:  Varies

Summary: This story is about a man who is looking for someone to make his wife.  He looks all over and he finally finds a wife that has a golden arm.  He pretends to love her but he knows that he actually loves his wife’s golden arm more than his actual wife.  The wife dies one day and the husband pretends to be really sad at the funeral, but that night he goes and digs up his wife’s grave and then cuts off the golden arm.  That night he is visited buy the ghost of his wife and he pretends that he does not have her arm but she knows that he actually does have it.

My Reaction to the Book:  I thought that this was quite a weird story, and that the ending was really surprising because it kind of just ended out of nowhere, I expected there to be more to the story.

Potential Problems:  The problem with this story is that one, the husband is shallow and he only marries his wife because she has a golden arm, two, the husband cuts off the wife’s arm after she is dead, and three, the husband is visited by the ghost of his wife.

Recommendations:  I don’t think I would recommend this particular fairy tale to anyone, but I think that some of the other ones were good, “Lazy Jack” was a good one and it had a good lesson, so I would recommend some of the other Jacob’s fairy tales.

Junie B., First Grader (at last!)

Author: Barbara Park

Publishing:  Random House Books for Young Readers

Number of Pages: 96 pages

Genre:  Children’s Fiction

Reading Level:  Ages 4-8

Summary: This story is about a young girl, Junie B., who just moved into first grade.  At first she is rather excited but then she ends up getting really nervous about school.  When she goes in for her first day she sees that her old best friend from kindergarten is in her class.  She gets very excited but she finds out that her old friend no longer wants to be her best friend anymore so Junie B. gets kind of sad about that.  As school progresses Junie B. seems to have a hard time with school and the teacher discovers that Junie B. needs glasses.  Once Junie B. gets glasses she is kind of nervous for everyone at school to see her in them.  When everyone does finally find out she has glasses though, she finds that it really isn’t even that bad to have glasses; it’s actually kind of fun.

My Reaction to the Book:  I really loved this book!  I have always loved to read Junie B. Jones books—I love how they are written from Junie’s point of view because it really makes the story and dialogue quite hilarious.  It’s a very funny book.

Potential Problems:  There are a couple different problems with this book; one, Junie B. sometimes uses some mean words like stupid and dumb, and two, there might be some conflict with the fact that Junie makes a big deal out of wearing glasses.

Recommendations:  I would recommend this book to anyone.  Junie B. Jones books are great to help children realize that reading is actually really fun and entertaining.  They are hilarious and can make anyone laugh.  These books are very fun and great for children.

The Grimms’s Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales I read:

-Rapunzel
-The Singing Bone
-Rumpelstiltskin
-The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage

Book Summary:  The Singing Bone

Author: Grimm Brothers

Publishing:  Laurel Leaf Books

Genre:  Fairy Tales

Reading Level:  Varies

Summary: This story is about two brothers who try to capture or kill a wild boar, because if they succeed then they are rewarded with the king’s only daughter to wife.  One brother is prideful and one has a kind heart.  The one with the kind heart is able to kill the boar with a spear that is given to him simply because of the kindness that is in his heart.  This makes the other brother mad so he kills his brother and buries him under a bridge and takes the boar to the king as if he had killed him; so he was rewarded with the king’s daughter to take as his wife.  One day though, a shepherd finds a bone under the bridge and blows on it for a horn and it sings out loud and tells of the thing his brother did; so the brothers secret is found out and for punishment he is put in a sack and drowned.  This story came as a big shock to me because there isn’t anything happy in it at all.  Both brothers end up dead in the end; so really, it was just a gruesome story.

My Reaction to the Book:  I honestly did not love this fairy tale, because it was really gruesome and just kind of weird.  I did like some of the other Grimm fairy tales though, I found them quite interesting and entertaining.

Potential Problems:  There are quite a few problems with this story, as the one brother kills the other, and then is eventually drowned himself because of what he did.

Recommendations:  I don’t think I would recommend this particular fairy tale to anyone, but other Grimm fairy tales are definitely worth reading.  I don’t think I would read them to anyone young though simple because they are quite gruesome sometimes.