Snowmen at Christmas
Author: Caralyn Buehner
Illustrator: Mark Buehner
Scholastic
Copyright 2005
16 pages
Picture book

I chose this book because I love seasonal books and this has been one of my recent favorites. In the beginning of the story, it is Christmas Eve and a child has made a snowman. The child wonders how snowmen celebrate Christmas. The story goes on to explore all of the things a snowman might do to celebrate Christmas.

The illustrations look as though they were painted. There are a lot of cool colors used to depict a snowman's Christmas celebration. I love how you can almost see the lights twinkling on the trees and houses. There is no empty space in the illustrations. Every part of each page is filled with snowmen celebrating!

I think this book would be appropriate for any grade. I think it would be a great book to talk about winter and Christmas. I think it would be a good writing prompt as well as drawing prompt. You could read the book and then have students write about what their snowman would do on Christmas Eve. The student could then do an art project and draw a picture to go along with their writing response. This book does not have any awards.

Knuffle Bunny
Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems
Hyperion Books for Children
Copyright 2004
15 pages
Picture Book

In the beginning, Trixie goes with her dad to the laundromat. They have fun together on the way there. On the way home, Trixie becomes upset for reasons unknown to daddy. When they arrive home mommy asks where Knuffle Bunny is. they return to the laundromat to search for the stuffed animal. To Trixie's delight, they found it!

The pictures in this book are very unique. The pictures of the characters are illustrations and they are pasted onto a real life scenery for the background. I thought this was a neat way to bring reality into the book. The background pictures are black and white so it brings out the actual illustrations.

This book would be appropriate for the younger grades. It could be a good conversation starter for young children to discuss if they maybe have a special stuffed animal. They could also write a journal response that talks about whether or not they have ever lost it and where it ended up being. This could also be a lesson about problem and solution. The problem being that she is upset. The solution being that her precious stuffed animal is at the laundromat and they need to go and retrieve it.This book has been awarded a Caldecott medal.

This Monster Cannot Wait!
Author and Illustrator: Bethany Barton
Penguin Young Readers Group
Copyright 2013
Picture book

I chose this book because patience is always a good topic to cover with elementary students. Stewart's parents are taking him for his very first camping trip. He  cannot wait. He is very impatient and tries everything he can to make the time go faster. In the end, he learns to be patient and realizes that it is worth it.

I love the illustrations and how it is made evident just through the pictures that Stewart is having trouble coping with having to wait for his camping trip. I love that most of the picture are empty white space. It really makes the rest of the illustrations really pop! I also enjoyed how the illustrations were given subtitles.

This book would be appropriate for all ages. It could be used to talk about the value of patience. You could talk about times when they had to be patient and what they did to help pass the time. It could also be used to talk about camping and what you do when you go camping.While talking about camping, you could introduce nature and things that Stewart might see on his camping trip. This book does not have any awards.

Leaf Man
Author and Illustrator: Lois Ehlert
Harcourt Inc.
Copyright 2005
18 pages
Picture Book

In the story, the narrator finds a leaf man in their yard. They go on to say that the next day he was gone and she wonders  where he could have ventured off to. They go through all the possibilities. Then, the narrator says that maybe when you go outside, you might have a leaf man waiting for you.

I absolutely loved the illustrations in this book. The browns and oranges and texture made the leaves come to life. The pages were also given texture across the top which added a lot to the illustrations. The illustrations are made of actual leaves and die-cut pages.

This book would be appropriate for any elementary grade. It would be a good book to help discuss fall and seasons changing. It would also be good to do an art activity. It could also be used for a science type lesson where the students have to identify different leaves from the different types of leaves. The students could make things out of leaves or create their own leaf man. This book does not have any awards.

The Pout-Pout Fish
Author: Deborah Diesen
Illustrator: Dan Hanna
Copyright 2008
Farrar Straus Giroux
16 pages
Picture Book

The cover of this book caught my eye. The story is about Pout-Pout Fish and how he cannot smile. His sea creature friends try to help him but it is no use. He just can't smile! Then something special happens. Pout-Pout fish realizes that he can smile after all!

The illustrations in this book are so colorful and fun! I believe that they are water color paintings throughout. There are many warm and cool colors used to make the sea creatures come to life. I definitely felt the underwater vibe as I witnessed the Pout-Pout fish turn his frown upside down!

I think that this book would be appropriate for kindergarten through third grade. This book could be a good introduction to emotions. Also could be used for talk about having a good or bad attitude and how it affects your day. You could talk about what makes them "pout"  and what makes them smile. This book would also be a good underwater conversation starter. This book does not have any awards.

The Day the Crayons Quit
Author: Drew Daywalt
Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Penguin Young Readers Group
Copyright 2013
17 pages
Picture books

I chose this book because it seemed like an interesting way to introduce colors. In the story, Duncan goes to get his crayons because he wants to color. In their place, he finds a stack of letters. The letters are written by his crayons telling them why they are not happy. In the end Duncan finds a way to make all of the crayons happy.

The medium used for the illustrations, and appropriately so, are crayons! The illustrations look to have been done by a child. The use of colors and blank space gave them a child like feel. I thought the illustrations brought the colors to life and made them into characters with attitudes in the story. I loved it!

This book would be appropriate for younger grades. I think that this book would be a great way to introduce colors. It has so many examples for each color so that students would be able to relate certain objects to certain colors. This book could also be used to talk about favorite colors and colors around them. I think that this book would be a neat one to use to make a class book and have the kids use all of the different colors to make their own illustrations. This book does not have any awards.

Octopus Alone
Author and Illustrator: Divya Srinivasan
Penguin Group
Copyright 2013
17 pages
Picture book

I was drawn to this book because of the colorful illustrations on the cover. In the story, the octopus is shy and wants to be alone. She goes to great lengths to accomplish this, even missing out on a lobster dinner. Eventually she ends up far from home and is all alone she enjoys this at first but begins to miss her friends. She then returns home and is thankful for all the other sea creatures.

The artwork in this book is so colorful. It makes you feel as though you are experiencing the story from deep in the sea. The medium seems to be water colors. This makes the underwater theme that much more prevalent. I really enjoyed the illustrations. They added so much to the story!

This book could be enjoyed by any elementary grade. I think this would be a good book to read to inspire a writing topic on times when they want to be alone or what they like to do when they are alone. On top of that, you could discuss ways to make somebody they know who is shy feel more comfortable. It would also bring light to different sea creatures they may be interested in learning more about.This book does not have any awards.

The Dark

Author: Lemony Snicket

Illustrator: Jon Klassen

Little, Brown and Company

Copyright 2013

19 Pages

Picture book

                I picked this book because a fear of the dark is common in many children. I thought this book may lighten that fear for my students. In the story, Laszlo shares his house with the dark. It tells us about all the places the dark stays during the day and how it comes out at night. When the dark gets Laszlo out of bed one night to show him something, we find that in the end, the dark was not so scary after all.

                The illustrations are very simple in and there is a lot of empty space which is black to depict the darkness. I love at the end when there is the pop of yellow to signify the light. The cool light colors of the house and everything else contrasts nicely with the dark space and makes the personification of the dark that much more prevalent making the dark a character of its own.

                This book would be appropriate for younger grades. I think that maybe around Halloween time it would be a good story to read. It shows how the dark can be seen as a friend rather than something frightening.It could teach the difference between day and night and you could do a writing topic on what the students think the dark does during the day. To look at it from a scientific view, it could also lead to a discussion about electricity and light bulbs as well. This book does not have any awards.

Courage

Bernard Waber

Houghton Mifflin Company

Copyright 2002

32 pages

Picture book

                I chose this book because the title hit home with me. As a younger child, courage did not always come easy to me and I feel that is probably something that I will have in common with my future students. The story goes through and just gives many examples and situations in which courage can be displayed. The emphasis is on how even if it is a small act of courage, you are still brave for trying.

                The art work in the story was wonderful. There was a mix of drawing and painting throughout. The cool colors made for a calming experience while reading about things that may make a child nervous or anxious. The somewhat cartoon quality made them amusing as well.

The theme of courage is relevant for any age. I think this book could be used to start a discussion or a writing topic on a time when they had to have courage. It could also be used to discuss different historical figures and whether or not they showed courage. They could talk about a family member or friend they may look up to because they have courage and how they show it. This book does not have any awards.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Author: Philip C. Stead

Illustrator: Erin E. Stead

Roaring Book Press New York

Copyright 2010

15 Pages

Picture book

                I was first drawn to this book because of the title. In the story, Amos gets up and takes us through his day. He is a zoo keeper so he goes to take care of the animals. It tells of all the activities he does with all of the animals and what needs the animals have. The next day, Amos wakes up feeling under the weather. He does not show up at work so the animals decide to go take care of him.

                 I really enjoyed the illustrations throughout the story. They were very simple and sketched in pencil. I enjoyed that while simple, she still had some color here and there to make certain things pop off the page. She used a lot of cool colors to illustrate the story.

                I think that this book would be appropriate for kindergarten through third grade. This book could be used to address washing hands and other precautions for not getting sick and staying healthy. It could also spark a conversation about animals or going to the zoo. It could also lead into a discussion about daily routines and things the students do every day in order to get ready for school or for their day. This book was awarded with the Caldecott medal for outstanding illustrations.