The invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, B.  (2007).  The invention of Hugo Cabret.  NY:  Scholastic.

Hugo Cabret, a young boy who's father died in a mysterious fire and was forced to go live with his uncle in a train station, was a remarkable maker of things.  His uncle left one day and never returned, leaving Hugo alone, in the walls of the Paris train station.  Too scared to leave, Hugo continues doing his uncle's job, setting and fixing all of the clocks in the station, twice each day.  He studies his father's secret notebook of mechanical drawings of clocks and gears.  Hugo gets caught stealing in a toy store and the owner takes the notebook from him.  He relentlessly tries to get the notebook back, as it is more than just drawings to Hugo.  His new friend, Isabelle, has the magic key that makes Hugo's mechanical man write.  After many tribulations, Hugo is able to get the mechanical man to work again and he grows up to be a famous magician, Professor Alcofrisbas.  This fantasy story incorporated realistic characters that children can relate to and are interested in.  The plot and setting are interesting, as most of it takes place in the walls of a train station.  The drawings are original black and white sketches.  The book is composed of many pages of drawings, that tell the story without the need of words.

A big guy took my ball!

Willems, M. (2013).  A big guy took my ball!  NY:  Hyperion.

Piggie was playing with a ball, when along came a big guy and he took it.  Pig goes to his friend, Gerald, an elephant, and asks him to help.   Gerald goes to the big guy, who turns out to be a BIG WHALE, but is too scared to get the ball back.  Together, Pig and Gerald go to the whale, who is sulking because he has no one to play with.  They all become friends and start playing together.  This book is a 2014 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book.  It is a simple picture book for emergent readers.  The illustrations are in color, with a lot of white space in the background. They are hand drawn and colored illustrations.  

How they croaked

Bragg, G. (2011).  How they croaked:  The awful ends of the awfully famous.  NY:  Walker.

How they croaked, is a non-fiction book that reveals the gory details of how many famous people died, before the use of modern medicine.  For example, President James A. Garfield was shot two times, once in the arm and once in the back.  This happened before x-rays were invented, so doctors used their fingers to dig out the bullet.  They never found the bullet and he died almost three months later from an infected wound, blood poisoning, and a heart attack.  Now those are details that you never knew.  Some of the other people featured at Einstein, Pocahontas, Edgar Allen Poe, and many more.  The organization of this book is clear and concise.  The table of contents will direct you to the appropriate page if you are looking for someone specific.  The author uses her on sense of style to convey the information in a light, almost humorous way.

Rapunzel's Revenge

Hale, S. (2008).  Rapunzel's revenge.  NY:  Bloomsbury.

Mother Gothel, steals Rapunzel from her birth mother, who works in the mines outside the walls of the castle, and raises her as her own.  When Rapunzel finds out the truth, Mother Gothel takes her far out into the forest and locks her up in a tree.  Many years go by and Rapunzel's hair never stops growing.  She is able to get free from the tree by using her long hair.  She searches many villas for her birth mother and finally finds her.  Mother Gothel also finds Rapunzel and cuts her hair off.  They get into a fight and Mother Gothel gets trapped inside the growing, magic tree.  Rapunzel meets a boy named Jack and they fall in love.  This is a spin off of a tradional tale in a comic book setting.  The characters are true to how you would picture them and the setting follows the plot.  The comic book is written as dialogue and Rapunzel thinking in her head.  It is easy to follow and a humorous twist to the classic, Rapunzel.

Rules

Lord, C. (2008).  Rules.  NY:  Scholastic.

Catherine is an average twelve year old girl from Maine, who has a brother with autism.  Her life tends to revolve around her brother's need.  She feels as though she is always trying to teach him the rules of life, such as chew with your mouth closed.  As a new neighbor moves next door and Catherine meets a paraplegic boy, she discovers that maybe the rules also apply to her.  She doesn't really know what "normal" is and changes her perspective of differences among people.    This is a Newberry Award Winning realistic fiction story.  The author gives a true glimpse of what life is like for a family who has someone with a disability, how they cope and find their own sense of normalcy.  The plot is life like and readers can easily relate to this story and the theme of acceptance.  

Bridge to Terabithia

Paterson, K.  (1972).  Bridge to Terabithia.  NY:  Crown.

Jess Aarons is a ten year old boy who earns the title of "sissy" in the eyes of his father and classmates because he is an artist who loves to paint and draw.  He is adamant about proving everyone wrong.  Jess finds that he is good at running and practices everyday, with the hopes of being the fastest boy in fifth grade.  On the day of the race, a new girl, Leslie Burke, decides to race the boys and beats them all.  Jess and Leslie become best friends and together they create Terabithia, a made up kingdom.  There they cannot be harmed by the outside world and use the time to imagine, create, tell stories, and draw.  Leslie helps Jess with his insecurities and Jess leads Leslie to God, for the first time in her life.  Jess is invited to go to an art museum with his teacher and when he returns from the trip he learns that Leslie has drowned in the creek leading to Terabithia.  He is completely broken inside and doesn't know how to move on.  Finally, he decides to live in Leslie's honor and he invites his sister, May Belle, to take Leslie's place in Terabithia. The characters and plot line in this story are believable and children can relate to imagination and creative play.  Readers are kept on the seats as the plot rises.  The author's choice of words helps readers visualize the setting in an appropriate way.

The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963

Curtis, C. P. (1995).  The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963.  NY:  Delacorte.

Kenny is an average ten year old African American boy from Flint, Michigan. His parents have had enough of his older brother's naughty behavior and decides to go to Birmingham, Alabama, so that grandma can discipline him.  While there, Byron starts being nice and following the strict rules of grandma.  He actually saves Kenny from almost drowning.  Their little sister, Joey, attends church with the neighbors.  While there, a bomb goes off and the Watson's rush to the church to find Joey.  They can't find her anywhere.  It turns out, she left the church before the bomb went off because she thought she saw Kenny outside.  They all find each other and are very thankful that she is not hurt.  Kenny has a hard time dealing with the fact that he could have lost his sister and he hadn't thanked her.  The Watson family learns about racism, hatefulness and overcoming some of the darkest times in America.  The Watsons go to Birmingham is a realistic fiction story that accurately depicts Southern America in 1963.  The characters are almost life like in their actions and words.  The plot thickens when the family leaves for Birmingham and has it's climax near the end, during the bombing.  This very well could be a real American family and their story from Birmingham, Alabama.

The Underneath

Appelt, K. (2008).  The Underneath.  NY:  Simon and Schuster.

A chained up dog, Ranger, and a calico cat found themselves together, as friends and family, underneath the porch of the old tilted.  The calico cat had two kittens, Puck and Sabine, whom she warned never to go out in the open, always stay underneath.  One day they ventured out, and the mother and son were caught by Gar Face.  He threw them into the bayou, where the son, Puck, was able to escape, and eventually find his way back to his family.  Meanwhile, thousands of years before, animals could become humans, but if they ever chose their animal skin again, they would forever be the animal.  There lived a snake, Grandmother Moccasin, whose heart was scared by betrayal from many.  It tells the story of her life and being stuck in a jar, underground for thousands of years.  When lightening strikes, the tree falls, and jar busts open.  She is able to get free, and slithers out, only to find Ranger, Puck and Sabine.  She is extremely hungry after being locked up for thousands of years, but does the right things and chooses love, for the first time in her life, breaking the chains that are around Ranger's neck.  This is the story of survival, friendship, and love.  The setting in this story is deep in the Texas Piney Woods and swamps.  It is full of adventures and some magic, which keep readers interested.  The story flips back and forth between thousands of years and readers must anticipate where the plot is going.  The overall theme of "you pay a price for everything" and "love" is something that readers have connections to in their own lives.

The Graveyard Book

Gaiman, N. (2008).  The graveyard book.  NY:  HarperCollins.

Jack enters a family's home and kills everyone but the baby.  He escapes to a graveyard where he is raised by ghosts and cannot leave.  He is adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, ghosts living in the graveyard, and they name him Nobody Owens.  Bod, has many adventures growing up in the graveyard, such as meeting ghouls and witches.  He longs to find his family's killer, and asks to go to regular school.  Bod finds the killer, who tries to kill him, but he was able to escape.  At the end of the story, Silas, Bod's guardian, gives him money and a passport so that he may leave the graveyard and live his life.  A Newberry Medal book, written in a simplistic, magical, terrifying, yet intriguing way.  A true fantasy, including ghouls, witches, magic and more.  Young readers are able to follow the plot sequence.  The few hand drawn illustrations provide readers with a visual of some characters and scenes from the story.

Hitler Youth

Bartoletti, S. (2005).  Hitler Youth.  NY:  Scholastic.

This non-fiction book is not written to tell about Hitler, but rather the thousands, upon thousands, of youth that followed him.  It features stories from former Hitler Youth members and others who resisted the Nazis.  The plot begins at the beginning of the movement and makes its way to the end.  Along the way, these young people are shaped and brainwashed to serve Hitler at all costs, including mass murder.  The author uses photographs, from that time period, with extensive captions telling the truths about this time period.  The use of voice can be heard from people who lived and endured all of the pain. The beginning of the book gives you a glimpse into the lives of the featured youth and the end tells you what became of the youth in the book.  The photographs are powerful in the fact that they put faces to names of people who lived through this horrific war on life.

Skulduggery Pleasant

Landry, D.  (2007).  Skuldruggery Pleasant.  NY:  HarperCollins.

Stephanie's uncle, a world famous author dies and leaves his wealth to her.  As she is looking around the house that was left to her, a storm comes and floods her in.  She spends the night at the house.  During the night, a guy comes to the house to get a key from her, which Stephanie knows nothing about.  Skulduggery, a living skeleton, comes to her rescue and leads her into a hidden, magical world that she did not know existed.  While in this world, she changes her name to Valkyrie Cain and is able to find her uncle's killer.  Skulduggery and Valkyrie save the world from Serpine, as he tries to take the world over.  The main character is believable in this fantasy.  Children can relate to her and this magical world.  The plot keeps readers on their toes and eager to read more.  

Out of my mind

Draper, S. (2010).  Out of my mind.  NY:  Atheneum.

Melody Brooks, a bright ten year old girl, has cerebral palsy and is unable to talk or walk.  She is only able to move her thumbs.  She is constantly trying to find her place in the world, where people won't be scared of her.  Eventually, she gets computer machine that is able to talk for her and is able to be in an inclusion class with the help of an aide.  This machine changes her life and other children start respecting her as a person.  The characters and plot of this story is believable and readers are able to follow the story line as if they were there.  The theme of the story is finding one's role within a group of people and is something that readers can relate to, as all children have been in a situation with a disabled child.

It's not my hat

Klassen, J. (2012). This is not my hat.  Boston, MA:  Candlewick Press.

A small fish has stolen a hat from a large fish.  He thinks he can get away with it by swimming into the big tall plants.  The big fish wakes up, searches, and gets his hat back, with little fish no where in site!  Maybe he learned his lesson not to steal.  This Caldecott Medal winning book is full of large illustrations in dark tones, to represent depth in the ocean floor.

It's so Amazing!

Harris, R.  (1999).  It's so amazing.  Boston, MA:  Candlewick Press.

This is a book full of answers!  Written specifically for young readers, it tells the cycle of life in a kid-friendly, comical way.  It's so amazing gives the scientific answers that children want and need to know about how their bodies work.  It further goes into adoption, how to identify sexual abuse, and HIV and AIDS.  A comprehensive guide to human life!  The illustrations are accurate and informative, using diagrams and labels, yet fun and interesting.  The premise is based on a bird and a bee learning about the body.  The comic-book style keeps readers interested and wanting to know more!

Magic Windows

Garza, C. L.  (1999).  Magic windows.  San Francisco, CA:  Children's Book Press.

Cut-paper art is a craft that has been around for thousands of years in Mexico.  The author and illustrator use her cut-paper pieces to tell the story of her life, heritage and Aztec culture, thus, giving you magic windows into the Aztec world.  The story is written in English and Spanish on each page, describing the art and what it represents to her.  The cut-outs are truly amazing, as all that is used is a crafting knife.  This represents true talent in order to tell a story with just a knife and paper.  Each cut-out is very precise and detailed down to facial expressions and sewn lines on clothes.

Martina the beautiful cockraoch

Deedy, C. A.  (2007).  Martina the beautiful cockroach.  Atlanta, GA:  Peachtree

A Cuban folktale featuring a beautiful cockroach who has set out to find someone to marry.  Her grandmother shares some Cuban advice to use when searching for a husband.  Martina listens to her grandmother and is unsuccessful finding the right man.  She realizes, that right under her own eyes, is a perfect husband, a mouse.  The mouse, Perez, ends up using the same Cuban advice from his own grandmother to see if Martina will be a good wife.  This picture book is easy to read and follow as the plot thickens when Martina is having no luck finding a husband.  The illustrations have vibrant colors that add a depth and texture to the pictures that make them more realistic.  The author uses some Spanish when the elders are talking to Martina.

It's a Book

Smith, L.  (2011).  It's a book.  NY:  Roaring Book.

Monkey is reading a book and jackass is stuck in the digital age.  He does not understand what a book is or what monkey is doing with it, since books don't "do" anything.  The plot changes when jackass decides to read the book and enjoys himself.  Not to worry, he will charge the book when he is done reading it.  This is a lighthearted comedy in a picture book, depicting the digital age.  The characters are talking animals that are living in a house.  The plot is simple and easy to follow.  It allows readers to get a good chuckle when reading.  Young readers may not understand the concept because they too, tend to be stuck in the digital age.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Schlitz, L. A. (2007).  Good masters, sweet ladies.  Boston, MA:  Candlewick Press.  

Set in a Medieval Manor in England in 1255, Good masters! Sweet Ladies! depicts the history of a medieval village.  It is written as 20 monologue plays and 2 dialogue.  Each play consists of a character ranging from a beggar to a knight's son.  Each character has their own problems, solutions, and struggles that the overcome.  It explains how they each fit in to this time period in England.  This book has won the Newberry Honor for distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The illustrations are hand drawn using ink and pencil.  They accurately depict the medieval time period using the characters clothes, setting, and work.      

Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta

Krocoszka, J.  (2009).  Lunch lady and the author visit vendetta.  NY:  Random House.

It's another lunch lady mystery that needs to be solved.  A famous author comes to school for a visit.  As he leaves, the kids and the lunch lady are very suspicious about his behaviors.  Also, the gym teacher, Coach Birkby, seems to be missing.  The lunch lady goes to the author's house, where she realizes that he has kidnapped many gym teachers because he was no good at gym class when he was younger.  The children of the school end up saving all of the gym teachers and the lunch lady with a game of dodge ball.  This graphic novel's plot does rise and falls right at the end.  It captures the readers attention with the bright yellows, black and white pictures.  The illustrations are hand drawn to depict the story line and characters feelings.  The bunnies that come to life and fight are an added aspect to get young readers attention and keep the plot moving at a fairly quick pace.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

Kinney, J.  (2007).  Diary of a wimpy kid:  Cabin Fever.  NY:  Amulet Books.

Gregg Heffley is a busy kid!  Christmas is right around the corner and he is very concerned about behaving so Santa's Scout will not tattle on him.  He ends up getting into some mischief at school and is paranoid that the police are coming after him.  As a snowstorm comes to town, Gregg and his family are trapped inside their house, attempting to find something to do.  The basement ends up flooding because of all the snow and their belongings get ruined.  The storm also causes some troubles for Santa and his delivery.  In the end, they find plenty to do while being stuck inside, Santa is able to bring presents and Gregg is commended for doing a good deed.  Kids of all ages can relate to Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever.  It may not be snow that kept them inside, but every kid has been stuck inside for one reason or another.  This realistic fiction/graphic novel also uses humor to capture the readers attention.   The characters use language that children understand and can relate too.  The plot continues to build as the story grows and then settles into a happy ending for everyone.  The illustrations are hand drawn using mostly straight lines and not much dimension.

Dear Mr. Henshaw

Cleary, B.  (1983).  Dear Mr. Henshaw.  NY:  Morrow.

Leigh Botts, a young boy in second grade, was fascinated by books written by Mr. Henshaw, a famous author.  As Leigh grew older, he continued to write letters to Mr. Henshaw about anything and everything that was bothering him.  Mr. Henshaw responded sometimes to Leigh's letters.  He gave Leigh an idea of using a diary to write in daily.  Leigh took to that idea and wrote about all his troubles, including his divorced parents, absent father, being lonely in a new school and the mystery lunch bag thief.  The diary seemed to help Leigh sort through his emotions and become a writer, which is what he aspired to be.  The main character in this story has all the problems of a typical young boy.  Readers can easily relate to all the situations, from divorce to being lonely.  By the end, Leigh has grown and matured into a young man who is able to sift through his emotions.   The plot is true to life and keeps readers engaged, as this could easily be the story of their own life.  

Holm, J & M.  (2007).  Camp Babymouse.  NY:  Random House.

More adventures from your favorite mouse, Babymouse!  This time she is going away to camp for two weeks.  She can't quite seem to fit in with the other campers and keeps getting demerits for her cabin.  Finally, she decides to become a team player and finds something that she does well.  Her cabin mates learn to trust her at the end and allow her to lead the last competition.  To her surprise, even winning the last competition wasn't enough to make up for all of the losses, typical day for Babymouse.  This is not your traditional graphic novel.  The illustrator uses three colors, pink, black and white.  Not only do they use speech bubbles for characters talking, but squares when Babymouse is thinking inside her own head.   Illustrations are hand drawn and show the emotions of the characters.  When the main character is given a compliment, her chest is high and proud.  When she is sad, she is sulking and walking with her head down.  It is easy to identify the characters feelings through the pictures.

We are the ship

Nelson, K. (2008).  We are the ship.  NY:  Hypercion.

Before the Negro League, there was no official professional league for colored men to play baseball.  They attempted to organize a league, but fell short, due to money and leadership.  A leader was found in Rube Foster.  He possessed the knowledge, money and leadership skills to properly organize and maintain Negro League Baseball.  Still, negro baseball players were treated and payed differently, depending on the team and manager.  Therefore, the players moved around from team to team frequently.  The Negro League was home to many famous baseball players, before the major leagues allowed them to play.  As years went on, Jackie Robinson crossed over to play in the major league, a decision that would change the future of all men and the United States.  We are the ship is the recipient of the Coretta Scott King award.  Kadir Nelson paints magnificent pictures, that portray the time period perfectly.  The paintings and story line accurately portray the lives of so many African American people and the struggles they endured to move into integration.

Balloons over Broadway

Sweet, M.  (2011).  Balloons over Broadway:  The true story of the puppeteer of Macy's parade.  NY:  Houghton.

Tony Sarg was an inventor from early on in his younger years.  He began by making puppets when he was just six years old.  As he grew up and moved to New York City, he became a famous puppet maker.  Macy's asked him to create puppets for their holiday windows.  They loved his work so much that Macy's asked him to create a parade for immigrants to remind them of their homelands.  After trying several ideas, such as live zoo animals and rubber puppets, Tony found the right material, rubberized silk.  The parade was a success and still continues as a tradition on Thanksgiving Day.  This Bluebonnet book is composed of several art techniques.  There are hand drawn illustrations and characters, clippings from magazines and paper, and real photos of toys and objects.  All of these types of media is what keeps readers attention to the details in the pictures.  Some of Tony's original blueprints are included in the book.

Where the Wild Things Are

Sendak, M.  (1963).  Where the wild things are.  NY:  HarperCollins.

Max, a mischievous little boy, loves to dress up in his wolf suit.  He upset his mother, who sent him to his room with no supper.  Max feel fast asleep and dreamed of Wild Things, which he became the king of.  After a wild rumpus, Max sailed back, far across the land, where he awoke, to find his hot supper waiting for him in his room.  As a winner of the Caldecott Honor, you can expect that this book has wonderful illustrations.  They are hand drawn and sketched with dark colors and lines.  The words are printed in black with a white background, not to take away from the illustrations.  The pictures help readers visualize exactly what Max was imagining while he was sleeping.

The Three Pigs

Wiesner, D. (2001).  The three pigs.  NY:  Clarion.

This is a traditional tale of The Three Little Pigs with a twist.  As the wolf tries to blow the houses down, he ends up blowing the pigs right out of the pages of the story.  After all the pigs are safely on the outside, they use the pages from the story to make an airplane and soar through several pages in the book.  Eventually they crash, run into a meadow of nursery rhymes, and save a dragon.  At the end, they went back into the story, where they lived happily ever after.  This is a Caldecott Award Winning Book for the illustrations.  They perfectly depict what is happening in the story and the pigs look very life-like as they are blown out of the pages.  Speech bubbles are used for the talking pigs while they are out in the imaginary land. At one point in the story when they encounter the dragon, it is only on black and white sketches.  As they pull the dragon out of the story, he becomes alive with use of color.

Mirror, Mirror

Singer, L. (2010). Mirror, Mirror.  NY:  Dutton.

An extraordinary book of poems, featuring your favorite fairy tales.  Singer uses reverso, where you can read a poem down for one side of the story, and read it up (with only changes to punctuation and capitalization) for a different side of the story.  The illustrations feature bright and warm colors that match the theme of the poem.  In order to tell both sides of the story, the author and illustrator divide each page of the book in half, giving readers a visual for both sides.

Rosa

Giovanni, N. (2005).  Rosa.  NY:  Holt.

Rosa Parks is a woman of strength for the people of the United States.  In this story of her heroic efforts to stand up for equal rights for all people, the author takes you behind the scenes of how others gathered in support of Rosa Parks.  After almost a year in jail, she was released and the laws were changed.  This book is a Caldecott Honor Book and has beautiful illustrations.  The illustrations are a combination of drawings and clippings from other types of media sources, such as scrapbook paper.  The setting and characters are layered on the page, creating a 3D visual effect.

The Legend of the Bluebonnet

DePaola, T. (1983).  The Legend of the Bluebonnet. New York:  G.P. Putnam's Sons.

In this old Texas legend, a Comanche tribe is suffering through famine and drought.  The Great Spirits told the tribe to sacrifice their most valued possession and the main character, She-Who-Is-Alone, offered her warrior doll.  After offering it to the fire, she scatters the ashes of her warrior doll across the land. When she woke up she found a special gift from the Great Spirits, that represented forgiveness.  The illustrations in The Legend of the Bluebonnet offer simple lines that perfectly depict the story.  There is enough white space on each page so children are not overwhelmed by background fluff.  The characters and setting reflect a true picture for this time period, using their clothes and homes.

Frogs

Bishop, N. (2008). Frogs. New York: Scholastic.

Frogs features many different kinds of frogs, ranging from tree frogs to African bullfrogs. The beginning of the book focuses on basic frog facts and moves into specific types of frogs found around the world.  The images in this non-fiction book are spectacular, giving readers an up close and personal experience with the frogs in their natural habitats.  The information is accurate and from a reliable author.  This book is attractive and an easy read for young readers.  It does include an index and glossary, but does not include a table of contents.