The Pet Dragon by: Christoph Niemann

It seems hard to find good books that are diverse without being stereiotypical or cheesey. I think that it is important to incorporate true culture in ways that go beyond just giving skin color to an imaginary character. For children especially, it is important to celebrate different cultures instead of avoiding it and staying mainstream with phrases like, "Holiday Break." Books that help to explain culture for children are a fantasitc way of celebrating that difference instead of shunning it.
The Pet Dragon does just this by celebrating Chinese culture in a multitude of creative ways. The most striking thing about the book is the Chinese characters that are on every single page of the book. They describe what is going on alongside the english text of the book and are placed in a way that actually look like the chinese character (for example the symbol for river is placed along the river in the picture). There are many historical aspects of China that are included such as the Great wall and traditional Chinese attire. I also enjoyed the celebration of the Chinese dragon in a way that children could relate to (having a dragon for a pet!). Celebrate Chinese culture with kids ages 4-8!

Crocodiles are the Best Animals of all! by: Sean Taylor

Being the best! (so important to many children) Mister Croc reigns supreme in this book, telling all of the animals about how wonderful he is and how he can do their own special talents better than they can. Set up in a poem style with 2-3 lines a page, this book has funny inside jokes that adults may only understand (a play on Wellington Boots). It is a fun read aloud because of the silly words that are used and the bright colors in the illustrations. Each pages is full of Rainforest landscape and background paper that has hints of what may lay beyond the scene on that specific page. The pictures have vibrant animals and plants that contrast the dark text. I would recommend this book to kids ages 3-8yrs.

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! by: Lee Harper

SNOW! The perfect day for sledding (or reading this simple, but charming book). SNOW SNOW SNOW is great for younger children who are just learning to read on their own. With beautiful pictures of white snow and winter, the reader gets caught up in the story quite easily. The best aspect of this book is what the author does with the text. As the characters go down the hill, so does the text. This happens throughout the story along with increase in size of the text to explain something exciting. Because the text is a very simple black font, these small enhancements have a great effect on the way that the story is understood and the importance of this very special snow day. Ages 3-8yrs

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - A Graphic Novel by: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Being unfamiliar with Graphic Novels, this book turned out to be much more interesting than I had first anticipated. The pace of the book is quick and the beautiful pictures help to explain what is going on. Without the pictures, so much would be left out of this book and graphic novels in general (hence the name, Graphic Novels). What I enjoyed more than anything was the humor in this book, which is enhanced and understood more thoroughly through the pictures. Taking place at the turn of the 19th century, the pictures are in black and white, but are incredibly detailed. They are funny to look at and will be sure to pull a laugh out of anyone reading this book. The story of Benjamin Button is about a boy who lives his life from this oldest age to when he was born. It is an interesting concept and would be great to use in class for a teacher who is not too sure about using graphic novels. It would be a great way to have students understand stories beyond what is written on the page and to dig deeper into the pictures that tell the story. I would highly recommend this book for 4th grade and older.

The Giver by: Lois Lowry

Imagine a world that is perfect. Mistakes are instantly corrected and everyone has a role to play in a community that thrives on being alike in nearly every way. The Giver, by Lois Lowry creates this world and gives insight to what life would be like if choices were non-existant. Lowry does an amazing job of captivating the reader. As you turn each page, you become trapped in "The Community" and you want to follow the rules just as all of the memebers do. What is so haunting about the book is the fact that the reader becomes caught up in the functions of the community and the journey that the main character Jonas (12yrs old) makes as the next Reciever (a role chosen for him by the community). The reader feels Jonas's physical pain as he trains to take over this highly regarded role in the community. Jonas is the reciever of all of the memories of the world. Jonas is able to see color, something no one else in the community can do and experience things that no one else would understand. As he lears from the previous Reciever he discovers this ability more. The Giver has short, concise chapters that are perfect for upper elementary students. There are new words that help create and understand Lowry's community and will keep children interested in the story. I cannot rave enough about the insight that The Giver gives to children about what life would be like if freedom of choice was not an option. It is an amazing book that I read as a 6th grader and still enjoy today.

Ages:5th-6th Grade

Twilight

Age :6th Grade and older
If you have only seen the Twilight movies, you have not done the story justice. It is essential to read Twilight and enjoy the story from the original perspective that Stephanie Meyer created. This romantic love story is much different from a classic fairytale and has dark and enticing text that will capture the reader into the world of vampires. The love that the main character, Bella expresses for Edward, a vampire is forbidden in more ways than one. As she falls for him, the reader will find herself/himself captivated in their relationship. The twisting plot line is almost as intense as the feelings that Bella and Edward have for each other. I would highly recommend this book to older readers because there are a few scenes that include intense romance and kissing that may be inappropriate for younger readers.

I, Trixie who is dog

I, Trixie who is dog

by: Dean Koontz

Illustrated by: Janet Cleland

Ages:3-8

There are plenty of reasons to envy a dog, or so Trixie thinks! What would it be like to live a dog's life? I, Trixie who is dog explains all of the perks through exciting free verse text that sits, at times like a poem. It sounds like a Dr. Seuss poem at times with twisted text and subtle rhymes. The book flows quickly and keeps the reader's attention. The generous amounts of text fill the pages and sit in paragraph form. The rhymes are funny and the author uses typical things that dogs do to explain how wonderful it is to be a dog. The illustrations are not an essential part of the story, but they take the free verse to the next level with colorful watercolor pictures. On some pages, the picture is the page, while others have medium sized images and include more than one scene. There are a lot of physical signs in the illustrations that include text which would be helpful to children if they cannot read on their own. This would allow for them to recognize what is being discussed in the poem because the images support the text almost word for word (or word for image). I, Trixie who is dog would be great to read to Kindergartners and 1st graders.

Two of a Kind

Two of a Kind

by: Jacqui Robbins and Matt Phelan
Ages: 4-7

Kind of in a bind...
While Two of a Kind attempts to allow readers to embrace who they are, even if others don't like what they see, it ultimately fails. The book reinforces stereotypes by drawing "the geeky girls," and "the snobby girls." The text is not very exciting to read and becomes boring and drags along as a set of unpopular girls are made fun of by popular girls. The illustrations are lacking just as much. They are bland and use very soft colors and repeats nearly the same picture on each page. There is a science experiment that is explained in the middle of the book, but has nothing to do with what is happening between the two groups of girls. At many points in the paragraphed text, I felt that the reader is lost and simply trudging along, trying to finish each page. The characters are diverse throughout the book, but the popular girl is white and the unpopular girl is Asian and wears glasses, which I also found slightly stereotypical as well. Although it would not be my first choice for a book to pick up, this book is targeted at early elementary girls (1st and 2nd grade).

Woof A Love Story

Woof A Love Story
By: Sarah Weeks
Illustrated by: Holly Berry

Ages 4-8

An unusual pair, a dog and a cat learn to express their love for each other through music, using a trombone (much different from a "bone" bone!). Woof A Love Story is a poem and Rhymes throughout the pages as the cat and dog learn to understand the different languages that they "speak." Although the rhymes are simple, this would be a fun book for kids to use if they are just learning about poetry or if they are beginning to write their own poetry. The text is mostly in paragraph format and the "quotes" from the animals are often high lighted in word bubbles. The illustrations are very different from traditional pictures because each individual image looks like a cut out picture and they are layered on top of each other. The colors are used to describe feelings that the dog and cat have. and the pages are very visually stimulating with lots of small pictures and objects to look at on each page. Woof is a great wuv <3>

Star of the Week

Star of the Week
by: Darlene Friedman
Ages: 5-9



This week's "Star of the Week," Cassidy Li! She is a kindergartner and is excited to explain to her class where she is from - China. This book is just one of many stories of where children are from. For Cassidy, she is adopted and it is her turn to be star of the week. She puts together a poster of the people in her life that are important to her. The book is set up in a "scrapbook style" with photographs scattered on the pages and labels underneath that explain who is in each of the pictures. This story is a great way to help children understand how different people come from different backgrounds. There are many ways to explain and teach diversity and this book would be a helpful aid and might be good to do before beginning something like, "Star of the Week" in your own classroom.

Subway Ride

Subway Ride
by: Heather Lynn Miller
Ages: 4-8

Pay your fare and hop on to the Subway Ride! Subway Ride is a good way to introduce different types of transportation that may be unfamiliar to students. This book would be especially great for students who live in the suburbs and are not familiar with city transportation. The pages take a reader through the different subway systems that exist throughout the world, from Africa to Moscow, and back to Chicago! There are also great motion words in the book such as slide, step, whiz, bump, zip and sway. This could help children learn about the types of movement that they make during their day. The illustrations are watercolored and include children from all types of backrounds. The back of the book includes paragraphs of information about the different subway systems that exist throughout the world which would be good further reading for more advanced students.