Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

By: Judith Viorst
Illustrated by Ray Cruz

A true classic in many home and classroom libraries all over, reading this book as an adult made me remeber why. Besides the way that absolutely everything goes wrong for Alexander during his Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, the way that the author finds such funny things to include captures the way in real life these sort of days happen to all of us. It is important for children to understand that although they may think that the end of the world is coming when they happen to have a bad day, in reality everyone has bad days. The black and white pictures are my favorite part of the book. I think it reinforces how awful Alexander's day is because of the lack of vibrance it has. And you know as the reader that when you flip the page, it will be black and white and more terrible things will happen to Alexander. Still a classic, still a favorite. Reread it and love it as much as I do.

Ages: K- 4th grade

Big Cat Pepper

By: Elizabeth Partidge
Illustrated by: Lauren Castillo
Ages : Pre-K - 2nd grade


Although you may not be able to tell from the adorable chalk-like, colorful cover of the book, Big Cat Pepper is very much about loss. After the death of a beloved Cat, a young boy explains his feelings of loss and hurt from losing his favorite pet and best friend. It is an interesting example of how children deal with death and what it is like to feel sad and upset about losing a friend. I feel that many children and adults would be able to relate to the themes that this book brings up. How do we deal with the death of a pet? How do children understand death? The story tells of the memorial that is made for Pepper and how he is buried in the backyard. Even though not all families do this with their pets, this is just one example of how a family dealt with the feelings that come along with loss.

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

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.