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Title:Cowboy Slim

Author: Julie Danneberg

Illustrator: Margot Apple

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing ( February 2010)

Reading Level: 4-8

Theme: Read-aloud, adventure , poetry

There are boys and girls who dream of becoming Cowboys or Cowgirls, wear the hat, the outfit, the boots, ride the horse and talk the talk, like "howdy y'all". Sounds like fun! And this book will appeal to anyone who loves cowboys!

Slim has always dreamed about becoming a cowboy and his dream comes true, but a cowboy ins't a real cowboy if he writes poetry; well at least that's what all the Cowboys tell him. Julie Danneberg discuss an interesting topic through Slim; be accepted for who you are and what you like. Writing poetry at least for Slim case doesn't mean your weak or not a real cowboy, and she emphasis on this on the end; when Slim's poetry saves the day. 

I love the illustrations and the dialogue is very Western-y, making it fun to read-aloud.

Happy reading!

Title: Toot & Puddle: You are my sunshine

Author and Illustrator: Holly Hobbie

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for young readers ( September 1999)

Reading Level: 4-8

Theme: friendship, life, experiences, emotions

Toot & Puddle is a series that has just been introduced to me and I must say--I love it!. Toot and Puddle are very close friends, oh and not to forget dear Tulip on this one story. A great series about friendship! The dialogue is perfect and all emotions are noticeable. 

Toot & Puddle: You are my sunshine, tells the story about how everyone, no matter how happy they might always be, tend to mope. Moping is normal, not the healthiest thing to do, but is just a part of who you are. Puddle and Tulip try to find ways to help Toot stop mopping around. The illustrations are beautiful and I suggest Toot & Puddle to anyone interested in a new series.

Happy reading!

Synopsis:

It's a glorious day in Woodcock Pocket. The sun is shining, the birds are singing . . . and Toot is moping. So, Puddle makes Toot's favorite dessert at dinnertime, takes him out for a little adventure, and even throws a party, but nothing seems to cheer up his friend. Then a big thunderstorm with lots of mud rocks Woodcock Pocket and changes everything. With light-hearted humor and exquisitely detailed watercolor paintings, Holly Hobbie tells the story of two pigs and their enduring friendship.

Title: the Honest-to-Goodness Truth 

Author: Patricia C. McKissack

Illustrator: Giselle  Potter

Hardcover: 40 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (December 2002)

Reading Level: 4-8

Theme: experiences, informative, school, subject matter

Telling the truth isn't always easy; especially for children. They either lie or tell the whole truth and well... it can be embarrassing. Patricia C. McKissack has created a great way of teaching children that telling the truth is the right thing to do, but there is a way to do it. She tells this through Libby. Libby is a little girl who learns that there are ways to tell the truth without hurting someone. Yes, sure, this isn't always easy, but telling the truth is better than lying anyways. 

Happy reading!

Synopsis

When Libby gets in trouble for lying to her mother, she resolves to start telling only the truth. She begins by letting everyone know that her best friend, Ruthie Mae, has a hole in her sock. Then she tells the teacher that Willie hasn't done his homework. Now it seems like everyone's mad at her, and Libby can't figure out what she's done wrong. Children will sympathize with Libby as she struggles to figure out that while telling a lie is always wrong, there's a right and a wrong way to tell the truth. Giselle Potter's expressive illustrations perfectly capture this warm, insightful story by acclaimed author Patricia C. McKissack.

Title: Gecko's Complaint: A Balinese Folktale

Retold by: Ann Martin Bowler

Illustrated by: I. Gusti Made Sukanada

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Periplus Edition (HK) Ltd (May 2003)

Reading Level: 4-8

Theme: Folktale

First of, you might be thinking 'Where is Balines?" or "Oh, wow, I didn't know Balinese existed" Well you're not alone. This is the first time I stumble upon it too so don't worry :). Well I then Google the word and found out that Bali is an Indonesia Island.

Gecko's Compliant is about a Gecko who couldn't sleep at night, until one day, when he couldn't take it anymore, headed to the top of the hill to complaint to Raden, the Jungle Chief whom was also affected by Gecko's complaint. As the chief, he took the proper course of action and tried to solve all the problems that were leading to Gecko's; until he arrived at cloud, that's when he finally realized that complaints are really meaningless when there are more important things in life.

In a way, this story is very similar to situations in our every day life; when the only way to solve one issue is to solve the ones before it. But the ending is what I thought made the biggest impact of all, "Quit your complaining! Go home and live in peace with one another!"

I don't know about you, but that makes sense to me. :)

Enjoy 

Title: My Busy Day

Author: Jill Davis

Illustrator: Jill Kastner

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Penguin Group ( September 2004)

Reading Level: 4-8

Theme: read-aloud, experiences, life, rhyme

Even children have busy days and this colorful book talks about it through rhyme. The story is from a little girls perspective as  she shares with us her busy schedule. From getting up in the morning to finally getting home after a very long day at school and heading to bed. 

As adults we are all aware of our busy schedules and children are aware of it too; yet at times, they and we, don't realize that they too have a very busy schedule indeed. Maybe, just maybe, after they read this book they might change their minds.

Now I must say, the illustrations blew me away! The style is just beautiful. The pictures look as if they were done with crayons and I actually passed my finger on one of the pictures, to well, just check. They are incredible and worth looking at!

Enjoy!

Title: The Endless String: poems for children(and the people who read them)

Author(s): Tom and Tess Hannah

Illustrator: Tess Hannah

Paperback: 60 pages

Publisher: Outskirts Press (November 2007)

Reading Level: 4-8

Theme: Poetry 

I was lucky to stumble upon Tom Hannah on Jacketflap, one of the first to welcome me into this community, and was kind enough to share a few poems from the book him and his wife created together. No, he didn't ask me to promote the book. In fact I felt in love with their poems that I actually asked him for permission to post one of the ones they shared with me. 

What I like about the poems is that not only is it for a young audience(and everyone else that is in love with children poetry), but it reminded me of the many crazy thoughts, adventures, and even ideas I had at such a young age. 

So here it is, the poem that really stand out to me the most.

Enjoy!

WHAT’S IN YOUR CLOSET?

On Monday Mom said, “Let’s clean out your closet.”

I opened the door, stuff flowed like a faucet.

My toys and my treasures and seven footballs,

debris tumbled out like Niagara Falls.

My mom took a look and said, “That’s enough!”

But I argued loudly, “This is all great stuff!

Look at this hippo – he’s barely been used;

Title: Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale

Retold and Illustrated by: Lisa Campbell Ernst

Paperback: 40 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (January 2005)

Reading Level: 4-8

Theme: Folklore, Fairy-Tale, humor

Little Red Riding Hood on a bike? Say what?!

Yes, we all have heard of Little Red Riding hood, the wolf, the grandmother, and the wolf eating the grandmother. Well, that's usually how it goes, right?

Not on this, Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale, were Red lives in the prairie, grandma is a farmer, and the wolf works for grandma in the end. Yeah, I know... it cracked me up too! A twist to an old tale worth adding to your children folklore collection.

Oh, wait! Did I mention that the hero heroine is grandma? Yeah, you need to check this one out if your fan of Little Red Riding Hood. :)

Enjoy! 

Excerpt:

 Title:  Where does the trail lead?

Author: Burton Albert

Illustrator: Brian Pinkey

Hardcover: 40 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (January 2008)

Reading Level: 4-8

Theme: Read-aloud, adventure, summer

What caught my eyes right away were the scratchboard illustrations. They send a different feeling to reader as the story progresses. I haven't stumble on many books that have this style of illustrations, which is unfortunate, but at the same time, I don't know if this format goes with a lot of them. 

The story takes place in summer and it's about a boy who goes on an adventure to find out where the trial leads too; of course in the end, the trial leads to his family.

As I was reading this book, I was able to remember what summer represents to many children and adults. A time to relax and enjoy yourself. A time to go and have fun at the beach with your family and friends. But most of all, as you read this book, a sense of tranquility presents itself.

A great book for all ages.

Enjoy!

Excerpt:

Aliens are coming!: The true account of the 1938 war of the worlds radio broadcast, is a very peculiar book, in a very good way. What made me choose this book was not only the greenish cover(look at it! Isn't it cute! lol), but the fact that it talks about an incident that happened in 1938.

As I read this book, I couldn't helped but chuckled.

The incident? Well Orson Wells created a play, based on a novel The War of the Worlds, regarding an invasion from Mars. Of course people went hysterical when they heard it and it caused chaos all around them. No, the broadcasters didn't do this out of malice, but as a prank. 

In today's society, not many children are aware that at one point in time, radio was the only source for information and entertainment. This book talks about the important role radio had in the 1930s and the amusing incident that happened a day before Halloween.  

Another fun fact about this book is that at the very back, the author gives a brief history of the events that took place right after. Very informative :)

Excerpt: