Look Out, Lion Cub!

Author: Michele Coxon
Illustrator: Michele Coxon
Publisher: Star Bright Books
Copyright Date: 1997
Number of Pages: 14
Reading Level: Ages 4-8




Summary
The little lion club is bored so he leaves his family. He tries to climb a tree but he can't climb as well as a monkey. Then he tries to reach the top of a tree like a giraffe. He then falls into the river and can't swim as well as a crocodile but an elephant comes and pulls him out of the water. In the end the little cub is frightened and calls for his mom and dad. The mother lion hears the lion cub and carries him back safely and the little cub falls asleep and dreams of climbing high into the red African sky.

Personal Response
I thought that this book was absolutely adorable. This is a great fun book because it has flaps in the book that help make the story fun and exciting. It helps the child participate in the book. I love how some of the words to the story were underneath the flaps it provides a little bit of excitement as the child tries to guess what could be underneath the flap. The illustrations were wonderful and the warm color choice made the story inviting and interesting.

Potential Problems
I couldn't find any potential problems of this story.

Recommended to...
I would recommend reading this to children that like running off on their own. It may encourage them to stay with their parent where they will be safest.

And My Mean Old Mother Will Be Sorry, Blackboard Bear

Author: Martha Alexander
Illustrated  By: Martha Alexander
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Copyright Date: 2000
Number of Pages: 30
Reading Level: Ages 4-6



Summary
In this book a little boy is upset because he keep getting in trouble with his mother. He complains that she yells at him all the time. Suddenly a Bear comes out of the blackboard and says he could run away with him. So they set out together. The boy eats as much as he wants saying that mom never let him eat that much because she claimed that he would get sick. He gets sick. They continue on and the boy wants a hamburger but the bear only has fish that were still wiggling. When it gets dark the bear takes the boy to a cave for the night. While there the boy wishes that he could have his pillow and blanket. He starts missing his mother and wonders if she is lonely. He says that she is mostly a good mom. He really wants to go home. The bear gives him a ride back hme and the boy finds his Teddy underneath the window. In the end the little boy climbs back into his room clinging to his Teddy Bear.

Personal Response
I absolutely loved this book. The illustrations are absolutely wonderful. I love how it shows the Blackboard Bear coming out of the Blackboard. This book addresses children's very real feeling that parents can be really mean. However, this story turns it around back at the child, and says in response, parents can be really nice to. It shows how parents are mostly nice even if you get in trouble sometimes.

Potential Problems
At the very end instead of the mother telling the child how much she loves him it ends with the boy telling his teddy bear that he loves him. The mother doesn't actually show her son how much she cares about him.

Recommended to...
I would recommend this book to young children who get in trouble. This would be a good book for children to realize that parents don't tell their children not to do things because they're mean, it's because they know whats best for them.

Hush

Author: Minfong Ho
Illustrated By: Holly Meade
Publisher: Orchard Books
Copyright Date: 1996
Number of Pages: 32
Reading Level: Ages 4-8





Summary
After the mother put her baby to sleep the hushes the entire forest starting with the mosquito. In the end everything is finally quiet and the mother falls asleep. The baby is laying awake in his bed.

Personal Response
I thought that this book was very entertaining. It is really funny that after the mother goes out of her way to hush the entire forest her little baby wakes up all smiley when everything is quiet and the mother is asleep.

Potential Problems
I couldn't find any potential problems in this story.

Recommended to...
This would be a great book to read to any child as a bedtime story. I would not recommend reading it to a classroom except perhaps before a nap time or quiet time.

The Trouble With Twins

Author: Bonnie Worth
Illustrated By: Tom Leigh
Publisher: Jim Henson Productions
Copyright Date: 1993
Number of Pages: 26
Reading Level: Ages 7-12





Summary
This story is about two twins named Skeeter and Skooter. Skeeter was really good at using her new yoyo and skooter was very jealous because of all the attention that Skeeter was getting. It made him remember when they had gotten pogo sticks and Skeeter had been so good at it. It also reminded him of when they got beanbags for juggling and Skeeter was really good at it but Skooter couldn't do it right. Then the teacher announed the science fair. Skooter was really excited about it. He decided that he would make a model rocket. Skeeter first decided to make a model of the solar system but she made it out of oranges and lemons and they went bad before the science fair. So she decided to make a model of a robin but it didn't work. Then she decided to pick flowers and label them in a book but the flowers fell apart. Finally, Skooter helped skeeter realize that she could use her yoyo for the science project by explaining gravity and motion. In the end Skooter won the grand prize and Skeet won the certificate for the most practical project.

Personal Response
I thought this book was wonderful. It confronts the very real feeling of jealousy. It shows how the one twin overcomes his jealousy by doing something that he is good at and then helping the person he was jealous of. It would be a great book for a child that can relate to that feeling, and that is pretty much every child.

Potential Problems
I couldn't find any potential problems in this story.

Recommended to...
I would recommend this to children that are learning how to deal with other people. This would be good for children that are becoming aware of other children. This would be a great tool to start talking about ways to deal with and overcome feelings of jealousy or inadequacy.

Strega Nona

Author: Tomie DePaola
Illustrated By Tomie DePaola
Publisher: Simon And Schuster
Copyright Date: 1975
Number of Pages: 30
Reading Level: Ages 4-8





Summary
Strega Nona was the Grandmother which that created potions and cures for the town. She had a magic pot that would fill itself when Strega Nona sang a certain song. To get it to stop she would sing another song and blow three kisses. Big Anthony, her helper, was fascinated by her ability to do this and he learned the song. Trying to impress the villagers he sang the song and fed all of the people. Then he sang the song to make it stop but he did not blow three kisses so the noodles kept coming out of the pot. The pasta was about to cover the whole town when Strega nona came down the road and sang the magic song and blew three kisses. As a punishment Big Anthony had to eat all of the pasta.

Personal Response
I absolutely love this book. I remember reading it as a child. The illustrations are very unique and so is the story line. It teaches children to not play with things that they don't understand and are potentially dangerous.

Potential Problems
At the very end Big Anthony is forced to eat all of the pasta as a punishment and his stomach is bulging out a little bit. This would be very bad for children that are worried about their weight. It gives the false impression that eating noodles makes you fat.

Recommended to...
I would recommend this book to both boys and girls. It would be a good story to read at anytime.

Old Macdonald Drives A Tractor

Author: Ton Carter
Illustrator: Don Carter
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Copyright Date: 2007
Number of Pages: 24
Reading Level: Ages 4-8





Summary
In this book Old Macdonald goes through everything that he has to do in the day. The story talks about what a farmer has to do. It talks about him pulling a seeder, watering the land, cutting down the wheat field, spreading manure, harvesting his crop, and pulling all of the animals to the fair with his tractor. In the end after working all day the farmer climbs up his stairs to bed.

Personal Response
This book wasn't the best book I read but it was entertaining. I thought that the pictures were necessary for this story because they show what some words mean. Many children do not live on a farm so they have never seen a tractor. This book would be a wonderful one to read before or after a trip to the farm. A child would be much more interested if he or she has actually seen the things that are in the book.

Potential Problems
I couldn't find any potential problems in this book.

Recommended to...
I would recommend this book to young children that are learning about animals on a farm. This would be a wonderful book to read before or after going to a farm.

Maisy's Pool

Author: Lucy Cousins
Illustrator: Lucy Cousins
Publisher: Walker Books
Copyright Date: 1999
Number of Pages: 24
Reading level: Ages 4-8





Summary
In this story Maisy the mouse and Tallulah are very hot so Maisy has the idea to get out the little pool. After they blow it up and fill it with water they realize that there is a whole in it. Maisy mends it but then elephant comes and decides to get in the pool. Elephant was so big that Maisy and Talulah couldn't fit. In the end the elephant uses his trunk as a sprinkler.

Personal Response
I absolutely love the Maisy Mouse books. I think they are great books for young children that are learning to enjoy reading. This particular book would be a great one to read during the summer. It is a very cute story where Maisy encounters some problems and is able to come up with conclusions. Very young children learn the basics of problem solving in this book. I also absolutely love the illustrations and the colors. They provide for a very relaxed happy mood.

Potential Problems
I couldn't find any potential problems in this story.

Recommended to...
This book would be a great one to read during the summer to both boys and girls.