Journey, Caldecott Honor Book
Author & Illustrator: Becker, Aaron
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Audience: Grades K-4
Plot Summary: After trying unsuccessfully to engage her family, a bored little girl discovers a red crayon that allows her to enter a whole new world. She is able to "draw" many modes of transportation that take her into various wonderful worlds. At the end of the story, she meets a boy with a purple crayon who is also able to "draw" and create.
Personal Response: This was a delightful tale of imagination. I love the message of using your imagination to cure boredom. The worlds the girl enters are so beautiful and intriguing, the reader is really drawn in, almost without realizing the book is wordless.
Literary Element: The drawings lead you through Journey so clearly, at the end, you feel like you read it. Harold and the Purple Crayon is alluded to in the general plot, and in the boy she meets with a purple crayon.
Illustrations: The illustrations are done with watercolor and pen and ink. Sepia tones are used at the beginning of the story, with only the boy's purple crayon and the girl's scooter in color. After she enters her imaginary world, the colors used are in stark contrast to the drab tones at the beginning.
Reviews: Booklist starred review (August 2013)
Grades 1-4. First-time author Becker sweeps readers away on the very best kind of journey, allowing a complex color scheme, intricate fantasy environments, and a stirring sense of adventure to tell the story without a single word. Worn out by an urban world of washed-out colors and too-busy adults, a young girl makes her escape through a slightly foreboding mystical forest and floats into a city-sized castle, where she spies a magnificent bird that is captured and caged. Without hesitation, she takes on an army of Samurai-like air-warlords and saves the bird, who ushers her back into her own world, where friendship and great new adventure await. Becker’s background in movie animation is apparent in his sense of pace, motion, and action; his extraordinary detail work; and his sharp visual cues: objects of imagination and escape, for example, are all colored in blazing red. But through elements that reverberate with the power of Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955), Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (1963), and Barbara Lehman’s The Red Book (2004), he clearly has a deep understanding of his literary antecedents, too. Laudable for its adventuresome female protagonist, scope, and sense of fun, this title will draw girls and boys back to it again and again.
Review: Horn Book (September/October, 2013)
In the tradition of Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon (rev. 10/55), this wordless story shows a bored young girl living in a monochromatic world who is able to draw herself into other worlds with the help of a red crayon she finds on her bedroom floor. Unlike Harold, the worlds she enters into are lush and detailed -- a deep green forest with blue hanging lanterns, an elaborate castle with an intricate canal system for transportation, a multilevel steampunk airship carrying ominous soldiers, and a walled city in the desert. There are dangers she avoids by drawing herself new forms of transportation, including a hot-air balloon and a magic carpet, and she gets pulled into a rescue mission involving a purple bird, which eventually leads her to a door in a palm tree that takes her back to her own world and to a boy with a purple crayon she had never even noticed outside her apartment building when the story began. He, it seems, had been searching for the purple bird. There is much to pore over in the watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations, and when the boy and girl ride off together at the end on a tandem bicycle with one red wheel and one purple wheel, readers will want to follow them. Kathleen T. Horning
Promotion: Journey would be ideal for an art class studying watercolor, use of color, or drawing architecture. It could also be used in language arts for the students to "write" the story that the pictures tell.
Author & Illustrator: Becker, Aaron
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2013
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended Audience: Grades K-4
Plot Summary: After trying unsuccessfully to engage her family, a bored little girl discovers a red crayon that allows her to enter a whole new world. She is able to "draw" many modes of transportation that take her into various wonderful worlds. At the end of the story, she meets a boy with a purple crayon who is also able to "draw" and create.
Personal Response: This was a delightful tale of imagination. I love the message of using your imagination to cure boredom. The worlds the girl enters are so beautiful and intriguing, the reader is really drawn in, almost without realizing the book is wordless.
Literary Element: The drawings lead you through Journey so clearly, at the end, you feel like you read it. Harold and the Purple Crayon is alluded to in the general plot, and in the boy she meets with a purple crayon.
Illustrations: The illustrations are done with watercolor and pen and ink. Sepia tones are used at the beginning of the story, with only the boy's purple crayon and the girl's scooter in color. After she enters her imaginary world, the colors used are in stark contrast to the drab tones at the beginning.
Reviews: Booklist starred review (August 2013)
Grades 1-4. First-time author Becker sweeps readers away on the very best kind of journey, allowing a complex color scheme, intricate fantasy environments, and a stirring sense of adventure to tell the story without a single word. Worn out by an urban world of washed-out colors and too-busy adults, a young girl makes her escape through a slightly foreboding mystical forest and floats into a city-sized castle, where she spies a magnificent bird that is captured and caged. Without hesitation, she takes on an army of Samurai-like air-warlords and saves the bird, who ushers her back into her own world, where friendship and great new adventure await. Becker’s background in movie animation is apparent in his sense of pace, motion, and action; his extraordinary detail work; and his sharp visual cues: objects of imagination and escape, for example, are all colored in blazing red. But through elements that reverberate with the power of Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955), Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (1963), and Barbara Lehman’s The Red Book (2004), he clearly has a deep understanding of his literary antecedents, too. Laudable for its adventuresome female protagonist, scope, and sense of fun, this title will draw girls and boys back to it again and again.
Review: Horn Book (September/October, 2013)
In the tradition of Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon (rev. 10/55), this wordless story shows a bored young girl living in a monochromatic world who is able to draw herself into other worlds with the help of a red crayon she finds on her bedroom floor. Unlike Harold, the worlds she enters into are lush and detailed -- a deep green forest with blue hanging lanterns, an elaborate castle with an intricate canal system for transportation, a multilevel steampunk airship carrying ominous soldiers, and a walled city in the desert. There are dangers she avoids by drawing herself new forms of transportation, including a hot-air balloon and a magic carpet, and she gets pulled into a rescue mission involving a purple bird, which eventually leads her to a door in a palm tree that takes her back to her own world and to a boy with a purple crayon she had never even noticed outside her apartment building when the story began. He, it seems, had been searching for the purple bird. There is much to pore over in the watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations, and when the boy and girl ride off together at the end on a tandem bicycle with one red wheel and one purple wheel, readers will want to follow them. Kathleen T. Horning
Promotion: Journey would be ideal for an art class studying watercolor, use of color, or drawing architecture. It could also be used in language arts for the students to "write" the story that the pictures tell.
Locomotive, Caldecott Medal, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor
Author & Illustrator: Floca, Brian
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2013
Genre: Informational
Recommended Audience: Grades k-5
Plot Summary: This beautiful and poetic book tells the story of the railroad in the American West. It uses the story of a family traveling from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California to explain all the parts of a locomotive, how they work, the workers on a train, and so much more.
Personal Response: This words and pictures in this book are incredibly beautiful. I felt drawn into the world of nineteenth century train travel as in no other book I've ever read on the topic. I loved the interesting facts and trivia woven into the story. I knew that toilets on locomotives were open holes, but I did not know that it was considered rude to use one at a station. That makes perfect sense, but I had never thought about it before. Nothing better than a children's book that teaches adults something new!
Literary Element: The book is told in free verse poetry. It captures the beauty of train travel well. "The iron horse, the great machine! Fifty feet and forty tons, wheels spinning, rods swinging, motion within motion, running down the track!" Another important element in this book is onomatopoeia. The many sounds that the train makes are woven into the pages. "Clang-Clang! Hisssss, Spit, Huff, Huff, Huff!"
Illustrations: The illustrations were done in watercolor, ink, acrylic, and gouache. The artist does an amazing job of blending historical information, technical schema, and gorgeous landscapes. The motion that he captures is truly amazing.
Reviews: Kirkus Reviews starred (April 15, 2013)
Floca took readers to the moon with the Apollo 11 mission in Moonshot (2009); now he takes them across the country on an equally historic journey of 100 years earlier. In a collegial direct address, he invites readers to join a family--mother, daughter and son--on one of the first passenger trips from Omaha to Sacramento after the meeting of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific in May 1869. With encyclopedic enthusiasm, Floca visually documents the trip, vignettes illustrating the train's equipment as well as such must-know details as toilet and sleeping conditions. Full- and double-page spreads take advantage of the book's unusually large trim for breathtaking long shots of the American landscape and thrilling perspectives of the muscular engine itself. The nameless girl and boy provide touchstones for readers throughout, dubiously eyeing an unidentifiable dinner, juddering across a trestle, staring out with wide-eyed wonder. Unjustly undersung as a writer, Floca soars with his free-verse narrative, exploiting alliteration, assonance and internal rhyme to reinforce the rhythms of the journey. Frequent variations in font and type ("HUFF HUFF HUFF!" is spelled out in ornate, antique letters) further boost the excitement. Front endpapers provide detail on the building of the transcontinental railroad; back endpapers show the steam engine in cross section, explaining exactly how coal and water made it go. Nothing short of spectacular, just like the journey it describes. (Informational picture book. 4-10)
Review: Publishers Weekly (July 1, 2013)
In 1869, not long after the golden spike is driven into the rails at Promontory Summit, a mother and her two children climb aboard the Transcontinental Railroad, leaving behind their old life in Omaha for a new one in California, where Papa awaits. Floca (Moonshot) chronicles their journey from multiple perspectives: documentarian, poet, historian, tour guide, and irrepressible railroad geek. With the rhythmic, verselike text that's become his signature; expressive typography; and handsome, detailed watercolor, ink, and gouache paintings, he celebrates the majestic (the passing western landscape), the marvelous (the engineering and sheer manpower required to keep the engine safely on its course), and the mundane, from the primitiveness of the toilets to the iffiness of depot food ("If the chicken/ tastes like prairie dog,/ don't ask why"). It's a magisterial work (even the endpapers command close reading), but always approachable in its artistry and erudition. And readers will come away understanding that the railroad wasn't just about getting a group of passengers from Point A to Point B; it carried an entire nation into a new, more rapid world: "Faster, faster, turn the wheels,/ faster, faster breathes the engine!/ The country runs by, the cottonwoods and river./ Westward, westward,/ runs the train,/ through the prairies,/ to the Great Plains,/ on to the frontier." Ages 4-10.
Promotion: This would be an excellent book for a study of the Old West, the California Gold Rush, or pioneer life. It shows many details about travel, geography, and lifestyle. A great project would be to break the book up into small parts and let students do research. There are so many aspects that could be covered from the Chinese immigrants pictured in San Francisco to the many geographical features shown as the train passes through them.
Author & Illustrator: Floca, Brian
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2013
Genre: Informational
Recommended Audience: Grades k-5
Plot Summary: This beautiful and poetic book tells the story of the railroad in the American West. It uses the story of a family traveling from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California to explain all the parts of a locomotive, how they work, the workers on a train, and so much more.
Personal Response: This words and pictures in this book are incredibly beautiful. I felt drawn into the world of nineteenth century train travel as in no other book I've ever read on the topic. I loved the interesting facts and trivia woven into the story. I knew that toilets on locomotives were open holes, but I did not know that it was considered rude to use one at a station. That makes perfect sense, but I had never thought about it before. Nothing better than a children's book that teaches adults something new!
Literary Element: The book is told in free verse poetry. It captures the beauty of train travel well. "The iron horse, the great machine! Fifty feet and forty tons, wheels spinning, rods swinging, motion within motion, running down the track!" Another important element in this book is onomatopoeia. The many sounds that the train makes are woven into the pages. "Clang-Clang! Hisssss, Spit, Huff, Huff, Huff!"
Illustrations: The illustrations were done in watercolor, ink, acrylic, and gouache. The artist does an amazing job of blending historical information, technical schema, and gorgeous landscapes. The motion that he captures is truly amazing.
Reviews: Kirkus Reviews starred (April 15, 2013)
Floca took readers to the moon with the Apollo 11 mission in Moonshot (2009); now he takes them across the country on an equally historic journey of 100 years earlier. In a collegial direct address, he invites readers to join a family--mother, daughter and son--on one of the first passenger trips from Omaha to Sacramento after the meeting of the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific in May 1869. With encyclopedic enthusiasm, Floca visually documents the trip, vignettes illustrating the train's equipment as well as such must-know details as toilet and sleeping conditions. Full- and double-page spreads take advantage of the book's unusually large trim for breathtaking long shots of the American landscape and thrilling perspectives of the muscular engine itself. The nameless girl and boy provide touchstones for readers throughout, dubiously eyeing an unidentifiable dinner, juddering across a trestle, staring out with wide-eyed wonder. Unjustly undersung as a writer, Floca soars with his free-verse narrative, exploiting alliteration, assonance and internal rhyme to reinforce the rhythms of the journey. Frequent variations in font and type ("HUFF HUFF HUFF!" is spelled out in ornate, antique letters) further boost the excitement. Front endpapers provide detail on the building of the transcontinental railroad; back endpapers show the steam engine in cross section, explaining exactly how coal and water made it go. Nothing short of spectacular, just like the journey it describes. (Informational picture book. 4-10)
Review: Publishers Weekly (July 1, 2013)
In 1869, not long after the golden spike is driven into the rails at Promontory Summit, a mother and her two children climb aboard the Transcontinental Railroad, leaving behind their old life in Omaha for a new one in California, where Papa awaits. Floca (Moonshot) chronicles their journey from multiple perspectives: documentarian, poet, historian, tour guide, and irrepressible railroad geek. With the rhythmic, verselike text that's become his signature; expressive typography; and handsome, detailed watercolor, ink, and gouache paintings, he celebrates the majestic (the passing western landscape), the marvelous (the engineering and sheer manpower required to keep the engine safely on its course), and the mundane, from the primitiveness of the toilets to the iffiness of depot food ("If the chicken/ tastes like prairie dog,/ don't ask why"). It's a magisterial work (even the endpapers command close reading), but always approachable in its artistry and erudition. And readers will come away understanding that the railroad wasn't just about getting a group of passengers from Point A to Point B; it carried an entire nation into a new, more rapid world: "Faster, faster, turn the wheels,/ faster, faster breathes the engine!/ The country runs by, the cottonwoods and river./ Westward, westward,/ runs the train,/ through the prairies,/ to the Great Plains,/ on to the frontier." Ages 4-10.
Promotion: This would be an excellent book for a study of the Old West, the California Gold Rush, or pioneer life. It shows many details about travel, geography, and lifestyle. A great project would be to break the book up into small parts and let students do research. There are so many aspects that could be covered from the Chinese immigrants pictured in San Francisco to the many geographical features shown as the train passes through them.
Kitten's First Full Moon, Caldecott Medal Winner, ALA Notable Children's Book
Author & Illustrator: Henkes, Kevin
Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 2004
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades K-2
Lesson Plan
Plot Summary: Kitten sees a little bowl of milk waiting for her in the sky (the moon), and goes through quite a bit to try to get it. When she arrives home, wet, tired, hungry, and sad, a real bowl of milk is on her porch.
Personal Response: This is an adorable book with a main character belonging on the tv show, Too Cute! It's very different from what I expect from Kevin Henkes - detailed, colorful drawings.
Literary Element: The repetition in the book is appealing to young children, and makes it a good read aloud. Children know what to expect and can participate. "Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting" is repeated three times.
Illustrations: The gouache and colored pencil were used to create the black, white, and gray illustrations throughout the story. The colors really help explore the idea of night as an element in the story. Kitten's expressions are quite endearing.
Review: Booklist starred (February 15, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 12))
PreS. Henkes creates another winner in this simple, charming story about a naive little kitten who mistakes a round, shining moon for a bowl of milk. Kitten laps at the sky's creamy circle, but she is surprised when she tastes bugs instead of milk. Then she chases the milk-bowl moon through the garden and field to the pond, where she climbs a tree, discovers another milk bowl shining in the water, and dives in after it. Finally, "wet and sad and tired and hungry,"she returns home to find, at last, a true bowl of milk, out of the sky and on the porch, waiting for her. Henkes'text, reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's work in the elemental words, rhythms, and appealing sounds, tells a warm, humorous story that's beautifully extended in his shimmering, gray-toned artwork. Working in bold black lines and the silvery palette of moonlight, he creates a lovable, expressive character in the determined kitten, and his dramatic contrasts of light and dark capture the excitement of a nighttime adventure. Wise preschoolers may chuckle at the kitten's folly, but they'll also recognize the mysterious power of moonlight to transform the familiar world of daytime into something altogether new.
Review: Kirkus Reviews starred (February 15, 2004)
In a surprisingly new guise, Henkes turns his hand for his 34th book to a retro look, with rough-hewn, black-and-white illustrations that pair perfectly with this deceptively simply story. When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it. The coarse but masterfully controlled line with heavy black outlines contains vigor and exuberance, creating a spontaneous feeling. A keen sense of design uses double spreads and panels to depict the action and Kitten's puzzlement. Some spreads are almost all white space with dark shadows outlining Kitten and the moon. The style is reminiscent of Clare Newberry (Marshmallow, April's Kittens) without soft, fuzzy shapes, but artful in its gracelessness and naïveté, just like a kitten. Simply charming. (Picture book. 3-5)
Promotion: Kitten's First Full Moon works well with a study of Kevin Henkes as a author and illustrator, as it is such a big departure from his usual work.
Author & Illustrator: Henkes, Kevin
Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 2004
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades K-2
Lesson Plan
Plot Summary: Kitten sees a little bowl of milk waiting for her in the sky (the moon), and goes through quite a bit to try to get it. When she arrives home, wet, tired, hungry, and sad, a real bowl of milk is on her porch.
Personal Response: This is an adorable book with a main character belonging on the tv show, Too Cute! It's very different from what I expect from Kevin Henkes - detailed, colorful drawings.
Literary Element: The repetition in the book is appealing to young children, and makes it a good read aloud. Children know what to expect and can participate. "Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting" is repeated three times.
Illustrations: The gouache and colored pencil were used to create the black, white, and gray illustrations throughout the story. The colors really help explore the idea of night as an element in the story. Kitten's expressions are quite endearing.
Review: Booklist starred (February 15, 2004 (Vol. 100, No. 12))
PreS. Henkes creates another winner in this simple, charming story about a naive little kitten who mistakes a round, shining moon for a bowl of milk. Kitten laps at the sky's creamy circle, but she is surprised when she tastes bugs instead of milk. Then she chases the milk-bowl moon through the garden and field to the pond, where she climbs a tree, discovers another milk bowl shining in the water, and dives in after it. Finally, "wet and sad and tired and hungry,"she returns home to find, at last, a true bowl of milk, out of the sky and on the porch, waiting for her. Henkes'text, reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's work in the elemental words, rhythms, and appealing sounds, tells a warm, humorous story that's beautifully extended in his shimmering, gray-toned artwork. Working in bold black lines and the silvery palette of moonlight, he creates a lovable, expressive character in the determined kitten, and his dramatic contrasts of light and dark capture the excitement of a nighttime adventure. Wise preschoolers may chuckle at the kitten's folly, but they'll also recognize the mysterious power of moonlight to transform the familiar world of daytime into something altogether new.
Review: Kirkus Reviews starred (February 15, 2004)
In a surprisingly new guise, Henkes turns his hand for his 34th book to a retro look, with rough-hewn, black-and-white illustrations that pair perfectly with this deceptively simply story. When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it. The coarse but masterfully controlled line with heavy black outlines contains vigor and exuberance, creating a spontaneous feeling. A keen sense of design uses double spreads and panels to depict the action and Kitten's puzzlement. Some spreads are almost all white space with dark shadows outlining Kitten and the moon. The style is reminiscent of Clare Newberry (Marshmallow, April's Kittens) without soft, fuzzy shapes, but artful in its gracelessness and naïveté, just like a kitten. Simply charming. (Picture book. 3-5)
Promotion: Kitten's First Full Moon works well with a study of Kevin Henkes as a author and illustrator, as it is such a big departure from his usual work.
Interrupting Chicken, Caldecott Honor Book
Author & Illustrator: Stein, David Ezra
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2010
Genre: Humorous Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades K-4
Plot Summary: It is bedtime for the little red chicken, but she interrupts each story that her papa tells her. She ends up telling her papa a story of her own and putting him to sleep.
Personal Response: I love this story. I think Little Red Chicken would be a great character for read-alouds. I love the "voice" possibilities. It has great lessons for children who often interrupt lessons at school or parents at home.
Literary Element: The traditional stories of Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Chicken Little are inserted into the story as Papa reads them - at least until Little Red Chicken interrupts him.
Illustrations: The facial expressions on the chickens are funny and tell a lot about the relationship between Papa and Little Red Chicken. The change in illustration style from the narrative of the story to the interwoven classics is very noticeable, although darker colors are used throughout.
Reviews: Booklist (September 15, 2010)
Preschool-Grade 3. At bedtime, Papa prepares to read an old favorite to the little red chicken, but before beginning, he reminds her not to interrupt the story. Reassured, he begins “Hansel and Gretel,” but just as the two children approach the witch’s house, up pops the little red chicken, exclaiming “‘DON’T GO IN! SHE’S A WITCH!’ . . . THE END!” Two more attempted bedtime stories end abruptly with the little red chicken saving Little Red Riding Hood and Chicken Little. The childlike humor of this wonderfully illustrated picture book will bring belly laughs from kids, particularly those who know the original stories. Stein uses page turns dramatically to build tension, which is released each time the chicken interrupts and amends a fairy tale. Differences in medium and style differentiate between scenes taking place in the folktales and in the main story. Created with watercolor, water-soluble crayon, and pen and ink, the illustrations are vivid and dramatic. Great fun for reading aloud.
Review: Horn Book (Spring 2011)
A "little red chicken" keeps interrupting Papa's bedtime stories in order to save the day (e.g., telling Chicken Little, "It was just an acorn!"). With a reversal of roles, the little chicken discovers exactly how it feels to be interrupted. Humorously repetitive text draws readers in with just enough variation, while the lush mixed-media illustrations exude warmth and love.
Promotion: This is a great introduction to traditional literature and fairy tales. Since the fairy tales are not finished due to "interrupting chicken," it would be a great jumping off place to discuss how the stories end. It would also be wonderful for a discussion of manners.
Author & Illustrator: Stein, David Ezra
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2010
Genre: Humorous Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades K-4
Plot Summary: It is bedtime for the little red chicken, but she interrupts each story that her papa tells her. She ends up telling her papa a story of her own and putting him to sleep.
Personal Response: I love this story. I think Little Red Chicken would be a great character for read-alouds. I love the "voice" possibilities. It has great lessons for children who often interrupt lessons at school or parents at home.
Literary Element: The traditional stories of Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Chicken Little are inserted into the story as Papa reads them - at least until Little Red Chicken interrupts him.
Illustrations: The facial expressions on the chickens are funny and tell a lot about the relationship between Papa and Little Red Chicken. The change in illustration style from the narrative of the story to the interwoven classics is very noticeable, although darker colors are used throughout.
Reviews: Booklist (September 15, 2010)
Preschool-Grade 3. At bedtime, Papa prepares to read an old favorite to the little red chicken, but before beginning, he reminds her not to interrupt the story. Reassured, he begins “Hansel and Gretel,” but just as the two children approach the witch’s house, up pops the little red chicken, exclaiming “‘DON’T GO IN! SHE’S A WITCH!’ . . . THE END!” Two more attempted bedtime stories end abruptly with the little red chicken saving Little Red Riding Hood and Chicken Little. The childlike humor of this wonderfully illustrated picture book will bring belly laughs from kids, particularly those who know the original stories. Stein uses page turns dramatically to build tension, which is released each time the chicken interrupts and amends a fairy tale. Differences in medium and style differentiate between scenes taking place in the folktales and in the main story. Created with watercolor, water-soluble crayon, and pen and ink, the illustrations are vivid and dramatic. Great fun for reading aloud.
Review: Horn Book (Spring 2011)
A "little red chicken" keeps interrupting Papa's bedtime stories in order to save the day (e.g., telling Chicken Little, "It was just an acorn!"). With a reversal of roles, the little chicken discovers exactly how it feels to be interrupted. Humorously repetitive text draws readers in with just enough variation, while the lush mixed-media illustrations exude warmth and love.
Promotion: This is a great introduction to traditional literature and fairy tales. Since the fairy tales are not finished due to "interrupting chicken," it would be a great jumping off place to discuss how the stories end. It would also be wonderful for a discussion of manners.
Mr. Wuffles, Caldecott Honor Book
Author & Illustrator: Wiesner, David
Publisher: Clarion Books, 2013
Genre: Science Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades 1-4
Plot Summary: Mr. Wuffles, the cat, is very choosy about his toys. He turns his nose up at most of what his person brings home for him. He does find one toy that interests him - a little alien spaceship - with real aliens inside. The aliens' spaceship is damaged by Mr. Wuffles, and they work with some ants and a ladybug to get their spaceship back in flying order - while looking over the picture record of the past encounters with the cat, and adding this new adventure to the record.
Personal Response: This book is a true wonder. The story is so complex, and it has almost no words. I have "read" it several times, and feel like there still a lot I'm missing.
Literary Element: There are almost no words in the story. The one-sided dialogue with the cat consists of four word bubbles - "Look Mr. Wuffles, a new toy! Oh, Mr. Wuffles! Hey, Mr. Wuffles - Blast Off! Oh, Mr. Wuffles!" That is the whole of the English language in the book. However, the aliens have a very complex language made of simple shape symbols. The symbols can actually be translated in a sense if examined carefully.
Illustrations: The illustrations, of course, make up the entire book. The story is incredibly complex - with several story lines going on at the same time - all told in pictures. The "cave drawings" that the aliens and ants have behind the register are amazing.
Review: School Library Journal (September 1, 2013)
K-Gr 4. Mr. Wuffles ignores all his fancy cat toys. Still sporting price tags, they line the hallway as he strolls by. But resting quietly among the feathers, balls, and mice is a tiny metal spaceship, and this catches his attention. His playful batting knocks around the alien explorers inside, causing bumps but no injuries. The ship's flying disks do not survive, however, and the aliens set out to explore the house and repair their craft. Barely escaping Mr. Wuffles's claws, they dash behind the radiator and discover primitive art of the cat's previous battles and make friends with the house's insects. The bugs help the aliens repair the spaceship, avoid capture, and fly away. Nearly wordless, the story is told through pictures and the languages of the ants and aliens, depicted by dashes and symbols. The book is fairly complex, best suited for elementary students, who will enjoy decoding the aliens' cryptographic alphabet. Wiesner humorously captures the curiosity and confusion of Mr. Wuffles and his human, who remains oblivious to the drama underfoot. The idea of a separate, tiny world next to ours makes a great premise, and Wiesner's engaging art and lively pacing carry the day. Visual storytelling at its best.-Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.
Promotion: This would be a great book to accompany a unit on space, for a fun starter piece. Students could write a creative piece about where the aliens came from or where they are going. It would also be excellent for teaching students about dialogue by allowing them to translate the exchanges between the ants and the aliens.
Author & Illustrator: Wiesner, David
Publisher: Clarion Books, 2013
Genre: Science Fiction
Recommended Audience: Grades 1-4
Plot Summary: Mr. Wuffles, the cat, is very choosy about his toys. He turns his nose up at most of what his person brings home for him. He does find one toy that interests him - a little alien spaceship - with real aliens inside. The aliens' spaceship is damaged by Mr. Wuffles, and they work with some ants and a ladybug to get their spaceship back in flying order - while looking over the picture record of the past encounters with the cat, and adding this new adventure to the record.
Personal Response: This book is a true wonder. The story is so complex, and it has almost no words. I have "read" it several times, and feel like there still a lot I'm missing.
Literary Element: There are almost no words in the story. The one-sided dialogue with the cat consists of four word bubbles - "Look Mr. Wuffles, a new toy! Oh, Mr. Wuffles! Hey, Mr. Wuffles - Blast Off! Oh, Mr. Wuffles!" That is the whole of the English language in the book. However, the aliens have a very complex language made of simple shape symbols. The symbols can actually be translated in a sense if examined carefully.
Illustrations: The illustrations, of course, make up the entire book. The story is incredibly complex - with several story lines going on at the same time - all told in pictures. The "cave drawings" that the aliens and ants have behind the register are amazing.
Review: School Library Journal (September 1, 2013)
K-Gr 4. Mr. Wuffles ignores all his fancy cat toys. Still sporting price tags, they line the hallway as he strolls by. But resting quietly among the feathers, balls, and mice is a tiny metal spaceship, and this catches his attention. His playful batting knocks around the alien explorers inside, causing bumps but no injuries. The ship's flying disks do not survive, however, and the aliens set out to explore the house and repair their craft. Barely escaping Mr. Wuffles's claws, they dash behind the radiator and discover primitive art of the cat's previous battles and make friends with the house's insects. The bugs help the aliens repair the spaceship, avoid capture, and fly away. Nearly wordless, the story is told through pictures and the languages of the ants and aliens, depicted by dashes and symbols. The book is fairly complex, best suited for elementary students, who will enjoy decoding the aliens' cryptographic alphabet. Wiesner humorously captures the curiosity and confusion of Mr. Wuffles and his human, who remains oblivious to the drama underfoot. The idea of a separate, tiny world next to ours makes a great premise, and Wiesner's engaging art and lively pacing carry the day. Visual storytelling at its best.-Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.
Promotion: This would be a great book to accompany a unit on space, for a fun starter piece. Students could write a creative piece about where the aliens came from or where they are going. It would also be excellent for teaching students about dialogue by allowing them to translate the exchanges between the ants and the aliens.