The Meanest Thing to Say by Bill Cosby

I loved The Cosby Show growing up! "How long til we get there?" was always answered by the number of Cosby Shows. I learned a lot of things from this fictitional family and Mr. Cosby has taken his credibility to picture books.

The series of chapter books involve some sort of lesson that Little Bill learns. This book tackles the common enough topic of mean kids. There is a mean person in almost every situtation. We as adults, have hopefully learned how to successfully deal with them. Children, as we know, are not always good at letting things lie. As a kiddo on the playground, if someone calls you a name, the typical response would be a quick comeback. This of course leads to hurt feelings and possible physical retaliation. Little Bill is confronted with this and feels pressure to come up with a good comeback. Little Bill's family quickly demonstrates how futile it is to try to keep pace with a meanie. "So?" becomes the response that helps stop the name calling at recess.

For kids, it is extra hard to let someone say bad things about them because they want to defend themselves. We adults hopefully know that that only fuels the fire and keeps things tense. Cosby tackles this difficult topic in a way that is easy for kids to understand because it is relatable. Helping kids recognize different options for a sticky situtation like this can be invaluable. I like how the illustrator Varnette P. Honeywood incorporates multiple races and cultures in her depictions of Little Bill's life. I think she uses cut paper to make her illustrations, which gives them added interest. We need more culturally aware and positive literature for our kiddos to read.

I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis

I grew up viewing adoption as a very positive way for children to find new families. My mother was a social worker who specialized in adoption. Before retiring, she worked for over ten years with international adoptions. Traveling to Korea, China, and Bulgaria were perks of the position.

On one trip, she brought back a baby from Korea who had been placed with a family here in the US. I picked her up from the airport and the scene was very touching. Her adoptive family was there, excitedly awaiting their child. This book attempts to explain in a gentle, caring way how the author came to adopt her daughter.

The author briefly describes the steps taken to adopt her child, which is beautifully illustrated with watercolor pictures. Jane Dyer connected the text (an interesting font, almost intending to look like "Americanized Chinese" writing) with the pictures in a strong moving way. Kids will understand the message the author is trying to give about how wonderful adoption can be for both the new mother and child.
Talking about adoption with students can be very tough because so many negative connotations are sometimes involved in choices made by everyone but the child.

Giving a positive message about a family desperately wanting a baby and being blessed with adoption helps support positive feelings toward a challenging situation. As we have talked about in class, families look different--race and cultural differences are optimal ways for acceptance and enrichment! I have seen the positive effects of adoption through my mother's work and believe it is a wonderful option for birth parents and adoptive parents. Imagine being loved so much by someone and having them want to give you a better life through adoption--what a powerful gift it can be.

Horace and Morris Join the Chorus (but what about Dolores?) by James Howe

This is a cute picture book about three friends (with cute rhyming names) who love to sing. These young mice learn a good lesson about not giving up. While Dolores loves to sing, the chorus director Moustro Provolone doesn't select her for the chorus along with her friends. He tells her that she doesn't have an ear for music--a polite way of saying she is an awful singer.

Dolores is determined to be a part of something great and ends up writing a letter to Moustro Provolone explaining her love of singing. This letter demonstrates her talent for rhyme and rhythm as a poet. Her letter is changed into a song for the chorus! Dolores is delighted to be with her friends in the chorus and tries extra hard to sing her song correctly.

I loved James Howe as a kid (Bunnicula, The Celery Stalks at Midnight, etc.) and enjoyed this one too. The characters were simple but endearing. Amy Walrod did a good job of illustrating the story about mice (which I'm not a fan of in general) as cute lovable kids that want to have fun and hang out together.

Ducky by Eve Bunting

This picture book was really well constructed. I loved how the illustrations were actually from cut paper. If you look carefully, you can see all of the attention to detail that goes into creating each scene. David Wisniewski does a great job illustrating this story. There was a great sense of dimension and action through this artistic medium.

As I started reading this story, it reminded me of rubber ducky fundraisers where numerous duckies are dumped into a river, etc. and try to reach a destination. I always wondered where they ended up and now I have a better idea! This ducky sees all sorts of interesting things during his journey after a storm knocked his crate off a ship in the ocean. The ducky continues to float through possibly dangerous interactions with sharks, pelicans, waves, and seals.

He is finally rescued by a boy who helps his teacher record the location of their meeting. The little ducky has become a part of a science experiment and is also reunited with many of his friends from the ship. The ducky's expression never changes, as a real rubber duck's wouldn't, but you can feel the character's emotions. The story is simple and beautifully put together. The use of different font sizes and colors also adds to interest.

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl

I grew up reading lots of books by Roald Dahl. I loved his slightly odd writing style maybe more than my classmates. I remember sharing a passage from The Twits in third grade and my classmates didn't seem as excited about it as I thought they should have been.

I have not had the chance to read more from this author since those days in school and jumped on the chance to reaquaint myself with him for this class. I love his outlandishly simple stories. This short novel centers on a window washing company run by a giraffe, pelican, and a monkey. Add to this mix a boy hoping to find a grubber (candy shop) and the richest man in England with 677 dirty windows! Obviously there will be a big job for the new window company, who call themselves The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company.

Dahl has consistently helped his whimsical characters come to life by the illustrations of Quentin Blake. The combination of silly text and pictures make a more complete experience for the reader. I love the smattering of British English vocabulary, it somehow makes the story more credible and fun to read. I think kids would love to read and or have this book read to them.

I have never blogged before! My sister Katie will be quite excited I have become so technically savvy...I tend to be bad at using computers and all that new-fangled technology stuff. I still have yet to own a MP3 player or IPod (I do know what they are though!).