It is Monday! What are you reading?

 

The seven Blind Mice book is a cute story about several mice who are blind and try to find out what is going on at the pond. As each of them go out, they can not agree what is that they find until the last mouse goes.

 

 

 

 

Smoky book is a great book for those children who are compassionate and care to help other children. I mean, who does not want to help those people and pets in need? The pictures in the book help make your own story in your head.

 

 

This poor grandma is just trying to find some alone time to get her things done. However, with so many grandkids in the house, she tries different areas, until finally, she was able to find the right spot to knit her sweaters.

 

 

This could be a great book in a Spanish class. Children will enjoy this book as they learn new vocabulary. Pappa Rabbit got lost, so his son, Pancho, must go look for him.

 

This is a cute book full of colorful pictures

taken in the wild during the winter season. The wild animals are trying to figure out if they (the children) are out there. I think this book could be used in a class project.

 

 

The conflict between colors still exist in a California school. A Hispanic family decide to go to court after their son who spoke perfect English is denied entrance to an all white school.

 

 

 

This is a book that will allow the readers to use their imagination as they read about the plant and how it grows. As it grows, the different animals come and use it as a shelter.

 

 

As we read the story, we find out that everyone is too busy to do anything fun. That is, until the lights go out in the whole city and people start to have lots of fun without lights. All of a sudden, the lights come back and everyone goes back to their ordinary lives. Well, except for one family,…

 

Not a box book allows children to use their imagination. What can you build with a box? Maybe a train, a car, a stove? How about a robot? When the imagination is put to use, anything can be possible.

 

Where the wild things are… mmm I am not too sure about this book. I am not sure if this is any age appropriate for children. Especially, when it starts out by the child disobeying his mom and he gets sent to his room. I understand he is using his imagination as he goes through the forest, but at the same time, the other monsters have to do what the child wants. And this is not always the case!

Can you imagine turning around and finding a lion and monkeys in your kitchen? I really did enjoy this book. The author definitely allows the reader to use their imagination and wonder what is going to happen next. Predictions are clear as the book comes to an end.

 

 

In this nonfiction book, we continue to encounter racism. This is a great book for children to learn that none should be treated differently regardless of their skin color or learning capacity.

 

Radiant Child is the story of a child who at a young age saw art in everything he read and saw. This is a great book to help children realize the one can be anything if you for hard for it while remembering that being different is ok. If we were all the same life would be boring. Everyone has different ideas to bring to the table.

 

Last stop on the Market Street is a great way to start teaching children that some are less fortunate than others, especially, when your skin is darker than the majority of the population.

 

 

First the egg? If you were asked what came first, the chicken or the egg? What would you respond? This is one of those books were events happen in sequence. Without one thing, the other cannot happen.

 

It is Monday! What are you reading?

Believe it or not, for this assignment I had to go to the library and find 30 Caldecott award winning books. Yes, 30 books! Out of those 30 books, I had to pick 15 which caught my attention. I have to say that reading children’s books can be fun.

WHITE SNOW BRIGHT SNOW- Everyone’s daily activities change when the first snowflake comes and it continues snowing. However, the children are super excited for the snow to fall so they can play with the snow and build a snowman.

FIRST THE EGG- This is one of those books where you have to know what came first? Was it the egg or the chicken? As the book continues, the author presents us with information about what came first or second in a way that rhymes.

KNUFFLE BUNNY TOO- Trixie is starting school and her snuffle bunny is coming too. She can’t wait to show everyone else her bunny. That is, until she notices that another girl has the exact same bunny. This is where problems start, and a friendship too.

FLOTSAM- Another picture books which allows your imagination to run wild. Especially, after the boy finds the camera and looks at all the pictures. This is where he finds a new world under the sea! After he has looked at all the pictures, he decided to continue letting the camera travel and allow other children to look at the various pictures.

BLACKOUT- When the lights go out, this is the perfect time to spend with family and find fun things to do.

 THE GREY LADY AND THE STRAWBERRY SNATCHER- I have to say I was surprised that no words were included in this book, only pictures. As I flipped through the pictures, I had to have a good imagination and create my own story as I looked at the pictures. The pictures are full of surprise and wonder, including suspense.

 

THE GARDEN OF ABDUL GASAZI- This is a great book for those kids who like mystery and magic. Who would ever believe that a magician can turn a dog into a duck? This is what happened to Fritz when he entered Mr. Abdul Gasazi’s garden.

THE POLAR EXPRESS- When all you want for Christmas is to hear Santa’s sleight, things can definitely change. On Christmas Eve, one boy boards the Polar Express train taking him to the North Pole to see Santa. Out of the many kids that were there, he is chose to have one gift, and all he wants is one bell from the arenas of the reindeer. This is a great Christmas story to read with children, especially, those who still believe Santa comes down the chimney with presents for them.

LEAVE ME ALONE- A cute little story about a grandmother and wanting some time alone in order to be productive and get some sweaters done for her 30 grandchildren. Living in a house with them, made it impossible to do or finish anything. She tried various spots and it was the same thing everywhere. Finally, it was in a wormhole where she was able to make her sweaters!

NOT A BOX- A box is a box unless you have a huge imagination like children do! Most of the time children find themselves being entertained with a simple box when they transform it into a robot, spaceship, a costume, etc

JUMANJI

Peter and Judy go on a wild adventure when they decided to go to the park and find a game -Jumanji, which had a note that said Free! They took the board game home without realizing they would end up in a wild adventure. I really did enjoy this book. This is one of those books that helps children expand their imagination as they wonder and predict what will happen on the next page.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE- One of those books tat you either hate or love, depending how you interpret the plot from the author.

LOS GATOS BLACK IN HALLOWEEN- Great book to learn new words in Spanish, especially, during the hollooween season.

STRANGER IN THE WOODS- The photographs are extremely delicate and go well with the words…makes the reader wonder what is that the animals are looking for?

THE EDUCATION OF HYMAN KAPLAN- Very interesting book and it definitely does relate to myself as a foreigner in this country trying to overcome the language barrier and culture shock!

 

Why do we blog?

I had never heard about Kidlitosphere, and let alone what the name means. As I browsed at the website, I was excited to see how many teachers, librarians, authors, and illustrators are sharing their own stories, books, and suggestions with all of us. Looking through all the comments and suggestions, makes me realize that blogging can be fun, especially, when everyone puts their own personal ideas on what they want to communicate with the rest of us. I believe that as a reader there will be many times when you find a connection with what the writer is expressing through words. This is when reading has a different tun and we find the reading material more interesting and hard to put down. I believe that what makes an interesting post as well is how well the information is presented to the audience and how interesting it is. When the audience can relate to the story or words somehow, it is very hard to put the book down and stop reading.
Another form that can make a blog interesting is through the tittle and when the writer incorporates pictures along with the words to help describe the story and situation. Personally, I believe that when there is only words and words to read with out a picture to look at for “help,” it can definitely become tedious. It is just like reading a recipe. When pictures are involved of the final product, one is more tempted to try the recipe simply because it looks more appetizing rather than just reading about it. It is the same situation when it comes to blogging.
Finally, I believe that when a writer breaks its paragraphs, it helps the reader distinguish between the different ideas he or she is trying to describe. As a future blogger, I hope to learn how to properly blog and what to do in order to get attention from various kinds of “audiences.” And in regards to Kidlitosphere, I plan on browsing all the time because it is very interesting to see the various opinions people have about one book or subject. I also think it is even more interesting when authors themselves comment ( critique) their own work. I think that it is wonderful being able to go back and change something that might help make the next blog even better!

Reading Experiences

 

 

 

I have become the reader I am today because various people took their time to sit with me and teach me the beautiful world of reading. Reading and writing go hand in hand, without one it is hard to master the other one, and vise versa. If someone asked me if I was a reader, my answer would be no, at least not for pleasure. Yes, I will pick up a book when I have to for a class or some activity. But picking a book because I have the desire to have fun and read something, happens rarely, if not never. Growing up I did not have access to a library, due to the fact that we lived in a poor rural town. The few books I had were passed down to me from my two older brothers, and most of the time they were old, torn, and falling apart.

     Today, as an adult I have come to realize that being able to read is essential in every day life. It would definitely be hard to function and communicate if one lacks the reading and writing skills. I look at my son, who is 7, and all the progress he has made in his reading in just a few years. It is extremely important to introduce children to the reading world when they are young so they can learn to appreciate books at a young age. As a future teacher I must also keep in mind that nit ask children learn from the same materials or the same way. Learning to read can be a long process, but at the end it is totally worth it. Today, I tried to make time out of my busy schedule so we can browse the library and find books he is interested in. I would love for him to grow up loving to read and enjoying it, not doing it because the teacher and mom said so…