Literature for Children and Youth DeSales

Wordless Picture Book A Review by John Iles                     The book I am reviewing today is a story about the underground railroad called Unspoken by Henry Cole. This picture tells the story of a little girl who lives on a plantation during the civil war era. One night while doing her chores she discovers that an escaped slave is hiding in her family's barn. Despite many pressures from the outside world, including Confederate soldiers searching the area, she does not tell anyone; consequently, when she returns the next night she notices the person was able to move on safely. I would rate this story a 5/5 stars. This book is visually stunning. I find that without any words it truly is amazing how much of a story one can get from the pictures. The illustrations are so well drawn that one can see the true expression of emotion of the girl on each page. This book is truly amazing. Title: Unspoken Author: Henry Cole Pu...

Decodable Book A Review by John Iles                Today I will be reviewing a Decodable book from the website readinga-z.com. This is a teaching source which my mom has access to. She is an elementary school teacher.                 The book I read was called Nan and Pap. The book follows two main characters throughout their day. They both wake up and get their day started, Then they encounter a pan. Finally, they end up sleeping in the pan.                  I rate this story a 2/5. It was very boring and I would not use it to teach to kids. Title: Nan and Pap Author: Veronica Angel Publisher: Learning A-Z Publishing Date: 2015 ISBN: N/A

Wordless Picture Book A Review by John Iles                   Today I will be reviewing Will's Mammoth by Rafe Martin and Stephen Gammell. This book captures the true essence of a child's imagination with spectacular drawings that could inspire the youngest and oldest of people. This book tells the story of Will who's favorite animal is the Woolly Mammoth and one snow day, despite his parents saying there are no more mammoths, Will ventures out into the snowy wonderland, finding a mammoth that lets Will ride him. Seemingly, Will is transported to a time long ago when prehistoric ice age mammals walked the earth. Along Will's travels he even sees cavemen, but the day soon turns to night and will heads back inside.                      The illustrations of this book for me personally brought back nostalgic memories of the famed Ice Age movies. In a world full of white snow and ic...

Board Book A Review by John Iles            My second blog I will review a Caldecott Honor Book called Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola. This book is a board book because it is printed on all cardboard and will withstand even the rowdiest child. This book is about Strega Nona or in English "grandma which" who had sort of a magic touch and could perform many different miracles. In her old age she hired a man named Big Anthony to help around the house; however, Big Anthony was snoopy and watched her magically make pasta from nothing in an enchanted pot. Big Anthony, wanting to be the town savior, the next date used the magic pot to make pasta for the whole town, but because he did not know how to stop the pot from making pasta it almost engulfed the whole town, luckily Strega Nona was able to stop it in time.             I would rate this book as excellent and a 5/5 stars. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and the...

Grocery Store Book A Review by John Iles          Hello, and welcome to my blog. On this blog I will be reviewing a multitude of children's literature books for a Humanities Class I am taking at DeSales University.           Well here we go! The first book I will review is a grocery store book called Doc in the Fog by Sheila Cushman.            This is a predictable book or rhyming book that follows the escapades of the main character named Doc who is a wizard. Throughout the eight page story, Doc using his wand and magic powers, turns different everyday objects, toys, and even animals into a different object that rhymes. The ending of the story is quite imaginative and without spoiling it Doc gets magically changed into something else.  Apparently, when I was younger I begged my mother to get me this book one day while I was out shopping with her at in the checkout line of target. Wh...