Literature for Children and Youth DeSales

Book Review: The Card Board Kingdom by Chad Sell                Hello, and welcome to my final post. today I will be covering The Carboard Kingdom . This a  very imaginative tale where a group of neighborhood kids, during the summer, use cardboard boxes to create an imaginative land where they can become anything they want. Each child has their own problems and create there own character that allows them to cope with that problem. For example, one character named Jack likes to see himself as a powerful sorceress because that how he likes to portray himself as. There are many more stories just like this that were very inclusive.                I though this book was amazing because it produces such a powerful message of positivity and that one can be anything they imagine themselves to be. I rate this story a 5/5 stars. Title: The Card Board Kingdom Author: Chad Sell Publisher: Knopf Books for...

Book Review: Wildfires by Seymour Simon                 Good Evening, today I will be discussing the amazing informational text called Wildfires. This informational text once again has great visuals. Throughout the book one truly gets a sense awe at what wildfires are. This book tells the story of how wildfires hit during the hot and dry summer of 1988 in Yellow Stone National park. It then goes on to explain that the fires were destructive, but they also allowed new life to come about because it made room for new plants to finally sprout. Finally, the book makes the point that wildfires are not good or bad, but they actually bring a good cycle of change.                   I thought this book would be good to read because of the recent wildfire in Australia. Although, those were caused by a combination of arsonists and global warming and not truly natural. I would rate this book a 5/5 stars. ...

Book Review: Hurricane Disaster by Lynda Jones                  Today I will be talking to you about the informational text called Hurricane Disaster. This book was really well done. The pictures and graphics really allow the readers to dee the context from each fact is being told. This book first starts off by telling about how hurricanes are perceived and gives an interesting fact that a hurricane brings winds that are 74 mile per hour or higher. One interesting chapter is about hurricane hunters who actually fly planes right into the eye of a hurricane. Finally, it talks about how scientist are working ot better predict and forecast when a hurricane will hit.                   I thought this was a really awesome book and as a teacher if you were doing a unit a whether this would be very useful. I rate is 5/5 stars Title: Hurricane Hunters Author: Lynda Jones Publisher: Sc...

Book Review: A Railroad on Gold Mountain by Fay Chiang                     Hello everyone, welcome back to my book review. Today I will be reviewing an interesting tale about a Chinese immigrant who came to America in the 1860s after the Civil War to find work and send money back home. His father had already been America for 10 years prior and when they met they were both able to get jobs working on the railroad. One night while eating dinner the main character and many of his friends herd a large explosion on the mountain. They all went running to help the men hurt in the explosion despite some of them being extremely mean towards the Chinese immigrants.                      This was an interesting tale, but I have read other stories set during this time about immigrants that were much more riveting. The story is very abrupt and one does not truly get to know the character an...

Book Review:  I'm Glad I'm Me Poems About You by Jack Prelutsky               Good Evening, tonight I am going to review a poem book called  I'm Glad I'm Me Poems About You. This collection of poems are all little fun stories about different situations of kids. Some make believe and some that could be truthful. One poem My Brother is a Quarterback is about a little brother talking about all the athletic feats his older brother can do. Another one called Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face is well self explanatory. The very last poem called I'm Glad I'm Me gives the best advice, be gald of who oneself is.                This was an interesting poem book that offers lots of laughs and a few lessons too. I would rate this book a 5/5 stars. This book might be something a teacher could read out loud everyday at the end of class. Maybe as a way to wind down after a hard test or a tough lesson. Tit...

Book Review: Winter Poems Selected by Barbara Rogasky         Good evening all,  in this book review I will look over a collection of poems titled Winter Poems. I though it would be fitting since we are close to halfway through winter. One poem that was interest was titled Moon by an anonymous Japanese author. It was a very simplistic poem about the moonlight shinning over a frozen lake. Another poem in this book reminded me how it is snowing in the evening just as I am typing this. Called Snow Toward Evening by Melville Cane, it paints a picture of a quaint cottage in the country during an evening flurry. Finally, the last poem that stood out to me, titled Laughing Boy by Richard Wright, was so simplistic about the joy of a boy during a winter storm in brought me back to the many times I spent jumping around in the snow as a kid.           This was an exceptional collection of poems and there are a many more in t...

Book Review: I'm a Little Teapot by Iza Trapani             In this book review I will talk about the classic tale I'm a Little Teapot. I found that this is a very interest take on the story. The author has the teapot talk about wanting to go on different trips with the children in the house. The teapots exclaims that they can go from China to England and Even to outer space. The tale ends when the teapot serves tea to the hole family as he feels is his true purpose.              I thought that this book was quite interesting and a spin on this tale. I though the author did a great job keeping each page on tone with the original song. I would rate this book a solid 5/5. I would also mention that the illustrations are very well drawn in the book. Title: I'm a Little Teapot Author: Iza Trapani Publisher: Whispering Coyote Press Publishing Date: 1996 ISBN: 1-58089-010-5

Book Review: Snow White by Robert Bryant              In this entry of my book reviews I will be doing the classic fairy tale Snow White. Many people know the Disney animated version of Snow White and this short book essentially follows the same story. A queen finds out that she is no longer the fairest maiden because of Snow White and she decides to banish her to the forest. Snow White ends up living with a group of dwarfs; however, one day a witch feeds her an apple. A piece of the apple gets stuck in her throat causing her to fall into a deep sleep. For years the dwarfs thought she was dead, but when a handsome prince comes and begs to see her she awakes, falls out of the spell, and marries the prince.                I thought this version of Snow White was different; however, I am so used to the Disney telling of it that I really cannot imagine it any different way. The Illustrations in the book were v...

Book Review: White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt                    In this book review I will be covering the book White Snow Bright Snow. In this book it tells the tale of the first snow to come in a small town. The policeman, the post man, the farmer, the wife, and the kids all see the signs of the snow to come. When it comes everyone prepares differently. Soon though it seems that just as winter came the snow began to melt and spring had sprung.          The Illustrations in the book are what steal the show. The simplistic painting tells the story more than the words could ever do. I would rate this story a 2/5 stars. I felt that it was really a story about nothing. Title: White Snow Bright Snow Author: Alvin Tesselt Publisher: Scholastic Inc. Publishing Date: 1988 ISBN: 0-590-40989-1

Book Review: Wet Pets by Grace Maccarone                                    My Next entry for the book review will be Wet Pets a Clifford the Big Red Dog story. In this book students are beginning to learn the letters "e" and "g." This story Clifford and his friends go to the beach. Each dog does a different trick such as begging. Finally, Clifford runs into the water to retrieve a ball causing a big splash and they all get wet.                     This book was I thought a pretty good book overall and provides a funny story while kids also get some practice with different words. I rate this book a 3/5 Title: Wet Pets Author: Grace Maccarone Publisher: Scholastic Entertainment Inc. Publishing Date: 2002 ISBN: 0-439-40534-3 

Book Review: Construction Trucks by Betsy Imershein                  In this entry of my book review I will be reviewing Construction Trucks . This picture book gives brief descriptions of different construction vehicles. It also provides very large and detailed pictures of each truck. In this book it covers both vehicles that can be used on the roads and ones that can only be used at the construction site itself.                  Well I must admit, I seem to have a knack for picking childhood favorites. Again my mother said I loved to have this book read to me. I thought that this overall was a very good informational picture book. The pictures of each machine are of very high quality. I would rate this book a solid 5/5 stars. Title: Construction Trucks Author: Betsy Imershein Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division Publishing Date: 2000 ISBN: 0-6...

Book Review: Dinner Time by Jan Pienkowski          Today I am going to review the classic picture book Dinner Time. In the riveting tale a frog is quietly sitting on a frog when a vulture showed up and ate him. As the story goes numerous other larger animals come by and eat the animal that ate the last. Finally, a shark eats the last animal and that is the end of the story.  This picture book I like better than the author's other book Oh My a Fly. I thought the pop out illustrations appealed to me more. Although, I may be biased as my parents both explained that they read me this book many times as a young child. I rate this book a 4/5 stars. Title: Dinner Time Author: Jan Pienkowski Publisher: Piggy Toes Pr Publishing Date: 2000 ISBN: 978-1581170245

Book Review: Oh My a Fly! by Jan Pienkowski              The book I am reviewing to day is called Oh My a Fly. This is a picture book about an old lady who swallows different creatures. Each Creature gets progressively bigger. The final creature, a horse, ends up causing her to die. This book being a picture book is interesting and the illustrations are quite neat. That being said I found that it was not the best book for really anyone in my opinion. I rate this book a very low score of  2/5 stars. Title: Oh My a Fly Author: Jan Pienkowski Publisher: Piggy Toes Pr Publishing date: 2000 ISBN: 978-1581170269