How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?
by, Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

This is a silly bedtime story illustrating many of the behaviors kids sometimes exhibit when they don't want to go to bed. I love the cute dinosaur illustrations and the fun rhyming words. The illustrations depict great big dinosaurs throwing tantrums about going to bed, while their human parents watch. I love the giant dinosaurs hugging their teddy bears and blankets. My favorite page: "Does a dinosaur stomp his feet on the floor and shout: "I want to hear one book more!"?

So, perhaps I enjoy this book because sometimes the little dinosaurs at my house can have some bedtime troubles. I love that this book teaches appropriate behavior in a fun, silly, engaging manner.

Little White Duck

Little White Duck
Lyrics by, Walt Whippo
Music by, Bernard Zaritzky
Illustrations by, Joan Paley

This is a fun little song book with cute illustrations. The book contains the sheet music for the tune along with guitar chords, so anyone can sing along. I like that this is a book that can easily engage kids with animal sounds and singing. I liked cute little mouse playing the guitar in the background of the illustrations. I thought it was a fun book to read, with fun rhyming and word repetition. I particularly enjoy the invention of the word "oughter" to rhyme with "water" in the chorus. "There's a litle white duck, sitting in the water, a little white duck, doing what he oughter."

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

There Was and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
by, Simms Taback

This picture book is based on the classic folk song "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." The unique illustrations add interest to the story. My own children love this book and they love to sing the song with me as we read the story. The author and illustrator cleverly placed holes in the "Old Lady's" belly so that the pictures of the animals show through the pages. My son continually asks, "how did they do that??" when we read this story.

I found the author's added commentary throughout the story somewhat comical. For example, at the end of the story (when the old lady dies, of course) the author has drawn an illustration of himself and he writes "even the artist is crying!" He ends the book with the moral: never swallow a horse. Again, I find this mildly amusing.

Truthfully, I find this song, and the accompanying illustrations to be somewhat morbid. But, that being said, kids seem to love this book. I sang this song when I was a kid, and at the time, it never occurred to me that singing a song about an old lady eating a horse and dying was morbid. I always just found it silly.

The Stray Dog

The Stray Dog
by, Marc Simont

A family encounters a stray dog while enjoying a Saturday picnic. They name him Willy, and feed him and play with him. When it is time to go home, they leave Willy at the park, sure that he must belong to someone. During the week, the family worries about Willy, wondering if maybe he doesn't have his own family after all. When they return to the park the following Saturday, Willy is still there, but he is running to escape the dog catcher!

I enjoyed this picture book. It is a loving story, and the illustrations adequately portray the family's love for Willy, and their worry for him when they are unsure if Willy has a family. The author writes, "During the week, all the family had Willy on their minds." As the family worries, the illustrations show the father overfilling his coffee mug, the little girl tripping on the stairs, the boy daydreaming on the baseball field, and the mother ignoring the burning dinner on the stove. In the end, the family brings Willy home, and "Willy settled in where he belonged." This is a cute, heartwarming story.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
by, Don and Audrey Wood
illustrated by Don Wood

Little mouse is on his way to pick a big strawberry, but the narrator of the story warns the mouse that there is a big, hungry bear who would just love to eat that strawberry. The narrator cleverly convinces that little mouse to share his strawberry, and protect it from the big bear.

I found this book to be a very fun book to read aloud. The voice of the book is unique, with the narrator speaking to the mouse throughout the book. The adorable illustrations add a great deal to the character of the book. The illustrations clearly depict a proud little mouse picking his strawberry, followed my nervous little mouse, who tries everything he can imagine to hide his strawberry from the big, hungry bear. Finally, the illustrations show a full, satisfied little mouse, sleeping in his hammock. This is a story that young children will love.

The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief
by, Rick Riordan

This novel tell the story of Percy Jackson, a 12 year boy who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, God of the Sea. At a summer camp for demigods, he learns that there is trouble on Mount Olympus. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and he and his friends are sent on a quest to find the lightning bolt, return it to Zeus, and in the process, prevent a giant war of the Gods.

I enjoyed reading this book. When I was in High School, I struggled through Edith Hamilton's "Greek Mythology." As I read this book, I found myself wanting to re-read Hamilton, and gain a firmer understanding of the Greek myths. I found the book to be a suspenseful page turner. While the book primarily is an action packed adventure novel, it also has sub plots that address the issues that many kids today face with broken homes. Percy struggles with feelings of abandonment from his father, confusion about his mother's relationship with his step-father, and a general need to feel that he belongs. I enjoyed these sub plots, and I think that the book has qualities that many upper elementary and middle school children could relate to.

Although I truly enjoyed this book, the plot felt very similar to other books and movies that I have seen. The book felt like a combination of the movie "Sky High" (a movie where super-heroes attend super-hero high school) and Harry Potter. Although the author cleverly integrates Greek mythology into a fun novel, I was disappointed that the plot felt so familiar to me.

Night Tree

Night Tree
by, Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Ted Rand

This is the story about a Christmas family tradition. Each year, the family in this story load up into their pick-up truck and drive to Luke's forest, where they decorate a tree with popcorn strings and apples and tangerines. They sit in the cold and sing Christmas carols and drink hot cocoa. They think about how their tree has grown during the past year, and all the animals that will come to visit their tree and dine on the decorations.

When I read this book, I feel inspired to create my own special family traditions with my children. I think this book would be a fantastic story to read to children and inspire discussions about different family holiday traditions. While the story is a Christmas story, it really is more about spending time with family and nature, and does not contain any religious material (aside from mentioning Christmas). The illustrations in this book are beautiful, and the artwork and story in this book truly warms my heart. I want my own family to have a "Night Tree!"

Hot-Air Henry

Hot Air-Henry
by, Mary Calhoun
illustrated by Erick Ingraham

This story tells the adventures of a Siamese cat named Henry who, in an attempt to stow away on a hot-air balloon ride, ends up on his very own solo hot-air balloon trip. Flying above the world, looking at the people who now seem "as small as cats," Henry is very pleased with himself. He then realizes that he will need to get the balloon down somehow, and experiences many adventures as he learns to maneuver the balloon.

A cat in a hot-air balloon is sure to amuse young listeners. This adventure book has suspense and bits of humor that will engage students. I think that many children fantasize about taking a trip in a hot-air balloon, and are likely to enjoy a story about a cat on a wild adventure. The illustrations are full of great detail, adding to the enjoyment of this book.

The Princess and the Pizza

The Princess and the Pizza
by, Mary Jane and Herm Auch

In this silly fairy tale twist, Princess Paulina goes in search of her prince in shining armor. When she meets her prince, she must compete with 12 other princesses to become his bride. She knows all about the old fairy tale "princess and the pea" trick, so she easily passed the first test presented by the Queen. In the end, Paulina must prepare a meal to prove her worthiness. When she is left with very few ingredients to prepare her feast, she inadvertently invents a pizza!

This story makes references to several classic fairy tales- Cinderella, Snow White and Rapunzel to name a few. I think this book would make a funny addition to studies of these classic tales. I particularly liked the ending of this story. Paulina decides to leave the castle and open a pizza palace, rather than marrying the prince. With so many young girls worshiping fairy tale princesses, I find it refreshing to meet a princess character who decides to choose her career over the handsome prince!

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
by, William Steig

In this story, Sylvester Duncan discovers a magic pebble and suddenly has the ability to make his every wish come true. While he is walking home, excited to share his new pebble with his parents, he runs into a ferocious hungry lion, who would love to eat a little donkey! Sylvester was so afraid, and unsure of what to do, so he wished that he was a rock. Instantly, Sylvester became a rock. Although safe from the lion, he was no longer holding the pebble, and could no longer make his wishes come true. Now Sylvester was destined to live the rest of his life as a rock! This book tells the story of how Sylvester came to be reunited with his family.

I LOVED this book! The story is rich with language, and is sure to build the vocabulary of a young child. The story is filled with love, and teaches the importance of families being together. The sweet plot, with pieces of humor sprinkled throughout make this a story that children will adore. The story also includes many different animals (complete with names for the young i.e. colts, piglets, puppies, kittens) and could be incorporated into any animal theme curriculum. It also describes the passing of the seasons, and could be used when teaching young children about the seasons of the year.

The Hello, Goodbye Window

The Hello, Goodbye Window
by, Norton Juster and Chris Raschka

In this charming picture book, a little girl tells the story of a typical day with her Nanna and Poppy. She tells of the magical window in her grandparents kitchen where she plays peek-a-boo, waves hello and goodbye, and watches the world outdoors. In the little girl's imagination, just about anything might happen outside that window!

This story would be a perfect story for children who spend their days with a special person- grandparents or childcare provider- while their parents are at work. The story eloquently describes a child's mixed emotions: "Mommy and Daddy pick me up after work. I'm glad because I know we're going home, but it makes me sad too because I have to leave Nanna and Poppy. You can be happy and sad at the same time, you know. It just happens that way sometimes." I particularly love that passage because these mixed emotions can be so difficult for children to articulate.

The artistic illustrations in this story depict a multi-racial family. This picture book would be a nice addition to classrooms and libraries seeking to incorporate diverse representations of families into their collections.

Trouble According to Humphrey

Trouble According to Humphrey
by, Betty G. Birney

In this novel, Humphrey, the class hamster from room 26 at Longfellow elementary school looks out for his friends in Mrs. Brisbane’s class. Seth has trouble sitting still and paying attention; Art is always thinking of his trains, but isn’t thinking about his math; Mandy complains constantly, but has big trouble at home; Paul is really good at math, but feels sad that his classmates call him a no-it-all. When Humphrey is caught outside of his cage, Miranda (one of the nicest girls in the class) gets blamed and Humphrey struggles with the guilt he feels for getting her into trouble.

I chose this book because my 4th grade son suggested it to me. As I read this book, it became clear to me why students in the middle to upper elementary school grades might enjoy this book. The diverse characters will appeal to a wide range of readers, and students will easily be able to relate to this book. In this book, Birney skillfully combines humor and valuable lessons about friendship and honesty for the elementary school aged child. My son and I both giggled as we read, and I look forward to reading other Humphrey books in the series.