I Saw Your Face by Tom Feelings

This has a wonderful sentimental meaning behind this poem picture book. The illustrator actually drew these portraits while he travelled around the world to find many beautiful faces with the commonality of having an African descent. I feel many of the pictures are a bit depressing because they have solemn, somber faces. Not one single person is smiling. Some of the people look like they are posing; others just look deep in thought. There are sketches of all ages and I am a bit shocked that no one is smiling, especially the children. I like how the images are set up on each page. There are very few things in the background. Additionally, there are only a few words on each page, mainly stating where each drawing came from and arranged words creating a rhyming scheme. I think all of this helps avoid distractions against the large sketches of the people. It is interesting that Tom Feelings did not include any action shots, unless, his intentions were to only go with one theme. I thought it was quite unique how none of the portraits are colored in. There are all outlined in blue, brown, or black with a background color of either beige or light blue. I found that pretty fascinating because his choice of these monotone dreary colors truly added to the feeling of loneliness and sadness of these people.

I think this book it trying to send a powerful message to its readers. Although they seem to show no emotion; I can immediately sense immense pain through their eyes. You can almost see the injustice they feel deep in their soul. It’s interesting how these sketches were drawn all throughout the world yet; it looks as though everyone in here is from the same community. It sends the message to me that they are all alike in some way no matter where they live in the world.

Homegrown House by Janet Wong

This is an interesting poetry book because there is no specific rhythm or rhyming scheme. I was amazing at the powerfulness it had to really put me in the little girl’s mind and perspective of moving all the time. She was desperately searching for some normalcy and routine and I could strongly feel that throughout the whole book. I can’t imagine having to move so much as a child. I, personally, moved a lot as an adult and found it pretty difficult in many ways to adjust. However, as a child you are still trying to find your identity and a sense of belonging.

The author could have just as easily made this a regular picture book but I am so glad she did it as a poetry book. It is more resonating this way. She is so good at what she does. Additionally, the choice of watercolors and the style she used them in captured a lot more emotion and scenery in my head than was actually there on the page. I was very curious as to whether this is a true story or not. I appeared that it was the author sharing truths from her childhood and reminiscing about the good times that she will forever cherish and take with her as she grows old. It also touches a lot on her hardships and how she gets through it all which I find very inspirational. As you can probably tell, I absolutely loved this book. I really learned to love this girl and appreciate her for all that she has been through and how she handles it all. I loved how Janet was able to truly get into the mind of the child and speak about the certain details that would be going through an eight year old’s mind. The simplicity of it all actually made it more complex and multifaceted. Great Book!

Buzz by Janet Wong

This book explores all of the every day noises that happen in our lives today. It’s interesting how there isn’t only one type of buzz noise but yet multifaceted buzz noises that represent the buzzes in our lives. This is a wonderful poetry book that accentuates the author’s personality. It emphasizes all the everyday things that make buzzing or brief loud noises.

The text was big and bold using syntax. The illustrations were very cartoonish and simplistic. I actually truly adore the simplicity of it. The young boy always seems so excited to learn and I love that he is so happy. The boy is just enjoying life and I think it is a fantastic children’s poetry book because it makes learning poetry blissfully fun and cheerful! This is a book I would read to my classroom as well as my kids at home. I am, personally, drawn to it because of the child’s truthful and natural curiosity of everyday things and, especially, noises.

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars by Douglas Florian

It’s neat how certain pages have a circle cutout so when you flip the page it is linked to the theme or object on the next page. It brings a feeling of wonder and surprise to the following page. I love how one of the poems is designed as a spiral. You have to continually turn the book in circles to read the words. I not only enjoyed the rhyming on each page as well as the beautiful bright watercolors, but I enjoyed learning about a lot of interesting facts about the universe. The page numbers are only located on the left-hand side of the left pages in the middle. It gives the effect of looking like small indents to an index. There are also glimpses of real photos within a few of the paintings. For example, when they painted the picture of the earth on different parts of the land or water they zoomed in and placed a picture of an animal that lived in that area to show there was life on that planet. There is also a galactic glossary in the back that adds some additional information to the galaxy and its planets. This is a wonderful book for children to have fun with while learning about space. The illustrations are really what completed this book. Each page has something new and exciting to look at and learn about. I like the wide range of shapes he used and labeled each shape on the galaxy page. It included shapes and titles such as barred, barred spiral, elliptical, egg shaped, spiral, flattened, ball shaped, and irregular. It’s great that they provide options for further reading so students who maybe want more information about space but not necessarily in poem format can use these resources available. I also noticed that the copyright information was in the back as well. I actual think it works great with the author deciding to do that because it looked really neat with how he jumped right into the book at the beginning making the first illustrations really stand out.

Dirt on My Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy

This is a fun-loving joyous book with all kinds of adventures that explore many themes that all revolve around the truths of life. I think it is a fantastic book because it really centers on happiness and how the small things in life can mean so much. It reminds me of my innocence as a child. For example, one page talks about fly away balloons and wondering where they go. I used to write my name and address on helium balloons to try to determine how far and where they travel to. There is so much curiosity as a child and this poem picture book plays a lot into a child’s nosiness nature. This is such a fun-loving book. It really touches on the perspective of the child and the joys they have doing every things such as taking a bubble bath or playing hide-and-seek. It is quite interesting to see Jeff Foxworthy write a poetry book because I when I think of him I think of a comedian about rednecks. This truly shows his multidimensionality. I think almost anyone can relate to some of these poems in this book. I love it reaches such a wide audience. I think this would suffice any grade level because we all experience these things at one time or another in our lives.

The Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyui Choi

This is quite fascinating reading from a perspective of a Korean girl after reading So Far From the Bamboo Grove from the perspective of a Japanese girl. It makes me wonder what it would have been like from the view of a male enlisting during this time.

Honestly, I was surprised to hear Mother’s story and that she made it to the south side alive. The whole experience for everyone involved was amazing to see them fight through all of this. It was unfortunate to read that Kisa and Aunt Tiger didn’t make it out alive. I am very proud of them for making it through all of those trials and tribulations. I was kind of taken back that Sook and Inchun opened up about trying to find their mother after crossing the border after being betrayed by the guide who helped the Russians capture their mother. It’s interesting how Sook emotions about the Russians fluctuated throughout the novel. At first she somewhat trusts them, then is afraid of them and wants to escape them and flee to the south. She appears to have somewhat mixed feelings the whole time which is a big confusing but intriguing nonetheless. It is almost as if she wants to take a liking to them but has to keep her guard up and remind herself of all the horrible things they are doing in the North to innocent families. It is neat how you learn a few words and terms in Korean and Japanese. I felt sad when the Japanese cut down Grandfather’s pine tree and then he died three days later. Also, if Kisa and Aunt Tiger would have tried to cross the border at the same time as Mother, I wonder if they would have eventually made it to the South alive. I have no doubt they would have been captured. What I am not sure of is if they would have been slain or forced into slavery. It was interesting how they began to label everyone as either in the group pink or red. My impression was that the pinks were those on the north that were not as loyal to the Russians as the Reds were. The Reds were known to be brainwashed and basically followed the commander.

Another thing I noticed was that Sook was often called Nuna by her younger brother Inchun. I was wondering if it meant either person in charge or guide. Maybe Nuna meant older sister or sibling? Either way, being called Nuna I assumed had a sense of responsibility attached to it. I think Sook felt an obligation to protect her younger brother. However, Sook seemed a little jealous of her older sister Theresa who became a nun. All and all, there is a lot of substance in this book to dissect. I think it is a book children should read to get a better understanding of our history. Stories like these, I feel, give children a better understanding of our history than just a book of listed facts.

All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant

I was fortunate to teach this book to a small group of fifth graders yesterday while we were out in the prairie learning about the insects, decomposition, grasses, plants, trees, and flowers of the grasslands. This book had a lot of pertinent information and to-the-point facts about the grasslands that I think would be useful to children of all ages. I realized that I could read this book to any child but only the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will mostly likely grasp the more difficult terms. The pictures were absolutely wonderful in displaying the main idea on the page. This would be especially helpful for young kids but I think older children will find it valuable nonetheless. When I showed students these pictures they were captivated with the images. For example, I showed them a photo of the root system beneath the soil and how long the roots extend underground and through the picture they appeared to fully grasp the extent of a root and its purposes and importance is serves to keep the prairie alive through goods times and bad. Additionally, I observed the students’ attention spans between and at each area we went to which helped me to develop an opinion on how effective the words and illustrations were. The drawings looks like oil paints and matched exceptionally well to what the message on the page was trying to describe. Overall, I think this book has a lot of essential facts about the grasslands as well as some great photos that can help in inquiry based learning about the environment.

Explore the Grasslands by Kay Jackson

I was fortunate to teach this book to a small group of fifth graders yesterday while we were out in the prairie learning about the insects, decomposition, grasses, plants, trees, and flowers of the grasslands. This book had a lot of pertinent information and to-the-point facts about the grasslands that I think would be useful to children of all ages. I realized that I could read this book to any child but only the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will mostly likely grasp the more difficult terms. The pictures were absolutely wonderful in displaying the main idea on the page. This would be especially helpful for young kids but I think older children will find it valuable nonetheless. When I showed students these pictures they were captivated with the images. For example, I showed them a photo of the root system beneath the soil and how long the roots extend underground and through the picture they appeared to fully grasp the extent of a root and its purposes and importance is serves to keep the prairie alive through goods times and bad. Additionally, I observed the students’ attention spans between and at each area we went to which helped me to develop an opinion on how effective the words and illustrations were. The drawings looks like oil paints and matched exceptionally well to what the message on the page was trying to describe. Overall, I think this book has a lot of essential facts about the grasslands as well as some great photos that can help in inquiry based learning about the environment.

Foods of Italy by Barbara Sheen

This is a wonderful book to expand a child’s knowledge about foods from a different culture, country, and even continent! It does a great job of developing the main ideas of the literature. I have grown to realize that I really enjoy reading informational books. This book has such a way of making the facts so intriguing. The educational value is very important to me and that children will mostly likely find it useful. I would use this book to teach a lesson about the four main ingredients used in Italy as well as the significance of the varieties of pasta.

The illustrations are extremely realistic and truly painted a picture in my mind of what it would be like to experience the foods of Italy. It was very appealing and mouth watering to see and learn about the different dishes they most commonly prepared for their people. I felt like I wanted to join in and celebrate with them and their culture. I personally love Italian food. It is a favorite of mine! I wouldn’t talk about the wine like they touched on. However, by mentioning it, it does make it more real in feeling the sense of the experience of being in Italy.

All About Seeds by Troll Associates

This is a wonderful book for young children. It teaches the basics of all types of seeds and how they go about spreading their seeds to reproduce. Also, some seeds that young children might not have ever expected to be seeds are addressed and pointed out such as acorns and pine cones. Additionally, I feel many children are unaware of the variety of ways that seeds can travel. The illustrations are beautifully done to match the theme of each page. I think younger children under the age eight will take a liking to this book. It is simple and to the point for young children who cannot process a bunch of information on each page of a book very quickly. It is a wonderful informational book that I would recommend using this as part of a lesson plan. There is a lot of useful information that can be used and learned from this book. I think the author did an exceptional job on writing this book to attract an array of readers. I am not sure what types of paints or colors the illustrator used but the paper seemed to be somewhat iridescent with non-fictional drawings which I really liked and thought fit in well.