BabyMouse RockStar

BabyMouse Rock Star by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

I found this graphic novel for children highly entertaining. BabyMouse is the main character in this self-titled series. In this particular novel, BabyMouse wants to eventually be the first-chair flute player in the band, but along the way she has these daydreams of being a world-famous rockstar. I love the imagination of the character such as being transported to a “Wizard of Oz” like setting when she opens her locker and the characters gently guide her to her first period class. I thought the illustrations were comical and I liked how the narrator had a "voice" in the story where BabyMouse actually answers back to the narrator. It is a very easy read and a fun book to get lost in!

Jazz on a Saturday Night

Jazz on a Saturday Night by Leo and Diane Dillon
I really enjoyed this book because of the time period it represents. It really shows a good introduction into the jazz era. It's about hardworking people that want to enjoy a night of sweet music. I feel like the author really draws the reader in with the descriptive text and illustrations. "A guest with guitar-lightning fingers begin...He takes strings for a walk, strings can talk, now he's in. The musicians smile with a meeting of eyes. A cool night, a cool note-they all improvise." I also feel like there could be a good discussion with students about how "strings go for a walk" and how "strings can talk" and what that actually means. This book also includes an introduction about jazz that gives a general description about the history and origins of jazz that I found helpful.

Painting the Wind-A Story of Vincent Van Gogh

Painting the Wind...A Story of Vincent van Gogh

by Michelle Dionetti and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

"She wished she could make paintings that could talk without words, as Vincent did." This is an intriguing book to me because one of my favorite paintings is Starry Night by Van Gogh. I also thought this was a unique children's book because it dealt with many difficult, but not necessarily foreign, issues such as dealing with a neighbor that everyone thinks is unstable. I thought the most endearing character in the story was Claudine, a young girl who helped her mother clean houses. Claudine noticed Vincent's paintings and became very curious about them and while everyone else thought Vincent was crazy for painting the way he did, Claudine secretly admired them. Vincent was eventually forced out of town and Claudine just had to say good-bye to Vincent. He gave her one of his paintings as a "going away gift." I really enjoyed the whimsical feeling in this book because I feel like I could really picture Vincent painting outside in windy Arles, France and the illustrations are so vivid.

Cranberry Valentine by Wende and Harry Devlin

Cranberry Valentine by Wende and Harry Devlin
In the spirit of Valentine's Day coming up I thought it would be fun to read a Valentine's story! =) This was an enjoyable story about Mr. Whiskers who starts to receive mysterious valentines. It was a surprise to him in the end who was sending the valentines all along. I thought this story was interesting with the simple character development of Mr. Whiskers. At first he thinks the whole idea of getting a valentine revolting, but then as he is receiving them he starts to think very highly of himself. He is then encouraged to be a gentleman and give a box of chocolates to the sender. Although I think this book is a bit outdated for kids nowadays (because I'm thinking that many kids send valentines in the mail anymore), I do think it's a sweet story for a fun read aloud time in class.

100 School Days by Anne Rockwell

100 School Days by Anne Rockwell
This book was especially enjoyable because it brought back memories of celebrating day 100 back when I was in elementary school. Each student in my class had to bring 100 of something and I remember carefully counting out 100 beads to bring to school. It's such an exciting time in school because the 100th day of school sounded like we were already there for an eternity!!! This book is about how kids bring in pennies everyday until they get up to 100 and then they were going to send the money away to people that were affected by a hurricane. (Which could tell us what was going on in the world at that time...I found that part of the story pretty interesting.) This book is also good for practicing counting by 10's until the number 100 is reached.

Rap a Tap Tap Here's Bojangles-Think of That

Rap A Tap Tap Here's Bojangles-Think of That! by Leo and Diane Dillon
..."He talked with his feet!"
I really liked reading this book mostly because the visually appealing illustrations were eyecatching. This book is about Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and his love of tap dancing. This book could be fun for younger grades because there is a repeatable line in the story, "Rap a tap tap-think of that!" That line is on every other page so the kids would probably catch on pretty quickly where it goes, and it would be fun to have the kids interact with the story and have them say that line when you get to the page. I also liked the little biography at the end of the story that told some basic info about Bill Robinson because it's possible most kids have never heard of him and it would be a great time to talk about the arts (i.e. dancing) in the classroom.

Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino

Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino
" At last-breakfast at the diner!"
This book is about a father and son who spend their Friday mornings together. I thought it was a sweet story, but highly unlikely that many kids would be able to relate to spending a weekday morning with one of their parents. I think it would be fun to see what a child would come up with if they had the chance to spend a weekday morning with their parent-would they want to spend the morning coloring, play with their toys, build a fort? Even if spending time with your child during a workday morning isn't very common...how special would that child feel if he or she had a special one on one time with their parents that they could do whatever they wanted and have their own special time together!