A Big Guy Took My Ball

Willems, M.  (2013).  A big guy took my ball!  New York:  Hyperion Books for Children.

When Gerald sees Piggie distraught over a ball that a gets taken away from her, he decides to confront this ‘big guy.’  Unfortunately, Gerald had no idea that the ‘big guy’ was a whale, which made him feel infinitely small and return empty handed back to Piggie.  The whale then comes over to thank them for finding his ball and also reveals that because he’s so big, no one wants to play with him.  Piggie and Gerald then invite him to play a game with them, which makes all three realize that the size of someone shouldn’t prevent them from having fun together.  Though this is a children’s book, it’s theme of acceptance and friendship makes it suitable for both elementary and secondary kids.  Willems captures the reader’s attention with simple, yet engaging text in the word bubbles that represents the emotions and often comical facial expressions of his characters, which are the only illustrations within the book.  This book is a 2014 Geisel Honor Book.

The Three Pigs

Wiesner, D.  (2001).  The three pigs.  New York:  Clarion Books.

Unlike the three little pigs from the past fairytales, these pigs decide to take the story into their own hands.  As the story starts off with the usual huffing and puffing of the wolf, these pigs eventually figure out a way to go outside of their story to escape the big bad wolf.  After visiting two other stories, the pigs finally decide to go home and invite their new companions to stay with them to live happily ever after.  The fact that Wiesner adds a twist to the traditional story of the three little pigs makes this a great read for upper elementary and middle grade kids who know the original story.  To delineate the differences between the two versions of the story, Wiesner uses colorful cartoon-animated sketches to represent the traditional parts of the story and textured life-like drawings with an attention to detail to express what he’s added.  This story is a 2002 Caldecott Medal Winner.

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade

Sweet, M.  (2011).  Balloons over Broadway: The true story of the puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. 

New York:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

This informational book tells the life of Anthony “Tony” Frederick Sarg and how he became the puppeteer for the Thanksgiving Day Macy’s Parade.  As a young boy, Tony was always interested in knowing how things worked and it wasn’t until he moved to New York (where he met Mr. Macy of Macy’s department stores) that his career as a puppeteer took off.  After a few trial and errors over the years with the Thanksgiving Day Macy’s Parade, Tony finally figured out what he needed to do to make his puppets easy to handle and visible for everyone to see.  Sweet’s collage-like illustrations are just as eye-catching as Tony’s puppets, with an attention to detail and vibrant colors on every page that the reader may not even realize they’re reading a non-fiction text.  And though text is used to progress the story, the illustrations are also used to progress the story as they capture the historic making of Tony’s puppets in the parades.  This read would definitely benefit upper elementary and secondary kids, as well as adults, who are interested in knowing more about the parades on Thanksgiving.  This book is a 2012 Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner.

It's a Book

Smith, L.  (2010).  It’s a book.  New York:  Roaring Book Press.

When Jackass sees Monkey holding something in his hands, he is curious to know what it is.  And though Monkey constantly tells him that it’s a book, Jackass still can’t seem to comprehend what that is and begins to compare his laptop to the book.  However, once Jackass gets the book in his hands and begins to read it, he seems to finally have a better understanding of what a book is, at least until he tells Monkey that he’ll charge it once he’s done with it.  This book is one that anyone can relate to, especially those that understand what the differences are between a book and a technological device, like the Jackass’s laptop.  Though the book is comprehensible for elementary level kids, older kids might also enjoy this book because of the use and double meaning of the term ‘jackass.’  Smith also makes the interactions between Monkey and Jackass comical, with his bland use of colors in his illustrations to represent the flat responses of Monkey.  Here is a link to the trailer of the book:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BK_2VULCU

Mirror, Mirror

Singer, M.  (2010).  Mirror, mirror.  New York:  Dutton Children’s Books.

Instead of the usual ‘happily ever after’ line that is received at the end of every fairytale, this book of reverso poems creates a completely different understanding to how we might have originally viewed some of these popular fairytale characters.  With the first poem being a representation of a character and meant to be understood one way, the second part of the poem its reversal and changes how the reader originally comprehended the first poem.  These poems then give a new voice to characters we are all well accustomed to.  In creating a different outlook to familiar scenes and stories.  The illustrations by Josée Masse are rich and vibrant in color with split images that portray the reverso poems, which indicates who the speaker what their point of view is.  Because of the complexity of some of these poems, this would be an upper elementary and middle grade reading; although early elementary would enjoy the illustrations.  This book would also be a great resource for English classes covering various forms of poetry and its use of poetic devices, like rhyme and imagery.  Here is the link to the author’s website: http://marilynsinger.net/

Where the Wild Things Are

Sendak, M.  (1963).  Where the wild things are.  New York:  HarperCollins Publishers.

Max, a young boy who loves to get into mischief, gets sent up to bed one night without eating dinner as punishment.  Feeling disgruntled, Max then dreams of leaving his bedroom to go to the place where the wild things are.  While there, Max is crowned king and continues being mischievous with the wild things, but soon realizes that he is lonely and wants to be where he is loved.  After making the trek back to his bedroom, Max is happy to see his mother left a hot supper waiting for him.  Sendak’s illustrations are colorfully detailed and textured, giving the characters an almost life-like appearance.  These illustrations also depict the wild imaginations a young boy can have – the bigger the imagination, the more creative the illustration on the page.  And though the wild things are said to be terrible with their claws and eyes, they appear to be innocently harmless creatures.  A definite read for elementary kids to show them themes of parental love and forgiveness, as well as older kids that need practice in analyzing character.  This is a 1964 Caldecott Medal Winner and has been in publication for 53 years.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, B.  (2007).  The invention of Hugo Cabret.  New York:  Scholastic Press.

Hugo Cabret, a young orphan boy who lives within the walls of a train station, tries to repair an old automaton in hopes that it has a message from his father that will guide him to what to do next.  Desperate to fix the automaton to find the answers he needs, Hugo unwillingly becomes involved in the lives of the Mèliés family, who help him realize that they are the missing pieces for his automaton and the answer to his father’s message.  The Mèliés family then adopts Hugo, who became inspired to create his own automaton.  Selznick’s detailed charcoal-like illustrations are beautiful as the actions within the storyline span across pages, incorporating far-away stills and close-ups that provide a dramatic effect.  It seems as if Selznick is using the actual George Mèliés’s filming technique in his sketches.  The themes of friendship, family, and trust make this a great read for upper elementary and secondary kids, especially those into innovative graphic novels and suspense/mystery.  There also always seemed to be a sense of urgency in the tone and voice of the narrator to match Hugo’s desperation to solve the mysteries behind the automaton up until the end, where things seemed to be more lax due to everything being resolved.  This is a 2008 Caldecott Medal Winner.  Here is a link to the book’s website: http://theinventionofhugocabret.com/intro_html5.htm