Children Just Like Me by: Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley

Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: DK Children
Copyright Date: 1995
Number of Pages: 80
Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:
This is a book about children from all over the world. Each page is dedicated to a different child from a different country in the world. It includes kids from all continents except for Antarctica. It has descriptions of kids from as North as the Arctic Circle in Finland and Canada to as South as children from New Zealand and Australia. On each children's description, it includes their name, where they are from, descriptions of their families and friends. It also includes their favorite foods, their school, their church, their home, and stuff like what type of shoes and clothes they wear, if they have any pets, their hobbies.... Everything! It is a great depiction and example of the culture of the countries that these kids come from.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?
This book would be great for kids who are learning about world history. They would benefit from reading about the different cultures around the world, especially from the point of view of children their own age. This is a book that should be in every classroom, for every teacher to use when talking about different countries of the world.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
I don't think that there are any problems with this book, especially because it is informational.

My reaction:
I LOVE THIS BOOK! what a neat idea. For real. I had so much fun reading about all of these children. I learned so many things about the world. It made me realize how lucky we are here in America and how spoiled we are. We take too much for granted. There are so many kids who live in little shacks or huts. But, the biggest part of it is, these kids are happy. The pictures are of them with huge grins on their faces and you can tell they just love their culture it is really quite amazing.

The Great Gilly Hopkins by: Katherine Patterson

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright Date: 1978
Number of Pages: 148
Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:
This book is about an 11-year-old girl named Gilly Hopkins. She is a foster child who has been passed from foster home to foster home but it seems like no one can handle her. She was in a nice one for a while, but then they moved to Florida and left Gilly behind. That is when Gilly got mean. She was as unmanageable as a child could possibly be. She was also brilliant which makes her being unmanageable, even more unbearable! She is placed in a new home with a foster mom called Trotter is an uneducated unmarried woman who takes care of people. She is religious, she is overweight, she is messy, and she is experienced in raising foster kids. Trotter has another foster kid named William Ernest (W.E.). Gilly can't stand any of them. She soon finds out that Trotter feeds a black blind man every night, and not only is Gilly mean, but she is prejudice too. Not long after she moves there, she devises a plan to push every button she can to make her new family and her new teacher hate her. She is manipulative and often times cruel to the people that she is around, she swears just to shock people, she takes the Lord's name in vain, and she doesn't want any friends if they aren't useful to her.

However, behind this mean person, is a little girl who believes in fairy tales, but instead of believing that a prince will come for her, she believes that her mother will come get her. Her real mother. That is her only wish in life. She knows she is mean, she knows that she is cruel, but she is willing to give it up if Courtney (her mom) would come and rescue her from this awful situation that Gilly is in. She gets an occasional letter from her Mom and so Gilly knows her address. She writes Courtney a letter describing how awful it is to live with the people she is with and she tells her to send her money as soon as possible so that Gilly can go live with her.

In the process of getting a book down from the shelf at Mr. Randolph's(the blind, black next door neighbor) Gilly discovers money hidden between the books. She creates a plan to steal this money from Mr. Randolph so that she could buy a ticket to California where her mother lives. She steals the money but it is not nearly enough to get her to where she wants to go. She ends up stealing money from Trotter's purse (money that Trotter got from the collecting tin at church that she was going to take to the bank) and goes and buys her ticket. While she is waiting at the bus station Trotter gets called and she comes to take Gilly home again.

Throughout the next couple months, there is a change in Gilly. She starts to really care about the family that she is with. She teaches W.E. how to stand up for himself, she helps Trotter around the house, she loses her prejudice and cares deeply about Mr. Randolph too. Trotter was such a good influence and Gilly knew that. Right before Thanksgiving, everyone in the house got sick except for Gilly. So, she has to care for everyone in the house. She doesn't mind, but it doesn't make her tired. Come Thanksgiving day there is a knock on the door, and Gilly answers. Come to find out, this woman is her grandmother who didn't even know she had a granddaughter. She promises to take Gilly out of Trotter's home at once thinking that Gilly must hate it there. Gilly doesn't understand why she would think that. But then her grandmother refers to the letter that Gilly sent to her real mother and realizes that she made this happen. She finally found a place that she belonged and was loved and she ruined it because of a letter that she wrote.

By law, she has to go live with her grandma. She is unhappy to leave, but Trotter has taught her well enough that she is polite about it. Around Christmas time Gilly finds out that her mother is coming! Her dreams are coming true! Her mother was going to come and take her away! But, when her mother comes nothing goes as planned. Apparently, Gilly's grandma paid her mother to come and visit. She doesn't even want to be there. Most of all, she doesn't want Gilly. Gilly called Trotter to tell her that she wants to return to live with her, but Trotter said no. She explained that her grandmother needed her now. For probably the first time in Gilly's life she tells someone that she loves her; Trotter of course. Then, she returns to her grandmother and her mom an decides that whatever she does, she wants to make Trotter proud.

Ultimately Gilly learns that life is only happy when there is someone you can love and who loves you in return. She realizes that as long as there is a place to call home and people there who care abut you, it is OK to open up and love people.

Who would benefit from reading this book/Who would I recommend this book to?
From what I heard, this book accurately portrays a lot of foster kids. It is a very realistic book. It is definitley something that I can believe happens. I actually don't know who I would recommend this book to. I think that it is a good book to use in teaching people the real meaning of life. I would recommend it to a high school teacher who wants to teach kids that it is important to love people and to care and be cared for.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
Well, there is swearing, stealing, racism, using, religion, etc... This didn't get placed on the most banned book list for nothing. This is a dangerous book to give to little children. I wouldn't want my young children to learn the words that Gilly knows, and most of all to start using them. I know that it has a good moral, but a lot of kids don't think of a moral they just like the story. I would definitely only give this to people who are old enough to understand and have made decisions on what is right and wrong. There are a lot of parents, I am sure, that wouldn't even let their kids read this book based on the content. I will let my kids read this when they are old enough.

My Reaction:

When I first started reading this book, it made me mad. I didn't like Gilly at all. She was just a bratty kid who wanted her way. Maybe it reminded me too much of babysitting.... I actually told my husband that I was mad that I had to be reading this. But, Whenever that happens, I know that means that I am reading a superbly written book. As I was reading I kept thinking it was a real story. Of course, by the end, I loved it and loved the moral that it teaches. But I do believe that this actually happens, and that there are kids out there who feel the same way Gilly did about being shunted from house to house.... I can understand the great need and desire to be loved. It is a very believable book that I feel lucky to have read.

Stargirl by: Jerry Spinelli

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Laurel Leaf

Copyright Date: 2000

Number of Pages: 186

Reading Level: Young Adult

Summary:

Stargirl is narrated by a kid in high school named Leo Borlock.

But it is about his experience with a girl that has named herself Stargirl.

It starts off when Leo first moves to a town in Arizona. His mom put an add in the birthday section of the newspaper about him and mentioned that he liked to collect porcupine ties. The next morning, he found a gift bag with a porcupine tie in it.

Then it jumps forward to when he is a Junior in High school. She first comes to the school as a sophomore who has been home schooled all her life up until that point. She is the talk of the school for a long time. She is weird and goofy and some people even think that she is crazy. She would bring a ukulele to lunch and play it while prancing around the cafeteria. She would sing people happy birthday in front of the whole school, she would wear ugly/crazy clothes, she would decorate her desk with a table cloth and a flower, every holiday she would give each person in her class a present, and it doesn't end there. She would attend stranger's funerals, leave cards on people's doorsteps, and much more. No one understood where this person came from. At first everyone thought she was strange... then all of the sudden, she became the most popular girl in school. People adored her, she was asked to be on the cheer leading team and when she said yes, the whole school seemed to turn out for sporting events (when before, the school was lucky to get a dozen people there). At the height of her popularity, Leo and his friend Kevin invited her to be on their school TV show Hot Seat. Unfortunately, things started to go bad at that point. At every sporting event, Stargirl would cheer for the other team. That wasn't a big deal until their high school actually started winning... They were undefeated in basketball, and they were loving it. That is when Stargirl's popularity started to go down. She didn't notice because she was always happy just to be herself but people actually started to hate her. They lost a game and from then on, lost every one after that. The school attributed this loss to Stargirl. It was at this point when Stargirl appeared on the Hot Seat. She was slammed. The people interviewing her bashed her and mangled her verbally so bad, that the show didn't even air.

During the midst of all this, Leo began to realize that he was falling in love with Stargirl. She had singled him out above all the others as the guy that she liked, and he felt the same way back. They started spending weekends with each other. She would show him where she gets all her information about people around town. She taught him how to feel, and how to be one with the world around you. She taught him how to be happy with who he is. They were together all the time. Leo was happy... until he realized that the whole school was shunning them. They were shunning Stargirl, but because he was always with her he was being shunned too. That bugged him so much that he told Stargirl that she needed to learn how to fit in, and be a part of the crowd. She tried it. She became normal, she started wearing normal clothes, there was no ukulele music in the lunchroom, she became obsessed with clothes, she changed her name back to Susan (her birth name).... Leo was completely happy again. All he could think of was Susan... until he realized that they were still being shunned. That still made him very upset. People were still mean to her from he cheer leading days.

During this time, she made it into the state public speaking competition as a finalist. Nothing like this ever happened to anyone at the school and so Leo and Susan thought that surely people would like her after she won the competition. Susan was so sure that she would win and she was so sure that the whole school would welcome her back from the competition with open arms that she actually planned when Leo would take her trophy when they lifted her into the air above their heads. Well, she won alright, but there were only three people there. Two teachers and Dori Dolsen, Susan's only friend.

After that, she became Stargirl again. Everything returned, the clothes, the ukulele, the decorated desk... Leo could not face her again. He was so mad that she had given up trying that he was ready to give up on her. He didn't ask her to the end of the year dance... He avoided her in the hallways... he really had given up on her. He decided not to go to the dance. She went alone. She had made a train of flowers that was pulled behind her bike... She walked up to the dance floor and all eyes were on her. She danced by herself like an angel prancing around the dance floor. Slowly things started to change. IT didn't matter to anyone that she came alone, they all seemed to want to be with her. They were entranced by her. Boys headed her way to ask her to dance... but before that happened she requested the DJ play the bunny hop. HE struck up the tune and pretty soon every single person at the dance had formed a line behind her and were all dancing. Everyone except Hillari Kimble and Wayne Parr, the two people in school who hated Stargirl still. The dance train danced around the dance floor and then broke free from the tennis courts and went bunny hopping into the night. They were gone for a long time.... But eventually they returned still in time to the music of the DJ. Hillari was so angry that everyone liked Stargirl again that she walked up to her and yelled at her, "you ruin everything!" and she slapped her across the face. Stargirl stared at her for a while and then as Hillari closed her eyes for the retaliation blow, Stargirl kissed her on the cheek and left. Everyone remembered that night.

Shortly after that, Leo found out from the old man that gave him lots of advice throughout the book, that Stargirl and her family had moved to Minnesota. Over the next few years Leo never forgot Stargirl and what he learned from her. He still thinks about her and wonders where she is and who she has met. One year on his birthday, he received a porcupine tie in the mail...

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would you recommend this book to?

I would encourage any teenager who is about to start high school to read this book. It teaches a valuable lesson about being who you are, and the happiness that it can bring. It shows that conforming to the standard of the crowd around you causes unhappiness and often times failure. Especially failure to be who you were meant to be. This is a good book for kids to read when they are trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

I believe that this book can only do good for people who read it. It doesn't encourage people to hate people like Stargirl. The overall message is to accept and to love those around you.

My reaction:

This was an amazing book. What a character Spinelli created. This book made me want to do good. It made me want to show only love and kindness to the people around me. It teaches such a valuable lesson of courage. Courage to be who you are supposed to be, not who everyone wants you or expects you to be. The only way that you can be truly happy is to be an individual. To have your own opinion, and to not care what other people think about you. This is an important book for people to read. It can teach lessons to anyone and everyone that reads it. I know that you don't have to be as extreme as Stargirl was to show people that you care, but you don't have to blend in just because that is the social norm. I thought that this was a fantastic book.

Love You Forever By: Robert Munsch

Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Firefly Books
Copyright Date: 1995
Number of Pages: 32
Reading Level: Infant to preschool



Summary:
This book is about a child that is growing up and the love that his mother has for him. At each stage of his life she always sings to him while he is sleeping "I'll Love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be." Whether he be an infant or a grown man, she somehow finds a way to sing that to him while rocking him. Eventually she gets old and she can't walk to him anymore but she calls him on the phone and sings her lullaby to him. One evening, she is too old to get out of bed and he sneaks into her room and he cradles her while rocking her back and forth, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my mommy you'll be."

Who would I recommend this book to?
Mothers everywhere!! This is such a sweet book. I think that anyone would be touched by the story.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
None

My reaction:
This book reminds me of my mom. I love it, because I love her. I think it is a good representation of how mothers everywhere feel about their kids.

The Sneetches By: Dr. Seuss

Genre: Picture book
Publisher: Random House
Copyright Date: 1961
Number of Pages: 15
Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:
Some of the sneetches that live on the beaches have stars on the bellies and some don't. The Star-Bellied Sneetches thought they were better than the other sneetches, they wouldn't let the other sneetches into their parties or barbeques. They were stuck up to anyone without a star. The One's without stars were very sad and felt bad for themselves all the time. One day a fix-it-up chap came and visited the sneetches. He had a machine that the sneeches ould go into and come out with a star on their belly! So, all of the starless sneetches went into the machine and came out just like everyone else! The Starbellied sneetches were mad and so they went into the machine to get rid of their stars because, after all, stars were out of style now. But they other sneetches followed suit! Over the course of the day it became messier and messier with sneetches wanting to change themselves. Until, no one could tell who were the star-bellies and who weren't. The fix it up man left with all their money laughing that they would never learn. But, they did learn something that day. They learned that it doesn't matter what you look like, it's inside what counts. A sneetch is a sneetch.

Who would benefit from readnig this book/ who would I recommend this book to?
I would recommend this book to a teacher that is going to teach about racism. This would work the best in a high school or a middle school setting.

What problems/conflict could this book potentially cause?
Sone parents might not like their kids learning about rascism. Especially the young kids.

My reaction:
Once again Dr. Seuss does an amazing job talking about a sensitive subject in a way that children can understand. I love this book. I think that it is special and should be read by everyone.

Whose Mouse are You? by: Robert Kraus

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Copyright Date: 1970

Number of Pages: 40

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

This is a very simple and cute book about a mouse. The narrator starts off asking the mouse who he belongs to, and the mouse replies that he is nobodies. His mother is inside a cat, his father caught in a trap, his sister is far from home and he doesn't have a brother. The narrator then asks him what he will do... He shakes his mother out of the cat, he frees his father from the trap, he find his sister and brings her home, and he wishes for a brother! Now the narrator asks whose mouse he is, he replies, his mother's, father's, sister's... and BROTHER'S!! His parents had another son.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?

Parents of little kids. It is a good read aloud book.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

It could imply that you can't be happy without a mother and father and some children don't have both parents and that could be a problem.

My Reaction:

I thought it was a cute, simple book. Kids would love it because it is about a mouse. I would definately read this to my children.

Amelia Bedelia by: Peggy Parish

Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Copyright Date: 1963
Number of Pages: 20
Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:
Amelia Bedelia was starting her first day as a Nanny for Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. They had to leave but Mrs. Rogers gave her a list of things to do. She told her just do exactly what the list says. Unfortuneately, Ameilia Bedilia did exactly that. When the list said to dust the furiture, She three dust all over it. When it said to draw the drapes, she drew a picture of the drapes. Change the towels to Amelia meant change their appearance and so she cut them with scissors, Put the lights out.... Amelia hung the lights on the laundry dryer outside... When Mr. and Mrs. Rogers got home, they were alarmed to see all that Amelia Bedelia had done. Their towels were ruined, and their furnature covered in dust! Mrs. Rogers was about to fire her but Mr. Rogers made her take a bite of the Lemmon Merangue pie that Amelia Bedelia had made as a surprise. She forgot how angry she was and she was determined to keep Amelia for as long as possible as long as she kept making the pie! They learned to tell Amelia exactly what to do.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would I recommend this book to?
This is a great book to read aloud to children. It is funny and I can see kids just loving all the crazy things she does! This is a good book for teachers to have.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
None

My reaction:
This is such a clever book. I think that the play on words that the author uses are hilarious! I can't help but love the character and how innocent she is!

Winnie-the-Pooh: In which Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets into a Tight Place By: A.A. Milne

Genre: Picture Book
Publisher Dutton Juvenile
Copyright Date: 1926
Number of Pages: 10
Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:
After doing his stretches in the morning, Pooh went for a walk humming as he went. He came across a hole and knew that rabbit must live in it. He called into the hole asking if anyone was home. A voice replied "Nobody." Pooh thought that someone must be home and so he asked again. Finally rabit, finding out it was Pooh Bear, let him in. Rabbit fed him honey and milk, Pooh's favorite. When pooh was done he told rabbit it was time for him to go. When he tried to make it out of the hole, he got stuck! Rabbit couldn't even pull him out. So, Rabbit went and got Christopher Robin . Christopher Robin decided that Pooh had to wait there for a week so that he could slim down. That was the only way he was going to get out of the hole. Rabit used Pooh's legs as towel holders and C.R. read Pooh stories everyday. Finally, when a week was up, they got all of their forest friends, and together, they were able to pull Pooh out!

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?
Little kids love reading Winnie the Pooh. He is a silly old bear with lots of silly friends. Their stories are fun to read about. I recommend this to any little kid!

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially?
I don't think there are any problems

My Reaction:
I love Winnie the Pooh. This was the original version of the story so it was cool to see the changes from then and now. The illustrations are a lot more simple and they aren't colored, but it is fun.

Where the Wild Things Are by: Maurice Sendak

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Harper Collins

Copyright Date: 1963

Number of Pages: 48

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

One night Max wore his wolf suit and made all sorts of trouble for his mother. She called him a wild thing and he told her, "I'll eat you up!" Consequently, we was sent to bed without supper. That night a forest grew in his room. The walls became the world around him and hie ceiling hung with vines. There was a private boat waiting for him on the ocean. He got in it and he sailed for a long long time until he came to where the wild things are. The Wild Things were there roaring and gnashing their teeth, but Max shouted for them to be still, and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all! He became king of the wild things. He shouted that it was time for the rumpus to start! They danced and swung from vines and played all the time. Then Max called for them to stop and for everyone to go to sleep. They did, but as they lay there Max missed his family. He gave up being king of the wild things and got back in his boat and sailed back to his room, where his supper was waiting for him.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?

This is a well loved children's book. I think everyone would do well to own it. It is a good book for parents to read to their children because it has great pictures and it is repetitive in a lot of it.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

This book could teach kids that it is OK to disobey because then you can go on wild adventures... I remember this book used to scare me and so you might use caution when reading it to little kids. Especially little girls.

My reaction:

I think this is a great book. It isn't my favorite children's book but it is still good none-the-less. The pictures are what make it exciting for me because it has great illustrations.

The Stinky Cheese Man by: Jon Scieszka

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Copyright Date: 1992

Page Numbers: 56

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

There was a very old couple and they were lonely. So, one day the little old lady decided to make a man out of stinky cheese. She gave him bacon as a mouth and olives as eyes and she put him in the oven to bake. When he was done he popped out of the oven and the couple was appauled at the smell. He had a phrase that he said which was, "Run, run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the stinky cheese man." He said that, and then ran out the door. They did not want to follow him. He came across a cow and chanted his phrase but the cow didn't want to follow him either. The stinky cheese man ran into a little girl and boy playing outside of their school. They smelled him and were totally grossed out. He told them all the people that he ran from and chanted his phrase to them, but they ran away from him into the school so that their teacher wouldn't catch them and make them eat him. Then, the stinky cheese man came upon a river with no bridge. He didn't know how to cross. A sly fox came up and told him to hop on his bacj and he would take him across to the other side. The stinky cheese man did but halfway across the river, the fox caught his scent and started gaging and he knocked the stinky cheese man into the water, and the SCM fell apart.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?

This is primarily a humor book. It does a good job retelling a familiar tell in a whole to context. I Would recommend this to anyone who wants to laugh.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?

I don't want my kids to ever learn this phrase, because Ican totally see kids loving to say it while running fromtheir parents.

My reaction:

I think it is gross and refreshingly original. I love the idea of changing the characters or the theme of a book. Good idea!

Miss Nelson is Missing by:Harry Allard

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Sandpiper

Copyright Date: 1977

Page Numbers: 32

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

Miss Nelson taught in room 207 and she had a terrible class! They would never listen, they would trow paper airplanes, they would spit spitballs.... She couldn't get them under control! Something had to be done. The next day, Miss Nelson didn't show up for class. The kids were really excited because now they could really do whatever they wanted! They were being really rowdy when they heard footsteps in the hall. They turned to see who it was. It was an ugly lady with a nasty black dress on, her name was Viola Swamp. She was mean. She told the kids to sit down and not to talk or else! She made them work so hard. There was no story time. The kids were so afraid of her. They even missed Miss Nelson. They kids tried to imagine what happened to her but each idea seemed as unlikely as the next. Some kids tried to go to her house to see what was wrong but no one answered and then they saw Miss Viola Swamp coming up the road so they left in a hurry. Some kids tried hiring a detective, but he wasn't much help either. Just when the kids in 207 were about to give up, Miss Nelson returned! They missed her so much! They were good for her from then on. When they asked where she wasn't she just smiled and said, "that's my little secret." That secret? Miss Swamp was Miss Nelson in disguise!

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?
This is a cute book that I would recommend reading to a new class. You could talk about acceptable and not acceptable classroom behavior portrayed in the book.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
It could teach some kids what a spit ball is. That is something you want to keep hidden from that for as long as possible.

My Reaction:
This is a cute book. I grew up with it. It used to scare me, because Miss Swamp looks pretty frightening. But I love it.

Holes by: Louis Sachar

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Copyright Date: 2000

Page Numbers: 233

Reading Level: 12+

Summary:

Ok, Holes has three different story lines going on that all connect nicely in the end. I am going to explain each of the separately and then connect them after:

Story line 1:

Stanley Yelnats and his family had bad luck. His dad was an aspiring inventor who never seemed to get his big break. At the moment he was working on an invention that would aid in the recycling of old tennis shoes, so, their house smelled nasty. Stanley was a chubby kid who got picked on a lot by the kids at school. He hated it. One day a kid named Derrick Dunes stole Stanley's notebook and put it in the toilet. Stanley had to fish it out, and because of that, he missed his bus. On his walk home he was hit in the head by a pair of old tennis shoes! Thinking that it was a stroke of good luck, and perhaps a sign, he started to run home to show the shoes to his dad. That was when he was stopped by a police car. The policeman saw the shoes and arrested him for theft. Apparently, the shoes belonged to Clyde "Sweet feet" Livingston and he had donated them to the homeless shelter. They thought that Stanley had stolen them. They didn't believe that they had fallen from the sky. So, Stanley was sentenced to eighteen months at Camp Green lake, a correctional camp for troubled boys. Upon arriving at the camp though, it definitely wasn't green, and it definitely wasn't a lake. He was told by his camp counselor, Mr. Pendanski, that everyday the boys of Camp Green lake dug holes. Each hole was five feet wide and five feet deep (Their shovel was five feet long). The boys got up at 4:30 every morning and ate breakfast (from a can - everything at Green lake was canned) and they would start digging their holes. They couldn't come home until their hole was dug.

For the first few weeks Stanley (nicknamed "Caveman" by the other inmates) was just trying to survive the heat of the summer, the mean counselor Mr. Sir, and the pain that shoveling brought to his hands. Everyday seemed harder than the day before. There were mountains in the distance that would sometimes look like they would get rain, but it never came to them. Sometimes in the morning when the sun was coming up, he could see the outline of the mountains and there was one peak that looked like a giant hand giving the thumbs up sign. He would write letters to his mom every week but would lie to her and tell her he was enjoying himself on the lake and he was making many new friends. Really, at camp Green lake it was every man for himself. The ring leader of the group, X-Ray, was only your friend if he wanted something from you. A rule of the camp was if anyone found anything that warden thought was interesting, they would get the day off. The rule of the inmates was, if anyone found anything interesting, they would give it to X-Ray and he would get the day off. That happen to Stanley. He found a small gold cap that had the initials KB on the bottom. But, he had to give it to X-Ray. X-Ray got the day off, but not until the warden came out and had all of the boys start digging in the same hole. She had they dig an enormous hole around the spot that the cap was supposedly found (when in reality it was found by Stanley in a different hole). It was at that point that Stanley began to realize that they weren't just digging to build character, he knew that the Warden was looking for something. He put two and two together with the initials KB. He realized that they stood for Kate Barlow the famous outlaw, who had robbed his grandpa a long long time ago. He figured she must have buried her stolen riches out on this lake because after "Kissin Kate" robbed his grandpa and left him to die in the desert, Stanley's grandpa survived. He later said, that he found refuge under "God's Thumb." This, Stanley thought, must be the same mountain that he could see sometimes in the distance that looked like a thumb. He was tempted to tell the warden where the lid was really found but he didn't want to get into trouble.

Stanley struck up a friendship with a boy at the camp that everyone called Zero. Zero didn't talk to anyone but Stanley. Zero knew that Stanley was innocent. Zero asked Stanley if he could teach him to read. Stanley at first said no, but they made a deal. Zero would dig part of Stanley's hole for him and Stanley would teach him to read and write. This went on for a while but the other boys were mean to Stanley about it. They called Zero his slave (Zero was black) and they would torment them everyday. One day was really bad and they started beating on Stanley. Mr. Pendanski and Mr. Sir came running over, one shot his gun up in the air, and everyone stopped. The Warden came over to investigate. No one was happy that Stanley was letting Zero dig his hole for him. Mr. Pendanski started picking on Zero for being stupid (he did that a lot) and finally Zero got fed up. He took a shovel to Mr. Pendanski's head and ran off. No one bothered to chase him because it was a nine hour drive of desert in both directions. The counselors knew Zero would die in no time.

Stanley stayed a couple more days after Zero left. The counselor's came to see if Stanley knew where he was. They were guarding the water spout at night so that Zero couldn't sneak back in. They decided there in front of Stanley to destroy record of Zero ever being there, or ever being alive. Zero was a ward of the state and so no one would come looking for him... That next day, Stanley took off to try and find zero. First, he stole Mr. Sir's truck but drove it into a hole not long after he started driving. Mr. Sir was standing there looking at him and so he took off running. He had no water. After a day of walking he almost turned back but found Zero underneath a upside down boat named "Mary Lou." Under the boat were jars of a peach concoction that Zero had named Sploosh. Stanley tried it, but once the jar was gone, there was none left. Stanley tried to persuade Zero to go back to camp with him but Zero refused. He said that he would rather die than go back. So, Stanley figured their only option was to make their way to God's Thumb. It took them all day and Zero was sick for almost the whole time. Stanley found out a lot about Zero. His real name was Hector Zeroni, he was homeless for most of his life, his mom abandoned him in a park, and he was the one who stole the shoes that Stanley was imprisoned for. Stanley didn't care. For the first time in his life he had a friend, and courage, and strength. Eventually, as they were climbing the mountain, Zero got too sick to walk so Stanley carried him up. As the ground got less steep a horrible strong smell came to them. Stanley realized, it was onions! They were in a huge field of onions. They ate them hungrily. Stanley used the shovel that Zero had to dig a hole in the ground where they found water.

They spent the next few days there, eating onions and drinking the ground water. Stanley was happy for the first time in his life. Even though there was a possibility that he could die, he was happy. Stanley told Zero about the hole that he found the cap in and what it might mean. They decided to go to that whole and dig around to see if they could find something! They made the trek the next day. They made it to the hole in mid afternoon and they waited until night fell to start digging. Stanley dug while Zero snuck into camp to get food and water. Eventually, Stanley found something. It was a metal suitcase object! he dug it out and just as he was about to get out of the hole, a light shown on him and it was the Warden, Mr. Pendanski, and Mr. Sir there staring at them. The Warden demanded that Stanley give her the Suitcase. Stanley refused. Just as they were going to force Stanley out, the light fell on the bottom of the hole. It was a nest of Yellow Spotted lizards! (I haven't mentioned them before, but they are the most dangerous creature out on the lake, one bite from their black teeth kills their victim). But, apparently, yellow spotted lizards don't like onion blood, and that is what Zero and Stanley had! They were all over the boys and so the counselors wouldn't come near them. They were saved. At least for the moment. As, the warden was waiting for the lizards to back off, she told them that a lawyer had come to take Stanley away but he wasn't there. They had covered the fact that he ran away by telling her that he was ill.

When the sun came up a car pulled up and it was indeed a Lawyer there to get Stanley. Apparently there was a mistake and he was innocent after all. As the sun fell on the hole, the lizards backed off to find more shade. The Warden tried to convince the Lawyer that the suitcase that Stanley held was hers. But Zero had spent the whole night reading the name on the suitcase and he told everyone that it was Stanley's, and indeed, it had Stanley's name on it! As Stanley and Hector were leaving in the Lawyer's car, it started to rain on Green lake.

In the end, the Warden gets in trouble and is forced to sell the camp. Stanley and Zero get to keep what is in the suitcase (which actually belonged to his great-great Grandpa) which contained documents and files that made Stanley and Hector a little less than 1 million each. Stanley bought his parents a new house, and Hector hired a private investigator to fin his mom. Stanley's dad invented a foot odor cure that smelled of spiced peaches (remember that for later).

Story Line 2:

Stanley's great- great grandfather's name was Elya Yelnats. He was a poor boy who fell in love with a girl named Myra Mink. He went to her father to ask him for her hand but someone else had already asked too. The father asked Elya what he would give him in return but all he had was love. Elya went to Madam Zeroni, an old Egyptian woman that he had befriended to ask for advice. She told him that if he was to win the girl, he had to take a piglet up to the top of the mountain and have it drink out of the stream that ran backwards. HE was to sing to the piglet as he walked. If he did this, he would become stronger and so would the piglet. But there was one condition., once he won the girl, he was to come back to Madam Zeroni and carry her up the mountain so that she could drink out of the stream. If he forgot to do this, his family would be cursed forever. He took the pig up the mountain every day, and as the pig grew stronger, he did too. Finally, the day came what he was to bring the pig to Myra's father. He neglected to take the pig up the mountain that day and so his pig and the other guy's pig weighed exactly the same. So, the father let the girl choose. The other guy was 45 and weighed a ton and so Elya thought that it would be a give in, but the girl couldn't decide. That made Elya mad so he gave the pig to the other two as a wedding present and hopped on the first ship to America that he could. HE completely forgot about Madam Zeroni. His family was cursed for a long time.

Story Line 3:

110 years before Stanley came to Camp Green Lake it had been a beautiful lake with a town nestled on one of its shores. Peach trees would grow along the coast and every Forth of July there would be contests for the best peach recipes. But no one dared compete with Miss Katherine Barlow's spiced peaches because they would always win. Miss Katherine was a school teacher and everyone loved her. There was a fellow in Green Lake who was also known for his produce. Sam the onion man, was known across town fro his healing onions. He was proud of his donkey Mary Lou, who had eaten onions every day of her life and he was nearly fifty years old. Every week Sam would cross the lake in his boat, Mary Lou, to his special onion field and he would bring back a boat load full. Well, Miss Katherine was every single man's fancy in the town, especially Charles Walker. But he like all of the others that were after her, was rude and selfish. Then there was Sam. Miss Katherine would have Sam come and fix up the school house every once in a while. She would find random things for him to fix. She was sad when there was nothing left that was broken. She had fallen in love with him. One rainy day she heard Sam calling to the town about his onions and she ran out to him. They kissed. The problem was, Sam was black, and black men at that time were not allowed to kiss black women. The town, led by Charles Walker, burned down the school, and went after Sam and shot him. It never rained on Green Lake again. After that, Katherine became one of the most fear outlaws in Texas. She would rob men and if she killed them, she would kiss them with her rattlesnake lipstick. She was "Kissin Kate Barlow." After many years of that, she ended up in Green Lake again; what was left of it at least. One day Charles Walker burst in with his gold digger wife demanding that she tell them where she hid her treasure. They made her walk outside for a long time in order to force the whereabouts out of her. She got bit by a yellow spotted lizard and died. The Walker Family was digging for that treasure form that point on.

How it all connects:

-Zero was a descendant of Madam Zeroni, and Stanley was a decedent of Elya... The day Stanley carried Zero up the mountain, was the day the curse was broken.

- The sploosh that Zero lived off of was Miss Katherine's peaches.

- The boat that they hid under was Sam's old boat.

-The onions that brought their strength back were from Sam's onion Field

-The foot odor cure that Stanley's dad invented smelled exactly like Katherine's peaches and they named it Sploosh.

-The Warden was Ms. Walker - Descendant of Charles Walker

Who would benefit from reading this book/would would I recommend this book to?

I believe that everyone would benefit from reading this book, and I recommend it to everyone. This is especially good for kids who are figuring out who their real friends are. This book outlines nicely, what kind of people make good friends and what kind of people make bad.

What conflicts/problems could this book potentially cause?

Well, I don't think that we want a bunch of kids experimenting with old tennis shoes... But other than that, I don't think there are any potential problems.

My Reaction

This is probably one of my favorite books ever written. It is an easy read and it is entertaining! The author really is extremely clever in working all the plots together. It was hard just summarizing it let alone writing it. But, I think that it is a good book, and it is easy to get engrossed in. I also like how the movie is almost identical to the book. That is a nice touch.

D.W. the Picky Eater by Marc Brown

Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Copyright Date: 1995
Page Number: 32
Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:
D.W. is causing a lot of trouble for her parents because she will not eat anything. She drops food under the table, she feeds it to the dog, she refuses to even try things. Her friend Emily had her over for dinner which was spaghetti but D.W. wouldn't take it with sauce on it. She hates anything that is green as well. Her family went out to eat and the salad that she got had spinach on it, her all time least favorite. she hit the salad bowl and the salad wen flying. That was the final straw. Her parents decided to not take her to restaurants anymore. She had to stay home with a babysitter who made her eat carrot sticks and go to bed at 8 o'clock. When Arthur got back from a Chinese restaurant with his parents he had a cool little umbrella. D.W. was given one more chance to behave in a restaurant. They went out for her grandma's birthday. The waiter gave her a children's menu, and she ordered a pot pie. Everyone waited, holding their breath, as she tasted it. She liked it! She asked the waiter what was in it and he said it was a pastry crust and... lots and lots of SPINACH!

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would I recommend this book to?
I think this book can work wonders for parents who have children that are picky eaters. They can read it with their children and talk about what D.W. was doing wrong, and what she could do better.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?
I don't see this book having any problems. Unless kids get the idea that they should be picky eaters too...

My Reaction:
Arthur is one of my favorite series. I used to make sure I watched the show every time I could. I love it. I used to learn things from it too, like how to handle different situations that might come up at school. This was a cute book that really shows that side of kids. A lot of kids are picky eaters and this addresses that problem.

The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree By: Stan and Jan Berenstain

Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Random House for Young Readers
Copyright Date: 1978
Page Number: 48
Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:
Three little bears leave the house and find a spooky old tree. One has a rope, one has a light and one has a stick. They go into the spooky old tree and find a twisty old stair. They go over it. An alligator nearly gets the one in the back and he loses his rope! Next, they find a giant key and when they twist it, they find a moving wall. They go through the wall into a spooky old hall! But one nearly gets chopped by a knights armor! She loses her stick, Next, they come across a giant sleeping bear, and they have to climb over him! He wakes up and chases them, up a latter, through the floor, down a slide and out the door! They ran home as fast as they could.

Who would benefit from reading this book/Who would I recommend this book to?
This is an adventure book. Children who like to explore and use their imaginations would enjoy this book a great deal. That is who I would recommend it to.

What conflicts/problems could the book potentially cause?
It could teach children that it is an adventure to climb over a sleeping bear... This is not the case. When I read this to my kids I will definitely teach them to stay far away from bears.

My Reaction:

I love Berenstain Bear books! I also read this when I was growing up. I remember it used to be really scary back then! Especially when the alligator jumps out of the water. I love all of them!

Millions of Cats by: Wanda Gag

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Puffin

Copyright Date: 1928

Page Numbers: 32

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:

This book is about a very old couple who is very lonely. The very old woman wanted a cat and so the very old man set out to get her one. He walked over hills and through valleys. He walked a long long way to find his woman a cat. Then, he came to a hill that was covered in cats. Millions and Billions and Trillions of cats. He tried to pickt he cutest one, but once he decided on one, he saw another one that he wanted... and then another one.... so he decided to take them all back to his wife. They came to a pond and they cats said that they were thirsty and so he let them drink out of the pond... But they drank the WHOLE pond. They told him they were hungry so he let them eat grass off a hill, but when they were done, there was no grass left... Finally he got home to his wife. She was flustered! She said she only wanted one cat. So, the very old man asked the cats to choose amongst themselves which one was the prettiest. They all started fighting because they each thought that they were the prettiest. A brawl broke out and all the cats started fighting. They very old couple went inside their house to hide. When they went back out, all the cats were gone. They had eaten each other. There was just one cat left who said he didn't get touched because he thought he was homely so the other cats left him alone. They were so happy that they took him in and cleaned him up, and he became a very pretty cat. The old couple wasn't lonely anymore.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?

People who like cats would like this book. It also has a phrase that repeats throughout the whole book, so parents would do well in readnig it to their young beginning readers.

What conflicts/problems could this book potentially cause?

The cats eat each other. It's not gorey or anything but it still is kind of strange. I don't actually know what to make of that part. I would hope that that part wouldn't teach children that they have to be the prettiest to be liked the best. I also hope that it wouldn't teach children to look down on themselves in order to be loved either.

My Reaction:

I thought it was weird. It definitley wasn't one of my favorites. I am not a huge cat person, so a book about millions of cats was a little too far for me. I'm not sure what kids could learn from this book.

Make Way For Ducklings by: Robert McCloskey

Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Copyright Date: 1941
Page Number: 68
Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were flying around trying to find a place to live. They landed on an island in the middle of a pond in Boston and thought that that was a perfect place to start their family. They spent the night there and in the morning they were fed by passers by on a tour boat (that looked like a swan). They were really excited to live there until Mr. Mallard almost got hit by a bycicle! They decided that wasn't a good place to have babies and so they flew a little way over to the banks of the Charles river and decided that it was perfect. As they were checking out their new neighborhood they ran into a policeman named Michael. Michael fed them peanuts and so they returned to him every day. Soon, after, Mrs. Mallard laid eight eggs and so she had to stay really close to them. Then their eggs hatched. They were kept busy by all their new ducklings. Mr Mallard took a trip up the river and he left Mrs. Mallard to care for their children. She taught them everything about city life and how to stay out of trouble. When they were ready, she took them on a walk through the city. They followed her in a perfectly striahgt line. They came to the highway and were almost run over but Michael came to the rescue! He stopped the traffic to let them pass. She marched them all through the city and everyone stopped and stared. Michael held back the traffic on another street and let them right into the public garden where they were to meet Mr. Mallard. They reached the pond and swam to the middle where the island was. They decided to make their home there!

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?
This book is a great book to use when talking about protecting the environment. Michael was a good example of taking care of the wildlife. It is also a good book to help kids apreciate what a wonderful enviornment they live in! This book is really good for anyone to own.

What conflicts/problems could this book potentially cause?
Just becuase the ducks in this story are friendly, doesn't mean that all ducks are friendly. Some ducks are pretty mean so kids have to be careful around them so they don't get nipped by one. Kids should also be careful around the babies. You don't want to harm a baby duck, that would be sad.

My Reaction:
I thought this was a good book. I love ducklings, they are the cutest. It was fun to learn about the lives of ducks living in a city.

The Letter (from Frog and Toad are Friends) By: Arnold Lobel

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Harpercollins

Copyright Date: 1970

Page Number: 64 (the whole book)

Reading Level: 6-8

Summary:

Frog went over to taods house to find toad sitting on his front porch looking really sad. Frog asked him wh he was sad and toad told him that he was waiting for the mail, but mail never came. Mail time was his sad time. Frog sat with Toad for a while and then had an idea. He went home and wrote Toad a letter and gave it to snail to deliver to Toad. He went back to Toad's house to find Toad taking a nap. He told Toad that he needs to come outside to wait for the mail. But Toad knoew that he wasn't going to get any. After a lot of persuading Frog convinced Toad to come outside to wait for the mail, because he had sent him a letter! So they waited together on the porch. Four days later, the snail delivered the letter! Toad was very happy to have gotten a letter.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?

This would be an excellent book to read to children when you are going to teach them about writing a letter. I would recommend this book to anyone who is going to be teaching letter writing!

What conflicts/problems could this book potentially cause:

I see no problems with this book.

My Reaction:

I always liked Frog and Toad books when I was younger. I can recall having a whole stack of them by my bed and I would read them at night. The stories always seemed to be a lot longer than they actually are. But I like this story a lot. It really shows true friendship.

The Snowy Day By: Ezra Jack Keats

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Puffin

Copyright Date: 1962

Page Numbers: 28

Reading Level: From infant to preschool age

Summary:

This is a book about a little boy named Peter, who woke up to find everything covered in snow! He was so excited he put on his snowsuit and ran outside. He walked up the street to find the snow piled high so he could walk on the sidewalk. He made different patterns with his feet. He found a stick in the snow and used it to knock the snow off of a tree. The snow fell down onto Peter's head. He saw a bunch of kids having a snowball fight, but he knew he was too small to join in. So, he made a snowman and snow angels instead! He climbed up a hill pretending to be a mountain climber, and then slid all the way down! He went back home, but before he went inside, he packed a bunch of snow into a ball and put it in his pocket to save for later just in case the snow melted. After he got ready for bed, he checked his pocket only to find that the snowball was gone! He was sad! But when he woke up in the morning the snow was still falling everywhere! He called his friend and together they went out into the snow.

Who would benefit from reading this book/who would I recommend this book to?

This would be a great book to read to children in the calssroom when you are about to learn about how snow works! I would recommend this to teachers and parents of young children.

What conflicts/problems could this book potentially cause?

I know that this book was the first book published with a black child as the main character (or something like that) That might have caused problems back in the day, but now, I think that it is good for everyone!

My Reaction:

I think this is an extremely cute book! Peter is an adorable character and his little snowsuit is just precious! I liked how it taught little lessons along the way. For instance: He always ate breakfast, because it is important to eat breakfast, and he knew that he wasn't supposed to play with the big kids yet, and snow melts when it is somewhere warm!

A Chair For My Mother by: Vera B. Williams

Genre: Picture book

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Copyright Date: 1982

Reading Level: 4-8

Page Numbers: 32

Summary:

This book is about a little girl who lives in an apartment with her mother. Her mom works in a diner and the little girl sometimes goes after school to help clean the salt and pepper jars and clean the ketchup bottles. The change that her mom gets from waiting tables goes into a big jar that they are using to save up for a chair. When her mom gets home from work, sometimes she is happy, and sometimes she is tired. Some days she got lots of tips ans other days she got hardly any, which makes her mom worried. The little girl's grandma lives with them and so sometimes they count the money together. The reason why they are saving up to buy a chair is because all of their furniture burned up in a fire that burned their house down. They lived withher aunt and uncle for a while but then they moved into an apartment downstairs. They had yellow walls and the floor was shiny, but the rooms were very empty without furniture. Neighbors and family all gathered together with them and brought them furniture like a kitchen table and chairs, a bed, a set of kitchen dishes, curtains, and a rug. However, they didn't have a sofa and her mom had no where to rest when she got home from work. One day her mom brought home a huge jar and they decided to fill it and use it on a comfy chair! Finally the day came when the jar was full. They went to the bank and got a bunch of coin rolls and filled them up and counted their change! IT was more than enough to buy the chair they wanter. Her aunt and uncle picked them up with their pickup and took the new chair back to the little girl's apartment. The little girl, her mom and her granma all got a picture together with the chair. Now, everyone in the family had a place to sit.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would I recommend this book to?

I would recommend this book to someone who has gone through something similar to the little girl. Someone who has lost rhie possessions somehow might appreciate how this girl got through having everything taken from her by a fire.

What problems/conflicts would this book potentially cause?

I don't think this book could cause any problems.

My reaction:

I thought this was a cute book. The story was kinda random, about buying a new chair, but it was good. I guess it is not really about buying a chair but more about dealing with hard times, and sticking with the people you love, because they will be the ones to help you.

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! By: Jon Scieszka

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Scholastic

Copyright Date: 1989

Number of Pages: 32

Reading Level: 9-12

Summary:

This is the story of the three little pigs told from the wolf's perspective. Alexander T. Wolf to be exact. One day, he had a horrible sneezing cold and he was making a cake for his granny's birthday when he realized that he didn't have any sugar! He walked over to his next door neighbor's house to see if he could borrow a cup of sugar. This neighbor was not very smart because he built his house out of straw. So, when Alexander knocked on the door, the door fell in. He didn't want to be rude and walk in so he called out for the pig, but there was no answer. He was about to leave when he felt a sneeze coming on... He sneezed a great sneeze and the pigs house fell down. He also killed the pig in the process. Being a wolf, he couldn't let that good food go bad, so he ate it. He felt a bit better so he walked to his next neighbor's house, who happened to be the dead pig's brother. This brother had made his house out of sticks. Alexander asked for a cup of sugar and the pig told him to go away, he was shaving. Just then he felt another sneeze coming on... he sneezed and knocked this house down too... and killed another pig. So, he ate it too. So, he made his journey to the next pigs house. This house was made out of bricks. When he asked this pig for sugar, he told him to go away and not bother him again. Alexander sneezed again, but this house didn't fall. The pig told him that his granny could sit on a pin. Then, Alexander was mad. No one talked about his granny that way. So, he tried breaking down the door. That is when the news showed up and took pictures of him sneezing and yelling at the pig. Alexander was arrested and taken to jail. He was framed, and deemed the Big Bad Wolf.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ who would I recommend this book to?

This book is hilarious. I would definitely suggest it to anyone with a sense of humor. This book could be used when teaching children about fairy tales and how you can switch the roles in a fairy tale to create a whole new story with the same characters.

What problems/conflicts would this book potentially cause?

I don't see any problems with this book.

My Reaction:

This book is so funny. It definitely gives you a new perspective of the old story of the three little pigs. It is fresh and comical and I think that anyone would enjoy it. I think the author is very clever with his words and his idea.

Madeline by: Ludwig Bemelmans

Genre: Picture Book

Publisher: Puffin

Copyright Date: 1977 (originally published in 1939)

Number of Pages: 48

Reading Level: 4-8

Summary: The story takes place in Prais where 12 girls lived in an old house overseen by Miss Clavel. The smallest of the little girls was Madeline. She was mischevious, she was not afraid of mice or the tiger at the zoo. Nobody knew better how to frighten Miss Clavel. One night Miss Clavel awoke to the cries of someone from the girl's bedroom. She rushed in to see what was the matter to find Madeline with tears in her eyes. She called the doctor and it turns out the Madeline needs her appendix taken out. Two hours later, she finds herself in the hospital with a scar on her tummy and lots of presents from her dad. A few days later all the girls come and visit with Miss Clavel, they bring her flowers and they play with her new toys. They are all amazed at her scar. They left promising to see her again. That night Miss Clavel woke up again feeling something wasn't right. She rushed to the girls' room to find all of them crying because they want their appendix taken out too. Miss Clavel leaves the room smiling happy that they are all healthy.

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would you recommend this book to?

I would recommend this book to parents who want to read a good book to their kids. It has a nice flow with a good use of rhyming. Kids could follow along easily and enjoy the story.

What problems/conflicts would this book potentially cause?

I don't think there are any problems with this book

My Reaction:

I remember reading this as a child and I used to love it. It is a simple story that kids love. My mom used to read it to my sister and my sister had a stuffed madeline doll. It is a book that has been, and will be around for a long time.

Asbjornsen and Moe's Fairy Tales

East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon

Summary:

There was a poor family that lived in a village. All of their children were fair but none was as beautiful as their youngest daughter. One day a White bear came knocking at the door. He said to the father I will make you rich if you let me have your youngest daughter. The Father asked the daughter about it and she refused but he talked her into it and so the bear took her with him to a castle far away. She had everything she wanted. All she had to do was ring a bell and she would get what she needed. At night she would go to bed and after the lights were out, a man came into her bed with her to sleep. She knew it was her husband but she never knew what he looked like because he would leave the room before she woke up. After living there a while she started to get lonely and sad because she missed her family. The bear took her back to visit but warned her not to take the advice that her mother is going to give her or else it will bring them bad luck. The bear left her with her family for a day. Her mother took her into a room to talk to her alone. She told her everything about what was going on with the bear and how he turns into a man at night. Her mother told her that he was probably a troll and that she needed to take a candle and look at him in the middle of the night, but she needed to be careful not to drop any tallow on him. When the bear came and got her he told her not to take her mother's advice or they will both be brought bad luck. That night however, she struck the match and lit the candle and laying next to her was the most handsome prince she had ever seen. He was so handsome that she fell in love with him immediately and went to kiss him but accidentally spilt three drops of tallow on him. He woke up and was sad because if she had just waited a year, the spell would have been broken. But now, everything between them is broken and he has to go live in a castle East o' the sun and west o' the moon and wed a princess with a huge nose. The girl was sad and asked him how she could find him, but he didn't know. In the morning she woke in the middle of the woods with her old rags laying next to her. Sh immediately went searching for him. Many, many days passed and in those days she met 3 hags. Each one of them didn't know how to find the prince but they each lent her a horse in turn. One gave her a golden apple, the next a golden comb and the last one gave her a golden loom and told her to go find the East Wind's house because he might know where to go. He didn't but he let her ride on his back to his brother, West Wind's House. He also didn't know where to go but he blew her to South wind's house, who blew her to North wind (the oldest and strongest blower out of the four). He said that he had blown there once and that if she wasn't afraid he would take her to the castle. He took her there and blew her right up to the castle edge. She wasn't sure what to do so she started playing with the golden apple and the long nosed troll princess looked out her window and said how much do you want for the apple. The girl said she just wanted a night to be with the prince. So the princess obliged but without anyone knowing she gave the prince a sleeping drink so that the girl couldn't wake him up. This happened again the second night in exchange for the golden comb. The girl wept and prayed that the prince would wake up but of course he didn't. However, on the last night, some christian captives who were in the room next to the prince told him about the girl that was coming to his room and about the sleepy drink and so the prince only pretended to drink it. When the girl came to his room the final night in exchange for the golden loom he was awake and they made a plan on how to get rid of the princess and so they could be together. He had the shirt with tallow on it and the next day (his wedding day) he said that he would not marry a woman who couldn't get the tallow out. Well, the princess thinking it would be easy tried and tried to get it out but it just got worse. The queen tried but couldn't do it either. Then he called in the peasant girl (his love) and asked her to get it out, and upon dipping it in water, it came out instantly. The troll women stormed out of the castle and the girl and the prince lived happily ever after.

Who would benefit from reading this?/Who would I recommend this to?

Any girl who loves romance would benefit from this, and I would likewise recommend this to a woman looking for a good romantic story to read.

What problems/conflicts would this potentially cause?

I don't think this fairy tale would cause any conflicts

My reaction:

I think this is a beautiful love story. I am so glad that I read it. Just the fact that she works so hard and travels so far to in a sense rescue the love of her life from an awful fate. She is willing to travel the world by dangerous means just to find him. It is a nice change from the normal love stories. I liked it a lot.

Other tales that I read:

Taming the Shrew

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

The Husband Who was to Mind the House

Joseph Jacobs' Fairy Tales

Jack and the Beanstalk

Summary: Jack and his mother were very poor. They had one cow and everyday they would take her milk to market to sell and they would live off of what they earned. One day, she didn't give any milk. His mom was really worried and concluded that the only thing they could do was to sell her at market. On his way to sell her, Jack came across and old man. The old man told him he has magic beans that if you plant them the next morning they will have grown to the sky. Jack traded his cow for the magic beans and took them home. His mom was angry and sent him to bed without supper. The next morning the beanstalk had indeed grown up to the sky. Jack climbed it and once he got to the sky he found a road that led to a house. On the doorstep he found a tall woman and he asked her for food. She told him to leave before her husband (an ogre) got home, because he eats little boys. He begged and begged until finally she let him in and gave him food. While he was eating her husband arrived and so she hid him in the oven. After the ogre ate breakfast and was napping Jack snuck out of the oven and on his way out, stole a bag of gold that was sitting next to the ogre. He took it back down to his mother and they lived off of that for a while. But when it ran out, Jack went back up the beanstalk and the whole process started all over. But this time, he stole a chicken that laid golden eggs every time you told her to. But he still wasn't satisfied. He went back up, but this time, he didn't talk to the woman. He hid himself and waited till the ogre was asleep. Once the ogre fell asleep he stole the golden harp that plays itself and sings. But as he was running off with it it started yelling, "master, master!" and it woke the ogre up. He started chasing after Jack. He was going to give up once he saw jack race down the beanstalk but the harp called out to him again and so he climbed down the beanstalk. Once jack got to the bottom he took an axe to the beanstalk and the ogre fell down and broke his crown and died. Jack and his mom became rich and he married a princess and they lived happily ever after.

THE END

Who would benefit from reading this tale/Who would you recommend this fairy tale to?

I would recommend this to someone who knows the difference between right and wrong. If I were to read this to my kids I would make sure that they understand that to be successful you aren't supposed to steal...

What problems/conflicts would this tale potentially cause?

Well, the way jack and his mother became rich is he stole a bunch of stuff that didn't belong to him, and there weren't any consequences for his actions. If I read this to children they might get it into their heads that it is OK to steal and cheat if they are well off because of it. Sure the ogre was a bad bloke but that doesn't give Jack the right to steal his stuff.

My Reaction:

I hate to say it, but this story bugs me. I don't think it is one that I will be reading to my children. Sure the beanstalk is cool but the moral of the story is, get rich by any means possible... That is not the way I want my kids to think. It is definitely not one of my favorite fairy tales.

The other tales I read:

The Story of the Three Little Pigs

The Story of the Three bears

Tom Tit Tot

Charles Perrault's Fairy Tales

Little Red Riding Hood:

Summary: There was a pretty little girl who lived in a village. Her mother doted on her because she was so pretty, and so did her grandmother. HEr grandmother was especially fond of her and so she made her a Red Riding Hood. The little girl loved it so much that that was what people called her. One day her grandmother was sick and so her mom made cakes to have Red Riding Hood take to her. Her grandmother lived in the next town over and as Red Riding Hood was walking through the forest she met a wolf. He was really hungry but he wouldn't eat ther there because there were a lot of woodcutters not far from where they were. So he just asked her where she was headed. She didn't know it was dangerous to talk to a wolf so she told him and went along her way. He ran as fast as he could to get to grandmother's house before Red Riding Hood. Once he got there he tricked grandma into think it was Little Red Riding Hood and she told him how to get in. Once in, he ate her, and then puton her clothes to wait. Red Riding Hood arrived and she came in. She got into bed with grandmother only to notice how different she looked! She had big arms, legs, ears...and teeth! The woolf ate her too.

THE END

The moral of the story: little girls, never trust stranger friends because it could be a wolf lurking in disguise

Who would benefit from reading this book/Who would I recommend this book to?

This tale has a good moral. It is a bit creepier than the version most of us are used to where the woodcutter saves little red and her granmother. But it is true little girls or boys could benefit from reading this. Don't trust strangers until you know enough about them.

What problems/conflicts could this potentially cause?

Well, like I said, it is a little sisnister that she and her grandmother get eaten. You don't want to read this to your kids if you know they are going to have nightmares about being eaten by wolves.

My Reaction:

Well, this version is definately shorter than the one I am used to, but it gets to the point a little quicker. And, sometimes you wont always have someone there to rescue you if you've gotten yourself into trouble! I liked it. Of course it is well written or it wouldn't be around still.

The others I read:

~Sleeping Beauty

~Cinderella (the Little Glass Slipper)

~The Master Cat or Puss in Boots

Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

Title: The Emperor's New Suit

Written in 1837

Summary: A long time ago there lived an Emperor who had a passion for clothes. He didn't care for anyone or anything more than he cared for his clothes. He had so many clothes that he had a coat for every hour of the day. The city that he lived in was a place that many people visited. There was always people there from all over the world. One day, two swindlers came pretending to be weavers of cloth! The professed that they had a special cloth that they make that only the truly worthy could see. If you could not see it, you were either unfit for your post or you were too stupid. Well, the Emperor, upon hearing about this new fabric, new that he must have it spun for him immediately. The Emperor provided the swindlers with silk and gold in order for them to spin this fabric. The whole time the swindlers were pretending to be busy making this fabric when in reality, they weren't doing anything. After a while the Emperor sent in a trusted old minister to see how the production was coming, sure that if anyone was worthy to see the fabric, he was. The minister went in, but of course he saw nothing. Fearing what would happen to him if he admitted he couldn't see it, he admired the patterns and the beautiful colors that he made up. HE reported that the Emperor's clothes were magnificent and beautiful. A few days later, the Emperor sent in another honest courtier to check on the progress and the same thing happened to him. HE didn't want to appear that he was unfit for his office so he admired the cloth and reported how beautiful it was to the emperor. Finally, the day came that it was time for the emperor to try on his new suit which also happened to be the day of procession. The whole town would be there to see this new cloth. The Emperor also couldn't see it, for obvious reasons, but even he pretended to be able to because he didn't want people to think he was unfit to rule. So, the swindlers put the "light as cobwebs" suit onto the emperor and the emperor proceeded to parade around the town in nothing but his underwear. No one would say that the Emperor was not wearing anything for fear of looking stupid... except one little girl who was confused because the Emperor really wasn't wearing anything, and she said so. Eventually people began to realize that she was right and they were all laughing. Even the Emperor had a suspicion.. But what could he do? He had to continue his procession as if nothing was going on.

Who would benefit from reading this?/Who would I recommend this to?
I would recommend this to anyone who wants a good laugh. It is really funny and very cleverly written.

What problems/conflicts would this book potentially cause?
This could cause problems to parents who like to shield their kids from anything even slightly crude. The only crude thing about this fairy tale is, the emperor is naked at the end walking around for everyone to see. But it doesn't go into detail about anything.

My Reaction:
I think it is hilarious! I hadn't read this is a long time so it was a nice laugh. It explains humans very well. Each of us doesn't want other people to think badly of us and so we will do anything to gain acceptance even if it means pretend that there is fabric there that really isn't.

Other Tales that I read:
The Princess and the Pea
The Ugly Duckling
The Little Mermaid