PB #25: Old Black Witch!

Old Black Witch!

Author:  Harry Devlin
Illustrator: Harry Devlin
Genre:  Juvenile Fiction
Subgenre:  Fantasy and Magic
Themes:  witches, tearooms, family
Primary Characters:  Nicky
Secondary Characters:  his mother
Awards:  n/a
Date of Publication:  1992

Publishing Company:  Four Winds Press

A family wants to move to New England to buy something that will change their lives.  They are so caught up with the greatness of it, that they forget that they are having to reconcile with the owner of the place named black witch!  This is a cute tale that could be read to any group of children and keep them entertained.

PB #24: The Ugly Vegetable

The Ugly Vegetables

Author:  Grace Lin

Illustrator:  Grace Lin

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Subgenre:  Family

Themes:  planting

Primary Characters:  Irma

Secondary Characters: the mom

Awards:  n/a

Date of Publication:  1999

Publishing Company:  Charlesbridge

A little girl thinks that her mom's garden is the ugliest one of them all.  But what she doesn't know is that the garden does not have to be the prettiest to make the best food out of all the gardens in the world.  The book is really cute considering that you have a recipe at the end that you can try all of the foods!

PB #23: The Umbrella

The Umbrella

Author:  Jan Brett
Illustrator:  Jan Brett
Genre:  Juvenile Fiction
Subgenre: Animal Fantasy
Themes:  friends, adventure, animals
Primary Characters:  Carlos
Secondary Characters:  the animals
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication:  2011
Publishing Company:  Penguin Group Inc.

This is a book about a little boy named Carlos who goes on a slight adventure into the jungle to see a jagaur and toucan.  He meets so many new animals and gets to experience the jungle as well.  This would be a wonderful story to tell your kids if you wanted to incorporate spanish lesson and different cultures into your daily classroom. 

PB #22: Where is Grandpa?

Where is Grandpa?

Author:  T.A. Barron

Illustrator:  Chris K. Soentpiet

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre:  Death, Grief

Themes:  Grandparents, love, heaven, learning

Primary Characters:  Grandpa and grandson

Secondary Characters:  Mom, dad, brother, sister

Awards:  N/A

Date of Publication: 2003

Publishing Company: Turtleback Books

"Where is Grandpa?" is a sad but trialing children's story that would most definitely show a child how to cope with something like this and realize how much feelings do not need to be kept inside.  This story is one that I most certainly enjoyed and many students could quite possibly relate to this story very easily.  The illustrations are beautiful and truely add to the story.

PB #21: Betty Doll

Betty Doll

Author:  Patricia Polacco

Illustrator:  Patricia Polacco

Genre:  Juvenile Nonfiction

Subgenre: toys, dolls, memorablia

Theme:  family, concern, memories

Primary characters:  Trisha, Ginny

Secondary characters: Momma and Daddy

Awards: N/A

Date of publication: 2001

Publishing company: Scholastic Inc.

This is a picture book based on the relevance of a Betty Doll and what the mean to the granddaughter.  It is a tragic story of the loss of all the family's possessions in a house fire, and the grandmother makes it up to her granddaughter in this amazing story about a family who loses everything, yet still continues to put together through the odds.  I think this would be a great addition to the library in my classroom because of how much it can show children that no matter how bad it gets, things can still prosper.

PB #20: Mrs. Katz and Tush

Mrs. Katz and Tush

Author:  Patrica Polacco

Illustrator:  Patrica Polacco

Genre:  Juvenile Fiction

Subgenre:  Cats, Friendship, generations

Theme: caring, family, animals

Primary characters:  Larnel, Mrs. Katz

Secondary characters: Larnel's parents

Awards: N/A

Date of publication: 2009

Publishing company:  Random House Children's Books

This children's book is an intrigueing story about a little African-American boy named Larnel, who becomes close with an older woman named Mrs. Katz.  Not only do they become close, but take in a little kitten that they name Tush.  This abandoned cat becomes something they both share, and would be an amazing lesson to implement inside the classroom.  This will encompass how important sharing and caring for someone else is respectful and important in life as a human being.

PB# 19: Thunder Cake

Thunder Cake
Author:  Patricia Polacco
Illustrator:  Patricia Polacco
Genre:  Juvenile Fiction
Subgenre:  family, adventure
Themes:  caring, brave, thunder
Primary Characters:  grandma and granddaughter
Secondary Characters: n/a
Awards:  n/a
Publishing Date: 1992
Publishing company:  First Scholastic
This is a wonderful children's book that could be greatly used inside my classroom.  The grandmother shows her granddaughter how to be brave.  She does so by helping her fear of thunder go away.  They do many things to race the storm rolling up and bake their thunder cake.