Stick and Stone / Beth Ferry / Modern Fantasy

Stick and Stone


Author: Beth Ferry
Illustrator: Tom Lichtenheld
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grade level: PK-K

This book is about a stick and a stone who start off alone, but then find each other because stick stands up for stone when he is in trouble with a pinecone. Stick and stone become friends and soon after a storm comes and blows stick away. Stone looks for Stick, but cannot find him anywhere. Eventually, he finds him in a puddle and pulls him out. Stick and Stone become best friends forever.

The illustrations in this book are simplistic. Even though the characters in this book are non-living, the illustrator brought them to life by giving them facial expressions that change throughout the story. This story has little texts so the pictures are very full and fun. 

This is a great book for young beginning readers. It does not have much texts or difficult language. I would read this book to a preschool or kindergarten class because its use of simple language and rhyming sounds. It would also be a book children of this age could read on their own.

Dragons Love Tacos / Adam Rubin / Modern Fantasy

Dragons Love Tacos

Author: Adam Rubin
Illustrator: Daniel Salmieri
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Grade level: PK-1

Dragons Love Tacos is a hilariously funny children's book about dragons love for tacos. In this book, dragons are obsessed with tacos, but the one thing you cannot give dragons is spicy salsa. The show up to a party with tons of tacos. The only problem is that there is also lots of salsa on the tacos. When the dragons gobble up the tacos, they notice that the tacos are spicy. The dragons began breathing fire and burning down the houses. In the end, the dragons help rebuild the houses, but they might only be doing it for the taco breaks.

The illustrations in this book are humorous and colorful. They are watercolor illustrations in cartoon form. The illustrator, Daniel Salmieri, also uses colored pencil and gouache in his art to create pictures that complement the texts very well.

This story does not necessarily come with a moral story attached. Not all children's books have to have a moral to the story. This book is great because it allows readers to have a fun time reading. Its humor will spark the interest of readers and allow their imaginations to feel free to explore a world where dragons come to parties and eat tacos. This story is appropriate for ages four to six because it is one that may make a child want to continue reading for pleasure.

Uni the Unicorn / Amy Krouse Rosenthal / Modern Fantasy

Uni the Unicorn


Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Illustrator: Brigette Barrager
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Awards: N/A
Grade level: PK-1

Uni the Unicorn takes an age old myth and puts a new twist on the story. Uni the unicorn is told that there are no such thing as little girls, although no matter what the other unicorns say, Uni still believes. Uni knows that somewhere there is a little girl who is waiting to be best friends with her. In fact, there is a little girl who is dreaming of a unicorn who wants to be best friends with her too. 

This story is filled with full-page illustrations that stretch the reader's interest to lead to the next page. They create a dreamlike world where anything is possible. Brigette Barrager created colorful images in a cartoon style. These illustrations are sure to make any little girl to believe in unicorns and magic.

It is important to let, especially, young girls read books like this because it is a story about believing. It allows children's imagination run free. I would not necessarily do a whole class read aloud using this book because it specifically targets young girls, so the boys in the classroom might not feel like they relate to it. 

The Ugly Duckling / Jerry Pinkney / Modern Fantasy

The Ugly Duckling

Author/Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Awards: Caldecott Honor
Grade level: PK-3

The Ugly Duckling is a childhood favorite of many children. This story tells of an awkward duckling who wanders from home out into the world. The duckling must learn to survive out in the scary world of hunters and harsh weather. He finally finds a family of swans and decides to join them. Once he is with them, he discovers he has actually been a swan his whole life. This story teaches that true happiness can be achieved through overcoming struggles and finding your place in the world.

The author both wrote and illustrated the book. He used watercolor to bring the pictures and story to life. This work of children's literature's illustration can be considered impressionism because it leaves an impression with its use of lighting. The reader can know that the book will have excellent illustrations due to its receiving a Caldecott Honor. Pinkey created beautiful images that bring the reader into the world of the duckling with colorful and realistic paintings.

Because of the importance of the moral to the story, I would read this to young students ranging from preschool to third grade. This is a very influential and touching book that might mean a lot to a student this age that might not feel like they fit in. This might be the story that sparks an interest in a student and creates a reader.

The Gingerbread Man / Jim Aylesworth / Traditional Literature

The Gingerbread Man

Author: Jim Aylesworth
Illustrator: Barbara McClintock
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: N/A
Grade level: PK-2

This is a great retelling of this classic story of a happy couple who decide to bake a gingerbread man. While they are baking him, he pops out of the oven and runs away. The couple, a butcher, a cow, and a muddy sow all run after him until finally a sly fox tricks him and gobbles him up.

The illustrations include animal images and even a recipe for gingerbread men. Barbara McClintock uses watercolor and ink to create hilarious images throughout the book. She uses a traditional style of art to go along with the genre, which is similarly seen in children's traditional literature books.

This particular book is great for a read aloud in any grade from preschool to second grade. It uses humorous pictures and texts that will peak the students interest and keep them engaged. This story has a great use of tone, rhyme, and rhythm that will benefit the reader in phonological awareness.

Rumpelstiltskin / Paul O. Zelinsky / Traditional Literature

Rumpelstiltskin

Author/Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky

Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: Caldecott
Grade level: K-3

This story of Rumpelstiltskin is a retold version from the original Brothers Grimm tale. Rumpelstiltskin is an iconic tale of a girl who is forced by a king to turn straw into gold. She trusts a stranger who was a little man to help her and he did just that. He spun all of the straw into gold. This just made the king more greedy so he forced her to spin more. She traded the little man her ring so that he would spin the gold for her. The king saw all the gold the next morning and again asked that she spin even more, so she had to make a promise to the little man that whenever she became queen she would give him her first child. Soon after she was queen and gave birth to a baby. The little man came to get it, but she pleaded that he would not take her child. He agreed that if she could figure out his name after three days, he would not take her child. She tried hard to figure out his name, but could not figure it out. One day she asked her servants to look for the man. He was crying out and he revealed his name. The queen guessed his name correctly and he could not believe it. He flew out of the window on his broom.

The illustrations are also done by the author, so the words and pictures are very well fused together and help to compliment each other. The illustrations are oil paintings over watercolor under paintings. The paintings depict a different time period, which appears to be medieval. This book won a Caldecott Honor Award in 1987, so it is honored for its amazing illustrations.

Rumpelstiltskin's tale is one that a teacher could use during circle time. It is a fun story with engaging illustrations. The story is a great depiction of traditional literature because it is plain to see the story is has been around for a long time. 

The Story of Little Red Riding Hood / Brothers Grimm / Traditional Literature

The Story of Little Red Riding Hood

Author: Jacob  Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm

Illustrator: Christopher H. Bing
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: N/A
Grade level: 2-5

The story of Little Red Riding Hood has many different versions. The version is known as the classic tale of Little Red. Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother is sick, so Red's mother asks her to take some cake and wine to make her grandmother feel better. As soon as Red got into the woods, a wolf approached her and tricked her into telling him where the grandmother lived. He distracted her and sneaked away to the grandmother's house. Once, he got there, he came in and scarfed the grandmother down and dressed up in her clothes. Red came to the house to be eaten up as well as grandmother. Once the wolf was all full, he fell asleep in grandmother's bed and began to snore. A woodsman heard the snore and thought he should check on the grandmother, but found the wolf instead. He knew that the wolf must have eaten the grandmother, so he cut her out and found Little Red as well. Then they put stones inside of his stomach and when he woke up, he fell over and died.

The illustrations show the contrast in light and dark in the story. The images are a huge factor in the telling of this story. Each page is bordered with images of pressed flowers that look like they are protruding from the page. Christopher H. Bing uses water color, pen, and ink to create images that add beautifully to the story. In the parts that would be gory, such as when the wolf attacks, are almost hidden by the use of the red coat, curtains, and flowers that cover the page taking place of blood. 

The age limit for reading this book in a classroom is difficult to say because it is more of the classic tale that was not necessarily made to fit the needs of children. This is a more gory and scary book that is not right for early aged children. I would use this book in my classroom, starting at the earliest, second grade through fifth grade. This is a favorite to many readers and could be a book that sparks a young reader. Teaching traditional tales like this one is important because it gives students insight into different culture and time periods that they do not know about.