Erin’s Comments (group member since Aug 19, 2024)

Erin’s comments from the 5183 Fall 2024 Information Resources and Services for Children group.

1. Silverstein, S. (1974). Boa Constrictor. In Where the Sidewalk Ends. Harper & Row.

2. The narrator describes his woes as a boa constrictor works its way from toe to head as it eats him.

3. This is such a fun poem and one of my favorites from when I was a child. It has an easy rhythm and uses unique rhyming words (gee/knee, my/thigh, fiddle/middle, heck/neck), making it easy to remember. It’s a fun read-aloud poem because you can incorporate the emotions the narrator might be feeling. It would also make a fun activity to have children choose a different animal and have them rewrite the poem and create their own version. It’s a great way to help them learn rhyming words and use their imaginations at the same time.

1. Baskin, N.R. (2009). Anything but typical. Simon & Shuster.

2. Jason Blake is twelve years old, and he is autistic, learning how to navigate school, friends, and family.

3. This story is told from the first-person point of view, and it was eye-opening for me. I have no idea, and will never fully know, the challenges and frustrations that someone with autism faces. This book does a great job of portraying those things. I think it would be a great book for older children to read. It is my opinion that in the case of this book, it would greatly benefit the children who read it. If they are better able to understand the perspective of a child like Jason, they can be more compassionate and understanding and even foster friendships.

1. Lowry, L. (1993). The giver. Houghton Mifflin.

2. In a dystopian universe, Jonas learns that he is to be trained to become the new Receiver of Memory. Throughout his training, he finds there is much more to life than what he has known and sets out to discover it.

3. The Giver is set in a dystopian universe town, presumably, in the future. It is devoid of color, strong emotions and memory. This creates a setting that is important to the story – a town where the citizens experience “sameness.” I understand that the elders might want to protect the people from sadness and pain, but in doing so they also miss out on love and joy. I first read this book several years ago, and as I reread it for this prompt, I found myself being thankful that we don’t live in a society like this one. We have freedom to choose and experience emotions and remember.

1. White, E.B. (1952). Charlotte’s Web. HarperTrophy.

2. Wilbur, the pig, is saved by the farmer’s daughter, Fern, and goes to live with Fern’s uncle on the farm. There he is befriended by a spider named Charlotte and learns valuable lessons in friendship.

3. The truth in this book comes in the form of lessons in friendship. Charlotte befriends Wilbur when he is feeling low and repeatedly demonstrates what true friendship is. She stands up for him when the other animals are unkind to him and makes it her mission to protect him at all costs and until the end of her life. In turn, Wilbur learns what a true friend is and carries that legacy on with Charlotte’s children and grandchildren long after she is gone. To me, the summary of the truth of this story is when Charlotte tells Wilbur that it was enough that he was her friend even if he never did anything for her.

1. Sloate, S. (2007). Ray Charles: Young musician. Aladdin Paperbacks.

2. Despite facing many hardships throughout his life, Ray Charles achieved many great things not only as a musician, but also as a civil rights activist.

3. I didn’t know very much about Ray Charles prior to reading this biography. The main things I knew were that he was blind, and he was a musician who specialized in piano. Before I started reading, I was curious to know if he’d been born blind or if he had become blind sometime during his life. I also wanted to know about his experiences growing up. I learned so much more than I could ever imagine. He tragically lost his little brother at a very young age, started losing his eyesight a year later, was sent away to a special school, and lost his mom when he was fifteen. He didn’t let any of that deter him, and he went on to have a successful music career and was active in the civil rights movement. I also learned that he played more instruments than just the piano. Despite many hardships, Ray Charles lived a full life and accomplished many great things.

1. Harris, S. F. (2023). Some bodies need a little help. Austin Macauley Publishers.

2. Some Bodies Need a Little Help is a picture book depicting students with various physical disabilities. It emphasizes that although some might need a little help to do things, they still have good bodies.

3. Some Bodies Need a Little Help does an excellent job of creating a positive view of people who are living with a physical disability. It discusses how they might need a walker, a chair, braces, a cane, prosthetic limbs, hearing aids, custom glasses, oxygen tanks or feeding tubes. It describes how some people learn and communicate using sign language or Braille. It explains that it is 100% okay if people need a little help to be able to move, learn, or communicate. What I love most about this book are the illustrations. The text is simple, and the illustrations really convey a clear picture of the lesson of the book. It would be an excellent book to read to children to teach them about how to treat others no matter who they are and even if they need a little help sometimes.

1. Scieszka, J. & Smith, L. (1992). The stinky cheese man and other fairly stupid tales. Viking.

2. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales is a book of almost fairy tales. It puts a funny twist on ten common fairy tales making them “fairly stupid tales.”

3. After thoroughly reading through the book, I would classify this book as having a non-existent source note. It is clear to me that the stories have been adapted from well-known fairy tales, but someone unfamiliar with the original stories wouldn’t necessarily know that. It gives no background or information on where the original stories came from. A simple remedy to this problem would be if each fractured fairy tale acknowledged the original fairy tale and culture from which it is adapted. It may not move it all the way to the top of the countdown, but it would move it from being non-existent.

1. Willems, M. (2014). Waiting is not easy! Scholastic, Inc.

2. In Waiting Is Not Easy! Piggie continuously assures Gerald that there is a surprise coming that will be worth the wait. Gerald gets impatient and almost gives up on something spectacular and beautiful.

3. Waiting Is Not Easy! is a cute story, and I think this is a great book for beginning readers. There is a small amount of text on each page so the young reader will not get overwhelmed. At the same time, there is still a clear story that allows the reader to practice comprehension. The illustrations are simple, yet the reader is still drawn in by the speech bubbles of various sizes. Mo Willems also uses different fonts and sizes of words to show emphasis in certain parts of the story. In addition, the story itself is relatable to young children, making it a great book for them.

1. Schertle, A. (2008). Little blue truck. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

2. Little Blue Truck is a board book that tells the story of a blue pickup truck driving down the road. Along the way, he meets friends and must rely on them when he finds himself stuck in the mud.

3. Some of the words are different colors, pointing out words that should be emphasized. This is a rhyming book, so the emphasized words lend themselves to the cadence of the story. The illustrations in this book are warm and welcoming. That combined with the cadence make feel as if I was in the little blue truck myself rolling through the countryside. As I read through the book, both the words and illustrations helped me to feel the emotions of the truck as he went along: joy, fear, and gratitude. Overall, Little Blue Truck is a fun read, even for adults!

Lowry, L. (1989). Number the stars. Yearling.

Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner (1989)
Newberry Medal Winner (1990)
National Jewish Book Award Winner – Children’s Literature (1990)

Annemarie Johansen is a young girl living in Denmark during World War II. Her best friend Ellen is Jewish, and she learns a lot about bravery when Ellen and her family must go into hiding to avoid being taken away by the Nazis.

I think this book won an award because it is about a real event in history and is written in a way that children can understand it. It absolutely deserves the awards it received. Even as an adult reading it again, I felt like a child experiencing what Annemarie was going through. I would absolutely recommend book to a child. It will get them interested about the events of World War II and the Holocaust and may spur them on to learn about it further. That’s exactly what it did for me!