LINDSEY’s Comments (group member since Aug 26, 2025)

LINDSEY’s comments from the 5183 Fall 2025 Information Resources and Services for Children group.

1. Polacco, P. (2001). Thank you, mr. Falker.

2. This beautifully illustrated children's book tells the true story of the author and illustrator Patricia Polacco. As a young girl she loves to draw and paint, but she just has one problem, and that is she can't read.

3. This book does an excellent job at portraying and understanding individuals who struggle with dyslexia and learning disabilities. In the book Trisha hides her learning disability from her teachers by learning to memorize what others next to her are reading or mimicking what the teacher helped her with. As someone who currently works in special education with students with disabilities, I have noticed that this is a common trait that they do in order to "fit in" with their peers. Furthermore, Trisha faces ridicule and bullying from her peers which can be common sadly for people with disabilities. However, her teacher Mr. Falker is very understanding and works after school with Trisha and a reading specialist in order to help her learn to read. Her teacher also made it a point to address the behavior of the students bullying her in the book pointing out that no one is perfect. The illustrations of this book were amazing in that the facial expressions matched the characters emotions. For example, when Trisha is holding a book and trying to read her cheeks appear very red as if she is frustrated. The last illustration does an excellent job at circling back to the beginning of the book by ending with her holding a jar of honey and a book symbolizing that knowledge is sweet. Overall, this book does a great job at highlighting learning disabilities, the challenges such as bullying that can come with being different, but also the sweetness that comes with the support of teachers and family that want to help learners grow.

1. Elya, S. M., & Martinez-Neal, J. (2017). La Princesa and the pea. Putnam Pub Group.

2. A cultural retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's the Princess and the Pea. A prince wants to get married; however, his overbearing mother has high expectations and will only allow a "worthy" princess to marry her son.

3. According to Hearnes source note countdown I would have to rank La Princesa and the Pea somewhere in the middle. This is a cultural/bilingual retelling of a classic fairy tale. While I could not find much of a source note by the author for this book, there is a glossary of terms, and the illustrator of the book does discuss used traditional elements of her culture to influence the drawings and tell the story of the princess and the pea with a Latin twist.

1. John, J., Oswald, P., & Joshaghani, S. (2022). The bad seed goes to the library. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
2. The bad seed is in a good mood because he gets to visit the library. But what happens when he has to check in his books after he is finished reading them?
3. This book is an effective beginning reader book because of it's easy to read and features repetitive language especially in the form of sight words which are important for students to be exposed to and learn. Furthermore, the text works along with the illustrations to engage students and tell a story. For example, when the bad seed is trying to find a spot to read there are captions above or next to the illustrations that say "No-too busy" "No-too dark" and "No-too quiet". The illustrations then show each of these reading spaces helping the reader to make connections between text and illustrations. Lastly this book teaches readers library procedures and concepts of sharing which is important as many beginning readers are trying to understand the world around them in conjunction with learning how to read.

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses

1. Goble, P. (1993). Girl who loved wild horses. Alladin Paperbacks.

2. This Caldecott Medal book tells the story of a young girl who loves horses. An unexpected storm finds her far away from her village and living with horses.

3. The words and illustrations in The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses work together to weave a beautifully rich and emotional story. The text is very poetic and reads almost like a fairy or folk tale, using language such as "There was and One day" to tell about a young girl who loves taking care of the horses in her village. The illustrations lend a hand by directly mimicking the text. For example, when a growing storm is mentioned one page has storm clouds building, while the next page shows dark storm clouds and the girl jumping on one of the horses back to flee the storm. The illustrations are also extremely detailed and colorful which works well to capture the attention of young audiences, while the poetic words work to hold their attention. This book does an amazing job at capturing the hearts of readers and encourages them to embrace what they love.

I Have Heard of a Land

1. Thomas, J. C., & Cooper, F. (2000). I Have Heard of a Land. Joanna Cotler Books.

2. Coretta Scott King Award

3. I Have Heard of a Land uses beautifully detailed illustrations and a poetic writing style to tell the story of African Americans moving west to Oklahoma territory during the land runs. A young African American woman dreams of owning land, a three room log cabin, and possibilities seem endless.

4. I believe this book won the Coretta Scott King Award because of the story it told. The 1889 and 1893 land runs in Oklahoma were pivotal moments in history especially for many African Americans as the land runs promised opportunity in land ownership, the building of community, and the creation of better livelihoods. This book tells the story of resilience, hard work, and courage of African American pioneers during this period of history. Furthermore, this book draws upon the experience of the authors own family to tell this story creating an intimate portrayal of the hard efforts and opportunities many sought after. The illustrations also captivate the audience of the book and lend to the content of the story.