Tricia’s Comments (group member since May 21, 2014)

Tricia’s comments from the Reading Rams Summer I, 2014 group.

At least right now: Sarah, Plain and Tall - I'm over it. It is a good read, a sweet story. There's real pain and insecurity, real life choices and courage. I do have many memories of reading this one as a kid, but it's not one of my favorites. And I don't have much to back that up. This is a good book for the time period and also for descriptive language. It is simple language, but Sarah paints some lovely verbal pictures that I enjoyed rereading.

Jenna wrote: "I feel like I'm dumping on some kind of children's literature treasure or something but I didn't like Bunnicula. Not even a little. I've never been a fan of books about animals really. I did like W..."

No shame in that! I didn't fall in love with it either. I see its merits in a detached way.

Marshall wrote: "This was a fantastic book. I thought it would be too juvenile, but the writing was very clever and the language was on a higher level then I would have expected. I think that the humor in this book..."

So true about the advanced vocabulary and irony-very surprising!

Bunnicula is a funny, sweet story that I think would be a great read aloud. I compare them to the Hank the Cowdog books of which I have wonderful memories! They are both animal stories with talking animals, both with dog narrators who are really endearing.
I never even heard of Bunnicula, but I'm glad I read it. Is it weird that I really really wanted to know what was up the bunny. What was his deal?
I would certainly recommend it to a student want a simple, funny animal story even though it's much more than that. I would let it do its job by sneaking in vocabulary and humor which really bumps this book into a new category. I say thumbs up!

Being completely honest, I didn't especially love this story right off the bat. It was classic, sweet and simple, and the characters were funny. It does tell a story about keeping it simple, being yourself and loving it, and embracing who you are. Maybe I was in a weird mood when I read it, but I definitely think kids would laugh at it.

V. wrote: "Judy Blume exposes several fallacies of the human race in her story for second graders, Freckle Juice. First of all, human beings always seem to desire what we can’t have. It wasn’t in Andrew’s ge..."

That; a very insightful view of this story, and honestly, one I needed to read!

Maira wrote: "Pink and Say was an incredible read. This book would be perfect when studying the Civil War. I love that Pink and Say form a strong friendship. This story is a perfect example of humanity at its b..."

I agree that this book is a good lesson-teacher about friendship, ethics, responsibility, and doing the right thing.

This was an awesome story and one everyone should read. I can't make out for what age I would use it. I didn't expect to love it, judging it by its cover, but it really is such a cool story, another one worth putting in the collection. It has depth, history, and heart and it's true too! I actually think that would be one of the most appealing factors to readers.

A great book to have in your collection. Interesting illustrations, fastinating perspective, based on a true story, good lessons to be learned. It has a touch of seriousness, humor, and all from a kid's POV, it's a win-win-win.

Cynthia wrote: "Smoky Night has such a great voice! I love how the author uses the voice of a child. This makes the story more accessible to children. She has included such amazing description as well. Each pa..."

So very true about the voice of an individual within a larger experience. Great perspective and a good history lesson.

Mandy wrote: "This is such a cute and fun story. I read it to my girls for the first time and they were enthralled. I love Isabella. She is just like me when I was a kid. I dove into every story and was talking ..."

Even though it seems to be for a younger audience, this story would be great to introduce foreshadowing to older students.

Maira wrote: "Isabella Star of the Story is a great children’s book. It has amazing illustrations and a fantastic message. I love how each character Isabella becomes is from a great book. I like how the book sug..."

Totally agree about becoming the characters, these are good characters to become! And I have the same experiences with imagination while I"m reading. It's good for kids to know that they should be so involved in books, they should have wild images in their minds while reading.

This book is so interesting because I think it appeals to adults with the subtlety and little hints. The pictures are great, they would actually be good for teaching to use illustrations to gather meaning. For really young kids, I think some of the stories would be unknown to them, especially depending on the kids, but that's all the more reason to read it to them! It's all about imagination, creativity, and love of reading.