June Reads - 2016

[Kristen]

Supertruck by Stephen Savage

The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects by Paul B. Janeczko

Counting Crows by Kathi Appelt

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach

I'm really excited about a couple of these titles. What did you think of them?

[Erin]

My 5 year old son saw Supertruck in the pile of books I'd brought home from the library. I usually have to force him to read new books (he prefers his familiar favorites) but I heard him say, "I'm TOTALLY reading this!" as he grabbed the book and disappeared to his room. It's a cute story with total boy appeal.

[Debbie]

I loved Counting Crows. The pictures were really great and the vocabulary was terrific! I think the kids are going to love this one.

[Maggi]

My whole family, 6yo son included, are big fans of A Poke in the I. This makes The Death of a Hat an exciting prospect.

[Jenni]

Supertruck is definitely my favorite for this month. I think the concept is really funny and will definitely have a lot of appeal to a variety of readers. As for the artwork, I am a fan of that really clean, almost midcentury kind of look, but this was a little too flat for me. I wish the illustrations had been created with a different medium that gave them a little more depth.

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich was also a lot of fun and the ending is clever. Somehow the story felt a little less polished, and I think it could have been tightened up a little. I did really like the warmth of the illustrations and the overall style.

I don't think either of these books have a shot at a medal, but I will definitely pass them on to other teachers.

[Maggi]

I liked Supertruck, mostly because I like superhero stories in general, but the reaction from my 6yo was lukewarm. Yes to the book, no to the Caldecott.

[Laura]

Counting Crows is glorious. It caught my eye the day it was released. The Death of the Hat is beautiful.

[Becky]

Laura wrote: "Counting Crows is glorious. It caught my eye the day it was released. The Death of the Hat is beautiful."

From the first moment I spotted it in Barnes & Noble, Counting Crows caught my eye and continues to entrance me. Such clever verse; such clever and striking illustrations. My 5yo loved it and she's well beyond counting to 12!

[Laura]

It truly is a stand out.

[Beverly]

Counting Crows:
I thought this book was unique and clever in its execution. Counting by threes was an interesting twist for a counting book; and the red against the black, gray and white made the illustrations really pop.

[Beverly]

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich:
I really liked this story and thought the paintings were great. And I really liked the little twist at the end! The bear's face had some great expressions as well.

[Beverly]

Supertruck:
I also thought this book was super cute! The text and the illustrations are simple enough to be read to very young children. I also thought that pictures and text worked together very well.

[Beverly]

The Death of the Hat:
An interesting anthology of poems grouped together into chronological periods of time, all about real world objects, whether animals, people, or inanimate objects. Raschka's impressionistic watercolor paintings are beautiful accompaniments to these poems. Although the book is only 77 pages long, with one poem per page or double-page spread, the vocabulary in most of them is very sophisticated, so that only exceptional middle school students or high school students may be able to read and understand the poems. Probably too difficult for the average elementary school student.