The Flyaway Kite by Steve Bjorkman

I read this book as a child, but never really understood it until now. It has a religious message to it. I know this through the story, but also the passage from Psalm in the back of the book. I think the message of this book is that with God we, as humans, are able to do anything and fulfill the purpose he has for us, but if we are disconnected from him our lives will be out of control. I think that the pictures in this book are very well done. I really like how almost every page is completely covered by the picture. I think that this ads to the story because it makes the chaos of the story more intense and realistic. I also liked how the kite was talked about as though it were a person. The narrator talked about his feelings and thoughts as though it had them. I think that this was a good way to tell the story. Without that, we would have no idea what was going on because the boy was away from the kite for so long. I also thought it was interesting that the boy's thoughts were not talked about as much as the kites. I wonder if this has something to do with the idea that the boy is God, and if it reflects a characteristic of God's.

Magic Tree House: Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne

The idea of these books is a very good one because it teaching some history, while being interesting to a young audience. I liked that this book started out with some information about why the pilgrim came over to the new world and what they found when they got here. Along with the history lesson, the children in the story also interact with history and the people in it. This definitely adds to the book because stories tend to help people remember information instead of simply hearing facts. I believe that that is one of the purposes of this book, to teach kids about history in a way that is easier for them to grasp. There was one part in this book that I especially liked. During the Thanksgiving meal, the captain said that he was very glad that three worlds could come together to eat and be thankful. I like that because it implies diversity and the importance of it. I believe that is another message that is being shown through this book. Another part that supports this is when the indian chief says "now you must always be kind to those who feel different and afraid". This was a good part of the book because it says that even if someone isn't the same as you or is from somewhere else, it is still important to be nice to them. This is an important message for adults as well as children. At the end of the feast it said that everyone wiped their faces with there napkins, I wonder what they used as napkins. I found that some things in this book were a little bit unrealistic, but that is probably so that it is accessible to younger children.

Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore

The unique thing about this book is the pictures. The illustrations are both vertically oriented, and made of paper and cloth collages. There is so much going on in each picture and it makes it very interesting to look at. I really enjoyed that they were different from most books in both ways. The length of each picture made it feel sometimes as though the reader is in the image. That was a very interesting feature. I did not like the amount of explanation in this book. It was interesting to learn about the history of Puerto Rico and of the parrots from there, but I found it difficult to focus on what I was reading.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

This book is very similar to many others that I have read of the same genre. It is science fiction, and the main character is a strong female. One thing that I really liked about this book is the writing style. When describing something, the author uses descriptive words and phrases to not only tell the reader about it, but to show them. An example of this is when the author was describing the stairs as Sam and Grace walked on them. Instead of talking about the silence of it, the author wrote, "The stairs swallowed our footsteps and keep them". I thought that that was a beautiful illustration and there are a countless amount of these throughout the book. Another thing that I liked and thought was unique was that there were times in which the author would use a big word, and then incorporate the definition into the sentence some how. I like this a lot because it both taught the reader a word, and showed how that word could be used in context. I have not noticed this being done in many other books. I am wondering why almost all of the parents in this book are not good. Sam's, Graces and Shelby's were all horrible, and the other ones were not even mentioned. I am not sure that it added to the story or not, but it seamed that all the adults were mean, or twisted in some way, even Beck, and I am curious as to why that was. I thought it was interesting also that Grace didn't transform, she just possessed some of the qualities of a wolf. I thought that was an interesting addition to the story.

A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban

This book is for younger readers, its a beginners book. I think it is great that the author put in some songs that Frances sings because her songs have rhymes in them. I think that this is great for children to see how rhyming can be used in just part of a book. The message of this book, in my opinion, is that it is hard to see how you are making other people feel until you have it done to you, or at least try to see things from someone else's perspective. There was one line at the end that says "Do you want to be careful, or do you want to be friends?". I think that this is a great line because it is saying that we can be friends and kind to each other, or we can keep tricking each other into doing things, and always need to be careful when we play together. I think that that is a good lesson for everyone, not only kids; that it's important to be kind and thoughtful with your friends and everyone else.

For You are a Kenyan Child by Kelly Cannane

The first thing that I noticed about this book is that it teaches some Swahili to the readers. On the first page it said "'Hodi?' Is anyone home?" and then it used that phrase throughout the book. This helped us learn what that word meant and then see it used in more contexts. There were other phrases used as well. I think that this was a very good idea, because most people in America assumedly do not know any Swahili, nor what it looks like. Along with this, it also explained a day in the life of a child in Kenya using a story line. Not only do we learn about a day in Kenya, but also about animals seen there, foods they eat, and the culture as well. This book is very informational, but it is done in a way that is interesting and has a plot. I am very impressed by how it was written; I really liked this book. The book ends with the quote, "Like you, Like us". I think that that was a great way to end the book because it shows that even though there are many differences, we all end up sleeping at night.

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman

This was a very interesting book. there were no words but the pictures were descriptive enough. It was a little hard for me to keep track of the story because the two boys looked a little bit similar and it switched between the them fairly quickly. I liked that the images drew the reader in to the story. There were many pages in which the characters looked out of the page. That made it feel as though the readers were a part of the story. I also really enjoyed that at times I would see the story through the red book. I would see the story of the other boy, through the pages of the boy that was looking at the book at that time. I am interested in why one of the boy's stories was set in the winter, while the other's was on a warm sunny island. I am wondering if there was a reason for all of that.