ALA Notable Book!

Willems, Mo. Leonardo the Terrible Monster.New York: Hyperion Books, 2005.
ISBN: 0786852941

Author:
Mo Willems won six Emmy Awards for his writing on Sesame Street. He then went on to perform the lead as head writer for Codename: Kids Next Door. Mo’s animated films have been screened at festivals around the world and his drawings have been exhibited at the Museum of Radio and Television and at the Library of Congress. His previous engagements include Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale which was awarded the 2004 and 2005 Caldecott Honor Books.

Plot Summary:

Leonardo is a terrible monster... terrible at being a monster.  The book begins with that statement and accompanied by a pathetic Leonardo sitting at the bottom edge.

  

Mo Willems takes us through Leonardo's search to become a better monster with wonderful simple illustrations that help tell the story.  Each monster is truly enjoyable to read about with each monster having unique features like Tony's 11642 teeth, Eleanor being large, and Hector just weird.  On the other hand, Leonardo looks like a Muppet and not scary looking at all.    

The book continues to tell us why Leonardo just isn't a good monster.  No matter how hard he tries, he just can’t seem to make anyone scream or run from him in fear.  So, Leonardo begins his search for the biggest scaredy-cat kid he can find and scare the "tuna salad" out of him.

  

He researched until he found the perfect kid... Sam.     

He tries every trick he knows to scare Sam until finally, Sam cries. And that’s when Leonardo finds out that scaring people maybe is not what he wants to do after all.  Maybe he could become a wonderful friend. Willems makes his illustrations fill up an entire page or sometimes very small down in a corner.   Children will love each turn of the page with anticipation of what is coming next.

Extension Activities:
This book can teach children about peer-pressure, being yourself, being a friend, bullies, and it is just fun to read.  A writing lesson can be developed by having students tell Sam's side of the story or choose one of the other monsters to write about.  A fun activity is to make a want ad for the perfect person to scare. 

Reviews: 
With a palette straight from the endpapers of Where the Wild Things Are, and postures not a little reminiscent of Max, Willems crafts a sweetly original morality play about a very unscary monster. The highly predictable ending is made fresh by the superb control of pacing, just-zany-enough sense of humor and body language readers have come to expect from the creator of Pigeon and Knufflebunny. - Kirkus Review

Mo Willems has done it again, with Leonardo, The Terrible Monster. He has created a story with funny, engaging characters and unusual illustrations. Willems has a great sense of humor that is evident in all his stories and enhanced by his illustrations.-Blog Critics
  

  Winner of the Caldecott in 1970!

Steig, William. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. New York: Prentice-Hall. 1969.
ISBN: 0138817073

Author:
William Steig was born on November 14, 1907, in New York City.  Steig did not write his first children’s book until 1968, long after he had become famous as a cartoonist.  His third book, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969), is not only one of his best-loved but also one of his most celebrated.

Plot Summary:
Sylvester Duncan is a donkey who lives with his mom and dad.  Sylvester liked to collect pebbles and rocks. One day Sylvester finds a beautiful red pebble and realizes it has magical powers.

 The beautiful red pebble will grant the holder any wish desired. Sylvester is excited by the thought that he and his family can have anything they want.   On the way home, Sylvester encounters a lion which frightens him so badly that he cannot think and wishes he is a rock.  Of course, this is a huge problem considering rocks do not have hands to hold the red pebble and make a wish.  Poor Sylvester must endure the pain of being away from his family while living life as a rock.

 His parents search everywhere for him and are so upset but cannot find him anywhere. Of course the story ends much happier because after his parents decide they must try to go on without Sylvester, they go on a picnic.  And what do they find... the red pebble beside the rock.  His parents sit the red pebble on the rock(Sylvester) not realizing it is their son. Sylvester, barely still able to think, wishes to be a donkey again. 
  
The overall theme/lesson being taught to children is the idea of being happy with what you have.  

The illustrations are very subtle and show the setting changing through the seasons.  The illustrations are done with a watercolor feel to them and outlined to make them more distinct.  The colors are very beautiful and soft for children to enjoy.  Children will love the simple design and calmness the illustrations bring.  The characters are animals and each animal is illustrated in a way to give off a personality for children to build on while reading. The animals are of a cartoon nature not meant to be realistic. 

Extension Activities: 
Talk with children about what they might wish for if they found a magic pebble. Ask: Why would you wish for these things? How would these things make your life better?  Later, print children's wishes on small slips of paper. Put the wishes in a hat or box. Have children take turns pulling a wish out of the hat and seeing if they can identify the child in the group who made the wish.  Remind children of the problems Sylvester faced in the story. Encourage children to think critically by asking, if you were Sylvester and you saw a lion approaching, how would you have used the magic pebble to help you?

Reviews: 

A remarkable atmosphere of childlike innocence pervades the book; beautiful pictures in full, natural color show daily and seasonal changes in the lush countryside and greatly extend the kindly humor and the warm, unself-conscious tenderness.- The Horn Book

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble was recognized by the California Teachers' Association as one of the 100 Best Books of the Century. The good news is that Sylvester will continue to delight young readers for centuries to come.- Book Page

    Winner of the 2013 Caldecott Medal!

Klassen, Jon. This is Not My Hat. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press. 2012. 

ISBN: 9780763655990

Author:

Jon Klassen received the 2010 Canadian Governor General’s Award for his illustrations in Caroline Stutson’s CAT'S NIGHT OUT. He also created illustrations for the popular series THE INCORRIGIBLE CHILDREN OF ASHTON PLACE and served as an illustrator on the animated feature film Coraline. I WANT MY HAT BACK is the first book he has both written and illustrated which won the 2013 Caldecott Medal for illustration. Originally from Niagara Falls, Canada, he lives in Los Angeles. 

Plot Summary:

Jon Klassen's next hat book is not a sequel. It's more of a companion book.  The first book being I Want my Hat Back.  In this book, a tiny fish comes into view wearing a blue hat (that fits him perfectly) while stating it is not his hat.  He stole it from a large sleeping fish.  The little fish then proceeds to tell the reader why he will not get caught.  The little fish does not state that stealing is bad but mainly emphasizes why he will not get caught.  The "not getting caught" is why it is alright to steal the hat.  The humor in this book is in the illustrations which are revealing to the reader that the large fish is coming to get his hat.  This book ends with the reader having to decide what happened to little fish after the large fish went into the tall plants and got his hat. 

 

Klassen uses his simple colored illustrations to show how everything the little fish is saying is not what is really happening.  He won't get caught because the big fish is sleeping.  Only one character saw him but he won't tell (crab).   In the end the big fish and little fish meet in the tall plants where the reader cannot see.  This illustration makes those young children look and probe for what happened to little fish.  The book ends where the big fish swims out of the tall plants with his blue bowler hat back on his head and goes back to sleep.  

  

Extension Activities:
This is an excellent book for young children and many lessons can be taught from this story. A lesson on stealing is easily taught.  With young children I like to say "taking things that are not yours".  The open ending leaves the reader to decide which is a great opportunity for young children to brainstorm ideas on an ending.  Young children can draw pictures of what became of the small fish or a group ending is fun where the ending can be written on a large chart or board then each child can create their own illustration. 

Reviews:

Klassen continues to be the master of black and brown, and the viewer will not tire of the palette. Little eyes will pore over the end pages, looking for evidence of foul play, but all the interaction between the two characters takes place where the plants grow tall and close together, obscuring the view. Darkly hilarious. -The Horn Book

Visual humor swims to the fore as the best-selling Jon Klassen follows his breakout debut with another deadpan-funny tale. - Good Reads

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog.  I have never created a blog before now so this is going to be a great learning experience.  I am so excited to be review books on this blog.