USBBY International Picture Books List (3)

Title: Once Upon an Ordinary School Day         Author:  Colin McNaughton         Illustrator: Satoshi Kitamura

Book Length:  32 Pages

Category of Book: USBBY International List Picture Books List

Citation: McNaughton, C. (2004). Once upon an ordinary school day (S. Kitamura, Illustrator). Great Britain: Andersen Press Ltd.

Genre/Type: Juvenille Fiction, Picture Book

Summary: An ordinary young boy goes about his ordinary life until he meets his new teacher who shows him how to dream and make his life extraordinary. The illustrations are comic like and are in black and white or color depending on what is going on within the story. When the world is ordinary, the pictures are in black in white. When the world becomes extraordinary, the colors are very vibrant and are full page illustrations to show the color that comes into the world when you learn to use your imagination. 

Awards:
Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year (2006), USBBY-CBC Outstanding International Book, NH Gate City Book Award Master List

How does this book relate to young children?
It’s better to stand out rather than blend in with the rest of the world. In the story, they all start out black and white, exactly the same, and boring. When the new teacher, Mr. Gee, came into class, the students started to turn to color as they let their imaginations run wild. The way I feel that this relates to young children is to teach them to dream big and to stand out from the crowd. .

How would you share/use this book with young children? 
I think this would be a great book to use as a read aloud. The children will love the pictures, and the change from black and white to full color. There are parts of the story that are repetitive, so the kids can help when the teacher gets to the word “ordinary” which is used to describe everything until the world turns to color. You could also ask the children what they would write if they wrote their own story like the children in the book and then have them write one.

Title:  Just Ducks!        Author: Nicola Davies   Illustrator: Salvatore Rubbino

Book Length: 32 Pages

Category of Book:USBBY International Picture Books List

Citation:

Davies, N. (2012). Just ducks! (S. Rubbino, Illustrator). Somerville, Ma: Candlewick Press.

Genre/Type: Fiction, Picture Book, Information Book

Summary: This book explains the life of a duck for a day. A little girl wakes up and explains about ducks, it includes facts on feeding, sleeping, and mating habits of a mallard duck and the author has included facts on each page about these ducks. The illustrations are not very impressive in my opinion and I feel like the book could have been written in a much more interesting way in order to captivate young readers.

Awards: 2013 United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)

How does this book relate to young children?
The children will enjoy learning about ducks through this book and will enjoy the repetitve "quack" that the author includes on each page. Many kids are desperate to learn information on different types of animals and this will help them gain the knowledge they crave.

How would you share/use this book with young children? 
I would use this book to begin a unit on animals, or specifically on ducks. It is informative and the students can pick and choose the information they want to get out of reading this book.  

Title: Isabella's Garden   Author: Glenda Millard   Illustrator: Rebecca Cool

Category of Book: USBBY International Picture Books List

Citation:

Millard, G. (2009). Isabella's garden. Somerville, Ma: Candlewick Press.

Genre/Type: Fiction, Picture Book

Summary: Told with a lyrical flourish, Isabella's Garden explains the things that come from tiny seeds and informs the reader of how a seed grows into the different items that help make up a garden. The book takes on a nursery rhyme feel that will keep children engrossed in the book and in love with the illustrations. The illustrations are peaceful and very vibrant, and they coordinate with the text perfectly.

Awards: 2013 United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)

How does this book relate to young children?
The children will love the repetition that is used within the book and will be excited to read it on their own. I feel like the book is written in a way that they children can understand and relate and they will probably want to grow some plants and make their own garden's after reading this story.

How would you share/use this book with young children? 
This book would be great to use as a science lesson. It explains the grown from seed to final product and you could have the students plant a seed and take care of it. Have them write sentences of what is happening with their seed and keep track of it as it grows.