Title: The Three Pigs Author and Illustrator: David Wiesner
Book Length: 38 Pages
Category of Book: Caldecott Award or Honor Books
Citation:
Wiesner, D. (2001). The three pigs. New York,NY: Clarion Books.
Genre/Type: Picture Book, Fiction, Comedy
Summary:This is a retelling of the story of the three little pigs. It starts off with the original story of the wolf blowing down the pig's homes and eating them. The story takes a turn when it is revealed the pigs have not been eaten and they have escaped from the story. They accidentally fall in to other fairytale/folktale stories and begin to save the characters by dragging them out of the story they belong in. Together they help the pigs come up with the perfect house where they can all be safe from the wolf.
Awards: Caldecott Medal (2002)
How does this book relate to young children?
This story shows a fun, entertaining way to deal with the idea of a bully. The pigs are being bullied by the wolf and they go find friends who help them find a way to stop the wolf from hurting them and they are able to live happily ever after with their friends in their new house. Children can learn a valuable lesson about bullying from this book. You do not have to directly confront a bully by fighting back, you can come up with a different way to deal with it and you can make a few friends along the way.
How would you share/use this book with young children?
I think this would be a great story for a parent and child to read together. The pictures are interesting and it can lead to a great discussion of why the pigs decide certain paths to take. The illustrations include the pigs taking apart the picture book stories and combining them to help deal with their wolf problem. Parents can begin to explain how some people can be mean but if they stick together with their friends then they can conquer any problem they may encounter.
Book Length: 32 Pages
Category of Book: Caldecott Award or Honor Book
Citation:
Steig, W. (1969). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York,NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Genre/Type: Picture Book, Fiction, Comedy
Summary: One day a young donkey named Sylvester found a mysterious red pebble lying on the ground. When Sylvester picked it up he realized that it was a magic pebble that could make any wish come true. He makes an unexpected wish that leads him on a long, lonely journey until one day he is able to reverse his with and be reunited with his family.
Awards:1970 Caldecott Medal
How does this book relate to young children?
Sylvester is young and foolish, he makes his wishes without thinking of the consequences. He acts rashly and because of this he turns himself into a rock and if unable to reverse the wish. Children act without thinking of the consequences and wish they could take it back. In this story, with the help of his parents, Sylvester is able to reverse his wish but only after a long time in which Sylvester almost gives up hope of being able to return to his family.
How would you share/use this book with young children?
This book could be used to help expand a child's vocabulary (example: unusual, ceased, extraordinary) . There are a decent amount of words used in this book that a child could ask about and learn the meaning of. As a result of the word count, I would think this would be a book that should be read to a younger child, and not one that a beginning reader would use to read by themselves. The beautiful pictures add to the text by reinforcing the story being told.
Title: No, David! Author and Illustrator: David Shannon
Book Length: 32 Pages
Category of Book: Caldecott Award or Honor Book
Citation:
Shannon, D. (1998). No, david!. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.
Summary: This story is about a young boy named David who is always getting in trouble with his mom. He is constantly being told, "No, David!" until the end when his mom tells David she loves him. The illustrations and colors that are used are very bold and harsh. This could be to symbolize the chaos that David is causing throughout the book.
Awards:
Caldecott Honor Book (1999)
How does this book relate to young children?
Children are mischevious and because of this they get in to trouble with their parents. They may constantly hear their parents telling them "no" or "stop" and think that their parents don't love them. No matter how much parents get frustrated with their children, they always love them no matter what and this is shown in the last page of No, David!
How would you share/use this book with young children? This would be a fun book for a classroom read aloud. Because there is a repeated phrase on every page, the children can be involved in the reading of the story. The teacher or parent can read the story while the children say "no, david!" at the appropriate times. This would also be a good book to use if a child is feeling like they are always letting their parents down or that they don't love them.
Book Length: 32 Pages
Category of Book: Caldecott Award or Honor Book
Citation:
Stead, P. C. (2010). A sick day for amos mcgee (E. E. Stead, Illustrator). New York, NY: Roaring Book Press.
Genre/Type: Picture Book, Comedy, Fiction
Summary: Amos McGee is a zoo keeper who visits his animal friends everyday to take care of them. One day, when Amos is sick, his animal friends come to his house to visit and take care of him. The illustrations are drawn and shaded in; parts of the pictures are in color and the other parts are highlighted with color.
Awards: Caldecott Medal (2011), Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book (2011)
How does this book relate to young children?
Amos McGee was such a good friend to the animals that they missed him when he didn't come to visit one day. Since he was such a good friend to them, they go in search of Amos and take care of him when they find out he is sick. Children all have friends and they need to learn to be a good friend, someone that people will miss when they are not around. This is a good example of how to be a good friend to others.
How would you share/use this book with young children? This book can be used to teach young children about being a good friend and having good friends in return. It can also be used to reinforce the idea of taking care of people that need their help.
Book Length: 48 Pages
Category of Book: Caldecott Award or Honor Books
Citation: Ness, E. (1966). Sam, bangs, and moonshine. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Genre/Type: Fiction, Picture BookSummary: Sam is a girl with an overactive imagination. She tells everyone her mom is a mermaid, she has a pet kangaroo and her cat can talk. She is constantly being reprimanded by her father and told to stop speaking moonshine and to talk real. She doesn’t understand her father until something drastic happens as a result of her dreams and she is forced to draw the line between moonshine and real. The illustrations look like they are scratched out and it’s colored with brown, black, and white. The type of illustrations adds to the overactive imagination of Sam and makes it seem less real.
Awards: Caldecott Medal 1967
How does this book relate to young children?
Children have active imaginations and this book can show them the difference between good and bad as far as telling white lies. Sam was constantly making up stories and passing them off as real, she never saw a problem with it until it almost cost Bangs and Thomas their lives.
How would you share/use this book with young children?
This book has a large amount of words so it would be better for either a class story time or for a parent to read to their child. You could also give this book to a reader that is starting to read on their own, it’s not quite a chapter book but it will get them used to the length of a book. There are also pictures on each page so they can help the reader understand what is happening even if they do not understand what is being said on the page. You can also have the reader use context clues to figure out the meaning of “moonshine”
