Kaylyn's children's Literature Collection

Realistic Fiction: The Relatives Came The Relatives Came is a story about a large family that live in two different states that visit each other each summer. The relatives came from Virginia packing up all their things and piling up into a car. Once they arrived at their family's house they were welcomed with many hugs. They are a big family but all stay in one house for weeks. Some sleep tight in beds together and others on the floor. They all enhance each other's lives by helping one another when something breaks and keeping each other company. After a few weeks the relatives say goodbye and pack up just as they did in Virginia and go back home.  The author does a good job at explaining the delight all the family members bring to one another. They are all upbeat even though the house is crowded and chaotic and I believe that was what the author was trying to portray from the book. The illustrations throughout this book are done with water colors but the illustrator d...

Memoir: Marshfield Dreams When I Was a Kid Marshfield Dreams is a memoir that tells the childhood story of Ralph Fletcher as he is moving away from his friends in Marshfield Massachusetts to Chicago because of his dads new job. Before he leaves his friends Andy, Steve, and Larry teach him at his so called "funeral" that  "saying goodbye is forgetting, and forgetting is losing one another". So before Ralph left he wrote this story to remember his friends and for his friends to remember him. Ralph talks about both the good times and bad times he had with his friends. The book teaches a lesson to trust in your friends on both ordinary days and your last with them. The author does a good job at describing the times him and his friends shared such as when Ralph explains when he was laying down during his "funeral" and describes how it felt having his friends covering him in pine needles. The details he gave made the experiences he had vivid and allow...

Fantasy: The Polar Express The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg tells the story of a young boy named Chris awakened on Christmas Eve by a magical train that appeared outside of his house. He climbs aboard and finds that there are many children his age on the train. They are treated with hot chocolate as they go to the North Pole. On the way he makes two new friends named  Billy and Sarah. They make it to the center of the North Pole where Santa will choose one person for the first gift of Christmas. Chris is chosen to receive the first gift and chooses a sleigh bell from Santa's sleigh.  The author does a good job at laying out the events of the story. The book is in the fantasy genre because there is lots of magic involved throughout the story. The illustrations are what takes up the majority of the book and are in my opinion beautifully done. They are extremely detailed making the story seem realistic. There is a good balance of story telling and also the fan...

Mystery: Young Cam Jansen & the Pizza Shop Mystery  Young Cam Jansen & the Pizza Shop Mystery is about a girl named Cam Jansen that has to figure out how her jacket disappeared after she left it on the back of her chair while waiting in line for her Pizza with her dad and friend Eric. With the help of her photographic memory she is able to figure out just what happened to her jacket. It was accidentally taken by a grandmother who thought it was her granddaughters when she was looking for her frantically throughout the busy restaurant. Cam is able to find the grandmother and girl and retrieve her jacket.  The author does a good job at making the plot clear for readers because it is a mystery book and at times mystery books can get unclear when characters are backtracking their steps to figure out what happened. The illustrations throughout the story help readers follow along as Cam is solving the mystery because the illustrations show us what her "photographic ...

Non-Fiction: Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum is a nonfiction book that outlines  Walter Diemer's invention of bubble gum that pops. The book gives some background on bubble gum from the Egyptian's time to early American settlers. Walter wanted to create a new type of gum, one that popped. After many trial and errors Walter finally made just what he wanted, he created Dubble Bubble in the year 1928. It was such a success that the Fleer Corporation had it shipped to countless stores. Walter who started off as an accountant became the vice president of the Fleer Corporation. He later retired and enjoyed the rest of his life in a relaxed manner.   The book is appealing to young readers because it reads like a fictional book. It provides facts on bubble gum and accurate information about the inventor. The illustrations are appealing to young readers and go along well with the story. At the end of the book the author provides two pages ...

Biography: Barack Obama: Out of Many, One Barack Obama: Out of Many, One tells the story of our 44th president Barack Obama. The book talks about how Obama was born in Hawaii and how he grew up without a father in his life. The book also talks about how after college in Hawaii he moved to Chicago to try to make a change, he helped people register to vote, and helped start after school programs. He went to law school and met Michelle who he later married and had two daughters with. In 2004 he ran for U.S. Senate and won, then in 2007 announced he was running for president. On January 20th 2009 he made history and  became the first African American president, then on November 6th 2012 he was re- elected for a second term. The book provides simple but accurate facts on the life of Barack Obama. The author gives a good balance between facts and keeping the reading level for younger students. The author does a good job with correlating the illustrations to the story and the ...

Multi-cultural: Too Many Tamales Too many tamales tells the story of a girl named Maria and her mother making tamales, and while they were doing so Maria put on her mothers wedding ring. She did not realize the ring was gone from her finger until after the tamales were already on the stove cooking. To avoid telling her mother, Maria and her cousins ate all the tamales hoping to find the ring. After eating all 24 tamales, no luck. Maria then decided to tell her mother what had happened only to see her mother wearing the ring.  The author does a good job at expressing the theme of the story and explaining the tradition of Maria's family making tamales fro Christmas. He also does a good job at explaining words that we may not understand, such as the word masa. The illustrations also go along well with the story, they emphasize the multicultural aspects we see throughout the book such as the clothes the characters wear.  Motivational Activities: 1) Have students ident...

Historical Fiction: Henry's Freedom Box Henry's Freedom Box tells the story of a young boy who was born into slavery. He was split from his mother at a young age because he was a hard worker. He grew up in slavery and eventually met a women whom he eventually married and had two children with. His master eventually sold his kids and his wife into the slave market and Henry was left alone. He was tired of this life so with the help of an abolitionist white doctor he ships himself to freedom. He is sent in a wooden crate on a long journey to Philadelphia where he is free for the first time. The author does a very good job at letting us see things from Henry's perspective. The illustrations throughout the book emphasize the whole story. They take up the majority of the pages and are realistic as well as use neutral colors that display sadness. The story provides a special view into this way of life because slavery is all Henry knows, he has never been free and the aut...

Folklore: Little Red Riding Hood Little Red Riding Hood tells the story of a little girl on her way to take her sickly grandmother soup and muffins. Along the way she encounters a hungry wolf who follows her to her grandma's house. The hungry wolf swallows both Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother whole. A woodcutter notices large tracks outside of the cottage and finds the wolf in the house. He notices his stomach move so he cuts it in half and out come Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother.  The author is very detailed throughout the story and provides a great deal of dialogue between the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood. He makes it clear that it is folklore by the use of this dialogue. The illustrations are extremely detailed and uses many pastels and impressionistic styles.   Motivational Activities: 1. Have students write their own version of Little Red Riding Hood putting themselves in her position. 2. Have students identify different artis...

Science Fiction: Star Wars the Clone Wars Boba Fett: Jedi Hunter Boba Fett: Jedi Hunter tells the story of a young bounty hunter named Boba Fett and his journey to track down Mace Windu because he struck down his father. He faces many challenges along the way and even get taken as hostages along the way. They escape and finally track down Mace Windu, but they walk right into his trap. In the end Boba is left being Mace Windu's prisoner. The author does a good job at clarifying everything that is going on throughout the story as there are many parts that may seem confusing such as all of the different type of characters in the story because it does take place on a different planet. She represents sci- fi well as she explains the story's aspects such as that a clone planet is "a special base on the planet of Kamino where clones are trained" The illustrations throughout the book help clarify parts of the story. They are detailed and very realistic. Motivational...