The Cow Who Clucked

THE COW WHO CLUCKED 

written and illustrated by Denise Fleming

The Cow Who Clucked is a story about a cow who wakes up one morning and has lost her moo. She decides to go on a search for her moo. She talks to all the animals around the farm. She goes to the dog, the cat, the squirrel and other animals but none of them have her moo, they all have their own animal sounds. The cow finally finds her moo and she has the hen's cluck. I liked this book for the most part. It was somewhat repetitive but I thought it was a cute story and I liked the illustrations. They were really unique and they looked as if they were done with chalk. I love animal books and I think they are really important to children because they allow their imagination to run wild when animals are given human characteristics. I would recommend this book for children Pre-K through 1st grade. I think if I were to read this book to my students I would not read all of the pages because it is so repetitive and it is hard to  keep younger children's attention. 

Questions, Questions

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS 

written and illustrated by Marcus Pfister

This story is a book filled with questions all about nature. "How do seeds know how to grow, to reach up from the earth below?" "How do birds learn how to sing?" The book also is written in a way that rhymes and is in a sort of sing-song tone. It asks questions from seasons to the animals of the Earth, and everything in between. I really liked the illustrations in this book. They were extremely colorful and bright. Marcus Pfister was one of my favorite authors when I was younger. He wrote and illustrated The Rainbow Fish, which was my favorite books when I was little. In Rainbow Fish, on each page the fish had multi-colored scales but one scale on each page were a few silver shimmery scales that were almost a sequin material. I thought it was extremely interesting that in this book, Questions, Questions, that on every page part of his illustration also included a silver shimmery sequin-like material. I was assume that is probably a signature of Pfister. 

For the most part I enjoyed this book. It doesn't really follow a story it is just questions. The only thing that I was a little overwhelmed with when I was reading was that there was not one answer to any of the questions. Children, being as curious as they are are always asking "Why this..?" or "Why that?" I think it would be a little more helpful to include some answers in this book because I think this might just make them question things more. I think this would be a good book for 2nd or 3rd grade classroom to introduce a science lesson. That way some of the questions could be answered for the students. 

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever 

written and illustrated by Marla Frazee

James and his best friend Eamon go to Eamon’s grandparents house for 'nature camp''. The boys have their own ideas about what nature camp is like. The boys mostly choose to stay indoors instead of the suggestions that Eamon’s grandfather has. Eamon's grandpa suggests going to the penguin exhibit but the boys decline. The boys go on an adventure with the grandfather but are bored and would rather go back to the house and watch T.V. By the end of the book the boys seem to appreciate nature much more. The book is humorous with even some adult humor that some children might not understand. The books shows the value of friendship and nature and the word bubbles that are included in the illustrations really add to the story. The book does portray a stereotypical family a grandmother, grandfather and grandson and being sensitive to the children's own family life is necessary. 

I really enjoyed this book because I liked the message of the story. I think that children in younger generations do not seem to play outside and do not have as many outdoor activities that they participate in that I did when I was growing up. All I ever wanted to do when I got home from school or during the summer was play outside and now children want to sit inside and watch TV and play video games. I think it's important that children learn to appreciate nature at an early age and I think this is a great book to teach that. I would recommend this book for possibly Kindergarten to 3rd grade. 

The Hello, Goodbye Window

The Hello, Goodbye Window

written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Chris Raschka

The Hello, Goodbye Window is a story about a little girl who goes to visit her grandmother and grandfather. When she arrives at the home she talks about this hello, goodbye window. When she is on the outside looking in, she sees her Nana and Poppy inside of the house. Sometimes they make funny faces at each other and sometimes they don't know she is there yet. The little girl loves spending time with her Nana and Poppy. She talks about all of the fun activities they do together during her visits there. Her and her Poppy make faces in the window together like a mirror and her and her Nana watch the stars at night. When it is time for the little girl to leave she talks about the goodbye window making her happy and sad as she waves goodbye to her grandparents. 

This story is a very touching one and I really enjoyed it because I too used to spend a lot of time with my grandparents, especially in the summer. My sister and I would beg our parents to stay at our grandparents for a week. When we would go and stay with them there was never a dull time. We were spoiled to say the least and we never wanted to go back home when the time came. Many times we would get to spend a few more days at our grandparents because we would cry and beg our parents. I think that this story would be great for children around Pre-K level until about 2nd grade. The story is one that revolves around a very stereotypical family (mother, father, child, grandmother and grandfather) but I really like the illustrations in this story because they are not specific to a certain race. I am guessing the illustrations were done with oil pastels. I would absolutely recommend this book and I will hopefully be able to read it in my classroom someday. I think it teaches an important lesson to children that they should cherish their time with their grandparents.