Melissa Sweet Picture Books

5 Picture Books 

The children's fiction picture book Charlotte in New York is written by Joan MacPhail Knight and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. This book's target audience would be 4-5th grade students.

Summary: This book is set in 1894, a young girl named Charlotte writes in a journal as she travels with her family. She records her impressions of the journey her family takes from France to New York City. Her father is an artist and this is the reason her family is taking this wonderful journey. His paintings will be displayed in an exhibition. Each page consists of the exact date the journal entry was made, the location and pictures of what occurred that day. She details her feelings, the people she meets and the events that take place.

Rating: I would give this book 3 *** out of 5 stars

This book would be a great opportunity to teach students about the different forms of writing and the benefits of journal entry writing. This could also express to children the idea that writing can be something they can enjoy and something that can be extremely personal to them. This would always be a good way to introduce how writing and art can go hand in hand. This would be a great book to read over a long period of time because it is rather long compared to Melissa Sweet's other illustrated books. This would also be a good way to teach about some historic events that have occurred and specific attractions in New York City. You can also use this book in your classroom to teach some French vocabulary. Charlotte is from France and in her journal entries beside the pictures is the word in French. This is a fun book to read and offers many teachable opportunities.





This children's fiction picture book, Carmine, is written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. This book's target audience would be 1-2nd graders.




-Summary: Carmine has a very special bond with her Grandmother and her dog Rufus. Her Granny taught her how to read using the letters in alphabet soup and whenever she visits her Granny they always make soup for lunch. Carmine plans to visit her Granny, grabs her art supplies and heads out the door with her Granny's thoughts playing in her mind "Beware of dangers along the way!". Carmine likes to take her time while riding her bike and look at the beautiful scenery. On the way to Granny's house, Carmine stopped to paint a picture while Rufus gets himself into some trouble. Rufus meets a wolf and the wolf finds his way to Granny's house. From a distance, Carmine could hear the screams of her Granny rushed to Granny's house to find her house a mess. Carmine followed Granny and the Wolf's footprints. She found Granny in her closet hiding and the wolf no where to be seen. Granny and Carmine ate their alphabet soup, hung artwork on the wall, and promised to never dilly-dally again.

-Rating: I would give this book 4 **** out of 5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is similar to Little Red Riding Hood. This would be a good story to read during free time or in reading groups. This book includes bits of poetry and introduces new and difficult vocabulary. This would also be a great book to base spelling activities or tests off of. It introduces words such as clutter, lurking, mimic, nincompoop, omen and quiver. These are just a few of the words this book introduces and these words are also accompanied by pictures and use in sentences.



This children's picture fiction picture book, Giggle-Wiggle Wake-Up, is written by Nancy White Carlstrom and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet.

Summary: This book is about a boy named Sammy who is on his way to his first day of school. It portrays his morning routine of his cat waking him up, his mother making him breakfast. trying to get dressed and out of the door. The book follows Sammy through his first day at school, all the people he meets and all the fun and exciting activities they do.

Rating: I would give this book 4 **** out of 5 stars.

This book would be used with younger students. Kindergarten or first grade students in particular. This book uses repetition and rhyme which would could lead into an activity about making your own story for your morning using these elements. This book could also be used to teach routine. Activities could be done asking students what their routine is in the morning and what they do to get ready for school.

This fiction children's book, Good for You, is written by Stephanie Calmenson and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. This is a book that would be used at a Kindergarten level.

Summary: This is a rather long children's picture book. It consists of over 60 pages. There are rhymes for different occasions. Such as; My Room, My Potty, At the Playground and Things We Do. These books teach valuable lessons to young children.

Rating: I would give this book 5 ***** out of 5 stars.

This would be a great book to use over a long period of time as well. If you are teaching a lesson on colors the first rhyme is an amazing way to start a lesson. This book is a great tool because it offers many different lesson options, accompanied by funny pictures. I believe young children will really enjoy this book.

This fiction children's book titled Moonlight The Halloween Cat is written by Cynthia Rylant and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. I would recommend this book be used with Kindergarten to 1st grade students.

Summary: This book is about a black cat whose favorite holiday is Halloween. She loves to go out at night and see the costumes children have. She loves to see the pumpkin's with smiling faces and the beautiful stars in the sky. This book follows Moonlight on one Halloween night where she sits in scarecrow's laps, sees the children's costumes, observes her surroundings and even finds a piece of candy at the end of the night.

Rating: I would give this book 3 *** out of 5 stars.

This would be a great book to read around the time of Halloween. The illustrations are gorgeous and vibrant. Teachers could read this book to their students and have their students go back to their seats and draw a picture of what they would do if they were a black cat on Halloween night. Have them draw what they would like to see or watch and then have the class share their ideas with one another. These drawings and stories could be hung around the room for display.



Novel 

The novel I read was Anyone But Me by Nancy Krulik and Illustrated by John & Wendy. This books is one in the Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo series. This is a relatively short chapter book, I would suggest this book be read by or read to 2nd graders.

Summary: Katie is picked on at school, for everything. Someone in her class or around school is always laughing at her. Katie can't seem to do anything right. That night at dinner she tells her parents about the awful day she had and shouts "I wish I could be anyone but me!". She runs outside and due to her being so upset she misses the star shooting across the sky. The next day outside of school Katie is changed into a hamster. The rest of the book is Katie trying to get out of the mess she has created. She tries everything she can think of. Katie is finally changed back into her human self and becomes close with her classmates, especially George who had picked on her before her transformation.

Rating: I would give this book 3 *** out of 5 stars.

I would suggest this book, as well as others in the series, for children who are struggling with reading and who have a hard time finding books they enjoy. This book was funny, and taught valuable lessons on bullying and loving who you are. The illustrations accompany the pictures and make the story come to life.