"The Princess and the Pea" after the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen is captured by Polly Borland and Lauren Child.I would give this book a 4 **** out of 5 stars.
Summary: The Princess and the Pea is about a Prince whose parents are encouraging him to find a wife. He would like to marry someone who is mesmerizing, fascinating and has that "certain something". His parents only had one wish, for his wife to be of blue blood and equal in royalness. His parents held a ball where the prince found no one who sparked his interest. The Prince travelled to many kingdoms in search of a wife, but he found no such women who fulfilled his wishes. One night, a women with dark, dark hair decided to take a walk to see the moon. She soon became lost and stumbled upon the castle. The King and Queen opened their doors and allowed the young women to stay the night in the castle. The Queen put a small pea underneath a bed made up of many layers of bedding. Her test was to see if the young women would sleep well, and she did not. The women lied to the Queen in order to be polite, she went down to breakfast and locked eyes with the Prince. The two were soon married.
-I am very fond of this book. I have heard this story many times and this is a very interesting re-telling of the tale. The pictures are exquisite. They are packed with color and they include some 3D images. They are very captivating and interesting, as well as the cover. The cover is eye-catching, with bright colors and fantastic pictures. I would use this book for children who are in first grade all the way up until fifth grade. This book contains some difficult language that would challenge students in an appropriate way. This book also teaches some valuable moral lessons. This book teaches children about manners, being polite to others and taking care of each other when they are in need. This book also brings up the idea of marrying for love instead of status or money (which I know children of this age do not have to worry about but it is an important concept that is brought up often in our society).
"The Little Match Girl"
was written by Hans Christian Anderson, retold by Christine San Jose and illustrated by Anastassija Archipowa.
Summary: It is the New Year and a small girl is trying to sell matches to the townspeople for pennies to bring back to her father who is abusive and an alcoholic. She is unsuccessful in selling matches and is afraid to go him. She decides to light the matches and when she does she sees beautiful visions of Christmas trees, burning stoves and delicious dinners. She lit a match and saw her grandmother in heaven, she knew the image would fade if she did not light all of her matches, so she did. She begged her grandmother to take her to heaven with her and her wish was granted. The next day the townspeople find the young girls body in the street and the story ends with the young girl and her grandmother sailing off into the light.
-This book contains some very controversial issues and illustrations. The Little Match Girl is afraid to go home without money because her father might beat her. Her father is also depicted as an alcoholic. These are prevalent issues in our society that many children experience. This book could offer those children comfort and let them know that they are not alone in their ordeals. The little girls grandmother also dies during the story. Her grandmother was very important to her. She states that her grandmother was the only one who loved her. Many children experience loss and tragedy and they may be able to identify with character and her emotions. The little girl sees her grandmother in heaven and they talk about God, the next morning the people in the village find her body in the street. This is a very dark fairy tale, it is not your typical happy ending but it does pose some real-life problems and issues children may face. I would use this book with children who are in 3rd grade but I would keep this book in my classroom library if I taught younger children as well. I believe some parents may have issues with this book existing in classrooms but I believe it is important for children to know these things happen to everyone and that if they experience loss or tragedy they are not alone.
Dr Seuss
"The Sneetches" is written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss.
I would give this book 5 ***** out of 5 stars. I would use this book with children in grades kindergarten through 4th grade.
Summary: This book is about two groups of Sneetches, who either have stars on their stomachs or don’t. The Sneetches with stars exclude the Sneetches with stars in every activity. One day Sylvester McMonkey McBean comes along with a solution to the problem. He told the Sneetches he could give them stars on their stomachs for 3 dollars each. The star-bellied Sneetches were very angry when they could not tell themselves apart from the starless-bellied Sneetches. Sylvester McMonkey McBean tells the star-bellied Sneetches he can remove their stars for 10 dollars each. This was a constant cycle, the Sneetches were never happy while Sylvester McMonkey McBean made an enormous amount of money. He drove away saying Sneetches will never learn their lesson and that day they did. They learned that it does not matter if you have stars or not they are all the same.
I absolutely love this book, Dr. Seuss is one of my favorite authors. These books contain rhythm and rhyme and teach children valuable lessons. Children will be entranced by the rhyming words and comical drawings, and little do they know that this story is teaching them things about life that are important. This book in particular teaches them that diversity is something that should be valued and embraced. It does not matter what other children look like, they are all equal and deserve to be treated so. "The Zax" is written and illustrated by Dr.Seuss
"The Zax" is a short story about two Zax's who are heading in opposite directions (one traveling North and the other traveling South) and find their paths crossing in the middle of the desert. Each Zax is set on sticking to the path they sat out on and will not move out of each others way. They stand in the same position for days and eventually years, both too stubborn to move to the side in order to continue on their travels. Eventually, the desert becomes a highway and the Zax's are still standing where they started years later.
"Daisy-Head Mayzie" is written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss.
I would give this book 3 *** out of 5 stars.
Summary: This book is about a young student named Daisy. She is sitting at her desk trying to complete her work when a daisy sprouts out of her head. The teacher is then in a panic and rushes her to the principles office. The principle then calls her parents and pretty soon the entire town knows about Daisy's problem. An agent enters the picture and convinces Daisy to sign with him in the hopes of one day having her name in lights. Soon after that, everyone wanted to be like Daisy. Daisy was famous! She was making a lot of money but she was very unhappy. She did not have any friends and this made her very sad. The daisy growing from her head came to the rescue, its petals began falling off saying "they love her, they love her not.." when the last petal fell the daisy said "Don't worry Mayzie, hey love you". Daisy flew home to a warm welcome. Everything went back to normal as did Daisy's head but you never know when that daisy will pop up again.
I would read this book to children who are in 1st of 2nd grade. This book, along with many other Dr. Seuss books, has intricate vocabulary and has exception lines that rhyme. Everyone in the community accepted Daisy when the flower sprouted from her head, but she was unhappy when she was famous because she thought no one loved her. This book sends the message that money is not the only thing that can make you happy. I believe children will love this book because of the illustrations and the fact that a young girl has a flower grow from her head. The lesson is something that some may catch on to and I think this is a wonderful addition to any classroom library.
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