"Flotsam" by David Wiesner

"Flotsam" 

by David Wiesner

40 pages /  Print / Science Fiction

Summary: A boy finds a strange camera on the shore at the beach. Curious about its contents, he goes to get the film developed at a nearby store. He is in shock when it is revealed that the photographs show sea creatures doing to most remarkable and strange things. The last picture is very special. It shows a photo of a girl holding a picture, and in the picture is a picture of a boy holding a picture. The boy is very interested in understanding why people are holding a picture of a picture. He gets his magnifying glass and sees that there are many people who have taken this picture of a picture. The boy decides to keep the tradition and take his own special picture with new film. The boy then throws the camera back in the ocean for another person to find one day. The book ends with another child finding the camera on a different beach.

 Evaluation: This book is a Caldecott Winner for its imaginative and illustrations and creative plotline. With many of Wiesner's books, there is little or no text, so the reader is forced to look closely at the illustrations to tell a story. The story being told here is that anything is possible. The ocean is so vast and unknown that maybe there are strange things happening that we cannot imagine. The theme of "adventure" and "journey" is also present in this book.

Appeal Terms: science fiction, lively, engrossing, mystical, magical

"Let It Snow" by Holly Hobbie

"Let It Snow" 

by Holly Hobbie

32 pages /  Print / Fantasy

Summary: Toot and Puddle are two pig friends that love to spend time outdoors and with eachother in their log cabin. Christmas is fast approaching but they cannot figure out what to get each other. One day, it snows so much that the two of them decide to go skiing through the woods. They both find this so beautiful and magical. Puddle wishes it could capture the beauty and keep it forever. Later that day it rains and all the snow melts away. Toot is very upset that it cannot use its snow sled to play. Christmas day comes and they both exchange their homemade gifts. Puddle made Toot a sled with wheels that can be ridden without snow. And Toot painted Puddle a winter landscape of the two of them skiing through the woods.

 Evaluation: This heartwarming story shows how beautiful friendships can be. This story can be used as a model for the holiday seasons to inspire students to make something for a loved one.

Appeal Terms: animal, fantasy, winter, friendship, gentle, slow, heartwarming, relaxed, plot centered

"Painting Pepette" by Linda Ravin Lodding

"Painting Pepette" 

by Linda Ravin Lodding

40 pages /  Print / Realistic

Summary: A little girl from Paris adopts a small rabbit, Pepette. The girl notices that the walls in her home are covered with painted portraits of each family member, but not Pepette. She decides to wander into town with Pepette to get its portrait painted. The girl and Pepette encounter four famous artists, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Marc Chagall, and Henri Matisse. They all paint Pepette in their own unique style, but none look realistically like Pepette. The girl and the rabbit return home where the girl decides to paint Pepette's portrait herself.

 Evaluation: This book is a work of art, illustrated in beautiful watercolor painting. The book can teach students about different famous artists and what makes their style unique. This would be a good introduction for an art history unit. The theme of "being yourself" is present when the girl decides to illustrate what Pepette looks like.

Appeal Terms: animal, realistic, easy, gentle, art, character centered, vivid, well developed

"The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales" by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith

"The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" 

by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith

56 pages /  Print / Fairy Tale

Summary: From the introduction of the book, the author tells us that these are not just fairy tales, but "fairly stupid" fairy tales. Your favorite fairly tales have been transformed into new, funny ones using familiar and new characters. Characters in each of the fairly tales find themselves in the middle of other ones, making this a very entertaining book to read. The fairy tales that are "stupidly" retold are: :Chicken Little"("Chicken Licken"), "The Princess and the Pea" ("The Princess and the Bowling Ball"), "The Ugly Duckling" ("The Really Ugly Duckling"), "The Frog Prince"(“The Other Frog Prince”), "Little Red Riding Hood" ("Little Red Running Shorts") , Jack and the Bean Stalk ("Jack's Bean Problem"), Cinderella/Rumpelstiltskin ("Cinderumpelstiltskin"), "The Tortoise and the Hare" ("The Tortoise and the Hair"), and "The Gingerbread Man" ("The Stinky Cheese Man").

 Evaluation: This book is a collection of fractured fairy tales retold in a unique and funny way。Students love fractured fairy tales because they give a different way of looking at a story, which creates different questions to answer about story elements. Fractured fairy tales also are very funny, which students will appreciate. "The Stinky Cheese Man an Other Fairly Stupid Tales" is also wonderfully illustrated. The creepy and gross way each character and setting is drawn adds to the effect of the book. Fractured Fairy tale books are also great for teaching students that traditional stories are fun to recreate. This could lead to an assignment that makes the student make a fractured fairy tale of their own.

Appeal Terms: fairytale, leisurely, dark, humorous, magical, multiple plotlines, eccentric, quirky