"Shark Dog" by Ged Adamson

"Shark Dog" 

by Ged Adamson

40 pages /  Print / Science Fiction

Summary: A girl has a dad that is a famous explorer. They land on an island one day and the girl befriends a Sharkdog. The Sharkdog does dog things like a shark, and shark things like a dog. Everything is going well until one day Sharkdog gets sad because it misses its friends and family. The girl and her father return the Sharkdog to its home. The girl and dad start sailing away but Sharkdog starts swimming after them. In the end, Sharkdog prefers its new family (the girl and father) as opposed to its own family.

Evaluation: This is a gentle and heartwarming story of friendship, new surroundings, and family. Some students that are separated from their family might feel a connection to Sharkdog and theloneliness it feels. Sharkdog teaches that we can find comfort and happiness in new situations and new relationships. Sharkdog is also a combination of two very popular and well liked animals for children, thus motivating young readers to choose this story to read.

Appeal Terms: animal, science fiction, easy, heartwarming, gentle, family centered, hopeful

"Pete's a Pizza" by William Steig

"Pete's a Pizza" 

by William Steig

34 pages /  Print / Realistic

Summary: Pete is not having a good day because it is raining and he cannot go out to play. Pete's dad decides to make him feel better by helping Pete use his imagination to keep him entertained. Pete lies on a couch and dad pretends that Pete is pizza dough. After kneading and tickling Pete, dad puts some "pizza ingredients" (household items) on Pete and then pretends to bake him in an imaginary oven. Pete thinks all of this is so fun and forgets about his troubles. In the end, the sun comes out and Pete can finally go outside to play.

Evaluation: This book has already sparked many after-reading extension activities for young readers that involve them pretending to be Pete and his dad (sprinkling fake cheese, pepperoni and tomato sauce over someone). I think this book is a good lesson for children to teach them that our imagination is a great gift and we should use it more often. It also teaches children to take a bad situation and make a good one out of it. Everyone can relate to Pete's woes of not being able to go outside, but we can all learn from his father's idea of using imagination.

Appeal Terms: realistic, easy, leisurely, humorous, heartwarming, gentle, family centered

"The Arrival" by Shuan Tan

"The Arrival" 

by Shuan Tan

128 pages /  Print / Fantasy

Summary: In an imaginary world, a man must leave his wife and daughter behind to create a better life for them. Through illustrations only, Shuan Tan tells us an inspiring story of immigration and a man's love for his family. We follow the man's struggle of not knowing his new country's language, and finding a place to live and sleep. After some time, the wife and daughter and reunited with the man in the new country and build a new life together instead of isolation.

Evaluation: A beautiful story of immigration that captures the emotions of arriving in a new place with no knowledge of the language, culture or people. Shuan Tan uses an imaginary world, with imaginary text for the man to read, which makes the reader feel alien just as much as the protagonist in the story. The illustrations allow us to look into the mind and backstories of the characters in the story to help the reader realize that everyone in the imaginary land is an immigrant too. This book is a great way to introduce a unit on immigration. The artwork is captivating, Tan uses different dark shades to signal to the reader different passages of time and perspectives. We are to believe that every immigrant has left their country to escape some dark force, or make their life better. The book reads like a filmstrip, which makes for a very interactive reading experience.

Appeal Terms: adventure, graphic novel, historical, science fiction, engrossing, dark, hopeful, mystical, melodramatic, episodic, plot centered, resolved ending, family centered, life like, vivid, multiple point of view, imaginary, introspective