"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

"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

"Moonday" by Adam Rex

"Moonday" 

by Adam Rex

40 pages /  Print / Fantasy

Summary: A little boy and his family take a drive one night up a hill. They watch the moon from atop the hill, but the moon then follows the family back to their home. The moon stays in their backyard that night and into the morning. The next day is very dark outside, and all the townspeople are tired because it is still night. The boy returns home from school and has a plan. The family gets in their car to drive back to the hill. The moon follows them to the top of the hill. The boy tells the moon to "stay", and it does. The moon stays at the top of the hill and the sun rises the next morning.


Evaluation: I have always had a fascination with the moon, so this story makes me think of how I would stare at the moon as a child and hope to touch it. The dark shades and shadows throughout this book give the reader a sleepy feeling, like the townspeople felt. I think students will enjoy the illustrations of the sleepy and yawning people on each page, who cannot go to sleep until the moon returns up in the sky. This book is full of imagination and warm moments.

Appeal Terms: science fiction, easy, magical, heartwarming, gentle, plot 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

"The Book That Eats People" by John Perry ( Illustrated by Mark Fearing)

"The Book That Eats People" 

by John Perry ( Illustrated by Mark Fearing)

38 pages /  Print / Humorous

Summary: This is simply the book that eats people! This book can smell the food on your hands if you don't wash them. That makes the book hungry. It hides in the library, sometimes disguising itself by putting on a different book's jacket. It will even eat other books in the library! The book kept eating other children until it was locked away in jail. It couldn't be kept in jail for long, so it was sent to the zoo. It would not eat junk food that they sold at the zoo, it only wanted to eat people. Never read this book after eating something delicious, it will smell the food and get hungry. Don't read this book alone! It is the book that eats people!

Evaluation: I really enjoy a book that breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to its readers. The page design in this book is very creative. There is a lot of collage work, and designs borrowed from comic books ( cells, and columns). Some illustrations are made to look like the book was taped together and ripped apart by the monster book. Some pages look like the inside of a stomach of a book that just ate a collection of science textbooks. Creepy. An unexpected monster, a book, is a perfect character to use in a library during Halloween. Students and librarians are the main characters in this book, so they both can find a connection in this book when reading it.

Appeal Terms: science fiction, humorous, fast, foreboding, edgy, magical, creepy, spooky, character centered, quirky

"Tuesday" by David Weisner

   

"Tuesday" 

by David Weisner

32 pages /  E-Book / Sci-Fi

Summary: In the middle of the night, frogs start levitating on lily pads and fly across the night sky. The swarm of flying frogs wreak havoc on the town, terrorizing the dogs in the neighborhood and making a mess of things. The frogs return home to the lake as the sun rises in the morning sky. The next night, it is the pigs turn to fly in the night sky.


Evaluation: An instant favorite of mine. Weisner's use of perspective is truly amazing as he transports us into his world of creativity and magic. The flying frogs reminded me of Moses and the  plague of frogs that inherited Egypt. Perhaps there is an allegory that Weisner is trying to portray? This book, like "The Lion and the Mouse", has very few words. These books are great for children as they are forced to look at the illustrations and create their own story. It makes the reader focus on every inch of the illustration in case they missed some visual clue that is imperative to the plot. Books like these are great for language learners and can help develop an emerging reader's love for books.

Appeal Terms: animal, sci/fic, fast, humorous, magical, action oriented, quirky