Book Review - This is Not My Hat
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Klassen, Jon. 2012. This is not hat. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0-7636-5599-0
PLOT SUMMARY
This picture book takes the reader through the experience of a small fish who immediately admits that the had he is wearing is not his. With each turn of the page, the fish gives small pieces of the story about where he got the hat and how he intends to keep it. We find that he has stolen the had from a much larger fish who was asleep. The small fish is confident that the large fish won’t know that it was he who took the hat, and will certainly not find him, as he is headed “where the plants are big and tall and close together”. The small fish is wrong in his assumption, as the large fish gets his hat back in the end.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Klassen uses very simple short phrases to take us on a simple journey with a small fish, but there is a much bigger lesson to be learned. It is immediately apparent that the fish has made a bad choice to steal a hat. These circumstances lead to opportunities for conversations about stealing, but also about how you should behave even if people aren’t watching since the large fish is asleep when his hat is stolen. The small fishes encounter with the crab can guide children into a discussion about trust. The end of the book requires children to use higher order thinking skills because the last 3 pages of the book do not have any words on them. Rather, there are illustrations for children to look and and decide what happens in the end. Often, the words on the page oppose what is happening in the illustration which is another factor that contributes to building high level thinking. For example, on one spread the small fish has gone into the thick weeds and says “nobody will ever find me”, but the illustration show that the large fish is entering the weeded area.
The illustrations in the book are digital creations in Chinese ink. The pictures are simple, and the colors are dark tones, mostly blacks and browns, that add to the seriousness of what is happening in the story. The most impactful moment with the illustrations is the end of the book where they independently lead the reader to the conclusion. The last three spreads show the reader what happens without any words which provides great opportunity for a teacher to help students to infer details about the ending of the story.
The combination of simple text and illustrations result in a book packed with life lessons and high level thinking skills.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Starred Review in Horn Book - “Darkly hilarious”
Starred Review in School Library Journal - “This not-to-be-missed title will delight children again and again.”
CONNECTIONS
~Use the book to start discussions with students about:
Stealing
Character (what you do when people aren’t looking)
Trust
~Have the students write words to go on the final three pages
Related books:
Cook, Julia. 2012. Ricky sticky fingers. Chattanooga, TN: National Center for Youth Issues. ISBN
978-1-937870-08-9
Klassen, Jon. 2011. I want my hat back. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 0763655988
Book Review - Make Way for Ducklings
BIBLIOGRAPHY
McCloskey, Robert. 1941. Make way for ducklings. New York, NY: The Viking Press. ISBN
978-0-670-45149-4
PLOT SUMMARY
Make Way for Ducklings is story of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, two ducks looking to raise their children in the best setting possible. After a picky Mrs. Mallard refuses several options due to the possible dangers, the ducks settle in Boston near the Public Garden. They make friends with a local policeman who feeds them peanuts each day. When Mr. Mallard decides to explore the river, Mrs. Mallard stays behind to train their ducklings. Once she is confident in their behavior and skills, she leads them on a journey through Boston, with the help of the police who stop traffic, all the way to the Public Garden to meet their father and settle in their new home.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
McCloskey tells a story from the ducks perspective using personification to make them highly relatable. A worried mother takes special care to nest and raise her babies with pride. McCLoskey sets the ducks in a realistic Boston leading to discussions about the city’s landmarks. McCloskey was inspired by actual experiences and stories that he heard about problems with ducks in Boston and traffic. From the Mrs. Mallard’s perspective, though, the traffic is not an issue; the people are simply an audience for her to show her babies off to.
McCloskey’s illustrations look like charcoal drawing void of color. The detail is impressive with clear distinctions that make the male and female ducks very realistic in appearance. The drawings of the landmarks in Boston are incredibly detailed from the bridge, to the statue, and swan boats.
This is a sweet story that children would enjoy, but also has many realistic features that could stem conversations about the setting as well as the animals.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
School Library Journal - “McCloskey’s attention to detail and marvelous storytelling are a magical combination.“
Horn Book - “When they take the time for this book, they’re rewarded with a duck’s-eye view tour of their hometown, where sometimes — maybe when the T’s running smoothly and the Red Sox are on a winning streak — people are in the mood to stop, smell the flowers, and make way for ducklings.”
CONNECTIONS
~Use the book to supplement discussions about Boston and the Public Gardens
~After reading the book, have students look at images of the Public Gardens today and research the events that inspired the book.
Related books:
Andersen, H. C., Stewart, A., & Laimgruber, M. (1985). The ugly duckling. New York: Greenwillow
Books.
Book Review - Locomotive
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Floca, Brian. 2013. Locomotive. New York, NY: Antheneum. ISBN 978-1-4169-9415-2
PLOT SUMMARY
Locomotive is a concept book intended to teach the reader about the first locomotive to take passengers across the United States. The book gives detailed descriptions from the opening endsheets to the closing of the trains, workers, passengers and the experience. There are even brief nods to what the travel and terrain was like before the locomotives. The reader journeys through the construction of the tracks, boarding of the train, the actual trip and the inner-workings of the machines experiencing landmarks and cities along the way until the train reaches its final destination, California.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Floca incorporates tremendous historical detail into this book. The front endsheet feature maps and historical images accompanied by blocks of text informing the reader about information leading up to the launch of the first locomotives. The back endsheets contain a detailed drawing of the actual train with labels of its anatomy. Inside the pages of the book, Floca brilliantly packs historical information in a variety of ways, and uses onomatopoeias and strong verbs that appeal to all of the senses and place the reader in the experience. With descriptions like of the cab smelling, “of smoke, hot metal, and oil”, and the train, “rolling, running, lurching, leaning left and right”, the reader can truly imagine how it felt to be there. The action even takes place in the typeface as many of the strong verbs are placed in italics and onomatopoeias are featured in a variety of fonts, sizes and colors to intensify the sounds and feelings of the experience. Not only does Floca share the history of the experience, but he even takes care to include details like proper train etiquette that today’s reader might find a bit comedic with comments like, “Don’t wait for the train to stop-- it’s rude to use the toilet when the train is sitting at the station.”
Floca’s illustrations in the book are are watercolor images that depict incredibly detailed picture like images. The book boasts a combination of aerial, landscape, and close up views of the journey. The images are also used as tools to show the motion of the journey. For example, when the train is approaching the station, there are three images of it coming: one from a distance; the next a little closer; the third a close up view of the train coming in. The detail, though, is what is truly broadens the picture to give a well rounded experience. In these three images there is a cowboy and his horse standing near the train track. In the first image, the cowboy is on his horse who is standing and watching. In the second picture, the train is very close to the horse who reacts by rearing up, and in the final picture, the cowboy has been bucked off and is chasing his horse. This adds to the understanding of just how loud and foreign the locomotives were in the beginning. Many images are enhanced with handwritten labels of who or what are in the picture to add another layer of learning to the book.
This picture book is a bit lengthy and packed with information, so it would probably be best suited for older children. It would even be a great learning suppliment in a high school history class. It could be used with younger children, but I think it would be most effective broken down into sections at this level.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Starred Review in Kirkus - “Nothing short of spectacular, just like the journey it describes. “
Starred Review in Horn Book - “Talk about a youth librarian’s dream come true: a big new book about those ever-popular trains from a bona fide picture-book-nonfiction all-star.”
CONNECTIONS
~Use the book to supplement historical discussions about the Transcontinental Railroad.
~After reading the book, have students take a virtual tour on the computer to see some of the areas featured today.
Related books:
Crews, Donald. 1978. Freight Train. Malaysia: Harper Collins. ISBN
0-688-14900-6
Book Review - Giggle, Giggle, Quack
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cronin, Doreen. 2002. Giggle, giggle, quack. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York, NY: Simon &
Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN 0-689-84506-5
PLOT SUMMARY
Giggle, Giggle, Quack is a humorous story of farm animals being mischievous while the farmer is away. Farmer Brown goes on vacation and leaves his brother, Bob, in charge with written instructions and a strict warning to, “keep an eye on Duck” because, “He’s trouble”. Despite the warning, Duck manages to pull one over on Bob when he gets a pencil and begins replacing Farmer Brown’s notes with his own instructions. The results are pizzas for the animals at dinner, bubble bathes for the pigs, and more.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Cronin utilizes personification and onomatopoeia to bring life to and fun to this book. Set on a farm, the story follows the actions of a mischievous duck with the human abilities to write and replace the farmer’s instructions with his own. The animals don’t actually talk. Each time the new set of silly instructions is carried out, the animals respond with a, “giggle, giggle, oink, quack, moo” as they snicker at the farmer’s brother carrying out the bogus tasks. The language and storyline are simple and entertaining.
Lewin’s illustrations, black drawings with watercolor washes are vibrant yet simple. The use of the watercolor brush strokes add a whimsical feel to the story. The colorful pictures are attention capturing, great for young children.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Review in Kirkus - “...the second story stands not on top, but in the shadow of the innovative original.“
CONNECTIONS
~Use the book to introduce the literary device onomatopoeia and personification.
Related books:
Cronin, Doreen. 2000. Clack, clack, moo. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York, NY: Simon &
Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN 1-4814-6541-0
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