The Giver by Lois Lowry

Like most students, I can recall reading The Giver in 5th or 6th grade. Since then I've heard and read, on several occasions, about how great of a book The Giver is, so I was looking forward to reading it again. As soon as I started to read it again, I remembered that this was the first novel I ever read that was set in the future. Upon beginning to read the book it instantly reminded me of Brave New World, another futuristic utopian style novel that I read a few years ago and immensely enjoyed. I thought it was interesting how in both books people take pills in order to suppress feelings and/or emotions. I think The Giver is an excellent book to get students to think about the structure of society and the impact people's lives have on society. I also found it very interesting that the main character, Jonas, has such a responsibility and a massive burden to shoulder throughout the novel by being chosen the next Receiver. There are some very dark themes and issues in the book, and I think it would work best with grades five and above. For example, the idea of "Releasing" and the extremely disturbing scene of a father killing a baby and then disposing of the body systematically like trash. Overall, I think The Giver is a wonderful novel. I enjoyed it greatly and would certainly recommend it to older readers.

At Daddy's On Saturdays by Linda Walvoord Girard

The first thing that struck me about this book was that it was the first picture book I've ever read that addresses and directly deals with the issue of divorce and it's effect on a family (specifically a young daughter named Katie). The illustrations look as if they were done with watercolors and are very simple and light looking. I like how the book works to depict the emotional roller coaster Katie is going through in attempting to deal with her parents divorce. For example, Katie throws away her favorite doll in an attempt to cope with the news and says of the divorce "it seemed like somebody was throwing somebody else away." I also liked how Katie tends to miss the simple things about her father after he moves out and gets his own apartment. For example, Katie misses not having her dad at the breakfast table in the morning. These sorts of scenes in the book help to give the impact of the divorce on Katie a very realistic feel. Eventually, Katie gets used to going to visit her dad in his new apartment and even learns to enjoy it. I would certainly recommend this book to all readers, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

First Painter by Kathryn Lasky

I thought this was an excellent and very enjoyable picture book, especially for older readers. It is extremely original and unique, and I was immediately drawn to both the story and the illustrations. The main character is a girl named Mishoo, and the story is set in prehistoric times. Eventually, Mishoo becomes the first painter ever, and the story chronicles how this comes to be. It is worth noting that the book has lots of text and some mature themes such as death and starvation, so I wouldn't reccommend the book to very young readers. Mishoo's people are starving and dying because of an intense drought, and as the dream catcher it is her responsibility to bring rain to her people. The illustrations are wonderful and very reminiscent of cave drawings, which works extremely well to accompany the story. In the end, there is a positive and uplifting end to the story and I really enjoyed the book as a whole.

Mr. Panda's Painting by Anne Rockwell

I really enjoyed this fun picture book about art, colors, and painting. The illustrations are very colorful and painted in a simple way that works great for a story about a painting panda. I really liked how Mr. Panda is an artist that is inspired by everyday objects such as yellow flowers and red cars. I thought it was great how the author included some insight into the process behind art and showed what drives the main character to create his art. I also liked how the entire story stresses creativity and art. This books is also a great tool to stress the difference in colors and how colors are used in both art and everyday life. Like many picture books, Mr. Panda's Painting has animal characters with human characteristics. The story was very direct and effective and worked perfectly with the illustrations. Overall, I thought this was a great book and would certainly recommend it to students and for any teacher to have in the classroom (especially an art teacher).

An Evening At Alfie's by Shirley Hughes

I found this picture book to be a bit ordinary and quite uninteresting. Firstly, the illustrations are extremely simplistic and have the look of drawings. The story itself revolves around two very young characters: a toddler named Alfie and a baby named Annie. The children's parents go out to a party for the evening and the children are left at home with a babysitter. One part of the book that I did find interesting was that the babysitter reads Alfie the Noah Arc story before bed. I was a bit surprised that the author chose to use a religious story instead of just a random children's book. Overall, I found the book to be very simple and would reccommend students read something more engagin and interesting.

City Night by Eve Rice, Pictures by Peter Sis

The first thing that stands out about this picture book is the very simple rhyming scheme that makes the story read like poetry. I really liked the very soft and lush illustrations of the city at night. The color scheme of the city is very blue and dark and works perfectly to show the way a city looks at night. I also enjoyed how the author portrayed the city as having a personality and being alive at night. For example, there are scenes and illustrations of people at a nighttime concert. The plot of the story is quite simple, and there are very little words in the story. It is a very quick and short read, but I think it would work well for younger readers such as 2nd or 3rd graders.