The Picnic Review

The Picnic
Written by: Bobby Lynn Maslen
Illustrated by: John R. Maslen
Published by: Scholastic Inc, 1987
ISBN: 978-0-439-17587-6

This book is about a girl named Jill who wants to have a picnic at the beach with her friend Tim. They eat lots of food and swim in the sea!

This decodable text focuses on the ea sound, such as in sea and treat. This text is much more difficult than the other two that I read. This text has full sentences and somewhat of an actual story line. The words and sentences are beginning to become more complex, so this must be the end of the decodable texts, and the beginning of reading big kid books!

I would give this text a 4 out of 5 though just because the pictures are a little bland and only have one color. 

Crab Trab Book Review

Crab Trap
Written by: Nora Gaydos
Illustrated by: BB Sams
Published by: innovativeKids, 2001
ISBN: 1-58476-073-7

This book is about an angry crab who puts ham and jam on a mouse trap. He ends up catching a rat, and the rat is not happy about it!

This is an easy to read decodable text. The focus of this text is the short a sound. There are also sight words such as the as well as and. Finally, the text uses some consonant blends, especially tr and cr. 

I like how at the end there are questions for the reader, such as "what are other words that rhyme with ham?" 

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 for decodable texts. The pictures are great and the sentences are easy while still focusing on the sounds.

Bluebird Review

Bluebird
Written by: Bob Staake
Published by: Schwartz and Wade Books, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87037-8

This was a surprising book for me. It is about a little boy who gets bullied and has no friends. Until one day he happens to meet a little bluebird. The surprising part comes at the end but I won't give it away! You definitely want to read this book to see what it is.

This book is really good and tackles some hard issues in childhood. My only concern is that the book is illustrated with only black white and blue pictures. As an adult I can still appreciate it, but as a child I fear he or she would grow bored and not be able to stay focused since the pictures are a little dull. 

I would give this book a 4 out of 5 just because I worry about the colors in the illustrations. This is definitely one I would keep in the classroom though because it could definitely help with some hard issues.

Flotsam Review

Flotsam
Written by: David Wiesner
Published by: Clarion Books, 2006
ISBN: 978-0-618-19457-5

I know we looked at this book in our class, but I already had it checked out and read before that! This is a wordless picture book about a little boy at the beach who finds an old camera washed up on shore. After he gets the film developed, he gets to see some crazy pictures the camera took while underwater, as well as the previous owners of the camera!

This is a very good wordless picture book. It is definitely a fantasy book based on the illustrations, and the illustrations are amazing! Wiesner put so much effort into his pictures and the colors are perfect for keeping a child's attention. It is a silly book which can encourage language as the child who is looking at the book realizes that what is in the pictures is not actually real. 

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 for wordless picture books. Definitely one for the classroom. 

Flora and the Flamingo Review

Flora and the Flamingo
Written by: Molly Idle
Published by: Chronicle Books, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4521-1006-6

This cute little book is about a girl who sees a flamingo and tries to copy everything the flamingo does. She even has her own flippers to match the flamingo!

This is a wordless picture book so the entire thing can be read without having to read anything. I personally enjoyed the book and thought it was very cute. In the book, there are flaps the reader can pull down to see a different picture. I liked the interactive aspect with the flaps, but the problem is that the flaps were made out of paper! They can so easily come off of the page and the the book that I had actually had a flap starting to come off. The pictures are beautiful and well done.

I would give the book a 4 out of 5 because I know the quality of the book would decrease if any of those flaps were to go missing. Not very durable!