Civil War on Sunday (Historical)

Title: Civil War on Sunday
Written by: Mary Pope Osborne
Published by: Scholastic Inc., 2000
ISBN: 0-439-13762-4

This book is about Jack and Annie who travel to the Civil War and work with Clara Barton to help heal wounded soldiers. This book also includes non fiction components and facts that Jack reads out of a book.

I absolutely love the Magic Tree House books, so I have to give this one a 5 out of 5. Osborne always does a great job of integrating information into her historical fiction books!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret Review (Historical Fiction)

Title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Written and Illustrated by: Brian Selznick
Published by: Scholastic Inc., 2007
ISBN: 978-0-439-81378-5

This book is about a boy named Hugo who is an orphan and turns the clocks at a train station. One day he is caught stealing and the man takes Hugo's notebook full of peculiar drawings. Little does Hugo know, this man is about to change his life forever. 

This was an awesome book. We also looked at it in class as a graphic novel, but the content in the book is about a real man named Georges Méliés who was a film maker.

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 because the illustrations are breath taking and the writing is out of this world. Definitely one to use in the classroom.

Who Was Marco Polo Review (Informational)

Title: Who Was Marco Polo?
Written by: Joan Holub
Illustrated by: John O'Brien
Published by: The Penguin Group, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-448-44540-3

This is a biography of Marco Polo written for children. There are pictures and child friendly text throughout the book that make it fun to read while learning all about Marco Polo.

I loved this book because of how age appropriate it it. Some of the names in the biography (such as Confucius) are hard for kids to read so the author even included how to sound out the names in the book! 

I would give this book a 5 out of 5. There are other books in the series too, all of which should be in a classroom to get kids interested in some informational texts.

What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin Review (Informational)

Title: What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
Written by: Jean Fritz
Illustrated by: Margot Tomes
Published by: PaperStar, 1976
ISBN: 0-698-11372-1

This book is a brief biography of Benjamin Franklin and it tells of the things he invented in his life and the type of person he was.

I thought this book was pretty boring, actually. There was no cute story line, it was basically just a straight biography of Ben Franklin told in children's language.

I would give this book a 1.5 out of 5 because I was bored the whole time reading it and I would not read it again. However, if someone who is really interested in history wanted to read this book, they might find it better than I did. 

George Did It Review (Informational)

Title: George Did It
Written by: Suzanne Tripp Jurmain
Illustrated by: Larry Day
Published by: The Penguin Group, 2006
ISBN: 978-0-7569-8161-7

This book is a funny story of how George Washington did NOT want to be President of the United States. But he did anyway! 

I think this was a very good book because it included many different fun facts that I personally did not know about! The author also included a bibliography in the beginning of the book so that everyone can see where she got her information.

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 because the content is great and a funny way to look deeper into our first president.

Meet Felicity Review (Historical Fiction)

Title: Meet Felicity
Written by: Valerie Tripp
Illustrated by: Dan Andreasen
Published by: Scholastic Inc, 1991
ISBN: 0-590-45986-4

Meet Felicity is a book that comes with an American girl doll! Felicity is a girl living in the colonial period and she never quite fits in. She does not like to stitch and she wishes she could take off her petticoats and run! Everything changes for Felicity when she sees a horse who is being abused by an old man. Felicity has to make a decision: to risk her life to save another? Or to stay away and keep herself safe?

This book is cute and I love that there are pictures included every few pages. The book also includes little pictures in the margins to help readers understand any words that they might not always come across (like breeches and stockings)

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 because of the visual aids and the illustrations. Also, because it is a great idea to put books with such a popular toy! What a great way to encourage children to read.

Battle Bunny Review

Title: Battle Bunny
Written by: Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett
Illustrated by: Matthew Myers
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4673-1

This book was originally a birthday gift to a boy named Alex from his Grandma. But Alex decides to take matters into his own hands and recreate the cute birthday book into something much darker. Now, the book is no longer called "Birthday Bunny" it is called "Battle Bunny!"

This book was actually a little hard to follow. Since it has the qualities of a young boy crossing out words and drawing in pictures, there are actually two stories in one. You can still read the "original" text about the birthday bunny underneath the marker used to cross out the words. It is a funny book and a cool concept but the book does seem a little busy now. I would definitely appeal to the boys in the classroom though!

I would give this book a 4 out of 5 because of the fact that it was a little hard to follow. Other than that I love the concept and the content.