This is Not My Hat

 Klassen, J. (2012). This Is Not My Hat. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. 

This humorous picture book is about a little fish who happens to steal a little blue hat from a big fish. The little fish believes that the big fish will not notice his hat is missing since he was asleep. Though, the little fish didn't realize the big fish  had awoken from his sleep and noticed his hat was gone. Little fish was on his way to the tall plant area where he felt the big fish couldn't find him. Read to find out if the big fish caught up with the little fish and got his hat back. 

The monotone colors set an underwater scene which provides a great detail to support the story. The story is very short and mostly you have to interpret the illustrations to complete the story. Young and beginning readers will like this book and it'll be great for teaching predictions and summarizing. 

Last Stop on Market Street

 Peña, M. D., & Robinson, C. (2015). Last Stop on Market Street. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA). 

This delightful tale is about a young boy, CJ, and his grandmother who ride a bus to head across town to serve the homeless food. CJ always asks questions about why they take the bus, and his charming grandmother responds with delightful wisdom about the seeing those who ride the bus and meet new people. CJ watches the new people coming and going off the bus, and when they leave the bus he notice how dirty the area they were walking to. Of course, his grandmother says that he must see the beauty in everything. Does CJ learn to accept the beauty in things or not? Read to find out.

The story was a good read and would offer many opportunities to teach lessons over acceptance and viewpoints. The pictures were great since they were done in bright colors which made everything seem to pop out. This awarded book would be good part of any collection.

Where the Wild Things Are

 Sendak, M., & Sendak, M. (1963). Where the Wild Things Are. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

This enchanting tale is about a mischievous little boy, Max, who has a great imagination that creates a magical place where the monsters roam. At first, Max sees the monsters roaring and clawing for him, and it's at that time Max does a trick to settle the monsters. The monsters believed him to be a powerful little monster and crowned him king of where the wild things are. Max and the monsters enjoy a good amount of rumpus and fun, but Max begins to get homesick and wishes to go back home to the people who love him. Can Max leave or will the monsters make him stay?

This is an older story and no matter how old the reader is the story will always provide a great sense of entertainment. The pictures done by Maurice Sendak really brings the story to life, and I like how he created different types of media to show the different kinds of trees. This is really a good story by far.  

The Three Pigs

 Wiesner, D. (2001). The Three Pigs. New York, NY: Clarion Books. 

This twisty unusual tale about the three pigs is something completely different from the more traditional three little pigs story. The story starts just like any traditional beginning where the wolf huffs and puffs to blow down the straw and stick house's, but the pigs who lived there escaped out of the story to avoid getting eaten by the wolf. The two pigs go to their other brothers house to rescue him from the wolf, and to show their other brother how they jumped out of the story. Now that all three pigs are out of their own story wandering into other stories. Read to find out what stories they jumped into.

I found this story to be a delightful tale and the illustrations were very appealing which made the story feel real. I believe young children will find this story amusing and interesting. This will definitely go into my library.  

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale

 Deedy, C. A., & Austin, M. (2007). Martina, the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree. 

This enchanting Cuban folktale is about a beautiful cockroach, Martina, who is looking for a husband. The women in her family give her small trinkets to prepare her for her coming out. Her grandmother gives her some advice to find the perfect husband, and even though it seems ridiculous she follows her grandmother's advice. Suitor after suitor comes to ask for Martina's hand in marriage and when each suitor comes she does what her grandmother told her to do. The "Coffee Test," will let her know if the suitor will be a good husband, and as she serves coffee to the suitor she accidentally spills the hot coffee onto the suitor's shoes. By doing this test she will know how the suitor will react and how their temper will be. Does Martina find her husband or will she be a lonely cockroach.

This Cuban folktale was a charming story and I enjoyed the reading the story. The illustrations and text really made the story come to life. Young readers will enjoy this short story, and teachers could use this folktale to display some multicultural folktales so students could be well diverse in other cultures.  

Mirror Mirror

 Singer, M., & Masse, J. (2010). Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books and imprint of Penguin Group. 

This enchanting story is composed of reverso poems that retell fairy tales in different way. A reverso poem is a form of poetry where the reader reads a poem from top to bottom, and the other side of a page shows the poem in reverse from bottom to top. This inventive form of poetry shows a creative twist to read poetry. For example, the Beauty and the Beast part of the book uses a great sense of imaginary to express "how a soft heart stirs with longing, longing stirs a soft heart." This is an example of the top and bottom reverse.

Mirror Mirror will be a great book to teach students and young readers about the different forms of poetry. I enjoy the Beauty and the Beast part of the book, because it reminds me of the movie. The poems and illustrations really make a story come to life, and is quite pleasing to the eyes. 

Rosa

 Giovanni, N., & Collier, B. (2005). Rosa. New York, NY: Henry Holt. 

Rosa is a great historical nonfiction book about the activist, Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat for white Americans. This story takes place in Montgomery, Alabama during the time of desegregation (where separate is not equal), and Rosa Parks happened to be in the section of the bus that was neutral which means anyone could sit in that section regardless of the color of your skin. When Rosa was asked to move she finally decided enough was enough, and this kind of treatment was not showing equality among the races. Her refusal to move out of her seat had her arrested and the black community responded to Rosa's arrest by refusing to ride the buses to support Rosa's cause for equality among the races. Read to find out if Rosa's cause had made any impact in the story.

Rosa has always been one of my favorite picture books to read during Black history month or to teach a lesson in equal rights. Rosa Parks was a inspirational woman whose nonviolent resistance helped a movement to develop for those who still resisted to change when it came to equal rights for African Americans. The way that the illustrator, Bryan Collier, put together the imagines really make the story stand out and come to life. Many of our young readers probably wouldn't believe how the American citizens treat their fellow Americans in the past. Always remember separate is not equal.