Frog and Toad are Friends

Frog and Toad are Friends is an easy reader book about a pair of devoted friends who spend their spring and summer together. Frog wakes up from hibernation and hurries over to wake up toad so they can see how spring has changed the world. Toad does not wish to wake up so tells to Frog to wait for one more month then wake him up again, and he will get up. The rest of the book is about the different adventures Toad and Frog have, the go swimming, hunt for a missing button, and wait for a letter to come. 


I think this is an excellent book to build young readers confidence. It is an easy to read book, but it is a chapter book. This would be a great first chapter book for a budding reader. The book seems very relatable to young children. The adventures Frog and Toad have are simple, but are told in an epic way. I also really enjoyed how the Frog and Toad took care of each other and cared about each other. I feel like this is an important lesson for children to learn. A friend is someone you can go to for help and for encouragement. Someone that will love and take care of you. I feel like I see friends breaking down each other instead of building each other up too often, it is cool to be mean to a friend instead of to show that you care. Frog and Toad are Friends provides a good model of friendships for children. 


A library could use frog and toad in a variety of ways. It could be used as the backdrop for a program about the similarities and differences between frogs and toads. It could also be used as the basis for a program about true friendship. 


PROFESSIONAL REVIEW FROM GOODREADS.COM


There's nothing like a best friend! Whether they are telling stories, taking walks, or writing letters, Frog and Toad always help each other out, as best friends should. Here are five irresistible stories about their adventures together.


Lobel, A. (2006). Frog and toad are friends . New York: Barnes & Noble.

Blueberries for Sal

This week one of my favorite books I read was Blueberries for Sal. I did enjoy the story, but the thing that really made me fall in love with this book were the illustrations.
The book tells the story of a little girl named Sal who goes to pick blueberries with her mother on Blueberry Hill. While they were picking the blueberries there was also a little bear cub and her mother picking blueberries on the same hill. Both the little bear cub and the Sal grew too tired to keep up with their mothers and set down to rest and eat blueberries. They lost their mothers and when they got up to find them they both found the wrong mothers, Sal ended up with the mother bear, and the cub ended up with the human mother. The mother bear became scared when she realized that she was in the presence of a human, and the human mother became scared when she realized she was in the presence of a bear. Both mothers ran away and found their own child. 


The illustrations in this book are all in blue ink that looks like blueberry juice. They are really beautiful line drawings that look a little bit like a wood cut. To me the illustrations really transport you to the hot summer day on Blueberry Hill. Even though I am reading it in the middle of winter I can look at these pictures and smell the greenery, hear the buzzing of the insects, feel the hot sun on my skin, and feel the sticky blueberry juice on my fingers. 
While the story seems to be pretty simple and straight forward I do think it is interesting that the children do not feel like they are in danger like the adults do when they realize they are with a bear and a human. The huge bear is afraid of a little human child, and the grown women is fearful of the little bear cub.


I think a perfect way to incorporate Blueberries for Sal into your library programming is to have a summer nature walk, and picnic, or just the picnic depending on the availability of a place for the walk. This may be difficult for libraries in big cities, however there is space that can be found. Maybe it could be hosted at a city park. If need be it could even be in the library, and it could be decorated as if it was an outdoor picnic. The picnic could feature blueberries in all different forms. Blueberry muffins, blueberry jam, fresh blueberries, and whatever else you can think of. The book can be read while everyone is enjoying their blueberry refreshments. 


PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEW FROM COMMONSENSEMEDIA.ORG

This humorous, entertaining book for preschoolers is an easygoing tale with just enough suspense to make it interesting. Robert McCloskey's text and illustrations blend perfectly with the mix of characters to tell a story that tickles the imagination. The full-page illustrations make it easy for children to understand the emotions of the characters.

The idea of a little girl and a bear cub each following the wrong mother appeals to preschoolers' sense of humor. But beyond the entertainment value, the story provides some lessons for children. Subtly showing the kinship of humans and animals, McCloskey closely parallels the stories of Little Bear and Sal. This is an excellent read-aloud.

McCloskey, R. (19761948).Blueberries for Sal . New York: Viking Press.

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree is a one of the classic children's books that I always assumed I have read at some point, especially because I love Shel Silverstien's poetry and his illustrations. Today as I was doing my readings for class I decided to revisit the book for my own enjoyment and I realized I have never read it before. I sat down in the Starbucks at Barnes and Nobles and read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstien for the first time and cried.

The Giving Tree is a story of friendship between a boy and a tree. The tree loves the boy so much and loves playing with the boy. The boy spends all of his time with the tree and loves the tree back. As the boy grows up he appreciates the tree less and less and the tree gives the boy everything it has to make the boy happy, but the boy takes everything the tree has to offer and is still not happy. At the end of the story the little boy has grown into an old man and the tree is only a stump. The tree apologizes that she no longer has anything to give to the boy, but the boy realizes all he needs is a comfortable place to sit and the tree stump is the perfect place, so the tree and the boy are happy together again.

As I think about the story I have a hard time putting into words what about it made me tear up. When I think about it the story seems really simple, but the love the tree has for the boy is really tangible while you are reading the story. The book is a story of unconditional love. The tree is there for the boy and always will be, there is nothing the boy can do to change that. The tree was not alway happy, but the tree never stopped loving the boy. I think this really touches people because in our inner most hearts everyone wants to be loved like this whether it is by a parent, God, a spouse, a pet, or a best friend.   


One way to incorporate The Giving Tree into library activities is to have a Shel Silverstein day. This could even be on his birthday, September 25, if the timing worked out for your specific library. Children could be encouraged to model a poem or a short story after Silverstein's work including The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and others. The children would illustrate what they wrote with a fun drawing like the line drawings that Silverstein does! 

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW FROM THE SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL TOP 100 PICTURE BOOKS

. . . . this book should be mandatory reading for all parents, kids, and politicians. – Simone

Silverstein, S. (1964). The giving tree . New York: Harper & Row. 

Necks Out For Adventure!

This is my blog that I will be writing about literature for children and young adults! It is named after one of my favorite children's books written and illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering. This blog is for my Library and Information Sciences class at the University of North Texas titled, Literature for Youth.


Ering, T. B. (2008). Necks out for adventure!: the true story of Edwin Wiggleskin. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.