55. In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming

Bibliographic Citation:
Fleming, Denise. In the Small, Small Pond. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1993. 32 p. ISBN 978-0805081176.

Awards/Selection Lists:
Caldecott Honor, 1994
ALA Notable Children's Book, 1994
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review and Best Books of 1993 Editors' Choice
School Library Journal Best Books of 1993 

Format Examined:
Paperback

Annotation:
Children learn about the animals and insects at a pond through the author's use of rhyming text, alliteration, and colorful, paper pulp illustrations.

Personal Reaction:
Denise Fleming uses her classic paper pulp artwork to beautifully introduce a young child to pond animals within their natural habitat.The text of the story includes rhyming descriptions and alliteration to describe the animals and their natural movements at the pond. Text is simple and appears in a font that is easy to see and easy to read.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 3-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Pond life, alliteration, nature

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.


Narrative Skills: 
Narrative skills can be modeled through dialogic reading, with questions pertaining to the animals represented in the illustrations.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is represented through rhyming words and alliteration within the text.

Print Awareness:
The text of the story appears in large, simple, black font positioned to support the illustrations on each page.

Print Motivation: 
The simplicity of the story, paired with the colorful illustrations make this book a fun choice for young children.

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary in this book is connected to pond animals and their natural habitat. 



Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://www.denisefleming.com/

45. Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Bibliographic Citation:
Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. Green. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press, 2012. 36 p. ISBN 978-1596433977.

Awards/Selection Lists:

Caldecott Honor, 2013
ALA Notable Children's Books, 2013
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Booklist Starred Review
The Horn Book, Starred Review
Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
School Library Journal Starred Review

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
This award-winning concept book represents objects and animals in varying shades of green.

Personal Reaction:
Objects and animals representing varying shades of green are revealed through the die-cut pages of this book. Acrylic painted artwork represents each object of green.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 2-5 years of age. 

Themes/Issues:
Green objects, shades of the color green

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Children are encouraged to participate in naming the green objects on each page.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
Simple text which identifies the name of the shade of green on the page support the beautiful illustrations.

Print Motivation: 
Preschool age children will enjoy looking through the die-cut pages and viewing the beautiful illustrations of green objects on the page.

Vocabulary:
Vocabulary offered by the text of this book pertains to the different shades of green that exist through objects in the world around us.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://www.studiolvs.com/website_root/StudioLVS_Home/Home.html

28. Have You Seen My Duckling by Nancy Tafuri

Bibliographic Citation:
Tafuri, Nancy. Have You Seen My Duckling?. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1996. 14 p. ISBN 978-0688148997. 

Awards/Selection Lists:
Caldecott Honor, 1985

Format Examined:
Board book

Annotation:

A mother duck thinks the she has lost one of her ducklings and searches around the pond for him. 

Personal Reaction:

The illustrations in this book are nostalgic in color and tone, which matches the familiar storyline well. The simple repetitive text on each page matches the illustrations to help tell the story. The lost duckling appears on each page; however, in the board book version of the book, he is sometimes difficult to see.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 2-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:

Family, getting lost, pond animals

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book. 

Narrative Skills: 
The repetitive text encourages young children to take part in telling the story.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
The phrase, "Have you seen my duckling?", is repeated in a simple, black font  throughout the book, drawing attention to the text on the pages.

Print Motivation: 
The simplicity of the story work in conjunction with the colorful illustrations of different looking pond animals to hold the attention of young children. The book's heartfelt storyline is also one that will have young children wanting to read this book again and again.

Vocabulary:
The word "duckling" may be a new word for young children. Different types of birds that may also be unfamiliar are represented in the illustrations, which may be identified by the reader.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
www.nancytafuri.com 

23. Olivia by Ian Falconer

Bibliographic Citation:
Falconer, Ian. Olivia. New York, NY: Antheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000. 40 p. ISBN 978-0689829536.

Awards/Selection Lists:
Caldecott Honor, 2001
Children's Illustrated Winner, 2001
ALA Notable Children's Book, 2001

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
Olivia is a precocious pig who knows what she likes, and what she doesn't. Olivia's abundance of energy often gets her into trouble, but her family continues to love her anyway. 

Personal Reaction:
Olivia is a four-year-old pig, who enjoys doing 4-year-old things. Her spunky attitude and love of life bring this story to life. The illustrations all appear in shades of black, white, and red, drawing attention to the most important parts of the page.While Olivia spends much of her story in trouble, the details of her day to day life, and her desire to enjoy life, make it so the reader cannot help but to pull for her, and so that children can't help but love her.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 4-6 years of age.

Themes/Issues:

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Narrative skills are modeled through the text of the story, and through dialogic reading (asking children to predict what will happen next, why things happen in the story, etc.)

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
The text of the story is printed in a small, simple, black font throughout the book, and is support through the illustrations. 

Print Motivation: 
Olivia is a likable character, which encourages children to want to read this book again and again.

Vocabulary:
New words such as: "prepared" and "bask" are paired with familiar words and phrases. A phrase that appears in this book repeatedly is that Olivia "wears" her mother out. This may be a n unfamiliar phrase for younger children before listening to this story.  



Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://www.oliviathepiglet.com/