65. My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann

Bibliographic Citation:
Rohmann, Eric. My Friend Rabbit. Brookfield, Connecticut: Roaring Brook Press, 2002. 32 p. ISBN 978-0761315353.

Awards/Selection Lists:
Caldecott Medal, 2003
ALA Notable Children's Book, 2003
Parents’ Choice Recommended
National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Gold Award

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
Rabbit is a good friend, but he always finds a way to get into trouble, even when he is trying to help rescue his friend, Mouse.

Personal Reaction:
Bold illustrations help tell the story of Rabbit, who accidentally throws his friend, Mouse, and his airplane, up into a tree. In order to help rescue his friend, Rabbit gathers up their friends and stacks them up, one on top of the other, in order to reach Mouse. The stack of animals fall into a heap, but somehow, the airplane and Mouse are freed.  

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 4 to 7 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Friendship, mistakes, safety, rescue

Early Literacy Skill Value:

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


Narrative Skills: 
The details included in the illustrations of this book invite children to participate in the narration of this book.


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


Print Awareness:
Text is printed in simple, black font positioned to support the illustrations. Smaller text is included to enhance the story line by representing the words of Mouse as he is stuck in the airplane in the tree.

Print Motivation: 
This book is a humorous story of friendship that children will enjoy hearing and revisiting. The vivid illustrations will encourage young children to look at the book on their own, as well. 

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary in this story deals with conversation related to efforts to rescue Mouse, as well as the difficulties that Rabbit experiences.



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

59. The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson

Bibliographic Citation:
Swanson, Susan Marie. The House in the Night. Illustrated by Beth Krommes. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. 40 p. ISBN 978-0618862443.

Awards/Selection Lists:
Caldecott Medal, 2009
Booklist Starred Review
School Library Journal Starred Review
Kirkus Reviews Starred Review
Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
Simple text combines with black, white, and gold illustrations that tell the story of a cozy house from sundown to bedtime.

Personal Reaction:
The use of black and white scratchboard art is combined with golden accents to portray a house as night comes. The text is simple and builds upon itself in a circular fashion. From a golden key, the reader enters the house with a child and her parents, and begins the nightly ritual of preparing for bed. The beauty of the night sky outside the house is shown through the illustrations, as well. The moon and the stars provide light inside the house as the child sleeps, and different aspects of life are highlighted in gold to symbolize the different things within the house that provide "light" to life.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 4-7 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Nighttime, light, home, bedtime, sleeping

Early Literacy Skill Value:

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


Narrative Skills: 
Children are invited to participate in the narration of this story through simple text that builds upon itself in a circular pattern.


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


Print Awareness:
The text is represented in simple, black font which appears in the white spaces on each page. This simple method draws the eye to the printed text.
   

Print Motivation: 
The beauty of this book invites children to look for details on each page, and encourages children to revisit the book. This is a book that children will enjoy reading together with parents as part of their own bedtime routine.

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary in this book represents bedtime rituals and the beauty of nighttime.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
Author website: http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/aifolder/aipages/ai_s/swanson.html
Illustrator website: http://www.bethkrommes.com/

41. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Bibliographic Citation:
Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion and the Mouse. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009. 40 p. ISBN 978-0316013567. 

Awards/Selection Lists:

School Library Journal Starred Review and Best Book of the Year, 2009
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
The Horn Book Fanfare Best Book, 2009
ALA Notable Children's Book, 2010
Caldecott Medal, 2010

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
The author/illustrator uses beautiful artwork and very little words to retell Aesop's fable of a lion who spares a mouse's life and is repaid when he needs help.

Personal Reaction:
No text is needed to tell this story. Jerry Pinkney's watercolor paintings are so vivid, showing details and textures that are truly realistic. The story, a classic fable, begins with a mouse scampering across a field away from an owl, as he stumbles across the back of a lion. The lion allows the mouse to live, and later, when the lion needs help out of a net where he has been caught, the mouse climbs into the net and nibbles through to help the lion escape. The lesson represented is that of kindness to others.

Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book for children ages 2-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Kindness, showing mercy

Early Literacy Skill Value:

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

Narrative Skills: 
Narrative skills are a large focus of this nearly wordless book. Children are encouraged to help tell the story in their own words according to what they see happening in the illustrations.

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

Print Awareness:
Print motivation is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Motivation: 
While there is not much printed text within this book, motivation toward looking at the book, and wanting to hear the story "read" is fostered toward illustrations that are so realistic that they tell the story on their own. This timeless tale is one that children will enjoy looking at and hearing many times over.

Vocabulary:
Vocabulary is not based on printed text, but on the words that the reader shares as the story is told to the child. Kindness and mercy are two words that describe the events of the story well.



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