75. The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen

Bibliographic Citation:
Diesen, Deborah. The Pout-Pout Fish. Illustrated by Dan Hanna. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. ISBN 978-0374360962. 

Awards/Selection Lists:
Time Magazine's Top 10 Childrens’ Books of 2008

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
The Pout-Pout Fish moves around the ocean with a pout on his face, and thinks it's his job to be dreary, until he learns a new lesson about the pout on his face.

Personal Reaction:
This book reveals that sometimes the things that might not seem so great about ourselves can turn out to give a lot of joy to others. The fish in this story was born with a pout, and so he thinks that it is his job to "spread the dreary wearies" all around the ocean. He meets other animals in the ocean as he swims along and they each try to cheer him up. It's not until he meets a fish who kisses him at the end of the book that he realizes that his pout can actually spread love and joy if he uses it for sharing love. 

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

Themes/Issues:
Grumpiness, self-acceptance, change of attitude, ocean life, love

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 telling of the story through the rhyming text and the repeated refrain, "blub, blub, blub".


Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is addressed through rhyming, rhythmic text and alliteration.


Print Awareness:
The text of the story is printed in a small, simple font in the empty space in the illustrations.



Print Motivation: 
This is a fun story that children will enjoy hearing and participating in through the rhymes and sound effects that are a part of the text. The illustrations are cartoon-like, and invite children to enjoy the pictures as the story is read, or enjoy them on their own.


Vocabulary:
The vocabulary in this book is centered around different types of creations found in the ocean, as well as the moods of the Pout-Pout Fish.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
Author website: http://deborahdiesen.com/
Illustrator website: http://www.bluebellylizard.com/index.html

60. I Am Small by Emma Dodd

Bibliographic Citation:
Dodd, Emma. I Am Small. New York, NY: Cartwheel Books, 2011. 24 p. ISBN 978-0545353700.

Awards/Selection Lists:
None

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
A baby penguin feels small among the great, big world around him. His size doesn't matter anymore after he is snuggled up with his mom.

Personal Reaction:
This sweet, rhyming story is told from the perspective of a baby penguin who realizes what a small part of the world he is. The baby penguin tries to keep up with other bigger penguins who are sliding and swimming, and then he notices how vast the sky is, and how truly little he is. The baby penguin finds his mother at last, and is okay being small in comparison to the world, as long as he knows that he is the biggest thing to his mother.

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 18 months-3 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Self-image, size, the world around us, love, feeling important, positional words

Early Literacy Skill Value:

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


Narrative Skills: 
Children are encourage to participate in the narration of this story through the repetition of the title phrase, "I am small". The illustrations also provide the opportunity for dialogic reading discussion between the reader and children listeners of the story.

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


Print Awareness:
Print awareness is fostered through descriptive words that are printed in large text on each page. 


Print Motivation: 
Young children will identify with the baby penguin in the story. The use of a cute penguin and silver, metallic accents draw the attention of young children, who will enjoy reading this book with an adult, or looking at the pictures by themselves. 

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary in this book represent descriptive words which portray the concepts of size, position, and emotions.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://emmadoddbooks.blogspot.com/

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/

46. About a Bear by Holly Surplice

Bibliographic Citation:
Surplice, Holly. About a Bear. Wilton, CT: Tiger Tales, 2012. 32 p. ISBN 978-1-58925-112-0.

Awards/Selection Lists:
None

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:

Bears can be a lot of things, from happy to sad, and from hungry to sleepy, and many things in between.

Personal Reaction:

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

Themes/Issues:

Emotions, characteristics, friendship

Early Literacy Skill Value:

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

Narrative Skills: 
Rhyming, simple lines of text match the colorful illustrations of the story in a way that encourages children to become involved in the narration as they become familiar with the text.

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is addressed through the rhythmic, rhyming text of the book.

Print Awareness:
The written text is matched up within the illustrations on each page, drawing attention to the fact that the words on the page match what is happening in the story as the words are read aloud.


Print Motivation: 
The bright, vivid colors that are used in the illustrations of a cute bear and his friends match the simple, rhyming words well. This book is fun and quick to read, and portrays a happy ending among animal friends of the forest.  

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary used in this book is used to tell about the qualities of all the things a bear might be.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://hollysurplice.blogspot.com/

39. Hide & Seek by Il Sung Na

Bibliographic Citation:

Na, Il Sung. Hide & Seek. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012. 32 p. ISBN 978-0375870781.

Awards/Selection Lists:

Booklist Starred Review, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Starred Review, 2012

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
A group of animals decide to play hide and seek after the chameleon suggests playing, and the elephant has to find them all.

Personal Reaction:

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

Themes/Issues:
Counting, playing, camouflage 

Early Literacy Skill Value:

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

Narrative Skills: 
Listeners are invited to participate in counting from one to ten with the elephant before he seeks for each of the animals. This book provides an opportunity for dialogic reading as children try to predict which animals the elephant will find first.

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

Print Awareness:
Each of the numbers is printed large enough for the audience to see and read out together as the elephant counts.

Print Motivation: 
The beautiful artwork in combination with the game of hide and seek make this an enjoyable book for young children to revisit. The added twist of the champion hiding animal, the color-changing chameleon, also offers an opportunity for children to learn about animals who are able to change colors to blend in with their surroundings.  

Vocabulary:
The vocabulary in the story is surrounded around the types of animals that are represented in the game of hide and seek. The chameleon may be an especially new animal to children, and offers the opportunity for children to learn about color-changing animals.

Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://www.ilsungna.com/home.htm

37. Jump Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan

Bibliographic Citation:

Kalan, Robert. Jump Frog, Jump!. Illustrated by Byron Barton. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books, 1989. ISBN 978-0688092412. 

Awards/Selection Lists:

None

Format Examined:
Paperback

Annotation:

A frog in a pond finds himself in danger numerous times, and the only escape is to jump away, until he is caught by children under a basket, and needs help to get away.

Personal Reaction:
The circular text of this book calls for help from the audience to make sure a frog gets away from danger. The title phrase of this book, "Jump, frog, jump!" is repeated as the frog is almost caught by a fish, a turtle, and a snake, which all eat each other. Finally, a group of children catch him under a basket, but one of the children comes and lifts the basket, and the frog jumps away.

Age Recommendation:

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

Themes/Issues:

Circular story, frog, food chain, pond animals, repetition

Early Literacy Skill Value:

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

Narrative Skills: 
Narrative skills are emphasized through repeated lines this circular story.

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

Print Awareness:
The colorful illustrations of this book are more prominent than most lines of the story, except for the words, "Jump, frog, jump!", which appear on the pages in yellow in order to promote audience involvement.

Print Motivation: 
The circular story of each of the pond animals eating the next, along with the repeated title line makes this fun book one that children will enjoy revisiting many times.

Vocabulary:
Words that are introduced pertain to pond animals and positional directions.

Author/ Illustrator Website:
No official website

34. Bears, Bears, and More Bears by Jackie Morris

Bibliographic Citation:

Morris, Jackie. Bears, Bears, and More Bears. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1995. 32 p. ISBN 978-0812093490.

Awards/Selection Lists:

None

Format Examined:
Paperback

Annotation:

Different kinds of bears are identified through simple text. 

Personal Reaction:
Glossy pages of beautiful water color illustrations are used to show different types of bears in their natural habitat. Simple, large, black text is printed on each page to describe what each type of bear looks like and/or does. Real bears are shown throughout the book until the teddy bear at the end with a child. Children who have stuffed bears will identify with this book, and narrative skills can be encouraged due to the simple text of the book. 

Age Recommendation:

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

Themes/Issues:

Bears, habitat, hibernation, climate

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book, but letter identification can be encouraged through the simple lines that are printed on each page.

Narrative Skills: 
Narrative skills can be encouraged through the identification of the different types of bears and the simple text. 

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

Print Awareness:
Simple text in a plain black font draws attention to the text on each page.

Print Motivation: 
Children who like bears will identify with this book, and enjoy looking at the pictures and retelling the story on their own.

Vocabulary:
Words that describe bears are used throughout the book. Lifestyles of bears are portrayed an offer an opportunity to build vocabulary, including hibernation, climate, types of bears, and colors of bears.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
http://www.jackiemorris.co.uk/blog/