Flawed Dogs by Berkeley Breathed

Runaway Twin by Peg Kehret

Schooled By Gordon Korman

Module 11: An Egg is Quiet

Summary:
This book describes the shape of eggs, their texture, where they can be laid, colors, and life cycles. Facts are given about each egg along with text written in calligraphy that is descriptive about the egg. One page illustrates how different animals grow inside their eggs before they are born. Many animals that lay eggs are featured in this book.

Reference:
Aston, D. & Long, S. (2006). An egg is quiet. San Francisco: Chronicle Books LLC.

Reviews:
Engberg, G. (2006, April 15). The Booklist, Vol. 102, No. 16.
This beautifully illustrated introduction to eggs resembles pages drawn from a naturalist's diary. The text, scrolled out in elegant brown ink, works on two levels. Larger print makes simple observations that, read together, sound almost like poetry: "An egg is quiet. . . . An egg is colorful. An egg is shapely."On each spread, words in smaller print match up with illustrations to offer more facts about bird and fish eggs across the animal spectrum. The illustrations are too detailed for read-alouds, but there's a great deal here to engage children up close. The succinct text will draw young fact hounds, particularly fans of Steve Jenkins'Biggest, Strongest, Fastest (1995) and his similar titles. Long's illustrations are elegant and simple, and the gallery of eggs, as brilliantly colored and polished as gems, will inspire kids to marvel at animals'variety and beauty. A spread showing X-ray views of young embryos growing into animal young makes this a good choice for reinforcing concepts about life cycles.


My Impressions of the Book:
I like the mix of colors the illustrator chose for this book. They are eye catching and there's a lot of attention to detail in each picture. The artsy calligraphy is a nice blend with the facts about eggs.

Uses in a library setting:
This book would be an excellent way of introducing or teaching about life cycles.

Module 10: Boxes for Katje

Summary:
After World War II in Holland times are tough. Katje's family doesn't have some of the necessities and luxuries they would like to have such as chocolate, sugar, wool socks,and cakes of soap. One day a package arrives from a girl named Rosie from Indiana. Katje writes her a letter of thanks and the packages keep coming and getting bigger. Katje shares the contents of her packages with people around her and eventually many people from her town. One dat Katje is able to extend the generosity bestowed on her by Rosie. Katje mails a package of tulip bulbs to Rosie to plant.

Reference:
Gleming, C. (2003). Boxes for Katje. New York: Melanie Kroupa Books.

Reviews:
Odean, K. (2003, September 1). The Booklist, Vol. 100, No. 1.
K-Gr. 3. In May 1945, a Dutch girl named Katje is thrilled to receive a letter and a package of socks, soap, and chocolate from Rosie, a girl she doesn't know who lives in Mayfield, Indiana. The kids start to exchange letters, and when Rosie's family members learn of Holland's severe post-war deprivations, they enlist Mayfield residents to send food and clothes to Katje, who generously shares the gifts with others in her community. The sense of suffering isn't strong here, in part because the Dutch townspeople are almost always depicted as smiling about the packages. But the story is still moving, and Dressen-McQueen's lively illustrations, in colored pencil, oil pastel, and acrylic, pack lots of color, pattern, and historical details onto every expansive page. Fleming based the book on her mother's experience, which she describes in an author's note; in the real-life story, however, adults, not children, orchestrated the events, a finding that may be a little disappointing to kids who took the book, with its specific dates, town names, and heroic, generous children, as straight fact.

My Impressions of the book:
This is a heartwarming tale that focuses on the generosity of people and shows that people of all ages can make a difference in someone else's life. I like the fact that this book is based on a real story. It helps to make it all the more touching. I believe this story could inspire someone to perform a random act of kindness for someone else.

Uses in a library:
This book would tie in nicely with a letter writing unit since the book incorporates the letters written back and forth between Rosie and Katje. It might also be a good cause and effect lesson for reading.