Month: January 2022

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Payne, E. (1944). Katy no-pocket. (H.A. Rey, Illus.). Houghton Mifflin Company.  

PLOT SUMMARY 

Katy’s distress at being a kangaroo with no pouch is quickly remedied by a kindly construction worker. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS 

The characters in Payne’s Katy No-Pocket will delight children of all ages. Seeing how mothers take care of their young gives a sense of safety to children. Katy’s concern for the well-being of her little kangaroo brings out empathetic feelings of the young readers. When Katy finally finds a solution to her problem of not being able to carry her child, the reader is relieved that her problem is solved. The animals in the story are all amicable to each other with Katy talking to a crocodile at the beginning of the story.  

Rey’s illustrations are ones with which children can identify. He uses simple line drawings and bright colors with a lighter, water-colored sky background so that the featured animal on the page stands out. Even with the simplicity of his drawings, he can show reflections in water, the pushing of baby birds from the nest, and the hopping motion of Katy. Rey does not busy his page of illustrations with anything extra. Children will delight in studying the illustrations.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS 

School Library Journal. “Truly amusing pictures.” 

Alabama Camellia Children’s Choice Book Award. 1981.  

CONNECTIONS 

• Talking to children about problem solving. 
• Collect non-fiction books about how animals care for their young. Compare.  
• Gather other books illustrated by H.A. Rey and compare.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Gag, W. (1928). Millions of cats. (W. Gag, Illus.). G. P. Putnam’s Sons.  ISBN 978-0399233159

PLOT SUMMARY 

Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman who were very lonely. They decided to get a cat, but when the old man went out searching, he found not one cat, but millions and billions and trillions of cats! Unable to decide which one would be the best pet, he brought them all home. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS 

The simplicity of the line drawings done by Gag lets the reader focus on the story. Some of her drawings are from afar so that you can see the old man walking over hills and through valleys and the millions of cats on a hill. She then zooms in so that you see the old man looking at one particular cat. The drawings are sometimes small on a white background and other times the drawing takes up a two-page spread.  

Young children will quickly be able to “read” along with the repeated, rhythmic phrase “hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats.” They will find delight in the exaggeration of how far he must walk just to find a cat. The exaggeration continues when he comes upon a hill with millions and billions of cats and then later in the story when the cats eat a whole field of grass and drink a pond dry. 

This is a favorite that children will want to hear again and again.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS 

Newbery Medal Nominee 1929 

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award 1958 

New York Times “A perennial favorite.” 

School Library Journal One Hundred Books That Shaped the Century said,” Considered by many to have ushered in the age of the modern picture book, this Newbery Honor winner is characterized by innovative design and a strong storyteller’s cadence.” 

CONNECTIONS 

• Discussions with children about seeing beauty in everything. 
• Lessons on exaggeration. 
• Wanting everything is sometimes not the best for us. 
• Finding that perfect pet. 
• Other books about pets for children: 

• Keats, Ezra Jack. WHISTLE FOR WILLIE. ISBN 978-0140502022 
• Brown, Peter. CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS. ISBN 978-0316015486 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Willems, M. (2010). We are in a book! (M. Willems, Illus.). Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 978-1423133087

PLOT SUMMARY 

Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In We Are in a Book! Gerald and Piggie discover the joy of being read. But what will happen when the book ends? 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS 

Mo Willems gives us another Elephant & Piggie book that are all time favorites with children. The use of simple repetitive vocabulary makes it easy for children to chime in and begin to recognize some of the dialogue between Elephant and Piggie. Willems also creates an interactive book with the reader by having Elephant and Piggie talk to the reader and where the reader keeps the story going.  

Willems is known for his simply drawn characters. The reader can focus on the storyline and vocabulary of the book because the speech bubbles make up most of what is on the page. Willems is highly creative in how he draws the two characters. Piggie seems to “run” up to the reader and then back to his friend. The font in the speech bubbles lets us know if the characters are yelling or telling a secret.  

Because of how Elephant and Piggie interact and what they say to each other, we can discern what kind of characters they are; Piggie being the more outspoken, brave character and Elephant being the more reserved and apprehensive one.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS 

Kirkus Review (March, 2019) 

As always, Willems displays his customary control of both body language and pacing even as he challenges his readers to engage with his characters and the physicality of their book. 

Storypath (March 30, 2011) 

This first reader/picture book is guaranteed to make a child (and adult) laugh. 

CONNECTIONS 

• Students who are avid readers and love a delightful story typically do not want the story to end. This book explains that you can read it again.  
• Read The Monster at the End of This Book to make text-to-text connections.  
• Stone, Jon. THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK. ISBN 978-0307010858 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Lindstrom, C. (2020). We are water protectors (M. Goade, Illus.). Roaring Book Press.  

ISBN 978-1250203557

PLOT SUMMARY 

We Are Water Protectors is a 2020 picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. Written in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, the book tells the story of an Ojibwe girl who fights against an oil pipeline to protect the water supply of her people. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS 

Lindstrom calls all of us to be good stewards of what we have been given. Because young children love animals, they can understand her call to protect “the ones who cannot fight for themselves. The winged ones, the crawling ones, the four-legged, the two-legged. . .” This is a great conversation starter with children to understand how important our Earth’s natural resources are to us.  

Goade’s use of the many shades of blue keep water in the forefront of our minds. The use of a contrasting orange and brown make the menacing “snake” look evil compared to the beauty of nature. The use of x-ray vision makes the “snake” even more deadly when the reader sees the bones of animals fleeing from the pipeline. The author has put her text perfectly in with the illustrations so that you don’t even notice the text. What you see are beautiful illustrations.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS 

Kirkus Reviews (January 1, 2020) 

An inspiring call to action for all who care about our interconnected planet. 

School Library Journal (April 1, 2020) 

An accessible introduction to environmental issues combined with beautiful illustrations, this book will both educate and inspire youth. 

Horn Book (July/August 2020) 

The book opens with a young Indigenous girl collecting water with her grandmother, who tells her that “water is the first medicine.” 

CONNECTIONS 

• A discussion with children about what makes a good steward of our natural resources and how we can go about protecting our Earth. 
• Look into how the author describes the water as compared to the words that are used to describe the pipeline. 
• Where are some other places on Earth where water is not being taken care of?  
• Jenkins, Steve DOWN, DOWN, DOWN: A JOURNEY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA ISBN 978-0544709515