Review: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle. 1992 (reprinting, second edition, 25^th anniversary edition, originally printed in 1967). 32 pgs. New York, NY: Henry Holt & Company. 9780805017441. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: Children see a series of animals, each a different color, and their teacher.

Reaction: The beauty of Brown Bear is that the reader is told what they will see before they even see it. Once the page is turned, they see the animal and color, and this is reinforced with the text on the page. While there are some silly combinations- like a blue horse and a purple cat- children, especially my own, love reading this book over and over. This was the first book illustrated by Eric Carle, who established his unique style, which at the time was revolutionary.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. Brown Bear focuses on description, even before showing it. After a few reads, children will likely pick up the story themselves will enjoy reading it to adults.  

Recommended ages: 1 and up.

Tags/themes: Concept- color, Animals.  

Author site/additional titles: www.billmartinjr.com

Illustrator site/additional titles: www.eric-carle.com

Review: Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin

Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills. 2009. 22 pgs. New York, NY: Random House Children's Books. 9780375858130. Format review: Board Book.

Annotation: Duck and Goose see a friend with a pumpkin and look all over to find one of their own.  

Reaction: Duck and Goose decide to look in logs, under a leaf pile, in the water, and up an apple tree to find their own pumpkin. It’s not until their friend Thistle tells them to try the pumpkin patch until our two title characters figure out where to find their own pumpkin. Part of the larger, successful Duck & Goose series, the illustrations are soft and warm in color.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. The story is made for a call-out read with children: “Is a pumpkin in the log?” The pacing of the story, and the utter confusion of Duck & Goose, prompt children to predict what will happen next.

Recommended ages: 1 and up.

Tags/themes: Ducks, Geese, Autumn, Pumpkins, Searching.

Author site/additional titles: tadhills.com

Review: Mister Seahorse

Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle. 2004. 32 pgs. New York, NY: Penguin Group. 9780399242694. Format reviewed: Hardcover. Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Winner.

Annotation: Mister Seahorse swims through the ocean and meets many other sea-life fathers who are also taking care of their babies.

Reaction: What a great story for children to read with their fathers! Instead of reinforcing gender stereotypes, including the mother being the primary caregiver and the father being the lovable but incompetent parent, Mister Seahorse shows species of sea life where the male plays the dominant role in protecting eggs and the young. The illustrations, including the use of prints on transparent plastic to cover hiding animals, enhance the reading experience about the ocean. In a time where single parenting is at an all-time high, Mister Seahorse models positive father-child relationships as a normal part of nature. Great book!

Primary early literacy skills: Print Motivation. Although extensive use of vocabulary is used throughout, the story focuses on parent-child relationships, and how fathers take care of their children. It’s an interesting story with even more interesting illustrations. My children enjoy reading this again and again.

Recommended ages: 2 and up.

Tags/themes: Fathers, Seahorses, Sea life, Positive Male Role Models, the Ocean.

Author site/additional titles: www.eric-carle.com

Review: I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by David Catrow. 2012. 30 pgs. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 9780547870359. Format reviewed: Board book.

Annotation: A small child loves to paint everything, and after a bath, decides to paint all over his body.

Reaction: The boy lives in a black and white, ink world, but the paint is vibrant colors of oil paint, making the impact of color even more prominent. The look of sheer joy as the boy paints himself is priceless, as he makes a giant mess- and masterpiece- of  different parts of his body. The rhythm of the story follows the folk tune “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More”.

Primary early literacy skills: Print Awareness. As the boy paints parts of his body, the parts are called out in very large type face, and the color of the font matches the color of the paint used on that part of the body.

Recommended ages: 2 and up.

Tags/themes: Painting, Art, Color, Parts of the Body.

Author site/additional titles: Click here.

Illustrator’s site/additional titles: www.catrow.com

Review: 10 Little Rubber Ducks

10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle. 2005. 36 pgs. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. 9780060740757. Format reviewed: Hardcover. Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Winner. 

Annotation: During a storm at sea, a box of rubber ducks is washed overboard. The drifting currents take each of the toys to very different locations.

Reaction: The story focuses on three major concepts- counting, opposites, and directions- after the toys are scattered. Using these two concepts, Carle is able to visually communicate the vastly different locations by using distinct animals and colors. By the time we find out what happened to the 10^th rubber duck, we are surprised that it is adopted by a family of real ducks!

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. Although phonological awareness plays an active part in the storytelling, the narrative, and the use of the three major concepts drives the story forward. Carle’s easily identifiable animals and settings, matched with the sequence, make the plot at the heart of this concept book.

Recommended ages: 2 and up.

Tags/themes: Concept-Opposites, Concept-Directions, Concept-Counting, Ducks, Wildlife, Shipping, Oceans, Sea Life, Storms.

Author site/additional titles: www.eric-carle.com

Review: No Matter What

No Matter What by Debi Gliori. 2008. 24 pgs. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 9780152063436. Format reviewed: Board book.

Annotation: A young fox feels unloved, so his parent assures him that no matter how grumpy, squishy, scary he gets, its love for the small fox won’t break or fade away.

Reaction: Children all feel unloved or unappreciated at some point, and No Matter What allows children to ask their parents if they would still love them under the most awful and weird circumstances. We know the parent’s response, but a child will still be happily surprised by the consistency our responses. The illustrations of the foxes, combined with the rhyming narrative, demonstrated honest affection and love. A great read for parents and children at bedtime.

Primary early literacy skills: Print motivation. An easy read, with engaging illustrations, about a subject children enjoy- their parents love for them, no matter what.

Recommended ages: 3 and up.

Tags/themes: Love, Parent-Child Relationships, Foxes, Imagination, Emotions.

Author site/additional titles: www.debiglioribooks.com

Review: Do You Want to Be My Friend?

Do You Want to Be My Friend? by Eric Carle. 1988. 40 pgs. New York, NY: Penguin Group. 9780399215988. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: A small mouse searches for a friend among many different animals.

Reaction: Eric Carle uses his illustrations- and what is not said- to tell the story of an unimposing character who just wants a friend. As the mouse moves across the pages, we see a tail of the next animal, which, turning the page, we find out what it is. However, none of the animals want to be friends! Throughout the book, a green stripe runs along the bottom, until, near the end, we see a coil, and realize it’s a snake. The mouse finds another mouse to be friends with, and they happily hide from the snake in a burrow.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. Reading the book will make very little sense without the use of narrative skills and dialogic reading. To enjoy the book, the use of narrative skills is required!

Recommended ages: 1 and up.

Tags/themes: Mice, friendship, strangers, wild animals, snakes.  

Author site/additional titles: www.eric-carle.com

Review: Countasaurus

Countasaurus by Megan E. Bryant, illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell. 2012. 20 pgs. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. 9781452107479. Format examined: Hardcover.

Annotation: Can count along to 10 using different species of dinosaur.

Reaction: Starting with Diplodocus’ “one long, strong tail” and going to “10 dinosaur eggs in a nest”, the narrative allows small children to count along in a less vocabulary heavy dinosaur story than usual. The illustrations look more like computer graphics than drawings, making for a more cartoon look.

Primary early literacy skills: Print awareness. Each number is larger and bolded than the rest of the text, and the corresponding item/object is also drawn attention to.

Tags/themes: Concept- counting, numbers, dinosaurs, prehistoric life.  

Author site/additional titles: www.meganebryant.com

Illustrator site/additional titles: lucianaillustration.blogspot.com

Review: I Can Do It Myself

I Can Do It Myself by Stephen Krensky, illustrated by Sara Gillingham. 2012. 12 pgs. New, NY: Abrams Appleseed. 9781419704000. Format reviewed: Board book.

Annotation: A little girl describes all of the things she can do for herself.

Reaction: From putting on her own clothes, to turning out the light, and reaching the high shelf, the little girl expressing all of things she can do when she needs or wants something. Of course, any parent of small children knows that this is not that simple—but it’s a nice read when your children begin to assert their own independence. Using a washed-out primary pallet and screen printing, notably with half-toning and cross-hatching, reminds the reader of a much older-style book.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative Skills. As the little tells what she can do on her own, children are prompted to describe what they can do on their own- or what they wished they could do on their own.

Recommended ages: 1-3 years.

Tags/themes: Independence, individuality, growing up.

Author site/additional titles: www.stephenkrensky.com

Illustrator site/additional titles: www.saragillingham.com

Review: Alligator, Bear, Crab: A Baby's ABC

Alligator, Bear, Crab: A Baby's ABC by Lesley Wynne Pechter. 2011. 24 pgs. Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers. 9781554693603. Format reviewed: Board Book. 

Annotation: All different animals are shown, from A to Z.

Reaction: Like many alphabet concept books, the illustrations are the major attraction in the title. There is a definite Pacific Northwest flavor, with many wild animals familiar to me (a native Washingtonian) pictured, including moose, loons, orca, porcupine, quails, ravens, seals, and wolves. The color pallet is bright and soft, and uses acrylics to convey a sense of innocence and ease. 

Primary early literacy skills: Letter Knowledge. Using the alphabet as the guide to show different animals, each animal’s first letter is large and colorful, reinforcing the letter and sequence to the reader. 

Recommended ages: 1 and up.

Tags/themes: Animals, concept - alphabet. 

Author site/additional titles: Click here.

Review: How Do Dinosaurs Go Up and Down?

How Do Dinosaurs Go Up and Down? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague. 2011. 14 pgs. New York, NY: Scholastic. 9780545279420. Format reviewed: Board Book.

Annotation: The reader finds out about opposite behavior dinosaurs engage in.

Reaction: We find out about seven opposite pairs that dinosaurs do: up-down, clean-messy, quiet-loud, slow-fast, sad-happy, little-big, and asleep-awake. Following the same narrative structure as the other How Do Dinosaurs books, it uses rhyming throughout, albeit with multiple patterns, including AABCDC and ABCB. Each of the dinosaurs, in anthropomorphic behavior, features the name of the species subtly in the illustration.

Primary early literacy skills: Print Awareness. Each the opposite concept words are very large on the page and feature a dinosaur directly engaging in that behavior.

Recommended ages: 2 and up.

Tags/themes: Dinosaurs, Concept-opposites.  

Author’s site/additional titles: janeyolen.com

Illustrator’s site/additional titles: Click here

Review: Mouse's First Spring

Mouse's First Spring by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan. 2012. 34 pgs. New York, NY: Little Simon.  9781442434318. Format reviewed: Board Book.

Annotation: Mouse and Momma investigate a blustery spring day and meet different animals along the way.

Reaction: The basic plot- going out, meeting animals, and having the wind affect those animals- makes for a simple read, and the words describe the pictures well for young children. The illustrations use oil crayons on heavy canvas, with bright warm colors. Easy repeatable and comfortable for very young children.

Primary early literacy skills: Phonological Awareness. Uses rhyming, patterns of words, and onomatopoeia.  

Recommended ages: 1 and up.

Tags/themes: Mice, seasons, weather, wind, wildlife.

Author’s site/additional titles: www.laurenthompson.net

Illustrator's site/additional titles: www.buket.com

Review: Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems. 2006. 49 pgs. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. 9780786837489. Format Examined: Hardcover.

Annotation: Everyone in town loves Edwina- except Reginald- who sets out to prove to everyone, including Edwina, that she is extinct!

Reaction: So what if there a huge dinosaur who bakes chocolate cookies for everyone? Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie can’t stand that Edwina even exists- and he knows that it’s impossible and tries to make the most convincing argument that isn’t real. But no one cares, including in the end Reginald. The muted pallet is not as dramatic or striking as Willem’s other work, but it also takes place in a world where people would rather believe in a cooking-baking dinosaur than the alternative.  

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. Edwina provides the opportunity to talk about times when they disagreed with their friends about a game, a story, or when they were playing and why. Did they resolve it? What happened? It also shows how make-believe and imaginative play, even when we know it’s not real, can be fun.

Recommended ages: 4 and up.

Tags/themes: Dinosaurs, Children, Schools, Imagination, Critical Thinking.

Author’s site/additional titles: www.mowillems.com

Review: Magic Box

Magic Box by Katie Cleminson. 2009. 32 pgs. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. 9781423121091. Format examined: Hardcover.

Annotation: Eva is excited to play in her very special box. In it, she becomes a master magician who can do all sorts of incredible tricks.

Reaction: The old story about a child who gets a new toy in a big box and plays with the box more than the toy comes to life. Using a muted pallet before Eva starts her magic tricks, and transitioning to splatters of bright color once her magic comes to life, Cleminson uses color and balance to effectively show imagination at work.

Primary early literacy skills: Print Motivation. Cleminson created an easy to read, visually attractive book that relies on a child’s imagination, showing a child’s imagination at work.

Recommended ages: 3 years and older.

Tags/themes:  Magic, Imaginative Play, Creativity.

Author’s site/additional titles: www.katiecleminson.com

Review: Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon

Have Fun Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell, illustrated by David Catrow. 2012. 32 pgs. New York, NY: Penguin Group. 9780399254062. Format examined: Hardcover.

Annotation:  Molly Lou Mellon remembers all of the things her grandmother told her about being a child in the olden days and recreates them with her friend.

Reaction: Whether it’s looking at clouds instead of watching a television, creating her own dolls and dollhouse, or making her own car, Have Fun reflects a desire to go back to the basics and encourage children to engage in imaginative play. When Molly Lou gets a new neighbor, Gertie, who has everything electronic, she teaches Gertie about imaginative play as well. Molly Lou is highly stylized, and uses a bright, watercolor and ink pallet.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. As Molly Lou remembers what her grandmother told her, she figures out how to do it, with successful results. Children will be able to critically analyze how they would approach similar statements “Back in those days we didn’t have TV,” and provide their own thoughts on what they would do if they didn’t have the same comforts as the present.

Recommended ages: Ages 4 and older.

Tags/themes: Imaginative play, creativity, uniqueness, friendships.

Illustrator’s site/additional titles: www.catrow.com

Review: Jimmy’s Boa Bounces Back

Jimmy’s Boa Bounces Back by Trinka Hakes Noble, illustrated by Stephen Kellogg. 1992. 32 pgs. New York, NY: Penguin Group. 9780140546545. Format examined: Hardcover.

Annotation:  Meggie recounts how a boa constrictor got lose at a lady’s social event and caused a chain of disastrous events.

Reaction: The sequel to The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash, we learn, like the formula its predecessor, of an unraveling chain of events, told in reverse chronological order. The ladies social club is a far more entertaining venue than the farm, and using descriptive names like Mrs. Greenleaf, Miss Peachtree, and Miss Ivy, allows Kellogg to give expressive personalities to these ladies. The highlight of the story, and by far the best illustration, is the culmination of the poodle falling into the punch bowl, launching the chain of events.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills.  The story has a driving plot, showing a chain of events, demonstrating cause and effect, all modeling effective narrative skills. Vocabulary also plays into it, as there are a number of play-on-words, especially involving the names of the ladies and their outfits.

Recommended ages: Ages 3 and older.

Tags/themes: Snakes, pets, garden parties, social events.

Author site/additional titles: www.trinkahakesnoble.com

Illustrator site/additional titles: www.stevenkellogg.com

Review: Olivia Claus

Olivia Claus by Kama Einhorn, illustrated by Jared Osterhold. 2010. 24 pgs. New York, NY: Simon Spotlight. 9781442406629. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: When Olivia can’t find her toy monkey, she imagines what she’d do as Santa Claus- return all the things people lost over the year!

Reaction: Even when Christmas day arrives, without her beloved toy monkey Mathilda, Olivia can’t enjoy herself. The story expresses the bonds children have with their toys which adults don’t always appreciate or tolerate. Even wishing Santa Claus would find missing items and gives the items back shows the devotion she has for the monkey—new toys don’t have any appeal. Based on the popular book and television series, many children are already familiar with the characters featured.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. We see early on that Olivia’s dog has stolen and hidden the toy monkey. As a reader, we anticipate when Olivia will discover this. It also poses an interesting question: what would you do if you were Santa Claus? This opens the door for dialogic reading, as well as for children to recount when they couldn’t find a beloved toy or object.  

Recommended ages: Ages 3 and older.

Tags/themes: Pigs, Christmas, Families, Gifts, Santa Claus, Missing Toys, Pets.

Additional Olivia titles: www.oliviathepiglet.com

Review: Wilfred

Wilfred by Ryan Higgins. 2013. 32 pgs. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. 9780803737327. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: Wilfred is a hairy giant who only wants a friend. He finds one in a young boy, but in an attempt to make more friends he is unwittingly exploited.

Reaction: It’s difficult for a hairy giant to make friends in a city of tiny, bald people. One young boy wants to be friends with Wilfred, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make him happy- even doing his math homework and reenacting the Battle of Waterloo. However, touching part of the story comes when the young boy seeks out Wilfred to give him gloves to keep him warm during a blizzard (the townspeople convinced Wilfred to be shaved so they could have wigs). Although told in an innocent way, the book tackles a heady subject for children- willing to do something you normally wouldn’t to make someone else happy/like you. The artwork looks like it was done by Calvin and Hobbes’ Bill Watterson, and has the same simplicity and charm as the comic.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. Giant wants friend, giant finds friend, giant wants more friends, giant is exploited, giant saves friend, the exploiters feel guilty. The images and the text match up perfectly—and the story progresses naturally, inviting children to not only follow, but to predict what will happen next.

Recommended ages: Ages 3 and older.

Tags/themes: Giants, Fairy tales, Understanding Differences, Friendship.    

Review: Open this little book

Open this little book by Jesse Klausmeier, illustrated by Suzy Lee. 2013. 40 pgs. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. 9780811867832. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: The reader is instructed to open a little red book, which reveals a smaller book, and so on, telling the story from a multi-reader point of view in different books.

Reaction: The gimmick of the story makes for a very engaging reading experience- you have no idea what will be in the next, smaller book. By the time you get to the giant, who can’t open the smallest book because it’s too small, and find out the other characters who read the other books, you feel like you’re reading a very clever meta-narrative.

Primary early literacy skills: Print motivation. This book highlights the joy of reading, showing all of the characters reading books, and even has the animals reading the tiniest book- the rainbow colored book- to the giant. By the time you have read out of the nested books, you arrive at an animal library where you are encouraged to open another book!

Recommended ages: Ages 3 and older.

Tags/themes: Reading, Books, Animals, Giants.    

Author site/additional titles: www.jesseklausmeier.com

Illustrator site/additional titles: http://www.suzyleebooks.com

Review: Elmer

Elmer by David McKee. 1989 (Reprinted from first edition, released in 1968). 32 pgs. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. 9780688091712. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: Elmer the elephant is different from all the other elephants and disguises himself to be like everyone else… until everyone else misses Elmer!

Reaction: Elmer is a tale in learning to accept and embrace your own individuality. Elmer isn’t elephant-colored- he’s a patchwork of colors. When he finds a tree with elephant colored fruit, he covers himself up, trying to be like everyone else… until he realizes that what makes him unique also makes him stand out. The best part of the story comes at the end, which seems very progressive for the year of its publication—on Elmer’s Day, Elmer paints himself elephant color, and all of the other elephants paint themselves like Elmer- crazy, colorful patterns. Great read with my children.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. Elmer features a very linear plot, which makes following the story very easy. The theme of individuality and the desire to be like everyone else (in some respect) is a theme that children will be able to identify with and express themselves. Great starting point for discussions and dialogic reading about when children felt the same way, allowing them to use narrative skills to express themselves.

Recommended ages: Ages 4 and older.

Tags/themes: Elephants, individuality, uniqueness, loneliness.  

Author site/additional titles: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/elmer

Review: Let’s say HI to friends who fly!

Let’s say HI to friends who fly! by Mo Willems. 2010. 24 pgs. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. 9780061728426. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: Cat the cat greets all of her friends on the playground who can fly—until she meets a friend who may not be able to lift off.

Reaction: The simple drawing and basic colors are pure Willems, combining his sparse text with expressive images. When we meet all of the animal friends who can fly on the playground, we turn the page to a moronic-looking Rhinoceros. Cat, and the other animals are in on the joke- there is no way he can fly, until the next page, where he is jetting across the spread in an airplane, to the shock of Cat and friends. My four year old daughter LOVED the surprise and asked to read it again.  

Primary early literacy skills: Print motivation. The easy, expressive illustrations combined with the straightforward dialogue and surprise twist at the end make for a quick read that children will enjoy many times over.

Recommended ages: Ages 2 and older.

Tags/themes: Cats, flying animals, playgrounds, airplanes. 

Author site/additional titles: www.mowillems.com

Review: Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie

Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie by Norton Juster, illustrated by Chris Raschka. 2008. 32 pgs. New York, NY: Scholastic. 9780439929431. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: A little girl tells about the two different sides of her personality in this sequel to the Hello Goodbye Window.

Reaction: Juster and Raschka demonstrate two wildly different attitudes of the same little girl, whether she is throwing a tantrum or being a kind, attentive child. Any parent will quickly identify this behavior, and reading Sourpuss with a child is a great opportunity to talk about emotions, good and bad, and how we react to them. It also shows grandparents interacting with these two different kinds of personalities.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills. Like the Hello Goodbye Window, Sourpuss is told from the point of view of the young girl, and uses a storytelling structure similar to how a child would describe their emotions.

Recommended ages: Ages 4 and older.

Tags/themes: Expressing emotions, anger, grandchild-grandparent relationships.  

Author site/additional titles: Click here. 

Review: Fancy Nancy

Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. 2005. 32 pgs. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. 9780060542092. Format reviewed: Hardcover.

Annotation: Nancy tries to make everything in her life more fancy, from her clothes, to her food, her behavior- and even the words she uses. 

Reaction: Nancy’s attempts to act sophisticated, and offering to teach her parents how to be fancier, is adorable. When Nancy’s family dresses up to go out to dinner, and a major accident happens as a result of Nancy’s fancy outfit, the love of her family shines through. Her choice of French words in place of English words also reflects the imaginative play of the little girl. The illustrations embody the choices a young girl would make to make herself more fancy- from choosing to wear large hats, poufy clothes, sunglasses, high heels, and always have accessories.

Primary early literacy skills: Vocabulary. The book makes vocabulary fun and accessible by not only using a big word- like stupendous- but also providing a definition that children can understand within the narrative itself.   

Recommended ages: Ages 3 and older.

Tags/themes: Dress up, Manners, Costumes, Imagination, Individuality.

Book series site: www.fancynancyworld.com

Review: The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash

The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble, illustrated by Steven Kellogg. 1980. 32 pgs. New York, NY: Dial Press. 9780140546231. Format examined: Hardcover.

Annotation:  A girl recounts her class’s disastrous field trip to a local farm to her mother.

Reaction: The unraveling chain of events, told in reverse chronological order initially, proves to be highly entertaining and drives the narrative forward in a highly descriptive, madcap way. The illustrations by Kellogg are highly detailed and playful, and convey everything from the joy in the pigs’ faces as they devour the school children’s lunches to the panic of the chickens as the boa is in the hen house.

Primary early literacy skills: Narrative skills.  The story has a driving plot, showing a chain of events, demonstrating cause and effect, all modeling effective narrative skills.

Recommended ages: Ages 3 and older.

Tags/themes: Snakes, pets, farms, schools, field trips.

Author site/additional titles: www.trinkahakesnoble.com

Illustrator site/additional titles: www.stevenkellogg.com