Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

I have just finished Jeff Kinney's last installment of the Wimpy Kid series. It was entertaining and like his previous diarys, I laughed out loud at times. However, I felt like I had been there and done that. The novelty of the format and the storyline seemed to wear off a little. Although, I do think Kinney writes about topics in which many readers will connect or at least be entertained.

Rating:

Happy Reading,

Dr. Quinn

Mock Caldecott: Allotment #5

Lincoln Shot
By Barry Dennenberg & Ill. by Christopher Bing

Rating:

· Wow!
· Oversized book with an aged look to it
· The story is told through various newspaper articles
· An abundance of information…may seem overwhelming to some
· Each section (topic/chapter) has a new heading
· Authentic photographs, letters, and wanted signs are integrated into the newspaper
· Time Line, Index and credits are provided at the end of the book




Madam President
by Lane Smith
Rating:
· A young girl shares here fantasy of being Madam President
· Typical Lane Smith illustrations filled with humor
· Mixed media and computer usage to create the illustrations
· Fun, engaging, and educational

The Day Leo Said I Hate You
By Robie Harris & Ill. By Molly Bang

Rating:

· A young boy is tired of being told “no” and out of frustration he tell his mother he hates her
· A lesson for all young children
· A nice mix of media
· Bang does a wonderful job with the fonts
· Text and illustrations blend well

Hogwash
By Arthur Geisert

Rating:

· Complicated machine is used to wash hogs
· Wordless picture book
· Imaginative
· Lots of detail, yet the illustrations are not overwhelming
· Take your time with this one

Cool Daddy Rat
By Kristyn Crow & Ill. by Mike Lester

Rating:

· Cool Daddy Rat travels around town to scat & play his jazz while Ace, his son, tags along by hiding in his father’s bass case
· Watercolor, pencil, and a Mac
· Creative use of language...scat
· The scat could get old to some, but others will enjoy the language throughout the whole book




My Friend, the Starfinder
By George Ella Lyon, Ill. by Stephen Gammell

Rating:
· Once there was a man that found a falling star and was at the end of a rainbow
· Watercolor, pastel, colored pencil, and gouache
· Gammell’s illustrations were fantastic
· The abundance and/or lack of color worked great

There is Nothing to Do on Mars
By Chris Gall

Rating:

· A boy and his dog are bored while living on Mars until they discover…
· Hand creating-clay coated board
· Fantastic pictures
· Space-age look and feel
· Would be stronger as a wordless picture book
· Fun endpages



Wild Boars Cook
By Meg Rosoff & Ill. by Sophie Blackwell

Rating:

· Four hungry pigs make a Massive Pudding
· Chinese ink and watercolor
· Illustrations mix well with the white-space on the pages
· Fun and messy
· Recipe for Massive Cookie is found at the end f the book

Big Bad Bunny
By Franny Billingsley & Ill. by G Brian Karas

Rating:

· Baby Boo-Boo transforms into Big Bad Bunny (in his mind)
· Big Bad Bunny gets lost and Mama Mouse searches for him
· Mix of Gouache, acrylic with pencil
· Two formats of pictures: Big Bad Bunny & Mama Mouse
· A variety of fonts are used

Mock Caldecott: Allotment #4

Old Bear
By Kevin Henkes

Rating:

· Old Bear dreams of the seasons during his winter hibernation
· This book could easily be a wordless picture book
· Fantastic colorful water color and ink paintings
· The color vividly sets the mode for each season in Old Bear's dream
· Loved this book



The Pigeon Wants a Puppy
By Mo Willems

Rating:

· As always Willems sets up extends the book with its endpapers
· Traditional Willems Pigeon book, but just as good as ever
· A slight twist to the climax and ending of this story






Too Many Toys
By David Shannon

Rating:

· Spencer has too many toys and his mother is making him get rid of some.
· Another great book by David Shannon
· Shannon’s paintings are consistent with many of his latest books, such as Alice the Fairy & Good Boy Fergus
· A variety of perspectives and layouts are used throughout the book
· Readers will find classic toys as well as toys of the day
· Classic ending!



Not a Stick
By Anoinette Portis

Rating:

· A follow up book to Not a Box
· Creative uses for a stick
· Every child can relate to this one
· Very simplistic in text and illustrations






The Little Yellow Leaf
By Carin Berger

Rating:

· A leaf is not ready to leave his tree until he finds support in another leaf
· A story of apprehension and friendship
· Illustrations are done in collages
· Several collages use notebook, graph, chart paper
· Love the colors




Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tales
by Betsy Franco & Ill. by Steve Jenkins

Rating:

· A creative informational book about animals and insects
· Franco uses a rhythmic meter to share the information
· Jenkins created the collages that absolutely extend the text
· The text is creatively oriented several different ways throughout the book





Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation
By Andrea Davis Pinkney & Ill by Brian Pinkney

Rating:

· “Blues infused tribute to the men and women of the Montgomery bus boycott”
· Great illustrations
· Colored inks on clay board
· Mode and tone are a strong point of this book




A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever
By Marla Frazee

Rating:

· Two boys spend a week at nature camp by day and at grandparents house by night
· Typical boys having fun together
· Illustrations were done in black prismacolor and gouache
· Illustrations definitely extend the text




Drive
By Nathan Clement

Rating:

· A young boy tells about his father’s day as a truck driver
· Simple text; usually one sentence per page
· Colorful pictures probably created with photoshop
· Unique perspective in the illustrations





The Dog Who Belonged to No One
By Amy Hest and Ill. byAmy Bates

Rating:

· A stray dog and a young girl find companionship together
· Two stories combine into one: story of the dog, story of the girl
· The text seemed a bit trite to me
· Warm watercolor pictures support the text.
· Nice detail in the paintings

Mock Caldecott: Allotment #3

Scoot
By Cathryn Falwell

Rating:

· The illustrations are absolutely fantastic!
· Paper collage complimented with a few textured prints
· Detailed and magnificently intense
· Wonderful use of language
· Informative author notes on the last few pages



Dinosaur vs. Bedtime
By Bob Shea

Rating:

· A story in which all children and parents can make a connection
· A young dinosaur can take on about any challenge and win…but what about bedtime?
· Humorous
· Shea uses mixed media with bold pictures and even bolder text
· Not only does Dinosaur win, but Shea wins with this book



Grace for President
By Kelly DiPucchio & Ill. By LeUyen Pham

Rating:

· After noticing that no girls have ever been president, Grace decides to run for office
· Great book for election time
· Informative in regards to the Electoral College
· “…the best person for the job.”
· Fun and colorful illustrations
· A variety of page layouts are used throughout the book



A Kitten Tale
By Eric Rohmann

Rating: 3.5

· A good story about an adventurous kitten who is excited about snow when three other kittens are not so optimistic
· Love the artwork: black borders and outlines positively compliment the colorful prints
· A mixture of relief and monotype prints; 32 separate runs for each image




Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures
By Julie Larios & Ill. By Julie Paschkins

Rating:

· A collection of poems written about mythical creatures
· The illustrations were done in gouache
· Each picture is colorful and outlined in black
· Creative illuminated letters bring attention to the title of each poem




Little Hoot
By Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Ill. by Jen Corace

Rating:

· Little Hoot wants to go to bed, but his parents want him to stay up late like owls should
· Watercolor paintings outlined in ink set against a white background
· An abundance of whitespace is used for a clean look
· Paintings are colorful with supportive detail




Building Manhattan
By Laura Vila

Rating:

· A time line of Manhattan; from 50,000 B.C.E to the present
· Colorful acrylic paintings
· Love the various perspectives Vila used
· Paintings are excellent
· Storyline is average





One Boy
By Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Rating:

· A boy creates 10 paintings that all together make a counting book
· Cutouts are used for each painting connecting the pictures and words
· I would have liked a stronger connection among all ten paintings…seemed a little random
· The artwork is bold, simple and colorful



Bye-bye, Crib
By Alison McGhee & Ill. by Ross MacDonald

Rating:

· A young boy wants to stay in his crib rather sleep in a “big bed”
· Fun story
· Illustrations have a nostalgic look; middle 1900s motif
· Not a fan of the illustrations…due to the style
· Watercolors and pencil crayon





Potato Joe
By Keith Baker

Rating: ???

· I have no idea how I feel about this book…I need to see how children will respond
· Sing-song lyrics, “one potato, two potato, hello Joe…”
· Illustrations are done with photoshop
· Brown endpages support the story
· Unusual looking personified potatoes lead the reader through the story
· Again mixed emotions with his one…check it out yourself