Sector 7 by David Wiesner

Pubished: Houghton Mifflin, 1999

48 pages

Target Audience: K-3

Reading level: 3.5

Genre: Picture Book

Themes: Adventure, Fantasy, Magic

2000 Caldecott Honor Book

Synopsis: Only the person who gave us Tuesday could have devised this fantastic tale, which begins with a school trip to the Empire State Building. There a boy makes friends with a mischievous little cloud, who whisks him away to the Cloud Dispatch Center for Sector 7 (the region that includes New York City). The clouds are bored with their everyday shapes, so the boy obligingly starts to sketch some new ones.

CHARACTER:****

PLOT:****

THEME:****

LANGUAGE: NA

OVERALL RATING:****

The wordless yet eloquent account of this adventure is a funny, touching story about art, friendship, and the weather. The more you look, the more you will see.

About the author: David Wiesner

http://www.bookpage.com/books-6385-Sector-7

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Joffe Numberoff

Published: New York: Scholastic, 1991.
32 pages
Target Audience: K-2
Reading level: 2.7
Genre: Picture Book
Themes: Sharing

Synopsis: If a big hungry moose comes to visit, you might give him a muffin to make him feel at home. If you give him a muffin, he'll want some jam to go with it. When he's eaten all your muffins, he'll want to go to the store to get some more muffin mix.

CHARACTER: ****
PLOT: **
THEME: ***
LANGUAGE:****
OVERALL RATING:***
A simple act of kindness sets the stage for this silly adventure when you give a moose a muffin. The illustrations enhance the story as the reader follows the little boy and the moose. Young readers will ask for the story again, and again.

About the author: Laura Joffe Numberoff
http://www.lauranumeroff.com/

The Computer Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

Published: New York: Scholastic, 2007

32 pages

Target Audience: K-2

Reading Level: 3.3

Genre: Picture Book

Themes: Computers and the Internet

Hubie has heard worrisome things about his new computer class and the teacher, Miss Pluggins.

CHARACTER: ***

PLOT:**

THEME:***

LANGUAGE:****

OVERALL RATING:***

Humorous book about Mrs. Pluggins, the scary computer teacher. She has an electric personality, and might just shock you with it! Some of the humor may be lost without an understanding of computer lingo.

About the author: Mike Thaler

http://www.mikethaler.com/index.html

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen

Published: New York: Scholastic, 2006

48 pages

Target Audience: K-2

Reading level: 2.3

Genre: Picture Book

Themes: Cooperation and Teamwork, Courage and Honor, Library

Synopsis: Miss Merriweather, the head librarian, is very particular about rules in the library. No running allowed. And you must be quiet. But when a lion comes to the library one day, no one is sure what to do. There aren't any rules about lions in the library. And, as it turns out, this lion seems very well suited to library visiting. His big feet are quiet on the library floor. He makes a comfy backrest for the children at story hour. And he never roars in the library, at least not anymore. But when something terrible happens, the lion quickly comes to the rescue in the only way he knows how.

CHARACTER: ****

PLOT: ***

THEME: ****

LANGUAGE: ****

OVERALL RATING: ****

This story grabs the audience from the first sentence, "One day, a lion came to the library." The lion makes himself useful and learns about the rules in the lirbrary. Children will easily see themselves in the wild lion, which yearns to explore and enjoy the library but worries about the constraining rules.

About the author: Michelle Knudsen

http://www.michelleknudsen.com/library_lion_77788.htm

The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett

Published: New York: Scholastic, 2007

32 pages

Target Audience: K-2

Reading level: 3.1

Genre: Picture Book

Themes: Curiosity

Synopsis: In this Inuit retelling of the Goldilocks story, Aloo-ki wanders into the igloo of a polar bear family that is out for a stroll. Aloo-ki glances up from fishing and sees her sled dogs floating off on an ice floe. She races after them and comes upon an igloo. Being a curious girl, she goes inside only to find no one home. That's because the polar bear family who lives there is out walking while their breakfast cools off. Aloo-ki eats some soup, tries on their boots, and finally crawls into the smallest bed for a nap. Meanwhile, Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear see her dogs adrift, swim out to rescue them and return home to find Aloo-ki fast asleep in Baby Bear's bed.

CHARACTER: ***

PLOT: ***

THEME: ***

lANGUAGE: ****

OVERALL RATING: ****

What makes this book so appealing is the setting and illustrations. It is a wonderful book for 4-8 year olds. However, I think that in order for children to fully appreciate this retelling, it’s important that they already be very familiar with the traditional story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Otherwise, they won't understand the origins of the retelling and they’ll miss the fun of comparing and contrasting what’s the same and what’s different in the two versions.

About the author: Jan Brett

http://www.janbrett.com/

Jan traveled to the far North to meet the Inuit people and see the amazing land where they live. Dramatic illustrations capture the shimmering ice, snow and deep blue seas of the Arctic, and when Jan adds a raven-haired Inuit girl and her appealing huskies, an endearing family of polar bears, and playful Arctic animals in the borders, the result is one of her most beautiful picture books.