The Sweetest Fig

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Genre: Picture Book

 

The Sweetest Fig starts talking about a very frugal, selfish and rude man named Monsieur Bibot. He is a dentist and wants to eventually be rich and not have to deal with people. He also has a dog named Marcel who he is not very nice to either. One day, Bibot gets to work and this women needs some dental work but she is not on the list. He decides he will do it anyways, not because he is nice but because he wants more money. After the procedure, the women informs him that she does not have any money to give him but she gives him two figs that will "make his dreams come true". Bibot is not happy and kicks her out of the office, but keeps the figs. That night, he decided to eat one of the figs. It was one of the sweetest figs he had every eaten. The next morning, he woke up and took Marcel for a walk. That day was incredibly awful as all his dreams from the night before came true, including walking around town without his pants. That night, he decided to use the last fig for his own selfish dreams. He spends the next week practicing dreaming about being rich. When he finally decides to eat it, Marcel jumps on the table and eats it himself. ... The next morning, Bibot wakes up confused about what happened, he goes to talk but all that comes out is a bark.

 

I thought this book was incredibly cute. I actually laughed at the end. I wasn't really expecting that. The author made the ending unique. He didn't just tell the reader that the dog and dentist had changed places. This book took place in Paris. Books that take place in different countries are very useful in the classroom in allowing students to experience different books. This book will definitely be in my classroom!

Lion's Lunch

Author: Fiona Tierney

Illustrator: Margaret Chamberlain

 

Lion's Lunch  is a cute book about the image that you put out to others. This little girl Sarah was casually walking through the forest when she came face to face with a big lion. The lion roars and asks what she is doing in his jungle. She says that she is just going on a walk. Lion tells Sarah that people don't walk in the jungle they "sprint, prowl, swoop, and scuttle". He starts telling the little girl that she cannot do any of that so she is going to be his lunch instead. Sarah quickly says that she can draw! She starts drawing all the animals in the forest for Lion. Lion then tells her to paint him to show how good she really is. After she is finish drawing Lion she shows him and his friends. In the picture, Lion is very grumpy and mean. Lion gets mad and tells Sarah that it is an awful picture. However, Lion's friends agree that the picture accurately depicts Lion. Lion feels sad that this is what he looks like to others. He tells Sarah to come back in a week and paint him again. When Sarah comes back, Lion has completely changed and she paints a beautiful picture of him.

This book not only had great illustrations but a good moral. The pictures Sarah drew reflected the animals' personality. Because Lion was so bitter and mean, he did not like his picture. Through this experience, Lion was able to change his attitude and become a likable creature in the jungle. This book will definitely be used in my classroom to show that our attitude reflects who we are. 



 



My Friend Rabbit

Title: My Friend Rabbit

Author and Illustrator: Eric Rohmann

 

My Friend Rabbit is a Caldecott winner. It tells the story of two friends, Rabbit and Mouse. Mouse talks about Rabbit and how he is a great friend and always means well in what he does but he somehow always finds trouble. The two friends get their plane stuck in a tree and Rabbit has an idea to get it out by stacking animals on top of each other. For about five pages, there are no words, just pictures. After Rabbit stacks all the animals on top of each other. the plane is just out of reach but Mouse and Rabbit grab it just as all the animals fall on each other. The book ends again with saying that Rabbit always means well but always find trouble, just as they crash into another tree.

This book was very cute. It allowed the readers to try and guess what Rabbit was planning on doing because there were no words. Often, little children will look at the pictures, anyways, to create a story. This would allow for a lot of discussion as students can talk about what they think Rabbit is doing. It was a very cute story and would be perfect for the classroom. 

Katy Duck

Katy Duck and Katy Duck - Big Sister

Author: Alyssa Satin Capucilli

Genre: Picture Book

          The book I read had two parts to it. The first half was about about how much Katie Duck loves to dance. When she talks about how much she loves to dance, she uses metaphors and similies about nature. "Katy Duck could twirl like a leaf  in the wind." Her mom sees how much she loves to dance and tells her she will be going to a dancing class. Katy Duck is confused and tells her mom that she already knows how to dance. She is very skeptical but when she gets there, she sees all the other little girls dancing and enjoying themselves. Capucilli writes, "She saw leaves twirling in the wind. She saw flowers stretching in spring. She saw swans floating in a lake." I really liked the use of imagery and metaphors here. In the end, she starts dancing again with her new friends and tells everyone how much she loves to dance.

          The next part was about Katy's little brother. He seems to be taking all the attention. She tries to show her mom her dancing but her mother does not pay attention because her brother is being fed. She is sad. She notices one day that her brother has be brand new tutu. He is not using it the way it's supposed to be used yet, everyone is laughing at him. She get mad and snaps it away which makes her little brother cry. Katy Duck feels bad and decides to actually teach her brother how to dance. The book ends with them dancing together and her telling everyone how much they "both" love to dance.

          Again, I loved the literary elements that were used throughout the book and the little morals each had.

 

Here is some information about the author: http://alyssacapucilli.com/