Chapter Books!

Clementine, by Sara Pennypacker

Chapter book Clementine by Sara Pennypacker is a realistic fiction novel about a third grade girl named Clementine. The story takes place at both her elementary school and apartment complex where her best friend Margaret also lives. Clementine lives in the basement with her artist mother, three year old younger brother and father who happens to be the maintenance manager of the complex building. The plot begins when Margaret and Clementine are in the art room working on projects. Margaret leaves for the bathroom and accidentally cuts glue out of her hair. In a chance to correct the mistake, Clementine cuts all of Margaret's long hair off and gets sent to the principal’s office.

This is the beginning to a chain of events that include; Margaret's mother calling Clementine's parents, her believing they are getting rid of her because she is not the easy child, in addition to Margaret and Clementine getting in a fight and no longer being friends. Overall, despite these events Clementine works through these misconceptions, realizes the value in a good family and friends and in return gets a new kitten that she names listerine. In my opinion I really enjoyed this book, it had a unique writing style that allowed me to create voices for different characters. The plot was riveting and multidimensionalx, in my future I would highly suggest this book to students in my classroom.

 

Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, By Judy Bloom

This plot starts off with a prologue two years earlier in 1945. Here the main character Sally Freedman is a young girl at the beach with grandmother Ma Fanny, when they hear over the radio that WWII is over. In the earlier part of the story Sally finds out that her brother Douglas has dislocated his elbow and that he is very ill from infection. Many months pass and their parents travel to Florida in search for a winter home to help keep Douglas healthy in a warmer state (New Jersey). When Sally and her family arrive in Miami Beach, their new house is dingy, she has nits and she misses her father.

As the plot deepens Sally meets three new friends, Shelby, Andrea and Barbara. Shelby is Sally's friend from school; they walk home for lunch together every day. Andrea lives in the same building as Sally and she is in the sixth grade. Throughout the plot Andrea defends Mr. Zavodsky despite Sally's predisposition that he is Adolfo Hitler in disguise. Barbara is Sally's closest classmate in Miss Swetnick's fifth grade class she is convinced that Peter likes her because he is mean to her. As the plot develops Sally ages and becomes better at keeping secrets, while maintaining an adventurous heart. At the end of the plot Sally is about to travel back to New Jersey with her entire family, Mr. Zavodsky dies of a heart attack, Sally kisses Peter, Andrea gets a new kitten and Sally finally writes her best friend from home Christine (now Chrissy) a return letter.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, by Judy Bloom. This realistic fiction novel was well written keeping the reader intrigued with paragraph and letter style text. I enjoyed how Sally's personality and naiveness was developed and matured in ch chapter. Despite the enjoyment I found in this book I would not suggest it to my students. As an elementary school teacher specializing in pre-k through fourth I believe that this book better qualifies for an older reader such as late elementary school and early middle school.  

 Joey Pigza Loses Control, By Jack Gantos

This novel starts off with the main character Joey in the car with his mother and chihuahua Pablo traveling to his Dads place in Pittsburg. You can automatically tell that this novel is not the ordinary story when's you hear that his mother is driving with a semi expired license and no insurance. Later the reader discovers that Joey is not the ordinary child either. He has recently been sent to a special education program due to an accident where he snipped of part of a classmates nose with his scissors. Joey also wears a patch to help him think straight and focus (possible ADHD). We find out that he is vey rambunctious, throwing rocks and playing animal dart bulls eye in the living room. His mother and father are divorced and she says, "he's wired just like you, in a bigger version."

Upon arrival at his fathers’ house, the reader senses the tension as he is saying goodbye to his mother and greeting his father and grandmother. It is uncertain but assumed that there is a past with his grandmother because he will not shake her hand when everyone is greeting one another. As soon as Joeys mother leaves his father wants to take him to storybook land. Throughout the entire car ride there and back Joeys father talks without taking the opportunity to listen to what he son is wanting to say. Storybook land is a place where Joeys father goes to think about his life through children's tales. Once they get home, Joey joins his fathers Police Athletic League baseball team gets a new, glove, shoes, pants, jersey, hat and sweat band for Pablo. He also meets Leezy Fiddle, his fathers’ dugout assistant who keeps his father under control. Overall, he is enjoying his stay at his fathers and is deep down wishing that his parents would get back together despite their differences.   

Later on in the story one gets the sense that Joeys perfect picture is starting to spin out of control. His father has started drinking again and during one of his binges he wakes Joey up takes him to the bathroom and flushes his medicated patches down the toilet. This is the beginning to a melt down of Joeys control, he walks around Pittsburg, can’t focus in games and spills his chicken potpie on the carpet. While all of this us going on his mother still has no clue about the drinking or lack of medication.

This whirlwind effect is continuing and spinning faster and faster as the championship game is approaching. Joey is noticing how old and sad his grandmother truly is and begins to fear his father. The night before the championship game his drunk father takes him to scarybook land(the night time version of storybook land). Here he expresses his feelings of failure, how Joey is his only opportunity for winning and how he wants Joey to live with him and Leezy. The night of the champion ship game Joey loses his last string of sense and runs off of the pitchers mound to the mall calls his mother and asks her to pick him up. When his mother arrives she gives him a patch, takes Pablo from his father house and they drive home.

Overall, I found this book very relatable to many different individuals lives. If was difficult to read at some points but I do plan on using this book as a tool in my classroom. With the changes in society and many children facing, divorce, alcoholism in their family's, feeling torn between two parents and attention deficit disorders this book is a great way for children to not feel alone. Overall, I did enjoy this realistic fiction novel and I would use it given the correct classroom and circumstances. 

Ramona The Pest, By Beverly Cleary

This novel starts off with the main character Ramona arguing with her sister Beatrice (Beezus for short) about going to school. She convinces her mother Mrs. Quimby to take her to school and shorty after gets introduced to her young and beautiful teacher Mrs. Binney. While Ramona is waiting for class to start she immediately notices two students that stick out to her, Davey and Susan. Romana is interested in Davey because he is the only boy in the class wearing short pants and decides she wants to kiss him Additionally, Susan is the only girl with springy perfect curls that you see in fairy tales because of this Romana wants to pull her curls and make them boing.

As the plot continues Ramona finds her self in a number of situations. For instance, she gets stuck in the mud with her new rain boots on, steps on the back of the crossing guard Henry's heels, chases everyone around the playground in her witch costume, hides from the class when there is a substitute, gets in trouble for pulling Susan's curls, kisses Davey in her costume, rides a two wheeler tricycle, and loses her tooth. After pulling Susan's curls and making the boing, Mrs. Binney tells Ramona that she is not allowed to come back to kindergarten until she decides to not pull others hair. After many days of being upset and not attending kindergarten, Ramona's classmate Howie stops by her house and gives her a note from her teacher. Inside of the envelope is her first tooth that she lost in school and Mrs. Binney asking when Ramona is coming back? The story ends with Ramona excited to go to school as soon a possible.

In my opinion, I really enjoyed this realistic fiction novel; Ramona is a very exciting and energetic character who is bluntly honest about anything and everything. This story is relatable to many children, who wish to be bigger, loved by their teachers, not a pest and the center of attention. My only complaint with this novel is that the age of Ramona is much younger than the age of the children who would be reading the book. Overall, I do like the relate ability of the novel and I would consider using it in academically.

The World of Pooh; The Complete Winnie-the-Pooh and The House At Pooh Corner, By A. A. Milne

The Complete Winnie-the-Pooh

We Are Introduced: Chapter One

In chapter one the formatting of the story is developed.  One can assume that there is an adult creating these stories in an imaginary land about Christopher Robin and all of his stuffed animals. Christopher listens to these spoken stories and imagines himself in this alternate world with his friends. Pooh (Edward Bear) decides to get some honey out of his tree from the bee's but when he falls from climbing, he turns to Christopher Robin for help. Christopher robin gives Pooh a blue balloon so that he blends in with the sky and fools bee's. Pooh also rolls in mud to disguise himself as a rain cloud and not a bear. After hanging in the air for a while and not moving towards the tree, Pooh asks Christopher Robin to shoot the balloon down with his gun. Christopher Robin misses but does not hurt Pooh. Finally we are brought back to reality and Christopher heads upstairs with Pooh to take a bath.

Pooh Goes Visiting: Chapter Two & Pooh and Piglet Hunt Chapter Three

In chapter two, pooh goes for a walk in the woods and happens to stumble upon Rabbits hole, after much discussion he goes down the rabbit hole and into Rabbits house. They have a snack of honey and condensed milk, then Pooh goes to leave and he find himself unable to move forward or backwards stuck inside of the front hole of Rabbits house. Christopher Robin comes to the rescue and informs Pooh that he must start inside of the hole for one whole week with no food but not to worry because he will sit and read next to him the entire time. While Christopher Robin his reading to his North side, Rabbit makes use of his south side by hanging towels off of Poohs legs. At the end of the week Christopher Robin, Rabbit and all of their friends pull Pooh out of the rabbit hole.

In Chapter three, Pooh passes Piglets house right after a snowstorm. Piglet asks him what he is doing, and Pooh responds by telling him that he is following the Woozles tracks. Piglet joins him; they circle around a bush a couple of times and notice there are more tracks and more Woozles to follow. A scared Piglet leaves Pooh with Christopher Robin who informs Pooh that they’re his and Piglets tracks not a Woozles.

 

Eeyore Loses A Tail: Chapter Four & Pigley Meets A Heffalump: Chapter Five         

In chapter four we discover Eeyore who is a very slow speaking and mopey donkey that lives in meadow area. Pooh passes by Eeyore and notices something vey peculiar about him, he's missing his tale. Unsure what to do he goes to the wisest person he knows Owl. Owl lives in the one hundred acre woods, in a beautiful tree house. After a conversation with Owl, Pooh realizes that Eeyores tale is being used as owls door bell pull. Pooh gets Eeyores tale back and Christopher Robin nails it back on to a very happy Eeyore.

In chapter five, after af conversation with Christopher Robin, Pooh and Piglet decide to catch a Heffalump. There best strategy for catching this hard to find animal is to dig a deep hole and trap it. They decide to use Poohs honey as the bait to lure in the Heffalump. That night Pooh bear wakes up hungry for honey but realizes it's inside of the trap, restlessly he goes into the trap and eats all of the honey. With the honey jar now stuck on top of his head, Pooh is trapped inside the hole. By chance, Piglet checks on the trap in the early morning, seeing a suspicious creature inside of the hole, frightened Piglet runs all the way to Christophe Robin. Christopher takes one look in the hole and sees its just silly Pooh. The honey jar on Poohs head breaks and he is set free to continue on his merry way.

Eeyore Has A Birthday: Chapter Six & Kang and Baby Roo: Chapter Seven

In chapter six, Pooh is wandering through the woods one morning when he comes across Eeyore who is in an especially solemn mood. Pooh finds out that it is his birthday, and that no one gave him a cake or presents. Pooh eagerly tells Eeyore not to move and that he will be back shorty. Then he hurries home to get a gift for his friend. Piglet happens to be a Poohs door when he gets home, so Pooh fills him in and tells Piglet to get a gift for Eeyore. After Piglet gets his present( a red balloon) for Eeyore he runs accidentally pops it. Upset and teary-eyed Pooh solves the problem by giving Eeyore an old honey pot that has a misspelled Happy Birthday on it. The story ends with Eeyore loving both gifts because he can put Piglets ballon rubber inside of Poohs pot.

In chapter seven, we are introduced to two new characters, Kanga and Roo. They are unlike any other species in the area. Pooh, Piglet and Rabbit get together and devise a plan to keep Kanga and Roo out of their area. They decide for Pooh to distract Kanga and have Piglet jump in her pouch as a Roo decoy, while Rabbit runs off with Roo. After some commotion, their plan works and Piglet is at Kanga's house while Roo is with Rabbit. Kanga catches on to their plan and treats Piglet as if he was Roo giving him a bath and even medicine until Christopher Robin comes in and gives Piglet the opportunity to run away.

 

Expedition To The North Pole: Chapter Eight & Surrounded By Water: Chapter Nine

In chapter eight, the entire gang of the area goes on an adventure with Christopher Robin. It all starts off with Pooh helping Christopher Robin put his adventure boots on. This is where he tells Pooh that he must go and tell everyone they are going on an expedition to the North Pole, and that they should bring provisions. Once everyone including, Owl, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Piglet, Pooh and all of Rabbits friends and family are ready they begin their journey. They approach an ambush and carefully avoid it, leaving a beetle behind. After being gone for so long they sit down and begin to eat their provisions. As Roo was washing up after lunch in the nearby stream he fell in, sending himself down stream and everyone else in a panic. Pooh and Kanga set a Pole across the stream for Roo to grab onto. Roo climbed up the tree and was safe, from there on Christopher deemed the pole Pooh used as the North Pole Discoverd By Pooh, Pooh Found It.

In chapter nine, there was a big flood throughout the surrounding area. Pooh, Piglet, Christopher Robin and were the main characters in this story. Piglet is getting nervous because the water is starting to come into his house and he is too small to help himself. He decides to write a rescue message in a bottle and toss it down stream. This bottle passes Pooh who is also stranded, he is under the impression that this is a jar of honey and jumps in after the bottle. Once he opens it he sees the letter inside and decides to take it to Christopher Robin to read. Pooh jumps inside of a jar of honey, once get there, Christopher Robin is immediately worried for Piglet and sends Owl to make sure he's okay. Meanwhile, Christopher Robin and Pooh turn their umbrella upside down and travel as a boat to Piglet. Once they arrive, piglet jumps inside their umbrella boat and everyone travels to safety.

We Say Good-bye: Chapter 10

    In chapter ten, Christopher Robin holds a party for Pooh in honor of his bravery for rescuing Piglet. He gives Owl the duty to tell everyone about the party. Unfortunately, there is a miscommunication and Eeyore believes that this is party for him rescuing Roo. On the day of the party everyone and their relations are seated at the table enjoying themselves. Just as Christopher Robin is about to announce his thank you to Pooh and give him a color pencil set Eeyore starts to make a statement for rescuing Roo. Everyone distracted by the idea of a present forgets about Eeyore and raves over Poohs new colored pencil set. This part of the book ends with Pooh and Piglet walking home into the sunset.

 The House At Pooh Corner

Pooh Builds A House: Chapter One

In chapter one, it is a snowy winter day, Pooh decides to go visit Piglet but when he gets there Piglet is not home. Pooh heads back to his house where Piglet has actually been waiting for him to come home. They decide to go visit Eeyeore to sing him the song they made up but just as they arrived Eeyore wasn't home. Noticing how cold it must be for him since he doesn't have a home they, build him a new house with a pile of sticks. Meanwhile Eeyore was visiting Christopher Robin explaining how he build himself a house out of sticks but now he can't find it. As Christopher Robin and Eeyore were looking for his lost house they come upon Pooh and Piglet standing by the house that Eeyore built. Piglet, Pooh and Christopher leave Eeyore and on their walk home Piglet and Pooh tell Christopher Robin that they were the ones who built his house and accidentally took his old house away because they thought it was a pile of sticks.

Tigger Has Breakfast: Chapter Two & The Search For Small: Chapter Three

In chapter two, Pooh is introduced to Tigger late in the night when he hears a strange noise outside. Tigger announces that he knows Christopher Robin, and Pooh welcomes him, tells him he can sleep on the floor and will get to know each other over breakfast. In the morning, Pooh offers Tigger some honey for breakfast, to Tigger's surprise he does not like honey and off they go to piglets to see if Tigger likes haycorns. Once they are at a very frightened Piglets house Tigger tries a few haycorns and just like honey, he does not like them. Next the three of them go to Eeyores meadow to see if Tigger likes thistles. Tigger takes a bit of Eeyores best thickets, yelps there hot and bounces around. Finally, Pooh, Tigger and Piglet go to Kanga and Roos house to try and find a type of food for Tigger. Tigger takes a sip of Roos Malt strengthening medicine and eats it all up. Kanga and Roo take Tigger into their house and give him many malt shakes for all meals of the day.

In chapter three, Rabbit is organizing a search for one of his friends and relatives named Small. He gives everyone specific areas of the land to search for Small. Pooh is given the duties of searching the entire100-acre woods, when suddenly he falls into a pit and hears a strange voice that he thinks is his mind yelling for help. In actuality, it is Piglet underneath of him yelling for help. Pooh and Piglet quickly come to the agreement that they are inside of the Heffalumps trap and that he is hoping to catch a bear and pig. They begin to get nervous and decide to tell the Heffalump that this is actually a Heffalump trap and that they are waiting for one to fall into it.  By telling the Heffalump this they will scare him away and be safe. Christopher Robin stumbles upon the pit that they have fallen into and is about to help them out when Piglet notices that Small is on the back of Pooh. The story ends with Piglet ending the search for Small, Rabbit informing Eeyore that they found Small two days earlier and Pooh and Piglet being saved from the Heffalump.

Tiggers Don't Climb Trees: Chapter Four & Rabbits Busy Day: Chapter Five

In chapter four, Tigger and Roo are sent out of the house so that Kanga can clean and organize. On their walk, Roo Begins to ask questions to Tigger about the things he can do. From bouncing, to swimming, to flying Tigger agrees that he can do all including climb better than bears. Roo pushes Tigger into agreeing to climb up a huge oak tree near them. With Roo on his back Tigger jumps up many feet into the tree, when suddenly the branch he is holding on to breaks. Tigger quickly grabs the top branch above them and pulls him and Roo to safety. Roo and Tigger come to the agreement that Tigger's can not climb and that they will be there forever and ever. Piglet, Pooh, Eeyore and Christopher Robin are walking underneath the oak tree and hear Tigger and Roos call for help. Christopher Robin comes up with the idea to stretch out his cardigan into a trampoline with everyone at a corner and to let them jump out of the tree. Roo care-freely jumps into the net and is safe. Now when Tigger tries to jump he falls on top of everyone and squishes Eeyore at the bottom. The story ends with Tigger and Roo safe and a sad but fine Eeyore.

In chapter five, Rabbit wakes up with the feeling that the morning is going to be busy. He decides to take Christopher Rabbit a visit, but when he gets there, a note is on his door saying he his busy. Quickly, Rabbit goes to Owls house to discuss the matter and why there has been a not today and yesterday that say the same thing. Owl unsure what the note says talks in circles until he gets Rabbit to tell him the answer. They agree that this is strange and Rabbit heads off to see Pooh. Pooh agrees with Rabbit that Christopher Robin is never there in the Morning but always available at the other times of the day. Meanwhile Piglet picked some violets for Eeyore and brought them to him.  Eeyore informs Piglet that these are not three ordinary sticks but the letter A, and that this what an education means. Rabbit stumbles upon Piglet and Eeyore and asks them if they knew where Christopher Robin goes in the morning. Eeyore tells Rabbit that in the mornings, Christopher Robin goes to get and education. The story ends with all of the animals knowing where Christopher Robin goes in the morning.       

Eeyore Joins A Game: Chapter Six & Tigger Is Unbounced: Chapter Seven

In chapter six, everyone in the Forrest likes to go to the edge of the woods where there is a bridge that crosses over a river. One hot summer day, Pooh was picking up fir-cones and accidentally dropped it over the side of the bridge. To his surprise it came out the other end of the underpass. This inspired Pooh to create the Pooh-sticks game where you drop sticks on the one side of the bridge and make a race to see which stick will cross first. One day, Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit and Roo were all waiting at the side of the bridge for their stick to cross when they saw Eeyore cross under the bridge. Everyone was shocked to see him and Pooh came up with the idea to get him out of the water. His plan was to drop a large rock near Eeyore to make a wave that would push him to shore. On Rabbits command Pooh dropped the rock right on top of Eeyore sending him eventually to the side of the river. Everyone one met Eeyore at the bank to make sure he was okay, they also were curious to know why he was in the water. Eeyore told them that he didn't want to swim and that Tigger bounced him into the water. Tigger arrived shortly after everyone and said that it was an accidental cough not a purposeful bounce.  Just as things were escalating, Christopher Robin came over and solved the problem by playing another large group game of Pooh-sticks. Eeyore had a case of beginners luck and won almost every race that evening.

In chapter seven, Rabbit, Pooh and Piglet are sitting outside of Poohs house when Rabbit introduces the idea to unbounce Tigger because he is getting on people's nerves. He proposes that they take Tigger out the next day to a part of the forrest and when he is not looking they will run away. Pooh and Piglet agree, and the nest morning they go to Kanga and Roos house to get Tigger. They start to walk into the woods and when they feel like he has gone ahead enough they jump into a bush and hide. Tigger comes back looking for them and after realizing they can't be found, he decides to go back home. Piglet, Pooh and Rabbit leave their hiding bush and begin to head back home. Shortly after, they realize they're lost in the woods. Rabbit walks away from Piglet and Pooh, the two of them get tired of waiting and Pooh uses his concentration and honey scent to find their way out. On their way into familiar territory, they see Christopher Robin who meets them and goes back to Poohs house with Piglet and Pooh. Meanwhile, Rabbit is still lost in the woods nervous and alone and when Tigger bounces in front of Rabbit he is very excited and decides to never try and make Tigger stop bouncing.

A Very Grand Thing: Chapter: Eight & Eeyore Finds The Wolery: Chapter Nine

In chapter eight, it is a very windy Tuesday in the forrest, Poo and Piglet decide to go for a visit to everyone telling them to, have a happy Tuesday. They visit, Rabbit, Christopher Robin, Eeyore and finally Owl. When Pooh and Piglet were just getting comfortable, the wind blew Owls entire house over. A branch fell on top of the door way and Piglet saved the day by getting lifted to the letterbox, climbing out and finding help.

In chapter nine, there is a continuation of the plot in chapter eight. Everyone is working together to help Owl get the old items out of his house and to search for a new one. Rabbit is organizing the whole event telling everyone to meet and gather together. Pooh is informed and on his way to get Piglet he comes up with a song. It is a song about how brave and courageous Piglet was for rescuing Pooh and Owl by climbing out of the letterbox. Once they meet together, Pooh performs the piece for a very blushed Piglet and makes him feel brave. Pooh and Piglet arrive at Owls where, Kanga, Roo, Tigger, Rabbit and Christopher Robin are hoisting the things out of Owls house. Eeyore arrives and tells everyone that he has found a house for Owl. Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Pooh and Piglet are lead to the spot where the new house is. To everyone's surprise Eeyore is showing Owl Piglets house! Owl automatically likes it and Pooh tells Piglet he can live with him. Owl moves into his new house that he called the Wolery.

        An Enchanted Place: Chapter 10

In chapter ten, all of the animals get together at Eeyore's place and listen to the going way poem he wrote. Afterwards they all sign it and deliver the note to Christopher Robin. By the time he is done reading the note, the only animal left is Pooh. He and Pooh go on a nothing walk until they reach the Enchanted spot where there is lush grass under the big trees and you can see everything in the forrest. Here Christopher Robin tries to explain to Pooh that he can no longer do nothing's and may not be back for a while. Due to the fact that this is too hard for him to explain he tells Pooh that he will never forget him and that they will always be playing together as children in the Enchanted spot.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the complete series of The World of Pooh by; A. A. Milne. These books brought back my childhood memories of when my mother read the stories to me. As I was reading this I had each characters voice encrypted in my head from when I was a child. Reading this book a second time I got a lot more philosophically from the stories than from when I was a child. The world that was created gives children a fantasyland to drift off to. I absolutely love this book and I plan on reading this to both the children in my classroom and personal family. 

        Hello Mrs. Piggle Wiggle By: Betty MacDonald

Hello, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by, Betty MacDonald is really a collection of five different stories with five different children each with individual issues. Chapter one is about a boy named Phillip Carmondy who struggles with being a show off. His mother enjoys his character but his father Mr. Carmondy and sister Connie have had it with his attitude. He does silly things like balance books on his head and jumps over wheel barrels to gain attention from his friends. With his family on their last string Phillips mother Mrs. Carmondy calls Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for help. She knew just the trick, and asked Mrs. Carmondy to send Phillip over after school to pick up a jar of Show-Off Powder.  After Phillip got the powder his mother sprinkled it over his head and after that point every time he started to show off he would become invisible. The chapter ends with Phillip lacking attention for his bad behavior and decides to stop acting out.

Chapter two is about an eight year-old girl named Melody Foxglove. She suffers with crybaby syndrome. Everything is difficult and upsetting to her even her younger sister doesn’t get as upset as she does. After her mother has had enough of her upsetment she sends her two oldest sons to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for some Vannila-Caramel Tonic  for crybabyitis. Mrs. Foxglove gives Melody some of this medicine before dinner. She immediately becomes less sensitive, however as soon as her dog accidentally scratches her she starts to cry. This time her tears are like waterfalls pouring out of her eyelids. To her families surprise they all try to get her to stop crying because she is getting everything and everyone at the table wet. This goes on once more that night and again at school in the lunch room. The last time Melody every cries is when she is in the courtyard of the school and is crying so much that she almost drowns herself. She eventually stops when she sees her new orange kitten and never cries again. Her reason for never crying is because it doesn’t ever fix the problem.

The third chapter is about a bully named, Nicholas Semicolon. He is much bigger than the other children around him and takes advantage of his size. He picks on everyone including little girls and babies. This is news to his mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Semicolon who always believed their son was nice. Until one morning when Mrs. Eager called telling her that Nicholas almost broke her son Roscoe’s legs when he stepped on them. Mrs. Semicolon ashamed and shocked calls Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and she suggests Leadership Pills for Nicholas’s bullying. They work great, Nicholas went and apologized to Roscoe and ended up creating a club called “The Neighborhood Children’s Club.” Here the children all worked together to turn Mrs. Foxgloves old garden into a clubhouse furnished with extra furniture from other families in the neighborhood. Nicholas led the club and together all the children in the neighborhood worked together in harmony with the older children helping the younger ones.

Chapter Four was about two girls in the fourth grade named Mary and Evelyn. They had their own secret club named, “The Hush-Hush Club,” here the girls whispered and gossiped about a less fortunate girl named Cornelia Whitehouse. Her father died and she and her mother were forced to live in a trailer. Evelyn and Mary were usually picking on her about her thrift store clothes. One afternoon, when Evelyn and Mary were inside Mary’s house eating a snack Cornelia saw Mary’s mother Mrs. Crackle puling weeds out of their beautiful garden. As she was commenting on the garden it began to rain and Mrs. Crackle took Cornelia inside for a snack and to see the other girls. Once inside Mrs. Crackle noticed how mean and rude Evelyn and Mary were being to Cornelia by whispering and laughing at her. Mrs. Crackle was so upset that she sent Evelyn home, Mary to her room and had a snack with Cornelia to get to know her better. A few minutes later Evelyn returned and unwillingly invited Cornelia to her birthday party because her mother made her. Mrs. Crackle and Cornelia made and agreement that little Cornelia would pick weeds out of the garden all week and in exchange Mrs. Crackle would buy her a new dress for the birthday party. The next day Evelyn’s concerned mother Mrs. Rover came over to discuss how rude Evelyn and her whispering were. A few minutes later Mrs. Crackle called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who gave the women seven Peppermint Whispering Sticks, three for Evelyn and Mary and one for Cornelia since she was going to be around this week. The women immediately gave the girls the sticks and in a matter of three licks the girls voices went away and all you could hear when they spoke was a faint whisper. This upset the girls very much who each individually felt left out when all that they could hear were the other girls whispering about them. The girls decided to end “The Hush-Hush Club” and start a friendlier “Picnic Club.” Every Saturday the girls had a packed picnic and on the days that it rained they performed skits.

In chapter five there is a young boy named Harbin Quadrangle, he is a very slow moving almost nine year old who often is a big trouble in the mornings. He is so slow that his father Mr. Quadrangle missed the rights train and was late for work. His parents call Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who gave them a special spray to put on Harbins clothes and especially his shoes. The next morning Harbin was up and moving before six, took the dog Mr. Pierce for a morning run and helped the paperboy Georgie who was running late with his paper route. Mrs. Quadrangle saw such success that she gave some of the special spray to Mr. Quadrangle and her daughter Janey. After that morning the Quadrangle family never had to worry about being too slow again.

Overall, I really enjoyed this fiction story; the plot was riveting and imaginative. I would love to be able to use this fiction book in the classroom. I envision myself creating a Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Project that would get the children to come up with imaginative approaches to everyday problems that are in the story. As a teacher one can incorporate chapter four with the whispering into the classroom and have a discussion about how hurtful children are to their classmates. In addition, there could be brainstorming for new ways to avoid hurting others feelings. As stated before, I really enjoyed this story and the magical twist on how lessons can be learned.

  

Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing: By Judy Blume

This Realistic Fiction novel was very amusing to read. It was about a boy named Peter Warren Hatcher who was nine years old and his two year old brother Fudge who happened to “ruin everything.” Peter struggles to strive for the same attention that his brother gets, whether its when his fathers business clients come, or when his brother doesn’t eat, pretends he can fly and knocks out his two front teeth, has a birthday party, makes a scene at the shoe store, ruins his class project, gets in a TV commercial, causes a scene at the movie theatre or even eating Peters turtle Dribble and getting sent to the emergency room. By the end of the story Peter hates his brother because he ruins “everything,” he was very mad at Fudge for eating his turtle and killing him. To make things worse, his brother was receiving get-well presents. Just when he thought that no one cared about the death of his turtle, his father brings home a giant box for him. The story ends with Peter finding a puppy in the box and his parents making sure Fudge realizes it is Peters dog.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel; it was interesting that it took place in New York City among all of the city commotion. Judy Bloom did a great job catching your attention and keeping you interested in the book. It was always something different with Fudge around. I believe it gave a good look to how older siblings feel when they have younger ones. This could be easily used in a classroom to teach children how to cope with siblings and to work together with group projects (like Peters friends, James and Sheila). In summary, I enjoyed reading this book and I would suggest it as reading material in the proper appropriate classroom.

Junie B. Jones And The Stupid Smelly Bus: By Barbara Park

This realistic fiction novel is about a girl name Judy B. Jones and her first day of Kindergarten. From the very beginning of this story Judy B. does not like the idea of riding the bus. She hates is so much that she decides to call it the stupid smelly bus and hate everything associated with it, including the color yellow. When it is time for her to ride the bus, Judy B. begins to get nervous and her mother tells her to sit with the girl who was waiting with her at the bus stop, however when she gets inside, this girl is already saving a seat for her friend. When everyone tries to get off of the bus she gets pushed down and her new skit gets dirty. This starts her day off on the wrong foot which leads to a number of events like not begin able to sit in her red chair, not having enough room for her name on her circle, going to the nurses office, seeing the principle, hiding in the supply closet after school, calling 911 to save her, falling off of crutches and finally making it to the bathroom in time before she had and accident. The story ends with her mother driving her home and Judy B. making a plan to sit with Grace on the bus the next day.

I enjoyed this book and I can see how this is a good book to have young children read. This can relate to a lot of children’s fears when they first start school or are about to attend another school. I thought the comical aspects of the book were funny, especially when she ended her sentences with a bold statement followed by “I think.” Overall, I enjoyed this book and I would suggest it to young readers.

The Starving Time, Elizabeth’s Jamestown Colony Diary: By Patricia Hermes

This non-fiction biographical book is a collection of entries summing up into one diary of a young girl named Elizabeth who lives at the newly established colony in Jamestown. The book starts off in the fall when everyone in the colony is still alive and the men bicker of leadership roles and fight with the Indians. There is a group that was lead by Captain John-Smith that sailed back to England. Among the ship was Elizabeth’s twin brother Caleb. She was very upset when he left and used this book as her new friend until she became close with Mary Dobson. At first she did not like her because she was obsessed and in love with John Bridger who happened to be a very naughty and mean boy. Elizabeth’s mother had a baby girl named Abigail who she loved very much. Elizabeth couldn’t wait for Caleb to meet Abigail. As the seasons changed there were less and less rations in the storage room and people began to steal from one another. One night Elizabeth’s father was tired of seeing his family hungry and went out to get food and came back with fish, clams and crabs. The family feasted but the next morning someone broke into their house and took their food. Come to find out it was the Bridger family. As the winter comes sickness spreads throughout the Colony even more. Everyday more and more people are dying of disease and starvation. A desperate Elizabeth leaves the colony in search of the Indians to help her family. She wanders sickly for many days until the two male Indians approached her and had her follow them. She was under the impression that they were taking her to see Pocahontas but instead they led her back to the deprived colony. The only good thing that came out of it was that the Indians gave a good amount of food to Jamestown. Elizabeth was sick for a long time and her sister Abigail was being nursed by a fellow woman named, Mistress Whistler whose entire family died including her baby. A few days later as it is getting closer to spring Elizabeth’s mother died, this devastated Elizabeth. Her and Mary grew close to each other since they both lost their mothers to the winter. The summer comes and the ships arrive with a Caleb many rations and a new leader named Lord de La Warre. Caleb is very upset over his mother’s death but there is new live in the colony and a promising future.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book; at first it was unusual reading diary entrees but I got used to it a little. The book was riveting and realistic to the harsh historical information. I liked the educational influences with Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. This is a great book to use in the classroom; I hope to incorporate it some day.

Realistic Fiction

When I Was Young In The Mountains

By: Cynthia Rylant

Realistic fiction

Illustrated by: Diane Goode

Cynthia Rylants’s personal memories of growing up in a four-room house  (and shared with other family members) are expressed in Cool Ridge West Virginia, among the Appalachia Mountains. It is all about family and their faith in an impoverished back hills setting. Unfortunately, only the fond memories permeate through this very simplistic life. The Grandfather worked in a coal mine and only his lips were clean as he kissed the grandchild’s head. The photos indicate she had a younger brother. The food was indicative of south corn bread, pinto beans and fried okra. The girl went to out house with her grandmother in the night, sounds like she ate too much okra. There was a swimming hole that was muddy and dark and full of snakes but the children swam anyway. The girl stopped at country store for white butter. The elderly couple the Crawfords were the storeowners who happened looked alike and smelled of sweet milk (not sure if the fact they looked alike has some symbolism but it has been said that old married couples start looking like each other.) There was no in-house plumbing or a bathroom however, they had an outhouse and pumped water from the well. Baths were taken in the kitchen in and old metal tub. During bathing time grandmother made hot cocoa (on wood burning stove) to help warm them after bathing.  The church and schoolhouse used the same building and she remembers cousin Peter’s baptism in the swimming hole. Peters white wet shirt stuck to him and her grandmother cried. Grandmother new the ways of the mountain, she was tough and would kill black snakes with a hoe (if they would not leave peacefully). Clearly the family did not have cameras but they got a picture with a dead snake from a traveling photographer. There were many quiet evenings on the porch amongst the stars, dogs and birds. Bob Whites grandmother would shell beans or braid hair and grandfather sharpened the children’s pencils. As a child she had no desire to go to the ocean or the desert, she was contented with her home in the mountains.  Side note no mention of her parents at all in this story and this was not memories of summer visits she indicates she lived a portion of her childhood in this setting. Overall, this was an enjoyable story with great illustrations. I liked how it was realistic and obviously true to a mountain lifestyle. 

I Can Be Anything!

By: Jerry Spinelli

Realistic fiction

Illustrated by: Jimmy Liao

 This is a book based on the concept of “ what I want to be when I grow up.” Each line rhymes throughout the story for example “Pumpkin grower-dandelion blower, Paper plan folder-puppy dog holder, Puddle stomper-apple chomper, mixing bowl licker-tin can kicker, barefoot hopper-bubble gum popper, snowball smoother-baby-sis soother, gift unwrapper-jump and clapper, cheek to cheek grinner-dizzy dance spinner, cross legged sitter-make believe critter, deep hole digger-lemonade swigger, honey suckle smeller- silly joke teller, best part saver (took a piece of birthday cake)-good bye waver,” to name a few. There is a double fold out sheet at end of story that says, “So many jobs, They’re all such fun! I’m going to choose...(pages open) EVERY ONE!”

The book is bright and beautiful. The animation depicts a little boy doing the

actions listed above. Animals seem to be in each picture enjoying the fun with him.

The main repeating animals appear to be these adorable rabbits and penguins.  This is a refreshing look at the employment opportunities in life from a child’s perspective. Wouldn’t it be great if we could keep some of this fun alive in what we do as adults? It would appear from the jacket descriptions that both the author and the illustrator are doing just that. The author dreamed of being a cowboy when he grew up and the illustrator still dreams of being a train driver. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The imagination is endless even while reading this as and adult.

 

Owl Moon

By: Jane Yolen

 Realistic Fiction

Illustrated by: John Schoenher

Shares the love of owling with the writer. Artwork is displayed in galleries.

True story from their family home in Massachusetts where her children were taken out on these cold late night winter journeys to see the great owls with her husband David (the illustrator used the actual farm for the illustrations). This was a special father child experience. Evidently “owling” is a hobby shared by many.  The writer seems to make the woods come alive with her detail to descriptive phrases throughout the story. For example, “The trees stood still as giant statues. The moon was so bright the sky seemed to shine, The trains sang out and the dogs joined in.

Soon the silence was as quiet as a dream. Our shadows made different shapes.”

Silence appears to be a must with this type of venture into the woods. Here is a direct quote that states the importance of silence, “The moon on Pa’s face made it look like a silver mask. The cold felt as if someone’s icy palm was against my back.

If you go owling you have to be quiet and make your own heat.” My favorite excerpt of the pieces are as  follows:

The shadows stained the white snow.

Mouth felt furry over the scarf which was wet and warm.

The clearing in the woods from the moon looked whiter than milk in a cereal bowl.

The owl came I looked so hard my eyes got cloudy from the cold.

Pa put the flashlight on the owl.

Time stood still…1 minute 3 minutes 100 minutes as they watched.

The owl pumped its wings and flew away.

All you need when owling is hope.

The kind of hope that flies on silent wings.

            Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this piece; it was a simplistic read that symbolized this girl’s culture. The beauty and mystery in the night reminded me of being outside in the dark. I would suggest this book to someone else in the future, great bedtime story.

The Lemonade Club

By: Patricia Polacco

Realistic Fiction

Illustrated by: Patricia Polacco

This is the story of two fifth grade girls and one of them is battling cancer (leukemia). The teacher Miss Wichelman is loved by all her students and makes her classroom a nurturing environment for the children to grow and learn in. Her favorite line from the book is, “When you get lemons add sugar and make lemonade,” as well as, “If you dream it then it can be! “ Marilyn began to lose weight and felt tired all the time. Shortly after she was diagnosed and Mrs. Whchelman discussed with the students what cancer was. She also explained how some people live and some die from it. Traci was Marilyn’s best friend and tried to encourage her the day Marilyn’s hair fell out. From this Traci, Marilyn and Miss Wichelman became good friends. The teacher told the girls she was engaged to get married and wanted both the girls to be in the wedding wearing lemon yellow colored dresses.  The entire class welcomed Marilyn back to school after her chemo by shaving all of their hair off too even including Miss Wichelman. Then she shared her dream with the girls of someday becoming a doctor and shortly after told the girls she was battling breast cancer herself. The girls were aware their teacher was probably going to have a mastectomy. Five years later, the teacher married and had became a doctor who treated cancer. Surprisingly her husband was a doctor too and the entire class came to the wedding.

Overall, I enjoyed how this was a true story by the author and that her daughter was Traci. I think it was great how the author was able to turn a very common reality into a fiction book. This is a great tool for families or teachers to show children the different aspects (hair loss) of cancer in an optimistic way. I would most definitely recommend this book to a classroom.

*The Doorbell Rang

By: Pat Hutchins

Realistic Fiction

Illustrated by: Pat Hutchins

This book is about two young children who come home from school with a dozen warm cookies that their Grandmother made waiting for them. Every time they are about to split the cookies another friend enters the room and they divide the batch again. This process continues until there is one cookie for each friend in the room. When they hear the doorbell ring for the last time everyone gets nervous because there are not enough cookies. They reluctantly open the door and there is one of their friend’s Grandma standing in the doorway with an arm full of warm cookies. This book is a good way to help children recognized problem solving strategies.

*Mrs. Nelson Is Missing

By: Harry Allard

Realistic Fiction

Illustrated by: James Marshall

         This story emphasizes children regretting teaching their students badly. When Mrs. Nelson’s students are treating her badly she decides to go away and have a substitute Mrs. Viola Swamp come and teach. When Viola Swamp is there the children are miserable because there are no fun activities going on, just learning. The students begin to miss having Mrs. Nelson as their teacher and regret the way they were treating her. I believe this is a great book to read on the first week of school or when you are absent from class. I plan on using this book in my classroom.

*I Want an Iguana

By: Karen Kuafman Orloff

Realistic Fiction

Illustrated by: David Catrow

         This brightly colored children’s book is about a boy who desperately wants an Iguana. He wants one so badly that he writes a letter to his mother explaining all of the reasons he can take care of one. As the story unfolds through letters between himself and his mother hints of sarcastic cues are displayed. In the end his dream comes true and he gets an Iguana. I enjoyed how the book was formatted in letterforms. It is a first hand example of how to write a letter and a good way for children to realize they can write their feelings down too. I would love to have this book on my classroom library shelf.

*St. Patrick’s Day In The Morning

By: Eve Bunting

Realistic Fiction

Illustrated by: Jan Brett

         This story is about a young Irish boy who wakes up before everyone in his family. It is the morning of St. Patrick’s day and every year the older patrons walk up the highest hill in their community and celebrate the holiday. On this morning, the young boy decides that he is now big enough to walk up the hill (despite his parents disregard). He walks through his town and up the hill with his dog. When they reach the top of the hill he puts a flag in a glass bottle marking that he had made it up to the top of the hill. He climbs all the way back down the hill and goes back inside his house before anyone in his family wakes up. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would recommend this book to any classroom especially on St. Patrick’s day. 

*We’re going on a Bearhunt

Retold by: Michael Rosen

Realistic Fiction

Illustrated by: Helen Oxenbury

            This is a re-vamped version on the traditional story. This family goes on a bear hunt and in order to ‘get away from the bear,’ they squish and stomp through the water, grass, mud, and even snow.  Which each event they go through a new sound is introduced to the plot. As I read this story I could sense the plot building, with each page I turned. I feel like this is a great story to get the involved with the story in. For example you could have the children act out each sound and movement as they were described on every new page. Overall, I think this is a great story to incorporate in your story.

 

Traditional Literature

The Three Pigs

By: David Wiesner

Traditional Literature

Illustrated by: David Wiesner

            This book is a twist on the traditional story of The Three Little Pigs. Instead of each pig dying when the wolf came, they jumped out of the story. After all of the pigs jumped out they started visiting other stories. They visited, Hey Diddle Diddle and a story about a dragon with a golden rose. When they went into each story they took the cat from Hey Diddle Diddle and they also took the dragon. The story ended with the three pigs and their new friends from the other stories all living together in the last pigs brick house. Overall, I enjoyed this story because it was unique and different. I would recommend this to an age appropriate classroom.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

By: Beatrix Potter

Traditional Literature

Illustrated by: Not Listed

            This all time classic is one of my favorites. The story of being “naughty” and barely getting away is something all children adore to hear. The story starts off with Mrs. Rabbit telling her children to be good and to stay away from Mr. McGregor’s garden because their father died there. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail all went to the lane and gathered black berries but bad Peter went to Mr. McGregor’s garden. Here Mr. McGregor chases Peter with a hoe into the garden house and he barely escaped under the white picket fence. Overall, this story is one that every child should be exposed to, I would recommend this to an age appropriate class. 

The Mitten

By: Jan Brett

Traditional Literature

Illustrated by: Jan Brett

            This Ukrainian folktale is about a boy named Nicki who wanted to have his grandmother (Baba) make him white wool mittens. His Baba was against the idea because she feared Nicki would misplace them in the bright snow. She however, agreed to the task and made the mittens for him. He started to climb a tree and one of his new gloves fell out. The clever animals took advantage of his misplacement and a collection of mole, snowshoe rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, bear, and meadow mouse all crammed inside of the mitten. When the bear sneezed everyone flew out of the mitten and Nicki grabbed his glove. This is a very comical story that many children and adults would enjoy.

The Frog Prince Continued...

By: Jon Scieszka

Traditional Literature

Illustrated by: Steve Johnson

            This enchanted story has a twist on the not so happily ever after. The princess that kisses the frog is not so happy with her choice in a slimy man. After and argument the frog prince runs away into the forest to look for a witch that will turn him back into a frog. The first witch he comes upon is the one from Sleeping Beauty, so he runs quickly away. The second witch is from Snow White and she wants him to eat the rest of the apple, so he runs away. The third witch is from Hansel and Gretel and he knew he could be eaten so he ran deeper into the woods. He finally stumbled upon Cinderella’s fairy godmother that agrees to turn him back into a frog. Unfortunately she turns him into a frog carriage. When the clock strikes twelve, the carriage turns back into a frog prince. The frog prince runs as fast as he can back to his princess and when they kiss they both turn into frogs. I enjoyed this story but the illustrations were a bit too dark and gruesome for my taste. Overall, this is a unique take on the traditional story.

Anansi and The Moss-Covered Rock

By: Eric A. Kimmel

Traditional Literature

Illustrated by: Janet Stevens

            This is a story about a condescending spider named Anansi who stumbled upon a magical rock. When any one that approaches the rock says, “Isn’t this a strange moss-covered rock,” they pass out. After Anansi her self has experienced it a few times she decides to take her friends to the rock and steal their food from them when they are unconscious. She takes the lion, the elephant, the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the zebra and even the little bush deer that out smarts him. The little bush deer was watching Anansi tricking all of the other animals and decides to trick Anansi into saying the magic words. When Anansi passes out the little bush deer gathers all of the animals whose belongings were stolen and they take their hard work back. I enjoyed this book and the moral of the story. Overall, I would recommend this book to a young group of children. The illustrations were beautiful.

The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters

By: Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Traditional Literature

Illustrated by: Janet and Allan Ahlberg

            This is a quirky take on the idea of fictional fairy tale characters receiving mail brings a new depth and dimension to the stories. The postman visits the three bears and gives them an apology note from Goldilocks, he gives the wicked witch a supplies ordering catalog, the giant receives a post card from jack, he gives Cinderella a copy of her book, the big bad wolf gets an legal eviction notice for grandmas house and finally, Goldilocks receives a birthday card with one pound from Mrs. Bunting and Baby. The story ends with the mailman riding away on his bicycle. Overall, I absolutely love this interactive story. I am planning on purchasing it for my own collection; this is my favorite book from the reading assignment.

*Goldilocks and The Three Bears

By: Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner

Traditional Literature- Fairy Tales

Illustrated by: Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner

         This was very cute take on Goldilocks and the three bears. The plot was the same, but with a modern twist discussing a monster, alien, and wild beast. In this story Goldilocks was very peppy girl; she jumped rope and spoke with a rhythm that is not used in the normal text. The story unravels with Goldilocks destroying the bears house and jumping away when they got back home. Overall, I would use this in a pre-kindergarten or early education classroom.

*A Wolf At The Door

By: Nick Ward

Traditional Literature- Fracture Fairytale

Illustrated by: NickWard

         This is a very predictable story that is well written to help young children predict what is to come on the next page. This book is about a young bear where his friends come into his house one by one trying to escape a horrifying wolf. As the number of friend rapidly increases bears father comes inside and they finally realize that it is just a new young wolf who just moved into their community. They end up all playing together and become good friends. This story is a great book to read to a young(second grade) classroom to help build a sense of community to new students.

*Goldie and The Three Hares

By: Margie Palatini

Traditional Literature- Fracture Fairytales

Illustrated by: Jack E. Davis

         This fractured fairy tale is a continuum of Goldilocks running from the three bears and falling into a rabbit hole (reminder of a Alice in Wonderland). They hares end up stuck with Goldilocks because her foot has swollen too big to get outside of the hole. The hares try everything to get her to leave and in the end she leaves at her own will and papa hare fixes the broken step that Goldilocks tripped on. Overall, this book is very humorous but the length of the book should be considered when reading this to young students.

    

*Yours Truly Goldilocks

By: Alma Flor Ada

Traditional Literature- Fracture Fairytale

Illustrated by: Leslie Tryon

         This fracture fairytale was very cute and interesting to read. The book is about the three Pigs throwing a house warming party for their newly built ‘Wolf proof house.’ The story is played depicted through a multitude of letters between Goldilocks, the Wolf, the three Pigs, Little Red Riding hood and baby Bear. The wolf and his cousin crash the party and mamma bear saves the day by chasing the wolves away. This story is a great way for children to comprehend each letter and predict what is going to come next. I would put this book on my classroom library shelf.

    

*The House that Jack Built

By: David Cutts

Traditional Literature

Illustrated by: Don Silverstein

         This traditional story has a chain of events that carry through all from a house that jack built. A mouse relates to a cat, which relates to a dog and the chain continues until a maiden and man get married. This book is a great book for children who are beginning to read; the short sentences and rhythm of the sentence structure can help a letter sound and recognition. Overall a classic to put on any bookshelf.