The Three Pigs (Caldecott Award)

There have been several variations written on the Three Little Pigs, and I will add this as one of my favorites! My daughter and I read this book together (which she used as an AR book), and we thought it was such a clever idea for a story.
This story begins as a typical Three Little Pigs fairy tale, but quickly surprises the reader by turning into a funny, quirky, adaptation of the story. The wolf blows the pigs right out of their story and into other fairy tale stories, where the pigs hep others who are in trouble.
The illustrator drew the pigs and other animals as if they were really "jumping" out of the story. Which added so much illusion and complemented what the story was trying say. My daughter thought the funny expressions the pigs had on their faces was hilarious, especially when they were flying on the paper airplane.
Another detail I liked was how the illustrator used so much white space, because I feel this depicted the idea of the pigs coming out of the story and going into the huge imaginary world of fairy tales.
Another detail I liked about the story was that the pigs rescued other animals from their fairy tales and they all lived happily ever after.
My daughter enjoyed the dialogue boxes, she thought it was fun to read them.
I would definitely recommend this book to others.

Because of Winn Dixie By Kate Dicamillo (Newbery Medal)

I am a huge animal lover, so I am partial to stories about animals. Winn Dixie is a delightful story about a lonely little girl named Opal. Opal's mother had run away and Opal moved to a little town in Florida with her father, who was a preacher. One day when Opal was running an errand to the local Winn Dixie grocery store, she finds a dog with whom she immediately becomes attached to. Together they will have many adventures and learn a lot about life.
One thing I liked about this story was it's readability. It is a story that is so full of humor and great characters, that you can't put it down.

A touching part of this story was how Opal wanted to learn ten things about her mother, so that she would recognize her if she ever came back. Opal was afraid to ask her Dad, but she found the confidence with Winn Dixie by her side. Opals Dad tells her the ten things, which helped Opal come to terms with the fact her Mom was never coming back.

Luckily, for Opal, there are so many great people in the town, who teach Opal lessons on love, loss and friendship.

A part in the story that stands out to me was when Opal helped Gloria Dump, a blind black lady, plan a birthday party. Many people thought Gloria was the town witch, and feared her. But, with Opal's help, the whole town came for Gloria's birthday and found out what a nice lady she was.

There are so many wonderful life lessons that can be pulled from this story. I think many children who come from all types of backgrounds can really relate with Opal and the emotions she feels. It conveys the message that life isn't perfect. As you learn in the book, all the characters have dark pasts, but they make the best of life and enjoy it along the way.

Sam and the Tigers (By Julius Lester)

In this book, Julius Lester retells the story of Helen Bannerman's book Little Black Sambo. I was not familiar with this story, so I found the book at the libary and read it and compared the two stories. I really like how Julius Lester brought the story to life by using wit and humor to bring out the charm of the old south.
Jerry Pickney's ilustrations were very colorful and expressive. I also really likes the detail in his artwork. This made the story seem to come to life.
On a negative note, I thought the story line was hard to follow. I think it could be confusing for children. The moral was not really evident, but I believe kids could pull several different morals from the story.
Sam and The Tigers is about a boy who outsmarts a group of tigers and brings home some butter to put on the pancakes they are having for supper. In Little Black Sambo, I could see many racist undertones. But, I like how Lester rewrote the story using Sam as the character, and did a great job of retelling the classic, but without the racist tones.
The part of the story I liked best was the confidence that Sam had. He was not afraid to express himself, which was expressed in the brightly colored clothing her chose to wear. His character was definately not afraid to be himself. I think this is a great example for kids.
The author, Julius Lester, is know for keeping african-american folktales and History alive through his stories. Many know him for his tales if uncle remus, and also for his stories about brer rabbit.
In the story, How Many Spots Does A Leopard and Other Tales, Lester retells African-American and Jewish folk tales.
In addition to African American stories, Lester was also know for writing about stories from the Bible, and spirituality. He wrote a story called The Autobiography of God in 2004, which dealt with why bad things happen when God is supposed to be in control.

Criss Cross By Lynne Rae Perkins (Newbery Medal)

I have to be honest and say that I had to force myself to finish this book. I am not much of a daydreamer or a poetry type, so this book really didn't keep my interest. Also, I am a little past the "discovering who you are" stage in my life, but I tried to read the story through the eyes of an adolescent teen.
First of all, the book really didn't have a plot. It was a story about everyday life of a girl named Debbie and her friends, Hector and Lenny. Hector was by far my favorite character in the story, he was funny and witty. He wants to learn to play the guitar and write songs. Debbie loses her locket and it is passed around by different characters in the story. That is the emphasis of the story.
"Criss Cross" is the name of a radio show they all get together and listen too, but it also refers to how the characters in the book make decisions that change how they communicate with each other.
This book did take me back to my teen years, and all the weird, awkward moments that I had. We all had those moments growing up! I remember dreaming about what life would be like when I grew up!
I think kids would either love or hate this book. I believe the author was trying to write about real-life, and that is what she did. There was no big drama, adventure, or suspense in this story. Just a study of all the characters and the decisions they made and how that effected their relationships with the people around them. You can't get any more real-life than that!