#10- Aliens in Underpants Save the World

10) Aliens in Underpants Save the World

Written by: Claire Freedman

Illustrated by: Ben Cort

Scholastic, Inc.

2009

26 pages

Picture Book

            I chose this book because the title contains the word “underpants”. You’re laughing at me, I know, but titles like this one are a great way to get children who don’t normally want to read into the experience. It is about a group of aliens who love underpants. They realize there is a meteorite headed for Earth, which is also their underpants supply! They step into action immediately, stealing many underpants from the unsuspecting humans on Earth. After stitching them together, they form a huge boundary to send the meteorite the other way. The aliens save Earth with our underpants!

            The illustrations in this book are super colorful. There is underwear everywhere, of all different types! It is clear that the illustrator got to have fun with this book. The pictures take up the whole page. They are done in paint. The illustrator used great detailing. Some of the space ships even have “I heart underpants” bumper stickers on them!

            I would recommend this book as a read aloud for any primary grade. It’s inevitable, kids love underpants. The book is a good laugh. Since it is in poetic couplets, this book could be used in a poetry lesson. It could also be used in a lesson about fantasy or a space lesson. I would probably use this book during a poetry unit at the end of the day as a relaxer before the children go home. It was a fun book to read!

#9- When A Dragon Moves In

9) When A Dragon Moves In

Written by: Jodi Moore

Illustrated by: Howard McWilliam

Scholastic, Inc.

2011

28 pages

Picture Book

            I picked this book up because I’m slowly realizing my book preferences as a girl, and felt like I should buy a book for the boys in my future classes. It turned out to be a great book for either gender! It is about a family who goes to the beach for a day. The little boy builds a perfect sandcastle, and imagines all the things that would happen if a dragon moved in. His dragon gets him in trouble for different things all day long, and he finally gets fed up. They go home and the little boy vows to never build a perfect sandcastle again…until tomorrow. We find out that really, there wasn’t a dragon, the little boy is just misbehaving and blaming it on his “imaginary friend”.

            Each picture in the book really captures the “beachy” feel. The illustrations in the book are drawn with a pencil and then colored with acrylic paint. Everything is very colorful and gives a cartoon representation of all characters and activities. Some pictures take up an entire page. Other pages contain two, three, or four different illustrations. That kept the book interesting!

            I would use this book in a classroom up to fourth grade. It is a little too juvenile for older students, but would be a good read aloud for younger ones. They could even read it during free reading. It is a good story to help teach the fantasy genre. You could use it in a lesson about chronological order, as well.

#8- E-Mergency!

8) E-Mergency!

Written by: Tom Lichtenheld and Ezra Fields-Meyer

Illustrated by: Tom Lichtenheld

Scholastic, Inc.

2011

36 pages

Picture Book

            This book looked neat to me because of the focus on the letter “E”. I came to realize, the focus is on ALL the letters in the alphabet. The story is about the letters all living in a house together. The letter “E” gets hurt and is out of commission for a while. The doctors say the only cure is to let her rest. The letters spread the word all over the country about “E”, and decide that the letter “O” will be used instead. Still, “E” isn’t getting any better. The letters realize that the narrator is still using the letter “E”. They yell at him, and when he stops, “E” is immediately on her feet again!

            The illustrations in this book were made to almost look like a comic book. There are speech bubbles everywhere. The colors are vibrant and exciting. Each page is sketched with a pencil, then pastels and paint.  The letter characters are actual letters with arms, legs, and faces.

            I would recommend this book for students from first grade to fifth grade. The replacement of the letter “E” with “O” may confuse some little ones still learning to read, I’m afraid. It is a great book to leave in the classroom for the kids to read on free time. It is very engaging because of the challenge in deciphering the replaced letter words. Also, there are words everywhere you look! It would also be a great book to read for prediction, and in a lesson about the letter “E” or the letter “O”. I love this book because of the creativity behind the concept. 

#7- The Brave Little Owl

7) The Brave Little Owl

Written by: Penny Little

Illustrated by: Sean Julian

Scholastic, Inc.

2012

31 pages

Picture Book

            Honestly, I was attracted to this book because I love owls. If you see the cover of the book, they’re just so cute! (I am a girl, thus, I cannot refuse a cute animal book.) This book is about a family of owls who are deciding what to get their Grandmother for her birthday. The baby owl decides that she wants to learn to fly for her present. Her grandfather teaches the young owls in a group, and baby owl struggles to learn. She tries and tries, and even with encouragement from other forest friends, she cannot learn to fly. Finally, her Grandpa comes back and helps her fly just in time for her Grandma’s birthday celebration.

            The illustrations in this book are, more than anything, plain old cute. They are painted cartoons with many details. Each illustration takes up a whole page, and each page is a different color. This helps keep the reader’s interest peaked. The words in the story are sometimes printed to match the word itself. For example, the word “falling” would slightly run down the page. That was also a neat element.

            I would recommend this book for children up to about second grade. The vocabulary is not very challenging, and is probably a good read aloud for young children. This book would be good to leave out for the students to read on their own in first or second grade. You could use this book in a character study about bravery or encouragement. It would also be good to read if your school system celebrated Grandparent’s Day. It’s always a good book to read after lunch to settle the children back down. While the plot was fairly generic, the illustrations make this book an interesting book for the classroom. 

#6- Two Dollars, One Wallet

6) Two Dollars, One Wallet

Written and Illustrated by: Third Grade Students of William McKinley Elementary School

Scholastic, Inc.

2012

32 pages

Picture Book

            I was attracted to this book because it was about currency, which I thought was neat, and it was written and illustrated by a class. It is about a dollar bill named George in the wallet of the school janitor. He is soon joined by a one-dollar coin named Sacagawea. They become friends and talk about their travels since being printed and stamped at the U.S. Mint. Towards the end of the story, the dollar bill is taken out of the wallet and the friends think they will be separated, but they are removed together and will go on many adventures as a pair.

            The illustrations in this book are done by the third grade students and are drawn in colored pencils and construction paper that has been cut and pasted. They are very colorful and depict the story very well. They take up only part of the page, but instead of white pages the entire book is navy blue. This is because the front cover is a depiction of the dollar bill and the coin in a pocket of a pair of blue jeans. It is neat that the idea carries throughout the book.

            I would recommend this book for any elementary class. It would be great to use in a study about the way money is made and currency. You could also incorporate it by adding it onto a history lesson about George Washington or Sacagawea. The way I would use it in a classroom is to introduce students to creating a book, so we could make our own class book. It won the “Kids Are Authors” Award. This book is a great read for many different reasons!