Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Viorst, J. Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1972.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this humorous book, Alexander learns that everyone has bad days, even in Australia. The story follows Alexander during his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day where he experiences everything from biting his lip to learning he has a cavity. In the end he learns that bad days are natural and will happen no matter where or who you are.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
I adored the humor that Judith Viorst used throughout her writing of this book. I think that students of all ages will connect to this book because of its universal theme. Everyone has experienced a day like Alexander’s and has learned the lesson that bad days happen to everyone. They are a part of life.

Ray Cruz’s illustrations show the emotion and happening of Alexander’s day perfectly. The lack of color allows the student to more easily insert themselves into the drawings and story. Cruz also does a great job complimenting Viorst’s humor with his art.  

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
 “ The perfect antidote to any adult that claims that childhood is one sweet, blissful, stress free ride of innocence and carefree days.” -The Library Journal Online

5. CONNECTIONS
While I believe that this book is great for all ages, I think it could be fun to use this book in a higher level, even middle school, to talk about or introduce the idea of theme within the text. Because of its humor, I feel like students of all grade levels would enjoy it.

A Birthday Basket for Tia by Pat Mora and Cecily Lang

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mora, Pat, and Cecily Lang. A Birthday Basket For Tía. Simon & Schuster, 1992.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
A Birthday Basket for Tia is a story about a young girl and her way of showing love for her great aunt. The story tells about the girl, Cecilia, and her great aunt’s relationship through a variety of items that Cecilia puts into her tia’s 90^th birthday basket. Each item that is placed into the basket has some special significance for the two. Finially, after much anticipation from Cecilia, her Tia receives the gifts and they celebrate their love and her birthday happily.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Pat Mora does a great job creating a character that is very believable and relatable. The story is very easy to follow and the language is very engaging. The most significant this to comment about the language is the use of both Spanish and English in this picture book. This aspect lends a lot to the cultural element of the book.

I believe that while this story is a great one for students or classrooms have students that share this culture, the story is well written and so relatable that all students will enjoy and relate to Cecilia and her perfect gift search.

Cecily Lang uses very vibrant colors that pair perfectly with the cultural element of the story. I also liked her use of specking the paint in the background because it added a very festive touch.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
"Vibrant, detailed cut-paper illustrations portray family warmth and individuality with verve and panache". -- School Library Journal

"Exemplifies the best of recent multicultural publishing". -- The Horn Book

5. CONNECTIONS
This picture book would be a great addition to any elementary classroom library, regardless of the cultures represented in the classroom.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Phillip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stead, Philip Christian, and Erin E. Stead. A Sick Day For Amos McGee. Roaring Brook, 2012.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
This is a very touching book about friendship and what it is to be a friend. The story follows an older gentleman, Amos McGee, during his daily job of visiting all of his friends at the Zoo. One day, Amos is too ill to visit his friends so they come to him.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Phillip Stead offers a very well written story about friendship. The story follows a pattern that is beneficial for many young readers. He writes in a way that is very touching and humorous. He uses language that is familiar to students but that, for some early readers, may be somewhat challenging.

I enjoy the inferences that Phillip Stead has woven into his writing. “… run races with the tortoise (who never ever lost)…” I also appreciated that as Stead introduces each of Amos’s “friends”, he includes and activity that the two of them do. This offers the opportunity of great discussion in the classroom.

The colors the Erin Stead includes are very soothing and soft. They are paired perfectly with the drawings and create a very calm environment for the story. She uses watercolor, sketching, texture, and color pencil to create a very appealing overall style.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
This book is a Caldecott Medal winner and winner of the New York Times Book Review “ Best Illustrated Children’s Book” Award

Book List review : “Each scene captures the drama of Amos and the creatures caring for each other..”

School Library Journal boasts: “If you want to give a child a book that will remain with them always (and lead to decades of folks growing up and desperately trying to relocate it with the children’s librarians of the future) this is the one that you want. Marvelous.”

5. CONNECTIONS
This book is a great one to use in a lesson in which you are explaining the mental process or connections that a good reader makes while reading because of the inner dialogue that the book inspires.