Traditional Tale - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a classic tale. This is an essential story for children as they are taken through this magical world filled with endless possibilities. Children can let their sugar-filled dreams fly as they read this story. 

This was one of my favorite stories when I was younger, as I remember being so captivated by the idea of this candy-filled land. The text is very descriptive which allows for children's imagination to wander to the unknown. The movie, too, is just as amazing, which children can watch and compare the two together. I rate this book four out of four stars!

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Author: Roald Dahl

Publisher: Puffin Books

Publication Date: 1964

ISBN: 0-14-240108-0

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Beginning Reader - A to Z

A to Z by Sandra Boynton is a great book to introduce children to reading as well as the alphabet. Boynton assigns each letter to a different animal doing some action, such as 'Hippos hiding' and 'Turkeys tripping.' Children will have so much fun reading this, and can even act out some of what these animals are doing!

Boynton did an amazing job of introducing the letters of the alphabet and the sounds accompanied with them. The illustrations are simple but still very captivating. I think that this is a great book to have for beginning readers. Because of this, I rate this book four out of four stars!

Title: A to Z

Author: Sandra Boynton

Publisher: Little Simon

Publication Date: 1984

ISBN: 0-671-49317-5

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Picture Book - The Mitten

Jan Brett's, The Mitten, is a beautiful picture book showing the wonderful wildlife and landscape of winter. As various animals stumble across this lost mitten, children reading the story can predict which animal will find it next as there are pictures along the border showing which animal is next. 

Overall, this is a great story that I am sure children would love to read during the winter year after year. The pictures throughout also lend to children being able to practice prediction within a story. However, a lot of the language within this book may be difficult for younger children, for example the word "jostled". Because of this, I would rate this book three stars out of four and would recommend it as a great book to be read aloud to students. 

Title: The Mitten

Author: Jan Brett

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Publication Date: 1989

ISBN: 0-399-23109-9

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Picture Book - There Are No Bears in This Bakery

This story is told from the point of view of a cat named Muffin. Muffin is keeping watch over the Little Bear Bakery one night. However, Muffin comes across an issue with keeping all of the sweets within the bakery safe. 

This book and the artwork within it was amazing! The story itself was fun and whimsical. Sarcone-Roach included a lot of text mimicking various animals and other noises, which would be a great theatrical element when reading this text aloud. However, some of this text may be difficult for some readers as there was a lot of language that may not be familiar to every reader, such as "barbershop." Because of this, I rate this book three stars out of four. 

Title: There Are No Bears in This Bakery

Author: Julia Sarcone-Roach

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: 2019

ISBN: 978-0-399-55665-4

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Picture Book - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

This classic story by Dr. Seuss uses vivid pictures and rhyming text to captivate readers. This book, as well as Dr. Seuss' others, opens a magical world of fantasy. This book, especially, does this extremely well. 

Dr. Seuss' stories have always been a favorite of mine to read as a child and even as an adult! This book is such a lighthearted read and is so enjoyable for children. All of the text throughout should be relatively easy for children to read and words that they are familiar with. I rate this book four out of four stars!

Title: One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Author: Dr. Seuss

Publisher: Random House 

Publication Date: 1957

ISBN: 978-0-394-80013-4

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Decodable Text - Nan and Pap

Nan and Pap is great decodable text to help children with the /n/ sound as well as CVC words. The simple text and illustrations will help with not distracting children with developing those key phonics skills. This is a great choice for a decodable text for younger children as they sound out these words. 

This book is great for what it is - a decodable text. There is no real plot for children to follow, and a majority of the words within the book allow for children to focus on building the skill of the /n/ sound and CVC words. This would be a great decodable text to have within a classroom for student to work on sounding out these words. Because of this, I rate this book four out of four stars. 

Title: Nan and Pap

Author: Veronica Angel

Publisher: Reading A-Z

Publication Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

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Picture Book - A Boy, A Dog and A Frog

This wordless picture follows the adventure of a boy, a dog, and a frog. Through pictures, the reader is introduced to a boy and his dog. When they spot a frog in a pond, how are they going to catch it?

This picture book is a great introduction to reading and story development for younger readers. The artwork is extremely captivating, as the illustrators finds ways to sparingly utilize color throughout the pictures to highlight certain elements. The story itself is also very playful and allows for children to utilize their imagination as they wonder how they are possibly going to catch this frog. Because of all of this, I rate this book four out of four stars. 

Title: a boy, a dog, and a frog

Author: Mercer Mayer

Publisher: Dial Books

Publication Date: June 2, 2003

ISBN: 9780803728806

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Picture Book - Have You Seen My Duckling?

This picture book follows a mother duck who has lost one of her ducklings. The pictures showcase her looking all over for the missing duckling with her remaining ducklings. Children can narrate the story utilizing the pictures how they see the story progressing. 

The artwork in this book was breathtaking, and the story being illustrated was simple enough for children to grapple. Because of this, I rated this story four out of four stars. This book is a great way to introduce reading to younger children in an engaging way. The progression of the story entails conflict and resolution, story progression, character development, and so much more. 

Title: Have You Seen My Duckling?

Author: Nancy Tafuri

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Publication Date: 1984

ISBN: 9780590443852 

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Board Book - Goodnight Moon

Goodnight Moon is a classic nighttime story. A little bunny is tucked away in his room as he says goodnight to everything in his room. This book is a calming story to read with colorful pictures and rhythmic text. 

I love this story, and this is why I rated it four out of four stars! I remember being read this as a child, and it was always a favorite of mine. The rhyming text is so calming for a child right before bedtime. The book itself, being a board book, is very sturdy and would certainly survive for years. 

Title: Goodnight Moon

Author: Margaret Wise Brown

Publisher: Harper & Row

Publication Date: 1975

ISBN: 0-06-443017-0

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Grocery Store Book - Police Officer Blaze!

Blaze and AJ from Nickelodeon's Blaze and the Monster Machines are on another adventure. The two are on patrol when there is an issue with a passing train. Children can read along to see how Blaze and AJ solve this issue, and also have fun with the stickers and game that come with the book.

I give this book one out of four stars. I have never seen the show that correlates with this book, and without knowing the show, there is no way to understand who the characters are. This book was recommended for 3-7 year olds, but many of the words in the book would be very difficult for younger children to read, such as 'caboose.' I can see how this book would be very attractive to younger children as it was colorful and had stickers and a corresponding game. If children knew the show and saw this in a grocery store, I can see why they would want to get this. However, I am not sure how different this book is from the show and if children would actually choose to read this over watching the show.

Title: Police Office Blaze!
Author: Mary Tillworth
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4940-3

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