Caps For Sale
Author: Esphyr Slobodkina
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copyright: 1940
Pages: 40
Reading Level: Ages 3-7
Genre: Folk Tales
Rating: ***

Summary:
There once was a peddler, but unlike other peddlers he carried his wares on his head verse his back. He sold caps. Brown ones, and blue ones, and red ones, gray ones, and his own checkered cap at the very bottom. One day he was walking and calling through town “fifty cents a cap” but no one wanted caps. So he sat down next to a tree and took a little nap. When he woke up he found that he only had his checkered cap left on his head. He looked everywhere for the caps, when he finally look up. What did he see? A bunch of monkeys in the tree, and each wearing a cap! He didn’t know what to do. He told them to give the caps back but they just made noises back at him. He stomped his feet, so they stomped theirs, he yelled, and they yelled. Well finally he gave up and threw his cap on the ground. Suddenly a bunch of caps soared to the ground. So the peddler picked them up, stacked them on his head and headed back toward town, calling for “caps, fifty cents a cap”.

Who would benefit from reading this?
Most kids would enjoy this book; I suppose if one child had a particular fondness for caps they might especially enjoy it.

Potential problems/conflicts:
I don’t see any problems in this book. None.

My reaction:
I remember my grandma reading this book to me. The best part out it is the pictures I think. They aren’t the bright colors that you think of when you think of an awesome picture book, they are more neutral tones, but they still pop. Kids can learn their colors and to count the number of caps he has. A classic book that has been around for generations

The Gingerbread Man
Author: Jim Aylesworth
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright: 1998
Pages: 30
Reading Level: 3.8
Genre: Fairytale/Fiction
Rating: ****

Summary:
The gingerbread man, as the story goes there was a little old woman and a little old man they decided to make a gingerbread man. Well they carved him out and put him in the oven, and when they could smell his sweet scent they opened up the oven and OUT JUMPED THE GINGERBREAD MAN! And he ran! He ran as fast as he could, and with each person he passed the taunted them. He ran past eh butcher, the cow, the sow and after each one he would yell “Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man!” As they shouted for him to come back he would yell back “No! No! I won’t come back I’d rather run than be your snack!” And this continued until he came to the clever fox, who acted hard of hearing which brought the gingerbread man closer, then caught him off guard and snatched him up and ate him! And that ended the tale of the gingerbread man.

Who would benefit from reading this?
All kids should know this story along with the traditional fairy tales I think. It rhymes and has a sing song type rhythm to the story so all kids will enjoy having it read to them.

Potential problems/conflicts:
The gingerbread man gets eaten in the end, which might frighten some kids.

My reaction:
I love this story. I am always captivated by the rhythm of the story. I want to chant right along with the gingerbread man when he yells back to all the people. This story also has some very good pictures. The little gingerbread man’s face has a lot of personality as do the other characters. Great art and a classic tale that is fun to hear over and over again! There is also a recipe on the back so you can make your own gingerbread man...an added bonus no doubt!

Sideways Stories From Wayside School
Author: Louis Sachar
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright: 1985
Pages: 118
Reading Level: 3
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Rating: *****

Summary:
Wayside school is all sorts of crazy. Not only was the school built up instead of as one level, so it is thirty stories high, but the teachers on the thirtieth floor are a little crazy as are the kids. Their first teacher Mrs. Gorf used to turn everyone into apples for everything from sneezing, to asking a question. But one day as she was about to turn them all into apples one of them held up a mirror and she turned herself into an apple and another teacher ate her by accident. Each chapter is than about a student in the class from Joe who didn’t know how to count, Deedee to the fact that there is no Mrs. Zarves because there is not nineteenth story. It talks about each kid: Joe, Sharie, Todd, Bebe, Calvin, Myron, Maurecia, Paul, Dana, Jason, Rondi, Sammy, Deedee, D.J., John, Leslie, Kathy, Ron, The three Erics, Allison, Dameon, Jenny, Terrence, Joy, Nancy, Stephen and finally Louis. Each student has a unique thing about them and something that will make you laugh. There is now way to summarize all of them up into one page, so you will just have to read the book yourself!


Who would benefit from reading this?
This is a good book for kids who can get bored with the same story line and a plot that takes a while to get to. This book is almost like 30 mini stories, instead of just one.

Potential problems/conflicts:
The kids can be harsh at time to each other and the teachers can be stern but there is nothing too outrageous…well outrageous in the sense that would cause a problem.

My reaction:
I loved this book as a kid and I love it now. It is just plain hilarious. From the first page till the last I am laughing. I still to this day can’t get over Mrs. Gorf turning them all into apples and then she gets eaten. It is one of the most entertaining starts to a book! A fun read and great for kids because each chapter is only a couple pages and can be picked up and started again each night without having to remember much about what you read last night. A very fun and funny book no doubt!

Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures:
The African Safari Discovery
Author: Josh Greenhut
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 91
Reading Level: 4
Genre: Adventure
Rating: *****

Summary:
Stanley is flat. Smooched by his bulletin board he is now only a half inch thick. Hearing about a skull found in Africa that is flat Stanley, his Father, and his younger brother Arthur. On the plane Stanley rode with the baggage because he is so thin, and it was cheaper. Once in Africa they found a young boy and girl whose father was a pilot and flew them to the site. On the way there though, he got a call that there was a brush fire and they had to parachute out. With only two parachutes and three people, Stanley made his way down one his own. Though he tooth picked into the grass, he was fine and no damage was done. His flat factor had saved his life. On their way to the dig site the saw giraffes, zebras, elephants, a lion and more. With their feet getting tired they came upon a canoe. The nice natives they met let them borrow it to finish their journey. The thing was, the boys were fighting over the paddle and it got lost in the river, so they had to row with Stanley the rest of the way. When they made it to the dig site at nightfall they found that the skull wasn’t human like Stanley had hoped, it was a fish! Stanley was disappointed but his family said they loved him just the way he was and wouldn’t change a thing. Then they headed back home, Stanley and Arthur reenacting their safari adventures.

Who would benefit from reading this?
This is a fun book for kids! It is hilarious and a quick and not too difficult read as well. So fun….a great book for boys. As well as those kids who don’t quite fit in.

Potential problems/conflicts:
Kids may worry about becoming flat from something falling on them, and think that people can be mailed places like Stanley has been.

My reaction:
I had never heard of the Flat Stanley books but they are hilarious!! I think all kids should read them. This is a book I can see boys that don’t think reading is fun getting into. There are several very comical parts, and yet a good moral at the end of the story. I would very much recommend the Flat Stanley books!

Just Going to The Dentist
Author: Mercer Mayer
Publisher: Scholastic
Copyright: 1990
Pages: 23
Reading Level: 1.8
Genre: Picture Book
Rating: *****

Summary:
Critter is going to the dentist. He didn’t want to go, but his mother took him anyways. When they got there they had to wait, so Critter go to play with toys and read some books and he saw a girl with braces that he thought looked very cool. So far it wasn’t too bad. Then the nurse took him to the back and the machine looked like a spaceship but the nurse let him SPIT! That was cool, not scary at all. Then they took some xrays and the dentist looked in his mouth with a mirror on a stick. When he was all done he told Critter he had a cavity but that they could fix it right there. So Critter wouldn’t feel the drilling though the dentist had to give him a shot…so Critter closed his eyes and…he hardly felt a thing! His mouth was numb, and the tools were loud but he didn’t feel a thing. On his way out he even got a free sucker. Going to the dentist wasn’t so bad after all, only thing was it made him tired.

Who would benefit from reading this?
Kids who are afraid of the dentist! This book explains everything that happens at the dentist and takes the scary factor out of it.

Potential problems/conflicts:
The only problem I see is that well the book is kind of a lie, it does hurt to get a shot and you do feel, but kids don’t need to know that:)

My reaction:
I love the Critter books! I don’t know any kid that doesn’t. They are very informative and make new experiences so much less frightening for kids. If you haven’t read these books you should! There is nothing more to say than they are fun. They also have fun pictures!

Amelia Bedelia’s Masterpiece
Author: Herman Parish
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 64
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Rating: ***

Summary:
Amelia Bedelia came to the art museum to help Mrs. Rogers. She was more trouble than help though it appeared to the art director. She almost touched a piece of art, and she completely cleaned up a room of modern art because she thought it was messy. She learned what reproductions were and even bought a replication bust…which is a statue of the head, neck, and shoulders. On her way through the museum she put her replication in place of the original bust, so that she could clean it and went on her way. On her way through the museum she noticed an art thief. She spotted him and told a painter in the museum. Along with this she also discovered Drew, a school boy who she let pain his art on one of the bare walls. Well she saved the day by getting the painting back, discovering a new painter. But little did everyone know she also caught the thief. But she let him go if he promised do never do it again, and he did and when the new part of the museum opened up with Drew’s work, a painting of her was delivered by you know who.

Who would benefit from reading this?
Amelia Bedelia series is fun for most kids. It has all sorts of different adventures. I would gear this more towards elementary aged kids.

Potential problems/conflicts:
This book was kind of complicated for a child to follow. It also made stealing seem okay and with no consequences if you didn’t do it again.

My reaction:
I loved to read this series when I was a kid. This book I wasn’t the biggest fan of but others are fun to read. They are fairly fast reads, but long enough for older kids. A good series, but there are other books in the series that I was more impressed with than this one.

Chocolate Fever
Author: Robert Kimmel Smith
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Copyright: 1972
Pages: 93
Reading Level: 4.5
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Rating: ****

Summary:
Henry Green loves chocolate. He eats it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between. Instead of syrup on his pancakes he has chocolate and chocolate on his fries and so on. Well one morning like all other Henry was eating his breakfast of chocolate and getting ready for school, grabbed some kisses on the way out the door and headed to school but on the way there he noticed he felt funny. He felt funny all day, and as he was sitting in class he noticed little brown spots on his arms that weren’t there in the morning. He showed his teacher and she finally took him to Mrs. Kimmelfarber’s, the school nurse, when she saw more brown spots growing before her eyes. Well the spots continued to show up, and then they grew, and then they started making a popping sound! So the school nurse rushed Henry to the ER. Once there Dr. Fargo and many other doctors checked Henry out. They poked the spots and looked at them, and when Dr. Fargo got the lab results back do you know what it was….chocolate! The bumps and boils were full of chocolate. Dr. Fargo called it chocolate fever. Well Henry couldn’t take the poking and looks anymore so he ran, he ran right out of that hospital until he passed a school yard and headed right to the freeway where Mac a nice truck driver picked him up. He told Mac about everything and Mac talked some sense into him. They decided they would head home once Mac made his last stop. But before they could make it back they were hijacked! The men thought that Mac was carrying furs, but all he had were chocolates in his big truck. So the men took them to their hideout, but as they were planning on what to do with the chocolates a pack of dogs came in a swarmed them…all of them after Henry, licking him all over. This then brought the local police, and the thieves were hauled off to jail. Then Mac and Henry went to make their last delivery. Here they met Mr. Cane, the candy shop owner. Once he saw Henry he asked him about his spots and his love for chocolate. Then he told him a story about a boy who had the same thing happen! That boy was Mr. Cane. He told Henry the cure, the opposite of chocolate, so vanilla…and to promise to only eat chocolate ever now and then. It was a pleasure to have chocolate and one should not indulge in it all the time. Henry then went back home, had a good night’s rest and the next morning instead of chocolate on his pancake he had…cinnamon. He wondered if you could ever get cinnamon fever.

Who would benefit from reading this?
This book is just a fun book for all kids. It would also be a great book for kids that are very picky eaters, to encourage them to try new things. Fun for all ages.

Potential problems/conflicts:
Though Mac the truck driver was nice, it is not a good idea for kids to think it is safe for just anyone to pick them up off the side of the road.

My reaction:
I thought this book was hilarious! I had no idea what it was about before I read it but I loved it. All the characters add to the book so well and you can’t help but feel for Henry. A hilarious book, I plan on reading this to my kids no doubt! Read this book…it is a quick and fun read for kids. I would be a fun read aloud book.