“You can see a million fireflies when you are camping.“

This would be a wonderful book to talk about camping or in a younger classroom setting up a dramatic play area, the illustrations are amazing and detailed to look at.

When you are camping by Anne Lee published in 2012. This story follows two sisters and her parents on a camping trip. She explains all the normal, mundane things you do while on a amping trip but how much she loves them. The illustrations are done by water color in a simple way, this creates a colorful fun world. When it is raining or there in water thats shown by the colors smearing which adds another element to the story.

“Let's be scared together. OK.“

This is a great story because students being fearful of something is often talked about with embarrassment. We all have fears and this highlights that as well as friends being there and facing those fears together.

I am (Not) Scared published in 2017, written by Anna Kang and illustrated by Christopher Weyant. This is a story of two friends about to ride a roller coaster. One expresses fear which they talk about then face together. Thought bubbles are used to add more pictures so we can understand the characters better. The two characters look and seem different at first but we see them have fun and relate to each other in the story

“...and he found that things were beginning to change.“

I enjoyed the time era that this story was based on. It's a funny thing to see a town full of prim and proper wild animals and suits and top hats. I think children would enjoy seeing this alternate universe and find it hilarious and intriguing

Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown published in 2013 . There are lots of intentional pieces of this story like the colors, verticals, and rectangles that differ from Mr. Tiger's bright orange color and shows how he needs change in his life. He becomes bored with the restraints of his sophisticated life and his actions create a domino effect changing life for him and his friends. Speech bubbles are used to emphasize characters words and feelings.

“lying as still as an otter floating in a stream.“

This story is a great bed time story or a story when you want the room to feel calm and cozy. The illustrations make you feel exactly like being tucked in bed.

Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue. This book was published in 2012. Caldecott Award Winner in 2013. This book is a bedtime book that inspires fellowship with natural world and bedtime. The illustrations are fabric which is a conscious choice as it relates to the bedtime story as well.

“The paper is soaked and I‘m half afraid and half hopeful.”

The words used in this book are very descriptive. The language used as well as the illustrations create lots of meaning and understanding and it makes this book special.

This book was published in 2021. Caldecott Award Winner. Newberry Honor. The Picture Book Award Winner for the Asian-American Assoc. This book is an adventurous book that starts in Ohio but takes an entire new journey through food and culture to relate to Asian-American culture.

“They are sloppy, ugly, and sometimes weird, but somehow still beautiful.“

This is an important story about having good and bad times, facing hardships but still pushing for what means the most to you. A story that is important for children to hear.

This book was published in 2016. This book follows the life and shows the rise of the young artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. It shows the relationship he had with his mother and the hardships he faced. The illustrations are done in a realistic way but also have a unique style to them, done by painting. They're almost like grids on each page.

“And in every life, blessed in the love.“

In a classroom, I think students would like looking at the images and sharing what relates to them. It is easier for kids to share something if its represented so they don't feel “weird“. Maybe a good book at the tart of the year as another informal get to know me.

In Every Life was published in 2023. The illustrations are to me what make this books so beautiful. This book talks about life experiences. The color that the illustrator used represents each quote. When they are talking about sadness they use dark colors, when they are talking about happy experiences they use light colors, and love is reds, pinks, and purples. Each page shows various experiences and you can spend time on each page

“I love the grass that grows in the in-between. It's moss, Mama says. It's velvet, I say.“

How this book could be used in the classroom- when talking about how a student's life is at home. Using this and discussing how your students live can give a teacher great insight into their student's lives in an informal way. Knowing what their home life is like, getting a better base layer of who each student is and what their experiences are can only make us more knowledgable on how to teach them in the best way.

This book was published in 2020. This story takes us through a day with a girl and her mother. It compares the girl's things to her mom's things, the girl notices that they're different. Their relationship is the main point of the book. These characters are relatable beyond the fact that they are a girl and her mom, any child-to-caretaker relationship can be compared to this. The colors used also have meaning and show how happy each character is.

“That's my name and it fits me just right! I am Alma, and I have a story to tell.“

This whole book can be used to teach students to love who they are and where they come from. This can be turned into several activities about about a child‘s family, heritage and identities. This could be done by show and tell, sharing how you got your name, making a new story about you're name and what each letter means.

Alma and How She Got Her Name is a story about a girl who journeys to understand and love her name. This book was published in 2018. The pictures in this book are done by pencil, there is a fair amount of detail but the pictures themself feel softy and homelike. At the start of the book Alma is ashamed of how long her name is and then as her dad is telling her the history behind each name, she becomes proud of it and that it means something.

“Her house smells of ceda chests, sugar cookies, and apple cider- a drink she will spoon for you from a cauldron.“

I think this story would be one i would want to put up on the smart board so students could take in the images because they matter in this story.

Published in 2023, Truth about Dragons is a story of a little boy led on a bed time story adventure my his mother. The art in this book was mesmerizing to look at. Each page had a short quote and there would sometimes be one large illustration while some had 3-4. It felt like each word i read was perfectly drawn out in a picture and represented the feelings of the words. When it was a happy quote, the page was full of warm, cozy images.

“But Rabbit means well. And he is my friend.“

There are large images which students love when I read in my classroom placement. There is also a page that is flipped when all the animals are on top of each other and having a different orientation even on one page brings engagement and curiosity.

Published in 2003, this is a funny story that has few words, but awesome illustrations that make the story great. Rabbit causes trouble but mouse is his friend and will stand behind him. There is a dark outline on the border of pages as well as the animals so it makes them look interesting and pop, almost like a comic.

“Joseph had a little coat. it got old and worn. So he made a vest out of it and danced at his nephew's wedding.“

Shows the creativity that the main character has. All of the small imagery is so fun to search through on each page.

Published in 1999. A story about turning old, used things into something new . I loved the way there was a cutout in pages so the old and worn item really did turn into the next item Jospeh made. There were also small images with details to look for on each page (letters, paintings, newspapers, etc).

“And it was good to be a little island. A part of the world and a world of its own.“

Blurb- Image of cat asking fish to explain how the little island is apart of the land then to have faith in what he doesn't know- a good lesson that sometimes we need to have trust.

Published in 1947. A wonderfully written book about faith and the connections that everything in natures has with one another. The illustrations in this story were bright and showed the island in a way that made you want to visit it! The reflections in the water are something that stood out to me