Laurels children's lit reviews

      This book is another biography that goes into family life at the White House. It is based on Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice, who was a rebellious and witty young lady. The story goes through Alice's childhood, showing her to be extremely smart and witty, and going about life in a very delightful and fun loving way. Children will be able to  connect to this text by relating to the childlike mischief that is portrayed throughout. The story gives a factual look into the family dynamic and what it was like for Alice to be the daughter of a president.     The author brings the characters to life, telling the true story of how Alice came to be one of her fathers trusted advisors. The  illustrations are a perfect support for the text, giving the information visual representation, but also adding a very overall humorous tone to the story. This style of writing it perfect for young readers. It has very engaging and simple language...

      This piece of non-fiction text is a biography about Maria Merian and her scientific findings as a young girl. In a time period where insects were thought to be evil creatures born from the mud, Maria thought differently and studied the unique process of caterpillars becoming "summer birds", which we call butterflies.      This story gives a factual account of how Maria Merian was able to disprove a long believed theory that insects were evil and the result of a process that was called  spontaneous generation. The illustrations throughout the book enhance the story, they give a bright and colorful depiction of the process Maria was observing, and how she would use her own art work to document her findings. The illustrations also give more insight to the time period  that this was taking place. The clothing for example that can be seen in the art work makes it easier for students to understand that this was a long time ago,...

      This is an excellent example of a piece of historical fiction for young readers! It goes into the story if a girl who moves out of her ghetto in Poland during the harsh times of the Holocaust and works to try to save others by sneaking in food to those still residing in Poland! Students will experience history in a gentle and informative narrative.     The setting in this book is very vivid and gives a good sense of what was happening during this time period in this specific place. The events are accurate and appropriate for the target age range and the time period. The cultural information reflects that of the people of the past, and it is a good quality depiction of this time in history.      Motivational Activities: You could have students write poetry responses to questions about the text and theme. You could set up a readers theater activity, have students read a collection of books similar to thi...

      Because of Winn-Dixie takes readers through an emotional and thrilling story of a young girl, Opal, and her newly found best friend Winn-Dixie. Winn-Dixie is a dog, who came close to calling the pound home before Opal saved him and made him her own.      This book is a great example of  contemporary realistic fiction. The characters and plot seems super  relatable and real, it gives something for children to connect to. It is very engaging and the setting and plot all support the events in the story. It all flows very natural, and the intended age group would be able to follow along and comprehend the story. Nothing in this book seems like it is too far fetched or too out of the ordinary. It is a very simple yet engaging story that children of all ages would love.  Motivational Activities: With students, using this book, you could do a class "bottle tree" where they decorate and create their own bottles to hang on a bulletin b...

     Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears is a pourquoi story based on a West African folktale. The story goes that a mosquito was annoying an iguana one morning, which caused a whole cycle of misfortune to this mythical forest filled with talking animals. Because of the mosquitos foolishness, one of the mothers owls babies died, which caused the mother owl to not wake the sun as she did every morning, so day could not come. It ends with a meeting of all animals. After a long back and forth debate, the mosquito is painted as the villain of the story which is enough for the mother owl to wake the sun and bring day back to the forest. The mosquito on the other hand, heard the whole thing and also had a very guilty conscious, causing her to go around in people's ears asking if everyone is mad at her.     This is a story that brings to life the beliefs and customs of West African culture. It builds this imaginary world to tell the story of how this natural...

    In this Native American legend, readers will learn of the Cherokee tale of how berries were founded, and discover a lesson of respect and love for nature. A man and woman live happily together in peace, until one day the man speaks in an angry tone to the woman, they argue, and she leaves him. The man becomes regretful of the way he acted towards her, and ventures out to catch her in her path with help from the sun. On the path appears berries of sorts, including strawberries! The woman stops to taste one, she had never seen such a fruit before, and the sweetness of the berry reminds her of the happiness she felt with her husband and she wants to share the fruit with him.      When deciding whether this legend is a quality piece of folklore, I took into account the rich and natural language used. The rhythm of the story had a great flow to it. The text was able to  encapsulate what we would imagine the story to be told if done so orally. ...