Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst (Genre: Picture Book)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Viorst, Judith. 1972. ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. Ill. by Ray Cruz. New York, NY: Atheneum. ISBN 0689300727

PLOT SUMMARY
The story is about a young boy Alexander who was having a very bad day where nothing went right. From the beginning of the day and until the night, everything was going wrong. The day gets worse and worse and he wished he could run away to Australia. The story shows how young kids get upset, feel hurt and disappointed at small things that happen to them. Children can easily relate to this story where everything goes wrong and things become annoying for them.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
We all have had a day when nothing went right and that’s why we can relate to this book. Humorously written, this story helps children to experience those days that are not so perfect. Alexander had a bad start to his day. Small stressors throughout the day made him very upset and he wanted to run away to Australia.
The illustrations were detailed and the expressions on the face of the characters were carefully captured by the illustrator. The illustrations clearly showed when Alexander was grumpy, upset, hurt or annoyed.
I wish the story could have ended on a positive note and something could have been done towards the end of the story that had the ability to turn the day around.

AWARDS WON
ALA Notable Book
George G. Stone Center Recognition of Merit
Georgia Children’s Book Award
Reading Rainbow Book

CONNECTIONS
* A discussion could be opened with children to discuss about their feeling when they are angry.
*Children could also be encouraged to think about the solution to the things that make them angry and disappointed.
* This book could be used to teach children to put their anger in words.
*Related books
• Bang. Molly. 1999. WHEN SOPHIE GETS ANGRY, REALLY, REALLY ANGRY. ISBN 0439233267
• Everitt, Betsy. 1995. MEAN SOUP. ISBN 0152002278
• Metzger. Steve. 1998. DINOFOURS: I' M HAVING A BAD DAY. ISBN 9780590035514
*Children could be asked to illustrate a kind of facial expression like anger, happiness, grumpiness, and annoyance.

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems (Genre: Picture Book)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Willems, Mo. 2008. Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. Walkers Books. ISBN: 9781423102991

PLOT SUMMARY
This is a story of two girls named Trixie and Sonja. Trixie is excited to takes her one-of –a- kind Knuffle bunny to school where she finds out that Sonja has the same bunny. The girls argue over the bunnies until the teacher takes them away. She returns them at the end of the day. Trixie realizes in the middle of the night that the bunny she has been snuggled up with is not hers. Their dads meet and the bunnies are swapped in the middle of the night.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is an enjoyable story with very expressive illustrations. The story of two girls and their look alike bunnies is illustrated very skillfully. The book has actual photographs set as background and illustrated characters are used very effectively with them. The combination of the photographs and the cartoon characters are very appealing and will be loved by pre-schoolers and kindergarteners.
The illustrations are brightly colored. Willems has carefully depicted the expressions and the wide range of emotions on the faces of the characters in the illustrations.
I think that the book has a good story to start with but the solution to the problem that arises in the story is not correctly responded to. The bunnies had been exchanged but the swapping of bunnies in the middle of the night was not the appropriate action that should have been taken. I feel that this book should be used to encourage children to think about better solutions when such situations occur.

AWARDS WON
ALA Notable Book
Caldecott Honor Book
Kirkus Review Best Book of the Year
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
School Library Journal Starred Review: "This manners lesson is a lively romp, from Rabbit’s ’Doo Dee Doo’ song and a catchy banjo tune to the fun puns and wordplays…Keller’s colorful illustrations have been animated, bringing each animal to life...A witty and wonderful book has been made into an even more engaging film."
Booklist: "This appealing story of friendship will attract a wide audience...Another sterling adaptation of a beloved tale."

CONNECTIONS
*This is a good book to read to pre-school and kindergarten kids.
*This story could be used to encourage children to think about a different ending to the story.
*This book could also be used to enhance the creativity of young kids by helping them combine photos and illustrations to create artwork.
*A show and tell story time could be organized with the kids where they could bring an item that they are/had been attached to.

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (Genre: Picture Book)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Henkes, Kevin. 2004. KITTEN'S FIRST FULL MOON. Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0060588284

PLOT SUMMARY
A hungry young kitten thinks that a full moon in the sky is a bowl of milk. She chases the bowl, tumbles down the stairs and even climbs up the tree and gets all wet when she jumps into the reflection of the moon in water. She gets discouraged but finally gets a bowl of milk waiting for her at the porch.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a very cute story of a kitten that has a message attached to it. The kitten who tumbles, chases, climbs and jumps teaches a child to explore, imagine and discover his surrounding. The book is lyrical and simple with a very happy ending to it but I did feel that the kitten appeared to be very helpless in the entire story and suffered a lot to get a bowl of milk for her.
Henkes’s illustrations are beautiful. The black, white and gray are the only colors used which help the reader to focus on the kitten and the moon only. I did feel that some illustrations were meant for older children
This is a wonderful story with large and bold illustrations that children can connect with. It also sparks the imagination of young children.

AWARDS WON
ALA Notable Children’s Book
Bulletin Blue Ribbon (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)
Caldecott Award
Charlotte Zolotow Award
Starred Review in School Library Journal : “An irresistible offering from the multifaceted Henkes.”

CONNECTIONS
*This book could be read by parents, caregivers, teachers and librarians to young children. It contains a very cute and simple story with beautiful illustrations.
*Related Books
Henkes, Kevin. 2007.A GOOD DAY. Greenwillow Books. ISBN 9780061140181
Rohmann, Eric. 2002. MY FRIEND RABBIT. Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 1596436638
*This book could be read aloud and the children could be encouraged to think what they feel would happen next. They could also be asked to share their experience about their efforts to achieve something.
*Children could also be encouraged to draw a colorful picture of any part of the story to illustrate how they felt about the story.