Fantasy

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Author: Roald Dahl

Publisher: Puffin

Date: 7 Feb. 2013

ISBN-10: 0141346450

ISBN-13: 978-0141346458

Charlie and his family are very poor and they live in a small house together. He does get a chocolate bar from Willy Wonka’s factory. Wonka opens his factory up to five children who get the golden ticket. He buys two bars and neither of them has tickets and then he finds money on the ground and buys another chocolate bar. This one is the winner. He takes his grandfather to go with him and the place is magical. There is a chocolate river. There are little oompa loompas walking around everywhere. There is one room that is edible. Charlie wins at the end and Willy Wonka shares his factory with Charlie and Charlie’s family will never starve again.

I love this book and I was excited to see the movie when it came out. I actually liked the book better because I kind of was able to make up the fantasies in my mind. This book is full of fantasy, mystery and magic. It is very exciting to read. I give it a 10 out of 10.

 

Alice in Wonderland

Author: Lewis Carroll

Publisher: Templar; Slp edition

Date: September 22, 2009

ISBN-10: 0763645680

ISBN-13: 978-0763645687

Alice falls asleep and wanders through wonderland following a white rabbit. She meets a bunch of talking animals. There is a caterpillar in the book that helps Alice through wonderland. There is also a smiling cat that appears throughout the book. She then sees the Queen of Hearts. It kind of teaches children how to grow up in a difficult world.

I like this book because it is a classic. The movie is also a classic. There is so much in it and so much to fantasize about. The pictures are really nice and fun to look at. The entire book is about a big fantasy world and it is just fun to read. I give it a 9 out of 10.  

The Wizard of Oz

Author: L. Frank Baum

Illustrator: Charles Santore

ISBN: 0-517-69506-5

Publisher: Random House Value Publishing, Inc. (1991)

Dorothy lives in Kansas with her aunt and her dog Toto. Their house is swept up into a cyclone and it landed in OZ. The house lands on the wicked witch of the east. The good witch gives Dorothy silver shoes that belong to the wicked witch of the east. Dorothy sets out for Emerald City in hopes of returning home. She meets a lion and a scarecrow along the way. She endures many obstacles as well. The wizard wants them to kill the wicked witch of the west. Dorothy dumps a bucket of water on her and then she melts. She taps her shoes three times and then returns home to Kansas.

This is my absolute favorite book. My mom read this to me on a daily basis. I always wanted to be Dorothy. I just loved the whole story because it was so imaginative. So much happened in it that would never happen in real life. I was Dorothy for Halloween multiple times. I just love the pictures because they are so surreal. The adventure that Dorothy went on was so unreal. It always intrigued me. I give this book a 10 out of 10.

Realistic Fiction

Shiloh

By: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; 1 edition

Publish Date: (Sept. 1 2000)

ISBN-10: 0689835825

ISBN-13: 978-0689835827

This is one of my favorite books and I used to love watching this movie. This book is about a boy who falls in love with a dog named Shiloh. This dog belongs to a man named Judd Travers. Travers has a lot of hunting dogs and does not really treat them right. He also drinks. In the end, Marty does chores for Travers and he gives him some money and buys Shiloh from Judd Travers.

This book is realistic fiction because the story has a realistic plot and the characters could be real but they aren’t. I just think this is a great book. I absolutely love animals especially dogs. I have two dogs myself. I just think this story is so cute. Marty really falls in love with Shiloh and does everything in his power to get him. This is just a great book.

Author: Jane Yolen

Illustrator: John Schoenherr

Publisher: Philomel Books; 4th Printing edition

Publish Date: October 23, 1987

ISBN-10: 0399214577

ISBN-13: 978-0399214578

This book is about a father and his daughter that go out at nighttime to look for owls. They are looking around the farm in which they live. There is a deer, a fox and a raccoon that are hiding in the shadows. The father calls for the owls. Finally an owl comes out and sits on the branch right next to them and the girl gets to see an owl.

I think this is a great story. I just love the illustrations. The snow looks like velvet as it lays on the farm where the little girl and her father live. As they walk through the soft pillows of snow, it is so silent. They do not really talk that much. It just makes me think of a cold night when it starts to snow and then all of a sudden you wake up and look outside and the ground is covered in a soft blanket of snow. I love when that happens. I think this is a good realistic fiction book because the events in this book really could happen. There are no talking animals and the characters could be real. I give it a 10 out of 10.

 Author: Louis Sachar

ISBN-13:9780440414803

Publisher:Random House Children's Books

Publication date:05/28/2000

Stanley Yelnats is convicted of stealing even though he did not do it. He then chooses to go to Camp Green Lake instead of going to jail. This camp is in the middle of the desert and the boys there have to dig holes that are five feet deep in a dried up lake. He becomes friends with a boy named Zero. He learns that his great grandfather is cursed by Madame Zeroni.

This is a great book and a great movie. I remember reading this book when I was younger and absolutely loving it. I just thought it was so exciting and different. When the movie came out, I was even more excited. I think this is a good realistic fiction book because the events in the book can happen in real life. The characters could also be real people. I just think this is an interesting fun book that everyone should read. I give it a 10 out of 10.

Traditional Tales

Cinderella

Author: Marcia Brown

Publisher: Aladdin; 2 edition

Publish Date:  (April 1, 1997)

ISBN-10: 0689814747

ISBN-13: 978-0689814747

This is the classic fairytale of Cinderella. This was always my favorite Disney movie to watch. I used to watch it everyday. This book is about how a girl has to serve her step mother and two step sisters. She dresses in rags and does not have a lot. She is always doing chores. She goes to a ball with the help of the fairy god mother and meets a prince. The prince finds her after leaving her glass slipper behind and they get married. She forgives her step sisters and gives them kindness.


I just love this version of Cinderella. There are so many version of Cinderella and there are also a bunch of movies. The pictures in this are beautiful and nicely done. I like this version because it tells the original story and doesn't add anything in. I love looking at the pictures and reading this amazing fairytale. I give this book a 10 out of 10.

Patricia Seibert

Publisher: Brighter Child, 2001

ISBN-10: 1577683676

ISBN-13: 978-1577683674

I automatically thought of The Three Little Pigs when given the genre for this week.  This is an absolute classic that everyone has probably read. One pig built a house out of straw. The second built a house out of sticks and the third built a house out of bricks. A hungry wolf tried to get the pigs by blowing their houses down. They hid in the third house made out of bricks and the wolf could not get them.

This is just a classic tale and that is why I chose it. Every child has either heard of it or read it themselves. I think that it is just a fun tale for kids to read.  This would never really happen in real life but it is fun to dream. It also teaches a good lesson because it shows that you should just do things right the first time instead of slacking. The first two pigs did not try as hard as the third pig. They should have just done a good job the first time like the third pig. This is definitely one of my favorites and I give it a 9 out of 10.

 

Tortoise and the Hare

Author: Jerry Pinkney

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; First Edition

Date: October 1, 2013

ISBN-10: 0316183563

ISBN-13: 978-0316183567

The hare bragged that he was the fastest out of everyone. The tortoise wanted to challenge him to prove him wrong. The hare was overly confident and decided to nap while running the race. Eventually the tortoise beats the hare.

Everyone knows this story. It is a fable. It teaches children a lesson to never be lazy and always try. Children should always be humble and never boast too much about their talents. It teaches a very good lesson and it is a classic and that it why I chose is as one as my books. I give it a 10 out of 10.