Chicken Little

Chicken Little told the story of a little chicken who had an acorn fall on her head. She thought that the sky was falling so she went to each of her friends to tell them the news. All of her friends went with her to tell the king this terrible news. On the way there, they ran into a fox that tried to trick them into going into his den so he could eat them. One of Chicken Little’s friends realized this and they ran away. Finally they got to the king, to only be told that Chicken Little was wrong. He showed them the acorn he found on her head and told them that the sky was not falling. Everyone was relieved and lived happily ever after.  

I chose to read Chicken Little because it was one of the featured stories on the main screen. I was quite disappointed with this story. It was extremely short and not very engaging for students to read or be read to. This story came in a few ways. You could read it by yourself or have it read to you. I think these eBooks could help ELL and ESL students work on their fluency. It can give them someone to listen to and most of the words are very basic which would help their confidence to grow.

Chicken Little

Author: Amy Kraft

Illustrator: Violeta Dabija

www.speakaboos.com

EBook 3 

The Haunted Party

In www.speakaboos.com a student can choose from many different genres that they would like to hear a story from. They include: fairytales, nursery rhymes, scary stories, adventure stories, sport stories, food stories, sing along song stories, animal stories, ABC’s and 123 stories, and things that go stories. Children can even chose from some of their favorite characters from these stories to read them another story. They even have a dragon next to what looks to be a television screen showing new stories and featured stories that go along with holidays, etc. This story was one from scary stories. It would be good for younger elementary students, like kindergarteners and first graders. In this eBook, it tells the story of different ghosts, goblins, ghouls, witches, etc. going up in numbers (and then back down) and what they are doing at this haunted party. This eBook has repetition and rhymes throughout the entire story.

I really liked this eBook. It did a good job of including different writing crafts, like rhyming and repetition. Also, I liked how it was very diverse. There is a part in the story that shows ten children trick or treating and it does a wonderful job of showing diversity. The graphics in this eBook are much better than the last. If I were to teach younger elementary students, I would love to use this eBook in my class. I would like for my students to be able to use eBooks as an option in my future classroom library. It is important for students to be able to learn how to read from a computer or iPad screen. I could use eBooks and using the computer/iPad as a reward system for students. If they read five books, they can earn the privilege to going onto the computer or iPad to read an eBook. 

The Haunted Party

www.speakaboos.com

EBook 2

The Little Mermaid

This eBook told the story of The Little Mermaid with a twist. I listened to this eBook from the website: Speakaboos.com. Never having seen an eBook, I wanted to choose a story that I am very familiar with. Some of the story held the same lines as The Little Mermaid, the book, and the movie. I was a little disappointed though when the rest of the story was not very similar to any of other Little Mermaid stories that I have heard before. The mermaid was taken care of by her grandmother and was allowed to go to the surface when she was fifteen years old. She was supposed to die once the prince had decided to marry another princess but instead the Earth fairies saved her life because of her true selflessness to the prince. The little mermaid became a mermaid again and lived with her father, sisters, and grandmother in true happiness.

I really don’t know how I felt about this eBook. In my opinion, I like how the eBooks are engaging and appealing to children. The words are on the screen and light up when the narrator or character say that word. But there are some things that I did not like. I did not like how the story was changed from the original Little Mermaid. Also, I did not like how there were misspellings and grammar errors throughout the story. The graphics were not very good, in my opinion, either. As a future teacher, if I were to use eBooks in my classroom, I would want to review them first to see if there are appropriate and free of any grammatical errors. Otherwise, I think using eBook every once in a while is good for students. 

The Little Mermaid 

www.speakaboos.com 
EBook 1

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow

This book holds a collection of poems together that describe life in a meadow. There are poems that tell the story of each animal that lives in a meadow. Some describe the plants, flowers, sun, or rain. There are even some poems that explain the life cycle or how some animals interact with one another. I really enjoyed the poems but the illustrations are a little overwhelming at times. One of the best features about this text is that in this book there are over five different kinds of poems: shape poems, ballads, haikus, rhyming poems, etc.

This book was not one of my most favorite poetry picture books. I did really enjoy the poems, but the illustrations are distracting. This book would definitely have to be used with upper elementary students because there are some words in the book that would be hard for younger students to understand. There is even a glossary in the back of the book that I had to use to understand what some of the poems were talking about. I would use this picture book when future students are learning about different types of poetry because this book does do a nice job at showcasing them. Students could even come up with their own after seeing the poems in this book.

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow

Author: Joyce Sidman

Illustrator: Beth Krommes

Year Published: 2006 

Follow, Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems

In this book, classic fairytales are told with a new twist. When reading this book, the page is split in half. On one side, it reads a poem and on the other side it shows the same poem but as if you were reading it reversed (bottom to top). Each of these poems are told from a new perspective when they are reversed. For example, there is a poem named “Ready, Set, Go!.” This poem is a rendition of the story the Hare and the Tortoise. One side of the page tells the story of the rabbit and the other tells the story from the tortoise, using the same exact words. The illustrations even go along with every story perfectly!

I fell in love with this book and the collection of poems inside. Younger elementary students would love to hear the stories inside and the words are switched around to tell the same story from a different point of view. If I were to use this book for fourth and fifth grades, I would want students to work in partners to create their own reverso. Before reading this picture book of poems, I had never known reverso poems existed. This is something that I liked about the book. It introduced poems in a new light for students. They are not traditional rhyming poems but instead they look very different. These poems are very creative and unique to the world of poetry. But the crafts of writing it takes to create these poems are something magical. The thought behind each of these poems help students to use higher levels of thinking and look at poetry in a new light. This collection of poems is truly a great picture book and one that I will have in my classroom! I also want to look at the book: Mirror, Mirror. It is a companion book to this one.

Follow, Follow: A Book of Reverso Poems

Author: Marilyn Singer

Illustrator: Josee Masse

Year Published: 2013

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems

This book was a collection of poems that explored the animals of the forests and the seasons. These entertaining poems would certainly be a delight for any students. In this collection of poems, the animals come off as being very quirky and talk about things they think or dream about.

I definitely think this book would be a hit with students of all ages. Poetry is a big part of school now, so I feel that either reading this book to students or keeping it in a classroom library is a great option. Younger elementary students would love to have been read this book. It would give them an opportunity for their imagination to soar. Older elementary students could analyze these poems and look at their features. Students can look at the rhyming scheme, the stanzas, verses, etc. Upper elementary students will even be able to appreciate the poems more because they will understand some of the jokes that the animals make throughout the poems. They will see one of the purposes of poems which is to entertain. Students will love this book and it will be a good poetry book to have in my future classroom.

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk

Author: Deborah Ruddell

Illustrator: Joan Rankin

Year Published: 2009 

Inside Out and Back Again

Inside Out & Back Again is a book of poems that is told by a young girl named Ha. Ha is a ten year old girl who is grew up in Saigon in Vietnam but had to leave because the Vietnam War was affecting her town. The family was forced to flee and set sail on a ship to America. Her father is still missing but yet the family gathers the courage to move to another world to keep them safe and allow them to continue having opportunities. The family faces many struggles with their move like, language barriers and culture shock. This is a fantastic story about a girl and her family dealing with enormous changes but yet learning how to survive. 

This story would be great for upper elementary students, middle school student, or even high school aged students. Many students would be able to connect with this story, especially students who have moved from another country or even another state. Also students would be able to connect with the hard times the family faces, which are similar to challenges that families face. I would want my students to become educated in the Vietnamese culture before reading this book. There were many cultural ideas and traditions that I was unfamiliar with when reading this book. I think I would have been able to understand and connect better with the book if I understood some of the terms. Also I would use this book to help students develop a better understanding of poetry. Students can learn many things from this book and I definitely want to have it in my classroom one day.

Inside Out and Back Again

Author: Thanhha Lai

Year Published: 2011