This book I will Never Not Eat a Tomato written and illustrated by Lauren Child. I will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato is about a young girl named Lola who is a very picky fussy eater. She says that carrots are for rabbits and peas are too small and too green. One day after Lola professes everything that she wont eat, she ends the list saying that "I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato". Lola's sister tries to trick her one day and say that the orange things on the table are not carrots but orange twiglets and the peas are green drops from Greenland.

The illustrations of this book includes real photographs of the foods (peas, carrots, fish sticks, etc.) which are incorporated into the fun cartoon illustrations. The illustrations are very busy, expressive and full of color and textures which compliment the text.

My thought about this story is that it surely catch the attention of very picky eaters and I'm sure they would be able to relate to Lola. This is a story that I think young children will enjoy being read aloud  and especially at dinner time. This book may also help your own picky eater to try a different food that they refuse to eat otherwise.

Questions I would ask my students:
1. What vegetable is your favorite? and Why?
2. What vegetable would you never ever eat? and Why?
3. Is there a way that your parents got you to eat something that you didn't like?

Classroom activities:
1. Think of a creative way to make yourself eat a vegetable that you hate to eat.
2.  Take turns reading the book aloud to the members of your class.

Candlewick; Reprint edition (September 15, 2003)

This book is written by Marty Crump and illustrations by Steve Jenkins and Edel Rodriguez. This book is about  Charles Darwin's frogs who lives in Chile. The frog has a very distinctive flap of skin on the end of its nose and is a species in which males help bring their offspring to maturity. The female frogs lay the eggs and the males swallow the tadpoles and they further develop in the vocal sac and are burped into existence.

The illustrations are a combination of drawings and photographs and compliments the narrative very nicely. The book combined illustrations of a traditional collage format and regular photographs.

My thoughts about the book was that it was a very interesting book which teaches children about the frog which Charles Darwin discovered. Although, I am terrified of frogs and found my skin crawling at times it was quite interesting. I think this book would be wonderful for children who are fascinated with nature or frogs. This book would be good for adolescents to read from grades 3-10.

Questions i would ask the class? 1. What is it about this story that you were intrigued about the most?  and Why? 2. Do you think that this type of frog actually exist? If not why?

Classroom activities:
1. Draw and describe your own unique frog and tell us what makes your frog so different.
2. The class will take a field trip in the woods and find as many different species of frogs and collect them and see what make them different from the frog in the story.

published April 1 2013 by Boyds Mills Press 

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This book was written by Julia Donaldson and illustrations by Alex Scheffler is a wonderful book for children. This book is about a small snail who had always envisioned to sail on the seas. Well one day the giant well came to a rock and invited the snail to ride with him and that was a dream come true for the snail. The well one day was swimming to close to the shore and got beached. It was now left up to the small snail to figure out a way to help his friend the whale.


The flat cartoonish multimedia illustrations sets a perfect tone for the text. The rollicking language and bright colored pictures make it a perfect book to read aloud to young students. The illustrations are wonderful with very vibrant colors and detailed pictures.


My personal thoughts about the book is that it tells a wonderful story which teaches young children that you are never to small in this big world to make a difference. This story shows a wonderful friendship between a snail and a whale one who is large and the other is so small. I also think that this book will appeal to the younger audience because it has a lot of rhyming within the story.


I would ask the class the following questions such as: 1. How would you end the story if you had to write it and why? 2. Would you change the characters in the book to something else ? and why or why not? 3. Is that the way you thought that the story would end?


Classroom activities:
1. I would have the class to recreate the scene where the whale was beached using a shoebox, sand, rocks, and a cardboard, glue, markers and construction paper. The rocks would be uses for the water.
2.There are a lot of rhyming words in this story. Can you find the rhyming words in the story? Can you find other words in the story that rhyme?
3. Write your own story about two different creatures who go on an adventure with one another.


Puffin, Reprint edition (2006) The Snail and the Whale

Room on the Broom written by Julia Donaldson and illustrations by Axel Scheffler is a very fun book. This book is about a witch and her cat who happily fly's over the rivers, forest and mountains while riding on her broomstick. Well one day a strong wind blows it away from her along with her hat, bow and wand. The witches items are retrieved by several animals within the forest such as; a dog, a bird and a frog. All three of the animals inquire about a ride from the witch on her broom and when they all get on it breaks.


The illustrations in this book are impeccable with its eye catching bright colors. The characters in the book appear to be very cartoonish with distinct features. Certain drawings in the book have very detailed lines. The illustrations are clever and charming and the simple repetitive rhymes are perfect for young listeners.
 
I think this book would be a joy to read to your students as well as your own child, especially reading it aloud. This book highlights friendship, cooperation, politeness and generosity between the animals.


I would ask the students these following questions. 1. How would you have ended the story? Do you think that the dragon makes the book scary or more interesting? What other animals would you have liked to see added in the story?


Classroom activities:
1. Create a word search with different items and characters from the book and have the students to find the words.
2. Have the students to make the characters out of socks and put on a puppet show.




Puffin; Reprint edition (August 25, 2003)