Hooked On Bookz

I've reviewed this book before about 2 years ago. Click here for it. This time round, I'm adding an activity to complete the entire reading/literacy session which I did with a new group of children age 4 - 6 years old. Read-aloud: Identify the rhyming words with the children, while going back and forth to help them remember what Freddie wished for and what Bessie Belle conjured up for him instead. It is also to get them into the flow of rhyming. Activity: Create your own post-reading activity. I just did a simple one by asking them again what Freddie wished for; why the fairy kept getting it wrong; what were the 3 rules for Freddie - is it important for us to do that too? and so forth. Art & literacy: Think of something you'd like to wish for when you see Bessie Belle and what she might conjure up if you didn't say it properly. Draw. Some interesting ones my kids came up with: 1) School - Tool 2) Baby shark - Mark on his face 3) Toy - toys...

Title/Author:    Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons / Eric Litwin (writer), James Dean (illustrator) Publisher: Harper Pages: 40 pages ISBN: 978-0-06-211058-9 Ages: 4 - 7 In a nutshell Pete the Cat wore his bright yellow new shirt which had four totally colorful, groovy buttons. But it fell off one by one! However, that didn't bother Pete at all. He said, buttons come buttons go, and kept on singing his song, until he was left with one last button - his belly button! :) What I liked EVERYTHING! It's such a simple, straight-forward story, yet my kids (4-5 year olds) in school enjoyed it immensely! They not only loved the story but also the bright, beautiful illustrations. I was quite surprised they loved the book. I guess that's how all children's books should be written - clear storyline, straight-forward & simple; basically KISS - (my definition: Keep It Simple & Straight-Forward) How I read/presented it 1) Get the children interested in ...

I'm a sucker for children's books; anything for ages 0 - 10; especially those written by Roald Dahl, Dr. Seuss, Julia Donaldson and Eric Carle. I normally pick books which are: * entertaining * simple but educational * has good vocab * well written and conceptualised * great illustrations! (for picture books) Recently, I came across this article which listed 10 children's books and I was flabbergasted. Were these books REALLY MEANT FOR CHILDREN??? I won't ever read these books to kids. Would you or allow your kids to? The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb Illustrations by Sanya Glisic First, the title itself turned me off. Suck-a-thumb, and the illustrations seemed to aim at giving children nightmares...Definitely not something I wanna read to my children... The ABC of Anger Ghastly, ghostly, gory...A HUMAN HEAD-SWALLOWING HEAD???! Is this Nightmare on Elm Street?? And check out its title...I dare not imagine what's in their ABCs Brave Mr....

Title/Author: Diary of a Wimpy Vampire: Prince of Dorkness/Tim Collins Publisher: Michael O' Mara Books Pages: 224 ISBN 13: 978-184-317-524-7 In a nutshell Nigel Mullet was transfored into a vampire at the awkward age of fifteen, and had remained this age for ever, and spent eternity struggling through a confusing, challenging adolescent phase. So yeah, this book is more suitable for kids aged 12 - 15. After more than 80 years of being single, he finally got a girlfriend, Chloe. All was fine until Chloe begged him to turn her into a vampire. It frustrated him and he had tried delaying her request as long as possible by coming up with all sorts of excuses. He then regretted it when Chloe started hanging out with his nemesis, Jason, who later became Chloe's boyfriend. With that, Nigel vowed to get revenge. But the more he discovered about Jason, the more confused he got. He was just as good as Nigel in sports. And once, he saw Jason and his family take out 4 larg...

Title/Author: The Gruffalo/Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler Publisher: Macmillan Pages: 28 ISBN 13: 978-0-333-71093-7 In a nutshell Walk into the deep dark wood, meet a quick-thinking mouse and discover what happens when he comes face to face with a ugly, hungry gruffalo. What I liked Ever since I took a liking to children's books, I'ver heard and read about Julia Donaldson and her very famous and well-loved 'The Gruffalo'. And I'm privileged and honoured to be given the chance to review some of her books, thanks to Odelia from Pansing :) I asked my students if they've read 'The Gruffalo' or have been read to, one of them looked at me quizically and asked, 'Is that the story about the clever mouse?' Thrilled that he was right, I said,'Yes! Did you like it?' 'I don't remember much, but I liked the mouse who was small yet smart!' That's what I loved about the story too :) It's fun to see how this little mouse alw...

Title/Author: Freddie and the Fairy/Julia Donaldson & Karen George Publisher: Macmillan Pages: 28 ISBN 13: 978-0-330-51118-6 In a nutshell Freedie meets Bessie-Belle, a fairy whom he rescued from a tree. In return, she offers to grant his every wish. But Bessie-Belle can't hear very well, causing Freddie's wishes come out all wrong... What I liked You can't go wrong with reading any children's books written by Julia Donaldson. This is a first collaboration between the queen of picture book text and a new talent in illustration, Karen George. Julia Donaldson said that "Karen has a warm, appealing and distinctive style that I think will complement the text of Freddie and the Fairy perfectly." And that was what made Karen the winner of the Bath Festival of Children's Literature . I loved everything about Freddie and the Fairy . Not just the simple, rhyming words and illustration, but also the lesson learnt from it. Freddie sort of blamed Bessie-Belle ...

Title/Author: Ish/Peter H. Reynolds Publisher: Walker Books Pages: 28 ISBN 13: 978-1-84428-296-8 In a nutshell To sum it up very simply, ish is about a boy named Ramon, who loved to draw, but was criticised and given harsh remarks by his brother, Leon. Ish is the sequel to The Dot . What I liked The first thing that grabbed my attention was the title, 'Ish'. My first reaction was, 'Ish'? As we know it, 'ish' means 'almost like it', or 'not exactly'. For example, when you see yellow that is not really yellow, you say 'yellow-ish'. In Malaysia, some of us use 'ish' to express 'I can't believe you did/said that'. So, instead of saying that, we say, 'Ish ish ish...' To find out what it meant in this story, I browsed the pages. Ahh...it's that 'ish' that is 'almost like it' and not having to be 'so perfect'. I believe there's a perfectionist in everyone of us; the tendency to be...

I came across these facts about Alice in Wonderland in one of the many versions of the book, and thought they were interesting. So I'd like to share them with you :) #1 The author, Lewis Carroll, whose real name is Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was very meticulous and had this habit of making lists and keeping records of everything that he did. He even kept records of all the letters that he wrote - a total of 98,721 letters, from January 1861 until his death in 1898! #2 Mock Turtle soup IS REAL ! It was a popular dish in Victorian times. It was made from parts of a calf. #3 Alice Liddell is the little girl who inspired this story. Read more here . Read a review of a historical fiction based on Alice Liddell's life (Alice I Have Been) here . #4 In the 1930s Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass , were banned from publication in China because the Chinese authorities objected to the animals in the story talking like humans. #5 Before it was called Alice'...

I've been keeping these pictures in my phone for awhile now. I'm uploading them here to share them with you :) These are some of my favourite buys in 2010. Why do I love them? 1) As you can see, most of them are classics :) 2) The beautiful pictures! The illustrations are so breathtaking they come alive in my mind. 3) The indescribable feelings they evoke when I turn the pages. (These are the things an e-book can't do!) So what do we have here: 1) Illustrated Tales from Shakespeare 2) The World of Pooh Collection 3) The Secret Garden 4) Life of Pi 5) Alice in Wonderland

Title/Author: It's a Book/Lane Smith Publisher: Roaring Brook Press No. of pages : 26 ISBN 13: 978-1-59643-606-0 In a nutshell With digital revolution carrying us forward, will our future generation recognise a book? In It's a Book , the jackass is a 'tech-freak' fella who couldn't recognise a book, and gets all curious when seeing the monkey holding one. He asks things like 'Can it text? Blog? Scroll? Wi-Fi? Tweet?' and annoyed the hell outta the monkey who he keeps telling the jackass 'It's a book' again and again. What I liked Two words. Sweet. Delightful. Arghhh...I must add another one. Funny! Another one. Wonderrrrful! In only 26 pages, it captured my heart. Loved the monkey and the jackass and oooh the little mouse! :D I not only loved the very, simple, straight-forward, funny story, but also the beautiful illustrations. It says so much, so simply! I loved how the little changes in the monkey's facial expression made so much differe...