Dogs and Cats

Bibliography
Jenkins, Steve. 2007. Dogs and Cats. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 9780618507672.

Plot Summary
A fact filled book about man’s favorite pets – dogs and cats.

Critical Analysis
Steve Jenkins's, Dogs and Cats, stands out with its unique design, content, and illustrations. It’s a flip over book; half book covers dog facts and the other half the readers can flip over to read about cat facts. The illustrations are cut and torn paper collages. According to the authors note, many of the papers were made from hand and they also came from various parts of the world like Egypt and India. Steve Jenkins design and writing style is very appealing to children. He explains how dog breeds are created, how they came to live with humans, how dogs communicate within their breed, and provides some really interesting facts about dogs like, why dogs chase balls, why do dogs eat grass etc. He uses an identical style of providing facts about cats so that readers still have the same continuity from one section to the other and also can compare and contrast facts about cats and dogs. While reading the dog section readers will find teasers at the bottom of the page about cat facts and vice versa that will make the readers curious and want to read more.

This is an excellent informational book that not only informs but will also amuse the young readers.

The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Suess

Bibliography
Krull, Katherine. 2004. The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Suess. Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. Decorative Illustrations by Dr. Suess. New York: Random House. ISBN: 0375922989.

Plot Summary
A biography on Ted Geisel, who is popular as children’s books author – Dr.Suess. The biography tells a story of young Geisel who was considered to be failure in school and college, but turned out to be a very good writer as an adult. The story tells how Ted Geisel explored his interest in books and animals and finally used it to be something that he loved doing – writing and drawing. The biography tells Dr. Suess story from his childhood until he was twenty two years old and a successful writer.

Critical Analysis
This book is an excellent picture book biography about one of children’s favorite author's. Children grow up reading some of Dr.Suess classic picture books and this is a perfect way to tell a story about the author. The front cover shows a plain looking boy with books in his hand and animals by his side. The front cover is intriguing enough to attract the young readers to the story of Dr. Suess. Katherine Krull has pointed out in the story was Ted Geisel was like any other normal boy whose parents had big dreams for him, but he has his own dreams. When children read biographies of famous people they expect them to be without flaws, but Ted Geisel had many flaws, was different from other kids, and was always shunned as a failure. The story shows that inspite of embarrassments and failure Ted Geisel never gave up on his dreams and grew up to be Dr. Suess, one of children’s most beloved authors. Children will have a new appreciation for Dr. Suess when they read what personal flaws and obstacles their hero had to overcome to become successful.

This book makes a great read aloud or an easy reader for young children. At the end the book also provides a short preview of Ted Geisel’s life after he was twenty-two until his death.

ZooBooks: Little Cats

Bibliography
Wexo, Bonnett John. 2007. Little Cats. Zoobooks, October. ISSN: 07379005.

Plot Summary
Zoobooks is a children’s magazine about various animals. This issue covers information about Little Cats. These are wild cats that scientist usually refer to as little because they can’t roar.

Critical Analysis
Zoobooks is a very informative magazine for animal lovers. The magazine has a very attractive cover page with a photobook like appearance. The magazine uses a blend of actual pictures and lively illustrations that makes the book very appealing. The magazine has very detailed information on the origin of little cats, the different kinds, and important facts. It’s interesting to read in this issue about little cats and how some cats are big in appearance and yet are categorized as little cats. The magazine has a few pages of activities that kids will enjoy to do.

Zoobooks magazine provides information that is accurate, amusing, enjoyable, and appealing to children.

Elizabeth I: The outcast who became England’s Queen

Bibliography
Adams, Simon. 2005. Elizabeth I: The outcast who became England’s Queen. Washington D.C.: National Geographic. ISBN: 078792236548.

Plot Summary
The biography of Elizabeth I from her birth, how she became queen, the glorious years during her reign, and her death.

Critical Analysis
This book is an informational biography on the life of Elizabeth I who was the Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth’s life and England’s royal family has always intrigued many people. Queen Elizabeth’s story is especially unique because she was a prisoner before she became Queen, she was also not married and consequently did not have a natural heir to the throne, yet she led the kingdom to one of its most glorious times in history. This book is perfect to quench the thirst of information seekers and young researchers. The book provides excellent pictures, facts, timelines, maps that will be very useful to children who are researching on England’s Queens or Queen Elizabeth. The book even has Queen Elizabeth I’s signature that children may find amusing and interesting. The book has lot of in-depth information and details so it is definitely not suitable as a read aloud, but is a great resource for research or just for information. The book is divided in four sections making it convenient for children to find exact information that they want to find. The book also provides a glossary of terms and a bibliography of resources at the end.