Bad Bye, Good Bye

Author: Deborah Underwood
Publication Date: 2014
Type of Book: Realistic Fiction Picture Book

This picture book tells the story of a family that is moving from one place to another. They have two children, a boy and a girl. The children are sad and don't want to move. They had to say goodbye to their house and their neighbors. You see their journey to their new home and what they see along the way. When they get to their new home you see everything that is now new to the the family. In the end you see that the little boy made friends with the neighbor next door and he realizes that moving maybe wasn't so bad after all.

I personally was not a fan of this story. I didn't like how it was written using incomplete sentences that contained two or three words. These words were all very easy and must be geared towards beginning readers. I have always been told that the best way to teach students to read is in context. This book to me doesn't use the text to create a story. Instead the text provides fragments of information that the reader has to piece together to create the story. I would have liked it better if the text was an actual story instead of just words describing what is on each page.

I would recommend this story to children who are in kindergarten or first grade and just learning how to read. This story uses very basic and simple words that describe the illustrations. This book would be too simple for students any older than first grade. The author also doesn't include proper punctuation such as periods, so students shouldn't use this text to help them learn about proper sentence structure.

Image References:
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Bye-Good-Deborah-Underwood/dp/0547928521/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443583823&sr=1-1&keywords=bad+bye%2C+good+bye

Even Aliens Need Snacks

Author: Matthew McElligott
Publication Date: 2012
Type of Book: Science Fiction Picture Book

This picture book tells the story of a little boy who loves to cook. The only problem is that his creations are a little unique. His sister always tells him that no one would ever eat the things he cooks. So he sets up a snack stand and waits for people to come try his treats. When no one comes he decides to head inside and go to bed. Later that night he sees something outside of his window. Aliens have decided to make a stop at his snack stand before continuing their journey. The aliens all enjoy the different treats the boy makes for them. In the end the boy creates Galactic Pudding using ingredients from all the other recipes he made. None of the aliens like the pudding and the only one who eats it is his sister.

This science fiction picture book is a cute read. I thought that the drawings of the aliens were very creative. I also liked how the treats the boy made for them corresponded to how they were drawn. The illustrations of the aliens capture the readers eye because their colors stand out against the plain colored background.

I would recommend this story as a read aloud for students in any grade level. Some of the words may be too hard for younger students to read independently, but if it is used for a read aloud the whole class could enjoy the story. The teacher could use this book to introduce the genre of science fiction to the class. Students could get ideas from the book to help them create their own science fiction story.

Image References:
http://www.amazon.com/Even-Aliens-Snacks-Matthew-McElligott/dp/0802736521/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443582833&sr=1-1&keywords=even+aliens+need+snacks

Baloney (Henry P.)

Author: Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Publication Date: 2005
Type of Book: Science Fiction Picture Book

This picture book tells the story of an alien named Henry P. Baloney. Henry loves to tell wise tales especially to his teacher. When he is late to school again his teacher says that he better have a very good excuse this time. Henry then goes off on a tangent about this crazy story that happened to him causing him to be late. In the end the teacher said that his story wasn't very believable, but he lucked out since the assignment for the day is to create a tall tale.

The coolest part of this book is that is uses words from different languages around the world. When reading the story you can guess what the different words mean but sometimes you just don't know. To help readers the author provided a word decoder in the back of the book. This story did a good job in incorporating science fiction and teaching students about the literary genre tall tales. The story was also written in a way that is fun for readers. Words and pictures move all around the pages and the font is in different sizes. Some of the words that aren't english are in a different color. I thought that overall this was a very cute story that students would find very entertaining to read.

I would recommend this book to upper elementary school students because the author incorporated words from different languages. Students in lower elementary school would have difficulty comprehending the story and would struggle with decoding some of the words. Teachers could use this book to have students practice using context clues to help with their reading. On the pages that contain words from the different languages students can try to see if they can decode the words using clues from the text. At the end they can use the decoder in the back of the book to check how well they did. Teachers can also use this as an instructional tool for teaching about tall tales and students can create their own tall tale after reading the book.

Image References:
http://www.amazon.com/Baloney-Henry-P-Jon-Scieszka/dp/0142404306

Rules

Author: Cynthia Lord
Publication Date: 2008
Type of Book: Award Winning Novel

Rules tells the story about a girl named Catherine who deals with the difficulty of not really knowing where she fits in. Catherine feels torn between two different worlds that in her mind don’t mix. She has a brother with Autism so she has that world, where she takes care of him and has to handle his quirks that she often times finds annoying. Her other world is where she wishes to be a normal girl who goes to school, has friends and doesn’t have to worry about what things her brother is going to do next that will embarrass her. Through this story you see Catherine befriend a boy from the same occupational therapy office that David goes too. Her new friend has a handicap and is bound to a wheelchair and only communicates through picture cards. Catherine deals with the pressure of wanting to fit in and not caring what other people think. In the end you finally see Catherine realize that "normal" is just a word and what other people think isn’t always true. Sometimes have to forget the rules and just dance.

I really enjoyed reading this story. It was one of those stories where I couldn’t believe how quickly I got through it. The chapters flowed very well together and I wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen next in the life of Catherine. The author did a good job in making the characters personable and interesting to read about. The story line felt very real and was easy to connect to. I think that everyone during their life deals with the issue of being afraid to do or say something because of what others might think. In the end you have to decide what’s really important to you and just go for it.

I would recommend this story to upper elementary age students and up. This story had a great message and does a wonderful job with educating readers about living with disabilities in a way that everyone can understand.  I think that this book would help those students who may not understand a lot about living with disabilities. This book would be especially helpful for students to read if they’re in an inclusion classroom.

Image References 

http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2015/04/12/review-rules-by-cynthia-lord/

Pool

Author: JiHyeon Lee 

Publication Date: 2013

Type of Book: Wordless Picture Book 

This picture book told the story of a young boy who goes to the town pool. He is all ready to go swimming when a swarm of townspeople come barging into the pool. Soon the pool is filled from one end to the other with people of all shapes and sizes. The little boy uses the small section that isn't filled to go down into the water away from the chaos. Under the water he meets a little girl and together they have a wonderful time exploring the bottom of the pool. They see all different types of mystical creatures, some large and some small. When it is time to get out of the pool the townspeople are all sad and don't want to leave but the two children are content because they had experienced something wonderful. They even took a shell as a souvenir. 

I really loved how the illustrations were drawn using only colored pencil. The colors stood out really well against the simple baby blue background of the water. I liked how this story showed just how large a children's imagination can be. This little boy could have looked at the unfortunate situation of the pool being overcrowded and walked away. Instead the little boy found a way to escape the crowd and enjoy the time he had in the pool. The creatures they ran into while swimming were also very unique and creative. 

I would recommend this story to children of any grade level. There is a lot that could be done with this story. Children could do a writing or art project about a time they had an adventure. They could also work on a writing assignment where they could pretend to be marine biologist and write about the different creatures from the book and tell readers all about them. This could also just be used as a fun read aloud with the class. 

Image References

http://thispicturebooklife.com/pool-by-jihyeon-lee-pool-floats/

Unspoken

Author: Henry Cole
Publication Date: 2012
Type of Book: Wordless Picture Book

This wordless picture book tells the story of a young girl who lives during the time of slavery. She lives and works on her families farm. She is spooked one day when she sees someone in the stacks of corn stalks in the barn. She doesn't tell anyone that she saw something but she keeps going back to get a better look. During dinner she stashes some of the food in a napkin and brings it to the barn and leaves it outside of the cornstalks in hopes that the person hiding would eat it. One day she is listening in to the adults in the room talking about an escaped slave. The little girl knows that the person hiding in her families barn is the slave but she doesn't turn them in. When she goes back out to the barn later that night she finds a doll outside of the cornstalks were she was leaving food for the stranger each night and knows that they have moved to another hiding place.

The story told in this picture book was very interesting. I was personally surprised that the little girl didn't tell her family that she thought someone was living in their barn. I would have been so scared if I saw someone that I would have screamed. The girl is so kind and keeps bringing the stranger food because she knows that they must be hungry. I was also surprised that the little girl didn't turn the slave in for the reward. I felt that in the end since the little girl never turned the slave in, the reward she received was the doll given to her by the slave. This was a perfectly good reward for the young girl. I also really loved the illustrations in the story. The pictures all looked like they were sketched using a pencil. They were so detailed yet very simple all at the same time. It wasn't overwhelming looking at the images but they did a fantastic job in telling the story.

I would recommend this story to anyone learning about the underground railroad or slavery. This book doesn't tell you what to think because it is wordless, so students really have an opportunity to use what they know about this time to help interpret the book. This book should definitely be looked at more than once because there are so many conclusions you can come to each time you read it. I didn't even make the connection the first time that this little girl was participating in the underground railroad. Even though this is mentioned on the cover page, I didn't even think about it while reading the story the first time around.

Image References
http://www.amazon.com/Unspoken-Story-From-Underground-Railroad/dp/0545399971

BlueBird

Author: Bob Staake
Publication Date: 2013
Type of Book: Wordless Picture Book

This story is about a young boy who is very lonely. He is bullied by boys at school and doesn't have any friends. One day he notices this little bluebird that had been following him. The boy and the bluebird became friends and had many fun adventures. This story ends tragically when the bluebird is killed by the bullies. The boy is then lifted up into the sky by birds of all different colors so he can bring his friend to heaven.

This was a very powerful picture book but do NOT read it unless you want to be depressed for the rest of the day. When I first started reading this story I was thinking how sad it was because the boy had no friends and he was being bullied at school. Then this little bluebird came around and befriended the little boy. They had so much fun together and I was so happy for the little boy. Then thats when everything went downhill. The boy and the bird ran into the bullies and they killed the bird when they threw a stick and it hit the bird. I did not expect this to happen! I was shocked and so sad because I couldn't believe the bird was actually dead. Then it became a little more uplifting when birds of all different colors came and carried the boy up to the sky, so the he could bring his friend to heaven. This book was very intense for a picture book so I would make sure the audience you read it to is mature enough to handle the topics brought up.

Since this is a wordless picture book I would use recommend this book  for small groups. Students could work in their groups to interpret the book and use a graphic organizer if necessary. Once they finish the story the whole class could get together and discuss what the different groups thought the story was about. They can also discuss why they came to the conclusions they did. This book can be used for any grade level but if it is used in lower elementary school the teacher should make sure their students will be okay handling the topic of death.

Image References
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15799165-bluebird

The Ride

Author: Kitty Griffin
Publication Date: 2010
Type of Book: Historical Fiction Picture Book

This historical fiction book tells the story about the legend of Betsy Dowdy. Betsy lived during the time of the Revolution. When word got out that the redcoats were coming to Great Bridge to take supplies, Betsy knew she had to do something. The only person who could stop them was General Skinner and his militia but his camp was very far away. Betsy took the initiative to go tell General Skinner the news herself even though the ride was very treacherous. Once Betsy made it to General Skinner's camp she warned him of the redcoats coming and he prepared to fight. In the end the colonial soldiers won defeating the British troops.

My favorite part of this picture book was the illustrations. The images were drawn in way that resembled water colors. Each page had images that were very bright and colorful. The pictures were very descriptive which is helpful for readers who are struggling with the text. One aspect of the book that made it more challenging was the choice of words. A lot of the vocabulary was specific to the time period and horse back riding. This made it challenging to understand some parts of the text because I didn't know what all of the words meant. Overall I really liked the message behind the story which was, there is always something you can do to help.

I would recommend this story to upper elementary school students. As I previously mentioned some of the vocabulary words were challenging, so younger students wouldn't be able to make sense of the text on their own. Sine there are a lot of tricky words the teacher could write down words that the students didn't know during the read aloud. Then at the end of the story the students could work on figuring out the definitions of the unknown words. The teacher could also use this story to introduce students to legends since it is based on the famous legend of Betsy Dowdy.

Image References
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ride-Legend-Betsy-Dowdy/dp/1416928162

Lillian's Right To Vote

Author: Jonah Winter & Shane W. Evans
Publication Date: 2015
Type of Book: Historical Fiction Picture Book

This book is about an African American woman named Lillian. Lillian has lived for a very long time and during those years she has seen the struggle African Americans have faced, especially when it comes to voting. Lillian reminisces about the struggles faced by African Americans during this time and those brave individuals who pledged to make a difference. The story ends with Lillian finally getting to vote as a full fledge American citizen.

This story provided readers with a lot of information about the struggle African Americans faced regarding the right to vote. The authors packed a lot of important information into the pages of this book. I wasn't the biggest fan of the illustrations. It was an interesting type of art that didn't really appeal to me. I am a bigger fan of crisp images. I did however like how some of the information presented in the story was repeated more than once. This way readers would hear it again and this would help them remember it. It was interesting how the story was written in a timeline format, but it went back and forth between the past and present. The story had so much information on each page that it was exhausting at some points, but this was helpful in showing the tiring struggle African Americans felt on the road to being able to vote.

I would recommend this story to students in upper elementary school and up. There is just a lot of information in this story that students who are younger wouldn't understand. Before students can read this book and truly understand it they have to have strong reading skills. What could help students understand the information in this story is to create a timeline while reading. This visual could help students see how long it took for everyone to have the right to vote.

Image References:
http://www.amazon.com/Lillians-Right-Vote-Celebration-Voting/dp/0385390289

Henry's Freedom Box

Author: Ellen Levine
Publication Date: 2007
Type of Book: Historical Fiction Picture Book

Henry's Freedom Box is a historical fiction picture book about a little boy who grew up as a slave. When he was just a young boy he was sold to another master and separated from his mother. Later in his life he met a women who he eventually married. They had three children together and were fortunate enough to live together even though they had different masters. One day Henry received the horrible news that his wife and children had been sold. Henry lost everything that mattered to him and decided he couldn't live as a salve anymore. With the help of a white doctor they crafted a plan to help Henry escape slavery for good. They packed up Henry in a box with a shipping address of Philadelphia. After a long journey Henry arrived in Philadelphia and was a free man.

The most distinct quality of this book is the illustrations. The people are all drawn using crosshatching. I had never seen illustrations like this before. The illustrations also did a good job in portraying the sadness felt by the characters. This story really showed readers what life was like for someone brought up in slavery. My heart felt so heavy for Henry and his family. They couldn't help that they were African American, yet they were punished for it anyways. Their lives weren't their own and they were in constant fear of being separated and sold.

I would recommend this book for students of any age. This is a wonderful text to teach about slavery and the Underground Railroad. The text may be too challenging for younger elementary school students  to read on their own, so that is why a read aloud would be best. Even though the words are complex the message can be understood as long as the teacher provides background information and time to ask and discuss questions. In upper elementary school the students can read this on their own or in groups and use it to support their learning about this time period.

Image References
http://www.amazon.com/Henrys-Freedom-Box-Underground-Railroad/dp/043977733X

Bud, Not Buddy

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Publication Date: 2002
Type of Book: Historical Fiction Novel

Bud, Not Buddy is a novel about a young boy named Bud. Bud is alone in the world with no family to call his own. His only possessions are the memorabilia of his mother that he carries around with him in his suitcase. Since Bud's mother died when he was 6 years old, he has been taking care of himself and living in and out of homes for children with no family. Bud is determined to find his father and thinks he knows just who it is. After a long tiresome journey to see his father, Bud and the rest of the people he meets at his final destination unravel a crazy truth. Bud's mother always told him that when one door closes another door opens. In the end of the story, Bud is very excited to see what this new open door will hold for him.

This story was not my favorite book I've read but it also wasn't the worst. As I was reading I felt so horrible for Bud because of his sad living situation. It breaks my heart to think that some children lived like that and that they still do today. I did like that the story had a happy ending and all of the questions you had along the way were finally answered. The text was interesting in some parts because it was written in slang terms. It was helpful that in the end of the book the author included an afterword that explained more about the story. It was neat how pictures were included as well. While reading you develop images in your mind of what the characters look like, so it is interesting to see how your mental images compare to the real thing.

I would recommend this book to upper elementary school students as a book the whole class reads. Since the story takes place in history many students may have a lot of questions. What would be helpful is that students either read chapters on their own or with groups and then come together to discuss what they read. This would provide students with an opportunity to discuss and further their understanding of the text.

Image References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud,_Not_Buddy

The Lightning Thief

Author: Rick Riordan
Publication Date: 2005
Type of Book: Series Novel

The Lightning Thief  is the first book in a five part book series called Percy Jackson & the Olympians. It was about a young boy named Percy Jackson who is always getting in trouble wherever he goes. Being a student with dyslexia and ADD has always been a challenge for Percy but he soon realizes that those traits will end up saving his life soon enough. To his surprise he finds out that his father isn't who he thought he was. Percy is the son of the Greek God Poseidon. When a war is about to break out between the Greek Gods, Poseidon, Zeus an Hades, Percy agrees to go on a quest to save western civilization as the world knows it.

When I first got this book from the library to read I'm not going to lie I wasn't that thrilled. It looked like a book that was aimed more towards a boy audience and I was afraid I would lose interest quickly. I also didn't know much about the book or the series it was a part of before I started reading. Once I began reading the story I was pleasantly surprised and how good it was. I didn't want to stop reading and I got through it so fast I couldn't even believe it. I would read the book every night before bed and it turned into my favorite part of the day. I couldn't wait to just sit in my bed and read about what was going to happen next to Percy and his friends. I now understand the popularity surrounding this book and the whole series. I definitely want to continue reading the series and I would recommend this book to students and teachers who are looking for a captivating read. I loved how the book found a creative way to incorporate Greek Mythology into the story. I enjoyed learning more about Greek Mythology while reading and I feel that this book would be a fantastic addition to a unit about Greek Mythology.

I would recommend this book to students in upper elementary school and up. The material in the book is a little deep especially when it gets into the Greek Mythology. Students should have strong reading skills before starting this book, so they can focus their attention on everything going on within the story.

Image References
http://www.hypable.com/percy-jackson-lightning-thief-new-cover/

The Retired Kid

Author: Jon Agee
Publication Date: 2008
Type of Book: Picture Book

The Retired Kid is a fantastic picture book about a little boy named Brian who is exhausted from being a kid. He has to go to school, go to sport practices, go to violin lessons and do a million other things. Brian is fed up and decides he wants to retire from being a kid. His parents throw him a retirement party and off he goes to Florida to live at the Happy Sunset Retirement Community. There he meets some really great people and has a lot of fun doing things he didn't have time to do when he was being a kid. All of those activities were great but there were also other things that he didn't like about being at the retirement community, like having to go to the doctors once a week for a check up. After awhile Brian was feeling down and one of the members at the retirement community told him that it always helps to think back to the good old days. Remembering all of the good things about being a kid helped Brian realize that he didn't want to be retired anymore. He missed being a kid and wanted to go back home.

I absolutely loved this picture book! The story line was adorable and something that everyone can relate to. Sometimes I feel like I would like to retire and just do fun things everyday. The illustrations were also a perfect fit for the story because they were drawn in a way that looks like a kid drew them. I also liked the moral of the story which was, not everything is always as great as it seems. Brian thought that retirement would be way better than being a kid. In the beginning he had a lot of fun but then he soon realized that maybe it wasn't as great as he had imagined. I think this happens a lot to us in life. We always want what we don't have and then when we get it we realize that what we had before maybe wasn't so bad after all.

I would recommend this book to students of all ages. Students in lower elementary school may not be able to read it themselves because of the complexity of the text. It would be better for the teacher to read it aloud to the entire class, so students can focus on the meaning of the story instead of only focusing on figuring out the words. This book can be used as a fun read aloud or it can be used for different lessons. One lesson it could be used for, is memories and reflecting on one's own life.

Image References
http://www.amazon.com/The-Retired-Kid-Jon-Agee/dp/B001Q3M5QM

Just in Case

Author: Judith Viorst
Publication Date: 2006
Type of Book: Picture Book

Just in Case is about a little boy named Charlie. Charles is always prepared for anything that could happen. He comes up with a plan for just about any situation that he could think of and most of the situations are very unrealistic. Charlie feels that it is always better to be prepared just in case. The story goes through the different situations that Charlie may encounter and how he has prepared for them. The story ends with Charlie being surprised by his friends for his birthday and he is not prepared. He learns that even though he likes to be prepared and ready for situations, sometimes it is okay if you aren't.

I thought that this book was written in a way that shows just how creative children can be. Throughout this book I liked reading about all of the different situations Charlie thought he would experience and the unique ways he prepared for them. I thought that the various scenarios did a good job of incorporating humor into the story. Most of the situations that Charlie prepared for were very silly and ones that children would find funny. I also really liked how the author didn't just use one font for the whole story. Different words throughout the book were written smaller or larger or in a completely different font. It helped bring the writing to life and make it more animated as you read it aloud. One thing that was different about this book was the message. There were really two messages hidden in this story. The big message is that it is okay not to be prepared all of the time and that you can't always be ready for everything. The second message that you discover on the last page was that it is okay to be yourself. Charlie was a person who liked to be prepared and ready for different things life could throw at him. The author made it a point to emphasize the importance of having a balance. It is okay that Charlie was a very prepared person but it is also important for him to know that you can't always be prepared. This sends a really positive message to both children and adults. It reminds us that you should always embrace and love who you're, but also be open to the idea that things may not always go how you want or planned and that it is okay.

I would recommend this book for parents and teachers to read to students in middle to upper elementary school. The lesson presented is a little too complex for students in lower elementary school and they may not be able to connect to it. I would still recommend it being used as a read aloud or used in a way that afterwards the class can have discussions about the book and together discuss the meaning.

Image References:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/just-case-1#cart/cleanup

Ugly Pie

Author: Lisa Wheeler
Publication Year: 2010
Type of Book: Picture Book

Ugly Pie is about a bear who wakes up one day craving some pie. Not just any pie though, he wants ugly pie. As the Ol' Bear is out on a walk he stops at his neighbors houses after he smells something delicious coming from inside. Hoping that they would be cooking up some ugly pie he goes and asks what smells so good. The bear finds himself disappointed after each visit because he has yet to find himself some ugly pie. Even though his neighbors didn't have any ugly pie they gave him the ugliest thing they had. Along the way he collected sour green apples, wrinkled red raisins, and bumpy brown walnuts. The bear was sad that after his walk he still didn't have any ugly pie to treat himself to. He then had the idea to use all of the ingredients he collected along the way to make his own ugly pie. The ugly pie smelled so good that each of his neighbors decided to go to his house to see what he was cooking. Once the ugly pie was finished cooking the bear got to finally enjoy his ugly pie with the company of some great neighbors.

I thought that this was a really cute book. I really liked how the author incorporated rhymes into the story. The bear would chant about ugly pie throughout the book and the chants were very creative and catchy. Another part of the story that I thought was unique was that at the end of the book there was a recipe for ugly pie. As someone who likes to cook this was a great bonus to the story. I would love to try making ugly pie. If I had a class that I read this book to it would be fun for the whole class to make ugly pie together. Even if we couldn't make an actual pie together as a class, students could make a recipe for their own ugly pie and then draw it. This could even be tied into a lesson about different genres of writing such a recipes and how to books. The class could then pull together all of their ugly pie recipes into one cook book. The illustrations in the story were very interesting and almost looked like water colors. They weren't crips and clear images like some illustrations in books are. The images were all blended and and soft looking.

I would recommend this book for teachers to use as a read aloud or a book for parents to read to their children. Young children would like the story line but the words are too challenging for their reading level.
Image References
http://spiralmontessorimama.blogspot.com/2010/10/ugly-pie.html

The Trouble With Wishes

Author: Diane Stanley
Publication Year: 2007
Type of Book: Picture Book

The Trouble With Wishes is about a Greek sculptor named Pyg. Pyg uses stone to create a beautiful goddess that he ends up falling in love with. Pyg loves the goddess so much that he wishes she could be real so they could be together. To his surprise his goddess does in fact come to life, only it isn't what he expected. Through this story you see Pyg realize why you have to be careful what you wish for because you never know what will happen. Pyg eventually learns his lesson and discovers what it truly means to be a good companion.

One thing that makes this story unique is that it is based on a famous Greek myth. It was interesting seeing a unique twist on traditional Greek mythology used in a way that children and adults of all ages can enjoy. It was very helpful that in the end of the book the author included the original story that this picture book was based off of. It allowed the reader to compare the two stories and learn more about where the idea for this book came from. The illustrations are another thing that made this story stand out. In each illustration you could get a clear sense of the emotions each character felt. If I were to just look at the images and not read any of the words I would be able to get a good sense of what the story was about. When reading the story I was annoyed with Pyg because he didn't realize Jane liked him and wanted to spend time with him. Instead he was too focused on his stone goddess, who treated him poorly even though he did everything for her. Even when the goddess continued to be rude to Pyg he still treated her well. Pyg bought her new clothes and even took her to get her hair done after it got ruined from the pond. I just wanted him to say no and walk away. The only reason Pyg ended up leaving the goddess was because she ditched him at the princes palace and he had no choice. Even though he wasn't sad about leaving the goddess in the end, I feel like he would have stayed with her forever if she hadn't told him to leave. While Pyg was off with his goddess, I was not expecting Jane to create a dog out of the stone to keep her company. It just goes to prove that dogs are the best companions and that humans should learn a thing or two from them. Jane reminded me of a dog in the way that she was very loving, kind and a good companion to Pyg even when he didn't deserve it. I was happy in the end that Pyg smartened up and came home to Jane, where she was waiting with their new companion.

I would recommend this story to teachers who want to teach their students about Greek mythology. It is also a good book to read because of the lesson it carries. Be careful what you wish for is a lesson that students of all age should know and understand. This story did a good job in helping readers understand why what you wish to come true may not always be what you expected.

Image References
http://www.amazon.com/The-Trouble-Wishes-Diane-Stanley/dp/B001G8WEZY