Janet PedersenCritiques

This was a wonderful book. The book has a few of lessons that children can learn from this book. One lesson is that you shouldn't worry about what anyone else thinks, because at the end of the day if you have a good friend that you have fun times with that is all that matters. Another lesson is that you have to be careful who you decide to become friends with, because you will not connect with everyone and some people only care about themselves. The last lesson is that everyone isn't great at everything. Each person has things they are great at and things they aren't.

Pino had been saved by Signora when younger. Pino was tired of her pasta and ventured out to find better food.

All the cats love Signora's pasta, but Pino who longs for something else. Throughout Pino's search for the perfect food, he keeps getting shooed away.

Summary:
This children’s book is about how a little town. All the cats in town love Signoras pasta. One day, Pino the cat wants something more delicious than Signoras Pasta because he is tired of eating the same thing everyday. Pino decides to go on an adventure so he searches the streets of Rome but ends up not being allowed in every dining place he tries to go in. Pino learns to be grateful for what e has and learns to not take anything for granted.

Review:
This book has a great message to be grateful for what you have and to not take anything for granted. Pino the cat had delicious pasta and once he wasn't grateful, no one else would let him in their stores to even try their food. Children in elementary school sometimes need this reminder to love what you have and this is a cute way to get the point across.

i didn't read this for storytime b/c it came too late, but it looks like one i'd use next year.½

Milred and Ed have never spent much time apart from each other until one fateful when they both have important things to do on the same time, at the same time. To prepare for this time apart, they spend the week before these events apart to practice being away from one another. They really like hanging out with each other. The big day comes, and they both wish each one was their to be supportive and watch what their doing. In the end, they complete their tasks without each other and do a great job and they hang out afterwards. A corky little story that reminds you what a true friend is.

In the book "Bravo, Mildred and Ed!, Karen Wagner, tells a great story about two best friends. Within the book it shows some exciting activities that these two best friends do together. Then, Wagner creates a conflict within the story. She shows that sometimes best friends have troubles that they need to overcome (like any children and their friends would). Mildred and Ed both have something that they have to do the same day therefore, not being able to attend each others performances. They suddenly decide to do things on their own. When the day of the performances appear they are not sad. They find away to be happy the day of their performances and are still best friends. Janet Pedersen is the illustrator in this book and she does a wonderful job. In the book there is lots of color. She draws activities such as flying a kite, canoeing, violin practice, art shows and museum visits that keeps my attention glued to every page!

“Houdini The Amazing Caterpillar,” by Janet Pedersen is a story that follows the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly in a classroom. Houdini, the caterpillar is constantly trying to impress his classroom audience, and finally steals the show as he progresses through metamorphosis into a butterfly. The story reveals his journey and teaches readers some of the things that caterpillars go through while becoming a butterfly.

I found this story great as I think that it will be very beneficial when teaching a class about the stages of metamorphosis. It showed Houdini starting off as an egg, becoming a caterpillar, forming a cocoon, and eventually becoming a butterfly. The steps were laid out in a fun way and I think that it would be a great addition to this kind of lesson.

I remember watching caterpillars turn to butterflies in school and this book would be a great extension to that kind of lesson. After reading this book, it would be fun for a class to watch the stages for themselves and perhaps keep a journal of the stages as they progress. It would also be fun to fold a piece of paper into fours and draw the egg stage, the caterpillar stage, the cocoon stage, and the butterfly stage to help kids understand metamorphosis.

This is a cute story about two very good friends. The girl is trying really hard to write poetry, but she just doesn't quite get it. Her friend Ed, however can't stop blurting out poems everywhere they go. She gets really tired of it and she goes to look for a new friend. She finds one, but in the end she realizes that she misses her old friend Ed.

Genre ~ Realistic Fiction~ This is a good example of realistic fiction for young readers. Young readers are able to follow along because these are anmials they are familiar with. They should also be familiar with the sounds that these particular animals make.

Setting ~ The illustrations reveal the setting in this story. We do not know the date, but we know that it is early morning on a farm. The illustrations do a really good job of showing readers where the story takes place.

Media ~ Gouache, watercolor, crayon, and pen