Dooby Dooby Moo

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dooby_Dooby_Moo

Bibliography:

Cronin, Doreen. 2006. DOOBY DOOBY MOO. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780689845079

Summary:

As usual, Farmer Brown walks past the barn and hears the assuring snores of his animals.  However, when he opens his newspaper the next morning a portion of it has been cut out.  The missing portion announces a talent show with a trampoline as first prize.  Farmer Brown is sure that his animals are up to something, but what he doesn’t know.  In this entertaining tale, Duck and his barnyard companions are all vying for first prize at the local county fair.  Will they be able to pull a fast one on Farmer Brown and win the prized trampoline or will they be caught in the act?  Read along with the amazing duo of Cronin and Lewin that created this sequel to Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type to find out.

Critical Analysis:

Cronin and Lewin provide an entertaining tale for all ages in Dooby Dooby Moo.  The characters and setting are timeless.  Along with an enjoyable that moves fluidly in a sequential manner.  Thus, making this story easy for young children to comprehend and recall.

Lewin’s illustrations are vivid in color and contrast.  The prose is complemented with illustrations that are clearly depicted.  These pictures lend clues which are benefitting for kids’ understanding as they read along.  Cronin and Lewin add to the detail not only in pictures, but also in the entertaining footnotes added to the bottom of the pages.  Finally, the author’s use of bolded onomatopoeia adds to the entertainment and sustainability of the story.

Review Excerpts:

“Fans will hope for many more farmyard adventures from this dynamic duo.”

 –Publishers Weekly

“Great fun.” –Kirkus Review

“This book is sure to become a firm favorite with young children and their families.” –Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Reviews

Connections:

- Read more books by the duo Doreen Cronin & Betsy Lewin:

          Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

          Giggle, Giggle, Quack

Thump, Quack, Moo

          Click, Clack, Splish, Splash

          Duck for President

-Write poetry and narrative stories using the author’s craft of onomatopoeia

-Create a reader’s theater and perform a rendition of this story

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invention_of_Hugo_Cabret

Bibliograpy:

Selznik, Brian. 2007. THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439813785

Summary:

What do you get when have a main character secretly living in a train station with a secret to preserve?  A fabulous adventure awaiting you!  In the year 1931 an orphan, Hugo Cabret, lives in the Paris train station keeping the clocks working properly.  In his room he has stashed a mysterious mechanical object that is linked to his deceased father and the old man that runs the toy booth in the train station.  This object leads Hugo and a girl named, Isabelle, on a movielike adventure to discovering the meanings of mechanics, magic, cinema, and life. 

Critical Analysis:

Brian Selznik has created a wonderfully mysterious plot line in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  Little by little you are given glimpses to the unfolding mystery while questioning and guessing the next turn of events.  Even though Selznik’s casts of characters are fictional in this story, George Melies was in fact a real man who created movies in the early part of the twentieth century.

The story begins with the feeling of a silent film with black pages and white script as the world gradually grows closer, then proceeding into an intimate view of a boy’s world of Paris.  Selznik’s use of black and white illustrations to tell the story of Hugo Cabret is appealing to readers of upper elementary grades and beyond  because of the uniqueness of the pictures lending themselves to the propulsion of the plot.  This book also possesses the attractiveness to kids for the reason that they don’t have to necessarily read such a “thick book” since a considerable portion of the story is illustrated!

In addition, the symbolism of the Greek mythological character, Prometheus, is important in the lives of Hugo Cabret and George Melies.  Prometheus stole fire from the Gods because he wanted to help the people he had created from mud by giving them light, but he was punished for his actions, and later finally released.   The parallel between the myth and our characters is shown when Hugo turned into a thief for his and the automaton’s survival.  In doing so, Hugo’s journey leads him to George Melies, thus setting Papa Georges and Hugo free from the pain of the past and allowing each to inspire others.  Prometheus’s light is also of symbolic importance to the cinematic emphasis of this story.  The cinema and George Melies gave light to the Hugo, Isabelle, and the masses by bestowing upon them new worlds and adventures through motion pictures.

Awards:

2008 Caldecott Medal
A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2007
2007 Quill Award Winner

Review Excerpts:

“Evokes wonder…like a silent film on paper.” –The New York Times

“Shatters conventions.” –School Library Journal

“Complete genius.” –The Horn Book

“A standout achievement.” –Publishers Weekly

Connections:

-Read other books that Brian Selznik has written and/or illustrated:

Wonderstruck
The Hugo Movie Companion
The Runaway Dolls

Lunch Money

Marly’s Ghost
The Dulcimer Boy
Walt Whitman: Words for America
The Doll People
The Meanest Doll in the World
When Marian Sang
Wingwalker
he Boy of a Thousand Faces
The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
The School Story
Barnyard Prayers
Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride
The Landry News
Riding Freedom
The Boy Who Longed For a Lift
Frindle
Our House
The Robot King
Doll Face Has a Party
The Houdini Box

-Compare and contrast his illustrated mediums and discuss how these illustrations lend themselves to the stories they accompany

-Research early cinema, motion pictures, and George Melies

-Make a retelling of this story using a resource like Movie Maker, or IMovie

The Poky Little Puppy

Image from http://www.gustaftenggren.com/

Bibliography:

Lowrey, Janette Sebring. 1942. THE POKY LITTLE PUPPY. Ill. Gustaf Tenggren. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375841385

Plot Summary:

In The Poky Little Puppy, five little puppies mischievously dig out of their yard to go out and explore their wide, wide world.  However, one poky puppy gets sidetracked and doesn't follow his brothers to the top of the hill.  Instead he pokes around, exploring on his own and discovering a wonderful smell.  His brothers go looking for him, and in turn realize what their poky brother has discovered, the delightful smell of rice pudding.  So the four brothers go racing home to eat the yummy food their mother has put out, only to get into trouble for digging out of the fence.   Later, the poky puppy returns after everyone is asleep, and his pokiness leads him to being rewarded by eating the scrumptious rice pudding his brothers didn’t get to eat.  The following day, the brothers are at it again.  This time mom puts out chocolate custard, and the boys are punished for digging out while the poky puppy is rewarded yet again by being the last one in.  On the third day, once more they dig out even though mom’s sign says, “Don’t ever ever dig holes under this fence!”  In his natural fashion the poky puppy falls behind his brothers and smells strawberry shortcake.  The four brothers go racing home and are punished by mom for digging out.  However this time, after mom is asleep the brothers outwit their poky brother and are rewarded by mom with strawberry shortcake, leaving the poky puppy to feel sorry for himself.

Critical Analysis:

Since being published in 1942, this Golden Book has stood the test of time and is beloved by grandparents, parents, and children alike.  The timelessness of the setting allows for this classic to be read through the generations, and still be appreciated over and over again by readers.  Young children are also able to connect to the appealing cast of characters, a mom and her puppies, and the enticing yet predictable plot.  In addition, Janette Lowrey’s use of predictable language helps emergent readers anticipate and engage in the story.

The theme of the story reveals that there are always consequences to your actions.  The puppies consistently made a choice to dig out of the yard and explore their world.  For a while it seemed that the slow, poky puppy was rewarded for being slow.  However, the four brothers tired of being the only ones getting into trouble and figured out a way for the poky brother to suffer the consequence of digging out of the yard and he too finally suffered the consequence of digging and exploration.

Gustaf Tenggren’s enjoyable illustrations of visually stimulating characters and scenery complement the readability of the story.  Children are able to use picture clues to help guide their comprehension and predictableness of the story.  Helping furthermore, is the fact that Tenggren categorized the cast of characters by grouping the four brothers and separating the poky puppy always by himself.

 

Review Excerpts:

"This classic story of naughty puppies and their backyard adventures—complete with fuzzy caterpillars, musical flowers, crickets and frogs and all topped off with dessert—is sure to be a favorite yet again.” (iPad storybook app. 2-6)

–Kirkus Review

“First published in 1942, The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illus. by Gustaf Tenggren, stars a curious canine who just can't keep up with the pack.” –Publisher’s Weekly

Connections:

-Read other Golden Books:
1.    Three Little Kittens

2.    Bedtime Stories

3.    Mother Goose

4.    Prayers for Children

5.    The Little Red Hen

6.    Nursery Songs

7.    The Alphabet from A to Z

8.    The Golden Book of Fairy Tales

9.    Baby's Book of Objects

10. The Animals of Farmer Jones

11.  This Little Piggy and Other Counting Rhymes

-Sequence the events of the story as a comic

-Retell the story using felt story board characters or puppets