Picture books are written, often for children, with pictures that match the text in order to assist with story telling. Publishers and illustrators work hard to choose the right pictures and right medium to present the story for readers.
Interrupting Chicken
By: David Ezra Stein
Reviewer: Christopher Schiemann
Grade Level: K-3
Reading Level: 2.1
Children who read or listen to the story Interrupting Chicken will have a great time listening as the father attempts to put his son to bed with a bedtime story. Many will laugh hysterically when they recognize the pattern that Stein has written. The charcoal drawings of the chickens add to the story written by Stein. In this book, the father tries to read his son a traditional story for bedtime in order to help him go to sleep. But every time he reads, his son excitedly interjects mid-story and abruptly ends it. After chastising his son for this continuing behavior, he finally gives up because he is out of stories to read. Instead, he gives his son the idea to tell him a bedtime story so that he won't constantly interrupt anymore. His father proceeds to fall fast asleep and so does his son.
Back of the Bus
By: Aaron Reynolds
Illustrated by: Floyd Cooper
Grade Level: K-3
Reading Level: 2.2
From the Publisher: It seems like any other winter day in Montgomery, Alabama. Mama and child are riding where they're supposed to'way in the back of the bus. The boy passes the time by watching his marble roll up and down the aisle with the motion of the bus, until from way up front a big commotion breaks out. He can't see what's going on, but he can see the policeman arrive outside and he can see Mama's chin grow strong. ?There you go, Rosa Parks,? she says, ?stirrin? up a nest of hornets. Tomorrow all this'll be forgot.' But they both know differently. With childlike words and powerful illustrations, Aaron Reynolds and Coretta Scott King medalist Floyd Cooper recount Rosa Parks? act of defiance through the eyes of a child'who will never forget.
It's a Book
By: Lane Smith
Grade Level: K-3
Reading Level: 1.0
From the Publisher: Playful and lighthearted with a subversive twist that is signature Lane Smith, IT'S A BOOK is a delightful manifesto on behalf of print in the digital age. This satisfying, perfectly executed picture book has something to say to readers of all stripes and all ages.
I Will Come Back for You: a family in hiding during World War II
By: Marisabina Russo
Grade Level: K-3
Reading Level: 2.9
From the Publisher: What was it like to grow up Jewish in Italy during World War II? Sit with a little girl as her grandmother tells the story of her childhood in Rome, of being separated from her father, and of going into hiding in the mountains. Based on the experiences of the author's own family, this deeply moving book set during the Holocaust deals with a difficult subject in a way that is accessible and appropriate for young readers. I Will Come Back for You is an incredible story of bravery and kindness in the face of danger.