Informational Text

Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs travels back to the time of ancient Egypt. Readers learn the secret of the people,society, mummies, pyramids, pharaohs, and hieroglyphics.  

This book provides a lot of information about Egypt in a very child friendly way. The author uses simple text along with illustrations to help out with bigger words that children may not understand. It may not be the most entertaining book but it is a great start for children to begin using books for research. I like how Gibbons also mentioned less interesting topics such as the society, farming, and clothing along with more exciting topics like mummification. In all of Gibbons' books, there is a fun facts page about that specific topic that is interesting for both children and adults. 

Title: Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book about Ancient Egypt 

Author: Gail Gibbons 

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 

Publication Date: 2004 

ISBN: 9780316309288 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Fruits are an important part of our diet, and they come in many different colors and sizes. In The Fruits We Eat, readers can see the different ways and climates that fruits grow in.   

This book provides a lot of information on fruits. I got to learn things that I never knew. The bright colorful pictures go well with the text and help explain it. However, there is a lot of information and pictures on each page that it looks very cluttered. The eye doesn't know where to look and one may miss something because there is so much.  

Title: The Fruits We Eat 

Author: Gail Gibbons 

Publisher: Holiday House 

Publication Date: 2015 

ISBN: 9780823432042 

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

Behold...The Unicorns! explains how the mythology of unicorns came to be. The book begins with the origins of the name and its relation to other one horned creatures. It then discusses different cultures and stories that included the unicorn and its evolution into a majestic creature. 

I wanted to include this book specifically, because it is a little different from the other two. It still is an informational text even though it is about a creature from fantasy. The illustrations are beautiful and support the text well. The depiction of the unicorn displays how majestic and magical they are. The illustrations of the different cultures are also well done. I like how Gibbons included the tapestries with images of unicorns on it. One downside is that readers may go in expecting to read about tales about a magical creature may be upset about how factual this book is. Obviously these books will be geared towards older children, so I think the presentation is appropriate and serves the purpose it's supposed to. It can be more or less entertaining depending on the child's interests. 

Title: Behold...The Unicorns! 

Author: Gail Gibbons 

Publisher: HarperCollins 

Publication Date: 2002 

ISBN: 9780688179557 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

Fantasy

In Not Last Night but the Night Before, nursery rhyme characters come knocking on a boy's door. Everyone from the man in the moon to Little Bo-peep come running in with party clothes and presents. As the story goes on, the little boy is weary when approaching the door as they keep running him over in excitement. However, to the boy's surprise, all the characters came to celebrate his birthday. 

This book was very fun to read. It is musically appealing with its repetition, rhythm, and rhyme. The illustrations were vibrant and supported the text well. I think both adults and children will really enjoy this book. Adults will recognize many if not all of the characters that are included in this book. It will undoubtedly bring back memories of when they heard these nursery rhymes as they relate to how each character enters the boy's house. Children will also enjoy it even if they don't recognize the characters from the illustrations to the funny version of happy birthday sung at the end.  

Title: Not Last Night but the Night Before 

Author: Colin McNaughton 

Publisher: Candlewick Press 

Publication Date: 2009 

ISBN: 9780763644208 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

Melody loves her dreams, because she had a special friend. She tried to coax him out of her dreams to play with her, but it didn't work. One day at the playground, she felt lonely and wished her dream friend was with her, so she thought about the fun they had in her dream. She was dancing when a little girl asked her if she was playing a game. They started playing together and soon everyone else joined in too. 

Dream Friends is a cute story about friendship. I really enjoyed the illustrations, because the way the illustrator used the colors made it seem dream-like and magical. She chose sunset colors along with blues and purples. This story is great for children, because it shows that dreams can come true. Although it didn't come true the way she originally wanted, it eventually turned out alright if not better.  

Title: Dream Friends 

Author: You Byun 

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books 

Publication Date: 2013 

ISBN: 9780399257391 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

As the caterpillars go to bed, they each have their own caterpillows. However, one naughty caterpillar decides to wake the others up for a caterpillow fight. This goes on until big caterpillar comes in to scold them. Now, when they all go to bed, there is only one long caterpillow for their heads. 

This story will be very enjoyable for children, and it can a fun bedtime story. Children will laugh at moments in the story. They may even enjoy reading along as there is rhyming throughout the text. However, it may be a tongue twister at times. The illustrations are appealing and the caterpillars are very cute. Children will enjoy the illustrations with the little caterpillars and their pillows with feathers flying everywhere. 

Title: The Caterpillow Fight 

Author: Sam McBratney 

Publisher: Candlewick Press 

Publication Date: 1996 

ISBN: 9781564028044 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars