Lit with Mrs. Debo

Book Reviews!

Welcome to my Book Review Blog! Please find the toolbar on the left to access all of my most recent book reviews and feel free to leave comments.  Have you read the book? Liked, disliked, in-between? Inspired to read it or recommend to a friend, colleague, or student? Enjoy reading!

Charlotte’s Web E.B.White Illustrated by: Garth Williams Being able to talk to animals is a wish that lives in every child’s imagination. In Charlotte’s Web, a little girl, Fern finds herself saving a runt pig and taking care of it. Her constant attention to animals and lack of friends troubles her mother. Wilbur, the runt pig, ends up living at her uncle’s farm across the road and tries to make friends with the cows, sheep, horse, and geese, but ends up befriending Charlotte, the spider. Charlotte promises Wilbur he will see snow after the other animals frighten him, and makes it her mission to save him from slaughter. Templeton the selfish mouse, ends up contributing to saving Wilbur. It seems as if Templeton is in it only for slops but in the end shows he truly cares. Charlotte draws attention to Wilbur by spinning words in a web above his stall. Wilbur is taken to the fair and thanks to Charlotte’s web, is saved. Charlotte, much to Wilbur’s dismay, dies as she leaves behind

Beauty A Retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast Robin McKinley                Honour and Beauty, are both her name and her strongest characteristics. Honour, Beauty’s birth name, and her sisters, Grace and Hope are raised along the sea, only by their wealthy father. His ships go missing for years, forcing the family and their fortune to another town with Hope and her fiancé. Grace’s fiancé, Tim was on one of her father’s lost ships and so with great sadness she leaves town with her family. After months living in the country, their father returns to the sea when he receives a letter that one of his ships has returned. Before he leaves Beauty requests rose seeds. Father has no luck finding seeds so takes a rose from the Beast’s garden. He is caught and the Beast says he must return in a month with one of his daughters or become his prisoner. Beauty honors her father by taking his place and goes into the enchanted woods. Months pass and with Beauty and the Beast’s shared love

Kitten’s First Full Moon Kevin Henkes                Things aren’t always what they appear to be, especially with the imagination of a child. In this story, kitten sees her first full moon and mistakes it for a bowl of milk. She desperately wants this bowl of milk and tries many times, unsuccessfully, to reach the bowl of milk (moon). Finally, tired, wet, and hungry she returns home to find a bowl of milk, “just waiting for her.” The story creates suspense and is easy for toddlers to relate to, as the setting and characters are simple. There is always something that is just out of reach for children, just like kitten. Within the story the kitten does not give up trying to reach that “bowl of milk.” The illustrations beginning with the gray hues on the cover with kitten licking her paw in front of the moon are entrancing to both young and old, evoking emotions of wonder in the night. The endpapers are of particular interest to young readers with the many moons on a gray sky, which

Little Blue Truck Alice Schertle Illustrated by: Jill McElmurry                The Little Blue Truck makes the friendliest sounds you’ve ever heard. He is friends with all the animals he passes along the way, stopping to say, “Beep, beep, beep.” While saying hello he is pushed aside by a dump truck that is busy and feels he doesn't have the time for even a friendly hello. The dump truck ends up getting stuck and Little Blue comes to the rescue. Little Blue can’t get the dump truck out on his own and calls his animal friends to help. At the end, the dump truck learns the lesson of why it is important to be kind and take time for others. He sees that friendships and teamwork pay off. This book, with its rhymes and fantastic illustrations is sure to be a favorite for both boys and girls. For early readers it teaches animal sounds in addition to the lesson at the end. The fun illustrations allow for cause and effect discussions with children around ages 3 and up. This will be a