Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps Series) by R.L. Stine

The Goosebumps Series is not for your average child. This series is for the wild, adventuresome child--the ones that like watching scary movies for the thrill and scary parts. The series is a fun adventure for kids, and a good way to get out of the typical genre that children are so easily forced or guided to read.

This book is meant for eight year olds and older. Any younger age would probably not be good idea, because the descriptions can be rather graphic. But the detail and stories are great because they bring them to life. Also, you never know exactly what is going to happen next. It's a great book series and a fun read. I suggest it to all the adventuresome children out there.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a great book for all ages. It was published in February of 1986, but still remains a favorite book today. The Giving Tree is a parable about the gift of giving and the capacity to love, told throughout the life of a boy who grows to manhood and a tree that selflessly gives him her bounty through the years.

This book was one of my favorite books growing up, and I think my favorite part was the illustrations. This book is one of those books where without the illustrations, it would not be the same. The intended ages are said to be four to eight year olds, but I am a firm believer that this book is a book for all the ages!

Biography of Illustrator David Catrow

David Catrow's children's stories and illustrations have become a recent favorite for children. When trying to find information regarding David Catrow, I was unable to find a serious biography, and it is with the same attitude he demonstrated when providing this useless information he provides about himself that appeals to the lighthearted demeanor of children.

Catrow began his education as a pre-med major at Kent state and later worked as a paramedic for ten years. But today, Catrow simply draws and paints. He has illustrated over 30 books for kids and maintains editorial cartoons which are printed in more than 900 newspapers in the United States and Canada. When asked what would be the one thing he would like to learn to do, Catrow replied with learning to catch a frisbee with his teeth. And it is with this same comical demeanor that fills his pages with humor.

Catrow's books appeal to children and adults alike. His illustrations in Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell cause the reader to fall in love with the short, clumsy, and buck toothed Molly Lou. His work in She's Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head earned Catrow recognition when it was named the New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year in 1995. His work will continue to be loved by his audience of readers.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Charlotte's Web is a children's book by acclaimed American author E. B. White. Charlotte's Web begins early on a spring morning in the Arable kitchen, where eight-year-old Fern Arable learns that her father is heading out to do away with a tiny pig that was born the night before. She quickly heads out to correct this horrible injustice. After much discussion, young Fern convinces her father to spare the runt's life, and he allows her to take the responsibility for raising the small pig upon herself. This is how the young pig, christened "Wilbur,"begins his life's adventure. With each passing day, Wilbur gets lonelier day after day until eventually, a warm and soothing voice tells him that she is going to be his friend. The next day, he wakes up and meets the voice: Charlotte, a gray spider. Wilbur soon becomes a member of the community of animals who live in the cellar of Zuckerman's barn.

When the old sheep in the barn cellar tells Wilbur that he is going to be killed and eaten at Christmas, he turns to Charlotte for help. Charlotte has the idea of writing words in her web extolling Wilbur's excellent personality, such as "SOME PIG", reasoning that if she can make Wilbur sufficiently famous, he will not be killed. Thanks to Charlotte's efforts, Wilbur not only lives, but goes to the county fair--with Charlotte--and wins a prize. Due to the short lifespan of spiders, Charlotte dies at the fair. Wilbur repays Charlotte by bringing home with him the sac of eggs she had laid at the fair. When Charlotte's eggs hatch at Zuckerman's farm and most of Charlotte's daughters leave to make their own lives elsewhere, three remain there as friends to Wilbur.

Accelerated Reading Program

After observing recently in an elementary school a few weeks ago, I was stunned at the prevalence of the Accelerated Reading (AR) program in American classrooms. Because I did not use this program when I was in elementary school, I was interested in the purpose and intent of AR. The AR program is a means of assessing and monitoring the progress of students in their reading skills. Books are assigned a specific reading level, and the students are able to choose books of their choice according to their particular reading skills. This allows students in the same classroom with entirely different reading levels to simultaneously strengthen their reading skills without being either bored or overworked. After one has read a book, they then take a test online which has several basic and comprehensive questions over that particular piece of literature. The teacher is then given an assessment regarding reading comprehension and retention.

In countless studies, schools who utilize Accelerated Reading programs demonstrate a much larger gain in reading skills. While research proves his program to be successful, there are still many critics who argue that the AR program only teaches recall, not comprehension.

Holes by Louis Sarchar

This is one of my favorite books in my older childhood years. I read it multiple times as a child, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it again.

This novel is set in modern times and focuses on the current circumstances of Stanley Yelnats, a young man who is sent to Camp Green Lake for a crime he didn't commit. Stanley's family is poor and believes themselves to be under the curse of Stanley's "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-grandfather." The curse has been extended through multiple generations because the great=grandfather, Elya Yelnats, did not keep his promise to Madame Zeroni. Stanley's father is an inventor who is trying to find a way to recycle used tennis shoes. Stanley's supposed crime was he stole a pair of tennis shoes from Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston, a famous baseball player who had donated the shoes to an auction. In fact, Stanley did not steal the shoes, but happened to be walking near the underpass when they fell down on him. Because Stanley's family was poor, they were unable to fight the charges and is forced to be placed at Camp Green Lake.

The novel centers on Stanley's life at Camp Green Lake, which is not a pleasant place. There is no water or vegetation for miles because the camp is in the middle of the desert. For punishment, each "camper" must dig a hole five feet high by five feet wide every day. The story of Stanley's life is interwoven with the past story of Camp Green Lake, a hundred and ten years before when it was a thriving town. The holes that the boys are forced to dig are not simply for punishment; they are dug for the warden, who is looking for treasure buried by Kissing Kate Barlow.

When problems arise Zero, a friend of Stanley, escapes from camp. Shortly after, Stanley too leaves the safety of Camp Green Lake. He eventually finds Zero, and together the two struggle to survive. Eventually, they sneak back down to the camp to dig a hole that Stanley believes holds the treasure the warden is seeking. Indeed, Stanley and Zero find the buried treasure, but not before they are caught by the warden and her henchman.

While Zero and Stanley have been gone from camp, a woman has come in search of Stanley. The woman uses her authority to release Zero as well, since Stanley won't go without him. The treasure that they have dug up has Stanley Yelnats' name on it, and it turns out that the treasure was his great-grandfather's fortune, stolen by Kissing Kate Barlow.

Fortune turns in the favor of the Yelnats. Stanley's dad has discovered a formula for eliminating foot odor and Clyde "Sweet Feet" is its principal endorser. Zero has admitted that he stole the shoes, only because he lived on his own and had to steal to get by.

The book is a great book to read and a fun one as well. I recommend it to all readers who love adventure and ironies. Plus, Louis Sarchar is a great author.

Martian Child--The Movie

What's the nature of being a parent and of being a child? David is a widower grieving for two years. He writes science fiction and was considered weird as a boy. He meets Dennis, a foster child who claims to be on a mission from Mars, stays in a large box all day, fears sunlight, and wears a belt of flashlight batteries so he won't float away. David takes the six-year-old home on a trial. His sister and his wife's best friend offer support, but the guys are basically alone to figure this out. Dennis takes things, is expelled, and is coached by David in being normal. Will the court approve the adoption, and will Dennis stay? Can a man become a father and a child become a son?

The Martian Child (starring John Cusack and Bobby Coleman) is a great movie for all ages and all members of the family. This movie has great insight on how children cope with and view such a huge, new world around them. My family and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and I recommend it to all families—young and old alike.

"Sometimes we forget that children have just arrived on the earth. They are a little like aliens, coming into beings as bundles of energy and pure potential, here on some exploratory mission and they are just trying to learn what it means to be human. For some reason Dennis and I reached out into the universe and found each other, Never really know how or why. And discovered that I can love an alien and he can love a creature. And thats weird enough for both of us." --David, quote from movie

(some information and photo taken from imdb.com)