Rozanne Lanczak Williams

This book is short and sweet. It simply teaches a kid how to make a mudpie. Kids respond well the less words you use and this book caters to the tiny audience well. The kids have simple instructions that will yield an ending project. I believe another class of kids could recreate this book teaching kids any other skill they think will be useful or fun. In addition to kids learning a skill, they get to practice ordering (steps to complete something) and have an opportunity to add new words to their vocabulary like units of measurement. Writing a "how to" boo can be fun, engaging and educational.… (more)

I liked this book for many reasons. First, I liked this book because the writing was very organized and paced well. For example, the ducklings went on a trip with their mother and on each page it would talk about the same thing. Each duckling always talked about the same thing. There were four ducklings, Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Little Moe. In the book, each page would start out by seeing an animal on their walk and Eeny would say their boring. Then Meeny would say "I bet they can't swim." and Miney would ask "Are we there yet?". Finally, Little Moe would say the sound that each animal would make. I found this interesting because it can be a good book for a shared reading activity. Second, I liked this book because the language is patterned. For example, the mother and ducklings would speak in the same order each time. The order would be Mother, Eeny, Meeny, Miney, and Little Moe. Third, I liked this book because the illustrations enhances the story. I think this is true because as the mother and ducklings are going for a walk, the illustrations are showing what they are seeing and shows the destination of the trip they were taking. The big idea of this book is to show children an adventure and to show how complaining doesn't get you there faster. This book shows what complaining is when someone is on a trip.… (more)