“The Fault in Our Stars” is a young adult novel that follows the story of a 17 year old girl named Hazel Lancaster who has cancer, and who’s life changes after she attends a cancer support group. Some of the themes in this book include love, illness, its effect on loved ones, and experiencing what life has to offer.

“The Fault in Our Stars” is told in first person by Hazel, and shares every moment from her perspective and thoughts. Hazel’s illness, as well as the illness of cancer as a whole is a main theme throughout the book. Hazel’s character development is very different from start to end. At the beginning of the book she is depressed, and does not want to attend the support group, and by the end of the book Hazel has learned to live life to the fullest. This is something that is brought onto her by Augustus Waters, a boy she met at a support group, and who eventually becomes her boyfriend. “The Fault in Our Stars” also portrays the affects terminal illness has on loved ones. This is shown as readers see how Hazel is grieving after the loss of Augustus.

Overall “The fault in Our Stars” is a book with many important themes that are shown very well throughout the book. I believe many readers would be able to relate to this book, or take something away from it after reading it.

¨Wonder¨ is a children's novel that follows the story of a young boy named August. August has facial differences, and is starting the fifth grade, with it being his first time ever attending school in person. This book deals with many themes, some of which include embracing differences, bullying, and kindness.

¨Wonder¨ is partially told in first person through the perspective of August, but also uses the perspectives of his family, friends, and others throughout the story. This book highlights the themes of embracing differences many times throughout the story. It also deals with bullying, as August is often given rude looks or called mean names by others in the book. August´s character development in the book is also a significant aspect, as readers first see how August is nervous to start school because of the way he looks, and by the end of his school year he had stood up to bullies and gained acceptance from his schoolmates.

Overall, I thought this book did a great job expressing its themes to the audience. I think many readers may relate to some aspects of the books, or learn to have empathy for people who may relate to it. I believe this book would be a good one to teach readers about embracing their differences and being kind to others.

¨Friends of the Heart¨ is a middle grade novel set in Italy, that follows the friendship & life changes between Lucrezia and Ollie, as Ollie moves away to Milan from Rome. This book explores the themes of human relationships, friendships, self discovery, and tragedy.

¨Friends of the Heart¨ is narrated in first person by Lucrezia, which allows for the audience to go through events in the book through her perspective and insight. The book highlights the theme of friendship, and the special bond between Ollie and Lucrezia is something that can not be missed as you read it. Self discovery is also a theme that is present throughout the book, as the two friends visit each other in the summers, and go back home without each other.¨Friends of the Heart¨ also deals with a shocking tragedy, and grief, as Ollie passes away, and Lucrezia mourns the loss of her dear friend.

Overall, I found ¨Friends of the Heart¨ to be a great book, and I believe that the themes and experiences in this book are some that many readers would resonate with, and relate to.

“A Wrinkle in Time” is a middle grade science fiction novel that follows Meg & Charles Wallace Murry, and Calvin O’Keefe on their journey to rescue Mr. Murry from a dark force. Some of the themes in this book include good vs evil, self esteem, and the importance of family.

In this book, Meg´s character development from beginning to end is a big change. Meg began the story as an angry girl with a low self esteem, and by the end of the book Meg had gained confidence, protected her family, and saved her dad and brother. The themes of good vs evil are shown through Meg´s dad being imprisoned by the dark thing, and Charles Wallace being taken by IT. The theme of importance of family was shown throughout the book as Meg and her brother set off to rescue their father, and was also shown again when Meg rescued Charles Wallace from IT. The change in Meg´s confidence was shown greatly in this moment, as she took her love for Charles Wallace and turned it into confidence to go against IT and rescue him.

One element of writing I liked about this book was the third person point of view that focused on highlighting Meg´s thoughts and feelings about events in the book. I think that Meg is a very relatable character, and believe that many readers would resonate with her. Overall, I think ¨A Wrinkle in Time¨ is a great book that many readers would enjoy!

“All the Bright Places” is a young adult novel that follows Violet Markey and her journey after the passing of her sister with the support of Theodore Finch. This book deals with many themes such as grief, suicide awareness, mental health, and support from others.

“All the Bright Places” focuses on the character development of Violet, who is shown support from a boy named Finch, who helps her through life after the loss of her sister. Violet goes from a girl who is grieving and not allowing herself to not feel emotion, to a girl who becomes comfortable to show and feel her emotions, begin healing from the loss, and do the activities she used to do before. This book also involves suicide awareness, as although Violet’s friend Finch supported her through her hardships, he also had his own, and ultimately had the tragic outcome of suicide. This goes to show that although people may act okay and seem happy on the outside, you never know what someone is going through on the inside.

I believe the author did a great job at portraying the themes of grief, suicide, mental health, and support from others very well through her writing. I also believe that this book would connect with, and help many readers who may be going through similar situations in their lives as the characters in this book.

"If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" follows the story of a young boy and the events that happen after he gives a mouse a cookie. The main theme/message of the book is cause and effect, and what the choices you make result in.

"If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" is classified as a picture book as its illustrations enhance its themes and relate back to the text on every page. The book uses the literary element of easy-to-read simple sentences. The central message of the book is the cause and effect of your choices. We see this in the book as the boy gives a mouse a cookie, which leads to many events after, and finally results back to the start as the mouse asks for a cookie with his glass of milk.

Overall, I think this book portrays its themes subtly, but would be a good way to teach readers about cause and effect. I remember enjoying this book growing up, and still think it's a great book!

"Go Dog Go" is a book for beginning readers that uses simple language, and illustrations following dogs doing various activities. The book highlights key literary elements such as simple vocab, repeating words, and illustrations.

"Go Dog Go" is classified as a picture book as it uses illustrations that relate to the text on each page. The literary elements used in this book are easy-to-read words, repeating words, and short sentences. The illustrations are simple, but effective for readers to relate the text to the pictures, and follow along in the story. This book would be ideal for beginner readers as it uses simple language, colors, and humor, but is also a fun story to read!

Overall I believe this book would be great for beginning readers as it uses easy-to-read words, as well as illustrations that enhance the book's text. I remember loving this book growing up to practice my reading, and even re-reading it now I still think it's great!

"A Song for My Sister" follows the story of a young girl as she welcomes a baby sister into her life. The central theme I noticed in this book was the bond shared with a sister/sibling.

"A song for My Sister" is classified as a picture book as it uses illustrations to help the audience follow along the story told by the text. The book uses the literary elements of easy-to-read sentences, as well as the use of enlarged, bold onomatopoeia's on some pages of the book. The book mainly follows the young girl as at the beginning of the book she wishes for a baby sister in a wishing well. The audience then sees the girl's baby sister being brought home and the parents have trouble settling her down, and by the end of the book we see how the older sister sings a special song to her sister to comfort her.

Overall, I believe this would be a great book to introduce to a young readers who may be expecting a new sibling/sister, as it shows the special bond shared between siblings. I loved this book growing up as my older sister got it for me, and even re-reading it now I still think its a really sweet book with a great message!

"Peter Pan" follows the story of a girl named Wendy Darling, and her two little brothers Michael and John on their journey to Never land with Peter Pan. This book has the central themes of growing up, imagination, and adventure.

"Peter Pan" is classified as a picture book as it uses illustrations to help relate the text to the images on each page. Some of the literary elements used in the book were enlarged bold letters on the first word of each sentence, as well as each page containing more than one sentence. The book mainly focuses on the character development of Wendy Darling and her younger brothers as they were weary to go to Never land at first, but then decided to go on an adventure. Once they arrive at Never land their imagination of mermaids, pirates, and Indian warriors comes alive. The main message of this book is that you can still have adventures and an imagination even though you are growing up.

I think this book does a great job at introducing its themes in a subtle way, and also uses its illustrations to enhance its themes on every page. Overall, I enjoyed this book growing up, and I still find it fun to read now!

"Here in the Garden" is a book that follows the story of a young boy on his journey after the loss of his pet/friend bunny. The central themes I picked up on in this book were grief, love, and friendship.

"Here in the Garden" is classified as a picture book, as it uses illustrations to enhance emotions and themes throughout the book. The literary elements used in the book consisted of easy-to-read sentences with recurring statements on some pages. The main focus of character development in this book was on the young boy. At the beginning of the book the boy was very sad when reminiscing on his memories with his bunny. By the end of the book the boy realized that the bunny's memory was all around him and that he could remember him when doing the activities they used to do together.

I believe that this book would be a good one to introduce to young readers who may be going through the same experience of losing a loved one. The book does a great job at introducing themes of loss, and shows that you can still keep someone's memory alive even though they are not there anymore. I found this book to be very helpful as a child going through a loss, and I still find it to be a great read now!

“THE LITTLE RED Caboose” follows the story of the little red caboose as he compares himself to the other train cars, and wishes he was like them. This book explores the themes of comparing to others, wishing you looked different, and has the overall message of believing in and accepting yourself.

“THE LITTLE RED Caboose” is classified as a picture book, as it uses illustrations to enhance the book's themes, and relate the pictures back to the text on each page. The literary elements mostly consisted of short easy-to-read sentences, as well as the use of onomatopoeias on some of the book's pages. The little red caboose’s character development was something that was focused on greatly throughout the book. Readers first saw how the little red caboose was discouraged as he didn't get as much attention as the other train cars did, and began to wish he looked different at the beginning of the book. By the end of the book the little red caboose was able to believe in himself after the other train cars praised him for saving the day.

I believe that the main lesson that can be learned from this book is to always believe in yourself. I think that this book could be a good way to teach young readers this lesson, while also allowing them to practice their reading! I personally loved this book when I was younger, as it allowed me to not only practice my reading, but also learn the lesson of believing in myself!

“THE TALE OF TOM KITTEN” follows the story of Tom Kitten and his two siblings Moppet and Mittens. The main theme I picked up on from this book was mischief, as Tom and his siblings didn’t listen to their mother about keeping their clothes clean.

“THE TALE OF TOM KITTEN” is classified as a picture book as it uses illustrations to match the text on each page. One of the literary elements I noticed that the author used, was to enlarge the first word on every page, and bold the first letter of that word. Many of the first words on each page were easy-to-read words such as once, but, as, etc. I think that this could be helpful to beginning readers, as they are easy-to-read, recognizable words. The main theme of mischief is shown throughout the book as Tom Kitten and his siblings get their nice clothes dirty and show up without them after their mother told them to keep their clothes clean.

The book teaches the lesson that mischief can have consequences. This is shown in the book as Tom Kitten and his siblings were sent to their room and unable to attend the tea party. I personally enjoyed this book as a kid, and remember picking up on the lessons/ themes of it!

"I'm a Little Teapot" is a picture book that introduces easy-to-read rhyming words, music, and themes of gratitude/thankfulness. This book follows the little teapot as it shows the two children illustrated in the book its dreams.

The main theme I was able to pick up on from this book was gratitude. The audience sees this as the little teapot thanks the other characters for letting them share their dreams. The literary elements of the book were something that stood out as well. The text consisted of many easy-to-read rhyming words that would be helpful for beginning readers. At the back of the book was also the "I’m a Little Teapot" song, which consisted of the text from the book. "I'm a Little Teapot" is classified as a picture book, as it uses pictures to portray the words from the text on each page.

I think "I'm a Little Teapot" is a good book for beginning readers as it uses easy-to-read rhyming words. I personally really liked this book growing up, and found it helpful to practice my reading skills. After re-reading it I still really like the book, and can see why I enjoyed it so much when I was growing up!

"A Mother for Choco" follows the story of a lonely bird named Choco on the journey to find a mother. The central themes I picked up on in this book were family, the significance of love, and embracing the differences in appearance within a family.

"A Mother for Choco" is classified as a picture book, as its pictures are used to enhance the themes of the story. The author's use of illustrations in this book illustrates what the text is saying on each page. The use of illustrations also highlights Choco's character development, and emotions throughout the story. Choco's character development is very important. We see this as Choco first starts searching for a mother with the same physical attributes as him, but later learns that family is not defined by appearance. I think a lot of readers will be able to connect with this including myself, as many families are very diverse.

I believe that this book is a good way to introduce the topic of diversity within a family to young readers. I think that the book describes this very well as it highlights Choco learning that he can have a mother who looks differently than him. I remember enjoying this book when I was younger, and after re-reading it, I still think it is a great book!

"THE CAT IN THE HAT" follows the story of a brother and a sister bored on a rainy day with nothing to do, until the Cat in the Hat appears. The central themes of this book are responsibility, trust, and chaos. These themes are conveyed clearly throughout the book as the readers see the siblings learn about responsibility after the chaos the Cat in the Hat brought in.

The character development in this book shows the siblings emotions of boredom, excitement, worry, and relief throughout the book. The character development in this book ended with the siblings learning the overall message of responsibility. Dr. Seuss used many easy-to-read and rhyming words throughout the book, as the book is for beginner readers. The illustration in this book shows the emotions of the characters, uses illustrations that match the text on each page, and enlarged texts of onomatopoeia's that add to the storytelling of the book. "THE CAT IN THE HAT" falls into the genre of picture books, as pictures are used throughout the book to enhance its themes.

I believe this book resonates with young readers as it allows them to read on their own, as well as learn a message that they will encounter in real life. I personally enjoyed this book as a child because of the easy-to-read words for reading practice, as well as the illustrations that helped me connect the text to the pictures. Now, as I am older and re-reading it, I am able to see why I loved the book so much, and think it is a great book to show more teach responsibility in a way that children would understand. show less