Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild, is another Mem Fox classic for young children. Harriet is a very accident prone mischievous child who tends to test her mother's buttons. The patient mother repeatedly responds with "Harriet, my darling child, you're driving me wild," until the end when she loses her patience. Even after yelling (and yelling and yelling), it shows that parents still love their children no matter what. A good lesson for both parents (guardians) as well as children.

Through poetic, rhyming verse, This is the Dream, tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It goes through where the segregation was, including libraries, drinking fountains, and schools. It celebrates those leaders who led with the POWER of nonviolent protest. As the book progresses it reviews the places where segregation once was and shows how they are now integrated. The book is definitely an approachable text for elementary school, and can be used in many ways. The beautiful illustrations are surrounded by a scrapbook-like feel of actual pictures from the civil rights period. It definitely focuses on freedom and justice for all, however, it doesn't touch on the fact that we still have racism and segregation today.

Bravo, Mr. William Shakespeare! is an amazing book. It exposes children to classic literature (7 Shakespeare plays) through comic strip/graphic novel form. The actual dialogue in intermixed with illustrations that summarize the plot, as well as comments for audience members who are watching the plays (in order to help comprehension and dialogue). I can see many children who typically wouldn't read plays on their own, pick this up and devour it! Definitely a great book to have in the upper elementary, middle school classroom or home!

The Champion of Children is a biography of Janusz Korczak written in an accessible story format for children. It begins describing Janusz's childhood as a privileged Jewish child and his dreams of change in the world- especially for orphans. As he grew up he became the founder and director of a few all-Jewish orphanages in Poland. Once WWII begins, he and his children are forced into the Jewish Ghetto. Read the story to find out more about this courageous and heroic man!

Sylvia Jean Drama Queen is an adorable story about a little pig named Sylvia. (Reminds me a lot of the Oliva Series) Sylvia looks at the world through a very dramatic lens. For each experience, fear, holiday etc, Sylvia wears an elaborate costume. Her family and town learns to accept Sylvia's flare and style, and look to her for the Costume Parade. The pressure to live up to expectations is a challenge for little Sylvia. What will her amazing costume be???

A sequel in many ways to Tim McGraw's My Little Girl, Love your Heart takes several of the lyrics and crafts them in story form. It focuses not only on what children can do, but who they are on the inside. The little girl is struggling with insecurities on what to present in the Talent Show. Her father supports and loves her through her decision process. An added twist at the Show is a gift of self sacrifice and friendship, highly praised by the father. I love the daddy-daughter relationship and how Tim McGraw focuses on loving his young daughter's heart vs. sole outer beauty. A great read for any child, but particularly young girls struggling with insecurities.

I was attracted to Girl of Mine because there aren't many baby books with diverse characters featured. The child in Girl of Mine is an African American baby girl who is sung a lullaby by her father. The sweet rhyme and colorful illustrations draw in readers and provide many opportunities for interaction with your child(ren).

I loved this book for many reasons! The poetic text draws readers in, as it both provides scientific information on trees, as well as ties together parallels in growth around the world. The theme of the world becoming a better place as we grow plants to provide our own resources and contribute to the earth's "healing" is interwoven with the world becoming a better place as children around the world grow. Highly recommended for units on conservation/green or global community.

City Dog, Country Frog cycles through the four seasons, beginning and ending with Spring. City Dog visits the country each season and makes a new friend, Country Frog. They alternate teaching each other new games to play together. However, during Winter, City Dog cannot find Country Frog, and that problem repeats itself during Spring. It suggests that Country Frog has died which I really didn't like for the targeted age group because it didn't support it well at all- it moves on to City Dog making a new Country friend to play with as well.

Time of Wonder was the 1957 Caldecott Winner for children's books. I had read many Robert McCloskey books growing up including One Morning in Maine and Blueberries for Sal so it was fun to visit this classic as well, still in print after all these years. Although a bit long for a children's book, the illustrations are beautiful and the text flows in a way in which is reads well. The story follows a family spending their summer vacation on an island with everything that brings. Its carefree play breaks to the fear and anxiety surrounding a pending hurricane. The preparations, way the parents distract the children, and the following questions allow for discussion and resolution of similar fears for children. A definite recommendation.

Fancy Nancy is a series that I was not familiar with. It follows a young girl, Nancy, who just loves the concept of "too much!" Nancy doesn't like to wear, decorate, speak, encounter etc the ordinary, she wants fancy! There are many great introductions of vocabulary and synonyms throughout. The illustrations are adorable and really draw the reader into the text. Another plus about this story is the fact that the parents and younger sibling encourage this imaginative play instead of crushing it. A definite read for the creative crowd.

My first IRA in a classroom was with the previous book in the series, Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy. This series by husband and wife writer-illustrating team follows a young girl, Ladybug Girl, and her trusty companion, Bingo the dog. Each book in the series addresses a character quality, fear, or problem that young children encounter. This time, a first trip to the beach brings about a fear of the big, vast ocean and its towering waves. The book sweetly follows the process of overcoming a fear, complete with the support of the protagonist's parents and older brother. The illustrations are pen and ink meets Manga and there are several creative usages of font, color etc in the text. A definite recommendation both within the classroom and for reading in the home.

Beckett and the Panda-Monium is a Border's Exclusive Book and caught my eye at the store. I had to enter it manually because I could not find it in a typical search which confirms my suspicion that it is not a highly rated text. The book follows the story of Beckett, a panda cub, on his search for a Bamboo lunch. Along the way a group of other cubs join in the search a la "Follow the Leader." There are several cute play on words as well as creative usage of font to create meaning. The text rhymes but not in a way that is very accessible to young children- the rhyming pattern is off in many places and there are many examples of slant rhyme as well. The illustrations are wonderful which is why I was drawn in but the text just doesn't match up. Would not recommend for a IRA or extensive use with children.