List of books I have read

The Hungry Thing by Jan Slepian and Ann Seidler
The Chocolate Moose by Gwendolyn MacEwan
My Five Senses by Aliki
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
The Happy Egg by Ruth Krauss
Do I have to take Violet? by Sucie Stevenson
Wait and See by Robert Munsch
Waves in the Bathtub by Eugenie Fernandes
Noisey Breakfast by Ellen Blonder
I Promise I'll Find You by Heather Patricia Ward
Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton
Firegirl by Tony Abbott
The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill and Laura Huliska Beith
Over in the Meadow by Jan Thornhill
Priscilla and the Pink Planet by  Nathaniel Hobbie
There's No Such Thing As A Dragon by Jack Kent
Mocking Bird by Kathryn Erskine
How the Animals got their Colors by Michael Rosen
If you were a Palindrome by Michael Dahl
Spheres by Nathan Olsen
Star of Fear, Star of Hope by Jo Hoestlandt
Gloria and Officer Buckle by Peggy Rathmann
Noodle, Nitwit, Numskull by Meguido Zola
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea by Anne Sibley Obrien
The Mitten retold by Jim Aylesworth

Russell the sheep by Rob Scotton

Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton is a book about a sheep with insomnia who tries everything possible to fall asleep, but he is wide awake while all the other sheep are getting a good nights rest. The story itself is very short with little print on each page, making it easy to read in about a minute, however I spent much longer with this picture book due to the fantastic illustrations. It was the illustrations that had the biggest impact on me in this book due to the illustrator's attention detail and texture, the colors used, and the movement and expression conveyed through the art work. The pictures really tell the story, and would probably be just as effective as if there were no words.

The story itself is cute, fun and relatable. I remember many times when I couldn't sleep no matter what I did; either because I just had too much energy or because I was really excited about something that was going to happen the next day. In this way, the story is a mirror into my own world as I can relate to how I felt as a child (and as an adult) when I knew I should be sleeping, and the frustration of not being able to. The book as a whole made me laugh due to the comical places and situations that Russell ends up in when he is trying to find a better place to sleep. The comical nature of the story is enhanced especially by the illustrations.

In terms of the illustrations, if I were to describe how they made me feel in one word, that word would be dreamy. The color scheme of light and dark blues, soft greens, light greys and purples, and white made me feel very calm and relaxed. The texture found in the skies and the landscapes is very soft and flowing, and the technique used to create the sheep is characterized by soft edges that make the sheep look "fuzzy" like a warm blanket. The detail makes the pictures almost 3D and life like, while still creating a cartoon-ey effect. Everything about the illustrations makes the story seem like it takes place in a dreamland, which in my opinion is very appropriate as the story is related to sleeping. Russell on the other hand, is drawn in positions that suggest movement and that make him look restless (ex: on his head, or with his legs flailing about, with his hat in a "ziggy-zaggy" pattern). His facial expressions are lively and show no sign of tiredness, with beedy eyes wide open. The use of line, shape and movementhis in the illustrations creates a contrast in the book between what is happening in the background (ie. the dreamy, calmness of night when all the other sheep are sleeping) and what is happing to Russell at the time (wide awake, energetic activities to try and fall asleep).

The attention to detail in the illustrations also made the book enjoyable. The author/illustrator decided to include humourous details in the pictures that add another level to the story and make it more relatable. For example, you see a grandmother sheep knitting a scarff with the wool from the bottom of her neigbor, revealing his boxer shorts. The sheep have quilts, a tooth brush, a teddy bear, a coffee mug, or a glass with false teeth as they are about to go to bed, and in the morning they have things like "wash and go" body wash, "Sheepy Flakes" cereal and "The Daily Bleat" newspaper. These little details make the sheep seem like real people who do the same daily routines that people do. The story is obviously fictious, but these elements give the reader a fun way to relate to what is happening and put themselves inside the story.


Russell the Sheep could easily be used in a primary class for a read aloud, as practice for early readers, as part of a health lesson on daily routines, or as part of an art lesson on elements of design.

Firegirl by Tony Abbott

Firegirl by Tony Abbott is a novel about a shy, unpopular boy named Tom Bender who's life gets turned upside down when new girl Jessica Sweeny comes to his class. Jessica has been badly burned in a fire and the whole class is afraid of her and for the most part ignores her, especially by Tom's best friend Jeff. Tom finds himself doing what no one else would do - befriending Jessica. This changes Tom's life forever.

For this journal, I decided to create a piece of artwork, combined with a popular song to show my feelings and thoughts on the novel Firegirl by Tony Abbott.

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag

Drifting throught the wind

Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin

Like a house of cards

One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep

Six feet under scream

But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you

Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light

And let it shine

Just own the night

Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework

Come on show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework

Come on let your colors burst

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow

And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light

And let it shine

Just own the night

Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework

Come on show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework

Come on let your colors burst

Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"

You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe"

Boom, boom, boom

Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

It's always been inside of you, you, you

And now it's time to let it through

Katy Perry's "Firework" conveys perfectly how I responded to the main characters Jessica Feeny and Tom Bender. Jessica and Tom are either actively shunned or go unnoticed in their middle school classroom, and often feel defeated by not being accepted or well liked by their peers. This song would be the advice I would give them if I were to meet them in real life, because they each have some much to offer and if they would just "get out there" and let their personalities shine through then people would see how amazing they really are.  The end of the novel is heart warming because even though they feel like outsiders throughout the novel, something special happens when they reach out to each other in friendship and "let their colors burst" for each other to see.