<>

		bibliograhic information		David Wiesner, The Three Pigs, Clarion Books of Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001
		summary		This book starts our as the traditional story of the three little pigs.  But right away, it becomes obvious that the story will not follow the traditional story.  The wolf blows the pigs right out of the story book pages and into another story!  The wolf then continues on with the traditional story, but with a twist,  while the pigs escape into other well-known fariy tales and alter those stories as well.  By the time they return to the story of the three little pigs, they have added to thier group and defeat the wolf!  They crumple the page that he is on and thrown him away.  They live happily everafter with thier new found friends!
		recommendation for parents		This story challenges what children already know about the fairy tale world.  It makes them think beyond what they already know.  The illustrations are beautiful and creative, while at the same time entertaining and in some cases funny.  The story that David Wiesner writes is fun and exciting!  Your child will love to read it, even if they hate reading!  Look for more exciting stories from him.
		recommendation for other teachers		This story is an excellent read aloud for your classroom.  It will arouse intrest in your students because it is something that they are not used to reading.  This book can keep children guessing about what story the three pigs are going to invade next!  Even though this book maybe confusing to English lanuage learners, it can introduce them to new language and perspective.  This book also gives many different opportunities to create assignments that are both fun and educational.
		personal note		I loved this book the first time that I read it.  It challenges the idea of the traditional fairy tale and forces children to pay attention because you never know what the pigs are going to do next!  The illustrations are colorful and exciting at the same time.
	Audrey Penn, The Kissing Hand, Tanglewood Press, 2006		bibliograhic information
	Chester Raccoon does not want to go to school.  His mother tries everything but nothing will convince him to go.  So, his mother conveys the special family tradition on him, the Kissing Hand.  She tells him that when she feels lonely, he can press his palm of his hand to his cheek and it will be like his mother giving him a kiss as well.  Before he leaves, he gives him mother her own Kissing Hand.		summary
	This book is a wonderfully touching story of a mother's love for her son.  I would recommend it to anyone who has a child that is having difficulites with leaving for school.		recommendation for parents
	I recommend this book for the first few days of school for frightened Kindergartners and first graders.  This book is touching and comforting.  It has made a special place in my heart!		recommendation for other teachers
	I loved this story!  I think that young children need to read it since coming to school can be scary.		personal note
		bibliograhic information	Shirley Climo, Rober Florczak (illustrator), The Persian Cinderella, Harper Collins Publishers, 1999
		summary	This story is a new twist on an old story.  The Cinderella, Settareh, lives in a huge house with her two step sister and stepmom.  Her father, who only appears in the story once, comes to Settareh and her step sisters to give them moneyto buy cloth for new dress for the New Year celebration at the palace.  Settareh spends her money on food (because she is always hungry), gives money to an old beggar woman, and buys a beautiful, cracked jar.  Unknown to her, her jar is magical.  When the time comes, she asks the jar for a dress since she spent her money on other things.  She goes to the celebration and meets the prince but runs away to the women's room.  When midnight approaches, she runs home so that her stepmom will not know she went to the party.  On the way, she loses a diamond anklet.  The anklet makes its way to the prince and he sets off to find and marry the girl it belongs to.  He finds Settareh and makes her his fiance, much to the dismay of her step sisters.  On the day of her wedding, the step sisters are so jealous, they take Settareh's magical jar to make a wish for themselves.  But it breaks and six hairpins are lying on the ground.  They take the hairpins and fix her hair but Settareh turns into a dove and flies away.  The prince is crushed.  He locks himself into his room.  A dove flies into his room and he befriends it, not knowing that it is Settareh.  He discovers the hairpins and pulls them out.  Settareh is restored and they marry.
		recommendation for parents	This story is an excellent way to introduce another culture to your child. The lanuage is simple enough for a child to read to you if they are young.  As an older child, they can read it themselves and pull away a feel for a different culture and way of life.  Shirley Climo weaves a fantastic story that is so much like the story of Cinderella portrayed by Disney yet it is also very different.  Climo writes more different stores of Cinderella using different cultures.  Look for The Egyptian Cinderella and The Korean Cinderella for more Cinderella stories from another culture!
		recommendation for other teachers	I recommend this book for grades one through four.  The Persian Cinderella is a wonderful way to introduce a new culture into your classroom. The illustrations are vivid and colorful.  The text is engaging and beautiful.  Look for more variations on the Cinderella story by Shirley Climo.  This is an excellent way to give your students different cultural experiences from a book!  This book can also be a precursor to history or even a foreign language lesson.  The Persian Cinderella lends itself to creativity by not only the students but the teacher as well.
		personal note	This book was excellent.  I enjoyed all the beautiful illustrations that Robert Florczak painted.  Shirley Climo creates a world of magic for young children to delve into.  They get to explore a new world at their own pace from the pages of this book!

Home	Biography	Resume
Professional Documents	Educational Links	Philosophy of Education
Student Teaching	Read Alouds	Math Lesson Plans