Do you have dog? Maybe you do. They say a dog is a man’s best friend. But have you ever heard of anyone with a pet DUCK? ‘Wanted: The Perfect Pet‘ is a story written and illustrated, simply yet effectively, by Fiona Robertson. Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Henry. And there was one thing he wanted more than anything in the whole world. More than chips, more than a cowboy costume, more than an all-expenses-paid trip to the moon. It was a dog. So, he put up an ad.

Once there was a nameless duck and was all alone. When he saw the advertisement he dressed up as a dog and went to the boy’s house. When he got there, the boy exclaimed, “A DOG!!” But the “dog” wasn’t very good at doing tricks or playing games and when he chased the boy around the trees, he tripped, and his disguise came off. The boy thought about it for a minute, and then carried the duck home. He gave him a bath, a cup of tea, and then made a list about everything a duck can do that a dog can’t.

‘So you might not be a dog,’ said Henry happily, ‘but you are certainly not JUST a dog. In fact, you might just be The Perfect Pet for me. I think I’ll call you Spot!’

There are some connections I can make to this story. First of all, I can connect this to my self. I want a dog, because they are really cute and fun to play with. Secondly, I can connect this to media. On instagram there were many posts talking about dogs being tortured. Sometimes people burn or cook dogs ALIVE for entertainment. Their body parts are then sold for money. Finally, I connect this to a world issue. Ducks are dying because of oil spills. I’ve seen a Dawn advertisement where they clean the ducks with their soap.

All in all, this is a great book about a dog and his “perfect pet”.

‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind‘ is a picture book written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, and illustrated uniquely by Elizabeth Zunon. It tells the story of William Kamkwamba, a fourteen-year-old boy at the time. He lived in a small village in Malawi where people had no money for light. As soon as nightfall came, people had to go home because nothing could be done. But for William, the darkness was great for dreaming of breaking things and taking them apart. He would wonder why he could hear the music in radios, if there wasn’t a band. The next day, he saw a truck and thought about what made it move. However, when the scorching sun came up, all the food turned into dust since there wasn’t any water. William was only allowed one small meal a day, and had to drop out of school as his family didn’t have money. But then he remembered the library, and found science books, and with his english dictionary, he was able to put together a sentence. “Windmills can produce electricity and pump water”. So, he went to find scrap materials, and started to build a windmill. People doubted him at first, but when he showed the lightbulb he lit up, people cheered.

I could make several connections to this story. I’m really lucky to be born here in Canada, where we take water, energy, and food for granted. There has never been a single day where I had no water or food. William had only one meal per day, when I have access to practically as much food and water as I want. All I have to do is open the fridge. Also, I’m literally typing on a thousand-dollar computer, but in William’s village, they didn’t even have light. Secondly, I can connect this to our previous science unit when we learned about renewable energy and how wind can create electricity. These energy sources are better for the environment and although may be expensive to establish, they will usually save you money in the long run.

All in all, William is extremely smart in my opinion, and helped his village have light.

‘After The Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again‘ written and illustrated by Dan Santat is a book about how Humpty Dumpty got back up again after the great fall. It’s sort of a sequel to the original story, where Humpty Dumpty fell off a wall. He always loved to be high up where the birds were. But after the fall, although the king’s men put him back together again, there was something they could never fix. Humpty was afraid heights, he couldn’t reach for the cereal he liked, but worst of all, he couldn’t climb the wall he loved. Then one day, he had an idea! He could make a plane to fly over the wall! It was hard, he worked day after day, until it was just right. It flew like nothing could stop it, but, accidents happen. His plane got stuck at the top! Humpty thought about the time he spent on his plane, so he decided to climb it. He was nervous, but continued to climb, one step at a time. And at the top, he turned into a bird and learned how to fly.

There are several connections I can make to this story. Firstly, I could connect this book to myself. When I was young, I used to be very afraid of the dark. I wanted to sleep with my parents to make me feel protected. Sometimes at midnight, I would wake up suddenly feeling like my bladder was going to explode. But I didn’t want to climb down the bunk bed, touch the floor, and walk in complete DARKNESS. So I tried to hold it in and fall asleep as soon as possible. But after more experience (and maybe a new alarm system), I now know there aren’t any monsters that want to eat me (I hope that’s true). The second connection I can make to this story is Humpty Dumpty himself. Everyone has heard of the “Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall” song. Both had Humpty Dumpty of course, but they were opposite as in the first version he fell off, in the second version he got back up.

All in all, this is a great sequel to the original Humpty Dumpty story and tells us to overcome our fears.

‘The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract‘ written by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated exceptionally by Mary Grandpré is a book about Vasya Kandinsky and his special ability to “hear” colours. He spent his days learning to be a proper Russian boy; he studied math and history, he practiced the piano, he sat stiff and straight at dinner while the grown ups talked. Kandinsky world was perfectly normal… until his aunt gave him a wooden paint box. Vasya opened his paint box and began mixing the reds with the yellows, and then with the blues. But as the colours changed, he heard sounds just like an orchestra! He showed his paint box to his parents and relatives, but they all told him that he was foolish and silly. So his family sent him to art classes, and expected him to paint houses and flowers like a proper artist.

As the years passed, Vasya became a lawyer and ignored the paint box. But he couldn’t ignore the colours singing to him. So, he quit his job to become an artist. His famous teacher didn’t like what he was drawing, so he made Vasya draw houses and flowers, animals and people. The teacher was happy, but not Vasya and his friends. Until one day, he was brave enough show his paintings to the world. At first, they didn’t know what it was, but in the end, people understood, and loved it.

To this book, I could make some connections. First of all, I could connect this to myself. Vasya’s unique style of design was criticized for its unusualness, but he still kept painting with the sound he heard from colours. Recently we had an assignment in school, and used slides to express our learning. Usually in presentations, the first page has a title, a picture of the thing they’re talking about, and their name. However, I didn’t want to use that typical design because I thought it was too busy. So, all I did was find a PNG image of a solar panel and placed that on the title page. Secondly, I could connect this to my Instagram feed. I follow @apple, so whenever they post I see it. You might think they post pictures they post pictures of iPhone’s and iPad’s, but they never do. They post pictures from unique photographers. Not beautiful landscapes, but pictures of colour.

All in all, this book is a great representation of how uniqueness can take you far in life.

‘There‘ is an imaginative picture book written and illustrated gorgeously by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick. It tells the story of a little girl who ponders what the future holds for her.

“When will I get there? How will I know?” she thought. “Would there be a sign that says here, is there? Will it take long to get there? ‘Till tomorrow, next week, or even next year?”

“Will I be really big, and be sensible? What colour will the sunflowers or the blueberries be? Will I know all the secrets, how to count the stars or fix broken stuff? Will everyone be going there? Can I change my mind and go somewhere else?” And finally, she says, “I can’t go today, I’ve got lots to do. But I’ll go tomorrow. Definitely.”

This story reminds me of a few things in my own life. First of all, I’ve always wondered what I would be doing in 10 years, 15 years, or 30 years. Will I be famous or will I be unknown? Will I be in the high, middle, or low class? What will I be doing as a job?Number two, I connect this to the textbooks I read in school. Education is what can help me be more successful in the future, so although I won’t know what I’ll be doing, I have a higher chance of being financially stable. Finally, I think the future of a person’s life is something everyone probably thinks about once in a while, because it’s practically impossible to predict, especially for children.

To sum it up, this book was somewhat confusing at first, but tells the curious story of the a child’s future life.

‘Wangari’s Trees of Peace‘ written by Jeanette Winter is a true story from Africa about Wangari Muta Maathai, who used to be a Kenyan political and environmental activist.

Wangari lived under an umbrella of green trees during her childhood. She would watch the birds in the forest while collecting firewood for cooking. Her school grades were high just like the trees, and she received a scholarship to attend Mount St. Scholastica College in Kansas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Ph.D at the University of Nairobi.

But when she gets home, Wangari returns to a naked piece of land. There weren’t the trees she had known before. Women had to walk miles to get firewood to cook, and the barren land couldn’t grow any crops. Thousands of trees had been removed to make room for buildings. So, she decides to plant nine seedlings in he backyard. As the saplings grew, Wangari plants more and more trees, and convinces the village women to plant trees as well. She pays a little money to the women who helped. And soon, women in other villages across Africa decide to do the same thing. However, the government men didn’t like what she was doing, and put her into jail. But as the word grew, Wangari is let out and given a Nobel Peace Prize.

I could make some connections to this picture book. A text to my own experiences is the removal of the trees at my own house. We’re rebuilding our home, so the plants in my front and backyard will be taken down. We’re also learning about renewable energy sources in class for a cleaner environment. Secondly, this book reminds me of a book I read that talks about being a “green” teen. I didn’t read much of it, so I don’t really know the rest. Last but not least, I could connect this to all the media that talks about being good to nature.

All in all, this story tells a very important issue in the world we live in right now.

‘The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jaques Cousteau‘ is a great book written and illustrated by Dan Yaccarina. Jaques Cousteau was the world’s ambassador of the oceans, and his popular TV series brought marine wildlife straight to people’s homes. In this picture book, we learn about the amazing man behind the snorkel.

Cousteau was born as a weak child, so was encouraged to swim to build up body strength. From the first time he got a look at the fish under the ocean, he loved it. So, he set sail and his team of scientists invented new diving equipment and waterproof cameras. With that, they made televisions shows and wrote books to share what they saw. And when he saw that pollution from boats, Cousteau wanted to educate people on protecting the oceans.

I could make a handful of connections to the story of Jaques Cousteau. First of all, I can relate to his snorkeling experiences. Although I was scared of the sea when I was younger, now I really like looking at all the fish in the water. Over spring break, I had actually snorkeled at the Xel-Há Cancun Waterpark, and brought home a complimentary snorkel they gave us as a souvenir. Furthermore, I could link this to the world, as pollution is a huge global issue. In school, we’re learning about renewable energy, which are sources of electricity that don’t pollute the air as much as fossil fuels. And finally, I’ve seen advertisements about marine wildlife (everyone loves Marineland!). They show videos of things you can do at their attraction.

All in all, the picture book about Jaques Cousteau was a perfect connection to our learning about clean energy sources.

‘Bat’s Big Game‘ by Derek Munson and illustrated by Eugene Nobati is a picture book we’ve read before. But this time, we’re told to make connections to the story. Basically, it tells the story of a bat who always wanted to be on the winning side. At first, he thought animals looked strong and fast, so he joined the “A” team. After the game goes on for a while, the birds are winning 2:1. So Bat decides to join the birds team. They give him the “B” jersey, but when the animals take the lead, Bat goes back to the other side, however this time everyone realize what he was doing and kicks him from the game.

I can connect to this story to my own experiences, because my classmates, including me, always want to be on the winning side. From time to time I hear people saying things like “aww I got horrible teammates” or “my team is stacked!” But sometimes they will get a better or worse outcome than they thought. Secondly, I can relate this to some other books I read about animals and soccer. But obviously in real life they can’t play soccer. Finally is my connection to the media. When I was in China there isn’t Youtube, and my Mandarin isn’t very good so I can’t watch movies or television shows there. One day, my dad was watching Basketball on the TV. Since it was almost dinner time and there wasn’t much time to do anything else, I joined him. But unlike Bat, I stuck on one team, which ended up losing the game. Changing the team you’re on just makes it boring.

To sum it all up, I could make several connections to the book, and you should never leave your team because you never know what might happen.

‘The Fish Who Could Wish’ is a wonderful rhyming picture book written by John Bush and illustrated by the famous Korky Paul. In the deep blue sea, the deep of the blue, there was a fish who could wish, and each wish came true. He wished for a castle, and wished for a car, but one day he wished, just a little too far. What is the wish, of this special little fish? He wanted to be like all the other normal fish. And so, the wish came true just like it should. Because this little fish, just cannot wish. The thought of getting whatever you wanted is silly, as there’s no such thing as a free lunch. But although this wouldn’t happen in real life, the message it gave out to anyone reading this book is important. Every single one of us has things that make us special, positive and negative, just like the fish in our story. The special fish could wish for anything, but he had lived his whole life knowing he could have whatever he wanted. This made him ignorant and injudicious. In summary, you can see that equality is the main theme in this story, an important one to that.

“An act of kindness can change someones day. It is the only language where the deaf can hear and the blind can see. No matter what you do, or where you are, kindness will make the other person feel good, which makes you feel happy as well.”

In L.A. class today, Ms. Wilson told everyone to finish all their work. She even made a chart to show us all the work we needed to do. Richard forgot to glue some of his Story Elements in his book, so he asked me for a glue stick and I gave it to him. That was a small thing, but I helped him finish his work quick so he has more time to work on others.