Escamilla Reads

*This book review was written for one of my MLS courses at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Wiesner, David. (2001). THE THREE PIGS. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780618007011 PLOT SUMMARY The Three Pigs by David Wiesner first begins with how three pigs each parted ways and built a house out of various materials (straw, sticks, and bricks). A dangerous wolf comes along and attempts to enter the first little pig’s house; however, when the little pig refuses to let him in, he huffs, puffs, and blows the house away. The thing is, the little pig actually got blown out of the story, and a result, he goes to gather the other two pigs and tells them to join him since the wolf is going to do the same thing to their houses. Once the three little pigs escaped the story, they decide to go on a little adventure and end up in other various stories. After discovering these other places, the pigs return to their original story and change up their destined ending, along with some...

*This book review was written for one of my MLS courses at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Pinkney, Jerry. (2013). THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE. New York, NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780316183567 PLOT SUMMARY The Tortoise and the Hare by Jerry Pinkney is a version of the classic fable in which a tortoise, who is seen as “slow”, and a hare, who is seen as “fast”, participate in a race against each other in their Southwestern habitat. The hare takes off rather quickly from the starting line while the tortoise takes his time and continues the race in a slower manner. The hare believes he is definitely going to be the winner of the race and decides to take a nap before finishing it; however, the tortoise actually catches up during this time and ends up taking the victory instead. CRITICAL ANALYSIS There are many variants and versions of The Tortoise and the Hare; however, Jerry Pinkney’s is truly one of a kind. This book has very few words, in fact, they are al...

*This book review was written for one of my MLS courses at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Schwartz, Corey Rosen. (2012). THE THREE NINJA PIGS. Ill. by Dan Santat. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780399255144 PLOT SUMMARY Desperate for protection from a dangerous wolf, three little pigs decide to partake in various styles of martial arts ( aikido, jujitsu, and karate). The first two pigs felt they were well-experienced after a little amount of training; however, they were unprepared to defend themselves whenever the woof visited them, causing them to resort to their last sibling’s ninja skills. This little pig, who took her marital arts training very seriously, shows off her precise fighting skills to the wolf, which eventually scares him off and allows the little pigs to practice being ninjas safely and freely. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The Three Ninja Pigs is a fractured fairytale that allows readers to discover what the little pigs’ situations...

*This book review was written for one of my MLS courses at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Kimmel, Eric. (2016). RATTLESTILTSKIN. Ill. by Erin Camarca. Portland, OR: WestWinds Press. ISBN 9781943328383 PLOT SUMMARY After Rosalia’s mother brags that her daughter makes the best floating tortillas, Don Ignacio, the richest man in town, demands Rosalia to make him tortillas so he can determine if it was indeed true. Obviously worried that she would not live up to the task, Rosalia accepts help from a little and mysterious rattlesnake-like man, promising him that she would be willing to do anything he asks from her in the future. The little man later on returns and orders Rosalia to become his maid; however, she refuses, and her only way out is if she successfully guesses his name. After several failed attempts, Rosalia overhears the little man sing out his name; therefore, she was finally able to guess his name right and get him to leave her alone for good. CRITICAL ANALYSIS ...

*This book review was written for one of my MLS courses at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Eastman, P.D.  (1960). ARE YOU MY MOTHER? New York, NY. Random House Children’s Books. ISBN 0394800184 PLOT SUMMARY Anxious and excited to meet her soon-to-be-hatched baby bird, a mother bird leaves her nest briefly to gather some food for her child. While she is gone, the baby bird hatches from the egg and immediately wonders where his mother is. Curious, the baby bird asks many types of animals and items around him if they are the ones who gave birth to him. After a while, the baby bird loses hope and starts to convince himself that maybe he was just alone, but he was quickly proven wrong whenever he goes back to his nest and his real mother arrives at the same time. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Are You My Mother ? is a beginner book that is excellent for those children who are in the early stages of learning how to read. The sentences are short and there are many examples of repetition to ...

*This book review was written for one of my MLS courses at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Keats, Ezra Jack. (1962). THE SNOWY DAY. New York, NY: Viking Press. ISBN 0670654000 PLOT SUMMARY During the winter, a young boy named Peter wakes up to a beautiful snowy day. Dressed in a red snowsuit, Peter goes outside and takes advantage of the many opportunities he could only encounter while playing in the snow, such as building a snowman, making snow angels, participate in a snowball fight, etc. Although he worries that the snow will eventually fade away, he continues to wake up in the mornings to find that it is still there and that it is a new day for some more fun and snowy adventures! CRITICAL ANALYSIS The Snowy Day is an excellent picture book that demonstrates how children can appreciate nature and the different seasons. Peter went outside all by himself and decided to take various risks while playing in the heavy snow, even though he is still fairly young. He recognizes...

*This book review was written for one of my MLS courses at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Col ón, Ra úl. (2004). ORSON BLASTS OFF. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689842783 PLOT SUMMARY Frustrated at the fact that his computer is no longer in service, Orson becomes extremely bored and begins to imagine/dream about all the adventures he would be able to go on in the outside world. From discovering the North Pole, confronting a hurricane, and even taking off to outer space, Orson is exposed to the many possibilities he would encounter if he was to not depend solely on using technology for leisure. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Ra úl Col ón’s plot in Orson Blasts Off! significantly exhibits how children can be intrigued by the many wonders of the outside world if they give it a chance. In the beginning of the picture book, Orson is furious and says out loud, “You dumb computer, how could you?”. This allows the reader to see the character’s feeling of betrayal a...

*This book review was made for one of my MLS courses at SHSU.* BIBLIOGRAPHY Klassen, Jon . (2012). THIS IS NOT MY HAT. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763655990 PLOT SUMMARY A small fish has stolen a hat from a sleeping bigger fish and believes that he will not get caught. As the story progresses, the fish keeps trying to convince both himself and the reader that what he did wasn’t all that bad and that he made the correct choice. The real question is, will he indeed get away with his crime, or will karma come back for him instead? CRITICAL ANALYSIS John Klassen’s plot in This is Not My Hat is the perfect demonstration of both bad karma and punishment when a wrong decision is made. His main character is a small fish with both sneaky and mischievous qualities, which can easily make the reader believe that his actions of stealing someone else’s hat is humorous and not so serious. However, the little fish kept attempting to justify his actions by statin...