Mel's Book Corner

Title: The Polar Express Genre: Caldecott Author: Chris Van Allsburg Major Awards: Caldecott Medal Age Group: Kindergarten-2nd grade This is a sweet story of a young boy and his journey to the North Pole. He was unsure if he believed in Santa, as his friends all told him Santa was not real. On Christmas Eve, as he was laying in bed, he heard the sounds of 'hissing steam and squeaking metal', and he looked outside to find a large train in front of his home. He went outside, and the conductor explained that the train was on its way to the North Pole. The boy was given a ticket and hopped on the train. Here, he was met with many other children and lots of sweet treats and hot cocoa. They traveled through dark forests, mountains, hills, and plains, until finally arriving at the North Pole. The conductor explained that they would get off the train, and one lucky child would be selected by Santa to receive the first gift of Christmas. To the young boy's surprise, Santa p...

Title: Snow Genre: Caldecott Author: Uri Shulevitz Major Awards: Caldecott Honor Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade This is the story of a little boy encountering snow for the first time. He spies one snowflake, and says "It's snowing!" His grandfather replies, "It's only a snowflake." He spies two snowflakes and says again, "It's snowing!" A man then replied, "It's nothing." He spots three snowflakes, restating, "It's snowing!" A woman walking by says, "It'll melt." The young boy becomes annoyed that everyone, from his grandfather to the television, is not believing that a snowstorm is occurring. In the end, the snow does stick, and a full-on snowstorm covers the town.  I am undecided if I would want this in my classroom or not. It teaches a great lesson on persistence, and not letting other's opinions bring you down, but it was a bit boring. It did have pretty illustrations of the town being co...

Title: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat Genre: Caldecott Author: Simms Taback Major Awards: Caldecott Medal Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten This is the story of Joseph and how his overcoat goes from being an overcoat to a button. He had an overcoat, but it got old, so he made it into a jacket. The jacket got old, so he made it into a vest. The vest got old, so he made it into a scarf. The scarf got old, so he made it into a necktie. The necktie got old, so he made it into a handkerchief. The handkerchief got old, so he made it into a button. Well,  the button ended up getting lost, so Joseph was left with nothing. In the end, the author explains that he chose to make a book out of this event that occurred in his life, and wants readers to know that you can always make something out of nothing.  This book is incredibly illustrated, so it's no wonder it won a Caldecott Medal. With that said, I do not think the story compares to its illustrations. The story does not have...