"Who Was That?" by Olivier Talloc

Who Was That?

By Olivier Talloc
International Book Blog 
Illustrated by Olivier Talloc
Published by Chronicle Books (March 2018)
Text and Illustrations copyright by Olivier Talloc
32 pages
Genre: Children's Book, Interactive Children's Book
French Book Translated to English



This interactive children's book is perfect to engage students, all while teaching them basic reading, writing, and math skills. As the book progresses, each page asks the students to memorize a detail and recall that information on the following page. By doing this, students get practice in recall and retelling details in the story. With colorful images and interactive details on each page, this book can be used to enhance tactical learning and engage the student's senses. 

A variety of different mediums were used to create the illustrations in this book. The illustrator, who is also the author, used computer generated text to connect the pictures to the font of the story. The pictures were created using calk, pencil, and watercolor. The variety of different textures used in the pictures creates a movement to the images that pulls the readers in and asks them to look deeper. 

Standard: English Language Arts
Grade: Kindergarten
1 ) With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. [RL.K.1]

a. Make predictions to determine main idea and anticipate an ending. (Alabama)
This book would be used to ask the students to recall information throughout the book. The text itself asks students to remember details and answer questions regarding the previous page. This book would be a great tool for implementing the skills of recall and retell in literacy.

"Yo Soy Muslim"

Yo Soy Muslim

By Mark Gonzales

Diverse Perspectives Book Blog

Illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini

Published by Salaam Reads / Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 

Text copyright by Mark Gonzales

Pictures copyright by Mehrdokht Amini

32 pages

Genre: Multicultural Children's Picture Book

This endearing multicultural book depicts the relationship between an encouraging father and his daughter. The father, who is a Muslim Latino, is trying to instill pride and honor in his daughter about their heritage and their culture. Through his heart touching letter to his daughter, he describes the pride one should have of their multicultural identity. This book is a great story to share with all readers to describe what makes us each unique and allow children who share this culture to feel pride and acceptance. It shows the different perspectives that people groups have regarding their heritage and culture. Additionally, it shows how important it is to understand the different lifestyles and prides cultures from around the world have. 

The illustrations in this book are both captivating and detailed. The illustrator Amini uses a variety of simple techniques to create detailed images that correlate with the story. Through the use of colored pencils and chalk, the illustrator creates Gonzales's story in such a visual way that captivates and inspires readers to better relate to the story. 

Standard: Social Studies

Grade: 6th

12 ) Evaluate significant political issues and policies of presidential administrations since World War II.

•  Explaining how conflict in the Middle East impacted life in the United States since World War II

In the classroom setting, I would use this book in an older age group, such as 4th-6th grades. I would use this book to describe the different viewpoints of people from multicultural backgrounds who live in the United States. Students would be able to see what life is like for other people groups, especially those in currently highly talked about groups such as Muslims and Latinos. Students would be paired after the read aloud to share the way the book made them feel through a think, pair, share. Then, they would be asked to write a letter to their own future children sharing the pride they have in their own cultures. They could compare their letter to the letter from this book and see the cultural differences firsthand. 

"I'm Ladybug Girl!"

Ladybug Girl 

by David Soman and Jacky Davis

Illustrated by David Soman

Published by Scholastic Inc.

Text copyright by Jacky Davis

Pictures copyright by David Soman

40 pages

Genre: Children's Literature Picture Book

This captivating, humorous story tells readers all about Lulu's adventurous day as Ladybug Girl! After being told that she has to entertain herself for the day, Lulu decides that she will use her Ladybug powers to do all kinds of fun things. She explores the outdoors in her backyard by helping animals, exploring puddles, and much more. After viewing the world in a different perspective through her adventures, she realizes she isn't as small as everyone thinks. This realization leads Lulu to believe that she can accomplish anything. 

The illustrations in this charming picture book add an element of whimsy that pairs perfectly with the plot. The illustrator uses elements of watercolor to portray the protagonist's adventures. The watercolor is paired with the use of pens and markers to create the scenes in the book. Overall. the bright, scenic illustrations serve to highlight the colorful plot of the story as a whole. 

In the classroom setting, I would use this book to teach the concepts of plot in an early elementary English lesson. I would begin the lesson by reading the book aloud to the class as a whole or in a small group setting. Then, I would ask the students questions after reading about what happened to Lulu throughout her journey. We would make a chart as a group that shows the progression of what she experienced and what occurred after each action she took. Using the student's responses, we would compose a plot graph including the elements of plot: beginning (exposition), rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. The class will assign each action a spot on the plot chart.