Dear Mr. Blueberry

Dear Mr. Blueberry

Simon James

When I was young about 6 or 7 years old, my parents didn’t believe I saw a snake and squirrel around our house until they saw it by themselves. Parents sometimes don’t respect or listen to children’s opinions and perspectives especially in the period of junior or senior high school. In this book, however, I think Emily was quite lucky because she met a sweet teacher, Mr. Blueberry, who was still willing to trust her imagination of a whale in her own pond.

The design of this book represents an exchange letter between a student and a teacher in a summer vacation. When I read it, I felt that I was reading a personal diary or letters making me read it more realistic. Throughout the vacation time, Emily met a surprising matter in her pond one night; therefore she wrote a letter to her teacher asking for help and got responses for her teacher. At the first time, the teacher didn’t trust what Emily seen: there was a whale swimming in her pond. Without a doubt, I was laughing when I read this paragraph. Dose a whale in a personal pond?? Is it a new born whale just got lost to his original route of sea? Using my common sense, it can’t be the truth!! Interestingly, although the teacher didn’t believe such a story, he still told her how to feed it and how to take care of it. The teacher kept telling his distrust of this whale but at the same time he kept giving some additional information to Emily. What an interesting interaction between an adult and a child!! Additionally, Emily was reading letters with the whale, hanging pictures of whales, and finally sent him back to his real home with her sadness.

From this story, Emily had regarded the whale as her one of family members. She stayed with him, took care of him and sharing things to that whale. Besides, the pictures on this book are very clearly and sweet because I was touched by those pictures. It’s easier to understand with those large pictures. In addition, the words of this book are simple, big and appropriate for beginning readers. For me, it is not only a story of a whale and a girl showing an intimate relationship, but also a lesson teaches how human beings get along with animals. The teacher may not still believe Emily’s story at the end, but I think he had came through this experience which was full of imagination, devotion and adherence.

Tuesday

Tuesday

David Wiesner

When I first read through this book, actually, I had no idea what author were talking about. Perhaps there is one reason that this is a wordless book except for three short sentences. This wordless book is my first children book to read, and when I read it first time, I felt uncomfortable. Because I have to rely on the pictures to tell me what the context are. It is the first time I felt that I cannot read without words!! Words are indeed important elements for a book. However, do words are indeed crucial part for a book?

In this book, Tuesday, I use my imagination to connect those pictures. There are no many words so pictures become my biggest sources to follow the story. In the beginning of the book, the scene of night is the key element because there is something going to happen. The illustrator created a scene that differs from ordinary people thought, including me. I never thought that a night could be so “bustling” because of a “flight” of frogs!!! Do you still think the night only belong to owls?? From now on, there were other animals started joining this field but they appeared on Tuesday only. The frogs were flying with lotus leaves through the night, playing with a dog, accidentally bumping the bed sheets of one’s home. I felt that they enjoyed the night and the night for them was a huge playground. No one could interfere with the enjoyment and Tuesday was the day they were most looking forward to!! Unluckily, one witness ever had seen this scene and a dog. Next day, street was crowded because there were so many lotus leaves left on the ground. The policeman came to investigate what happened and asked the only witness. Apparently he didn’t believe what he saw and of course no one would believe him as well. This weird event left a mysterious and unsolved matter in the town.

In the last page of book, the character became pigs!!! Why? Where were the frogs?? However, this time as a reader I guess, next Tuesday is happy time for pigs to play in the night. Will pigs have the same acts as frogs? Perhaps they’ll have another plan for this Tuesday!! Tuesday, for people, maybe it is a common day in a week; but this day is a big day for some animals. The illustrator subverts my stereotype of a night, tranquil and untroubled. The frogs like naughty children who are playing without parents’ supervision. When sun raises, they hide or pretend nothing happened. Perhaps when people are ready to sleep, there is a special occasion or event is about to start for animals only!!!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

This book used a large, vivid and creative method to intrigue children’s interests. First I think, the pictures in this book are so large that may catch children’s attention. Those pictures did not paint very perfectly; however, this may show its realism. In my opinion, this book is for preschool age children. Because it likes the children’s scrabble, imperfect but pure. For example, the face of the sun was not smooth on its surface. This kind of picture could also happen on those children who are not good at drawing, but they would recall the age of scrabbling on paper.

About the design of this book, it is very creative and useful for children. It has the concept of number on various fruits and each one has a hole on those fruit. While I read it, I touched those holes. At that time, I could image I were that caterpillar, creeping the holes one by one. After I finished, it meant I ate all fruits and I couldn’t eat anymore. The caterpillar’s mouth is so small that the small holes represent caterpillar’s mouth. Using this idea to convey an eating process of a caterpillar is vivid and make children exciting. Besides, they can use their hands to follow the caterpillar’s steps, step by step, and finally the caterpillar became a beautiful butterfly! Through touching the book it would leave children a profound impression about this book.

The final page, the big beautiful butterfly gave me a big surprise. Actually, I didn’t expect this result, but while this butterfly came out, I knew what was going on. Although I knew the butterfly is from caterpillar molting, I think illustrator used eating food as a process of a butterfly can add many interests in it. Why dose a caterpillar become a beautiful butterfly after it eating so much food? Does it mean every caterpillar become a butterfly through eating so much food? This also can help parents teach children the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly!! I think this book teach meaningful story with vivid illustrations, and the most important thing is I learn the life of a butterfly with joy once again!!

When Sheep Cannot Sleep by Satoshi Kitamura

“When Carol cannot sleep, what does she do?” I asked myself. Actually, insomnia rarely happened to me, but it happened when I drank caffeine beverage. It is reading that helps me sleep well; on the contrary, when I counted sheep (it said that it’s useful for sleeping), it wasn’t worked. Thus, I didn’t believe that counting sheep was really helpful. But why do we believe this folktale until now? Where does this come from? Well, I think I find the answer in this book.

Since we count sheep for a nice night, if sheep cannot sleep, who should we rely on? In this book, a sheep suffered from insomnia so that he found ways to help him. At the beginning he went for walk, there he met different insects and animals: ladybirds, squirrels, owls and so on. In the end, a lightning sharply broke the sky; the sheep was frightened; thus he decided to go back home, lay on the bed. At that time, his eyelids became heavier and heavier. After playing outside for all night, the sheep was easily fall into sleep, and I think he would sleep tight this time. In the last page, there is an index that has numbers 1 to 22. Actually, I have no idea what’s the meaning of this page. But after I looked again, there was something interesting attracted me. “Hahaha…….” Laughing came out directly after I knew why this page put there. Although the cover had told readers it is a counting book, I cannot figure out until I saw the last page. So I read it again to make sure whether the numbers are continuous. This is a creative and interesting method to teach children the concept of numbers. With animals and animals’ color, it is not only have ideas about numbers but can know a variety of colors.

From this book, I knew the sheep would have trouble with sleeping. The way the sheep solved, I think, he had “exercised” so much through the night that he eventually felt tired. Even the sheep would suffer from insomnia; the human beings probably could copy this pattern, then they would have a nice and stable night. If someday the reading habit doesn’t work anymore, the story will be reminded me of this cute sheep.

The Two Of Them by Aliki

The cover of “The Two of Them” gives me lovely feeling when I saw it at first. The grandpa and his granddaughter looked at each other with a smile. The illustrator scratched exquisitely that showed me a harmonious feeling of a lovely relationship between a grandpa and a granddaughter.

"The day she was born, her grandfather made her a ring of silver and a polished stone, because he loved her already." This is one of sentences I felt very touching, especially “because he loved her already.” How sweet it is!! Every newborn baby is the hope for every family, and all the family members will take good care of this baby no matter what it costs, with no exception of this grandfather. He made a silver ring for her because he knew she would wear it someday; he took her to the sea and mountain, playing there almost a day; and worked in the grandfather’s store, training his granddaughter the experience of accounting. Even she miscalculated; the grandfather didn’t worry about that because he considered that was a precious experience for his lovely granddaughter. Besides, the grandfather accompanied with his granddaughter all the time, telling bed-time stories to her, giving his love completely to his cute granddaughter. In my opinion, a child will have confidence or encouragement while he/ she encounter difficulties if parents give wholly supports. The grandfather offered a silent but powerful force to stand aside her all the time, I think, the granddaughter definitely knew his grandfather’s love.

However, years passed. The girl found her grandfather became ill and this is time for her to repay her grandfather. She used the way her grandfather took care of her: telling bed-time stories, stayed with him day after day, holding hands to let him know she would accompany him no matter what happened. But her grandfather still left behind her, only left an apple tree. The apple tree was planted by grandfather, now she was alone, but she wasn’t lonely at all. She was accompanied by this apple tree, the embodiment of grandfather, she knew her grandfather still alive in her heart forever.

It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw

I fall in love with this book after I read it several times!! Because the book were composed by two colors: blue and white; the colors left me on a vivid image. At the first time, I could not catch why the illustrator only chose two colors through this book. However, while I finished it, I thought I knew the illustrator’s purpose. Because the author used blue as sky; white as clouds. I didn’t know it until I read several times, and I really impressed by illustrator’s creativity!! It proves that if we pay more attention to surroundings, we have imagination and can be a child anytime.

This book, I think, is suitable for all ages. Because everyone has the ability of imagination, sometime it was forgotten; therefore we need stimuli to give us fresh thinking or crazy ideas. This creative and imaginative idea definitely reignites and arouses my imagination again!! There were many pictures such as rabbit, squirrel, ice cream cone and so on. But these are just usual pictures while we lift up our head to look at the sky. It can be any pictures if we are good at imagination. The illustrator used Milk to describe clouds, changeable but a natural magician. Even today, I still think clouds are candy floss, fluffy and delicious. For me, clouds are naught children, shaping different pictures on the sky. Expect those animals and pictures mentioned in the book, sometime clouds made dogs, bears, and dragons. (Of course, all were my imagination^^) However, it indicates that when everyone read it, they can image as many images as they can because clouds are very naughty. People cannot guess what clouds going to present.

Besides, this book is good for children to practice this sentence pattern: “Sometimes it looked like……. But it wasn’t …….” Not only learn fixed sentence patterns but also start appreciating our surroundings.

PiggyBook by Anthony Browne

When I read this book, I found the illustrator was scrupulous about the picture. For example, when the author started describing how hardworking the mother was, the wall painting was still had flowers on it, sweet and cozy as usual family. Gradually, there were something changed such as the wall painting, the picture on the wall, the door knob and so on because the father and sons were changing their image into real pigs.Besides, every pig showed interesting facial expression. In my opinion, it also convey author’s attitude about this book: satire and feminist criticism.The more I found, the more surprises I got. I thought if there were no words on it, I probably could get its messages a little bit.


About the characters, I must say, I am VERY VERY ANGRY to the father!!! Because it teaches me a lesson: be a role model for your children!! The mother in this book was like a servant, kept doing housework from day and night, and had no rest. The father merely opened his widely to wait his “feedstuff”, even his piggy sons mimicking what his father’s behavior, kept asking “Where is the food?” I think when parents/adults try to teach their children, be role models of themselves first. Children are good at mimicking what parents or people’s behaviors so they must be careful of misbehavior. In this book, I guess, the two sons had already imitated for a long time and quite familiar with that.


At the end, the mother seemed that she could leave the home completely. Thus, she came back with a smile. First time I found she was able to smile and enjoy this situation that her husband and sons started working on family chores. The plot had no more gloomy color at all; the most important thing is the mother began working again---fixed the car, but this time she was happy to do it.