CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1990
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
Ed Young, author and illustrator
New York: Philomel, 1989
28 pp
Ages: 4 +
Interests: fairy tales, folktales
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
13 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: animals, China, Fairy Tale, family, folktales, strong girls, wolves
WALL-E (2008)
13 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 4+ Tags: action, chase, environment, robots, romance, sci fi, space, spaceships
Rated: G
Length: 98 min
Age: 4 + … watchable at 4, better understood by 5 or 6 Commonsense Media sez: 5 +
Scary factor: our main characters are chased about, but nothing very threatening; Eve has a gun in her arm that she shoots at inanimate objects; in one scene she accidentally sets some huge oil tankers ablaze – no danger to characters, but it’s big and fiery, so may be alarming; a bad robot falls a great distance and breaks apart
Intense: some sad moments near the end when Wall-E seems broken-down/dead, but Eve is looking after him and it’s easy to allay concerns (“He’ll get better!”) because he does!
Language: one ‘heck’
Interests: space, robots, spaceships, environment
More
Grandfather’s Journey
12 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+ Tags: family, grandparents, history, immigration, Japan, travel, war
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1994
Allen Say, author and illustrator
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993
29 pp
ages 5 +
Interests: history, travel, immigration, Japan, family history, grandparents
The Hello, Goodbye Window
12 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 2+ Tags: babysitters, family, grandparents
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 2006
Chris Raschka, illustrator
Norton Juster, author
New York: Michael di Capua/Hyperion, 2005
29 pp
ages 2 +
Interests: grandparents, babysitters
Sequel to this book: Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie
Also by this author: The Phantom Tollbooth
Tuesday
12 Apr 2011 1 Comment
in Books, books 3+ Tags: animals, bedtime, frogs, Magic, night
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1992
David Wiesner, author and illustrator
New York: Clarion, 1991
30 pp
ages 3 +
Interests: magic, frogs, night
By the same author: Flotsam, The Three Pigs, Sector 7
Jumanji
12 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: adventure, animals, jungle, Magic, mystery, nature
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1982
Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981
28 pp.
ages 4 +
Interests: board games, jungle creatures, magic and mayhem
By the same author: The Polar Express, Zathura (another magical board game story)
Saint George and the Dragon
11 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 5+ Tags: action, adventure, British history, castle, dragons, Fairy Tale, knights, Magic, Princess, saints, travel
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1985
Trina Schart Hyman, illustrator
text retold by Margaret Hodges
New York: Little, Brown, 1984
32 pp
ages 5 +
Interests: fairy tales, knights, dragons, princesses, quests, castles, British history, saints
Next: King Arthur stories, more about St. George
Also by this illustrator: Rapunzel, The Serpent Slayer; and Other Stories of Strong Women
Arrow to the Sun
11 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: art, Aztec, folktales, gods, Mexico, myths, single parent
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1975
Gerald McDermott, author and illustrator
New York: Viking Press, 1974
36 pp
ages 4+ (for the story, though artwork will interest even younger children)
Interests: Aztec folklore, art, indigenous art, Mexico/Central America, myths
Time of Wonder
11 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Books, books 4+ Tags: boats, nature, ocean, seasons, storms, weather
CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER – 1958
Robert McCloskey, author and illustrator
New York: Viking Press, 1957
63 pp
ages 4+
Interests: nature, ocean, storms, cottage life, boats
Dumbo (1941)
08 Apr 2011 Leave a comment
in Movies, movies 4+ Tags: animals, circus, clowns, elephants, family, single parent, theatre
Rated: G
Length: 64 min.
Age: 4 Commonsense Media sez: 6 +
Scary Factor: the sight of the elephants crashing down from their pyramid was more alarming than funny; also Dumbo has to jump from a great height in the clown act and is scared; hallucination scene is just weird enough to freak out some young viewers
Intense scenes: the scene in which Dumbo is separated from his mother is heart-wrenching; the other animals mock Dumbo, and he feels bad, though he does get the last laugh in the end
Also: the general tone of the whole film is rather depressing. Especially scene in which he visits mom in ‘jail’ – very sad! And some parents may not like the boozing and hallucinations so much… (see full review)
Interests: circus, elephants
Rarest Kind of Best 