Sheilah Beckett (1913–2013)

The main message behind this book was to introduce different types or styles of poetry about pumpkins and Halloween.
I thought this collection of poetry was nicely placed together but some of the poems I was not too fond of. A vast majority of the poems were fun and lighthearted, the word choice enhanced the poem, and the illustrations worked well to express the contents of the poem but on other poems, I was not impressed. Some of the poems, in my opinion, were worded poorly and lacked details that allowed the reader to understand what the author was attempting to express. Also for those poems, the illustrations did nothing to help express the content of the poem and they appear to be drawn hastily, again not helping the poem.
What I did like about this book was the main idea. I liked the different types of poems and the different topics (although they centered around pumpkins and Halloween). It was interesting to see all the different aspects that surround Halloween and how individuals might view pumpkins or the holiday. I also enjoyed how the poems were not too long, allowing young readers a chance to independently read the poems.… (more)

This is another version of the classic fairytale Snow White. It follows the lives of two sisters, Snow White and Rose Red. The two girls learned from their mother to be kind to all creatures and to always assist those who need help. At the beginning of the story, the two sisters house a bear and bring him back to the woods. The rest of the story consists of them helping a grumpy dwarf get unstuck from several situations. This particular dwarf was not very grateful to the sisters even though they were helpful and called them hurtful names. He continued to say rude things when the bear came back and scared the dwarf away. The sisters were frightened themselves and ran away, but soon realized it was the nice bear that they had helped earlier. The bear turned into a handsome prince once Snow White kissed him. The prince then thanked them for saving him from the curse that was placed upon him. In the end, because of Snow Whites bravery and beauty he decided to marry her. The moral of the story is to be kind to others and good things will follow suite. The LEA lesson that could be give for this story could emphasize kindness and empower girls to be brave and be the heroes. The illustrations in this book are old fashioned like most Golden books are, but for readers today that could be a nice change or throwback. The colors are simple and not too distracting, which can help the reader focus on the story itself. Finally, this book is meant for a level two reader. There is more text on each page than the typical easy read picture book and some words might be difficult for a reading beginner.… (more)