Wanted: The Perfect Pet is a picture book written by Fiona Roberton. In the book, there is a boy who wants the perfect pet- a dog. He puts up a advertisement, and a duck sees the ad, and wants to have a friend to play with- so disguises itself as a dog. But the boy realizes that the duck isn’t a dog, but still keeps the duck, and loves him just the way he is, even if the duck’s not a dog. A connection I have with this is a text-to-self connection. I’ve always wanted a dog for a really long time, and I still do! However, at first when I was younger I was always upset I couldn’t have one, but I’ve grown to accept the fact that I don’t have one, and now I’m okay with it. Another connection I have is a text-to-world connection. A lot of the time people can be unappreciative for what they have. All of us as humans, we take the earth for granted, so many things in our lives we are incredibly lucky to have. The boy just wanted a dog, and wouldn’t settle for anything else, but he opened his eyes and decided that it was ok to settle for another option, and that it might even benefit him more than he thought. Overall, I thought that this was a sweet book with nice illustrations and really enjoyed reading it.

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art is a picture book written by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Mary GrandPré. In the book, Kandinsky was raised in a proper, polite family, and  taught art the “proper” way, drawing landscapes, people and all things ordinary, but Kandinsky saw art a different way. He could hear the paintbrushes swishing, and when saw the vibrant colors, he could almost hear them- speaking to him, making noise, like music. The bright yellows like high notes on pianos, the navy blues like low cellos. But he was told by many people, even his family- that his thinking was ridiculous, but he went on to be a wonderful artist, painting in new abstract ways no one saw coming. At first, people didn’t see what he saw, but slowly as time went on accepted his new ideas and style of art. A connection I made to this book is a text-to-self connection. Since the age of around 7, I have had a love for art and have been taking lessons since then. Although people said my art wasn’t very good, I kept drawing and painting until I was satisfied with myself, and I realised that it was my opinion on my art that mattered the most. Another connection I have is a text-to-media connection. A couple months ago when I was online there was an artist from Japan who had a very unique way of painting. She had a vision impairment which made her see everything in dots, so all her artwork has dots everywhere! At first, many people criticised her work, but today she is one of the most well-known and wealthy artists in the world. She inspires me and reminds me of this book because of her different way of seeing things and pursued her dream of becoming an artist.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a picture book written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. William Kamkwamba always dreamed of building things, it was a passion of his. Growing up in a Malwai village, rain and water was important to fourteen year old Willian and his family, so when a drought came, his family was left with no food and no money. One day, William and his two friends went to the library and worked hard to build a windmill out of trash scraps that generated electricity, and also later on invented a machine that got water from wells. He went on to do great things and was a community hero.

A connection I have to this book is a text to self connection. I remember when I was younger, I enjoyed swimming and took lessons. However, I wasn’t very good at it. I wouldn’t pass levels, and I got frustrated with myself. It took a lot of work, but I persevered, and practiced, and I passed, and in the end, I was proud of myself. Another connection I have is a text to world connection. In poorer countries, where resources are scarce, and money is limited many children can’t afford to go to school, just like in the book, William couldn’t afford it. However, there are so many inspiring foundations and charities sending kids to school in Africa, like the Oprah Winfrey foundation, and it really warms my heart. I would definitely read it again and the book overall was a very motivating and inspiring story.

The book After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) is a picture book written and illustrated by Dan Santat. The book tells a story about the well-known Humpty Dumpty, but it’s from his point of view, after the fall off the wall. For a long time, he was so afraid of heights, and although he longed to climb back on the wall and be near the birds, but he didn’t have the courage to. Until one day, he had a brilliant idea- he would invent a paper plane! But of course, accidents happen- it flew up onto the wall. Humpty Dumpty nearly walked away, but he faced his fears and climbed, one step at a time, up the wall, til he was no longer afraid. I really enjoyed this book. I really liked how he was scared, but was still brave. A connection I have to myself with this book is about how one time I was at a Carnival when I was younger, about to go on a scary ride. I was biting my lip trying to hold back tears, I was terrified. However, I told myself it would be fine, and I wouldn’t like it if I didn’t try it, and it ended up being one of my favorite rides. A text to media connection I have is a video I once saw online of a cheerleader. It showed progress of her hard work and her fails, but in the end she won the nationals. It was a very motivational and inspiring video. Overall, I would rate this book 5/5 and would definitely recommend it to my younger friends.

There is a picture book written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick. The story is written from the perspective of a young boy, asking questions like, “when will I get there?”, “how will I get there?”, “will there be a bunch of other people with me?”. After thinking a while about this book I assumed that “there” was about growing up and heading into the future. The young kid was confused and curious about what the future would hold, wondering, trying to find answers. A connection I have with the book is how it reminded me of how I was like as a child. I’d always wonder about what I’d have as a job, what friends I would have, what it would all be like. Now, I feel it’s a good thing the future is so broad- it gets you to dream. Another connection I have to the book is from another book about what the future holds or what the “point of life” is. Is it to follow your passion, or a person? There are many good questions it asks and really reminded me of this book. My last connection I have is a text to world connection. Often, you will see many people in real life or online asking about what direction their headed in, or what the future holds, with so many mixed opinions. The truth it’s ok to feel that way, and that almost everyone has been there at some point, questioning, just like this young child.

Wangari’s Trees of Peace is a picture book written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter. The book is a true story about Wangari Maathai, set in Kenya. As a child she grew up around trees, and went off to university, but years later when she returned home, she was shocked to see whole forests being cut down, and knew that soon all the trees would be destroyed. So she started planting trees again, and got many women to start planting trees again too. Although some people are against her positive change, it doesn’t stop her. Soon, all of Kenya turned green again and there were trees once more, and she even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts. I really enjoyed this book! I think that Wangari is a great role model for many people and myself to make a positive change in their community, even if it’s just making a small change like planting trees. I also loved the illustrations, they were very colorful. Overall, I’d rate this book 5/5 and would definitely recommend this to a friend.

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau is a picture book written and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. As a young man, he had a passion for the ocean and what lived under the oceans waves. He wanted to share the oceans beauty with the world, so he found ways to invent new things, film underwater, and created the first underwater film movie, which became very popular. Since then, he has produced fifty books, two encyclopedias, dozens of documentary films, a hugely popular TV show, and started the Cousteau Society, which is committed to educating people ocean life and keeping the ocean clean. One connection I made with this is how that the ocean is definitely getting much more polluted than it should be. There has been lots of wildlife dying and plastic in the ocean. The world has become more alert of this problem and just like Jacques Cousteau started the Cousteau Society, there are so many more organizations raising money and educating people on what’s going on, and creating a much more positive change in the world through media and through teachings. A connection I have to myself with this book is how I’ve always really loved exploring the ocean and snorkeling. I can definitely see how many people around the world also appreciate the oceans natural wonders, like me, which makes me really happy. The last connection is one that I have to a different book, about a girl who is passionate about jellyfish, called The Thing about Jellyfish. She wanted to travel the world researching jellyfish and make a conscious effort in helping the ocean, and I felt that these two books were quite similar. Overall, I think that this book was amazing, and just like many people are doing now Jacques Cousteau will continue to inspire people to protect our ocean. I would rate this book five stars and definitely wouldn’t mind reading it again.

Today during school at our dance workshop, we were learning some new moves and I noticed Kayla was getting a little confused. Of course, I don’t blame her, the music was fast and everyone gets thrown off once in a while, so I decided to lend a hand. I chose this act of kindness because Kayla’s a great friend to me and I wanted to help her out. I walked her through the steps and try to do it slower so that she could catch onto the moves. Helping her made me feel happy and considerate that I could share some of my little dance knowledge with someone, it also made me feel great that I was contributing to the overall dance routine and it would look a little better when one more person did the choreography on time. I think that she felt considered, and was grateful that someone supported her and had her back. Even though it was a small favor, it made me smile, and made my day slightly better.

Today at school, Amelie injured her head and I helped her stack her chair. I chose this act of kindness because hitting your head is no fun and I wanted to do something for her to make her feel better. I also know that Amelie helps out a lot throughout the community and is extremely kind, so I wanted to give back to her. Although it was small, it made me feel kind and considerate helping my friends out. I also think that Amelie felt considered, grateful and appreciated it. It wasn’t much but nevertheless made me feel happier and made my day the slightest bit better.

The other day, Alyssa needed a few makeup products for a big dance performance that she was performing in, so I let her borrow mine. I chose this act of kindness because I know that Alyssa had been working extremely hard the past couple months and I knew that the performance was very important to her, so I wanted to do something kind for her and support her. Alyssa thanked me and it made me feel great that I helped her to get prepared for the show. Although the act of kindness was small, it didn’t make it any less significant. I think she felt great and cared about that somebody took time out of their day to find something for her and loan it to her. Overall, her performance was amazing and made me feel happy that I helped her and made her day the slightest bit better. I also felt special that I played a small part in contributing to her performance. Although your acts of kindness can be small, they definitely don’t go unnoticed and may help more than you think.