Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes

The children's picture book entitled Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes, is a nonfiction work of art written in 2014 that explores Joesph Cornell's influence on the world of art.  Written by Jeanette Winter, this picture book encourages readers to become dreamers by seeing the world through a different aspect.  By reading this story, the reader gets to decide what kind of trait Mr. Cornell finds enjoyment using which in turn allows children to depict their own understanding of art.  In reality, Mr. Cornell creates shadow boxes which capture his lifetime memories by holding sacred parts of his life that mean the most to him. His shadow boxes are displayed and marketed towards children as he encourages them to become dreamers. 

The endless amount of imagination present in this book stood out to me more than anything.  Prior to reading this book, I had never heard of Joesph Cornell before and I did not know anything about him until I read the Author's Note at the end of the story.  This would be a great piece of literature to use in the classroom to encourage students think outside of their comfort zone and take in life by capturing every single moment.  In using this book as part of my future curriculum I envision myself reading the author's note to the children first so that they have an understanding of who Joesph Cornell is.  Another aspect of the story that stood out to me was the reference to Mr. Cornell's love for journaling through writing down all of his thoughts and ideas.  Seeing as how I am getting my master's degree in children's literature, the importance of encouraging children to love writing means more to me than anything.  This story sends a strong message to children as it encourages them to find their own individual way to take in and remember every aspect of life.  It made me stop and think about how sometimes I do not value life's precious moments enough and encouraged me to stop and think about how to best savor the little moments that mean the most in life.

Saxby Smart Private Detective in The Curse of the Ancient Mask and Other Case Files

 

Growing up, I loved reading mystery books that kept me on the edge of my seat at all times.  The Saxby Smart series is a modern day version equivalent to many of the suspense novels I grew up reading. Written by Simon Cheshire in 2007, this series is extremely interactive for readers as it encourages the reader to pay close attention at all times. Saxby Smart is a private detective who is well known by his peers for getting to the bottom of crime while also attending school at the same time.  A unique aspect about the Saxby Smart series is that each book is broken down into separate crime stories as the reader follows Saxby and works along with him to piece together information in order to solve each mystery.   

This chapter book is different than most in the sense that it also includes illustrations by R.W. Alley.  Periodically located hroughout the story, the illustrations add to the drama of each case file and allow the reader to use visual images to formulate the story more accurately in ones head.  I found myself truly loving the illustrations and looking forward to turning each page in hope to come across more pictures. Not only do the pictures aid in reader engagement, but Saxby is constantly asking questions and encouraging the readers to piece together the clues on their own before he reveals his solution to each mystery. Many of the chapters end by Saxby listing out facts and questions which summarize all of the clues thus far.  He also will stop mid story and ask the reader if they know the key to each case before revealing the details. This allows readers to stop and think about the information presented before them in an attempt to encourage readers to think outside of the box.

 I was actually fairly nervous about remaining engaged while reading this book as it is broken down into three different detective cases all together, however I found myself constantly wanting more and turning each page as quickly as I could.  Although the cases in the story are all fairly different from one another, there are many common elements in regards to characterization that allow for fluency among the three different stories.  In turn this ensures readers do not feel like they are reading three completely different stories that have no correlation to one another.  For any reader who loves piecing elements together and truly feeling involved in the story, the Saxby Smart series is for you.  I can't wait to head to the library and choose another book in the series to read next!