Sticky Burr Adventures in the Burrwood Forest by John Lechner

Sticky Burr Adventures in Burrwood Forest 

By: John Lechner

Genre: Fiction
Ages: 6-12

Sticky Burr is the story of a little forest burr who is independent from the other burrs. Sticky Burr gets himself in a bold adventure through Burrwood Forest as he makes friends along the way in order to save his village when it is threatened by a pack of wild dogs. Sticky Burr and his friends learn along the way that it is okay to be different and working together will only benefit their village.

About the Author: John Lechner grew up in a creative house as one of seven children. He attended  Carnegie Mellon University where he studied art and creative writing. He then worked as a graphic designer and puppeteer before he started writing children's books.

Theme/skill: Everyone is different and should be respected either way. Working together can be beneficial.

Pre-reading activity: Go over reading basic reading skills. Reading left to right and top to bottom. Practice with other comic books. 

Post reading activity:   Make a Venn diagram with one side working together and another side working individually. Right the commonalities in the middle.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I have not read a comic book in a very long time and it brought me back to my childhood. This book sends a great message and is very child friendly.

Title: Smudge

Author: Clare Turlay NewBerry

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 6-12

Smudge by Clare Turlay is a nice story about some mischievous kittens who decide to go explore their home. When their parents leave, they kittens decide to go and look for some grasshoppers. The brave kitten Smudge decides to explore their living room with larger then life furniture. Their adventure continues as the kittens stick together!

About the Author: Clare Turlay was born in Oregon where she later studied art at the University of Oregon. She has received the Caldecott honor for four of her books. She later passed in 1970. 

Theme/skill: This book focuses on kittens working together. Children can relate to it through teamwork. 

Pre-Reading activity: Draw a picture of a pet you have at home using only a pencil. If you do not have a pet draw an animal of your choice. Rub your sketch so it smudges. 

Post reading activity: Have you ever been left home alone? If so write about what you did. If not, write about what you would do if you were to be left home alone. 

Overall I think this book had great illustrations, however the story itself I found to be difficult for children. The vocabulary and length of the story did not match the age level of the pictures or intended age group.