Bill Martin (1)Besprekingen

The narrator of this poetic picture book selects the perfect pumpkin guardian for his yard on Halloween night, carving it into a jack-o-lantern and setting it out. Unbeknownst to him however, this particular pumpkin is magic—the leader of the foolies against which he is meant to be guarding. It falls to the narrator to then plunge the jack-o-lantern into darkness by snuffing out his candle, thereby putting an end to the spell...

Although quite familiar with co-authors Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault—the pair also co-authored the classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Martin collaborated with Eric Carle on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and sequels—The Magic Pumpkin is the first of their books that I have actually picked up and read. I thought I would thoroughly enjoy it, given the authors' reputation, the cover image, and the Halloween theme, but instead I found myself mostly indifferent. The poetic text felt a little awkward in its structure, the story didn't speak to me, and I found the accompanying artwork from illustrator Robert J. Lee uninspiring. I did like the brief appearance of the two foxes, who "came out of the wood like hooded witches," but other than that, this is one I can take or leave. I'm glad to have finally picked it up, as I've been curious about it for a few years, but I don't strongly recommend it.½

This book would be good to use in an older elementary classroom during social studies. I would use it to introduce talking about the government and what America stands for

Great rhyming book. It is about a girl that plays basketball.

The perfect pumpkin is chosen to be a guard on Halloween night. It is given eyes, a nose, and a grinning mouth, and it came to life with candlelight. It seems the jack-o'-lantern was up to no good though. So just like that, the magic disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Bottom Line: Lee’s whimsical illustrations bring this seasonal story to life. Read this tale of mischief and magic with little ones ages 4 – 6.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog.½

Great rhyming book that has an action packed story about girls who play basketball.

"The Little Squeegy Bug" is about a bug who is trying to find himself. He wants to be a bumble bee because he doesn't know what type of bug he is. He meets bug friends and they try to help him make a pair of wings. He still doesn't have a stinger like a bumble bee though. His friend Haunchy helps him realize that he was not made to have a stinger because he is not a bumblebee. Haunchy grabs a star for Squeegy and puts it on his tail. He becomes a beautiful firefly. He is able to light the night for people and has a newfound love of who he is. Children don't know who they are at first and this book can show them it may take time but they will figure it out eventually.

"The Wizard" by Bill Martin Jr. is a simple book about a wizard practicing magic.This book is great one to read to younger kids because it's filled with cite words which they need. The rhymes are also great for children.

Grades: Pre-2
Theme: Squeegy bug wanted to be a bumble bee but his purpose is to be lightning bug.

"Little Princess Goodnight" by Bill Martin Jr. is an easy to read story about a princess who loves creatures and finds a way to put everyone to bed. The book repetitively uses the prepositional phrases of "under" and "on top". The princess puts all of her creature friends under things, and then has to put all of her friends on top of things so that they can sleep. This book would be great for children learning prepositional phrases.

"The Wizard" by Bill Martin Jr. is an easy book about a wizard practicing magic. The book is easy to read and uses rhyming patterns on each page. The story is simple and follows the wizard as he casts his spell to disappear. I think this book would be great for new readers because of its simplicity and use of cite words.

"The Little Squeegy Bug" by Bill Martin Jr. is about a bug who tries to find himself and discover what type of bug he is. No one knew what type of bug Squeegy was, so he tried to fit and become a bumble bee. A bumblebee bee told Squeegy that if he touched the sky he would have a pair of silver wings and a stinger tail. One squeegy's trip to the sky he met Creepy the caterpillar. Creepy found Sqeegy on the cattail leaf in the rain, so Creepy invited him to stay the night at his house. Squeegy accepted and told Creepy about how he was trying to reach the sky to get a pair of wings to become a bumblebee. Creepy wanted to help his new friend so he introduced Squeegy to his friend Haunchy the Spider. Haunchy was wise and helped Squeegy by making his a pair of wings with his silk webs. Squeegy was excited to have a pair of wings but was confused on why he did not grow a stinger tail. Haunchy helps his friend realize that he was not meant to have a stinger tail because he is not a bumblebee. Haunchy also grabs a star from the sky and hangs it on Squeegy's tail. Squeegy bug is no longer a bug without purpose or identity, but now he is a beautiful shining firefly. Squeegy loved his new tail and set of wings, and was happy to be able to help people by lighting the way through the night for everyone in the world. This book is a good book about discovering oneself and accepting who you are. Squeegy did not know who he was at first, or what he was capable of. With the help of his friends, Squeegy discovers his purpose and becomes happier than ever.

A wizard and his assistant sing and dance while making potions. When the magic goes wrong, the wizard goes poof. This is a fun book for children to read because it has a lot of rhyming words. A teacher could use this to show the relationships of words and word sounds.

Pretty bad. Pretty paintings, but they don't match the story and the text is terrible.

The chicken eats a blue seed and grows a blue feather in his head. the others want one toob ut cant find a blue seed. the chicken becomes bossy and makes everyone else do chores. They see the circus where another animal has 2 blue feathers, they all go to the circus and the monkey ends up sharing all of his blue feathers with everyone ( after pulling out the chickens feather) Good for teaching not to be bossy and to share.

A wonderful book for children that teaches reading through the form of rhyming. An adventure on an old fashioned merry-go-round adds an additional element of creativity and imagination to this whimsical childrens book.

After granny thinks about her past success of being a quarterback, she begins to think about how she once fumbled ball and lost the game. However, as she leaps out of bed and enters a game, will the outcome be the same?

This book is an illustrated poem with beautiful pictures that will capture any child's attention. It is full of colorful adjectives and vivid details that will bring out both teachers' and students' imaginations. This book could be used to teach children the concept of rhyming or repetition.

The Little Squeegy Bug [LITTLE SQUEEGY BUG] by Bill Martin, Jr.(Author) ; Sampson, Michael(Author); Corrigan, Patrick(Illustrator) (2001) The Little Squeegy Bug is about a bug that goes on a journey to find his silver wings. On his journey he encounters several other bugs. Eventually he meets a spider who gives hims wings, a lantern on his tail, and a name- Squeegy the Firefly. Finally, Squeegy is content to be himself.

This book is a wonderful tale about a firefly searching for his personal identity. It is a work of fiction and is an easy picture book.½

Chicken Chuck is a good book to read to younger children who deal with popularity issues or friendships. Chuck is a chicken who likes to be the only one with a special blue feather and in the end learns to share with friends..
http://www.billmartinjr.com/bill_martin

This book was okay but not my favorite. It is about a rooster that sprouts a blue feather in the middle of his forehead. Everyone in the barnyard wants one and the chicken bosses everyone around. when the circus comes to town the horses have two blue feathers. The chicken wants a second feather but an allergic monkey takes out his first one. The monkey then shows all the animals where they keep their blue feathers and all the barnyard animals get to have two.

This book is about a magic pumpkin. A little boy goes to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin for Halloween. Once he carves it into a Jack-O-Lantern, it comes to life and starts talking to him. The little boy lets the magic pumpkin go because he is afraid.

billmartinjr.com This website is good because it gives information on the author and his publications.

Loud color combinations ala Sol LeWitt make this really short book with some examples of long, short, and fancy words and animals fun to look at.

Up and Down on the Merry-Go-Round is a story about a girl on a merry-go-round and all the different things she experiences there, like starry, mirrored ceilings, music, all of the different people on the ride, and the feeling of going up and down and around and around. The girl says that one day, she'll be the clown who will never stop the merry-go-round. This book might be good when talking about rides, adventures, or fun.
Type: picture book, intermediate
Genre: realistic fiction
Illustrations: painted

"Chicken Chuck" is a great book about a rooster who finds a mysterious blue seed while feeding and decides to eat it. All of a sudden, he sprouts a blue feather from his forehead and the other animals on the farm become jealous and begin looking for a blue seed for themself. Will they find another blue seed? A trip to the circus holds the answer in this fun-filled children's book!

The little girl is with her family and gets on a merry go round ride. She is describing all the different animals and how her beautiful horse is going fast. She describes it as being high up in the air galloping with the horse. Then she sees her father eating popcorn but it's her. The ride begins to stop and sees the clown and decides she will be him when she grow up.