There are a lot of things you could use this book to discuss. Enjoyable, but it might not be the best for younger readers. ( )

Wonderful illustrations ( )

Wonderful illustrations ( )

I liked this book for two reasons. The illustrations in the book fits the written text. The style is simple, which matches the written text. The use of pastels in the illustrations help to create a simple illustration that matches the simple language that is used throughout the text. The illustrations help the audience create an image in their minds to follow along with the story and provide an extra aspect to help the audience follow along with the folktale. The illustrations show the character's facial expressions, which can help the audience understand the feelings and emotions that the characters are feeling throughout the story. I also liked this book because it pushes readers to think about tough issues and broadens their perspectives. The folktale focuses on inner beauty and the importance of looking beyond physical appearances. For example, as each character looks at themselves in the mirror, their friends try to convince them of the great person that they see. However, the mirror makes each person feel poorly about themselves. This forces the audience to reflect on how they see themselves and others and the impact that people frequently put on physical appearances. This book helps the audience think about this tough issue and reflect on their own lifestyles. Overall, this big idea of this book is that inner beauty is more important than physical appearance. One should not judge a book by its cover. ( )

This book is about a hidden mirror that is discovered by the people close to the man who hid it. The man did not want to share his new found magical treasure with anyone else in fear that its magic would rub off, which caused confusion amongst the people around him. In my opinion, the man did not want to share something he treasured because he did not trust the people around him. Since there’s no such thing as a secret, the authors had the characters discover the man’s secret and see it under their differing perspectives. The secret causes too much confusion and it is destroyed by a neighbor. In the end, the characters of the story return to their previous normal, quiet lives. The language of the text flows together, the vocabulary is simple, and the sentences are precise. I may use this text in my future classroom to discuss the topic of self image and how our opinions of ourselves may affect our view of the world. To me, this book taught a simple lesson through a simple tale. ( )