The Noisy Paint Box: The Colours and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art is a picture book written by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Mary Grandpré. The book starts off about a Russian boy named Vasya Kandinsky who is trained to be a “good Russian boy”. One day his aunt gave him a small wooden paint box which would change his life forever. This paint box made noises.  He grew up loving painting and music but despite this, he got a job as a lawyer because that as the job everyone wanted him to have. He later got reimbursed into art and created a new type: abstract. I made 1 connection with this story. It being the recent tension between Russia and Ukraine. In 2014 Russia annexed Crimea which was formerly a part of Russia but was transferred to Ukraine during the time of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The land had many ethnic Russians and it made sense for the annexation. The way this connects to the book is in 2 ways the first being that Kandinsky was Russian born and the second being that Russia, like Kandinsky, changed its mind on a bad decision (Russia being Crimea, Kandinsky being becoming a lawyer).

There is a picture book written by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick. The story is about a young girl who appears to be on a car ride. Upon closer inspection, the road she is riding on is actually life. All throughout the book she is whining and complaining “are we there yet?”, as most children do. The girl fears of growing up (where the place she is going to is). I made 2 connections to the story. The first one is about being scared of the future. I think everyone should be scared of the future. So many things can change and so much impact will come from it. People need to be scared of the future but also shape it to be a perfect one for generations to come. The second connection I made was with a book I had read. The book was about a boy who was afraid of the future, so he decided to do nothing. I cannot remember much of the story, but I do remember that he was scared of the future because something had happened to his parents.

After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty got back up again is a book written and illustrated by Dan Santat. The book is about the famous Humpty Dumpty and how his life changed after falling off the wall. He became scared of heights and had to change his lifestyle because of it. He then decides to get a new hobby which is paper aeroplane making. One day, he was flying his paper aeroplane around when it lands on top of the wall. Humpty, although scared, climbs to get his aeroplane and also conquers his fear of heights. I have 2 connections I have with this story. The first connections are Humpty’s love for aeroplane making. My dad and I would occasionally make paper aeroplanes, I loved seeing the science behind them. The second connection I made with the book was actually with the illustrations. The wall in the book reminded me of pictures I saw of the Berlin wall, which surrounded West Berlin from East Germany and West Germany from 1961 to 1989.

Wanted: The Perfect Pet is a book written and Illustrated by Fiona Robert is about a boy called Henry who wanted a dog. He puts up an advertisement about getting the perfect dog. That’s when a duck, tired of being alone, disguises himself as a dog and goes to Henry to become his pet. Henry is so excited and immediately starts to play with his new “dog”. Henry started to get suspicious when the “dog” wasn’t a very good dog. Suddenly, the “dog’s” costume comes off revealing himself to actually be a duck. Henry then finds out what makes a duck a good pet and accepts the duck as the ultimate pet. 2 connections I made with this book is when Henry decided that this duck was actually a lot better than a dog. The connection I made was me realising that doing my work and actually getting it done is a lot better than not. The next connection I made was when Henry wanted so badly to get a dog. The connection I made with this was when I really wanted a computer, so I did research and built in myself.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a picture book written by William Kam Kwamba and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. The story is about a young boy named William living in Malawi when there was a big famine. Desperate for money, his father takes him out of school so William goes to the library and learns about wind power and how to make one. He spends the next few months he builds a windmill and brings electricity to his village. I had some connections that I made. The first is the evident curiosity of William in the book which is like me. The second connection I made was when William’s dad was so proud of him to achieve something great.

I connected to Enemy Pie in many ways. The first way I connected with the book was when I was younger, I rode my bike around my neighbourhood just like how the characters in the book were. The second connection I made was with a news article I had read a few years ago. It was about a man who was getting suspicious of his next door neighbour’s son, so he shot him. That is like this story, except there is a happy ending. The 3rd connection I had with this book was when the father of the main character tricked his son into befriending his enemy. This reminds me of another book I read where goats must trick a bridge troll into not eating them. The last connection I had with this story was when the dad was making a pie. This reminds me of a cliche of some fathers that they spoil their kids with treats.

This last weekend, my grandparents came over.  My parents were busy and they were looking after us. My grandma (nani) always feels as though she should do things around the house to make it easier for us. I heard her in the kitchen, which is a normal sound when she’s here.  My sister and I were upstairs doing our own thing. A little while later, I heard the vacuum go on. I thought ‘oh no’ she’s vacuuming. I felt bad as we always ask her not to do anything and to just relax. My mom and dad weren’t home, so I ran down the stairs and took the vacuum from her despite her trying to resist.  I insisted that I would vacuum and finally she relented and gave up. I felt sad that she feels like she needs to help out but at the same time I also felt relieved and happy that I was there to take it from her and do it, so she could rest. My nani told me that she was very proud of me for being so kind.

For my sister’s birthday, my parents took us out to eat in downtown Vancouver. I was really full from my dinner so I got my dessert to go. As we were walking to our car there was a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk in his sleeping bag. It was quite cold and I felt bad for that man. We walked past him initially and then I turned to my parents and I said “Oh, I feel like giving him my cheesecake as he might be hungry”.  My parents said “yes” and “that would be a nice thing to do”. So my dad walked back with me and we gave the bag with the dessert to the man. He took it right away and was very appreciative. I walked back to my car with a big smile on my face. I felt really good as I thought I had genuinely helped somebody in need.

Two is a picture book written and illustrated by Kathryn Otosh. The book is set in Kathryn Otoshi’s universe where numbers are alive and have consciousness. The book is about a number called “Two” (spoiler he is the number 2), whose best friend is the number 1. One day a new number comes and that is Three. Three hogs all the time with One and Two gets jealous. Two then joins the “evens” gang where she tries to make 1 jealous. Then the odd numbers make their own gang to “even out” the competition. Then they yell fight. 2 (with the guidance of 0) makes a speech about friendship and ends the fighting. Peace and harmony ensue with 1 and 2 getting back together. I think this book is for ages 2-7 as it is about how we can solve our problems in harmony. I would rate this book an 8/10 due to its great illustrations and great message but a confusing universe.

Ivan the Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla is a picture book written by Katherine Applegate and Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. The story of the book is about Ivan a gorilla that has been living in a glass box in a shopping mall in Atlanta. He and his sister were shipped there from the Democratic Republic of The Congo. His sister, unfortunately, died on the trip to America. He was raised like a regular human child despite being a gorilla, which was not good for him. When he got older and too big, he was locked away in a glass box in the middle of a mall in Atlanta. He stayed there for 27 years. Because of animal rights activists, Ivan had to be released to a zoo. I would recommend this book to children of all ages, and even adults. I would rate this 9/10.