1. Children’s Book Critique
Niki Smith
Ivy Tech Community College

2. Book 1
YOKO Learns to Read
Rosemary Wells
Hyperion Books
2012
Book 2
Mice and Beans
Pam Munoz Ryan
Scholastic Press
2001
Book 3
THE KOREAN CINDERELLA
Shirley Climo
Harper Collins
1993

3. Summary Book 1 YOKO Learns to Read
This book is about a cat named Yoko who was from Japan. Yoko reads her favorite three books from Japan. The teacher puts a leaf for each book on the wall. Yoko realizes that all of her friends have more leaves on the wall. She gets upset because she only knows how to read these three books. She really wants to add more leaves to the wall. Her mother talks to the teacher and Yoko ends up learning how to read books in English. She gets to add more leaves to the wall and she is so proud of herself.

4. Positive Factors
Yoko learns to read books in English
Yoko earns more leaves on the wall
Yoko teaches her mom that English books are read from front to back
Yoko gets to go to the library
Yoko gets her own library card
Yoko and her mom spend time reading together
Yoko’s mom wants to learn to read in English too

5. Negative Factors
Yoko only had three books in Japanese
Two other children said she would be left behind
Yoko’s mother couldn’t help her learn to read
Yoko’s mother couldn’t read one word off the classroom wall
Two other girls were picking on her because she couldn’t read
Majority of the book was female characters (5 female characters and one male)
Gender bias

6. Male/Female Characteristics
The book features mainly females
Biased towards men
Absence of males suggests that only females read
There was one male character (the librarian)
Females are students, teacher, mother and readers
Male is in charge at the library
Female is in charge at school

7. Pictures/Illustrations
Stereotypical situation- mother is reading to her child
The bottom picture shows the male character being in charge of checking out books
The male could have been chose to be the teacher

8. How/Why Multicultural
Child is Japanese
Child learns to read in English
Child begins to help her mother learn to read in English
Child informs mother that English books are read from front to back

9. Summary Book 2 Mice and Beans
This is a story about a Mexican grandmother named Rosa throwing a birthday party for her granddaughter (Catalina). She lived in a little house, so she was afraid there wasn’t enough room for a party. Her mother always told her, “When there’s room in the heart there’s room in the house, except for a mouse”. She planned for the party every day for a week, making enchiladas, rice, beans etc. Each night she sat out a mouse trap. The next night she would check the mouse trap and it was missing, so she thought she forgot to set the trap. She would then put out another trap.
The day of the party it came time to hit the piñata and grandma Rosa realized she forgot to put the candy in the piñata, but somehow candy fell out. Later grandma saw evidence of mice and she realized that they must have helped her and put the candy in the piñata. She decided that her mothers saying really said, “When there’s room in the heart there’s room in the house, even for a mouse”. She never set another mouse trap again.

10. Positive Factors
The family spends time together
Grandma makes food for the party
The piñata, enchiladas, beans and rice are part of their family tradition for birthdays
The party went well
Catalina got the present she wanted
There were Spanish words throughout the book and at the back it tells what these words mean in English

11. Negative Factors
The grandma is cooking everything by herself
There are only men workers putting together the swing set
All the chores were grandmas duty
Grandma was forgetful because she had so much to do
Grandma was left to clean up the mess afterwards
Gender bias

12. Male/Female Characteristics
The book had an equal amount of male and female characters
Male workers
Grandma cooking and cleaning
Boys and girls at the party
Stereotypical situations
Female in charge (grandma)

13. Pictures/Illustration
Bias pictures from the book
The top left picture shows a female ironing, this may give the indication that men aren’t supposed to do these things
The top right picture shows a male worker putting together the swing set, this could make children feel like women aren’t capable of building things
The bottom left picture shows a male worker reading directions and thinking, again indication that women can’t do constructive type things
The bottom right picture shows a female cooking and cleaning, this may give males the wrong idea that only women should do these household chores

14. How/Why Multicultural
Mexican birthday party
Mexican family traditions
Mexican style cuisine
Some words were in Spanish

15. Summary Book 3 The Korean Cinderella
This fairytale is about a little girl named Pear Blossom. When she was born her father planted a pear tree and her mother named her Pear Blossom. Her mother took great care of her and the pear, until she grew old and died. Then her father said, “Now who is going to take care of the pear tree”? The father went to the village matchmaker and she knew of a widow who could be his wife and a mother to Pear Blossom and she also had a child who would be Pear Blossoms sister.
The stepmother and sister treated Pear Blossom terribly. They called her pigling. They would travel to the town market and tell Pear Blossom that she had to do impossible chores and that if she didn’t do the chores that stubborn piglings get sold to the market or they would ship her to China. Each time by some miracle she accomplished the chores. At the end, the village was having a festival and her stepmother told her she could go if she weeded the rice patties. A miracle happened and she was on her way to the festival and she lost her shoe. The magistrate found the shoe, then he went to the village and said, “the foot that fits this shoe will be the one I marry”. The stepmother and stepsister were jealous.

16. Positive Factors
Teaches a lesson
Hard work pays off
Teaches about being selfish
Miracles happen
The child marries the magistrate

17. Negative Factors
Child loses her mother
Child has to put up with a wicked stepmother and step sister
The child has to do all these horrible chores by herself
Her father doesn’t see the bad things happening
Gender bias

18. Male/Female Characteristics
The book has two male characters and the rest are female
The mother took care of the growing tree and the child
Father appears that he is incapable of caring for a tree
The daughter is doing household chores
The stepmother is in charge

19. Pictures/Illustrations
The picture on the left is a male pulling the magistrate in his wagon
The picture on the right is a female stirring a pot of food
The picture of the male indicates that women aren’t strong enough for this job
The picture on the right tells males that it is the females job to cook
I believe that in the three books the message for males and females is the same message
Women work in the home on household chores
Men build things and do construction type work

20. How/Why Multicultural
The girl is Korean
At the end of the book they use Korean words to tell what her name means in Korea
The clothing is from Korean culture
Food
Traditions

21. Scholastic Press References
Climo, S. (1993). The Korean Cinderella. China: Harper
Collins
Ryan, P. (2001). Mice and Beans. New York, New York:
Scholastic Press
Wells, R. (2012). Yoko Learns to Read. New York, New
York: Hyperion Books