#2 Skippyjon Jones

Title: Skippyjon Jones
Author: Judy Schachner 
Illustrator: Judy Schachner
Publishing Company: Dutton Children's Books
Copyright Date: 2003
# of Pages: 30

Genre/ Category: Picture Books
     Today I decided to read Skippyjon Jones because I have a cousin who has really gotten into this series of books. My aunt was an elementary school teacher for 24 years, and she has started sending me books so that I will have a nice little library ready for my students. Among these books, Skippyjon Jones struck my eye not only because of my cousin, but also because I have a Siamese cat named Gracie Bear Fatcat. Skippyjon Jones is a young Siamese cat with an over-active imagination. Skippyjon is always doing things that are not very cat-like, so his mother sends him to his room to think about what it means to be a cat. While in his room, Skippyjon Jones embarks on an imaginary quest to Mexico where he meets up with a band of Chihuahuas and defeats the evil bean stealing bandit that plagues their land. 

     To me, the illustrations in this book look like a blend of colored pencil and paint. The illustrations are vibrant and full of life. On most pages, there is not any space left blank. I also found that Skippyjon Jones had a few Spanish words in it that may not be familiar to all children, but the pictures really helped to give clues about what the Spanish word meant. One example of this was the word "siesta." Underneath the words, Skippyjon Jones was lying in a pile of Chihuahuas sleeping. 

     The cover of this book says that it is appropriate for children ages five to eight. However, I believe that some of the words used in Skippyjon Jones would make this book too difficult for a five year old to read without some form of guidance. One of the most obvious ways Skippyjon Jones could be used in the classroom is as a multicultural lesson, or for working with an English Language Learner. I think it could be an enjoyable book to work on with an English Language Learner because it offers the translations through dialogue. This book could also be used to teach a poetry lesson. The entire book is not a poem, but throughout the book Skippyjon Jones makes up songs about himself that could serve as the basis for a poetry lesson. Another way that Skippyjon Jones could be used in the classroom would be when teaching students how to use clues to figure out words. The illustrations in this book provide an excellent means of finding out what difficult or unknown words mean. Skippyjon Jones has earned the achievement of being on The New York Times Bestselling Series list. It is an enjoyable book that children can easily relate to. After all, their imaginations are usually just as active and exciting as Skippyjon Jones' imagination.