This book tells about the different ways that families in America celebrate the 4th of July. It utilizes bright, simple pictures and descriptive imagery to describe what happens on Independence Day. ( )

I thought this was a relatively average children's book. This book was about the holiday of 4th of July and how its observed with a parade and shows some ways Americans celebrate this day. The first thing that I noticed were the plain illustrations. They were very exciting and didn't really depict a wide range of things that people do on the 4th of July other than go to a parade and watch fireworks. The second thing that made me think this book was average was the language of the book. The language seemed rather boring and didn't make me excited to keep reading. I liked how it gave some good information but other than that it didn't add much to the overall book. I thought the plot was okay because it did talk about the things Americans do on the 4th of July and gave real information. ( )

I liked this book for many reasons. One reason why I liked this book would be the language. The language in the book is rhyming and flows very well. I think that this time of book would be fun for kids because they learn all different rhyming words, I really liked the pictures in the book because they were very bright and colorful. I feel that the pictures really added to the book and they weren't distracting to the reader, they went with what was being written about and described all of the different activities of 4th of July, The plot of the story was just a run through of a 4th of July parade and everything that comes along with it, so it was very organized and nothing seemed to be confusing about it. I think that the overall message of this book would be to teacher children about the 4th of July and describe all the different events that happen on that day.

Illustrations make me think of paper dolls, and color forms and felt boards from elementary school. Rhymes bring parades and picnics and beach outings to life. Great for reading aloud. ( )

The one thing I really like about this book is the amount of diversity shown within the illustrations. For example, throughout the entire book, you see people of many races interacting and celebrating the Fourth of July with one another from beach picnics, to the booming fireworks. Another thing I really like about this book is the simplistic illustrations. The illustrations honestly look like paper cutouts put together, but they are so crisp and neat and none of which have much detail. For example, most of the time the only facial features you will clearly see are the eyes, nose, and mouth --the eyes are always curved in a "U' or upside-down "U" and are never "full eyes." The author keeps all the illustrations as simple as possible and that is something I truly appreciate about the book. One last thing I like about this book is the use of rhyme. Everything rhymes in this story. For example, "Whistle drill, fifers trill. Shoulder seat, thumping beat, July 4th drums down the street!" I think this is also a good use of describing words because the author is describing the sights and sounds that is seen during the Fourth of July Independence Day parade.

I think the big idea of this story is to show that many different groups of people celebrate Independence Day. This is clearly shown throughout the book with the illustrations as I discussed earlier. For example, as everyone is watching the fireworks, you see black, white, Asian, Indian, and etc. There is also images of interracial couples and families which I think is very important for the children to see. Another example of the diversity shown in this book is during the parade, you see different groups of people with different types of instruments and attire, but all walking as one. There are individuals playing the bongos, an individual playing the bass drum, and individuals playing the snare drum. And they range from black, to Asian, to white. ( )