The Big Cheese of Third Street by Laurie Halse Anderson

This book is about Little Benny Antonelli who is the size of a peanut butter sandwich. He hates being so small because everyone makes fun of him and uses him as a ball, toy airplane, etc. The third street block party is going on with games, food, and music. The two families of the block (the Sorensons and the Antonellis) have a contest; the person who can climb a slippery pole and get a wedge of cheese off the top is the "big cheese" of third street. All the "big" people try to climb and fail. Little Benny goes up for a turn and everyone laughs at him but because of his weight he is able to make it up the pole and everyone stares in amazement. He is now the "big cheese of third street."

I like this book because I am sure there are a lot of kids who can relate to being the short or little kid. Obviously, there are not going to be the size of a peanut butter sandwich but they can be shorter than all of their friends, especially if they mature late. Little Benny shows that there are advantages to being shorter than everyone else and he gains a new respect. This can be inspiration to other kids.

I love the illustrations in this book. There is not one white space on the pages. The illustrator, David Gordon, did conceptual work for the Pixar/Disney movies Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and A Bug's Life. He does a great job of making every page fun; there is even a picture of a "big" guy with his butt crack showing. I can just picture my future class laughing like crazy at that picture. The illustrations of a children's book are what draw me to reading it and this book drew me in. The book states that this book is for ages 5-8 but I think children younger and older would enjoy it as well.