Books By Cynthia DeFelice - Weebly



February 28, 2011

Attached is a packet of information about the books written by author Cynthia DeFelice. The packet contains a brief description of each book, a picture of the cover, and some examples for curriculum connections or lesson ideas that you could do with your students. You could do a lesson on your own in the classroom using one of the books or I would be happy to schedule lessons with you and your students in the library/lab/classroom to focus on a particular book and do an activity that goes with that book. Any activity or craft centered on a book can be displayed in the hallway and helps get other students excited about the visit as well.

All of the following titles are available in the library for teachers to borrow and use in the classroom. Borrow one or two and then return it when finished so others can use it. Multiple copies of several are available. These are books Kaegebein Elementary Library owns or ones I borrowed from other schools. Please see me or Mrs. Hamlin for availability of a particular title.

-Stephanie

Books By Cynthia DeFelice

|Picture Books | | |

|Cover |Title and Description |Curriculum Connections/Lesson Ideas |

|[pic] |Casey in the Bath (1996) |*Using your imagination |

| |The story of a reluctant bather named Casey who changes his tune when he |*Make up your own ending |

| |creates a tubful of bubbly playmates from a bottle of gooey green bath gel.| |

|[pic] |Old Granny and the Bean Thief (2003) |*Folktale – variation of Bremen Town |

| |Old Granny loves to eat beans. But when a bean thief comes to her house |Musicians (text to text connection) |

| |three nights in a row, she decides to go to town to tell the sheriff. On |*Community helper – policeman |

| |the way, she meets a variety of interesting characters – all of whom talk |*Animals – alligators, snakes, raccoons |

| |to her, of course. | |

|[pic] |One Potato, Two Potato (2006) |*Folktale – variation of Two of Everything |

| |Mr and Mrs. O’Grady have always longed for enough food to eat, candles to |(text to text connection) |

| |light the darkness, and friends with whom to share their lives. Their lives|*Adding and multiplying |

| |are changed when they discover a magic pot buried in their potato patch. |*Displaying cause and effect |

| | |*Wants vs needs |

| | |*Magical items |

|[pic] |Clever Crow (1998) |*Realistic Fiction |

| |A story told in nimble rhymes about a clever crow and the even cleverer |*Animal – birds |

| |little girl who outsmarts him. |*Rhyming story |

|[pic] |The Dancing Skeleton (1989) |*Folktale |

| |An ornery dead man refuses to stay in his coffin and causes a disturbance |*Involves music - fiddle |

| |when the best fiddler in town comes to call on his widow. | |

|[pic] |Mule Eggs (1994) |*Folktale |

| |A funny retelling of a classic folktale tells how a city slicker, who has |*Community helpers – farmer |

| |recently moved to the country and has been sold “mule eggs” that are really|*Country life vs city life |

| |just pumpkins by a crafty farmer, manages to have the last laugh. | |

|[pic] |The Real, True Dulcie Campbell (2002) |*Using your imagination |

| |Children often fantasize about what it would be like to be someone else. |*Realistic fiction |

| |Dulcie, who lives on a farm and has the job of mucking out the chicken |*References other fairy tales – Cinderella, |

| |coop, can’t believe that this is the life she was born for. Surely she is |Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty |

| |truly a princess. |*Community helper - farmer |

|[pic] |Three Perfect Peaches (1995) |*Fairy tale – based on a French folktale |

| |In this spin on a time-honored plot, a king promises his ailing daughter’s |*Predictions – surprise ending |

| |hand in marriage to anyone who can grant her wish for three perfect | |

| |peaches. | |

| | | |

|Novels | | |

|Cover |Title and Description |Curriculum Connections/Lesson Ideas |

|[pic] |The Ghost of Fossil Glen (1998) |*Ghost story – start of a four book series |

| |Allie Nichols is being pursued by a ghost. Her friend Dub, listens eagerly |*Keeping a journal |

| |as Allie tells him about the voice that guides her down a steep cliff side.|*References Seneca Indians and European |

| |Who is that girl? Is she the ghost? And what does the ghost want from |settlers |

| |Allie? | |

|[pic] |The Light on Hogback Hill (1993) |*Mystery |

| |Despite being warned away by old Angus Tull, who may know more than he lets| |

| |on, eleven-year-old Hadley insists on befriending the hunchbacked woman who| |

| |dwells on a haunted hill and finds herself with new joys and | |

| |responsibilities. | |

|[pic] |Signal (2009) |*Her newest novel |

| |Twelve year-old Owen is having a lonely summer. His mother died and he |*Set in NYS |

| |moves to a new town with his workaholic father. Owen spends his days with |*Best for fifth graders and up |

| |his new friend, an abused girl who thinks she is an alien, and dog, running| |

| |on a trail through the woods in upstate NY, thinking about what his mother | |

| |taught him about nature and the universe. | |

|[pic] |Weasel (1990) |*Historical Fiction |

| |Originally hired by the U.S. government to drive the Shawnees from the Ohio|*Set in the 1830’s |

| |Territory in the 1830’s, a deranged man known as “Weasel” now kills for the|*Learning about the Removal Act or Native |

| |sake of killing since his Indian prey are either dead or have escaped to |Americans |

| |safety. When Nathan’s father is attacked by Weasel, Nathan takes the law | |

| |into his own hands. | |

|[pic] |The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker (1996) |*Historical Fiction |

| |Twelve-year-old Lucas Whitaker, orphaned in 1849 when his entire family is | |

| |claimed by consumption, takes a job as an apprentice with Doc Beecher, and | |

| |learns the truth about the difference between superstition and science. | |

|[pic] |Bringing Ezra Back (2006) |*Historical Fiction |

| |In the sequel to Weasel set in the mid-1800s, twelve-year-old Nathan |*Sequel to Weasel |

| |journeys from his farm on the Ohio frontier to Western Pennsylvania to | |

| |rescue a friend held captive by the owners of a freak show. | |

|[pic] |Devil’s Bridge (1992) |*Adventure |

| |Twelve-year-old Ben must cope with the loss of his father, who died the |*Writing from one’s own experiences |

| |year before, and his overprotective mother when he enters the annual | |

| |Striped Bass Derby on Martha's Vineyard. | |

|[pic] |Lostman’s River (1994) |*Historical Fiction |

| |In the early 1900s, thirteen-year-old Tyler encounters vicious hunters |*Set in the marshlands/Everglades in 1900’s |

| |whose actions threaten to destroy the Everglades ecosystem, and as a result| |

| |joins the battle to protect that fragile environment. | |

|[pic] |Missing Manatee (2005) |*Set in marshlands |

| |While coping with his parents' separation, eleven-year-old Skeet spends |*Animals – manatees/endangered animals |

| |most of Spring Break in his skiff on a Florida river, where he finds a |*Mystery |

| |manatee shot to death and begins looking for the killer. |*Cause and effect |

|[pic] |Nowhere To Call Home (1999) |*Historical Fiction |

| |When her father kills himself after losing his money in the stock market |*Setting – Great Depression |

| |crash, twelve-year-old Frances, now a penniless orphan, decides to hop | |

| |aboard a freight train and live the life of a hobo. | |

|[pic] |The Strange Night Writing of Jessamine Colter (1988) |*Her very first book |

| |Jessie, an elderly calligrapher who writes announcements and notices of |*Science fiction |

| |birth, marriage, and death for the townsfolk, discovers that she has the | |

| |ability to predict the future in her writings. | |

|[pic] |Under The Same Sky (2003) |*Involves people from Mexico/Latin America |

| |While trying to earn money for a motor bike, fourteen-year-old Joe Pederson|*Set in NYS |

| |becomes involved with the Mexicans who work on his family's farm and |*Immigration, migrant workers |

| |develops a better relationship with his father. |*Teaching tolerance |

| | |*Spanish language |

| | |*Mexican cuisine/culture |

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