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Reading File: 100 Picture BooksBy: Harper ParkeyScore System:5 – captivating with a clear message4 – enjoyable with a clear message3 – was cute but no clear message, or was boring but had a clear message – not both 2 – rather boring and wouldn’t use unless necessary 1 – not enjoyable and wouldn’t use in my classroom Caldecott Honor Book (20)The Hello, Goodbye Window (2006 winner)Title: The Hello, Goodbye WindowAuthor: Norton JusterGrade level- Pre-K up to maybe 1st – very elementary (mentions nap-time)Genre: Realistic FictionShort synopsis: The little girl talks about all the wonderful things to discover both inside and outside of her grandparent’s house. It talks about the adventures a young child might have and also demonstrates the loving relationship that grandchildren have with their grandparents. Everything relates back to the kitchen window known as the “Hello Goodbye window.”Activity: For young children – what goes inside and what goes outside the window exercise. Very elementary level bookPersonal Review: (3) Good message but not super captivating in my opinionA Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011 winner)Title: A Sick Day for Amos McGeeAuthor: Philip C SteadGrade level: K-2Genre: FantasyShort synopsis: Amos McGee goes through his morning routine and arrives at his job at the zoo. He does specific things with each animal (like paying chess with the elephant, or reading stories to the owl). One day when Amos McGee is sick, his animal friends are sad without him, so they come over to his house and the animals keep him company instead. Activity: Opposites activities like a matching game which makes you find opposites or an around the classroom game to name opposites. Could make a little paper board game as well where as you move up the game, you have to name the opposite of whatever word on a piece of paper. Personal Review: (5) Captivating with a clear message – Loved this book! One Fine Day (1972 winner)Title: One Fine DayAuthor: Nonny Hogrogian Grade Level: 1-3Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: There was a fox that was traveling through the forest and got so thirsty that he drank an old lady’s milk. She was so angry that she cut off his tail and would only give it back if he found her more milk. A series of sequential events happen in order for him to eventually get milk to pay back the old lady so he can get his tail back. Activity: Sequential events activity. Each student gets a piece of a story and they have to arrange the story in logical order. You could also use this story in history and transition into talking about timelines as well. Make a timeline of your life forwards and backwards. (Include 6-7 events that you can remember… might be more of a homework assignment)Personal Review: (4) enjoyable with a clear message – I liked this book pretty well Song and Dance Man (1989 winner)Title: Song and Dance ManAuthor: Karen AckermanGrade Level: 1-3Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: A Grandfather shares with his children the “good old times” when he used to be a performer before there were TVs and things of today’s age. He brings them up to the attic and does a tap dance and clown tricks for them and they have an enjoyable afternoon with their grandfather. It is a really cute story of bringing the past back to life. Activity: You could do a what do you want to be when you grow up and why and what qualifications would you need for that job, or depending on your demographics, you could potentially have your students interview their grandparents on what they did when they were younger. That could be potentially sensitive though, so be cautious with that assignment. Personal Review: (3) enjoyable, with a mostly clear message for young readers – I still really enjoyed it and would read it to my class May I Bring a Friend (1965 winner)Title: May I Bring a FriendAuthor: Beatrice Schenk De Regniers Grade Level: PreK-1Genre: PoetryShort Synopsis: A young child is invited to tea with the king and the queen, and he asks if he can bring a friend. Each day of the week he is invited back for one reason or another and brings a different animal friend each time. Finally on Saturday, the child says to the king and queen my friends want to have you for tea, so on Saturday they all have tea at the zoo. Activity: What do you do each day of the week activity. Make a big schedule with the class. You could also have each student draw a picture of whom they would invite to their party and try and write the names of the people or write a sentence even for older students. Personal Review: (4) Enjoyable and had a rather clear message for a very young audience – I liked it but didn’t love it Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1970 winner)Title: Sylvester and the Magic PebbleAuthor: William SteigGrade Level: K-2Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: Sylvester, a donkey, goes wandering in a field one day and finds a beautiful pebble, which he soon realizes is magic. When he is on his way home to tell his parents, he runs into a lion, and is so scared that all he can think is I wish I were a rock. Sylvester turns into a rock, and even though his parents look for him they can’t find him. Eventually his parents go for a picnic and sit on the rock. They find the pebble next to the rock and they all three wish for him to come back and he does!Activity: “Be Careful what you wish for” Cause and effect activity of the positive or negative consequences of what could happen if you do this or that. (Eat too much chocolate, study really hard, etc.) Personal Review: (5) captivating story with a clear message - One of my favorite books!Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (2000 winner)Title: Joseph Had a Little OvercoatAuthor: Simms TabackGrade Level: PreK-1Genre: Realistic Fiction (It could happen)Short Synopsis: Joseph had a little overcoat that got worn so he made a jacket out of it and so on and so forth until he got down to just a button. When he lost the button he decided to write a book about how he was so thrifty with his jacket. You can always make something out of nothingActivity: Give students lots of different simple shapes and tell them to put them together in different formations. Alone it’s nothing but a shape but together it can make something bigger. You can also do it with random materials and see how creative you can get. You could even ask them to tell a story about the creative thing they made with their “nothings.” Personal Rating: (5) captivating with a clear message – definitely another one of my favorite books!Many Moons (1944 winner)Title: Many MoonsAuthor: James ThurberGrade Level: 2-3Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: The princess falls ill and the king wants to make her better so he offers her anything in the world, to which she says she wants the moon. The king frantically tries to get the moon but fails and eventually asks his daughter how big the moon really is. He finds out that she thinks it’s small so he makes her a small moon necklace. The next night he doesn’t want her to see the moon so he tries to come up with ideas of how to block her vision, but he fails and eventually asks her why there is a new moon. She says a new one grows just like when you cut down flowers. The main idea was communicationActivity: Play the telephone game! That game can be so fun and goes by pretty quick, and it is a good example of how things can easily get miscommunicated. Another science lesson you can transition into is how does the moon really work and would another one grow in its place?Personal Rating: (3) it was a cute story but long and hard to follow with a good message – I thought it was good but rather long and could get boring for young readers Where The Wild Things Are (1964 winner)Title: Where The Wild Things Are Author: Maurice SendakGrade Level: K-2Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: Max doesn’t want to go eat dinner and he is lonely so he plays pretend basically and imagines that his room turns into a jungle and he goes to where the wild things are. He becomes king, but when he orders them to go to sleep he gets lonely again and goes back home to find his dinner waiting for him. Activity: The importance of imagination. Have students take ordinary things and turn them into something with much more imagination. Have them draw it on paper and write a sentence or two about it. You could even show them a Picasso to give them ideas of how everything doesn’t have to be just as it appears. Personal Review: (3) good but not great – I liked it but it is a tad boringNoah’s Arc (1978 winner)Title: Noah’s ArcAuthor: Peter SpierGrade Level: PreK-1Genre: Poetry or Historical FictionShort Synopsis: There is only one page of words and it is a poem about the story of Noah’s arc. It is about how God flooded the world for 40 days and nights and the whole world basically hit the reset button with the exception of Noah and his family who found favor in the Lord and were saved. Noah built the arc and took two of every kind and then they were all saved and the dove and the rainbow showed the promise that God would never flood the entire world again. Activity: For young children everyone is assigned an animal and they draw a picture of it. Then they wear their picture on their shirt and have to find their “partner.” Could do a matching memory game as well with the two by two animals. Then if you are brave the class goes walking outside to see all of God’s creation. You can have a geology lesson, count trees and the numbers of things you see, talk about colors, and even point out new animals you see. After the walk talk about God’s beautiful creation again. Personal Review: (4) great book about Noah’s Arc!!!The Funny Little Woman (1973 winner)Title: The Funny Little WomanAuthor: Arlene Mosel (retold)Grade Level: 2-3Genre: Fantasy Short Synopsis: The little Japanese woman has a dumpling roll out the door and then she chases it, but the earth opens up, and she has to chase it under ground. She asks everybody where it went but when they tell her they warn her that it went to the oni and she should be careful. She always just laughed and eventually the oni captured her and had her cook for them. She always just laughed and cooked rice with a magic spoon. When she left one day she was in the boat but when they noticed she was gone they tried to drink all the river water so she couldn’t escape. She made a fool of herself trying to run away so they laughed and the water came back. Now she escaped and is a super successful rice maker in Japan. Activity: Since the dumpling rolled and rolled you can do a story that rolls and rolls. Have students in groups of 3-4 and pass around a story. Each person starts an introduction then they pass around the paper until each person has added something to each story. They will have all written a beginning, middle parts, and end of a story. Works on their creativity as well. Personal Review: (2) – it was pretty strange and I couldn’t see the lesson very easily. Not one I think I would use in my classroom Officer Buckle and Gloria (1996 winner)Title: Officer Buckle and GloriaAuthor: Peggy RathmannGrade Level: 1-3Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: Officer Buckle had many safety tips and he would give speeches at school. When he did though, all the children would be bored and not listen. When he brought his dog Gloria along she would do tricks in the background and the students would remember them. They wrote tons of letters to him about the success. When he found out that they only liked Gloria, the officer was sad and stopped coming. Gloria was sad on her own though and the children fell asleep again. At the end his final safety tip was always bring a buddy!Activity: Teach kids how to write a thank you letter. They can send one to a place like the police station or they could send one home to parents (which they would love!) You could also do this at the start of school and have the students come up with their own safety tips for the classroom. Personal Review: (4) good story with a good message – I really enjoyed this book!Mirette on the High Wire (1993 winner)Title: Mirette on the High WireAuthor: Emily Arnold McCullyGrade Level: 2-3Genre: General FictionShort Synopsis: The little girl Mirette works at the inn where a tight ropewalker stays. She is fascinated by him and wants to learn how to do it. She tries and falls many times, but eventually makes it. Bellini, the tight ropewalker, teaches her how to master her skills. She gets afraid and stops doing it, but at the end Bellini puts on a performance and she accompanies him. It a great story about conquering fears and perseverance. Activity: Discuss things you are afraid of but also discuss the difference between a celebrity and a hero. Bellini was a hero to Mirette, and heroes don’t have to be famous necessarily. Assign students someone to research and then it can be a longer project about a person who is a hero. This could be a fun history project for older students. Personal Review: (4) great story with a great lesson – definitely one that I enjoyed and would use!Frog Went A-Courtin (1956 winner)Title: Frog Went A-CourtinAuthor: John LangstaffGrade Level: K-2Genre: Folk TaleShort Synopsis: A Frog wants to marry a mouse and he gets the father’s permission. Then lots of different animals come to help set up the wedding. It is a song that has been turned into a book. Activity: First play them the song on YouTube. Talk about what a Folk Tale is. You can discuss the different types of insects and animals in the book. You can do an activity where you discuss the difference between insects and mammals and then divide up the creatures in the book on a chart together as a class or individually on a piece of paper. Personal Review: (4) Very cute and good introduction to folktales – Not sure I would use this but still enjoyed it Grandfather’s Journey (1994 winner)Title: Grandfather’s Journey Author: Allen SayGrade Level: 3-4Genre: Realistic Fiction Short Synopsis: It is about a grandfather’s journey to the US and back home to Japan. It is a great book about immigration and family history that is in multiple different countries.Activity: Discuss immigration and what that meant. Then have students write about their own journeys like moving houses or going on a trip or how they get to school each day. Ask them specific questions for better writing. For homework students could ask parents or grandparents about their journeys (of any kind) and then record it on a pre-made worksheet. Personal Review: (3) good message but could be uninteresting to young readers – I liked it but didn’t love it This Is Not My Hat (2013 winner)Title: This Is Not My HatAuthor: Jon KlassenGrade Level: 3-5 would find humorous Genre: General Fiction Short Synopsis: The small fish steals a hat from a giant fish. It doesn’t matter because the big fish is asleep, nobody will tell, and he is going to hide in the tall grass anyways. Eventually the big fish finds him because he wakes up, people tell, and he finds him in the tall grass and eats him. It is a great story about honesty. Activity: Discuss honesty first. Then you could research different types of fish for science lessons, do fractions with different sizes of fish for math, and for writing you could finish the story (what happened to the small fish… eaten or get away?). Students could even write an article about a missing hat and place the newspaper flyers around the classroom. Personal Review: (5) LOVE. It is short and easy to read and understand with a great message – I thought this was great! I just hope young children can understand it as well The Glorious Flight (1984 winner)Title: The Glorious FlightAuthor: Alice and Martin ProvensenGrade Level: K-2Genre: Historical FictionShort Synopsis: The story tells the many different tries it took for Louis Bleroit to get a plane in the air and to get it safely across the English Channel. Great book to show the evolution of airplanes and transportation. Activity: Discuss and look at pictures of how travel was so different during that time. Have each student brainstorm all the words that can go along with travel, airplanes, or vehicles. Then have the student’s use those words to write sentences and draw pictures that match accordingly. Personal Review: (4) great story with a great message – I enjoyed it pretty well Once A Mouse (1962 winner)Title: Once A MouseAuthor: Marcia BrownGrade Level: K-2Genre: FableShort Synopsis: A man was thinking about big and small when he saw a little mouse trying to run away from a hawk. He saved the mouse and protected it, and eventually turned him into a tiger so he would be safe. When the mouse was a tiger, though he became very proud, and the man reminded him of how he got there. When the tiger was ungrateful, he turned him back into a mouse and never saw him again. Activity: Locate India on a map and talk about the culture of that man and perhaps why he was living alone. Discuss the character traits mentioned in the book. Then for a language lesson review all the actions that the different animals do (snatch, scurry, etc.) Do fill in the blank sentences as a class or even as individuals. Personal Review: (4) good story with a good message – I really enjoyed this book!The Little House (1943 winner) Title: The Little HouseAuthor: Virginia Lee BurtonGrade Level: K-2Genre: Realistic Fiction Short Synopsis: There was once a little house and the family said that they would keep the house in the family so the great-great-great grandchildren could see the house. As time went on though roads went in around the house, then more and more construction until the house was in the middle of a big city instead of in the countryside. When the great-great-great granddaughter found the house, she had it moved to the countryside again and the house became very happy and felt at home again. Activity: As a class look at pictures of evolving cities and discuss the history lesson of evolving cities. For a literature lesson you could also have students write about the family and use their imagination to come up with what the lives of the family look like. Personal Review: (4) good story about changing cities – I really enjoyed this book! Madeline’s Rescue (1954 winner) Title: Madeline’s RescueAuthor: Ludwig BemelmansGrade Level: PreK-KGenre: General Fiction or Poetry Short Synopsis: Madeline fell into the river and the dog Genevieve rescued her. They brought Genevieve back to the orphanage, but when the trustees came, they kicked the dog out. When they finally found the dog again, the girls argued over who would sleep with the dog. Finally after the argument was settled, soon after the dog had puppies. There was one for every girl and nobody argued anymore!Activity: Have students organize blocks into rows of two straight lines, discuss the fact that Paris is on a different continent, or ask about pets and talk about sharing Personal Review: (4) Sweet story with a good message - I really enjoyed this book! Seasonal/Holiday (10)The Snowy Day (Caldecott) The Snowy DayAuthor: Ezra Jack KeatsGrade Level: PreK-1Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: The little boy is excited about the snow and tells of all the adventures he has while playing outside. He saves a snowball, but it melts in his pocket inside. He has a dream that all the snow melted, but when he wakes up there is more snow and he gets to do it all again Activity: Make paper snowflakes and talk about how no snowflake is the same. Also talk about weather and how snow is made. Could even do shapes activity and build a snowman and label all the shapes. Personal review: (2) – had a simple message but was a tad boring and probably wouldn’t want to use it unless I didn’t have other options. The Christmas Promise (Caldecott) Title: The Christmas PromiseAuthor: Susan BartolettiGrade Level: PreK-2Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: A young girl and her father are “hoboes” and travel via boxcars. It tells about their journey and the different signs, but Christmas is coming up soon. Her father finds a safe home for her to stay with an older woman, and he promises to come back after he finds work. Eventually her father finds work and keeps his promise. Activity: Methods of travel for younger ages, or maybe make a map of your route to school. Could even do a write up about promises you have made or reading goals you have for over the winter break. Have students write down their goals and show their parents. Personal Review: (3) good story but could be uninteresting for young readers – I found it to be a little depressing and dark but a sweet message Leprechauns Never LieTitle: Leprechauns Never LieAuthor: Lorna and Lecia BalianGrade Level: 1-3 (have to pay attention)Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: Gran is old and can’t work and Ninny Nanny is lazy and won’t pick the potatoes, fill the water bucket, or patch the roof. To fix the problem Ninny Nanny wants to find a leprechaun to get his pot of gold so they won’t have to work anymore. The leprechaun tricks her into doing all these different things to “find the gold” but remembers he moved it to a safer place. All along she does the work, and then is so tired she gives up, and the leprechaun moves his gold again. Activity: St. Patrick’s Day crafts for younger students. For older students you could do activities that earn you “gold” like team spelling games, working hard, using certain numbers of vocabulary words in your writing assignments etc. Then at the end of the day each student gets a “homework pass… Lucky you!”Personal Review: (5) Captivating with a clear message…. Would LOVE to use this on St. Patrick’s Day The Polar Express (Caldecott) Title: The Polar ExpressAuthor: Chris Van AllsburgGrade Level: PreK-3 all ages will enjoy Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: A young boy is about to fall asleep on Christmas evening, when the Polar Express picks him up. It tells of their travels to the North Pole and eventually they see Santa and he picks the little boy to receive the first gift. The boy chooses a sleigh bell, but he thinks he has lost it. Santa delivers it to him on Christmas morning, and only the children can hear it, because they are the only ones who believe. Eventually even his sister cannot hear the bell, but he still has the spirit of Christmas within, so the bell chimes on for him. Activity: Not much goes on the day before Christmas break, but a fun activity like a Letter to Santa or making up a silly Christmas story could be fun. A fun story contest could even be a long-term project if you worked far enough in advance. If you wanted you could even do geography lesson in this and discuss the different climate the North Pole might have and things like that. (my school did a story contest in 3rd and 4th grade and it was really fun!)Personal Review: (5) Captivating with clear message – My Favorite Christmas story of all timeThe Egg Tree (Caldecott) Title: The Egg TreeAuthor: Katherine MilhousGrade Level: 3-5Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: It is about children at their grandparent’s house and they are on an Easter egg hunt, and the young girl finds some painted Easter eggs in the attic. They place them on a tree and make an egg tree. Each year they design more and more eggs so that they have a tree full of eggs. It is about tradition and family.Activity: Talk about your family traditions. Make own Egg tree and decorate paper or plastic eggs with sharpies or makers. Personal Review: (4) good story with good message - definitely one of my favorite Easter books Franklin’s ThanksgivingTitle: Franklin’s Thanksgiving Author: Paulette Bourgeois Grade Level: PreK-2Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: Franklin and his family prepare for the harvest. Franklin’s grandparents cannot come to thanksgiving this year, so Franklin, his mom, and his dad all invite neighbors and teachers to join them. Eventually when everyone arrives as a surprise, they all sit outside and eat thanksgiving meal like the pilgrims did. Talked about various foods, traditions, and the harvest. Activity: Make a quilt like the class did in the book (you can use paper instead of fabric). Also do the generic what are you thankful for activity. You could even talk about the foods that are mentioned in the book compared to the foods that your family eats typically. Make a chart or a “pie graph” for thanksgiving about the class’s favorite pie flavors. Personal Review: (4) great story with a good message. I really enjoyed this book and would love to use it for younger students to talk about thanksgiving. The Valentine BearsTitle: The Valentine BearsAuthor: Eve BuntingGrade Level: K-2Genre: Fantasy/Fiction Short Synopsis: Mrs. Bear wakes up from hibernation 4 months early in order to celebrate Valentines Day with Mr. Bear. She goes through many preparations and then eventually they celebrate together. Very cute story Activity: Discuss what hibernation is for science, do rhyming words (like the poem that Mrs. Bear wrote) or talk about the vocabulary words in the book, could even talk about what four months early meant and how many days weeks etc. are involved in 4 months. Personal Review: (3) good book with cute message – I liked it but I think there is an even better Valentine’s book out there The Very Fairy Princess Follows her HeartTitle: The Very Fairy Princess Follows her HeartAuthor: Julie Andrews and Emma Walton HamiltonGrade Level: K-2Genre: General FictionShort Synopsis: Gerry made special valentines for each person in her class for Valentines Day. She accidentally forgets them at home though, and so instead she says something nice to everybody in the class. Then her dad brings the Valentines Day cards and she gets to share her sweet sayings with each person. It was a cute spin on Valentines Day!Activity: Make sweet little “compliment cards” for each student and have them all say something nice about the other person. They can go around the room and write on everybody’s desk. For younger students, have them all say something nice about each student and write it down for them. Then they can each decorate their own valentine or if that is too much effort they can just be creative and make valentines on their own for themselves, or perhaps for the Principal, librarian, lunch ladies, or even janitors. (They would love it!)Personal Review: (4) great story with a really sweet message – I loved this book and would definitely use it on Valentines Day! Not super girly like it appears either! Gingerbread BabyTitle: Gingerbread BabyAuthor: Jan BrettGrade Level: PreK-1Genre: Seasonal/Fantasy Short Synopsis: Matti wants to bake gingerbread men, but he opens the oven too soon to peek and out pops a gingerbread baby. He runs away and says to each person he passes “catch me if you can!” Nobody can catch him, but eventually Matti makes a gingerbread house and traps him inside. Finally the gingerbread man was caught. Activity: In kindergarten my teacher made us all “gingerbread houses” where they were milk cartons she had collected and then put graham crackers as the walls and roof. You could have each student decorate one with party candy. You could also discuss as a class other creative ways you could’ve caught the gingerbread baby as a class. Personal Review: (4) cute Christmas story that was easy to pay attention to – I enjoyed it and would read it to my class during Christmas. Kids would probably find it really funny!The Hallow-Wiener Title: The Hallow-WienerAuthor: Dav Pilkey Grade Level: K-2Genre: Fantasy Short Synopsis: Oscar is a wiener dog, but hates being called that. He is so excited for Halloween but is so embarrassed when his mother gives him a hot dog costume. Everybody makes fun of him for it, but in the end he saves the day. Even though he is small he still has a big heart. Activity: There were lots of interesting words in there. For older students have them fill in the blank for the vocabulary word sentences. For younger students, you could make a construction paper Oscar or you could draw Oscar and draw your Halloween costume. Personal Review: (4) cute story with a great message – I really enjoyed the book and remembered loving it as a kid. It would be fun to read in class and I think students would enjoy it. Math/Number/Counting (5)1,2,3, To the ZooTitle: 1,2,3 To the ZooAuthor: Eric CarleGrade Level: PreK (not any older)Genre: Counting/InstructionalShort Synopsis: It basically just shows students the number that matches with how many animals are in the cage. It is very visual and good for learning how to count to ten or learning names of animals as well. Activity: Counting to 10! If students know how to do this, you could also do a worksheet just like the book where you write the number next to the cage saying how many are in there (students would count this themselves). You could also look online at the San Diego Zoo and see live stream and students could count the number of animals they see in each camera. Kindergarten students at Tarrant loved watching the animals so hopefully preschoolers would as well!Personal Review: (3) great for a preschool classroom but not super duper fun. I would use it but only if there wasn’t a more fun option.My Two Book: First Steps to MathTitle: My Two Book: First Steps To Math Author: Jane Belk MoncureGrade Level: Pre K-KGenre: Instructional Short Synopsis: The little girl named “two” does many activities and sees lots of different things all involving the number two. The book is very interactive and has students say things twice, or jump twice, clap twice, etc. It is really fun and interesting. Activity: At the end of the book it actually gives activities for students to do. Draw the number two with your finger, write the word itself, and then count things around the room that are in twos. It even gives subtraction and addition fill in the blanks for students to do with the number. You could make worksheets and do this on the carpet as well to really reiterate the point. Personal Review: (5) captivating and taught the message well. I LOVE this series and would absolutely use it in teaching numbers in my classroom. My Four Book: First Steps to MathTitle: My Four Book: First Steps to Math Author: Jane Belk MoncureGrade Level: Pre K – K Genre: InstructionalShort Synopsis: A little boy named “four” does lots of activities and sees lots of things and does things in fours. It is the same as the number two book and is super interactive and is even a little more fun than the number two book because it involves more things. Activity: At the end of the book it has the same activities. When studying numbers I would like to have a system of activities like always drawing the number, writing it, and then doing fun addition and subtraction games. For this one since there are more numbers, you could give each child four of an item and have them come up with as many combinations of that number they can think of. Go over it before hand and see if they can remember what you talked about, or just do it together as a class on the smart board. Personal Review: (5) captivating and great lesson – I love this series and would definitely use it in teaching numbers in my classroom. My Seven BookTitle: My Seven Book Author: Jane Belk MoncureGrade Level: Pre K- KGenre: Instructional Short Synopsis: A little boy named “seven” does lots of activities involving the number seven and sees seven pairs of things or sees two of one thing and five of another to make seven. This one works on adding and subtracting as well as being interactive. It was a really fun book.Activity: Same as the other two books with learning the numbers. At the end of the day if you have a little extra time play heads up seven up as well. Or incorporate the number seven by going outside and counting seven of something or collecting seven items (leaf, blade of grass, pinecone, mulch, etc.) then do a little craft with all of them together. Would incorporate multiple subjects in this lessonPersonal Review: (5) captivating and clear message – again I love this series and would definitely use it in my classroom. Making Change at the FairTitle: Making Change at the FairAuthor: Julie DaltonGrade Level: 1-3Genre: InstructionalShort Synopsis: Children are working at the fair selling snacks and they need to learn how to give back proper change. They learn the value of each coin, and learn to first say how much they were given, then say what the cost is, then count up from there to give proper change. It is a great introduction to giving change and really clearly explains it in a real scenario. Activity: You could do a sheet giving them the same problems that the students had and see if they get the correct answers. For a fun more hands on activity you could recreate this “store” in your classroom and have some students be cashiers and others be buyers. They can buy supplies and get back proper change. If you plan well enough they can buy supplies for a creative science project as well (debrief them on what they will need or want for perhaps the egg drop experiment). Personal Review: (4) great story with a great message – I really enjoyed this book and it was very realistic. Not exactly an imaginative book, but it definitely teaches the lesson especially for older students. If you could find an electronic version to play on the screen that would be even better. Science/animal/nature (10) --- most of these were non-fiction, but short picture books that could easily be read aloud to a classroom The Little Island (Caldecott) Title: The Little IslandAuthor: Golden Mac Donald Grade Level: K-2Genre: very difficult to decide – fantasy because of the animals but all facts are non-fictionShort Synopsis: The story talks about how the seasons affect the island and how nature changes accordingly. The cat comes to understand this by talking to a fish. Activity: Anything seasons related is a good activity. You could do activities that talk about what you would find each season, types of animals, what you wear, what the weather would be like etc. Also talk about the solstice and things like that. Incorporate technology if you can. You can do a paper plate divided activity where you have certain cutouts and then each item belongs to a different season. Glue that item in the certain area. Personal Review: (3) it was a good book about weather but can be boring at times if you don’t pay attention – I thought it was good but not great A Tree Is Nice (Caldecott) Title: A Tree Is NiceAuthor: Janice May UdryGrade Level: PreK-KGenre: Non-Fiction with a fictional character for pictures Short Synopsis: Basically tells about all the different things a tree can do and at the end the little girl plants a tree. Great to read on Earth Day. Activity: For young children talk about the different parts of a tree then have them make a tree on a piece of paper with those materials (would have to collect them prior). Could also make pinecone birdfeeders, do handprint trees, or even if you can get them donated early enough, have each child take home a tree to plant at home. (My school always did that on Earth Day)Personal Review: (4) good story and good lesson – I thought this was really cute and easy to read Swirl By Swirl: Spirals in NatureTitle: Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in NatureAuthor: Joyce SidemanGrade Level: PreK-KGenre: Non-fictionShort Synopsis: It basically shows different animals and features of nature that have swirls. It had great illustrations and could lead to lots of discussion. Very short book and very elementary Activity: Look at pictures and discuss all the different things shown in the book. This could be a great carpet activity. You could then divide things up into animals, bugs, and nature and have students cut out the pictures and glue them in the correct category. Lots of discussion could come from this. (Can even look at live webcams from San Diego Zoo if you want… my teacher did that in my sophomore year observations and the kindergarten class LOVED it!)Personal Review: (4) good story that taught a good lesson – great for younger students and not super lengthy. Stellaluna (about a bat) Title: StellalunaAuthor: Janell CannonGrade Level: K-2Genre: Animal AdventureShort synopsis: When Stellaluna was flying with her mother one night an owl attacked them and she fell into a bird’s nest. She learned to grow up like a bird, not a bat and developed bird habits. Then one day she flew away by mistake and a bat found her. Stellaluna learned that she was a bat so she did things differently from birds, and her mother found her as well. She and her bird friends thought they were very different, but agreed that they were all still friends. Activity: Discuss the difference between bats and birds. Make a Venn diagram about things that bats do, things that birds do, and things they both have in common. Have each student do this individually (depending on age and writing ability) and then do it as a class together as well if you have time or do it as a class initially depending on how young and have them try and copy the words from the main screen onto their paper. For an additional character trait discuss how even though the animals were different they were still friends.Personal Review: (4) good story with a good message – I really enjoyed this book and would definitely use it in my classroom. Bugs, Beetles, and ButterfliesTitle: Bugs, Beetles, and ButterfliesAuthor: Harriet ZiefertGrade Level: PreKGenre: Non-fiction, PoetryShort Synopsis: Used poetry to describe the look, feel and actions of all three animals.Activity: Use this book as an introduction to insects for young children. Then after reading the book observe all three types of insects. You could do a fun craft with the butterflies as well by pouring paint down the middle and folding the paper in half, or you could do handprint or footprint butterflies or insects as well. Personal Review: (3) good book with good message but not my all time favorite – would use this in my classroom, but I might try to find a different one as well. A Twisted Tale (qualifies both animals and science/weather)Title: A Twisted TaleAuthor: Carolyn Fisher Grade Level: PreK-K (for animal noises) and 1-2 for weather purposesGenre: Fantasy or comedyShort Synopsis: A twister hits the girl’s farm, and she brings all the animals inside and tells of the dangers of storms like that. After the storm is over though all the animals are doing different things. (The chickens are in the mud, the cows are clucking on the roof, etc.) To fix the problem, she takes all the animals to the fair and they ride the rides to they all spin back to the way they should be. The fair rides give students the example of how a tornado should look. It is all very silly but enjoyable and memorable. Activity: For tornados you can do the two-liter bottles filed with water and swirl it around so you see the spiral. For younger students animals do a matching game with animals and their noises. You could play a memory game, online unscramble game, or even work on vocab or spelling for older students by having an unscramble worksheet to work on different parts of their brain. Personal Review: (3) cute story but somewhat lacking on a hardcore message. I thought it was fun and it taught the lesson well. I would use it in my classroom because there are lots of fun activities to do with it and the children would probably love the book because it’s so silly. Leaf ManTitle: Leaf ManAuthor: Lois Ehlert Grade Level: PreK-1Genre: Nonfiction Short Synopsis: The speaker notices that the leaves make a man in the grass, but the next day the leaves have floated away to somewhere else. It describes all the places leaf man went throughout the different geographical areas and makes lots of different figures with leaves. It was a cool story about fall and the different scenery. It was also a very visually pleasing book. Activity: Take your class outside on a fall day to gather leaves on the playground. It would be a fun way to get outside, and hopefully let them get out some steam. Have them each pick their own leaves (3-5 each) and then bring them inside. Have them glue the leaves down into a shape and then they can each write a sentence about what their leaf creature is. Would be fun and uses lots of imagination. You can also discuss the seasons in a different lesson with this book if you wanted. Personal Review: (5) captivating with a great message and potential lessons – I really enjoyed this book and it was super easy to understand for young children. It’s Moving Day!Title: It’s Moving Day!Author: Pamela Hickman Grade Level: 1-2Genre: Non-Fiction Short Synopsis: It starts out with a bunny living in a rabbit hole and then it goes on and on as different animals experience moving day where they move out of the hole and then somebody else moves it. Great example of the circle of life and introduction into migration and things like that. Activity: You could have the class discuss family trips and compare them with animal migration. Ask questions about weather, and what you do to make things comfortable, what are problems that can happen, etc. and make a chart. One side is animal migration and the other is human vacation to demonstrate the point. After students know about seasons and different hemispheres and such then have them plan where animals would go during the winter and summer. Would they go north or south do you think?Personal Review: (4) enjoyable with a clear message – a good book but I know I could find others as well. Stars Beneath Your Bed: The Surprising Story of DustTitle: Stars Beneath Your Bed: The Surprising Story of DustAuthor: April Pulley SayreGrade Level: 3-5Genre: Non-Fiction Short Synopsis: It tells of all the different things that go into the air that can make dust and how the dust on your computer could even be dust from a comet in outer space or maybe dust from an old dinosaur. It was a really cool story and I think boys especially would really like it. Activity: This kind of goes along with germs and being clean, so when I was in 5th grade we took petri dishes and we swabbed something in either the classroom or building. We let it sit for about a week to see what would grow and see what surfaces in a school building were the cleanest and the dirtiest. (Surprising finds as well!)Personal Review: (4) really cool book with a great story – I enjoyed this and learned something new! It would be fun to share with the class!Do Goldfish GallopTitle: Do Goldfish GallopAuthor: Michael DahlGrade Level: K-1Genre: Non-FictionShort Synopsis: The book asks the question do goldfish do this that and the other and then it always says no a different animal does that. It ends with do goldfish swim.. Yes and then explains what that means. Activity: Do a matching game to see which animals do what motion or as a class mimic the animal activities. Then you could also do an activity to see where the animal would be located (ground, underground, trees, sky, etc.) Personal Review: (4) cute story that taught a lot. It was a great introduction to the movements of animals and I would use it in my classroom. Social Studies/historical fiction (10)When Clay Sings (Caldecott) Title: When Clay SingsAuthor: Byrd BaylorGrade Level: 1-2Genre: Non-fictionShort Synopsis: It tells of the background of clay pots and how they were used and how they were designed. You feel like you are a part of the old Indian culture when you are reading the bookActivity: Learn about how Pueblo pots are made through baking in the sun, and then have students make their own with their own symbols. Choose things that have meaning in their life like a cross or a soccer ball or a stick figure family and then have students write sentences about why they chose the symbols. You could make them with clay or just have premade worksheets or cutouts. Personal Review: (4) good book about Indian culture – I enjoyed it pretty well Moses (Caldecott) Title: Moses – When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to FreedomAuthor: Carole Boston Weatherford Grade Level: 2-4Genre: Biography and some Poetry Short Synopsis: Tells of the story of Harriet Tubman escaping slavery and traveling north and relying on God her entire journey. It shows how scared she was but also how brave she was too. When she finally makes it to freedom she misses her family, and she decides to go back and free many more people. She becomes the “Moses” of the Underground Railroad and God says “Well Done.”Activity: As a class you could make the map of her routes using technology, but for an individual activity you can make a timeline of her life and her journey. Then have students make a timeline of their lives as well to compare and contrast and for better understanding. Personal Review: (5) captivating with a wonderful message – I loved this book and this would be my first choice in books about the underground railroad Me and Momma And Big JohnTitle: Me and Momma And Big JohnAuthor: Mara RockliffGenre: Historical FictionGrade Level: 2-3Short Synopsis: This is historical fiction because it is about the Cathedral of St. John in NYC. The mother works as a stone maker for the building, and eventually she takes the children to see her work, and when they see the cathedral they understand what it means to be a part of something much bigger and appreciate beauty. Activity: Begin by discussing what the Cathedral of St. John is and the history behind the building. Then after have students construct stain glass windows out of construction paper and pieces of tissue paper. Hang them in the window if there is one in the classroom and it will be an awesome display!Personal Review: (5) great message and a captivating story – I love this book! I’ve never heard of it before, but it was absolutely wonderful and I would love to use it in my classroom!!Sybil Ludington’s Midnight RideTitle: Sybil Ludington’s Midnight RideAuthor: Marsha AmstelGrade Level: 3-5 (read alone and read aloud)Genre: Non-Fiction Short Synopsis: Sybil Ludington rode throughout her town and surrounding areas through the night to inform the people about the British attacking. Her ride is very similar to Paul Revere’s but much less known. It is a really cool story that I had never heard before but really enjoyed. Activity: Definitely use this when studying about the Revolutionary war and talk about Paul Revere’s Ride beforehand. After reading the book use technology to show a map of Sybil’s ride. You can also talk about what homes traditionally were like in that time period and discuss whom the different people were (like outlaws). For a written activity go over the different vocabulary words (like militia) and then have different historical people that you go over as well. Have students write all these things in notes or on a pre made worksheet. I also found lots of interesting worksheets if those are needed in the classroom for class work. They asked lots of good questions about the book to get kids thinking and paying attention. Personal Review: (5) great story – I absolutely loved this! It was super interesting and since it is true it would be a wonderful history lesson and a great book to read while studying the Revolutionary war. The Flag We LoveTitle: The Flag We LoveAuthor: Pam Munoz RyanGrade Level: 2-4Genre: Non-FictionShort Synopsis: It described all the different occasions when you would see a flag and then talked in detail underneath. The detail underneath gave great information like who made the flag, details about the national anthem and pledge of allegiance, and different historical events. It was a great history book about the flag. Activity: After reading the book you can have a history lesson about the different dates that were mentioned and have students make a timeline. You could also do a math exercise where students learn about proportion and how flags come in all different sizes but they have the same proportional dimensions (discuss how that is different from the initial flags). Personal Review: (5) great information and very interesting – The best flag book I think I have ever read. I loved it and it was so informative but yet never dull. Great for a range of ages too. Lincoln and Douglass: An American FriendshipTitle: Lincoln and Douglass: An American FriendshipAuthor: Nikki GiovanniGrade Level: 4-5Genre: Historical non-fictionShort Synopsis: Told the background story of both Lincoln and Douglass and how things led up to the Civil War. It then showed Lincoln waiting for Douglass at the White House and how it was controversial that a black man should be in the white house. Activity: History lesson about the historical events that happened in the book (timeline in the back) could do a government lesson on what Amendments mean and how they came to be. If you have the technology as well you could divide students into small groups to research different Supreme Court Cases and present them to the class on posters or PowerPoint. Personal Review: (5) great story with a great lesson – Really enjoyed this book and would definitely use it if given the opportunity. Showed a really interesting side of their relationship that textbooks do not show. Light in the Darkness: A Story about how slaves learned in secretTitle: Light in the Darkness: A story about how slaves learned in secretAuthor: Lesa Cline-RansomeGrade Level: 3-5Genre: Historical FictionShort Synopsis: Rosa and her mother are slaves that sometimes sneak away at night to go to “school” where a man who’s master taught him to read the Bible now teaches slaves from all over how to read. He teaches Rosa and her mother letters, but soon the masters begin to catch on. They are afraid of being whipped, so they do not continue to go but when they finally go back they are the only ones. When they think someone else is coming, they realize they haven’t been caught but new slaves want to learn. Activity: Go online to this website and work on secret letters. Talk about how strange it would be to not be able to write your own name. Finish the online assignments on this sight Personal Review: (5) wonderful story with a wonderful message – this is something you don’t hear about often when talking about slavery and the Underground Railroad, but it would be a wonderful book to share with the class. So You Want to be President (Caldecott) Title: So You Want to be PresidentAuthor: Judith St. George and David SmallGrade Level: 3-4 Genre: Non-fiction Short Synopsis: It tells of all the ups and downs and requirements of being president. Some things are very serious and some things are very funny in the book. It is a rather long book but it is good to read. Activity: We did this in the 3rd grade where each student was assigned a President to research. Each student had to write a paper in first person pretending to be the president telling about his or her life and accomplishments, and then at the end of the project each student read the paper like a speech. The speech was “televised” through our school broadcast network to our own classrooms and we all got to watch them the next day. It was a really fun long-term project and this book would introduce the project really well!Personal Review: (3) good book and humorous but very lengthy – I enjoy it and would use it in my class but it is a very long book so it would have to be for good attention spans The Secret of the Great HoudiniTitle: The Secret of the Great HoudiniAuthor: Robert BurleighGrade Level: 3-4Genre: Historical Fiction Short Synopsis: A young boy Sam goes with his grandfather to watch the great Houdini escape. Sam is very nervous and thinks he will not come up. Throughout the book it features lots of newspaper looking headlines describing the event. Eventually after about two minutes Houdini comes out of the ocean alive. Sam was amazed and realized that Houdini’s secret comes from within his heart. Activity: The story features lots of newspaper article looking headlines. Go online and show the class what those newspapers might have looked like. After assign each student a famous person to research and have him or her make his or her own newspaper article on that person. Use a template on technology for the newspaper. Personal Review: (4) good story with a good message – this story was not as interesting to me, but it definitely made you feel like you were there and I know the boys would love this story. I have a Dream Title: I have a DreamAuthor: no author because it is Dr. King’s speech, but Kadir Nelson did the picturesGrade Level: 3-4Genre: Non-fictionShort Synopsis: It is the end of Dr. King’s speech written out but it has beautiful illustrations that really help people visualize exactly what his speech is saying. Activity: Definitely listen to at least part of Dr. King’s speech on YouTube or watch it if there is a link. Then do a lesson on heroes. Have students write a paragraph on what makes a hero or who their hero is. Personal Review: (5) great book with a great message and illustrations – would definitely use this on MLK day or when discussing Civil Rights. Multicultural (10)Nine Days to Christmas – A Story of Mexico (Caldecott) Title: Nine Days to ChristmasAuthor: Marie Hall Ets and Aurora LabastidaGrade Level: 3-4Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: It is about a girl who is old enough to stay awake for the posada (9 days leading up to Christmas). The story is about how she gets her first pi?ata and how she feels when the children break it. Activity: Explain the posada and pi?atas. Talk about how their Christmas traditions differ from our Christmas tradition. Go into detail about Christmas in Mexico. (Learn words, learn dances, do maps, make sombreros and maracas, etc.) Could be a fun unit for a day. Personal Review: (4) Great book but long – I enjoyed it quite a bit but it is a very long bookAbuelosTitle: AbuelosAuthor: Amelia Lau CarlingGrade Level: 2-3Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: The father tells the children about the abuelos who come down from the mountain to make sure children are behaving. After the abuelos come down the mountain, there is a big party and celebration for everybody who behaved well. Then it actually happens, and the little girl realizes that the abuelos aren’t scary ghosts, but they are actually just adults dressed up. It was a cool story about that culture. Activity: Before and after talk about the traditions of this culture and discuss that this is a generational event. After you could make scary abuelos masks out of paper plates, and you could also do a what scares you activity. Older students could answer the questions what it means to be scared, what scares you, and how do you overcome fears. You could write that on the back of the masks or you could do it on separate sheets of paper. Personal Review: (4) good story with a great message! I had never heard of this tradition before, and I was fascinated. It would be a really fun book to share with the class and multiple activities could spring off this book! I loved it!Mei Li (Caldecott)Title: Mei LiAuthor: Thomas HandforthGrade Level: 3-4 (long book – attention spans)Genre: Multicultural – realistic fiction Short Synopsis: Mei Li and her brother go into the city to celebrate Chinese New year and have many adventures. They have to hurry home to greet the Kitchen Gods before midnight though. Very visual for the activities that happen in China Activity: Definitely need to discuss what Chinese New Year is as well as go over a map of her city (there is one in the back of the book). For a writing activity you would definitely want to go over the series of events that happened in the book. You could also do charts of things she did and things her brother did. Also compare it to the American New Year and how the times and celebrations are different. Personal Review: (4) good book with good story just very lengthy – I really enjoyed this book and it was very visual for students, but I got tired after reading it for too long. It is just very lengthy and could be risky for attention spans and hard to absorb all the content. The Rough-Face GirlTitle: The Rough Face GirlAuthor: Rafe Martin and David ShannonGrade Level: 3-5Genre: Folk TaleShort Synopsis: The story is basically a Native American version of Cinderella. Her two sisters poorly treat the rough face girl. Both sisters dress in fancy clothes trying to marry the “invisible man” but the protective sister will only allow someone who has seen him to marry him. Eventually the rough face girl leaves her hut to go see him but everyone makes fun of her so she runs away. She sees the invisible man in the sky (like God) and then the sister says you are the one he will marry because she has seen his beauty. The rough face girl becomes a beautiful princess and adored by all. Activity: Discuss the Native American culture in terms of social studies for older students. For younger students you could have them design grocery bag vests and have them put symbols that have meaning on them. They could also write sentences about what each symbol means and why it is important to their own personal culture. Personal Review: (5) captivating with a great message – love this book and definitely want to use it in my classroom. Can probably come up with many more activities for students as well to go along in a unit. Babushka and the Three Kings (Caldecott) Title: Babushka and the Three KingsAuthor: Ruth Robbins Grade Level: 3-4Genre: Folk Tale – Russian Short Synopsis: Three Kings are walking through the cold winter night to find a baby, and they invite Babushka to come with them. She denies them but then realizes that this must be a very important child, so she tries to find the three kings. Nobody can tell her where they went, so every year on Christmas eve she walks around looking for them leaving gifts behind. This blends the Christian Christmas Story with Santa Clause in a Russian folk tale. Activity: This blends the Christmas story with Santa Clause in a strange. As more of a long-term writing assignment, perhaps you could have children blend two Holiday stories as well. Maybe how the Leprechaun fell in love with the tooth fairy things like that. Have them use technology to create a digital storybook then they can share it with the class on one of the last days before Christmas or with their parents as well. Personal Review: (5) captivating story with a clear message – I loved this and it was a very interesting ending. It wasn’t what you expected but I think young readers would enjoy the story and like seeing how the two stories are blended. Butterflies for KiriTitle: Butterflies for KiriAuthor: Cathryn Falwell Grade Level: K-2Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: Kiri gets an origami butterfly and a bunch of pretty papers for her birthday. She tries hard to make the butterfly but the paper rips. Eventually she practices many days, and one day when she is painting she thinks she has ruined her picture, but then she finally is able to fold the origami butterfly all on her own and put it on her painting for a beautiful final touch. Activity: Be sure to discuss what origami is and what culture Kiri comes from. Afterwards you could do a shapes lesson. The origami has many different shapes so go over squares, rectangles, sphere, circle, etc. Have students working with 3D models of things, but also have smaller shapes cut out. When they are familiar with the shapes have them grab a small handful of shapes from a general basket that you pass around. Make all the different shapes into butterfly wings that are super colorful. Then have them count how many of each shape they had. Once that is done make different types of graphs as a class. Personal Review: (4) cute story with a good message – I enjoyed it! I wasn’t blown away but it was definitely a cute story.Take Me Out to the YakyuTitle: Take Me Out to the YakyuAuthor: Aaron MeshonGrade Level: 2-3Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: It is a side-by-side story of a child going to a baseball game in Japan and in the US. It compares and contrasts the two and you learn about Japanese culture compared with American culture. You also learn some cool new words as well. Activity: Do a Venn diagram of things that are different and similar. You could use technology for this! Also talk about the different words and what Japanese culture is like during a social studies unit as well. Personal Review: (5) captivating with a great message – I loved this book and think it was a wonderful way for young children to be introduced to Japanese Culture. Jeremy’s Tail Title: Jeremy’s TailAuthor: Duncan BallGrade Level: 1-2Genre: Fantasy Short Synopsis: Jeremy is trying to pin the tail on the donkey and ends up walking straight out the door and going on a trip around the world to pin the tail on the donkey. Every time somebody asks him what he is doing he simply replies “trying to pin the tale on the donkey.” It is an intro to new countries and pretty good. Activity: For introduction you look at pictures of other countries and talk about what different people do in different countries. Very simple activity that will segue into other activities. Personal Review: (4) Interesting and a good message – I really enjoyed this book! An Amish ChristmasTitle: An Amish ChristmasAuthor: Richard AmmonGrade Level: 3-4Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: This book shows a lot about Amish culture particularly in the wintertime. It gives details about their school, their homes, their close families, how they get out early for school to do plowing, and what they might wear on a daily basis. It was very visual and descriptive. Encompasses many aspects of Amish culture into just one book. Activity: Definitely need more discussion and looking at pictures for this book. It would be great to talk about what people would have worn on the plains and the movement west and compare that culture to Amish culture. It would help students understand the similarities and that there are still people who live like that today. You could have students do a chart as a class comparing and contrasting what the Amish do vs. what we do vs. what they did in the 1800s. Personal Review: (4) great story with a great lesson – it was a wonderful book about Amish culture that I would definitely like to use if given the opportunity. Layla’s Head ScarfTitle: Layla’s Head ScarfAuthor: Miriam CohenGrade Level: K-2Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: The new girl Layla is very shy in her 1st grade class and everyone keeps asking about her funny hat. Its not a hat but a scarf she insits, but some children do not understand. When someone points out that her whole family picture features women wearing headscarfs they are curious and question her. She gets upset, but then realizes that her scarf makes her special and it is important to her family. When her friends accept that she becomes more confident in class. Activity: Definitely more discussion than real activities on this one. You will need to discuss who might wear a headscarf, why they might wear a headscarf, and what it symbolizes to their culture. As you go through different cultures in a unit you can make posters with facts that your class learns about each culture and hang them around the room when you are finished or as you go. Maybe even have them going to a map. Talk about acceptance of all students as well. Issue (5)Alexander, Who’s Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to MoveTitle: Alexander, Who’s Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to MoveAuthor: Judith Viorst Grade Level: K-2Genre: Realistic FictionShort Synopsis: Alexander tells of all the things he loves about his hometown and why he doesn’t want to move and how he is avoiding moving 1.000 miles away for his dad’s new job. Then he ends up saying goodbye to everyone and tells of all the great new adventures that he will have in his new hometown. It is a great story about how to cope with moving cities and the challenges that come with it. Activity: This is a fun book that can be read aloud online (found lots of links for that). Not something I would necessarily pair an activity with, because I feel like these books require more discussion than anything. For an activity though, they could do maps of their house or talk about geography and what a house, neighborhood, city, state, region, country means. Have them do this activity on a paper plate and place the smaller circles within so that they can visually see the difference geographically. (Explained bad, but found the idea on pinterest)Personal Review: (5) great book about moving! I loved this book personally! Not something I would pull out all the time, but definitely something good to use when necessary. Franklin Goes To The Hospital Title: Franklin Goes To The HospitalAuthor: Paulette Bourgeois Grade Level: K-2Genre: Fantasy/Fiction – Realistic scenarioShort Synopsis: Franklin has a small crack in his shell so the doctor needs to operate. Franklin is very brave, but then when he goes into the X-ray he is afraid everyone will know that he is scared. The doctor explains that X-rays only see the bones, not feelings, and then the surgery goes great. Franklin was a very brave little turtle. Activity: Reading this book if a student ever is in the hospital. Make get well soon cards for the student in the hospital. Also have students do an X-ray of them. The activity would be “If an X-ray could see inside me, it would find…” and they use adjectives to describe themselves like brave, strong, fast, silly, etc. Personal Review: (4) great story with a good message – definitely want to use this if a student is ever sick and might even use this just for fun! I really liked this book and this seriesThe Bernstein Bears and Too Much TeasingTitle: The Bernstein Bears and Too Much TeasingAuthor: Stan and Jan Berenstain Grade Level: K-2Genre: General Fiction Short Synopsis: Brother bear is always teasing sister bear, and she never thinks it is fun. Brother learns his lesson about teasing when too tall and his gang starts to tease him about being a teacher’s pet. When they start to tease the new boy instead, brother sticks up for him. They all learn a lesson that everyone is individual and that teasing is part of life but something we want to avoid. Activity: As a class discuss what a bully looks like and write that down. On the other half of the paper write down things we want to have in a friend. As a writing activity for older kids, you could have students write a letter to a bully telling him why what he is doing is wrong and how to better handle situations. Or for younger students, give them paper and a situation and tell them to draw it (and write a sentence as best they can). Personal Review: (4) great story about bullying with a good message – I really really enjoyed this book!!When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding DeathTitle: When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding DeathAuthor: Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown Grade Level: PreK-2Genre: IssueShort Synopsis: This book goes over what alive means, what dying means, what death means, and what feelings come along with it and perhaps ways to honor someone who has passed away. It covers all aspects of death in a really graceful way. Activity: Hopefully nobody in your class will ever experience this, but if parents need suggestions for their child, then this is a good book to suggest. If goodness forbid, that someone in your class passes away, then an activity would be bringing in the guidance counselor for sure as well as perhaps remembering happy memories of that student instead of dwelling on sad things. Personal Review: (5) I thought this was a wonderful book that covered all aspects of death and the things that come along with it. It was not just a story but also a guide for children. I would absolutely recommend this and cannot think of a better way to describe this to a child. Wonderful book. A Children’s Book About StealingTitle: A Children’s Book About StealingAuthor: Joy BerryGrade Level: PreK-2Genre: IssuesShort Synopsis: This book talks about two children who steal from one another. Initially the girl steals from the boy, and then he does it to her to get even. It deals with the feelings that come along with both sides of stealing as well as dealing with peer pressure when other children steal. Activity: This is a good book to pull out when needed in the classroom. I wouldn’t do an activity with this necessarily, but if you have a development section of class everyday this is a good carpet time discussion. I would use multiple books in this series because they deal with many different issues. Personal Review: (4) it was a good book about stealing but I think there can be an even better one. Definitely would use it and this series in my classroom though. Favorite Character/series (10)Arthur’s Teacher TroubleTitle: Arthur’s Teacher TroubleAuthor: Marc BrownGrade Level: K-2Genre: Series Short Synopsis: Arthur and his class get a really strict 3rd grade teacher and he gives them all a 100 word spelling test. The top two spellers go on to represent the school in the spelling bee and Arthur and Brain are chosen. They study hard and Arthur ends up winning. Activity: Play “sparkle” where you go around the room and each student gives one letter of a spelling word until the word is finished. If you get the letter wrong then you are out and if you are after the last letter then you say sparkle and you’re out as well. The last one standing wins! (Fun game and fair because the bad spellers are not always the first ones out)Personal Review: (4) good story and good message - I love Arthur series and this is a good oneArthur’s New PuppyTitle: Arthur’s New PuppyAuthor: Marc BrownGrade level: K-2Genre: SeriesShort Synopsis: Arthur gets a new puppy and he has to work extra hard and show Pal special love in order to train the puppy. He eventually does it despite the doubts his family had. Activity: Talk about responsibility before the lesson and then read the book. Brainstorm ideas and ask specific questions and write down responses. Then after the story is read you can actually write a letter as a class to Arthur. Have the class come up with the questions and he will email you back if you include teacher’s email. Link for future reference: (wgbh/pages/arthur/deararthur/index.html) -- All kinds of awesome interactive things on the PBS website!!Personal Review: (3) good story but not super useful in a classroom – I liked it but not my favorite one of all timeArthur’s Family VacationTitle: Arthur’s Family Vacation Author: Marc BrownGrade Level: K-2Genre: SeriesShort Synopsis: Arthur’s family is going on a trip, but he is really sad because he cannot go to camp with Buster. He has a bad attitude at first but eventually they find awesome fun things to do while they are on vacation. He ends up writing Buster letters and having a great vacation. Activity: Make “suitcases” and draw all the items you would want to have on family vacation. We did this activity when I was younger and it was really fun! You could also write a postcard to Arthur from your class. (The link is above… that website has great stuff!) Personal Review: (4) good story with a fun message – I liked this book quite a bit – there is a lot you could do with it in terms of activitiesArthur Tricks the Tooth FairyTitle: Arthur Tricks the Tooth Fairy Author: Marc BrownGenre: SeriesGrade Level: PreK-1 (easy read to self)Short Synopsis: Arthur loses his first tooth and the tooth fairy brings him a dollar. DW wants to have it happen too, but she still has a few years. At the museum she buys a tooth to trick the tooth fairy, but Arthur helps out the tooth fairy by putting a dollar under DW’s pillow.Activity: Harder to have a true activity with this one, but you could talk about proper oral care, and if this is a possibility even bring in a dentist. If you want to incorporate science then you could even submerge things (maybe pennies) in different liquids to see which is “hardest” on your teeth. Fun to see but kind of a stretch going along with the “teeth” theme. Personal Review: (3) good story but not as practical of a classroom book. More of an at home bookDW the Picky EaterTitle: DW the Picky EaterAuthor: Marc BrownGenre: SeriesGrade Level: K-2Short Synopsis: DW wont eat anything and even pitches fits when they go out to eat. She isn’t allowed to come with her family, but then she feels like she is missing out. When it is Grandma Thora’s birthday though, she goes out and eats off the menu. She is super mature, but it has a very funny ending. Activity: As a class identify all the foods DW will not eat. Give students two boxes on a sheet of paper. In one box draw something DW will not eat, and in the other box draw something you will not eat. Write the word on the line below. After if you have this available bring in four or five unique fruits and veggies. Have students fill out the worksheet as you go along, but they write the name of the fruit/veggie, say if it is a fruit or veggie, say how it looks on the outside, say if they think they will like it, then say if they do like it (after you give each child a small bite…. Be super cautious of allergies and make sure parents know about this!!!) You could even incorporate hand washing into this lesson. Personal Review: (4) cute story with a great message – one of my favorite Arthur books!!Arthur’s Pet BusinessTitle: Arthur’s Pet BusinessAuthor: Marc BrownGrade Level: K-2Genre: SeriesShort Synopsis: Arthur wants to get a puppy but his parents tell him he has to prove that he is responsible. To do so, he starts a pet keeping business and he takes care of people’s pets when they are out of town. He does an extra good job taking care of a mean dog, and proves he is responsible, so at the end of the book, when the mean dog has puppies, the owner lets him keep one as a special reward. Activity: You could do a really cool vocabulary exercise with this and use simple business terms like ‘goods” or “service” and what the difference between the two is. Ask students specific questions relating to his business and discuss what that means. You could do a worksheet individually or as a class do the worksheet together. Very simple but great learning activity and definitely more advanced and unique. Personal Review: (4) good story with a good message and unique opportunities for lessons – I liked it quite a bit! Definitely up on the list of favoritesArthur Writes a StoryTitle: Arthur Writes A StoryAuthor: Marc BrownGrade Level: K-2Genre: SeriesShort Synopsis: Arthur writes a story for school but thinks it is too boring so he makes it more interesting. As he makes it more interesting the story becomes weirder and weirder. Eventually when he presents his story to the class it is strange, but then he tells his initial story and everyone loved it!Activity: Write a short story yourself. Make sure it has a beginning middle and end. Could also pass around the story activity where each person writes a beginning middle and end of a different story. Really works on using your imagination. For younger students have them draw pictures and write a sentence as best they can for each page. Encourage them to use sight words. Personal Review: (4) cute story with a good message – I loved it and could definitely use it in the classroom! Arthur’s Computer DisasterTitle: Arthur’s Computer DisasterAuthor: Marc BrownGenre: SeriesGrade Level: K-2Short Synopsis: Arthur is addicted to a computer game and wants to play it all the time. He does not have permission to play on his mom’s computer when she is gone for the day, but he does anyways, and thinks he broke the computer. He does all he can but can’t fix it, so then when his mom is home he has to tell her the truth. The computer wasn’t broken, but his mom was disappointed and Arthur learned a good lesson. Activity: There were some really fun sequencing cards that I found online for this book. It is basically can you put together the sequence of events that happened in the book using these cards. Also talk about proper technology use in the classroom if your classroom has lots of technologyPersonal Review: (4) cute story with a good message – I really enjoyed this book and can definitely see it as a good lesson Arthur Meets the PresidentTitle: Arthur Meets the PresidentAuthor: Marc BrownGrade Level: K-2Genre: SeriesShort Synopsis: There was a contest about “How I can change America” and Arthur won. The president invited him and his class to go to DC so Arthur could recite his speech. They saw lots of different monuments and eventually Arthur recited his speech for the president, even though he was nervous and messed up a little. Activity: As a class write the same letter to the president and send it to Arthur. You could also have them individually do that and have them draw a picture of the white house too. It would be something fun to hang up in the hallway or around the classroom. Transition into a history lesson talking about the current president and all the different monuments they saw in DC. Personal Review: (4) great story with a really cute ending and message – I really enjoyed this one and could use this with many quality activities I feel like, not just filler activities Arthur Lost and FoundTitle: Arthur Lost and FoundAuthor: Marc BrownGrade Level: K-2Genre: SeriesShort Synopsis: Arthur was supposed to take the bus by himself to swim lessons, and he brought Buster with him as a buddy. They fell asleep on the bus though and got lost. They decided to get a snack, but didn’t have any more money to get home. They talked with the bus driver and he was nice and let them on and called their parents. It was a great story about staying calm, always being with a buddy, and how to handle stranger danger. Activity: Talk about the vocabulary in the book and what you do if you are in a situation like Arthur. For a fun game, you can play the “hot and cold” game for a lost item. Students can do it as partners or the whole class can do it together. Personal Review: (4) good story with a good message – I liked it but didn’t love it. Very good for a pre-field trip event to talk about what happens if you get lost. Folk Tale/Fairy Tale (10)Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears – West African Tale (Caldecott) Title: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s EarsAuthor: Verna Aardema Grade Level: 2-4Genre: Folk TaleShort Synopsis: A mosquito tries to spread rumors to an iguana that gets annoyed. Then there is a series of events when each animal affects another until eventually a baby owl is killed and the mother owl refuses to wake up the sun. It then traces the events back to the mosquito as the one to blame, and the mosquito hides and since he has a bad conscience that is why he whines in people’s ears. Activity: Cause and effect activity. Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half. One side is cause the other is effect. Write down 10 situations on your own. When you’re finished cut the paper up and then put it together in a bag. Trade bags with a partner and see if you can complete their cause and effect chart!Personal review: (5) – captivating with a clear message – I would love to share this book with my students A Story A Story (Caldecott) Title: A Story A Story Author: Gail E. Haley – African Folk Tale Retold Grade Level: 3rd or higher – hard to follow the story line Genre: Folk TaleShort Synopsis: A man wants to buy the stories from the Sky God, so he climbs up to meet him. The sky God will only give him the stories if he does three seemingly impossible tasks (catching a leopard, hornet, and a fairy), but he cleverly does all of these things. It can be about pleasing God or it can be a “spider story” where you don’t allow those who are bigger than you to dictate what you can and cannot do. Activity: Always told don’t drop an egg or you’ll break it, so have students come up with creative contraptions that won’t allow the egg to break using only certain materials. You could add a math component and give them a budget, which only allows them a certain amount of materials from you (the banker). Personal Review: (3) Was very enjoyable, but hard to follow throughout - I thought it was good but not something I would feel confident using Cinderella (Caldecott) Title: Cinderella Author: Marcia BrownGrade Level: 1-2 Genre: Fairy TaleShort Synopsis: Cinderella tended to the every need of her stepmother and stepsisters, and when the ball was announced she wanted more than ever to attend. She was unable to though, but her fairy godmother came and rewarded her for being so kind to her stepsisters, so she gave her a beautiful dress and let her go to the ball. She was the most beautiful there and the prince fell in love with her, but she had to run away and go home before midnight. After the prince tried to find her, and he found her by using the glass slipper. Cinderella fit the slipper and revealed the other one. They were married soon after, and Cinderella forgave her stepsisters for being so unkind to her. Story about inner beauty and was a little different from the Disney version. Activity: Write the Cinderella story from a different point of view. Perhaps from the Godmother, stepsister, or even the Prince’s point of view for older children. For younger children have them take a sheet of paper and divide it into four sections by folding it. Then in the top two sections draw everyday items, and then in the bottom two sections use your imagination to change that item into something Cinderella could use, like the fairy godmother did!Personal Review: (4) good story with a good message – I always enjoy princess stories! Arrow to the Sun – Pueblo Indian Tale (Caldecott)Title: Arrow to the SunAuthor: Gerald McDermottGrade Level: 3-5 Genre: Folk Tale Short Synopsis: The young boy was born by a woman and his father is the Sun God. The boy goes on a journey to find his father and eventually returns as a rainbow. Activity: Discuss Pueblo Indian culture before reading the book so students can identify the things mentioned in the book. After have students draw scenes of Pueblo Indian culture. As the class discusses other cultures then we can hang the scenes on the wall and compare differences. You can also have students write small paragraphs about each culture.Personal Review: (4) good book about the culture. A little hard to understand, but with explanation before hand it is easier – I thought this was a pretty interesting story Strega Nona (Caldecott) Title: Strega NonaAuthor: Tomie de PaolaGrade Level: K-3Genre: Folk TaleShort Synopsis: Strega Nona is an old witch with a magic pot. She hires Big Anthony for help, and when Strega Nona goes out of town for a few days he takes the pot and makes pasta for everyone, even though her one command is do not touch the pot. He makes the pasta for everyone, but cannot stop it, so when Strega Nona finally gets back she stops it for him and then makes him eat all the pasta so the punishment fits the crime. Activity: Cause and effect with a little worksheet. Can also do a board game where students roll the dice and then move up the board accordingly. Depending on what they land on “ in effect” they have to do that activity. (Do jumping jacks, hop in place 3 times etc.… would be good to get kids moving and get energy up or release some energy too). Scholastic also had a really cute idea of recording the student’s voices where each student reads a small section of the book and the whole class sings the song parts. Mash it all together on iMovie for the mac (which I have) and then it creates a really cool story. You can share the link with the other classrooms, with parents, or with the school. (Thanks, Scholastic for that idea!)Personal Review: (5) great story with a great message – I was captivated by the story and wanted to learn more. Really fun book that I would love to share with my class. Rumpelstiltskin (Caldecott) Title: RumpelstiltskinAuthor: Paul O. Zelinsky Grade Level: K-2Genre: Folk TaleShort Synopsis: A young girl is taken away into the castle to spin straw into gold. She doesn’t know how but the little man helps her until the greedy king eventually marries her. The man only asks for her first-born child. He gives her three days to guess his name and eventually she sends out spies to find out his name and he doesn’t take her child. Activity: Lots of funny names in the book and so talk about how different things can have funny names (like the TV remote or a hair band). The little man also did a funny dance to act out his name, so have students get into pairs. From there they will need to make pieces of paper for words and they will need to copy the words off the board and write one adjective on each section of paper. Have the pairs draw a card and act out the adjective (will be much harder and sillier with adjectives than nouns). Personal Review: (4) good story with a good message – I really enjoy this story and would be fun to even just read at the end of the day. Mr. Pak Buys a StoryTitle: Mr. Pak Buys a StoryAuthor: Carol FarleyGrade Level: 1-3 Genre: Folk TaleShort Synopsis: Mr. Kim sends out his housekeeper Mr. Pak to buy a story because they are bored at night. Mr. Pak foolishly gets trapped into buying a story from a thief and all the thief does is describe a stork and a fox. The family is puzzled by the story but they are satisfied with the very good story. Many years later, the same thief tries to break in and the story makes him think that he has been caught, so he runs away. They did not realize how very good of a story they had. Activity: This would be a fun introduction into Asian culture because they often use storytelling in their traditions. Talk about Asian culture in a social studies lesson, but for a writing lesson have students come up with their own silly story. You could have them try and write it backwards too, or just have them draw and write a silly story. This would also be a fun book to just read at the end of the day. Personal Review: (5) captivating with a great message – I would definitely use this book in my classroom. I very much enjoyed it!There was an old lady who swallowed a flyTitle: There was an old lady who swallowed a flyAuthor: Simms TabackGrade Level: K-2Genre: Folk TaleShort Synopsis: The old lady swallowed a fly and perhaps she’ll die. She swallowed many other things to catch the fly, and eventually swallowed a horse, and she died of course. Activity: Definitely have this one read aloud online. There are some awesome voices that do it! You could also see if your library has the doll (mine did when I was little). If not then you can do sequencing events activities with cards or with worksheets. You could even make big cards that have different parts of a story that students can be a living story. Four or five people each have a card, and then the class has to put the story in order. It would be very fun and interactive. Personal Review: (4) very funny and enjoyable for all audiences – I enjoy it! The True Story of the Three Little PigsTitle: The True Story of the Three Little PigsAuthor: Jon Scieszka Grade Level: 2-3Genre: Fantasy/Fairy TaleShort Synopsis: The wolf tells his story from his point of view saying he really just had a cold and wanted to borrow sugar from his neighbors. When he got there though he sneezed and each house fell down killing the pig, so he had to eat him. When he got to the last house the pig insulted his mother and he pitched a giant fit. When the cops came they thought his story wasn’t cool enough so that’s how he became the “big bad wolf.” Activity: Read the real three little pigs story and fill in your paper with the details from that book. Then after reading the other compare the two stories. Ask students a few writing prompts and have them write about which story they like better and why (which one was more believable, who’s side are you on, etc.?) Then after you could do a counting game like 3s multiplication tables, or weighing the difference between straw, sticks, and bricks and doing fractions problems. Personal Review: (4) very funny with a good lesson – I enjoyed hearing the other side of the story and it was very humorous and you could probably do many activities with it. The Apple-Pip PrincessTitle: The Apple-Pip PrincessAuthor: Jane RayGrade Level: 2-4Genre: Fairy TaleShort Synopsis: There were three little princesses and when their mother died the kingdom became very sad and barren. She left each child a gift that they could choose though and the two daughters chose shoes and a mirror while the youngest daughter chose a simple wooden box. The king was going to give the kingdom to one of his daughters so they tried to prove they deserved it. The two girls built tall towers but Serenity the third daughter took her wooden box of things her mother left and made the land beautiful again. It was a really cool story that in some ways parallels the creation story. Activity: Go around outside on a pretty day and observe all the wonderful things that there are to see. When you come inside make a little wooden box yourself (with paper of course) and say what seven items are most important to you in your life. (It can be tangible or non-tangible) but have students write which items they chose and why on a separate sheet of paper. These activities were always challenging but fun in elementary school. Personal Review: (5) captivating story with a great message – I really enjoyed this new story that I had never heard before. Fantasy/Other (10)Max’s DragonTitle: Max’s DragonAuthor: Kate BanksGrade Level: K-3 would enjoy it (activities probably work better with older ages)Genre: PoetryShort Synopsis: Max is searching for words that rhyme outside and his brothers are making fun of him. Max tells them about the dragons in the sky (clouds) and then when they make fun of Max again, the dragons change into dinosaurs (storms). In order to get rid of the dinosaurs, Max tells them they have to rhyme words to get him to go away. After the storm passes, the older brothers are nicer to Max and include him in their game. Activity: Talk about bullying perhaps but do a rhyming game for the main lesson. Students have to find the partner in the room who has their “rhyme word,” or students could do things they see around the room and come up with a word that rhymes, or you could even do a board game where you roll the dice and in order to move that many spaces, you have to rhyme so many words (there can be little tricks and traps along the way i.e.: having to double or triple the amount you rolled… Students keep track of all the words on a piece of paper so you can grade them at the end.)Personal Review: (4) Enjoyable with a clear message – I really liked this book! The Tortoise and the HareTitle: The Tortoise and the HareAuthor: No author, fableGrade Level: PreK-3 all ages can enjoyGenre: FableShort Synopsis: Hare always thinks he can beat everyone in races, so tortoise decides to finally race her. Hare sprints off and gets so bored that she takes a nap because she thinks she can still win even after she wakes up, because tortoise will be so slow. When hare wakes up, tortoise is crossing the finish line. Slow and steady wins the race. Activity: This would be great to pull out right before state testing since they can seem so long. For a real activity though, my teacher did this with us one time. She gave us this mini quiz that was multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short sentences that were super easy and about our life or about what you were doing at the current moment. The questions were super easy, so my class flew through it, but when you got to the end it said, “Read the directions.” The directions were “put your name on the top of this paper and turn it in. No questions need to be answered” It was a great lesson about taking your time on all assignments and really reading the directions. I have geared this more for older students, but there are other activities you could do for younger children. Personal Review: (5) Captivating with a clear message…. Great to pull out at random times when your class seems to need to focus or slow down. The Tyrannosaurus Game Title: The Tyrannosaurus GameAuthor: Steven KrollGrade Level: K-2Genre: Fiction Short Synopsis: The children are bored at school on a rainy day, so the teacher has them play a game where the first person tells a story, then the next person adds on and so on and so forth until each person has contributed a page of a story and it becomes really silly! Activity: Have the students do this game themselves. You can have them say their page of the story and then you can write it down into a word document. Print off each page and then give each student his or her page. Have them illustrate that page. Eventually when you have time, make each student his or her own book if you can and send it home as a really cool activity. (Make photocopies or scan each page, but allow the child to keep the book with their original colorful page… if that makes sense!)Personal Review: (4) cute story and a great message – I love this game and this book and would enjoy using it in my classroom. The book itself doesn’t teach much but it is a great bridge into the fun writing and learning activity. Amelia BedeliaTitle: Amelia BedeliaAuthor: Peggy ParishGrade Level: K-2 (reading level for 1-2 as well)Genre: Humorous FictionShort Synopsis: Amelia Bedelia is asked to do lots of chores for her family like draw the drapes, dust the furniture, and trim the fat on a steak. She does all of these things literally and it is very silly, but the family loves her lemon meringue pie and refuses to let her leave. Eventually the family learns to write all the chores literally and Amelia still makes her pies. Activity: Tons of different activities you could do with homophones or homonyms. Read this book to introduce them and then talk about it during the lesson and then proceeding activities such as worksheets or charts you make as a class. Personal Review: (5) great story with an awesome lesson – I loved this book. It was hilarious too and the children would love her! ChrysanthemumTitle: Chrysanthemum Author: Kevin HenkesGrade Level: K-2Genre: Fantasy Short Synopsis: Chrysanthemum is a little girl who loved her name and thought it was perfect, until she went to school and everyone made fun of how long it was. Everybody made fun of her for a few days and her parents tried to comfort her, but nothing helped. Eventually their music teacher told everybody about how her name was a flower and super long as well. After that, everyone was jealous and was nice to her. It was a book about individuality and teasing Activity: Make a flower garden of names at the beginning of school talking about how much you will grow this year. After each student makes their own flower name, then you can have a list of names and students should take blocks our count how many letters there are in each name. You could also count syllables and vowels as well. You could make a graph of how many people have 5, 6, 7, etc. letters in their name. Talk character traits about individuality and how we should all respect each other. Personal Review: (5) great story with a great message – I love this book and could even see myself using this on the first day of school. Reading this book, talking about treating one another fairly, and even doing the name flower garden activity. If You Give a Pig a PancakeTitle: If You Give a Pig a PancakeAuthor: Laura NumeroffGrade Level: K-2Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: A pig eats a pancake which makes him need maple syrup, which means a bath, and so on and so forth until finally he ends back with a pancake. Activity: Compare if you give a Moose a Muffin and if you give a Pig a Pancake and talk about how the letters all match. Then assign each child a letter and have it do its own cover page of a book. You could display them in alphabetical order around the room. You could also do “flapjack math” where there are numbers on the back of each “pancake” and you have to flip them over and add/subtract the numbers that appear. You could give them a worksheet ahead of time to fill out or they could just do it on paper. Have each student do it multiple times at their desk so that everyone gets different combinations. Personal Review: (4) great story with a good lesson to go along – I enjoyed this book when I was younger and I’m sure students would today as well!Little Old Big Beard and Big Young Little BeardTitle: Little Old Big Beard and Big Young Little BeardAuthor: Remy Charlip Grade Level: 2-3Genre: General FictionShort Synopsis: It focuses a lot on adjectives and changing them into adverbs, but the general story is about two cowboys. One is tall young and with a little beard and the other is short old and with a big beard. They are cowboys that lose their cow, so in order to stay cowboys they go on a search and eventually find her and go back the same way they came. Activity: After talking about adverbs and what they are go around the school wandering like cowboys and have students write down as many adverbs that they can think of or that they see on their journey. Personal Review: (3) cute story with a good message but slightly boring – It was fun to see the adjectives changed into adverbs but the story itself was a little boring. I would use it in an adverbs unit but that’s about it. Harold and the Purple CrayonTitle: Harold and the Purple CrayonAuthor: Crockett Johnson Grade Level: 1-2Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: Harold has a purple crayon and he draws lots of different things and goes on many adventures until he finally ends back in his bedroom and draws his bed and window and sheets back over him. It was a really cute story that randomly developed along the way as Harold drew new things. Activity: Have your class do this itself. You can have a large sheet of butcher paper and start at one end and then make it to the other end. Each student is randomly called up to draw something and add to the story. As they say what they are adding you add their lines to the story. Eventually as a class you made up your own Harold and the Purple Crayon story. It probably wont be nearly as good but it would still be really fun and work on children’s brains. Personal Review: (5) captivating and a cool message – I really enjoyed this book and would love to share it and use it in my classroom. It is easy for students to read as well because there aren’t big words and it is big type. A Bad Case of the StripesTitle: A Bad Case of the StripesAuthor: David ShannonGrade Level: K-2Genre: FantasyShort Synopsis: Camilla loves lima beans but is afraid to tell other students about it. When she stops doing what she loves she turns into crazy things like the American flag when saying the pledge of allegiance or eventually having a bad case of the stripes. The only thing that eventually cures it is being herself and eating lima beans. Activity: Do this book early on in the school year as a get to know you. Make a list of fears that students say they have and discuss those before reading the book and then compare that to Camilla after reading the book. You can also have students do their own Bad case of the…. And the blank can be their favorite hobby or activity. They will draw a picture of themselves doing the activity and then it is a cool get to know you thing. If you have a template already made then you could have it pretty and hanging in the room. Personal Review: (5) great story with a great message – I love this book and definitely want to use it in my classroom. The Giving TreeTitle: The Giving TreeAuthor: Shel Silverstein Grade Level: K-2Genre: FableShort Synopsis: A little boy grows up with a tree and eventually throughout his life the tree gives the boy something as he grows up. Eventually the tree is nothing but a stump, and he is there for the little boy to sit on when he grows old. Such a sweet story and a tearjerker for sure. Activity: Go outside and collect sticks and leaves during the fall. Have students make a tree on their piece of paper and label the different parts of a tree. You can also have students make handprint trees if they are younger. You can even do an activity about being thankful for the things you have been given and the leaves each say a word of something you are thankful for. Personal Review: (5) captivating with a wonderful message – I cry every time I read this book it is so wonderful and has to be read to students! I think it is good for many different ages too, not just younger readers. ................
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