Five Little Monkeys

I read the book Five Little Monkeys as an E book on Speakaboo.  I choose to read this book because I have not read many books that integrate math or numbers nor have I read many books for the kindergarten or first grade readers,  The book tells the story where there are five monkeys and one jumps off the bed and bumps their head so on and so forth til there are no more monkeys on the bed.  The book repeats the sequence until there are no more monkeys and that makes the text familiar and teaches students about repetition.

I would use this book to teach students about subtraction.  When a monkey would fall off of the bed I would press pause and have students how many monkeys they think will be left on the bed then I will press play and let students see if they are correct.  This book will teach students that you can have numbers in books and encourage students to use them in their own writing.  I will use this activity in my classroom.
 

The Valentine Contest

The Valentine Contest is an E book I read on Speakaboos.  It is about Princess Ana who is having a Valentines dance at her castle.  She wants to dance with someone at the ball so her father King Carlos decides they should have a contest and have people make her Valentines and she will choose the winner that gets to dance with her.  Three boys created Valentines the two that created Valentines that were based off of what they liked thought they would win but the one that created the Valentine that was based on what Princess Ana liked thought he did not have a chance.  Princess Ana chose the boy who created a Valentine that he thought she would like.

The Valentine Contest teaches readers to realize that everyone is different, that people like different things, and we should not be selfish and think about others.  The book also teaches a little bit about Valentines day and what it is so I would show this to students around Valentines Day.  Since they create Valentines in the story I would have students make Valentines to give to someone special at home.  This will be a great way to teach about the Valentines holiday,

A Christmas Carol

I read A Christmas Carol as an E book on Speakaboos.  I chose to read this book to get into the Christmas spirit and because it is a classic.  A Christmas Carol is about Ebeneezer Scrooge a greedy man who does not like Christmas, he is greeted by ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. By the end of the book he gives back to the community and he has the joy of Christmas.  This story teaches readers to give back to others because it will give you more joy than money ever will.

On Speakaboos you listen to the E book and read along with the story.  One thing that Speakaboos does is talk in different voices to represent the different characters.  I would use this to teach students how to use their voice to represent different characters and different emotions.  Students would practice this by reading aloud and using different voices with a partner.  A Christmas Carol is a good book to use to teach this because it has a lot of different characters and a lot of different emotions in the text.   

Like Bug Juice on a Burger, Julie Sternberg

Like Bug Juice on a Burger is a Poetic Novel written by Julie Sternberg.  The book is about a little girl named Eleanor who goes to summer camp but does not enjoy her time there until the end.  The story is written like a poem.  There also pictures that go along with the writing that look like they are drew by Eleanor.  It is an easy read that exposes readers to a different type of writing.

I liked this book a lot, it reminded me of my childhood of when I went to summer camp.  I would read this book to my class right before summer to get students excited about summer and going to summer camp.  I would have students write a poem about activities they do in the summer including going to summer camp.  This would teach students how to write poetry.  I really like this book and think it can teach students a new way of writing so I will have it in my classroom library.

America the Beautiful, Katharine Lee Bates

America the Beautiful is one long poem stretched throughout the book that is the song America the Beautiful.  The book has a lot of really cool features for readers to enjoy.  The illustrations go along with the poem and paint a visual picture for readers that go along with that stanza of the poem.  Each picture comes from a location of the United States and in the back of the book it tells readers where each picture came from and a little blurb about the place.  There was also a map that showed where the places the pictures came from.  It also talked about the author of the song and showed an original copy from when it was written.  I really liked this book.

I would use this book to teach about American history.  We would talk about the author of the song and why it was written.  I would also use the map to teach students about maps and map making.  Then we would talk about the different places and their importance.  This book is a great book because it can teach students many different things about American history.

The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents, Susan Katz

The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents is exactly what it sounds like it is a picture book of poems about each of the presidents all the way from the first president George Washington to the current president Barrack Obama.  The book has historical facts about each presidents along with funny ones that children will relate to and be able to remember the presidents by.  Along with the poem the book has an illustration of each president and a caption of a historical fact that relates to the president and the poem.  Kids would really like this book and would be able to learn a lot of good information from reading the poems.

I have already used the book The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents in a lesson I taught to my second graders.  I taught about our community leaders so I picked out a few of the poems and did a read aloud to the students to introduce them to different presidents and teach them about what they did as president.  I think that the students liked the poems and thought they were mostly funny but I think the learned something from them too,  I will use this book in my own classroom again one day.

Johnny Appleseed, Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet

Johnny Appleseed is a poem picture book written by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet.  The book tells the story of Johnny Appleseed, how he planted his apples and how he got his name.  The way the book tells the story is through poems.  The book is illustrated by S.D. Schindler and I think that the illustrations really bring the story to life for readers.  This will be a great book to have in the classroom library.

This book is a great book to use on Johnny Appleseed Day to teach students about Johnny Appleseed, how he planted his apples and how he got his name.  The book would also be a great book to use to teach students about how to write poems.  One thing I noticed when reading Johnny Appleseed was that there was a mistake right at the beginning of the book so I would use the book to teach my class about proof reading and revising their work.  This book can be used to teach multiple lesson not just who Johnny Appleseed was or what he did.

Vanilla Ice Cream, Bob Graham

Vanilla Ice Cream is a picture book written by Bob Graham.  It is an interesting book and one that even I had a hard time understanding.  At the begging the book is about a little sparrow who unlike the other sparrows goes on an adventure and ends up in a big city.  That is where the bird meets a little girl named Edie Irvine who discovers vanilla ice cream for the first time.  It was a good book I just do not really understand the main point of the book.

If I were to use the book Vanilla Ice Cream in my classroom I would use it to teach my students about perspective.  After we read the book I would talk to students about the birds perspective and "birds eye view" and how it sees everything from above.  In order to bring this home to students I would have them write a journal entry as if they were a bird and what they see throughout the day,  For that reason and activity I would have this book in my classroom.

The Lion and the Bird, Marianne Dubuc

The Lion and the Bird is a picture book written by Marianne Dubuc.  It is a sweet book about a friendship that occurs between a bird and a lion when the bird gets hurt and left behind in the Winter.  When Spring comes the bird leaves the lion goes through the rest of the seasons alone.  The next Winter the bird returns and the book comes full circle.  This is a good picture book to use in the classroom.

I would use The Lion and the Bird in my classroom to integrate ELA with science.  Since this book talks about all four seasons I would do a read aloud of this book and as a class we would create an anchor chart, and as we get to a new season we will talk about and write down the characteristics of the seasons.  Then I would give students a piece of paper divided up into four quadrants and in each quadrants they would draw a picture and write a sentence about each season.  This is a great book to use to teach about seasons that I will have in my classroom.

What Do You Do With an Idea, Kobi Yamada

What Do You Do With an Idea is an inspiring picture book written by Kobi Yamada.  It is a book about a little boy who has an idea.  Kobi Yamada makes the idea a literal thing that needs food, attention, and love.  The idea is bright and yellow while everything else in the book is shaded in pencils and black and white.  During the book he wants to give up on the idea.  Then the whole book becomes colorful and he realizes that an idea can change the world and he can change the world.

This is a really great book to use with students.  I think that What Do You Do With an Idea lets students know that it is okay to be themselves and have their own unique idea because one day that idea may change the world.  To go along with this book I would have students write down an idea that they have and draw an illustration to go with the idea.  On half of the page have the picture be in black and white showing the process of coming up with the idea, and then the other half in color showing the idea happening and changing the world.  I would also use this book to go with writing and showing students that no matter the idea it is a good idea and do not give up on it no matter what other people tell you.  I really like this book it teaches students to dream and let their ideas flow, it is something I want to use in my classroom. 

There is a Bird on Your Head, by: Mo Willems

There is a Bird on Your Head is a picture book written by Mo Willems.  It is a book with great illustrations and it is written almost like a comic book because the text is written in speech bubbles.  The book is about an elephant and a pig and the elephant has birds on his head.  The whole book is dialogue between the two characters.  Mi Willems is a great author,

There is a Bird on Your Head is a great book to use when teaching students about point of view.  With the different speech bubbles you can point out which character is saying and feeling what.  Teachers can point this out and use it as an example for students.  If I were to use this book in my classroom I would have students draw two characters with speech bubbles and have them write a different point of view for each character.  This would be a great activity for students to be able to be engaged and practice point of view.

The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters, Janet and Allan Ahlberg

The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters is a unique picture book that is full of letters, brochures, and postcards that you can actually take out of envelopes in the book and read.  Like Mirror, Mirror it is about fairy tales and the characters sending letters, brochures, and postcards to one another.  In the end it kind of comes full circle because the character who sent the first letter receives the last letter in the book.  It is a book that students would like especially with being able to take things out of the envelopes.

I will certainly use The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters in my classroom.  I would use it to teach students how to write letters and address envelopes.  I would teach them how we write dear put the recipients name and then a comma, then we write the message, then we write sincerely, and the writers name.  I would pull out the letters from the book to show them as examples to show students.  You could also use this with a community helpers unit and teach about the mailman.  This is a fabulous book.

Mirror, Mirror by: Marilyn Singer

Mirror, Mirror is a picture book of poems.  Each page has two poems on the page.  The poems are versions of the classic fairy tales that kids read like Rapunzel.  The poem on the left is a normal poem telling the story from beginning to end.  While the poem on the right is the poem telling the story from end to beginning.  There are also two illustrations to go with the two poems.  It is a really cool picture book that students would like.

This book would be great to use to teach students about poems especially since it is about fairy tales that students know and they can already kind of know the tale but just see it in poem format.  The teacher can show students the poem as an example.  As an activity I would have students pick a fairy tale and have them write about it in poem format and then do the same thing except this time from end to the beginning like in the book Mirror, Mirror.  They could also add illustrations to their poems.  I love this book and think it is great for the classroom.
 

Babymouse For President, Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Babymouse for President is a graphic novel.  It is written like a comic book but it is long enough to be considered a novel.  Babymouse for President is about a mouse who is running for school president.  The book takes her through the journey of announcing that she was running, making posters and promises to people, participating in a debate with other candidates, and all the way to the election day.  It talks about platforms and qualities that candidates take.  This is a great book that can teach students a lot about the election process.

There are many ways that you could use Babymouse for President in the classroom.  It is an essential book to use when teaching about elections because it teaches students about the process in a way that they can relate to.  I would use the book to teach about math because it talks about counting the votes in order to see who wins and ranking the candidates in order of the voting results.  I would use this book to teach about writing and an activity I would do would be to have students write a new page in the book and make sure it relates to elections, illustrate it, and use speech bubbles.  Babymouse for President is a great book that is used to integrate many different subjects and is a book that I will have in my classroom library.     

The Other Side, Jacqueline Woodson

The Other Side is written by Jacqueline Woodson which is the author I am researching for my author study.  This is honestly one of the best books I have ever read.  I think it can teach students and people in general a lesson that we all need to learn.  The book takes place in a time where segregation still took place.  The Other Side is about an African American girl and a white girl whose houses are separated by a fence that both girls moms told them not to cross.  They end up sitting on the fence getting to know each other and hoping that one day the fence will be tore down.

I would do a read aloud with this book and integrate it with social studies and slavery.  After we do a read aloud and discuss the book I will have students write about what they think happened to Clover and Annie after the book ended.  Did they stay friends? Did the fence get tore down?  This would allow students to feel like they were in the characters place and give them a chance to practice their writing. This is a book I will for sure have in my classroom library.  

Show Way, Jacqueline Woodson

Show Way is written by Jacqueline Woodson, which is who I am doing my author study on.  This is a great book in the historical fiction genre.  It is told by Woodson's point of view and it comes full circle.  The book is written like she is being told a bed time story about her ancestors, how they were sold into slavery and many generations later their family was freed.  The title of the book is Show Way and a Show Way is a quilt that the slaves made with maps on them that showed them the way to freedom.  I think this book is fabulous.

The illustrations in the book Show Way are really cool, each page is colored in what looks like quilt squares.  After doing a read aloud of the book I will give each student a blank piece of white paper and have them color it however they want based off of the book.  Then on a blank piece of poster paper we will put all of the papers together and make our own class Show Way.  

Our Gracie Aunt, Jacqueline Woodson

Our Gracie Aunt is written by Jacqueline Woodson, that is the author I am doing my author study on.  It is a good book with great illustrations but it covers a kind of difficult topic.  BeeBee and Johnson's mom has to go away because she cannot take care of them so they have to go stay with their Gracie Aunt.  At first they are not happy about this but once they realize that their Gracie Aunt can take care of them they way they are supposed to be taken care of they love her.  This is a book about home, finding where you belong, safety, and love.  However this maybe a book children do not understand or it is a tough topic for them to read about.

I think that I would only read this book to students who are going through situations like this because it is such a difficult topic.  So if I had a student who is in the foster care system I would read this book to them, talk about how they feel about what we read, and see if they have any similarities with BeeBee or Johnson.  Then I would have students write a journal entry or draw a picture about how they feel.  This is a book I will have in my classroom library.  

Seedfolks, Paul Fleischman

Seedfolks is a novel written by Paul Fleischman.  It is about how different people started a community garden and it brought them together despite their diverse backgrounds.  Each chapter is about a different character, how they found the garden, and how the garden affected them.  The book is about different cultures and people of all different ages.  It would be a great book to use in the classroom to teach about culture and coming together as a community.

While we read Seedfolks we were told to use sticky notes and write notes and stick them in the book as we read.  When I did this I did one or two for each chapter or character since each chapter was about one character.  I wrote down multiple facts about what was going on and who the character was.  I did those using green sticky notes.  Then with pink sticky notes I wrote how the characters knew each other.  This book was kind of confusing because you had to figure out how the characters knew each other.  I would use this book for upper elementary aged students and have them take notes on sticky notes as they read so they can keep up with what is going on in the book.  As an extension activity I may have students create a class garden where they each have a plot in the lot.    

Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza Rising is a novel about a Hispanic girl whose father is a landowner who farms so she is part of the upper class.  Everything starts out great until the 1930 and there is resentment towards wealthy landowners.  Her father is killed and her and her Mama flee and go to the US but her grandma has to stay behind.  Esperanza's mom gets sick so she has to work and pay for her mom to get better,  Eventually her grandma gets here but things are still bad because her money is stolen.  In the end Esperanza sets goals for herself  to learn English, be treated equally, and start a family of her own.

Since Esperanza creates goals of her own at the end of the book one activity I would have students do would be to create goals for themselves.  Ones for the day, week, month, end of the school year, and next five years.  This can teach students that no matter what they are going through there is always hope and the goals they set can be their hope in front of them.  Just like it was for Esperanza in Esperanza Rising.

Tricycle, Elisa Amado and Alfonso Ruano

Tricycle is a book about a little girl and the Hispanic culture.  For most of the book the main character is sitting above in a tree describing what she sees below.  A lot of that shows readers the different aspects of the Hispanic culture.  While she is up there she sees someone take her tricycle.  She does not want them to get punished so she makes up a story saying that men in a car ran over the bike.  Tricycle teaches readers a lot about the Hispanic culture and how they protect their property.

An activity that I would do with students after reading the book Tricycle would be one where I could learn a little bit more about them and their culture.  I would have students picture themselves sitting up in a tree in their backyard and I would have them write a paragraph about what they would see and tell me about their culture.  Based off this paragraph I would have students draw a picture.  This would be a great way for students to learn more about their culture and for me to learn more about my students.          

Coming On Home Soon, Jacqueline Woodson

Coming On Home Soon takes place in a time of war when colored women were just beginning to be able to work because of all the men fighting in the war.  The book brings a level of diversity and cultural history to students becuase it takes place in a time of war where not everyone was equal, especially not colored women.  Ada Ruth's mom goes to Chicago to work on the railroad.  Ada Ruth writes her constantly and constantly waits for her mom to write back.  She finally got a letter from her mom say that I am coming on home soon.

This is a great book to teach with a history lesson.  As a teacher you could touch one war or equality with Coming On Home Soon.  To talk about war you could read the book and talk about how as the men had to go fight for our country women had to take their position in the work place.  To talk about equality you could read the book and talk about how monumental this was in making women of color equal to other women.  Coming On Home Soon is a great book to use to teach with a history lesson.

a Hen for Izzy Pippik, Aubrey Davis

a Hen for Izzy Pippik is a great book by Aubrey Davis.  It is about a girl named Shaina who finds a chicken that belongs to Izzy Pippik.  Shaina's family are merchants and her town lives in poverty.  Everyone wants to eat the chicken and the eggs or sale them for money but Shaina will not let them.  She says they are Izzy's and waits for him to come back.  The chickens are bringing good fortune to the town, so they are sad when Izzy actually shows up.  Shaina always has hope that Izzy will show up and in the end it pays off for her.

This book has a great lesson for students.  a Hen for Izzy Pippik teaches students to do the right thing.  It also teaches them that if something does not belong to you, you need to give it to the person it belongs to.  The moral of the story is that if you do the right thing you will benefit from doing so.  This book is a great book to read to students at the beginning of the year teaching them to do the right thing, keep up with their belongings, and not take things from others. a Hen for Izzy Pippik is a book I will definitely keep in my classroom library.

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past, Jacqueline Woodson

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past is a diverse book written by Jacqueline Woodson.  It is about an African American family who is getting together for a picnic.  The book goes along telling about the different family members and tells a little bit about them.  It also tells what they are bringing to the picnic.  The book shows the culture of the family and provides for them a view of the African American culture and how they view the importance of family.

One thing that stood out to me in this book was the illustrations.  They are so bright and colorful.  We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past was illustrated by Diane Greenseid.  So before I read the book aloud to the class I would put up one of the pages of the book without the text.  As a class I would have students pick out different things in the picture and tell me what they think about what is going on in the picture and what they think the book will be about.  I will prompt students with questions about things like culture and family.  This will be a great lead in activity to the read aloud of We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past.

The Year of the Baby, Andrea Cheng

For this week we got to choose whatever novel we wanted to read.  I did not really know where to go with this so I decided to read The Year of the Baby by Andrea Cheng, which is the second book in my series novel that I read earlier this year.  This book continued the journey of Anna and her friends.  However, this year her parents adopted a baby girl from China named Kaylee who is not thriving.  They are constantly taking her to the doctors and trying to figure out how to get her to eat.  Anna and her friends have to do a science fair project, after much thinking they decide to do it on Kaylee.  They want to test and see if singing songs in English or Chinese will make her eat.  

The Year of the Baby is a wonderful book.  It would be great for students whose families are going through change.  I would recommend it to students who are about to become a big brother or sister, or whose family is adopting, since that is what the whole book is about.  I would also recommend it for students whose parents are separated or getting a divorce, because Anna's friend Laura is going through this in the book and it could help students with transitioning through this process.  This is a great book to integrate with science or math, I would have my students get into groups and come up with their own science fair project and come up with their own problem, hypothesis, observations, and conclusion.  It also shows bar charts and graphs to teach a math lesson.  I like this book and think it would be beneficial to students.

Construction Zone, Cheryl Willis Hudson

Construction Zone is an informational text picture book.  It is about what goes on in a construction zone.  It also tells the steps of building a building from the beginning in excavating the dirt to the finished product.  It even used real pictures from an actual construction site.

 

I chose to read this book because the little boy that I babysit is obsessed with diggers, loaders, anything that has to do with trucks, dirt, or construction.  All Summer we read books about these types of things but never this one so when I saw it in the library I got it so that I could see what it is about and read it with him.  It also had bolded words in the text.  However, in this book at the bottom of the page there was an orange question mark and it had the definition for the bolded word.  I would recommend this book to students who like construction, dirt, or different working machines.  You could even integrate it with a science lesson on simple machines.  I will have this book in my classroom library.  

It’s Probably Penny, Loreen Leedy

It’s Probably Penny is an informational text picture book.  It is about math and probability.  The beginning of the book is explaining to students about probability and what it is.  Then the teacher tells the students what their assignment is based on probability.  The rest of the book is one of the student’s homework assignment and she does the assignment based on her dog Penny.

It’s Probably Penny would be a great book to use to do a read aloud during a math lesson on probability.  The book has the key words that go with probability bolded.  So as I read this book to the class we would make an anchor chart where when we got to a bolded word we would stop, write it down on our chart, talk about the word and what we think it means, and then write down a definition on the chart.  Also, I would have my students do the homework assignment that is in the book.  They would go home and pick someone or something and make predictions about it, make a chart and see if they were right or wrong, and use the vocabulary words to talk about the probability of events.  This book is full of great activities. 

First Garden, Robbin Gourley

First Garden is an informational picture book.  It is about the White House, presidents, and first ladies.  The book talks about how the gardens at the White House and their purpose have evolved over time.   The main focus of the book is on the Obama family and how the first lady’s focus is on healthy living, and most of the food served at the White House is from that garden.  At the end of the book it gives readers directions on how to grow a garden and different healthy recipes.

After reading First Garden if it was possible I would like to take my students outside with the book and use the directions to grow a class garden.  This would show students how to use directions from informational text.  It would also help them create a healthy living lifestyle.  This is a book I would love to have in my classroom library.  It would be great to integrate into a social studies lesson about the presidents. 

When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me by: Rebecca Stead is the novel I read for the realistic fiction genre.   The book is like a mystery and it is confusing, in the end I still did not really know what happened.  Someone finds the key to Miranda's house and writes her three letters with instructions and clues.  The whole book is the letter that Miranda is writing to this mysterious person, it is full of detail of the events that happened in her life during that time.  By the end of the book the readers find out who wrote the three letters to Miranda and she finds out who she is supposed to give her letter to, I think.

Since When You Reach Me is such a confusing book you would have to read it with older students, probably like fifth grade.  In order to help students understand what is going on in the book I would have them take guided notes to go along with the reading.  We will fill out characters, settings, details, and other things that are going on in the book.  That way by the end of the book students may not be confused like I was.

Another Day in the Milky Way, David Milgrim

Another Day in the Milky Way is a picture book from the Science Fiction genre.  It is about a boy who woke up on the wrong planet; this was not the first time it happened.  However, he did not know how he got there or how to get home.  He asked for help but everyone was too busy.  He found a horse that was really a donkey that made him even more confused.  They tell him to go see the Starman on the Hill.  He finally falls asleep and wakes up at home.  This is a cute adventure book that I think students would really like.

This book is about adventure.  So as an activity to go with this book I would ask my students to get creative.  I would have them write about how they think he got to the other planet and then have them come up with another way for him to get home other than him falling asleep.  This will give them a chance to practice their writing.  If my students have a blog they will do this as a blog post.  It will be a great activity that students will benefit from.    

The Three Ninja Pigs, Corey Rosen Schwartz

The Three Ninja Pigs is a fantasy picture book that is a spinoff of The Three Little Pigs.  There are three little pigs and a mean, big, bad wolf.  The pigs finally said “enough!”  They called him a bully and wanted it to end.  So to solve this they went to train at ninja school.  The sister pig was the only pig that stuck with karate all of the others gave up or thought they knew enough so quit.  The first pig wished he was more prepared when the wolf came, the second pig just ran away, but when the wolf got to the sister’s house the wolf was the one to run away.  They all went back to ninja school and the wolf never bothered them again.  I love this book and I will have it in my classroom library.

This book has a lot of great teachable components.  There is a glossary in the back explaining some of the karate terms.  I would use this to teach a mini lesson to show how to use a glossary.  The book talks about how the wolf is a bully.  So to create a better classroom community I would read this book aloud to the class and then have students talk about why we should not be a bully and what to do if someone is bullying you.  Also on every page there is some type of rhyming.  So I would connect this to poetry and have students write their own version of The Three Little Pigs in the form of a poem.  This is such a great book that creates many opportunities to use in the classroom.   

Mr. Wuffles, David Wiesner

Mr. Wuffles is a picture book from the Science Fiction genre.  It is about a cat named Mr. Wuffles and a group of aliens in a spaceship that somehow ended up on earth.  Mr. Wuffles found a spaceship toy that he liked and he began rolling it around that happened to be the spaceship that the aliens were in.  Mr. Wuffles falls asleep and the aliens are dizzy and tired and everything is broken in the spaceship from all of the rolling around.  They get out and Mr. Wuffles almost squishes them so they run under a dresser full of bugs they all make a pact and plot a plan to get Mr. Wuffles.  They set up a trap and got back on the spaceship and fly out the window.  It is a great book for a Science Fiction picture book and I think that students would really enjoy the book.

This is a really interesting book.  The text is written in quote bubbles.  However, most of it is like a wordless picture book because Wiesner has the aliens speaking their own language and not English.  So for one activity I might would do with students in have them write down all the different characters that the aliens use in their dialogue and have the students create an alphabet for the aliens.  Then I could put them in groups and have each group take a page and write down what they think the aliens are saying.  Another activity I may do is as a class do a venn diagram for compare and contrast of Hocus Pocus because the book has the same theme of the thrill of the chase like Mr. Wuffles.   This is a great book to base different activities off of.

Feathers, Jacqueline Woodson

Feathers is a Newbery Honor Book writen by Jacqueline Woodson.  It is a novel based on symbolism, sibling relationship and rivalry, hope, change, and equality.  There is the issue between black and white because it is about the seventies.  There is a highway that divides the different races.  Frannie

the main character goes to Price Elementary which is all black students and a new student comes in who is lighter skin the students call him "Jesus Boy."  Everyone picks on him and he ends up getting in a fight but by the end “Jesus Boy” and Frannie are good friends.  You never learn his real name, I kept reading thinking at the end you would know his name but you never do.  Frannie's brother Sean is deaf so when he signs it is in italics in the book so you know he is talking.  So the book talks about disabilities and how to Frannie and her family it is not a disability they are all just bilingual.  Overall the book is about hope and how it is everywhere and in all of us.  "Hope is a thing with feathers."

One thing I found interesting in this book was how much it focused on religion and Jesus.  The students in Frannie's class think that "Jesus Boy" is literally Jesus and that he chose to come to this school.  So I do not know how you could use this book in a public school.  If you could I would because I like this book and I think it has a great message and covers a lot of topics.  It would be great for Social Studies since it talks so much about segregation and equality and since it was based off of the seventies.  I could even teach sign language to the students since it is such a main topic in the book.  There are also a lot of different writing activities in the book itself like writing a list of what all we have in common and then sharing and going over it as a class.  A big thing that I would use in the book to teach would be equality and treating each other how we want to be treated no matter what.  Students can learn a lot from this book and it can create a great classroom community.

Hocus Pocus, Sylvie Desrosiers & Remy Simard

Hocus Pocus is a wordless picture book.  It is a really cute fun book about the thrill of the chase.  There is a magician that has a dog but he also has a rabbit in his magic hat.  The rabbit and the dog do not like each other.  So while the dog and the magician are asleep the rabbit gets out.  The dog wakes up and the dog and rabbit end up going back and forth at each other annoying each other.  The dog ends up being the one that gets in trouble and disciplined, so essentially the rabbit wins.

When I was reading this book it made me automatically think about Tom and Jerry.  So as an activity to go with a lesson on venn diagrams and comparing and contrasting I would read this book with students and have them watch a clip of Tom and Jerry.  Then as a class we would fill out a venn diagram looking at the similarities and differences of Hocus Pocus and Tom and Jerry.  This would be an engaging activity for students.  I will have this book in my classroom library.    

The Giant Seed, Arthur Geisert

The Giant Seed is a wordless picture book.  From what I read one the inside front jacket of the book it is one in a series about pigs.  This particular book is about a giant seed growing in the pig’s town.  It grows big and tall and has huge leaves.  The kid pigs play on the plant.  A volcano erupted and started little fires in the village and caused people to begin to pack up their bags to leave.  Fire lands on the seeds but the pigs climb to the top of the seeds and cut them off and ride them down to an island.

 

To me this book was kind of confusing.  At the end of the book I could not tell what really happened, they were on an island but I do not know if it was where their original village was or if it was a new island that they landed on.  This got me thinking on what I would do if my students were confused.   First I would have them write me a couple of sentences telling me what they think happened at the end of the book.  Then I would have a few students share if they wanted too.  I would make sure that they know that there is no wrong answer.  It would be a great writing activity and would clear up the meaning of the book for students.  

Rainstorm, Barbara Lehman

Rainstorm is a wordless picture book.  With that being said you have to interpret the meaning of the book based off of the illustrations.  In the beginning of the book a little boy is looking out the window and it is raining.  In that illustration there is a ball that your eyes are just drawn too, it is important in the book.  The little boy found a key and finally found that it opened a treasure chest.  Once he opened the treasure chest it took him to a sunny land on the beach full of friends where he was happy and could play.  Then he came home and ate and slept, when he woke up the next morning and it was still raining so he went back to be with his friends.  It is a book that kind of comes full circle and is definitely a book I will have in my classroom library.

As I was beginning to read Rainstorm the first thing I noticed was on the inside jacket of the book there was a synopsis.  It gave the gist of the book saying it was about a rainy day and a lonely boy in a big house who found a mysterious key to an unexpected place.  This helped me to know what is going on in the book instead of just guessing.  In my classroom I would turn this into a mini lesson going over parts of a book and how it is important that we look for clues in those parts that might help us as we read the book.  This will help students become better readers.   

Chains, Laurie Halse Anderson

Chains is a historical fiction novel.  It is about a slave girl named Isabel and her journey to freedom.  In the beginning she lives in Rhode Island and her owner dies and she gets sold to a couple in New York.  Isabel and Her sister Ruth are the only thing that each other has, Isabel is very protective over Ruth.   The Mistress is very cruel to her and ends up moving her sister Ruth away.  The Revolutionary War is occurring in New York during this time, it is the Loyalists vs. the Rebels.  It is a dangerous time in the city especially for slaves.  By the end of the book she discovers who she really is and crosses the river to freedom with her companion Cruzon.

This is a really good book but I think you have to be careful with what grade you let read it because it is difficult and very graphic.  At the beginning of each chapter there are dates of when these events take place and then there is a historical quote.  As an activity for my students I would assign a chapter to each student or pair of students and have them read the chapter and then do research and find an appropriate historical quote that goes with the chapter.  This would give students a way to connect with the text and history.  I could also teach about calendar with the book.  It talks about Isabel and Ruth being on a boat to New York so I would have students write about a time they have been on a boat and compare it with Isabel and Ruth’s experience.  If they have not been on a boat I would have students imagine that they were on the boat with Isabel and Ruth and write about the experience.  This would also help students connect to the text.  If students connect to the text they are going to be able to understand the historical importance more.   

Emily, Micheal Bedard

Emily is a historical fiction picture book about the poet Emily Dickenson.  It is about a mysterious woman who has not come out of her house in twenty years.  The narrator and her family get an anonymous letter asking the mom to come play piano for the women.  The narrator goes to the house too and that is where she meets Emily.  The book has an underlying meaning about going from winter to spring and things’ coming back to life because that is what happens to Emily.

    

While I was reading this book I was wondering if it was a historic fiction book or not.  That is because it is not until the last page that you learn that the text is about Emily Dickenson.  So, the book kept my curiosity up.  To incorporate this into my classroom I would have students pick a historical figure and do some research on them.  Then I would have them write a story where the readers do not truly know who the figure is until the end of the story.  Kind of like a historical figure guess who.  

Working Cotton, Sherley Anne Adams

Working Cotton is a historical fiction picture book.  The narrator is the main character and she is telling about what she does in the cotton field during the day.  It was written in bad English to represent to make it feel like you were there in that time period.  The whole family gets there before light, they build a fire to warm up, they sing while they pick the cotton, eat lunch, work some more, and then leave. 

It is like she had a journal but they wrote a book on the whole days entry.  After reading this book to the class I would have students carry around their writer’s notebook and make notes of what they do throughout the day.  Then the next day I would have students write the details down like a journal entry.  After that they could illustrate a picture to go with the entry.

Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings, Deborah Hopkinson

Girl Wonder is a historical fiction picture book written in a unique way.  It is kind of like a mini chapter book because the different parts of her life are divided into innings and on the side of the pages that represent a new inning there is a bat and a baseball with the number in it so readers know what inning it is in the book.  In the first inning she threw a corncob at a cat and everyone was impressed.  In the second inning she has her first memory of throwing a ball and gets her name “Girl Wonder.”  In the third inning nothing could stop her from playing ball in the summer she played with the boys and in the winter in a barn where she gets her first fans.  In the fourth inning she is seventeen and everyone is telling her it is time to be a lady.  In the fifth through eighth inning she plays for a semipro team.  Finally, in the ninth inning the book comes full circle.

When I read this I immediately thought of the recent Little League World Series.  Mone Davis is a young girl who is a pitcher on an all-boys team that went far in the Little League World Series.  Mone is literally a present day “Girl Wonder”.  I would read this book with my class and have them do research on Mone Davis.  Then as a class we would create a venn diagram to compare and contrast Mone to the main character in the book.  Then students would write a blog entry about the similarities and differences.     

Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale (Introducing His Forgotten Frontier Friend), Deborah Hopkinson and Joan Hendrix

Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek is a historical fiction picture book, but it is also a book like I have never read before.  As you are reading it is the author telling the story, like they are talking to you and reading the story.  As she reads she decides to change it up and change the outcome of the story, like first they walk across the log then she changes it and decides that they are going to crawl across the log.  In the first two pages she sets the stage of the story like characters, setting, and time.  During the book Abe and his friend Austin cross a dangerous river where Abe almost dies but Austin saves us. On the last page of the book it gives the moral of the story which is: What we do matters, even if we do not make the history books.

After doing a read aloud of this book I would have my students choose a historical figure and write their own creative adventure story.  A historical figure could be someone like Rosa Parks, George Washington, Babe Ruth or another figure that I approve to make sure they are learning some sort of history.  Then they would have to do a little research to get background information about the person.  Now it is there time to be creative and write an adventure story like the one Abe went on except with their historical figure.  I would also like them to have a moral of their story like the one in Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek.  After they finish writing they can draw a picture and we can scan them into their blogs.    

Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo, Karma Wilson

Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo is kind of a silly picture book full of alliterations and repetition.  The little girl gives readers advice to never shout in a zoo and tells what might happen in you do.  A bear, a moose, and an ape would get out and eventually let all the other animals out and lock the people in the cages.  An example of one of the alliterations is giant, grouchy, and grizzly.  It has repetition because it repeats what animal got out first, second, third, and so on.  It is a fun book for young readers.

As I was reading this story a story of my own popped into my head that I would share with my students to go along with this book.  My extended family has a farm that we all used to go to about once a month.  They raise cows on the farm.  When I was about six years old my dad, my friend, and I decided to walk down to the bottom of the pasture where there is a creek.  The cows were on the other side of the creek and one of them moved and I screamed and they all got spooked and stampeded us back to the house.  Once they got done laughing at this story I would have them go to their writer’s notebook and either write about an experience or create a story about shouting around animals and what happens.  This would be a great activity for students.  

Zero the Hero, Joan Holub and Tom Litchtenheld

Zero the Hero is a picture book that integrates math with literacy.  It is about the number zero whose dream is to be a hero; he even wears a mask and a cape.  However, Zero has no confidence because he gets left out because he is not a counting number and he has to stand in the shadows of other numbers.  He is invisible with addition and subtraction and no one wants to be divided by him.  He discovers something with multiplication, when a number is multiplied by Zero it equals zero.  Then every other number ran from him and he realized a superhero would not multiply his friends to nothing so he rolled away.  Nobody knew Zero was gone until they needed him to solve a problem and play a game.  When they are all captured by Roman numeral soldiers Zero saves them with the power of nothing.

There are a lot of lessons you could teach using the book Zero the Hero.  When focusing on literacy I would teach about direction of text and reading from left to right.  This is because this book is a little different because it has quote bubbles throughout the book like a comic.  So I would probably read this to my students and point along as we read and show them how to where to read first because I believe it would be a little confusing for students.   Since this is a book about numbers and it talks about place value.  I would read this book with students when we are learning about place value as a way to integrate literacy with math.  So far, this is one of the best books I have found to use for a math lesson, it really teaches students a lot about place value and how zero really can be a hero.    

Daisy Gets Lost, Chris Raschka

Daisy Gets Lost is a picture book; there are only eight words in the whole book.  It is about a little girl who is playing fetch with her dog and her dog gets lost and at the end of the book they are reunited.  Along the way the dog, Daisy begins to chase a squirrel but cannot catch it because the squirrel runs up a tree.  The pictures are great and really help explain what is going on in the book.

My hope is to one day teach lower grades in an elementary school.  So, as I was reading this I thought about how great it would be to use this book while teaching about making inferences about what is going on in the book.  We could read the book as a class or while students work one-one-one since it is a book appropriate for younger level students.  As we are reading the book I will have students explain to me what they think is going on, in each page.  Since this book is about a dog I would recommend it to my students who I know love animals specifically dogs.  I think this is a great book for young readers and one essential for a classroom library.

The Year of the Book, Andrea Cheng

The Year of the Book is a novel about diversity.  It has a distinct main character but also focuses on another character and what is going on in her life.  Anna is the main character, her family is from China but she grew up in America learning English.  She struggles with celebrating and understanding both her Chinese and American cultures, she even goes to Chinese school to learn Chinese and the culture.  The other character the novel focuses on is Laura.  Laura and Anna become best friends.  Laura is struggling because her parents are going through a divorce. 

I think that this is a great book to use in the classroom.  Since we live in such a diverse world I think this book has something in it that every student will be able to relate with.  The novel for would be great for ESL students because it shows how Anna struggles learning Chinese but at the end of the she begins to understand what is going on in Chinese school, so they can see that soon they will understand English.  The Year of the Book would also be good for students with learning disabilities because Anna’s cousin has a learning disability but at the end she gets an A on an assignment.  So this will show students that they can achieve their goals even if they have adversity going against them.  Because of Laura’s story this would be a great book for students whose family is going through a separation or divorce.  The Year of the Book also gave me great lesson plan ideas.  The novel listed a lot of the different books that Anna read so I could recommend those books to students in my classroom.  A lot of the book takes place in Anna’s classroom so it gave me a few different activities I could use in my classroom, like having students making a timeline of their lives.  I really enjoyed this book and liked how it inspires people to read and shows how books can comfort us and be our escape from reality.