The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (Choice)

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is a book about four children who stumble upon a magical wardrobe that opens their lives to the world of Narnia. This book, set in the era of WWII, shows a world of imagination as the four children are challenged with defeating the white queen, who has magically made winter everlasting for Narnia. The children meet various animals, who all help lead them to Aslan, the all powerful lion who, along with the help of the forest animals and the children, will defeat the white witch and bring spring to the land of Narnia. This book is the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series and is the first of many adventures that these chosen children (two girls and two boys) will embark upon.

I would use this book in the classroom through literature circles. Literature circles would allow students to discuss the text and identify important themes that run within the story. Students could also compare the similarities and differences between this book and the major motion picture, the Chronicles of Narnia, to see how the story has changed. This book is a great example of fantasy fiction and could also inspire writing samples from students about what they would do if they found a magical land inside of their own closet.

Squids will be Squids (Choice)

This book by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith is a book of "Fresh Morals and Beastly Fables." Centered around traditional Aesop fables, with a dark twist. The book is compiled of 18 fables with morals. they are creatively constructed in a dark manor to entice young readers. The fables, however dark, all do share a common theme of a moral at the end of each story. Morals range from "never listen to a talking bug" to "whoever smelt it dealt it." they are quick easy stories that entertain readers with humorous stories.

Squids will be Squids

I would use this book in the classroom as a way of exposing my students to different types of story writing. Fables are a great type of literature for students to read and become familiar with. I would ask my students to write their own fables, a project that I myself remember doing when I was in third grade.

The Giving Tree (Choice)

This classic book written by Shel Silverstein is about a young boy and a Tree. The boy comes to the tree and swings from its branches and rests in its trade, and the tree is very happy. As the boy grows older he begins to spend less time with the tree and eventually goes away. One day the boy comes back to the tree. He asks for money and the tree gives him all her apples and tells the boy to sell them to make money. The boy goes away again for a long time and then one day comes back. The boy needs a house and the tree gives him all her branches to build the house. The boy takes the branches and goes away for a long time. The boy comes back one day and needs a boat to go far far away. The tree gives the boy her trunk and he takes it and builds a boat and leaves once again for a long time. Then one day, the tree is very sad, the boy comes back, now as an old man, and the tree tells him she has nothing left to give. The boy tells the tree that he needs nothing but a place to sit and the tree is very happy.

I think that this book is a good book to show students. Not only is the message timeless but the illustrations are very unique and not what most students are used to. Silverstein uses only black outlining to create illustrations. I would want students to discuss why the illustrations might be this simple. I also would use this in the classroom by asking students to write a story from the Tree's perspective. I would want them to think about how the tree might feel and what they would have done if they were the Tree.

Dinosaurs Before Dark (Fantasy)

What would you do if you walked into your back yard and saw a tree house in your back yard that was not there when you went to sleep the night before? In Mary Pope Osborne's first book of the Magic Tree House series Jack and Annie run into this exact problem. Curiosity gets the best of them and what they discover is not something they could have ever imagined in their wildest dreams. The Magic Tree house takes them to the land of the dinosaurs, just by Jack opening one of the hundreds of books that are housed in the tree house. Jack and Annie see all types of dinosaurs but are really challenged when a T-Rex stands between them and the Tree House....

I would use this book in the classroom as a way to incorporate elements of history into the students writing. I could prompt them with a writing tasks that asks them to pick a time period that they would want to travel too if they found the tree house in their back yard. Students could also improve their narrative writing skills through this activity as well. The Magic Tree House series is a great series to use in the classroom since the books cover many different time periods. You could use the whole series in the classroom by having each student read a different story and then creating small group discussions with each other this creates a student generated discussion.

Tacky the Penguin (Choice)

This book is about a penguin named Tacky. Tacky is an odd penguin, who certainly waddles to the beat of his own drum. The other penguins, Goodly, Lovely, Neatly, Angel, and Perfect, all make fun of Tacky. Tacky marches differently, sings different songs, and greets other people with a nice slap on the back followed by a "Whats Happening?!." One day Hunters come to the penguin's home, looking to trap and sell some penguins. Tacky greets them like he greets all penguins, and the hunters are immediately confused. He shows them how he walks, and how he sings, and the other penguins begin to sing Tacky's song that they so frequently made fun of. The hunters run away from the penguins and Tacky is the hero, the other penguins now have a new appreciation for Tacky and his unique tendencies.

I would use this book in the classroom as a way to help students appreciate what makes us all unique. I think that this would be a great book to use in the beginning of the year when setting the tone and environment of the classroom. This helps book helps to celebrate difference and I think its an important message to convey in the classroom. You could incorporate writing by asking students to write about a characteristic about themselves that makes them different or unique. This would provide valuable insight to how students perceive themselves. This could also begin a nice discussion in class to see what their peers thought and how these differences make up the classroom environment.

Goodbye, 382 Shin Dang Dong (Multicultural)

This is a story by Yangsook Choi that shares the story of a little girl named Jangmi and her move away from Korea. Jangmi is being forced by her parents to move to Massachusetts, and away from everything she knows. Jangmi is sad to leave her family, her best friend, her favorite foods, and her house. She is afraid to move to a place so far away, and so different from everything she knows. Throughout the story Jangmi shares with the reader how difficult it is to move away from where you love and the people you love. The reader is given insight to what it must feel like to move to a place that is completely different. After Jangmi is in the USA and see's her new house begin to be filled with her belongings from Korea she beings to feel less sad, she even meets a little girl who wants to be her friend!

I would use this book in the classroom to help give students a perspective into what it feels like to be in a place completely unknown to them. I would give the students the prompt " Imagine you have to move today, and it must be to Korea, how would you feel? What would you do?" This challenges students to really grasp the point of view of Jangmi and makes them think about others and how it would feel if it were them moving across the world.

Raising Dragons By Jerdine Nolen (Fantasy)

Raising Dragons is a story about A little girl who one day stumbles on a mysterious egg in her field. As the weeks go by she grows more and more curious about what is inside the egg. One day, she hears a loud CRACK coming from the egg and out came a dragon! Now this little girl, loved dragons and knew that this dragon, who she named Hank, would be her best friend. Hank and the little girl played together everyday, and they even helped with the chores on her father's farm. Hank helps the farmer grow his crops, so much so that there is just too much to eat! The little girl's father bags and sells the crops and Hank instantly becomes famous. The little girl knew that fame was no way for a dragon to live, so one day she and Hank flew to a dragon island in the middle of the ocean. Hank is so happy there to be with other dragons and play with other dragons. The little girl knew then just what she needed to do, she must say goodbye to Hank and let him be with his kind. The sadness overwhelms the little girl - until she realized Hank left her with a parting gift.....a wheelbarrow full of dragon eggs! From that day on the little girl knew what she was intended to do - Raise dragons just as she raised Hank.

I would use this book in the classroom to help spark student's imagination. I would ask them to write about what they would do if they found a mysterious egg. Would they crack it open, would they wait and see? I would also ask them to think and write about what they would do with a pet dragon. What activities would they play? Where would it sleep? What would they tell their parents? This type of writing fosters creativity with students and is extremely important to incorporate in the classroom.

A Fine Start; Meg's Prairie Diary (Historical Fiction)

Have you ever wondered if you could make it in the wilderness? Ever thought about what it was like to live on the western frontier? Well, in this story by Kate McMullan you are able to look into the life of a young girl, Meg, living on the prairie in Kansas Territory in 1856-1857. Through Meg's diary entries the reader will gain insight to the difficulties of living on the prairie. Meg desperately wants to attend school - but she has to wait until one is built. The harsh winters, the hard chores, her father's arm injury, and living with aunts, cousins, uncles, and her brothers, all challenge Meg to stay positive through obstacles she faces. Meg's thoughts are shown to the reader as she deals with her new life on the prairie and leave readers in awe at everything pioneers had to endure.

I would use this book to help students gain a perspective about what early America looked like before the modern-day states we have today. I would ask students to read this book and then write their own diary about a time in American history. This book would be excellent to cross-tie with a social studies unit and would be beneficial for students because of how close in age Meg is to them. Asking students to write diary entries also shows them a way to express different ways to convey information.

The Golden Sandal (Traditional Literature)

The Golden Sandal by Rebecca Hickox is a variation of the traditional story of Cinderella, with a middle eastern spin to it. Maha is a young girl who begs her widowed father to remarry so that she could have a mother again. Her father eventually remarries to please Maha, but his new wife give Maha chore after chore and mistreats her. One day, Maha was retrieving fish from her father's boat and a red fish spoke to hear, pleading for its life. Maha reached  into the basket and freed the fish, he then told her that she would be rewarded for her kindness with wishes. When Maha told her father about the fish her stepmother demanded that she go retrieve it. When she saw the little fish he gave her a coin to give to her stepmother, who still was not impressed. For the next few years Maha still had to complete chores and depended on the little fish to help her when times were very hard. There was a Henna festival for a local bride, Maha desperately wanted to go but her stepmother denied her, she went to the little fish and asked him what to do. The fish told her to go to the festival but to leave before her stepmother. The rest of the story plays out much like the traditional Cinderella, and Maha is saved from her wicked stepmother...

I would use this story in the classroom to once again share different culture's versions of traditional tales that students are familiar with. The illustrations in this book are also a great example of showing multicultural pictures. I would ask students to identify pieces of the story that are different than what they are a used to. Also students could write in their own version of Cinderella with their own twist to the story added in.

The Many Adventures of Johnny Mutton (Fantasy/Graphic Novel)

The Many of Adventures of Johnny Mutton is a graphic novel written and illustrated by James Proimos. This book is a series of stories chronicling the tales of Johnny Mutton, a sheep who arrived on the doorstep of Mamma Mutton. Proimos uses vivid illustrations to portray Johnny's childhood and how he was different from most of his peers. The book is broken up into six chapters, each with a different story about Johnny, his mother, and the wisdom she tries to impart him with along with the quirks what make him different.

I would use this book in the classroom to help show students a different type of writing. I would ask them to create their own type graphic novel. This activity would promote creativity and let their imagination go wild. I would want to show students that you can still create a plot line with developed characters and setting in ways other than a formal narrative.

Homeless Bird (multicultural)

Homeless Bird

This video helps to summarize Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan through the use of technology

I would use this book in a 5th grade classroom at the youngest. This would be an interesting book to pair with a social studies curriculum. This could also be used to show students how live's of children differ across the world. Students could use post-its to mark parts of the novel that are particularly interesting. Since this book is a chapter book, using it in the classroom could be found in a extended book study as a class or individually.

Rechenka's Eggs (Multicultural)

This story is about a Russian woman who excels in making the most beautiful eggs in Russia. One day she was preparing to make eggs for the Easter Festival in Moskva. One day Babushka went outside after a snow storm, in the snow she saw a wounded goose that was hurt by a hunter. Babushka took the goose into her home and named her Rechenka. As Rechenka recovered she laid an egg for Babushka every morning to repay her for her kindness. One day, as Rechenka got better she began waddling around the house and as she flapped her wings Rechenka knocked over the basket of Babushka's eggs. Babushka yelled at Rechenka to stop. The next day Babushka awoke to find Rechenka had laid her the most beautiful colored egg she had ever seen. Every morning Babushka awoke to find another egg, and when she brought the eggs to Moskva for the festival she was declared to have the most beautiful eggs in all of Russia. As spring approached Rechenka grew stronger and eventually was ready to leave Babushka. Babushka was sad to see Rechenka leave and missed her dearly. One day Babushka noticed that Rechenka had left her an egg, but this egg was different because it moved and wiggled and eventually hatched. Babushka was left with a piece of Rechenka always as the baby goose stayed with her forever.

I think that this book is very interesting to use in the classroom. The illustrations help to give the students a visual on the different cultural aspects of the book. I would use this book in the classroom by asking students to mark portions of the book that strike them as interesting as well as vocabulary terms that they learned. This way, students can practice analyzing the text they read and connect it to other aspects of their life. I would use a "Talk Back" activity with this lesson so that the students can identify specific parts of the text that they would want to know or learn from the characters or themes or setting of the book.

The Korean Cinderella (Traditional)

This book, published by Shirley Climo, is a version of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. In this story however, Cinderella is named Pear Blossom, and she lives in Korea. This story weaves in similar themes found in the traditional Cinderella with cultural tales. Pear Blossom is born to an older man and his wife, each year the child grew and the pear tree that was planted in her honor bloomed until one winter, when no buds were found on the tree and the young girl was left without a mother. Pear Blossom's father went to the village matchmaker and seeked out a wife to help tend to Pear Blossom. The new step mother was just like the traditional Cinderella's step mother, she was wicked and callous and treated Pear Blossom very poorly, making her do all the house chores. One day Pear Blossom was ragged and run down doing her chores and she encountered several magical creatures who helped her speed up her chores, she had help from a frog, sparrows, and a magical Ox. With their help they were able to send Pear Blossom to the village festival. On her way to the festival Pear Blossom stopped to shake out a stone in her show when she was pushed off the road by the Magistrate's men on their way to the festival too. She hid behind a willow tree next to the river and as she hid her sandal slipped into the water. Pear blossom ran away in fear towards the festival, where she forgot about her missing shoe. When the magistrate arrived to the festival he announced that he was looking for a girl with one shoe, her wicked step sister told her she was in trouble and was quick to announce that it was Pear Blossom's shoe. The magistrate announced that she must be his husband, and they lived...happily ever after.

I would use this book in the classroom to help show children the connections that other cultures have within our society. This version of Cinderella has many commonalities to our familiar version but also incorportates many cultural customs specific to Korea. I would use this book to help students organize comparison/contrast situations. You could create a Venn diagram comparing the two Cinderellas, this would familiarize students with graphic organizers as well as what constitutes as a similarity and a difference.

Rules (Realistic Fiction)

This book was very thought provoking. I think that Cynthia Lord does a fantastic job of putting the reader into the mind-set of a 12 year old girl struggling to make sense of her world. The book begins with the main character, Catherine, and her autistic brother, David. Catherine shows her frustration and exhaustion with babysitting her brother on the first three pages. This sets a tone for the book and gives the reader an immediate idea of what the theme of the novel is going to be. Catherine is in the middle of discovering herself but all the while she has to also figure out how to balance her life with her brother David and her life without her brother. Lord does a very good job of having each character reflect a different way of dealing with someone who has severe autism. Catherine is embarrassed, her mother is tolerant, her father is spread very thin, and Kristi, the next door neighbor, is immature. Through out the book the reader goes through the life of child with a sibling with a severe disability. Lord is able to really open the readers eyes and allow them to experience the pain of dealing with people who are intolerant. By the end of the book, Catherine realizes that it doesn't matter what other people think, and just because people are different doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated the same way.

I would use this book in the classroom if I was teaching an upper level group of 5th or sixth graders. This book handles complicated themes and issues that a 3rd or 4th grader might find hard to comprehend and appreciate. One way to ask students to reflect on their reading is to prompt them to think of a time when they themselves felt embarrassed or felt similar to Catherine. It could be a time from a simple as wearing mis-matched socks to a time where you experienced interaction with someone with a disability. This book is also a good resource to create classroom discussion and extend the literature. Children can mark the books like the image below and point out places in the text that they find interesting or thought provoking.

Cendrillon: A Cajun Cinderella (Traditional Literature)

Cendrillion, by Sheila Hebert Collins, is a variation on the classic fairy tale Cinderella. This version takes place in New Orleans. Cendrillon grows up in a nice house in New Orleans with out a mother, She is spoiled by her father in her mother's absence, and yet she still wishes for a mother. One day her Father finds a woman to marry, who has two daughters of her own. Cendrillon's Father passed away and her beautiful home was to much for the Stepmother and  the girls were forced to move to a much smaller shack. Her new stepmother gives Cendrillon all the chores to do around the house and was given the attic for her room and was only given rags to wear. Cendrillon befriends the animals in the woods by her new house since she has no one else to talk to. One day, the girls recieved invitations in the mail for a Mardi Gras Ball. Cendrillon is told she can go, but only after all of her chores are completed. She worked and worked but still she cannot go. Once her step sisters left Cendrillion was disrupted from her sorrow by the animals from the woods who had made her a beautiful dress. She raced to the carriage and was and was picked apart by her stepsisters and left on the road. Cendrillion was then met by her fairy god mother who granted her the wish of going to the ball, but only until midnight. Cendrillon went to the ball and met the Prince, but as the clock struck midnight she had to leave the prince and race home, even though she dropped  her shoe as she ran. The next day the prince;s court members searched all over for the owner of the shoe until he got to Cendrillon's house. Her stepsisters tried to claim the shoe was her but they knew that the sisters were lying. Cendrillion tried on the shoe and was brought back to the Prince when the courtmembers discovered that it was hers! The prince and Cendrillion were married and lived in a huge mansion once again.

As you can tell, this story is very similar to the traditional Cinderella with the exception of the setting and there are some varations between the exchange with the fairy godmother. In the classroom you could use this text to show students how different works among many cultures can be similar. Also, this text can be used to challenge students to come up with their own versions of a traditional fairytale, and write a narrative about them.

Dolphins (Non-Fiction)

https://docs.google.com/a/ncsu.edu/present/edit?id=0ARUUWWOX28TpZGNuYjZjNjNfMGN0OHM1ODRo&hl=en

This is a link to a powerpoint about the book Dolphins, By Seymour Simon. This powerpoint incorporates elements of technology and can be a useful tool in the classroom. Students could use powerpoints to make sense of their ideas and facts that they learn while reading any texts, but especially for non-fiction books.

House Mouse Senate Mouse ( Non-Fiction)

House Mouse Senate Mouse by Peter and Cheryl Barnes is a book that explains the process of passing a bill in congress.  This is a good tool to use in the classroom because it explains the process of signing a bill. The book outlines the roles that the Senate and House play in the legislative process along with the President’s role in the process as well. The book outlines how a bill is proposed, discussed, and voted on in a way that children would understand and could easily grasp.  This book incorporates some elements of fiction that only help develop a plot line (the story uses mice as characters instead of actually congressional representatives) but the legislative process that is outlined is accurate.

I think that this would be a really good book to use in the classroom parallel to social studies lessons on U.S. Government. The story provides detailed illustrations along with readable text that would help students to relate to the legislative process. This book is also written using elements of rhyme, which could lead to better retention by students. You could extend the lesson by having students propose their own bill and write how the process would play out in congress.

The Rainbow and You (Non Fiction)

Rainbow and You is a non-fiction book by E.C. Krupp. This Book discusses many aspects of rainbows including how they are formed, what we are actually looking at when we see a rainbow, and even how rainbows are interpreted in different cultures. A rainbow has many components and most of discussed in this book. When reading this book students learn how Isaac Newton explained a rainbow by using a prism that helps to bend light and create color. The colors found in a rainbow can be remembered through the acronym Roy G Biv. Roy G Biv is the narrator of the story and is used to help students create a visual memory of the colors found in the rainbow. Also mentioned in this books are some “rainbow rules” including that a rainbow must always be opposite the sun, the lower the light the higher the rainbow, fewer rainbows are found in the winter because raindrops tend to freeze.

This book is a great opportunity to tie literature to different subjects. This book discusses the different types of meanings that rainbows have all over the world. A way to connect this to literature would be to have students research a specific culture and how they interpret rainbows and the write up a paper that explains each culture's interpretation of meaning. Another subject you could cross tie using this book would be science. You could challenge students to observe a rainbow and practice writing scientific observations and recording what they witness. Lastly, a final way to incorporate this book into the classroom would be for ask a student write about an experience where they have witnessed a rainbow, Where were you? What did it look like? What did the sky look like? How did you find this rainbow? etc.

Charlotte's Web (Choice)

Charlotte's web is a classic book written in 1952 based on the life of a young pig named Wilbur. Wilbur was born the runt of his litter and was saved by Fern, the daughter of the farmer who owned him. Once Wilbur had grown to be a few months old Fern had to sell him to her uncle's Farm. Wilbur learns the life of a farm pig for a few happy months until he hears whispers of his death by some of the animals. Alone at the farm, Wilbur finds a friend in Charlotte, the spider who lives in the corner of the door frame in the barn.  Charlotte is determined to save Wilbur from being the main course of Christmas dinner. Charlotte comes up with a brilliant plan to save Wilbur and begins to weave words into her well-crafted web. Charlotte draws enough attention Wilbur to get him a trip to the County Fair. Wilbur looks to Charlotte as a mentor and a mother-figure, she provides him comfort and soothes his mind. Once at the fair Wilbur receives a reward from the County Fair for the attention he has gained from Charlotte's words weaved in his head. Wilbur is challenged by the concept of Charlotte's life coming to an end after she laid her eggs and is determined to take care of Charlotte's children in the wake of her passing. Charlotte provides Wilbur with advice, trust, and most of all friendship and Wilbur is left to carry on these lessons Charlotte has taught him after she is gone.

I would use this book in the classroom in many ways. Charlotte’s Web has many themes that could be applied into a language arts curriculum.  A way to introduce vocabulary into the classroom using this book as a resource would be to have each student pick a word that they would want Charlotte to spin into her web that reflects a specific characteristic of themselves.

 

Walk Two Moons - by Sharon Creech (Realistic Fiction)

Picture yourself when you were 13. What kinds of obstacles had you already faced? Was your personal strength ever challenged yet? For Salamanca Tree Hiddle the answers to the questions I just asked is yes. Salamanca, or Sal for short, was plucked up from her home in Bybanks, Kentucky and moved to Ohio with her father after her mother passed away. The story is intertwined with another story when Sal meets a girl named Phoebe, who must deal with her mother suddenly disappearing leaving her perfect family in shambles. The reader is introduced to this story line when Sal begins to tell the story of Pheobe to her grandparents during their road trip across the country to Idaho to visit her mother's grave. The story changes story lines from chapter to chapter between the story of Sal and her mother and he trip across the country to Phoebe and Sal's new life in Ohio. The story challenges readers to keep up with the complex stories while telling an inspirational story of a young girl who loses her mother and tries to find piece in her new life in Ohio.

After reading this story, there are several ways to use this in the classroom. I could ask students to tell their own tale of something challenging they had to overcome, although this would have to be done with 5th graders and might be hard for some of them to relate to what the meaning of a personal challenge is. Another way to incorporate this book into the classroom would be to have the students write a personal narrative about an interesting story that they would want to tell to a relative. This would be similar to the story that Sal told to her grandparents as they crossed the country.