Kinney, Jeff. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid. New York: Amulet Books.
This fun, humorous book is about Greg Heffley who is starting middle school. Greg is a small, skinny boy in the midst of bigger, stronger middle schoolers. Greg and his friend, Rowley, approach middle school together and nervously. However, Rowley becomes popular, which Greg hopes to use to his advantage. Readers laugh along with Greg as he struggles with popularity, friendship, and middle school.
I thought this book would be great to use to teach diary writing, and the students could keep their own diary.
The language and set up of this book s very kid friendly and relatable. It is also in diary format.
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The video above is the trailer for the movie that goes along with this novel.
The following is the website for this novel: http://www.wimpykid.com/
Meister, Cari. (2010). Airplane adventure: My first graphic novel. New York: Capstone Press.
This book is a great introduction to graphic novels for young readers (Kindergarten to Second grade). The story is about Anna and Juan who are traveling to Mexico to visit their grandma. They are very excited to fly on a plane and to be in the clouds. This graphic novel is great because at the very beginning it has instructions on how to read a graphic novel for new readers. In addition, the end of the book has discussion questions and writing prompts.
I thought this book would be neat to do as a unit on graphic novels for young children. I thought each child could choose their own graphic novel from the "My First Graphic Novel" series, and then they could choose a writing prompt to do based on their story. Learning how to read graphic novels is not essential, but it is a form of literacy, so to help a child become flexibly literate I think they should be able to read such forms.
Students could also write a sequel to this graphic novel imitating the same form.
The language in this book is comic style, and it uses language that students use.
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Inside the Cover
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
McNamara, Margaret. (2012). George Washington’s Birthday: A mostly true
tale. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.
This fun, picture book is about George
Washington. It begins with his childhood, on his 7th birthday. His
day is normal with nothing special about it. George still had to eat breakfast,
watch his sister, go to school, help his father, do chores, get into trouble,
wash himself, and have dinner. He is sad because he does not think that anyone
remembered his birthday, but he soon learns that his family had a celebratory
dinner for his special day. Each page has a little fact in small print about
George Washington as well. This book should have won the Young Hoosier Books
Award because of its creativity and engagement. The storyline within this book
is clever and amusing. Children can easily relate to a former president of the
United States, which is a hard relation to create. The ironic jokes within the
text provide humor as well, and I believe it gives students hope. For example,
his math teacher told him that he would never amount to anything, yet he became
our first president. In addition, he thought no one would remember his
birthday, yet we honor it every February 22nd. Finally, the
engagement of the pictures and the small fact texts creates a unique form of
children’s literature that all young students should be able to enjoy!
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DeFelice, Cynthia. (2011). Wild
life. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.
This intermediate level book is
about a 12-year-old boy, Erik, who finally gets his hunting license. He gets to
go hunting with his friend, Patrick, Patrick’s dad, and their dog, Hot Spots.
However, his parents get deployed overseas, which forces him to move to North
Dakota with his grandparents. When Erik finds a dog, Quill, but is told he is
unable to keep her, he runs away. Throughout the story, Erik learns how to
survive on his own in the wild as well as the importance of family. This book
should have won the Young Hoosier Books Award because of its modern-day
survival and adventure twist to it. Oftentimes, survival and adventure books
are what captivate young boy readers’ attention and love for reading.
Therefore, it is highly important to have good quality books within this
category. The adventure and modern-day survival twist within the pages of this
book are relatable and engaging for young male readers. Hidden within such
adventure and fun are important family and moral lessons. Therefore, this book
should have won the award.
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O’Reilly, Bill. (2012). Lincoln’s last days: The shocking
assassination that changed America forever. New York: Henry Holt and
Company.
This middle-grade level book begins
with the spring of 1865 when President Lincoln travels through Washington D.C.
after winning the Civil War. During the celebration, he is dramatically shot at
Ford’s Theatre. The story continues with a dramatic recount of the search for
the murderer, John Wilkes Booth. The book is also set up almost like diary
entries because each chapter has the date, location, and time of the events
told within the upcoming chapter. This book is great because it is readable and
engaging for both adults and students. The text is understandable for all ages,
and the vivid pictures really put readers in the pages of the story. This book
should have won the Young Hoosier Books Award because of its dramatic recount
of a very important event in American history. The book is set up in a way that
creates a page-turner filled with action, suspense, detail, and art equipped
for all ages to enjoy and learn.
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Collins, Suzanne. (2003). Gregor the Overlander. New York: Scholastic.
This story is a bout a young boy, Gregor, who lives in New York City. When his mother leaves for work, Gregor takes care of his younger sister, Boots, and his grandmother. One day, his sister falls through the grates in their apartment, so Gregor falls in after her. They end up falling far into the Underland where strange humans, bats, rats, mice, and fireflies live. There is turmoil between the strange humans' city, Regalia, and the rats. In the end, Gregor finds out a prophecy involving him forces him to help the city survive.
I read this book as a 5th grade student and fell in love with the adventure within the pages. I absolutely loved this book and series, and I would recommend it to students for sure!
I think this book would be a great recommendation for teachers to give students to fall in love with reading, especially boy students.
This book is also great to suggest to students because if they fall in love with the boo, like I did, there are more books within this series for the students to enjoy.
The following is a link to questions for this novel: http://www.lwsd.org/school/wilder/PTSA/Enrichment-Activities/Documents/Classic%20Books/Gregor%20The%20Overlander.pdf
The video below is a book trailer for this novel:
Paterson, Katherine. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New york: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
This book is about a boy Jesse, who struggles living on a farm with his four annoying sisters. After training all summer to be the fastest runner in his class, he is very upset when a new girl, Leslie, wins. They end up becoming friends and create an imaginary world where they are able to escape their problems. They name this place Terabithia. The two end up getting back at a bully, Janice, but they later regret their approach when they find her crying in the bathroom. in the end, Jesse finds out that Leslie ended up dying when trying to get into the entrance of Terabithia in the woods. There, Jesse forms a memorial to Leslie, and he later befriends May Belle.
I think this novel is a contemporary classic for students. I believe it is engaging for all students, so it would great to use as a class read aloud. It also is emotionally difficult for students, so it would be good to do as a whole class in order to discuss the heavy topic towards the end of the novel.
I think a neat activity would be for students to pair up and create their own imaginary world as well.
The following is link to a unit for this novel: https://www.livetext.com/doc/5930974
The following is a link to the Pinterest page for activities for this novel: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/bridge-to-terabithia/
The following video is a trailer that goes along with this novel:
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Clements, Andrew. (1996). Frindle. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.
This book is about a young, 5th grade boy who is very creative. He begins to question where words come from. Later, he struggles with a new, demanding English teacher that battles him over an invented word. Nick ends up creating the word "frindle" for "pen." The story ends up being a power struggle with the teacher and largely society for this young boy. The new word gains national attention even causing more problems with Mrs. Granger. In the end, the grown Nick has become rich from the national new use of his creation, "frindle," and he makes amends with Mrs. Granger.
This novel would be great to do for a literature focus unit because I remember doing that in 5th grade. I enjoyed the unit so much that I needed up reading all of Andrew Clements's other books as well on my own. I would love to influence students in that way, and have his other books as reading suggestions.
I thought this could also be used for an author study on Andrew Clements since his books are so engaging for all students.
I thought students could do an activity or writing prompt in which they had to create their own new word for something and describe the process of inventing the word.
In addition, the class could explore where words come from and the meaning behind certain words.
The following is the link to a Pinterest page for this book: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/frindle/
The following is a link for help with guided reading for this novel: http://laurendesautels.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/5/3/19533695/frindle_guided_reading_unit.pdf
DiCamillo, Kate. (2004). Because of Winn-Dixie. New York: Candlewick Press.
This heart warming novel is a hit for all children. This book is about a young girl, Opal, who spends the summer with her father. The story begins with Opal going in to the Winn-Dixie store, and she ends up leaving with a dog! Opal takes in the dog and names him Winn-Dixie. Throughout the story, the preachers ends up revealing ten things to Opal about her mother that has passed away. In addition, Winn-Dixie helps Opal (a quiet girl) make friends throughout the novel. Later, Opal and a new friend end up creating a big party-thing, but a huge thunderstorm occurs that scares Winn-Dixie. Winn-Dixie runs away in fear. Opal and her father must find Winn-Dixie, and in the end, Opal learns about friendship and love. She also learns how to let go, but remember and honor.
This novel would be great for a novel study as well. It is also an engaging story that captivates many young readers' attention.
The following is a discussion guide for this novel: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/because-winn-dixie-discussion-guide
The following is a Pinterest page full of activity ideas for this novel: https://www.pinterest.com/gaildavidson/because-of-winn-dixie/
The following video is a trailer for the video for this book:
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Sachar, Louis. (1997). Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
This book is about a boy, Stanley Yelnats, who is part of a family that has a curse on them, which causes him to have a lot of bad luck. Stanley is wrongly accused of a crime, and he is sent to Camp Green Lake juvenile detention center. He and the others boys there are forced every day to dig giant wholes in the dirt (where no lake is). He eventually learns that the warden is searching for something. The story continues with Stanley (and his new friend Zero) slowly discovering the curse placed on his family as well as the thing that the warden is desperately in search of. In the end, Stanley ends the curse, and he leaves the camp. This book would be a great book to do a literature focus unit on because many students enjoy this as a fun read. Therefore, it would be engaging to turn this book into a lesson with vocabulary words and discussion questions analyzing different parts of a much-loved book. The following is a link to worksheets, discussion questions, and other activity ideas for this book: http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/book-holes.html The following is Scholastic's guide for this novel: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/holes-teachers-guide The following video is the trailer for the move that goes along with this book:
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Lord, Cynthia. (2006). Rules. New York: Scholastic.
This realistic fiction book is about a young girl, Catherine, struggling with life with a brother who has Autism. The story revolves around Catherine trying to teach David rules that typical children understand, but David needs to be taught, such as, "No toys in the fish tank." This story takes place during the summer, in which Catherine's best friend is away. Therefore, Catherine has high hopes that her new neighbor will become her best friend. In the meantime, Catherine goes to the doctor with her mother and brother and waits in the waiting room with her mother. There, Catherine meets a boy, Jason, who communicates through a storyboard and is in a wheelchair. This unexpected friendship ends up teaching Catherine about acceptance and true friendship.
I used this novel for my novel unit in one of my education courses in college. I loved this book and think it would work great for a unit since I already have one created for it.
I had students create a journal just like Catherine keeps in which students draw or make collages of scenes from the novel.
Students also create their own storyboard using word wall words from the novel. In the end, students must use their storyboards to communicate with a partner their favorite part of the story.
This book could also be used to talk about disability awareness during the month of March.
The following is a link to discussion questions for this novel: http://www.cynthialord.com/pdf/rules_discuss.pdf
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Osborne, Mary Pope. (2006). Pompeii: Lost and Found. New York: Scholastic.
This nonfiction book tells the story of the buried town from the volcano eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The books tells about the daily life in the city of Pompeii before the eruption. It then goes through the dramatic eruption of the volcano. Finally, the book talks about the finding of the buried town about 1,000 years later. The unique illustrations within this nonfiction book give good visuals for students to experience the ancient frescoes found years later in Pompeii.
This book would be great for a brief history lesson on Pompeii because the story is very fascinating for students of all ages.
This could also be used for a science lesson to talk about volcanoes.
The following is a BBC video about Pompeii for older elementary students:
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Laroche, Giles. (2011). If You Lived Here: Houses of the World. New York: HMH Books For Young Readers.
This great, nonfiction book goes through houses all around the world. It shows and tells readers what their house may look like depending on where they lived, and it also tells readers how they might have lived in that part of the world. It talks about villages in South America, floating homes in the Netherlands, log cabins, caves, and many more! The book also explains why each house is built the particular way in that particular area.
I think this book would be great to introduce a geography unit because each different type of home is unique for a certain geographic location and purpose.
This could be great for a writing prompt for students to talk about their home and its uses/purpose in our particular geographical location.
This could also be great to turn into an art shoebox project, in which students choose one house/ place from the book to research more into and create a model of the home with a description.
The following is a link to activities and questions related to this book: http://www.rif.org/documents/us/If-You-Lived-Here.pdf
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Freedman, Russell. (1991). The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane. New York: Scholastic.
This nonfiction children's book is divided into chapters to tell how the Wright brothers invented the airplane. The story begins with the brothers' childhood and interest in mechanical things, such as tinkering with toys. The book explains that neither brother finished high school or college, but they worked together in a printing press. They eventually started their own bike shop and created their own models, which led way to to their attempt to make a life size airplane. Eventually, they created their first glider. The book also explains that the brothers had many failures in the midst of their successes.
This book would be great to use for history of the Wright brothers and the airplane.
This book could also be used in science when students are going to be asked to make a machine, which was something that I had to do in 8th grade.
If the class is on a biography unit, this could also be used as a resource for any student that chose the Wright brothers.
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The video above is a video that students could view around this unit on the Wright Brothers.
Keller, Laurie. (1998). The Scrambled States of America. New York: Henry Holt & Company.
This fun, nonfiction book is about the 50 states who have become bored. Therefore, the states decide to have a party to meet each other and trade places. Throughout this story, students learn along with the other states about each state in a fun, silly way.
I think this book would be perfect to pull out for an introduction to a state unit.
Teachers can also read or suggest the sequel to this nonfiction book, which is called The Scrambled States of America Talent Show.
The following is the link to activities to along with this book: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Scrambled-States-of-America-Activities-to-go-with-the-book-755800
The following is a packet to go along with this book as well: http://www.dcmp.org/guides/10097.pdf
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Frank, Anne. (1947). The Diary of a Young Girl. New York: Doubleday & Company.
This book is a classic for all upper elementary students to read. This book is a diary of a young Dutch girl, Anne. The diary is kept from the two years that she is hiding while the Nazis are in control of the Netherlands. Within her diary she wishes for a best friend that she can share her secrets with. She begins the diary with a suiter whom she is not super fond of quite yet. During hiding she thinks that true best friend may eventually be Peter. However, it turns out that throughout her lifetime, her only true friend is her diary. Throughout Anne's diary, readers see her close relationship with her father, her distant relationship with her mother, and her admiration of her sister. As many students this age may relate, Anne becomes the chatterbox of her hideout. In the end, Anne dies in a concentration camp, and her diary was later found and published as a historical, nonfiction text.
This novel would be perfect to teach the history of concentration camps because it gives an insider's account.
This also could be used to teach diary writing and format.
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Monday, April 6, 2015
Silverstein, Shel. (1974). Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York: Harper and Row Publisher.
This fun poetry novel is essential for every child to be exposed to at some point within his or her lifetime. I think the poems within this novel are good for 3rd grade and above in order for the children to understand its humor. The collection of poetry contains poems about many childhood concerns and just plain goofy poems. Whether it is read to students after recess or during library time, this novel should be read to all students. In addition, I think other poetry collections by Shel Silverstein should also be read to students. Therefore it would be beneficial to do an author study on Shel Silverstein. Or, I think it would be neat to read a new poem within this book (and others by Silverstein) every morning, after recess, or at the end of the day for a whole year with 3rd graders or above.
Besides a simple, fun read aloud, this novel could be used to introduce students to a unit on poetry. Students could learn to imitate the fun, free verse and rhyme Shel Silverstein uses within his writing.
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Daul, Roald. (1982). Revolting Rhymes. London, Jonathan Cape Publishing.
This goofy poetry novel is a parody of six classic folktales/fairy tales. Without giving any of the surprise, new endings away, Daul rewrites the endings with twists to the classic Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, and The Three Little Pigs.
Roald Daul books were always one of my favorites growing up, but I had never read this humorous, short novel until now. I think this book would be great for students, and I especially think young boys would enjoy the humor within this poetry book. I think this book would be a great, fun, and engaging way to start off a Roald Daul author study. Either that, or this book could be read to students in order to get them interested, and then I could suggest more of Roald Daul's great classics that many students would love. I think he is a great author to encourage the reading of young boys.
Another suggestion for this novel would be for students to choose a classic fairy tale or folktale not used within Daul's novel and have students write their own alternate ending!
The following is the video for one of the poems within this novel (The Three Little Pigs):
The video above is another video to go along with the novel for Jack and the Beanstalk.
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The video above goes along with Cinderella.
The video above goes along with Little Red Riding Hood.
Lear, Edward. (1871). The Owl and the Pussycat. Germany: AbeBooks.
This novel is written in poetry for children. This poetry stories contain four main characters, the owl, pussycat, pig, and turkey. This love story between the owl and the cat begins with the two traveling by boat, in which the owl serenades the cat. They finally land in a land full of Bong Trees. There, the owl and the cat find a pig who has a ring they buy off of him. Finally, the two are married by a turkey. This fun, heart warming novel of poetry is perfect for young students.
I thought this poetry book could be used for very young students since it is a classic. This happy poetry book could be used as a nap time story as students' first introduction to poetry.
The following is a teacher guide for nursery rhyme activities to go along with this poetry book: http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/owl.htm
The following is another link to activities and questions for this poetry novel: https://docs.google.com/a/saintmarys.edu/document/d/1_r5u4ItB9DbXQxXG5SmcGBIUSwgFoYnLx0R9HdsW-zQ/edit
The following is a video of the poem being read:
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Milne, A.A. (1924). When We Were Very Young. New York: Penguin Publishing.
This fun loving book of poetry is a classic for younger students. This novel contains many poems written by the famous author, A.A. Milne. This poetry novel begins with young readers imagining who they are within the book. Perhaps they are Christopher Robin, or perhaps another character. The 38th poem within this novel was the very first introduction of Winnie the Pooh, who was first known as Mr. Edward Bear.
I thought this great novel would be great to use for an Author study on A.A. Milne for Kindergarten or first grade. I thought it would be a great introduction to poetry for young readers as well. Many of the poems within this novel are fun loving characters, so it may be fun to discuss different topics such as friendship, politeness, animals, and more features within this novel. In addition, many of these poems were written to go along with songs, so I thought it would be neat to try to find such music and incorporate it with the poetry reading.
The following is a video children can listen to of a reading of Winnie the Pooh's first appearance from this novel:
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Creech, Sharon. (2001). Love That Dog. New York: HarperCollins.
This humorous poetry book for students is about a boy who dislikes poetry in school. Each free verse "chapter" within this book is like a diary entry written by the boy, Jack. Throughout the poetry novel, Jack continuously dislikes his teacher's poetry assignments. However, as the novel continues, Jack becomes a better poetry writer, and readers can see his poetry develop. In the end, he just might begin to learn to enjoy poetry.
This novel is an easy read for older students, and it is a great entry into poetry for students. The humor within Jack's poetry is relatable to students that may find poetry daunting. As Jack grows, readers can grow in poetry writing as well. I thought a good activity for students with this novel would be to start their own free verse poetry diary just like Jack. I also thought another activity would be to analyze Jack's poetry progress throughout his diary entries since his writing progresses.
The following is a link to Sharon Creech's website: http://www.sharoncreech.com/books/love-that-dog
The following is is a link to a literature guide for teachers for this novel: http://teacher.scholastic.com/clubs/pdfs/lovethatdog_t.pdf
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