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.
Book Cover
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.
Book Cover
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!
Book Cover
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.
Book Cover
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.
Book Cover
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:
.jpg)
