Rosa by Nikki Giovanni (Historical Fiction)

Rosa is an amazing story about the life of Rosa Parks and the way her actions changed the world for everyone. Unlike many other historical fiction books, this book described her everyday life and was light-hearted and a joy to read. Rosa included enough information to learn something from reading it, yet was short enough that children will be able to enjoy it as well. The illustrations for Rosa was done by Bryan Collier and I was really impressed at the way the illustrations made the story come to life. The pages almost looked like a scrapbook, filled with photographs and memorabilia from Rosa and the time period in which she came from. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I learned more about Rosa Parks than I ever did from just a textbook or in the classroom. I would definitely use this book during a lesson on the Civil Rights, it is very inspirational and informative.

Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude (General Storybook)

It all begins when a boy and a girl are forced to work together for their library project and are supposed to choose a fairy tale to talk about. Since the boy and girl couldn’t decided on a fairy tale as partners, they decide to write one of the own. The girl’s fairy tale is about Princess Tenderheart, a princess that lives in a beautiful princess with eight beautiful ponies. The young boy decides that the girls’ fairy tale isn’t as good as his so he introduces his character to the story: the cool motorcycle dude! The two kids continue collaborating back and forth creating a mixed- up mashed-up fairy tale. This book is a wonderful example of recognizing someone else’s creative differences and making something great from collaboration. The book is illustrated by three different authors, so it makes it very interesting to see the illustrations that are coming from a particular part of the story. Very cute book!

I Lost My Tooth In Africa by Penda Diakite (Multicultural)

I Lost My Tooth in Africa is based on a true story about a little girls adventure when she visits her parents’ home country in Africa. Amina is excited to hear that if she loses her wiggly tooth while she is visiting Africa she will receive a chicken! Amina does everything she can to lose her tooth while she is visiting her family. Throughout the story Amina shares her family traditions, her favorite African meals, the games she plays, and the language from Africa. One night as Amina is falling asleep in her bamboo bed her tooth finally falls out! The next morning Amina puts her tooth under a calabash gourd and impatiently awaits her very own chicken. Amina finds things within her village to keep her busy while she is waiting for the African tooth fairy to come visit her. After waiting for a couple of days Amina turns over the calabash gourd and discovers a rooster and a hen! This book has amazing illustrations and is full of the African culture. I was excited to see that the story was based on the author’s experience which made the story easy to connect to. There are several things to be learned throughout the story and would be a great way to introduce a unit on African culture. Great book!

The Grapes of Math (Concept Book)

The Grapes of Math is a vibrantly illustrated book full of math riddles. This book is an excellent way to show math problems in a visual format and get students excited about solving math riddles. Each page shows a different illustration and a matching riddle. By using the illustration ( a group of colorful fish, bunches of grapes, a family of snails) students will be able to solve the problem easier. The concept of this children’s book is to guide children to grouping items and then to multiply them, rather than add every individual item. This book is full of possible lessons and activities. The rhyming language and funny riddles makes it an enjoyable book to read and teaches several things along the way.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (Book to Movie Comparison)

Charlotte’s Web is a story about a girl named Fern and her undying friendship for a little pig named Wilbur. Fern’s father attempts to kill Wilbur because he was born a runt, and Fern saves his life, and their friendship blossomed from that moment on. Fern and Wilbur are inseparable after she saves his life, and once Wilbur is too big to stay with Fern he moves to her uncle’s farm across the road. Once Wilbur becomes adjusted to life in a new environment he is determined to make friends with the other animals in his barn. After being turned down by almost every animal around him, Wilbur finally finds a friend in a very unusual place, at the top of barn in a corner, with a spider in her web. Charlotte, a smart and loving spider, becomes one of Wilbur’s best friends. One day Wilbur finds out that it is being planned for him to be killed around Christmas and eaten. Wilbur is devastated at this news and quickly turns to Charlotte for advice. Charlotte promises that she will never let anything bad happen to Wilbur, and she will never let him be eaten. Charlotte begins working on a plan to save Wilbur, and uses her knowledge and amazing ability to weave beautiful webs to write real words to save his life. This book is full of friendship, love, and loyalty and is sure to be enjoyed by anyone who reads it!

Gossamer by Lois Lowry (Modern Fantasy)

Littlest One, Fastidious, and Thin Elderly are magical creatures that come out at night to give sweet dreams to those that are sleeping. On a usual night Littlest One and Thin Elderly will collect memories from the old lady’s house and use them to give her sweet dreams throughout the night. One day a little boy named Johnny is forced to stay with the old lady to escape his abusive father. Littlest One and Thin Elderly recognize how sad the little boy is although he doesn’t show it. Sinisteeds do the job opposite of Littlest One and Thin Elderly, they bring horrible nightmares to people. Littlest One and Thin Elderly have to be brave and give Johnny and the old lady dreams full of sweet memories and thoughts before the nightmares are given to them. In Lois Lowry’s Gossamer the world around us as we are asleep is brought to life simply and beautifully. Gossamer is a very poetic book that will capture your attention and fire up your imagination.

Heaven by Angela Johnson (Coretta Scott King Author Winner: 1999)

Marley is a 12 year old girl that lives in a place called Heaven. Although Marley believes the she lives the “perfect” life, suddenly everything she once knew is changing. Once Marley turns 14 she slowly begins realizing that her life has been full of lies. Marley’s parents aren’t really her parents, and she is not really Butchy’s sister. Marley’s Uncle Jack, the person who has been writing her amazing letters turns out to be her real father. Marley begins searching for herself at a young age and what it means to really have a family. The people who she thought were really her parents turn out to be her aunt and uncle, and Marley becomes even more upset because her family isn’t “perfect”. The book was a difficult read because it constantly switches viewpoints and places in time. I really liked how vivid Johnson wrote the story, especially in all of the letters.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Counting Picture Book)

A little egg laying on a leaf during the night and a couple of mornings later a little and very hungry caterpillar popped out of the little egg. The caterpillar spends the next week looking for food, and each day he finds more and more. One Monday the caterpillar ate an apple but he was still hungry, so Tuesday the caterpillar ate through two pears. The caterpillar continues eating for the rest of the week, devouring through plums, strawberries, oranges, chocolate cake, pie, lollipops, and on and on. After having a huge stomachache the caterpillar slept through the whole night and woke up feeling much better in the morning. Not only did the caterpillar wake up feeling much better the next morning, he woke up as a beautiful butterfly! The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is an adorable way for little kids to learn how to count. The book is interactive and creatively illustrated.

Tuesday by David Wiesner (Wordless Book)

The story begins Tuesday around 8 o’ clock in the evening. The night sky is quiet and the toads start flying around on giant lily pads. Hundreds and hundreds of toads are flying around in the dark on their lily pads, running into clotheslines and birds in the sky. Several toads find their way into a house through an open chimney and make themselves comfortable in front of the television. After wreaking hours of havoc the flying toads finally returned back to their pond once the sun began to rise. The next morning investigators discover the leftover lily pads from the toads’ wild evening, and tried to make sense of the weird scenes. Next Tuesday the toads stayed in their ponds, however, the pigs from the barn decide to take off on their own flight. Tuesday by David Wiesner is a wordless book depicting the adventures of toads and pigs as they fly through the sky. Although the illustrations were amazingly detailed and very realistic, I didn’t like the way the book lacked a story line or problem. Children would enjoy the way the book is just pictures, which would let their imagination come up with its own story.

Flotsam by David Wiesner (Illustrator Study: David Wiesner)

Flotsam by David Wiesner is a wordless book that describes one boys adventure through amazing illustrations. The story all begins when an old underwater camera washes onto the beach still intact. The boy decides to develop the film and he is astonished at what he sees in the pictures. The pictures are full of how life is underwater. Every page in the book is covered in details of life in the sea. The next picture the boy comes across is a picture of a girl holding a stack of pictures showing more kids with more pictures. After using his microscope and magnifying the pictures 70 times the boy realizes that this camera has been used by kids all around the world for generations. The book ends when the boy takes a picture of himself holding his pictures, and then tosses the camera back into the water. The camera floats around the ocean, documenting detailed underwater societies and finally being washed onto shore once more. This book is unlike any other book I have ever seen. The illustrations were amazingly detailed and realistic. I know that any child, or adult, would enjoy reading this book and letting their imagination run wild. Fantastic book!

The Night Before First Grade (Literature Based Lesson Plan)

Penny is beginning her first day of first grade tomorrow, and tonight she is preparing everything for the morning. Penny packs her backpack and lays out her new outfit and even packs her own lunch. That night Penny dreams of everything that the first grade will bring and playing with her best friend Jenny. Once the morning came Jenny ran to the bus to meet Penny and soon they were at school. Although Jenny and Penny were anxious to be in the same classroom together, they were disappointed to find out that the first grade classes were split, and they would be in separate classrooms. Penny plays all kinds of games during her first day, and even meets a new friend named Nina. In the end Penny finally gets to see Jenny, and introduces her new friend Nina while Jenny introduces Tina! The Night Before First Grade is an adorable book written by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Deborah Zemke. This is definitely a book that I would read to my students on the first day of school. The illustrations are very cartoon-ish and the rhyming story makes it fun to read.

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair by Patricia Polacco

Eli’s Aunt Chip is the only person in Triple Creek that does not own a television set. Triple Creek is a town that loves TV’s. Everyone watches TV all day long, while they are eating, playing, and even while they are sleeping. One day Aunt Chip discovers that Eli cannot read, surely a consequence from the towns’ obsession with TV’s. Although no one in Triple Creek can read, they sure do know how to use books. Citizens of Triple Creek know use books to hold up roofs, fill potholes, mend fences, and shore up the dam. The citizens of Triple Creek use books for any other reason but to read them. Aunt Chip teaches Eli to read and suddenly all the children realize what they have been missing this whole time they have been obsessed with TV’s. Books start disappearing from around town, from the potholes to porches, and even the dam started missing books. Once the dam lost its support from the books it spouted a leak, which led to a bigger leak, and eventually it flooded out the town. The flood washed through the city of Triple Creek and was strong enough to tear down the tower that gave power to all the TV’s. Without their TV’s everyone starts to realize how the absence of reading and books led to their town becoming run down. After it started “raining books” all the children of the town started teaching their parents to read, and the town became glorious and prosperous again. This book is a creative way to show children the consequences of not reading. Although it is exaggerated I think children would enjoy the illustrations and answering, “What if everyone stopped reading?” Great book!

June 29 1999 by David Wiesner (Illustrator Study: David Wiesner)

Holly Evans is a young girl with an idea, vegetable seeds, and balloons. Holly plans to study the growth of vegetables once there are in outer space. Shortly after Holly launches the vegetable seeds nested inside balloons from her home town of Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, she is amazed at the upcoming events. Gigantic turnips are discovered in Montana, huge heads of lettuce float through the sky, cucumbers and lima beans float over towns across the country. Holly is ecstatic to see an enormous broccoli land in her backyard, knowing that her experiment was a huge success. It wasn’t until an arugula appears in Ashtabula that Holly realizes the extraordinary vegetables around the country did not come from her experiment. So if the giant peas floating in rivers and if the eggplants being exchanged and booming the economy aren’t from Holly’s experiment, whose vegetables were they? The answer is, of course, outer space. Due to a clumsy kitchen worker the entire food supply of the star cruiser Alula Borealis is sent down to Earth. So now that the aliens lost all of their vegetables, what is for dinner? =) This book was amazingly adorable! It is hard to describe how cute and clever it is without seeing the detailed illustrations of the giant vegetables and the aliens in their star cruiser. Great book!

The Three Pigs by Daivd Wiesner (Illustrator Study: David Wiesner)

“Once upon a time there were three pigs..” Everyone knows the traditional story of the three little pigs, but not everyone knows how the three pigs would change the story given the opportunity. Everything seems normal until the big bad wolf blows the first little pig right out of the story! After a couple of pages pass the pigs realize they can actually escape the story, and even change it up a little bit. Eventually the three pigs stumble upon a nursery rhyme, and they even change how they look to fit right in. Next, the three pigs adventure into a fairy tale full of dragons, castles, and kings. The three pigs make friends with the characters from other stories and decide to return home to their brick house, after making sure the big bad wolf can’t get to them anymore. This is one of the most creative and innovative stories I have ever read about the three pigs. With each setting the illustrations change, from the traditional story to nursery rhymes to fairy tales and back to traditional. This is one of the best adaptations I have ever read, and it is definitely worth reading many times!

Rapunzel: A Groovy Fairy Tale (Traditional Literature)

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!” Although this line usually makes you think of the classic fairy tale, this groovy version is anything but classical. Retold by Lynn Roberts and illustrated by David Roberts, the new and “improved” Rapunzel is the groovy kind of damsel in distress. Rapunzel lives with her horrible Aunt Esme and aunt’s pet crow named Roach. Rapunzel’s aunt refused to let Rapunzel leave their apartment at the top of their old and abandoned apartment building. Since the elevator was broken in their building and considering the thousand stairs from the top to the bottom, Aunt Esme used Rapunzel’s long braid to leave the apartment, leaving Rapunzel all alone. One day a boy, Roger, from the school that Esme works at as a cafeteria lady follows her home and immediately falls in love with Rapunzel’s flowing red hair. Roger tricks Rapunzel into letting down her hair so he can climb up and finally see her. Roger and Rapunzel quickly become great friends and create a plan for Rapunzel to escape. Once Aunt Esme discovers what Rapunzel and Roger have been up she cuts all of Rapunzel’s hair off, so she will never escape. Eventually Rapunzel does escape her horrible aunt and goes in search of Roger. Roger and Rapunzel finally find each other and even start a bad, and wear wigs made from Rapunzel’s long, flowing, red hair. This book was extremely imaginative and modernized the classic fairy tale of Rapunzel. The illustrations were great and I’m sure children would enjoy comparing this version to the other versions of Rapunzel.

Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type

Click, clack, moo…Clickety, Clack, Moo. This book is about Farmer Brown and his problem with his letter-typing cows. Although it seems impossible, Farmer Brown’s cows can actually type, and they type letters demanding electric blankets to keep them warm. Farmer Brown is stubborn and won’t cave to the cows, so the cows do the only logical thing: they go on a strike. During this strike, all milk production stops and then a farm-wide strike begins. The cows write a letter demanding electric blankets for the hens as well, because after all, no animal likes to be cold. Eventually the two parties reach an agreement. Farmer Brown gives the animals electric blankets and in return the animals go back to giving milk and eggs. Just once Farmer Brown makes the cows and hens happy, the ducks realize they want something too! Click Clack Moo: Cows that type by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin is an adorable story with even more adorable illustrations. The story is simple yet introduces children to new terms such as strike, ultimatum, and a neutral party in a way that is fun and creative! Thumbs up!

The Giver: (1990 Newbery Winner)

The Giver is a unique story set in the future within a utopian community. Jonas, an eleven year old boy is about to receive his Assignment at a traditional ceremony with all of the other eleven year old children. Jonas’ community is seemingly perfect; no pain, no hunger, no hate, and no differences. For many years the community has been kept from all of the things that can destroy people, like war and poverty. Jonas lives his childhood oblivious to where all of these hurtful and dangerous emotions are kept, until the Ceremony of Twelves. Once Jonas receives his Assignment as The Receiver he slowly begins to realize what is protecting his community and keeping it “perfect”. Jonas becomes the sole receiver of memories, given to him by an old man who holds all of the memories and pain. Although Jonas is able to have wonderful experiences and finally have memories of birthdays and snow, things not found in his community, he also becomes the bearer of all of the hatred and hurt. Eventually Jonas realizes the falseness that is all around him and tries to escape his “perfect” community. Lois Lowry won the Newbery Award for The Giver in 1990. This book is unlike any other book I have ever read and it truly transports you to another world. The Giver forces you to wonder what exactly constitutes a perfect world, and the consequences of having one. Amazing book!!

Taking a ride on the Polar Express: (1986 Caldecott Winner)

The Polar Express is a beautifully written and illustrated story about a child’s belief in Santa, and the magic of Christmas. The story begins on the night of Christmas Eve, when the boy is anxiously awaiting the appearance of Christmas Magic. Late into the snowy night, a huge steam engine appears in front of his house, ready to head to the North Pole. The Polar Express is full f children, sipping hot chocolate and riding the train in their pajamas, all waiting excitedly to reach the North Pole. Once the train reaches the North Pole hundreds of elves and children all gather to watch as Santa gives the first present of Christmas. The boy is delighted to be the child that Santa chooses, and decides instead of a toy he would rather have one of Santa’s silver bells from his sleigh. As the Polar Express takes all of the children home, the boy sadly realizes that the Santa’s present fell out of his pocket. The next morning, the Christmas magic returns the silver bell back to the boy, and from then on he can always hear the ringing of Christmas. The Polar Express won the Caldecott Medal in 1986, and has turned into a must-have Christmas story. The illustrations are incredibly vivid and truly make this wonderful story come to life. I love the way this story describes the way children believe in the magic and surprise of Christmas, and even though its rare in adults, sometimes it can last forever.

Song and Dance Man (1989 Caldecott Winner)

The Song and Dance Man is a wonderfully colorful story told by children remembering their grandfather. Although the story is simple, it has descriptive language and is rich in imagination. The story begins as the children’s grandfather takes them up to the attic , turns on an old lamp to serve as his spotlight, and gives his grandchildren an old-time performance. “His tap shoes makes soft, slippery sounds like rain on a tin roof”, is just one example of the many descriptive sentences throughout the whole book, which makes you feel as if you are watching the show from the front row. The illustrations are done in a light colored pencil, which makes it even more adorable and child like. Song and Dance Man was written by Kevin Ackerman, the illustrations were done by Stephen Gammell, and was the Caldecott Winner in 1989. I really enjoyed the way this book was simple, lighthearted and fun, and was meant to entertain and delight young readers.

Ellington Was Not a Street (Coretta Scott King Illustrator Winner: 2005)

Ellington Was Not A Street was written by Ntozake Shange and was illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Nelson’s painting -like illustrations won the book the 2005 Coretta Scott King Award. Ellington Was Not A Street is a beautifully illustrated book about a little girl’s childhood and the people that were a part of it. Each page shows a different part of history, and how it happened around the little girl. This book is full of culture and shows how influential people can be, even if to you they are just ordinary people. Ellington Was Not A Street pays tribute to African American innovators, politicians, and leaders through sweet and simple text and gorgeous illustrations. My favorite part of the story was at the very end when it elaborates on “men who changed the world” and gave a biographical snippet of William DuBois, Paul Robeson, Edward Ellington, and many more. This book is both educational and delightful to read and gives an illustrated glimpse into the African American culture and American history.

Missing May (1993 Newbery Winner)

Missing May is a novel that will tug on your heartstrings and make you realize how the loss of a loved one is seen through the eyes of a child. Summer is a young girl who spent her childhood being passed through the hands of one relative to another relative, living like an orphan since her mother died when she was 6 years old. One day, Aunt May and Uncle Ob went on a trip to visit their relatives, and that is when they first met Summer. Aunt May and Uncle Ob had raised their own children and were settling into old age when they realized they still had plenty more love to give, which is exactly why they took Summer home with them that day. Summer was finally “home” when she went to live with Aunt May and Uncle Ob, and was continuously astonished at how much they loved one another. The story begins when an old Aunt May passes away while gardening, and Uncle Ob and Summer are forced to go on with their own lives. Summer has a hard time grieving for Aunt May and Uncle Ob becomes lost in life and has lost hope for being able to go on. Cletus, a boy around Summer’s age, become as essential part in helping Uncle Ob and Summer grieve for Aunt May. Cletus convinces Summer and Uncle Ob that he has had a supernatural experience and he believes they could reach Aunt May in the afterlife. This book was amazingly emotional and explained loss in a way that children can understand. I really liked how eclectic the characters were, especially Cletus. This book may be difficult for some children to get interested in, but I do think if they opened their minds, they would find a lot to like in this book.