Charlotte’s Web

Charlotte’s Web

Title: Charlotte’s Web

Genre: Bluebonnet 

Author: E.B White

Awards: Bluebonnet Award, Newbery Honor

Age group: 10-12 year olds

This book is a classic tale that even I remember reading in school, I believe every child should read it at least once.

Summary:

It’s starts when Fern finds out her father is about to kill an innocent baby pig because it was the runt, she stops her father from killing it and finally he tells her he wouldn’t ,but she would have to take care of the pig then, so she agrees. Fern took good care of the pig she called Wilbur. One day since Wilbur was all grown now, her father told fern it was time to sell him, fern was so sad. They sold him to uncle Homer. Fern did come to visit whenever she could. Wilbur one time persuaded by a goose escaped from his pen but was found and returned. The next evening, from the dark barn Charlotte (the spider) tells the lonely Wilbur she'll be his friend. In early summer, after seven goslings are born, Templeton, the greedy rat, stores a "dud" egg in his tunnel. Several days later, the oldest sheep tells Wilbur he's going to be killed for meat at Christmastime. That night, Charlotte promises Wilbur she'll save him, but she doesn't yet know how. Trying to catch Charlotte one day, Avery (Ferns brother) trips and falls, crushing the rotten egg and thus saving Charlotte life. The next morning, Charlotte's makes her web to say the words “some pig”. The next few days Wilbur becomes famous as strangers, thinking a miracle has occurred, start visiting the barn. A few days later, Charlotte weaves the word “terrific” into her web and then the word “radiant”. Soon after Wilbur is taken to be shown at the fair because of his fame; Charlotte and Templeton accompany him, Even though Charlotte knows she could have her eggs soon. That night Charlotte weaved the word “humble” into her web and then lays her eggs. The next morning Wilbur doesn't get the blue ribbon, but wins a special prize and Zukerman now says he will live forever. Later that day, Charlotte tells Wilbur she is dying and will not be coming back home. Wilbur tells Templeton to rescue Charlotte's egg sac and brings it back home with him; Charlotte then dies alone when everyone has left. Next spring Charlotte's eggs hatched; three spider babies decide to stay with Wilbur. In the end, Wilbur never forgot Charlotte, although he loved her children, none of them took her place in his heart.

I believe I will use this book in my classroom because it is a classic story that all students should know and makes a great read aloud. Also this book is a bluebonnet book which means it is highly recommend.

I believe the appropriate grade level for this book is 4th-6th grade. This book is a longer chapter book but does not have too complex of vocabulary. It also includes little illustrations throughout the book.

I believe this book can be used as a full class read aloud that can be read over a week. Also an activity to go with the book could be the students would design campaign posters to save Wilbur.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

High Tide in Hawaii

High Tide in Hawaii

Title: High Tide in Hawaii

Genre: Audio Book

Author: Mary Pope Osborne

Awards: None

Age group: 6-10 year olds

I enjoyed this audiobook because the reader did voices for each character and there was music every once in a while to go with the book. I would definitely recommend this audiobook for students.

Summary:

Jack and Annie were reading when the Magic tree house came back, so they went to go check it out. They were given a new task for this times adventure in the magic treehouse; they were to build some kind of ship in Hawaii. So then they touched the cover of a book and they were off. From the book they learned a little bit about Hawaii and how it was formed. Then they noticed a village so they went to go check it out. They meet some of the villagers who welcomed them, one was named Kama and the other Boka. Kama then invited Annie and Jack to stay at their house. Kama told them they would go surfing tomorrow. In the morning they got breakfast from a tree and then they learned how to surf, Jack was having some difficulty though and ended up crashing and having to swim to shore. Jack decided to stop and just read about surfing instead. Then he felt the earth shake for a second, so he looked up in his book earth quakes and it says they are known to cause tsunamis so he got worried. So he paddled out to them to warn them, so they all rushed to came back in but suddenly the water around Annie began to pull away so they ran up the cliff. Then they witnessed the tsunami occur and were grateful that had missed it. They then danced the hula to tell their story of the tsunami. After Kama mentioned that they were friends now and mentioned friendship is like riding a wave. That is when Annie realized the task was not to build a literal ship, but a friendship which they had done. Then they learned that Aloha meant goodbye so they said aloha and went back to the magic tree house to go home. Morgan was waiting in the treehouse when they got back and was proud that they now had found 4 special kinds of magic, and then she explained their most exciting adventures are yet to come. In the end when Jack saw his parents waiting at home he thought that he had already had the best magic of all here, the magic of family.

I believe I could use this audio book in my classroom because it is a short, but a very immersive version of the book. This book is a part of a huge series called the Magic Tree House books.

I believe the appropriate grade level for this book is 1st-4th grade. This book does not have too complex of vocabulary, but is sort of short for a chapter book which is why I might recommend for lower grades.

A way to use this audio book in the classroom is after listening to the book out loud the students will try to write their own story about an adventure they went on, and then they will record themselves making an audio book version of their story. Another way to use this book in the classroom could be making a storyline chart that shows the beginning, middle, and end of the book and what the climax was.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

Verdi

Verdi

Title: Verdi

Genre: Bluebonnet

Author and illustrator: Janell Cannon

Awards: Bluebonnet Award

Age Group: 6-10 year olds

This book is a cute little story of a python that learned to accept himself, I would definitely recommend for young readers.

Summary:

In the beginning Verdi does not want to be green snake he wants to say yellow forever. He sees the green snakes and thinks they’re so lazy and slow and he promises himself he will never be like that. Then when he starts to turn green he tries everything to avoid it but ends up hurting himself. Then the greens take care of him so he can get better. Then when he was better he laid for days until finally he did turn green. Then two yellows came one day and said look at him so lazy I will never be like that. Ashamed of what he had become he asked them “do you want to climb trees with me”. They say yes and he teaches them how do a figure 8. He realizes he can still be himself even if he’s green.

I believe I could use this book in my classroom because it has a great lesson on even though things may change that doesn’t mean you have to stop being yourself.

I believe the appropriate grade level for this book is 1st-4th grade. This book does have quite a few words to a page but is not too complex of vocabulary. The illustrations in this book really help visualize the story.

I believe I could use this book as an introduction to research on pythons or snakes. After reading the book the students will do further research on some snakes.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

To Dance

To Dance

Title: To Dance

Genre: Graphic Novel

Author: Siena Cherson Siegel

Illustrator: Mark Siegel

Awards: None

Age group: 8-13 year olds

I really enjoyed this book and the illustrations really do take the reader on the journey that this girl went through as a dancer.

Summary:

The main character, a young girl, lived in Puerto Rico and had always loved dancing, but the challenge began when she was told by a doctor that she had flat foot, which could not be cured, and her mom asked if dance would help and that’s how she started taking dance classes. Then, she got to see the Bolshoi Ballet perform, and after she saw that she knew she wanted to be a ballerina. She started going to more and more ballet classes and even got to perform in The Nutcracker. That summer she flew to New York for the American Ballet theatre summer program. Then she read the new book called A Very Young Dancer, which she read over and over. Then she watched a movie called The Children of Theatre Street, and it was about a ballet school in Russia, where dance was taken very seriously, and she wanted to be just like that. The next year she auditioned for The School of American Ballet and she made it, so her family moved to New York so that she could go to the school. The school was founded by George Balanchine, a man she had seen in the movie The Children of Theatre Street and he brought many teachers from Russia to teach. For each year in school they were to wear a colored leotard for which level you were in; she wore green. Then she got the good news that would soon be fitted for toe shoes, which she had been looking forward to for years. Though her dad kept having to go back to Puerto Rico for work, but he built her own barre with mirror which she loved. Then one day a list to who would be in the ballet was on the big doors at the school and she had found out she had made it. They began rehearsals for multiple ballets. Her brother came to visit, and then she began to notice her parents fighting but choose to ignore it. She began to love every kind of dance, and by now her feet were no longer flat. She began taking less regular school and more ballet school. Though at home mom and dad were divorcing and there was no peace at home, so she found dance class to be a get-away. Then she started partnering class, which was new because you had to dance with someone else, and she began to feel grown up because it was like all the things she had seen her favorite dancers doing. Then she found out Mister B had passed away and see was very sad about this loss. In the end, she stopped dancing because of a terrible ankle injury she had a year before; instead she went to college, which was different but good. A few years later, she did go back to the Barre because she still needed to dance, because dancing filled a space for her.

I believe I could use this book in my classroom because it could be a good introduction to what graphic novels are and how they can tell a story through pictures.

I believe the appropriate grade level for this book is 3rd-7th grade. This book is not too hard to read and is separated into chapters that show the progress that she makes and certain points in time of her dancing career. I would recommend maybe older students for enjoying this book since it is more of a chapter book and does give a lot of information on ballet skills and vocabulary.

A way to use this book in the classroom is after reading this, the student will do an activity by trying to make their own sort-of short graphic novel over something they enjoy doing.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

The Black Book of Colors

The Black Book of Colors

Title: The Black Book of Colors

Genre: Special Needs

Authors: Menena Cottin and Rosana Faría

Awards: None

Age group: 5-10 year olds

This is a quite interesting children’s book about a blind child’s view of colors. It really makes you think about different people’s viewpoints in life and how they view the things around them.

Summary:

In this book it describes what the colors are from Thomas’s point of view, a child who is blind, he describes them through taste, smell or feel. Like for example it says red is sour like unripe strawberries and as sweet as watermelon. Like the title says though this book is completely black and on each page it has the Braille over the words and a Braille like image beside it. In the end Thomas explains that he likes all the colors because he can hear, smell, touch and taste them.

Here is an example of a page:

I believe I can use this book in my class room because it can be a good tool for both those students who need Braille and for other students to understand what Braille is.

I believe the appropriate grade level this book is Kinder-5th grade. This book is short and doesn’t have too complex of vocabulary, but might be a little confusing for younger grades if they do not understand that some people cannot see so this is how they might “see” color; but I believe this book can be a great tool to understand this concept as well.

An activity that can go with this book is the student will explain their experience of a color in their own words and then draw a picture to go with it like in the book.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

The 12 Days of Christmas

The 12 Days of Christmas

Title: The 12 Days of Christmas

Genre: Paper Engineered book

Author: Robert Sabuda

Awards: None

Age Group: 5 and up

This is a great version of a classic Christmas song made into art by paper engineering , would definitely recommend.

Summary:

This book goes through the song the 12 days of Christmas with paper pop up illustrations on each page with that day.

I would definitely use this in my classroom because it makes a classic Christmas song to life and is an amazing work of art created for the reader.

The appropriate grade level for this book is 1st grade and up. This is an easy book to read with a big font. This is also a pop-up book so I believe even young reader will be able to read it but make sure they are careful with the pages since it is paper that is fragile and can rip.

A way to use this book in the classroom is as a read aloud sometime during the Christmas season and an activity that could go with it is the students will get to try and make a pop up page of there own.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

Ramona Quimby Age 8

Ramona Quimby Age 8

Title: Ramona Quimby Age 8

Genre: Newbery

Author: Beverly Clearly

Illustrator: Jacqueline Rogers

Awards: Newbery Award

Age Group: 8-12 year olds

This book is a great book from the view point of a child, which I believe any student will truly enjoy and relate to.

Summary:

Ramona was now in the third grade and got to ride the bus, while her sister started junior high and had to walk. Her dad was going to college to be a teacher and her mom works as a receptionist. Their family had been saving money so that Dad could go to school and so their budget was tight. After school, Ramona has to go to the Kemps’ house until one of her parents would pick her up and she was forced to play with the 4-year-old, Willa Jean, who she was made to be nice to even though she always got in trouble for her mistakes. She felt it was her responsibility to make it work so that her father could go to school. She was excited about her first day, and since she was going to a new school, she would not be so compared to her sister, which made her happy. Her new teacher was named Ms. Whaley and Ramona really liked her at first. Then one day they started something in class called sustained silent reading, and she really enjoyed it.The next day at school her mom had packed her a boiled egg and when she cracked it on her head, it turned out to be raw and she got really embarrassed. When she was in the office getting cleaned up, she overheard her teacher call her a show off and a nuisance and this made Ramona really upset. She then decided she did not like her anymore. The next day Ramona didn’t feel good and then all of a sudden she threw up in class and she was so embarrassed that all she could do was cry and she then felt like even more of a nuisance. The next couple of days she stayed home from school because she was sick with the stomach flu, but then on one day she got letters from her fellow students about getting better soon which made her happy. She was a little worried about a book report she would have to give to the class, but after a sudden burst of inspiration she was excited for the book report. After her book report, she confronted Ms. Whaley about her calling her a nuisance, and Ms. Whaley explained that she misunderstood her and she did not think she was a nuisance, which made Ramona feel better. She did start to understand that her family was struggling and this made her sad. Then her father decided that they would go out for dinner so everyone would stop being so gloomy. Then when her dad was ready to pay, they found out a nice man had already paid for their meals because he said they looked like a nice family. To their surprise, they did realize they were a nice family and that this was a happy ending to the day.

I believe I would have this book in my classroom because it is a cute fun story that is very relatable to kids.

I believe the appropriate grade level for this book is 3rd-7th grade .This book was pretty simple to read with a big font. This book is very much geared toward reading from the view point of a child which I believe younger students will really like.

One way to use this book in the classroom is after reading the book as a read aloud, the students will try out the fruit fly larvae experiment from the book as a fun experiment. This book can also be used for a self-read for (like it says in the book) sustained silent reading.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend

The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend

Title: The Adventures of Beekle the Unimaginary Friend

Genre: Caldecott

Author and Illustrator: Dan Santat

Awards: Caldecott award

Age group: 5-8 year olds

This book is so cute I absolutely loved this books story and illustrations, I believe everyone should read this book.

Summary:

He was born on an island, which is where imaginary friends are created; here they wait to be imagined by a real child. Every night he waited to be imagined by a child and given a name, he waited for a long time. After a while, rather than waiting, he journeyed to the real world. The world was very different then what he had imagined. Then he found a park, but he did not find his friend so he climbed a tree hoping his friend would come. He became very sad when none did, until one day a child came and something just felt right. At first they didn’t know what to do, but then she named him Beekle and he knew she was perfect. They had many adventures together and the world became a little less strange and they did the unimaginable.

Here is an example of a page :

I would definitely have this book in my classroom, I absolutely love the illustrations and believe students will love this story and feel connected to it.

The appropriate grade level for this book is Kinder- 3rd grade. This book is easy to read with little words to a page and not too complex of vocabulary. I believe young and old readers will love this book.

An activity to go with this book is after reading it, the student will draw their own imaginary friend and write a short story about them.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Title: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Genre: Caldecott

Author and illustrator: Mo Willems

Awards: Caldecott awards

Age group: 5-8 year olds

This is a cute classic book that I loved from even when I was a child and I would definitively recommend.

Summary:

The book starts where you are supposed to watch the bus for the bus driver and he says don’t let the pigeon ride the bus. Then the pigeon appears and asks to drive the bus. He begs, then he tries to convince you to play drive the bus. He try’s everything, but then the bus driver comes back and thanks you for watching his bus. The pigeon storms off but then he noticed a truck pass by and decided he wants to drive that now.

Here is an example of a page:

I would definitely have this book in my classroom because it is a short and funny story that engages that reader.

The appropriate grade level for this book would be Kinder-3rd grade. This book is a short and easy book to read with very little words to a page and not too complex of vocabulary. I would recommend this for younger grades though since they will enjoy the silly antics of the pigeon.

One way to use this book in the classroom is after reading the book, the students will write a short story about what they think the pigeon will do next. This book could also be used for an individual reading book.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

They All Saw a Cat

They All Saw a Cat

Title: They All Saw a Cat

Genre: Caldecott

Author and illustrator: Brendan Wenzel

Awards: Caldecott Honor

Age Group: 4-7 year olds

This is such a cool book and easy book that i really enjoyed and its illustrations really carry the story.

Summary:

This story goes through the different view point of things seeing a cat through the world. It starts with a child then a dog, a fox, a fish, a mouse, a bee, a bird, a flea, a skunk, a worm, a bat. They all saw a cat in their own way, then the cat came to the water and imagine what it saw?

Here is a example of a page :

I believe I would have this book in my classroom because it is an easy read and shows how things can be seen different through different perspectives.

The appropriate grade level for this book is Pre-K- 2nd grade. This book is very easy to read with little words to a page. I feel younger students will like this book better than older grades though. This book can be a good individual read.

An activity that could go with this book would be after reading it; the student will pick an animal and then try to draw the cat from the perspective of that animal, like in the book.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

Thank You Omu

Thank You Omu

Title: Thank You Omu

Genre: Coretta Scott King Award

Author: Oge Mora

Awards: Caldecott honor, Coretta Scott King award

Age Group: 4-8 year olds

This book was a really good feel good story about a woman who’s generosity of her dinner ends up with her making many new friends.

Summary:

Omu made a red stew for dinner and went to read until dinner time when people start coming to her door from the smell, wondering what it was. Then she started giving some soup away to a boy, a police officer, a hot dog vender, and started feeding many more people from the neighborhood. When she finally was ready to eat there was nothing left. She was sad until, all the people she had fed were at the door and she said sorry but she was out of food. But everyone she had fed brought food like salad and roast chicken and they all ate, danced and celebrated in her apartment. So even though omu soup was gone her heart was full of happiness and love and that was the best dinner she ever had.

I believe I could use this book in my classroom because it teaches a lesson about if you are giving then you shall receive. This book also has great collage-like illustrations which go great with the story.

I believe the appropriate grade level for this book would be Kinder-3rd grade. This book has not too hard of vocabulary and a short paragraph-like style of words to a page. This book also has sounds as words on the page.

I believe I could use this book as a read aloud for the topic of giving. This book could also be used for a story line chart practice.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy

Mrs.Katz and Tush

Mrs.Katz and Tush

Title: Mrs.Katz and Tush

Genre: Multicultural

Author and illustrator: Patricia Polacco

Awards: Jane Addams Children's Book Award

Age Group: 6-10 year olds

I personally loved this book and felt a connection to its story, I loved how this book made you have a feel good sort of feeling, and I would definitely recommend it in the future.

Summary:

Larnal didn’t know Mrs.Katz a lot at first but his mother visited her almost every day. Mrs.Katz had lost her husband and was alone, so she was sad. One day Larnel stopped by with a kitten he had found and asked her if she wanted to adopt it and she agreed only if he would help her take care of it. They named the cat Tush. She did everything for Tush and she was in love with the cat and treated it like a human. Larnel kept his promise and visited Mrs.Katz every day after school and he loved to listen to Mrs.Katz talk about the old country; She is from Poland and is Jewish. After Mrs.Katz and Larnel spent a lot of time together they had become like family so she invited him to say Kaddish to her husband. But when they came back, Tush was gone and the window had been left open, Mrs.Katz was so worried but Larnel said he would find Tush. They looked everywhere but no one had seen Tush. That night it stormed and Mrs.Katz couldn’t sleep worrying about Tush. Then the next morning Larnel’s father came over and he had found Tush. Then Mrs.Katz invited Larnel over for Passover dinner, and she explained what Passover was to Larnel. Tush ended up having babies the very next night. Years passed and Ms.Katz, Tush and her descendants became a part of Larnels family, there were graduations, weddings, and new babies. In the end, Larnel stood in front of the headstone of Mrs.Katz and his wife and his children read the inscription together, Mrs.Katz, our Bubee...such a person.

I believe could use this book in my classroom because this book is a great way to show some traditions of Jewish culture and how you can learn things from older people about tradition.

I believe the appropriate grade level for this book is 2nd-4th grade. Though, I believe any age would enjoy this book as well. This book is quite easy to follow but does have a good chunk of words to a page but a bigger font so easy to read.

This book can be used in the classroom in a unit about different cultures and traditions, because throughout this book she talks about Jewish traditions and phrases.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy