Picture book 26

Title: My Friend Rabbit
Author: Eric Rohmann
Illustrated by: Eric Rohmann
Genre: Children's Literature/picture
Subgenre: picture book 

Theme: determination, trouble, friendship

Primary and Secondary characters: rabbit, mouse, secondary: other animals
Awards, date of publication: 2011
Publishing company:    Roaring Brook Press 
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This is the story about the friendship between rabbit and mouse. Everywhere rabbit goes, trouble follows. He gets an airplane stuck in a tree and tried to get other animals to stack together and help, but something always goes wrong. This book was very interesting because only like 4 of the pages actually had words, the rest just had pictures that told the story. This story can be used to show how even when our friends make mistakes we can always stick by them and make sure they know that we are there. It is a great life lesson for students to read about. It also shows how to get others involved in everything we do.

PIcture book 25

Title: Finders Keepers
Author: William Lipkind and Nicolas Mordvinoff
Illustrated by: N/A
Genre: Children's Literature/picture
Subgenre: picture book 

Theme: sharing, hard work, decisions

Primary and Secondary characters: Nap and Winkle  secondary: Big dog, farmer, hair trimmer, and goat
Awards, date of publication: 1989
Publishing company:   Sandpiper 
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This is the story of two dogs fighting over a bone they found. They begin to ask everyone around them whose bone it should be since one saw it first and the other touched it first. They end up asking a big dog who tricks them into showing him the bone and he takes it. They work together to fight him and get their bone back. In the end they end up sharing the bone. This story can teach children about sharing and learning that it works out better in the end that way. It also shows how other people can help you make decisions if you need them to. This is a very cute book and I advice everyone to read it.

PIcture book 24

Title: Big Momma Makes The World
Author: Phyllis Root

Illustrator Hellen Oxenbury
Genre: Children's Literature/picture
Subgenre: picture book 

Theme: creation, imagination, the world

Primary and Secondary characters: Big momma and the baby
Awards, date of publication: 2002
Publishing company:   Candlewick 
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This is the story of Big Momma creating the world in 7 days, It goes off of the same theory of creation and she makes the sun, moon, stars, animals, and such on the same day that God did. She, however, also has a baby that she carries on her hip while doing this. It is a very cute book and although I do not believe in what it is saying, it could open the eyes up to children to start questioning things in life and where they came from. This can be used in the classroom to entertain. It could also be used when talking about evolution or where things came from since evolution is usually in the textbooks. It can be used to show determination and creativity also.

PIcture book 23

Title: Snowflake Bentley
Author:Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Illustrated by: Mary Azarian

Genre: Children's Literature/picture
Subgenre: picture book

Theme: determination, pride, photography, loving what you do

Primary and Secondary characters: Bentley, and family
Awards, date of publication: 1998, Caldecott
Publishing company:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom:From the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles and constantly wanted to know more about them. He was determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful.This story was a beautiful story in which Wilson Bentley will always be remembered for his scientific ways, and determination. This story can be used in the classroom when doing science or talking about weather changes. It also shows students to never give up on what you love.

Picture book 22

Title:Kitten's First Full Moon
Author:Kevin Henkes
Illustrator: Gouache and colored pencil were used

Genre: Children's Literature/picture
Subgenre: picture book

Theme: determination, courage

Primary and Secondary characters: Kitten
Awards, date of publication: 2004
Publishing company: Greenwillow Books
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom:This is the story of a little kitten who is bound and determined to get the huge bowl of milk in the sky. She goes on a mission and climbs trees, races through fields, and takes leaps of faith just to get this huge bowl of milk in the sky. She then sees the reflection in the water and decided to jump in the water to try to get the huge bowl of milk. She gets all wet and realizes that it is not milk. She goes home to find a bowl of milk waiting on her. This book can be used in the classroom to show students determination. It can also be used for entertainment purposes because the drawings in it are beautiful.

Picture book 21

 Title: Lon Po Po

Author: Ed Young
Illustrator: Ed Young
Genre: Children's Literature
Subgenre: Nursery story/ traveling
Theme: Creativity, danger, courage,
Primary and Secondary characters: Shang, Tao, and Poatze. Mother and wolf.
Awards, date of publication: 1989
Publishing company: Scholastic Inc.
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This is story of a woman leaving her children at home while she visits her own mother. While the mother is gone, a wolf disguises himself as their grandmother and tries to get them to open the door so he can eat them. The children unknowingly open the door and begin to ask the wolf why his voice had changed from their grandmothers. The wolf  blows out the candles and sneaks into the bed with the children. In bed the children feel the fur on his tail and his sharp claws. At once one of the children lit a light and saw that the wolf was not grandma. The children then tricked the wolf to climb into a basket and said that they would pull him up to get food. The children then pulled him almost up and then dropped him so that he would die from his injuries. The mother arrived home and the children then had a story to tell her. This would teach the children that sometimes bad things happen to good people. This is also really cool because it is the Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood. It can be used to show multiculturalism in the classroom and that students all around the world have the same stories just different names.

Picture book 20

 Title: Just Imagine

Author: Mary Shrode
Illustrator: Mary Grace Eubank
Genre: Children's Literature
Subgenre: Imagination
Theme: Imagination, anxiety
Primary and Secondary characters: Lori and Barney

 Awards, date of publication: 1992
Publishing company: The Lyons Group
 Summary and how you would use this books with your students: This book tells the story of a little girl named Lori. Lori is nervous about moving to a new town with her family and asks her doll barney to help her feel better. Barney tells Lori to use her imagination and think of all the fun things she will do at her new house. She is then excited and happy about her move and is happy to have her Barney. This teaches the kids to use their imagination and to stay positive. It can be used to show kids that everyone is scared of new things, but if we try new things out and think positively we can like them. It also shows the value of friendship.

Picture book 19

 Title: Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite

Author: Diane de Groat
Illustrator: Scholastic Inc.
Genre: Children's Literature
Subgenre: Picture Book/ being brave
Theme: Bullying is bad, over coming fears
Primary and Secondary characters: Gilbert, Lewis, Frank
Awards, date of publication: 2004
Publishing company: HarperCollins

 This book tells the story of little boys going to their first sleep away camp. On the way to the camp Gilbert's friend Lewis told him that there was a ghost at this camp which made Gilbert very nervous. After they arrived at camp they were told the same story again. Lewis scared Gilbert and started laughing. He was picking on and bullying Gilbert. That night when he went to bed he had to go to the restroom but he had to walk through the woods to get there. As he walked there he heard noises and got scared. He  pushed his way through and made it to the bathroom. There he saw Lewis hurdled up in the corner scared from the ghost and the tables had turned. Gilbert then told him that there was no ghost. This should teach the students not to bully and not to make fun of others. This also can be used to show that everyone is scared of something, but you can always overcome it.

Picture book 18

 Title: Good Luck Mrs. K!

Author: Louise Borden
Illustrator: Adam Gustavason
Genre: Children's Literature
Subgenre: Picture Books
Theme: Overcoming obstacles
Primary and Secondary characters:Mrs. k, students, substitute
Awards, date of publication: 2002
Publishing company: Margaret K. Mcelderry
The teacher's name was Mrs. Kempczinski and she made sure that her students knew how to spell it. Her students practiced and practiced so they would get it right. Mrs. K loved to travel so she hung photographs all over the classroom to show the students that they were their own explorers. She made her classroom fun and full of activities, the students loved her. The teacher then told her children she had cancer and that she had to leave for a little while. The children were sad because the substitute did not know all the cool things Mrs. K did. On the last day of class Mrs. K came back and told her students how proud she was of them. This story teaches the students that now matter how large the obstacle, If you work together you can achieve anything. It can also be sued to show multiculturalism because you can talk about all of the cool things Mrs. K showed. This could be a sad story, but you have to make it out to soon as thought she just overcame a rock in the road.

Picture book 17

Title: When Sophie Gets Angry- Really Really Angry

Author: Molly Bang
Illustrator:
Genre: Children's literature/ picture book
Subgenre:Self-control
Theme: controlling your temper
Primary and Secondary characters: Sophie secondary: her sister
Awards, date of publication: 2004
Publishing company: Scholastic

 Breif summary and how you would use this books with your students: This book tells the story of a little girl named Sophie who gets mad very easily. Sophie is playing with her stuffed gorilla when her sister wrests it from her, knocking her to the floor. When their mother agrees that it is her sister's turn to play with the toy, Sophie becomes so angry. She ends up running into the woods until she cannot run anymore. She then sits down because she is out of breath. She sees how beautiful the scenery is and is no longer mad. She then goes back home happy and is not mad anymore. This would teach the kids to not get angry so much and realize how beautiful things around them are. It teaches them about sharing and how they cannot always get their way in life.

Chapter book # 14

 Title: Penny from Heaven

Author: Jennifer L. Holm
Illustrator: N/A

 Genre: Chapter Book/ realistic fiction
Subgenre: realistic fiction

 Theme:family history, mother daughter issues, family issues,

 Primary and Secondary characters: Penny and secondary: her mother, uncle, he milkman, and Nonny
Awards, date of publication: 2006, Newbery Honor (2007), Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2009)

Publishing company: Random House Books for Young Readers

Summary and how you would use this book in the classroom: Penny doesn't have a father, but she has the next best thing which is a gigantic Italian-American family with more uncles than she can count and more love than she knows what to do with. After her father's death, her mother and grandparents do not mingle with her dad's crew and vice-versa. Now Penny's about to turn twelve and all sorts of interesting things are happening. She's beginning to notice boys and to chafe under her mother's overprotective nature. She has a summer job and is getting into more and more trouble with her cousin Frankie. Her dog dies, her hair gets paint stuck in it, and her mother has started to date the least cool fellow in the world: the milkman. When Penny gets involved in a particularly gruesome accident, however, she begins to learn the truth behind her father's mysterious death and to learn a little more about the people who love her so much. This book could be used to to show kids that not all families grow up with all parents. It can be used to show that you can still find good even with bad circumstances. It also shows that you do not always have to have the coolest life to fit in, sometimes the simple things are better.

Chapter book #13

Title: Out of the dust

Author: Karen Hesse
Illustrator: N/A

 Genre: Chapter Book/ poetry
Subgenre: Poetry

 Theme: Struggle to survive, times of the Depression, courage

 Primary and Secondary characters: Billie-Jo and Secondary are her mother and father
Awards, date of publication: 1999, Newberry Medal
Publishing company: Scholastic Press
Breif summary and how you would use this books with your students: This story is written in first-person, It is told in first person and is the compelling tale of Billie Jo's struggle to survive during the dust bowl years of the Depression. With strong courage, she learns to cope with the loss of her mother and her grieving father's slow deterioration. There is hope at the end when Billie Jo's badly burned hands are healed, and she is able to play her beloved piano again. This story teaches the students that with determination and never giving up you can do anything. It deals a lot with family and how to stick together no matter what.

Chapter book #12

 Title: Windcatcher

Author: AVI
Illustrator: Avon Books
Genre: Chapter Book
Subgenre: dedication
Theme: Never give up, hard work pays off
Primary and Secondary characters: Tony- primary, grandmother- secondary
Awards, date of publication: 1991
Publishing company: Maxwell Macmillian Publishing
Breif summary and how you would use this books with your students: The windcatcher tells the story of a boy who is sent to his grandmother's house for the summer. He also wants to buy a scooter there with his allowance money. His dad tells him no but then allows him to buy a sailboat. He then begins to practice sailing at his grandmother's house and hears the story of some treasure that was lost here. He then gets trapped with treasure hunters and then has to decided between getting money or being happy with leaving it there. He then decides that all he wants to do is sail. This teaches the students that hard work pays off. It also teaches students that if they put there mind to something they can do it. It shows the relationship and influence a parent can have on their children.

Chatper book #11

Title: The house you pass on the way

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Illustrator: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Children's Literature, realistic fiction
Subgenre: Chapter Book, racism
Theme: Change can be good, It is okay to be different
Primary and Secondary charactesrs:
Awards, date of publication: 2003, Coretta Scott King Award
Publishing company: Speak
This book is a must read. It tells the story of a bi-racial couple living in the deep south. Their children are mixed so they are treated differently because of this. The main character, Staggerlee, is one of their daughters who does not know who she really is. The father's family abandoned him after marrying a white woman. However, After a death in the family his sister contacts him. Meanwhile, Staggerlee kissed a girl at school and is confused more than ever on how she feels. Her father's sister then sends her daughter to stay with him because the daughter has been misbehaving. The daughter and Staggerlee become very close and Staggerlee begins to have feelings for this girl. At the end of the summer the girl leaves and doesn't talk to Staggerlee for a while. Months later Staggerlee gets a letter that she had changed. That the girl had a boyfriend now and decided to change her name so that it is now more feminine. Staggerlee was very shocked and disappointed. However, Staggerlee then saw the changes she had made herself and realized that sometimes change is a good thing. I would use this to introduce how sometimes being different is okay. It would be good to use when introducing multiculturalism in the classroom. The students could really benefit from seeing this actually happen and be ok.

Chapter book #10

 Title: Amelia Earhart: The Legend of the Lost Aviator

Author: Shelley Lanaka
 
Illustrator: David Craig
Genre: Children's Literature, Biography
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Theme: History 
Primary and Secondary characters: Primary- Amelia Earhart
Awards, date of publication: 2008, Orbis Pictus Award Winner
Publishing company:Abrams Books for Young Readers
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This book tells the story of Amelia Earhart, the first woman who was a pilot. Ever since Amelia Earhart and her plane disappeared on July 2 1937, people have wanted to know more about this remarkable woman. Earhart's story begins when Amelia is 11 and a plane is pointed out to her at an Iowa  fair. She is unimpressed then, but she volunteered as a nurse during World War 2 and fell in love with planes then. She became the first woman passenger on a transatlantic flight, then setting her own flight records. This book has great illustrations and offers some great pictures of her when she is young. This book would be great to use when discussing women's history. It would be great to bring up during any history lesson. The students can see that with determination they can do anything.

Picture book 16

 

Title: Leaf Man

Author: Lois Ehlert

Illustrator: Harcourt Inc.
Genre: Children's literature
Subgenre: Picture book nature
Theme: Nature, seeing the beauty around you, wind
Primary and Secondary characters: The leaf man
Awards, date of publication: 2005
Publishing company: Harcourt Children's Books
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This book tells the story of a man who travels with the wind/ Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one's quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows. This book can be used for pleasure reading and to entertain.

Picture book 15

Title: The Ugly Duckling

Author: Hans Christian Andersen

Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney
Genre: Children's literature
Subgenre: Picture book, belonging
Theme: family, feeling to belong
Primary and Secondary characters: bird
Awards, date of publication: 1999, Caldecott Honor
Publishing company: HarperCollins
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This book tells the story of the awkward little bird who marches bravely through hecklers, hunters, and cruel seasons. He eventually matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all. This is an unforgettable survival story.  This book has Splendid watercolors set in the lush countryside bring drama to life. This book can be used to show that people can change and there is no such thing as an ugly person. Anyone can succeed and do well in life.

Picture book 14

Title: Knuffle Bunny

Author: Mo Willems

Illustrator: Mo Willems
Genre: Children's literature, fantasy
Subgenre: Picture book
Theme: being in charge, adventures
Primary and Secondary characters: Trixie, Daddy, knuffle bunny
Awards, date of publication: 2004
Publishing company: Hyperion
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This book tells the story of Trixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny taking a trip to the neighborhood Laundromat. The exciting adventure takes an intense turn when Trixie realizes somebunny was left behind. They use a combination of muffled black-and-white photographs and easy-to-read illustrations. This fabulous book tells a brilliantly true-to-life tale about what happens when Daddy's in charge and things go terribly, entertainingly wrong. This book can be used to show responsibility and pleasure reading.

Picture book 13

Title: We gather together

Author: Diane deGroat

Illustrator: Scholastic Inc.
Genre: Children's literature
Subgenre: Picture book
Theme: Not to judge
Primary and Secondary characters: Gilbert, Phillip
Awards, date of publication: 2005
Publishing company: Chronicle Books
This book tells the story of how Gilbert and his classmates take a field trip. Gilbert is late to class so he gets stuck with being partners with the class tattle-tale. At the pilgrimage Phillip, his partner, follows is partner around and is constantly getting on Gilbert's nerves. So Gilbert then decides to lock himself in the bathroom to hide from his partner. Gilbert then realizes that he is now trapped in the bathroom and knows that Phillip is the only one that can help him. Finally, after many calls Phillip saves the day and helps Gilbert. So maybe being Phillip's partner wasn't so bad at all. This will teach the children not to judge a book by its cover.

Picture Book 12

Title: The Pull of the Ocean

Author: Jean- Claude Mourlevat

Illustrator: Jean- Claude Mourlevat
Genre: Children's Literature
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Theme: Strength
Primary and Secondary characters: Daughter, Siblings, Father
Awards, date of publication: 2009, Mildred L. Batchelder Award
Publishing company: Laurel Leef
Summary:On a stormy night, little Yann Doutreleau wakes up his older brothers, all twins. He tells them that they must leave their home because their father has become violent. Without question, the siblings follow Yann into the darkness. This begins their remarkable journey toward the ocean. They encounter many people on their journey. The young boy, Yann is mute, and rarely spoke with his parents. This story is wonderful. It teaches the students to be independent and to have inter-strength

Chapter book #9

Title: Hattie Big Sky

Author: Kirby Larson

Illustrator: N/A
Genre: Chapter book, Historical fiction
Subgenre: orphans, American history
Theme: servants, orphans, determination, work
Primary and Secondary characters­­­­­-Hattie, her aunt and neighbors
Awards, date of publication: 2006, Newberry honor
Publishing company: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom:  This is a book about Hattie Brooks, who is a 16-year-old orphan living with an insufferable aunt who constantly reminds her that she is nothing but a burden. Just before her aunt all but enslaves her to a neighboring household as a servant, Hattie receives a letter from her deceased uncle’s attorney that leaves her a homestead in Montana. Hoping to find a place of her own, Hattie leaves immediately for the untamed, wild Montana to farm the land. This book can be used when talking about family or feeling alone in the world.

Chapter book #8

Title: Princess Academy

Author: Shannon Hale

Illustrator: N/A
Genre: Chapter book, modern fantasy
Subgenre: Chapter Book, competition
Theme: Competition, dedication, schooling
Primary and Secondary characters: Miri, classmates, the prince
Awards, date of publication: June 16, 2005, Newbery Honor
Publishing company: Bloomsbury USA Childrens; First U. S. Edition edition
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom:  This book Is about Miri who lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have mined stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have discovered her small village, the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess. Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting needs to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits pursue the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must gather the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates. This book can be used to show your students about dedication and working together to achieve what they want.

Chapter book #7

Title: We are the ship

Author: Kadir Nelson

Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Genre: Children's Literature
Sub genre: Chapter Book
Theme: African American, baseball history
Primary and Secondary characters: Historic Baseball players
Awards, date of publication: 2008, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
Publishing company: Hyperion Books
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: This book tells the story of the Negro League baseball. The story is of gifted athletes and determined owners. It also discusses racial discrimination and international sportsmanship. It discusses triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a mirror of the social history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. The story of the Negro League tells the story of how heroes overcame segregation, terrible condition, and hatred by playing ball. This book also has great illustrations and does a great job at telling the story. This book would be great when teaching African-American history.

Chapter book # 6

Title: Evangeline Mudd and the Golden-haired apes of the Ikkansti Jungle

Author: David Elliott

Illustrator: Andrea Wesson
Genre: Children's Literature
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Theme: Dedication
Primary and Secondary charactesrs: Evangeline, Parents, Animals
Awards, date of publication: 2007
Publishing company: Candlewick
Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: In this first book of the series, the main character, Evangeline, has a pair of primatologist parents. When her parents are called away on research trip to Ikkansti Jungle and mysteriously fail to return, it is up to Evangeline to find them. It is a wild, fast paced adventure and the illustrations were awesome. It is a great heroine story. The children will enjoy the book because of the great adventure. You could read this book to the children when teaching about adventure and bravery

Picture book 11

Title: The Hello, Goodbye Window

Author: Norton Juster

Illustrator: Chris Raschka

Genre: Picture book, realistic fiction
Sub-Genre: Family, love, traditions
Theme: Family, love, grandparents, value of small things in life
Primary and secondary characters: Little girl, nanna and poppy

Awards, date of publication: 2005

 Publishing company: Hyperion Book CH

Summary and how it can be used in the classroom: Told in the voice of the little girl, this story is a story about a special bond shared between this little girl and her grandparents. There is a special window in the house where everything happens. The little girl is always going to it when she is at their house. She watches animals out of it and plays games with her grandparents through it. This is where they say hello and goodbye every time they are entering or leaving. The colors in this book are eye catching and brilliant. This book can be used in the classroom to show imagination and a special bond with family.