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.