Rules

Title: Rules
Author: Cynthia Lord
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: Catherine, a twelve year old girl, creates rules for her autistic brother David. While Catherine knows that babysitting David will not be easy to do all summer, she never expects what happens. Catherine accompanies her mother and David to the doctor's office on a normal basis. Little did Catherine know that she would meet a young boy, Jason, at the office and become best friends with him. Catherine struggles with presenting Jason, a wheel-chair bound young boy, and David to her other friends for fear of embarassment.
How to use: I really enjoyed the message that this book presented to readers through Catherine's story. It would be great to read as a read aloud to a class who may not be accepting of others. In addition, I would ask the students to construct a character analysis using Rules. Each character is different which will provide students with a large amount of issues to disucuss.

Clementine

How to use: I really enjoyed this book and feel like it would be an easy text for students to make connections to. More specifically, I like that Clementine used her skills to help her dad solve the pigeon problem. I would like for my students to think of a problem that they could help someone else solve and construct a creative writing piece about that. This allows students to make connections as well as construct a piece of writing.

New to the Planet: Lost in Translation

Title: New to the Planet: Lost in Translation
Author: Robin Alice Merritt
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: Peter is sick a tired of being bullied in class. So after months of dealing with the bully in the classroom, Peter decides to stand his ground. He stands up to the bully and doesnt't give him many opportunities to make fun of him. When a new student joins the class, the bully attempts to start making fun of the new girl for her accent. Since she was from out of the country, Peter didn't know how to communicate very well but he knew that she needed to be defended. So Peter took care of that for the new girl, and he was certain that the bully would no longer mess with her.

How to use: I would use this book in my classroom to address bullying. There is a good example of bullying as well as a great example of someone who stands up to the bully. I feel that by reading this book with all of my students, bullying will be a much smaller problem in the classroom.

Hotel for Dogs

Title: Hotel for Dogs
Author: Lois Duncan
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: Andi, and her brother Bruce are relocated with their parents to live with Aunt Alice. After finding a new relationship with a stray dog, Andi decides that she must do something for other stray or unhappy dogs. By building a Hotel of Dogs. With the help of her brother and a few friends, Andi does just that. She successfully creates a Hotel for Dogs.

How to use: I would use this book in the classroom to assist in providing prompts for student writing. Currently in North Carolina, 4 graders have to take an Writing Test which includes a prompt. After reading Hotel for Dogs, I would ask my students to create something similar to Andi and Bruce, some sort of "hotel" for animals or other people. For example, maybe students who like cats, creates an interesting "hotel" for cats.

Boo's Surprise

Title: Boo's Surprise
Author: Betsy Byars
Genre: Science Fiction/ Fantasy
Summary: Boo, a young girl, finds an incredibly large egg one day. The very excited Boo finds a baby dinosaur after the egg had hatched. Boo's brother, Sammy, is not very helpful to Boo who is trying to help the baby dinosaur. Not only does Boo make friends with the dinosaur but by the end of the text Boo and Sammy become closer as well.

How to use: Not only does this book provide a great example of a science fiction chapter book it also provides readers with a great lesson. The family in this story allows readers to find a great support system for Boo within Sammy. I would use this book in a classroom to show students how to find morals or lessons from within texts. The moral or lesson learned in this book is fairly clear to readers, so it serves as a great example.

Polly the Party Fun Fairy

Title: Polly the Party Fun Fairy
Author: Daisy Meadows
Genre: Fantasy
Summary: Kirsty Tate, a member of an Explorer troop, brings her best friend Rachel Walker along for an Explorer mini-jamboree. Kirsty describes this adventure like a big party with another Explorer troop. Rachel, a first timer is very excited to see what this week has in store. The girls realize that Jack Frost and his goblins are trying to destroy the fairy king and queen’s 100th anniversary. Rachel and Kirsty decide they must not let this happen. Soon after they find Polly the Party Fun Fairy, they have themselves turned into fairies as well. They go on a fairy adventure to catch the goblin trying to steal Polly’s party bag.

To use in the classroom: This short novel may be used in a 3rd grade classroom as an example of a fantasy read aloud. Many of girls in the classroom would probably show interest in this particular “Party Fairy” series. It would be a great tool for them to use in order to gain ideas when constructing their own fantasy short story.

Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia

Title: Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia
Author: Peggy Parish
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: Amelia Bedelia, a humorous character, takes interest in helping a young baseball team out in a time of need. Unfortunately, one of the Grizzlies' baseball players is sick so Amelia Bedelia offers to take his place. Not knowing much about baseball Amelia Bedelia gets her self into an interesting situation.

How to use: Like stated before, I feel that the Amelia Bedelia series books are great for younger and intermediate readers. I would use this particular books with readers who find interest in making artistic connections. After allowing students to explore the world of Amelia Bedelia, I would ask them to choose one book and focus on Amelia's accidents or misunderstandings. After deciding upon their focus, students should make their own "rule book or guide book" for Amelia Bedelia. For example, after reading Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia students could construct a book all about baseball. This allows students to make connections to the story and use critical thinking skills to understand why Amelia Bedelia does things different.

Amelia Bedelia and the Surprise Shower

 

Title: Amelia Bedelia and the Surprise Shower

Author: Peggy Parrish

Genre: Realistic Fiction

How to use: I would use the Amelia Bedelia books for students who are struggling with reading and finding texts that interest them. Overall the Amelia Bedelia books are very comical for children which captures many young readers. I feel that by having Amelia Bedelia books accessible to students who are younger, possibly 3rd grade, that they will benefit greatly by finding something that catches their eye. In addition, I would like to my students to do a book report on an Amelia Bedelia book. Because these books are fairly short and easy for students to follow, they would be a great text for students to lean how to do a book report.

Emily the Strange #2: This Cover Got Lost

Title: Emily the Strange #2: This Cover Got Lost
Comic: Cosmic Debris
Genre: Science Fiction/ Graphic Novel
Summary: Emily is a 13 year old girl who has created her own unique world. Within Emily's world there are talking cats that she befriends, ghosts, and other beings. This graphic novel is told in a diary format. Emily's world is portrayed through each of these novels from her point of view.


How to Use: Personally, I found this book very odd and hard to make any connections to. Many refer to this series as an "emo comic." In the classroom, I would use this to provide an example of a graphic novel.

Finders Keepers? A True Story in India

Title: Finders Keepers? A True Story in India
Author: Robert Arnett
Genre: Multicultural
Summary: Not only is this a true story that took place in India, it is also a multi-award winning book. There is young boy who finds a wallet while on his journey through India, coincidentally the wallet belongs to the author. The young boy is troubled with the idea of being rewarded for simply doing what is right. Not only does the boy experience India, he is also exposed to a new situation.


How to use: This multicultural text allows readers to get a glimpse of a young boy's experience in India. In addition to providing many Indian Culture representations, the story also presents a good "moral" or "valuable lesson." This comes from an incidence that the young boy encountered when he found the author's wallet. I would use the text to provide students with a great example of a story that reveals a lot of new information but also provides readers with a plot or storyline.

Flamingos

Flamingos by Don Patton on Glogster

How to Use: I would use this nonfictional text in my classroom during the study of animals. The format of this text may be different that other nonfiction texts students may have read previously, so I feel it would provide students with another style. This book gives a very well-rounded view of flamingos that would provide students with just enough information to stem further interest.

Cinderella

Title: Cinderella
Author: Ruth Sanderson
Genre: Fairytale
Summary: I must admit one of the main reasons I chose this version of Cinderella was because of the beautifully detailed pictures. After reading this variation, I noticed the very similar structure to the Walt Disney Production Company's film Cinderella. This particular version included all of the animals and the characters that most students would remember from the film.

How to use: Like the other variations of Cinderella already on this blog, I would instruct my students to compare and contrast the different variations. Some may think that having students compare and contrast so many different versions of the fairytale may be too excessive, but I feel that students could have a deeper understanding of different authors writing styles.

Cendrillon

Title: Cendrillon
Author: Robert D.San Souci
Genre: Fairytale
Summary: This is a Carribean version of Cinderella. In many ways this book would also be an example of Multicultural Literature. The story is told from the fairy godmother, or the washwoman's, viewpoint. Many aspects of the traditional Cinderella are altered in this version to reflect the Carribean culture.

How to use: Because this book would fall in two different categories, it would be a great resource to have. Not only could students compare different variations of a fairytale, this text would allow them to compare different cultures. In addition, I would ask my students to do a character analysis. I feel that having a different viewpoint enables to students to better understand the characters in this situation.

Cinderlilly

Title: Cinderlilly
Authors: David Ellwand and Christine Tagg
Genre: Fairytale
Summary: This is another retold version of Cinderella but it is in form of a play. In addition to being constructed in a play format, this is a floral fairytale. There are 3 separate acts within this play and not once is there a human presence. The flowers take on human characteristics to become the characters.

How to use: Like stated before, I would use this in a comparison of art within books in my classroom. I would like for my students to observe and compare the artwork within different versions of Cinderella and then compare the content of each version.

Cinderella

Title: Cinderella
Author: Barbara McClintock
Genre: Fairytale
Summary: This retold version of Cinderella is much like the tradition fairytale. A noticeable difference is the absence of Cinderella's helpers, the animals. This book has beautiful illustrations that mimic Walt Disney Productions' Cinderella. They are very detailed and reflective of the French version by Charles Perrault.

How to Use in Class: I would use this in a study of art in books within my classroom. Much like the class example we did, I would have the students analyze the artwork and illustrations amongst difference versions of Cinderella (also on this Book Blog). After comparing the illustrations, I would like for students to compare the actual content of the books and the different versions.

The Flute Player: An Apache Folktale

Title: The Flute Player
Author: Michael Lacapa
Genre: Multicultural Literature
Summary: This retold Apache Folktale is an old love story about a flute player. The flute player falls in love with a young girl, from another village, at a social dance. The girl discovers that she loves listening to the boy playing his flute each morning by the river in the canyon. After the girl stops hearing the boy playing his flute, she becomes ill and passes away. The young boy returns from his hunting trip and know that his love is no longer waiting to hear him. Once the boy finds out about his love passing, he goes to play the flute at her graveside.

How to use: Folktales are great resources to use in the classroom. They allow students to see a different side of history. This Apache Folktale would be a great tool to use as a read-aloud during a Native American unit. To further the use of this book, many elementary students learn to play recorders in music. This folktale would also be a great encouragement for students who are doing so.

Born To Read

Title: Born to Read
Author: Judy Sierra
Genre: Fiction
Summary: This book is about a young boy, Sam, who uses reading for everything in his life. Throughout the book, he uses his ability to read to conquer new things. For example, Sam uses reading to win a race. The reason Sam won the race was because he read all about bikes and how to repair them. Eventually the story shows Sam using reading to help him become whatever he pleases; whatever career path he desires.


How to use: Not only would I use this book at the beginning of the year to encourage reading, but I would use it to help aid my students rhyming. It is a good example of how authors do not use rhyming for every line in their book, but they're able to balance rhyming sentences and non-rhyming sentences. 

Breakfast in the Rainforest: A Visit with Mountain Gorillas

Title: Breakfast in the Rainforest: A Visit with Mountain Gorillas
Author (Traveling Photographer): Richard Sobol
Genre: Non-fiction
Summary: This nonfiction book explains the "critically endangered" species of Mountain Gorillas. The entire text is a documentary of a traveling photographer's journey to photograph the Mountain Gorillas. The photographer was able to capture some incredible photographs. The author explains the intense process it takes to photograph this incredible species.

How to Use: When teaching about different animals, this book will be a great resource for images of Mountain Gorillas. Unfortunatley, this book does not focus on the animals facts/life itself. This book could also be used in the classroom to stem discussions about endangered species. Lastly, this book is a great example of a differnent style of nonfiction book. Instead of being a strictly factual presentation, this is more of a documentation.

Into the Air: An Illustrated Timeline of Flight

Title: Into the Air: An Illustrated Timeline of Flight
Author: Ryan Ann Hunter
Illustrator: Yan Nascimbene
Genre: Nonfiction
Summary: This nonfiction book takes a deep look into the invention/process of flight. The book is organized as a timeline of flight. Throughout the book there are illustrations with each aspect of the timeline. For example, the book explains that people experimented with flying machines, on this page of the book there are short inserts about 4 different flying machine attempts with dates. The timeline and text is very easy for students to read because of the overall layout of the book. It explains the process of flight from a child's eye.

How to use: I would use this book to show students not only the different types of nonfiction books, but different types/styles of timelines. Timelines and chronological order is an important concept for elementary students, so I feel this book would be a great aid. An activity that I might do with this book would be to read the book to the entire class, and then have students pick their favorite date in the book and do further research.

Land of Morning Clam: Korean Culture Then and Now

Title: Land of Morning Calm: Korean Culture Then and Now
Author: John Stickler
Genre: International Literature
Short Summary: This text explains to readers many different aspects of Korean culture. In addition, each aspect of Korean culture is compared over time; how the culture has changed over years. Readers will get a glimpse of religious changes, celebrations, and many other parts of the Korean culture.

How to use this text in class: This text would be very helpful in teaching diversity. Because this book provides information on many important parts of Korean culture, it would be a tool used for students to understand not only how Korean culture has changed but how it differs from other cultures.