Rules

Rules
By: Cynthia Lord
Fiction/ Special needs
Lord, C. (2008). Rules. New York : Scholastic Paperbacks

Link to Prezi: http://prezi.com/k6lwvte9rpae/untitled-prezi/?kw=view-k6lwvte9rpae&rc=ref-30995299

I really enjoyed reading this book.  This would be a great book to use in literature circles.  It would also be a great read aloud to make the children aware of students with special needs and the importance of respecting these students.  I believe creating a Prezi would be a great activity to go along with this book.  I created a Prezi that descibes each character and their influence on the story.  Students could also create a story map Prezi.

Favorite Quote: " I wish everyone had the same chances."- Catherine

The Story About Ping

The Story About Ping
By: Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese
International Literature
Flack, M., & Wiese, K. (1933). The story about ping. New York, NY: Viking Penguin Inc.

This is a picture book about a duck named Ping.  Ping lived on a boat with his mother, father and other family members.  Ping wondered off one day and did not get back on the boat.  The next day he awoke in an unfamiliar place without any of his family members. He was lost on the Yangtze river. Ping was captured by a Chinese family who bribed him with a rice cake. Luckily for Ping a little boy set him free and he was reunited with his family.

This is a beautifully illustrated book and would be a perfect book for third grade students.  I would use this book in my future classroom as a read aloud and then as the introduction to a writing activity.  I would open this question to the students, "How would you feel if you were separated from your family?"

Favorite Quote:  "Then at last Ping was back with his mother and his father and his two sisters and his three brothers and eleven aunts and seven uncles and forty-two cousins." 

Heroes for Civil Rights

Heroes for Civil Rights
By: David A. Adler
Nonfiction
Adler, D. (2009). Heroes for civil rights. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.
This is a great nonfiction book that gives a brief description of each of the following Civil Right's heroes:
- Ralph Abernathy
- Medgar Evers
- Andrew Goodman
- The Greensboro Four
- Fannie Lou Hamer
- Lyndon Baines Johnson
- Martin Luther King Jr. 
- The Little Rock Nine
- Thurgood Marshall
- James Meredith
- Rosa Parks
- Earl Warren
Each page describes information about the hero and what they did for the civil rights effort.  For an example in Rosa Park's section it talks about her bus ride on December 1, 1955.  Rosa Park's refused to give up her seat and was arrested.  This protest lead to the bus boycott. This is a great book with accurate information.


This would be a great book to have in the classroom. When we are discussing the civil rights movement students can look up various people in this book. Lastly students can research important individuals involved in the civil rights movement.  

Favorite Quote:  " Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness." - Martin Luther King Jr. 

Make Way For Ducklings

Make Way For Ducklings
By: Robert McCloskey
Fiction
1942 Caldecott Medal
McCloskey, R. (1941). Make way for ducklings. New York: The Viking Press.


This book is beautifully illustrated. It is about a family of Mallard ducks in search of a good place to raise their children. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard have 8 ducklings and move from place to place searching for a safe home. Mrs. Mallard always finds something wrong with each of the places thus they have to move elsewhere. Finally in the end the Mallards decide to live in Boston Public Garden. 

Reading this book is a great way to introduce personification. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard have human characteristics. This book would also be a great way to discuss different ways to illustrate.  The illustrator uses charcoal on zinc plates to create the backgrounds and the foregrounds. This could lead to a great discussion about various medias used to create illustrations.    

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Tikki Tikki Tembo
By: Arlene Mosel
International Literature
Mosel, A. (1968). Tikki tikki tembo.


This is a chinese tale from many years ago.  It discusses why first born chinese children no longer have long names. Years ago first born children were given long extravagent names and the second born was given a short name. The first born in this family was named "Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo- chari bari ruchi- pip peri pembo" which means "the most wonderful thing in the whole wide world!" and their second born was named Chang, which means "little of nothing".  Chang tried to save his older brother from drowning in the well but he could not remember/ say his name. After the first born child almost died the family swore to only give their children short names. 

This would be a great book to use when studying the chinese culture.  It is important for students to learn about different cultures.  An interesting activity would to get students to research a different culture and present it to the class.  This book includes different chinese names and the foods they eat.

James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach
By: Roald Dahl
Fantasy
Dahl, R. (1961). James and the giant peach. London, England: Alfred Knopf.

This book is about, James Henry Trotter, a little boy who lives with his terrible aunts. His mother and father were eaten by "escaped rhinos"(unrealistic element). James is abused physically and mentally by his aunts.  He longs for the happiness and adventure that the man promised him with the green tongues. James escapes into the peach and befriends the magical insects.  The insects take care of James and they all work together to get to New York City.  The magical insects include the silkworm, the glowworm, Miss Spider and the earthworm. This is an interesting story that includes personification.  

This is a book by well known author, Roald Dahl.  He also wrote Matilda, The Witches and Esio Trot. Majority of the books written by Roald Dahl have a magical element. Also a lot of his novels have a orphaned child in search of happiness. This book would be a great introduction to author's purpose.  An activity that would be great would be an authors study.  During an author's study students will read various novels from the author and research his life. After reading and researching students will make connections between the author's life and his work to develop the authors purpose.

Favorite Quote:   "You're not even a real rhino! You're just a lot of smoke and noise! I'm not afraid of you!"

Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?

Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?
By: Jean Fritz
Historical Fiction
Jean. , & Fritz, (1987). Will you sign here, john hancock?. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

This is a good but that informs the reader about John Hancock and his life.  This book is full of random facts about John Hancock.  Including, "he lived with his Uncle Thomas and Aunt Lydia in a house with 54 windows" and "he attended Harvard College".  This book also contains information that is either opinion based or made up.  I believe the author included this information to make the book more interesting.  An example would be the story about the wishing stone, at the beginning of the book, and how the stone changed John Hancock's life. 

This book would be a great resource when researching Jon Hancock and other fathers of the constitution.  This book also includes information about Samuel Adams, George Washington and King George of England, who were also influential people during this time period.  This would book could lead into a research activity in which students can write about influential people during the revolution. 

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time
By: Madeleine L' Engle
Newberry Medal
Science Fiction
L, M. (1974). A wrinkle in time. (1973 ed.). New York: Yearling Books.

This is an interesting story.  The main character, Meg Murry, develops over the story, from awkward to strong and determined.  This book is about Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin O' Keefe's journey to save her father.  The children are able to travel in time because of the "tesseract" which is the 5th dimension also known as a "wrinkle" in space.   This book is unlike any book I have ever read because it opens up a world in which time traveling is possible and there are different planets (Camazotz).  But this book is similar in that good overcomes evil and love saves the day. 
This book is a great example of Science fiction.  After reading this book it would be great to have an activity in which students compare and contrast the information presented in this book and known facts about various planets and scienctific information. It would also be a great tool to clear up science misconceptions with a group discussion. Example questions would be, "Is their life on other planets?" and "What would be needed to support life on other planets?"

Favorite Quote:  "Yes. it's a frightening as well as an exciting thing to discover that matter and energy are the same thing, that size is an illusion, and that time is a material substance.  We can know this, but it's far more than we can understand with our puny little brains.  I think you will be able to comprehend far more than I.  And Charles Wallace even more than you."

The Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers
By: Lewis Helfand
Graphic Novel
Nonfiction
Helfand, L. (2010). The wright brothers. Kalyani Navyug Media.

At the beginning of this graphic novel the author describes his passion for cartoons and animation.  He also describes the research he did to create this novel. The book starts with Wilbur testing the "flying machine".  Wilbur's trial failed.  Next the book described Wilbur and Orville's past and what lead them to create this innovative machine. The two boys were very innovative and creative.  Orville dreamed in class of adventures and flying.  After school Wilbur and Orville started a printing company that did not work out and then they opened Wright Cycle and Company. Finally in the end the boys machine finally worked in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  This book is full of fun and interesting facts about Wilbur and Orville.  

This book would be a great research source in the classroom. This is also a great book for students who are interested in comic books.  This book is in comic book form but it is also full of important and interesting facts. 

Favorite Quote:  "Flight- true- flight was not something man was not capable of."

Mrs. Katz and Tush

Mrs. Katz and Tush
By: Patricia Polacco
Multicultural Literature
Polacco, P. (1994). Mrs.katz and tush. New York, NY: Random House Children's Books.
This is a beautifully illustrated book. This book has a great story about a little boy named Larnel who befriends Mrs. Katz after her husband past away.  Mrs. Katz is from Poland and Larnel is African American. Larnel saves a kitten and gives it to Mrs. Katz to keep her company.  This story describes interactions between Mrs. Katz and Larnel through the years. Larnel attends passover at Mrs. Katz house and learns about the jewish tradition.  Mrs. Katz tells Larnel stories about life in Poland and her deceased husband.

 This is a great book to use to talk about diversity and the importance of accepting people with different backgrounds.  It is important for students to realize that different cultures have different customs and traditions.  Students can learn from one another.  Both the races discussed in this book suffered a lot in the past.  The polish were persecuted during the holocaust and Africans were forced into slavery.  This book could lead to discussions about the holocaust and slavery.

Favorite Quote:  " Like your people, my people were slaves, too.  They lived in a country where they didn't want to be.  They wanted freedom so much that they prayed to God to help him."

The Girl Who Married the Moon

The Girl Who Married the Moon

By: Joseph Bruchac and Gayle Ross

Traditional Literature

Bruchac, J., & Ross, G. (2006). The girl who married the moon, tales from native north america.  

Fulcrum Publishing.

February 9, 2013 (4 pages)

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This is a great book that describes the role of women in North Carolina, Native American communities. There are various stories from different regions in North Carolina.  Most of the stories talk about girls entering womanhood, ability to create life and women's role in society. 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
By: Freya Littedale
Traditional/ Folk Literature
Littledale, F. (1992). The legend of sleepy hollow. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.

This is a book about the legend of Sleepy Hollow.  This book begins by describing the setting as, " Sleepy Hollow, the most enchanted place on earth." The main character Ichabod Crane is a school teacher who disappears after an encounter with the headless horseman.  After Ichabod disappears he still has a lasting impact on the community of Sleepy Hollow. 

This would be a great read aloud around halloween.  This is a fun ghost story.  This is a folk tale that has different variations.  It would be a great activity for students to compare this story to the other variations.  

Favorite Quote: "People still gather around a crackling fire and tell tales of this phantom called the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow."

The Watson's Go to Birmingham 1963

The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963
By: Christopher Paul Curtis
Historical Fiction/ Multicultural literature
Newberry Honor Book
Curtis, C. P. (1995). The watsons go to birmingham-1963. New York: Scholastic

This is a well written book that contains both humor and historical information from the time period.  The book is narrated by Kenny Watson.  Kenny is the middle child and has a interesting perspective on life.  He describes his family as the "weird" Watsons.  He also tells great stories to keep the reader interested.  An example is when Byron gets his lips stuck to the cold mirror.   Kenny develops during the story.  He is full of life and gradually he realizes the hatred in the world. 

I will use this book in my future classroom as a read aloud.  I believe this story would be a great read aloud because it has a great storyline that flows very well.  I will tie this story into our social studies lesson about civil rights.  Reading this story would also be a great introduction to an activity in which students research other historical events that happened in 1963. 

Favorite Quote: " I ain't never heard of no sickness that makes you kill little girls just because you don't want them in your school.  I don't think they're sick at all,  I think they just let hate eat them up and turn them into monsters."

Coming to America

Coming to America
By: Betsy Maestro
Historical Fiction
Maestro, B., & Ryan, S. (1999). Coming to america, the story of immigration. Scholastic.

Timeline Maker

I created a time line with some of the information in this book.  Even though this book is fiction it does have some historically accurate dates and facts.  The dates I included in the timeline were the most popular dates in which people immigrated to the United States from their various countries.  This would be a great website to use in my future classroom. 

Maniac Magee

Maniac Magee 

By: Jerry Spinelli

Fiction

Newberry Medal winner

Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac magee. (1st ed. ed.). New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Link to voki: http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=7498791&height=267&width=200

This is a great novel.  This book follows Maniac "Jeffery" Magee and his journey to "fit in".  This book is fun and entertaining but it also informs the reader about segregation and the hatred of that time period. I will use this book in my future classroom when I am discussing civil rights and other racial issues.