The Watsons go to Birmingham

The Watsons go to Birmingham by Chrsistopher Paul Curtis

Book Genre: Historical Fiction

Publishing Info: Yearling books 1995

Awards or honors received: Newberry Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Award

Summary: This novel begins with a family called the "weird Watsons" sitting around in their living room freezing cold in Flint, Michigan. The family consist of a mother that is originally from Alabama, a dad, an oldest brother Bryon, a middle brother Kenny, and their youngest sister Joletta. The story follows their life as they deal with Bryon always causing trouble and getting into some kind of messes. The mother and father finally decide that they have had enough when Bryon comes home with a new hairdo that he knows his parents will not approve of. They decide to take Bryon to Alabama to spend the summer with his grandmother. Once in Alabama the children realize what a different world they have entered. Living in Flint the children never experienced any racial issues or segregation. Kenny also decides to be the rebelous child for once and go to the "Whool Pool" that his parents forbid him to go to. He ends up almost drowning, but Bryon ends up saving him. Later on Joletta ends up being at the church when the bombing happens. Kenny feels very upset that he did not protect his younger sister. When the family returns to Flint Kenny has a really hard time adjusting. He becomes very depressed and it's finally Bryon that helps Kenny be able to put it all behind him and move on. Throughout the story you see the characters change, especially Bryon and Kenny. Bryon struggles with getting rid of his hard outer shell and really showing his more caring and sensitive side while Kenny struggles with finding his place within his family and being brave.

Personal rating and reason for rating: Good book for middle school aged (especially african american students and it really gains the interest of teenage boys)

Reading level: 5.0

Interest level: 5th-8th grade

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): It was funny that David presented on this book last night because it was my last book that I just finished reading yesterday. I agree with all his activities that he suggested, but I thought that you could incoroporate map skills and have the students trace their route from Flint to Alabama that the family takes. Also the students could pick a character and role play one of the scenes in the book, because their are so many that are funny that it would be a very fun and engaging activity for the students.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: the topic of segregation would need to be covered before reading, along with discussions about Civil Rights. There are also a few places throughout the novel where bad language is used.

Hope Was Here

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

Book Genre: fiction
Publishing Info: Penguin Putnam Books, 186 pgs.
Awards or honors received: Newberry Honor Book

Summary: This book is about a girl who changed her name from Tulip to Hope, because her real mother did not want the responsibility of raising a child. She moves in with her Aunt Addie who lives in New York until one day she finds out that they have to move to Wisconsin because Addie had to get a new job. Throughout the book Hope and Addie have to learn to believe in themselves and to never give up. They face many struggles throughout their life but in the end they always had faith and overcame whatever obstacles they were faced with. When they get to Wisconsin they both get jobs working at the Welcome Stairways Diner. They meet a special man named GT Stoop that helps the girls out and becomes an important man in their lives. GT has lukemeia, which hurts his chances when he decides to run for major. Addie ends up falling in love with GT and Hope meets a young man named Braveman that she falls for and ends up going off to college with at the end of the book. I think the author shoud write a sequel that follows Hope's life to the next level.

Personal rating and reason for rating: Good book for middle school aged (especially girls)
Reading level: 5.3
Interest level: 5th-8th grade

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): It would be neat to read this book around election time and hold a mock election, since that is a topic that is covered in the book. Also incorporating a math lesson dealing with menus, since the majority of the story takes place in a resturant. The students could design their menu and name their entree's then describe them and add prices. The students could figure out how much the bill would be and then add tax and tip.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: Couple of curse words throughout that book, some slang words that may be difficult for the students to pronounce

The Man Who Loved Clowns

The Man Who Loved Clowns by June Rae Wood

Book Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam's Sons New York
Awards or honors received: None noted

Summary: This book is about a young man named Punky who has down syndrome. He has a teenage cousin named Delrita that learns so much from Punky. Throughout the book they go through the heartbreak of losing Delrita's parents, who took great care of Punky. They were killed in a car crash suddenly and D.J. (what Punky calls Delrita) and Punky have to go live with their Aunt Queenie and Uncle Bert. This is a big change for Punky and DJ but they learn to adapt and actually learn to enjoy life. DJ finally decides to let someone get close to her, a little girl, named Avenelle, and lets her meet Punky. DJ has always been embrassed of Punky because he was different. DJ finally learns that Punky is a very capable human being and finally in the end when Punky passes away she sees what an impact Punky had not only on her life but on everyone he met. This is a very touching heart-felt story that makes the reader laugh and cry throughout the story.

Personal rating and reason for rating: Great book...probably one of the best I have ever read..I loved it and recommend it to anyone to read!!
Reading level: 5.1
Interest level: 5th grade through Adult

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): Our science classes at CMS read this book this year while studying genetics and genetic disorders. I also plan on reading it in my special education classes to help my students understand that even people with disabilities have a purpose in life and can have such an impact on others around them. I hope this book will help my students understand that everyone is different but everyone is human, who can care and love.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: The topic would need to be explained so that the students would understand some things about down syndrome and it's characteristics.

The Kissing Hand by Audry Penn

Book Genre: Fiction

Publisher Information: Scholastic Inc., 26 pages

Award: None

Summary: Chester is a Raccoon who is afraid to go to school. He doesn't wan to leave his his mom and his home.. His mom convinces him to go by giving him a kissing hand. She kisses the palm of his hand, and tells him he can hold her kiss in his hand all night at school. This made Chester feel better and safer while he was at school

Book Level: 2.7

Interest Level: k-2

Personal Rating: **** Great. This is a really good book. The pictures are fun and it shows awesome emotion, children can relate to feelings that Chester feels towards his mother.

Possible uses of text in integrated units of study: Great for the first day of school in early grades. Students can write a story about a time they were scared, or a time they were sad.

Possible problems or difficulties: None

A Bad case of Stripes by David Shannon

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc. 32 pages

Awards or honors received: none

Summary: This story is about Camilla, who loves lima beans, but does not ever eat them because she doesn't want her friends to make fun of her. Camilla wakes up one morning covered in stripes! Her stripes change colors with just the suggestion from friends. After many attempts to cure her, a lady finally tells her that the cure is just lima beans! Camilla learns an important lesson that she needs to be herself, no matter what other people think.

Personal rating and reason for rating: ***** Great. A great story, children love it! I love the illustrations and the lesson that camilla learns in the end. So many children need to learn to be themselves, no matter what other people say or how other people act.

Reading level: 3.5

Interest level: K-2

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): Can teach a science lesson about seeds using lima beans. Put the lima beans in plastic bags, and discuss what kind of things plans need to grow. In a math unit it can be used to teach patterns, as student color the girls face with different types of patterns.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: None

The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola

Genre: General fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic, INC, 30 pages

Summary: This was a story about a quilt that comforted a little girl had. She played with the quilt and it got dirty and had holes in it. Her mother had to stitch it up. The little girl eventually packed the quilt away it was found by mice, a raccoon and a cat. One day it was found by a new little girl who had her mother fix the quilt up like new and she played with it.

Personal rating: ***Good This story does a great job at following the quilt through its past and present.

Reading level: 2.5

Interest level: K-2

Integration: This story could be used in a history lesson to talk about how items are used in the past and present. Many items like quilts have not changed much through out the years. The children could discuss items that have changed over time. The teacher could bring in pictures from the internet or from books to show how things have changed. This could even be followed up by taking the class to the museum to see how things in person.
This book could also be used in a unit about quilts and talk about what they are used for. The teacher could bring in samples of what quilts look like around the world. Then have the students design their own quilt square.
This book could also be used to talk about how children feel about moving. Both little girls in the book have to move with their families and use the quilt to comfort themselves.

Potential problems: The only problem that I see is that this story is written with the sentences short and choppy. Children who are having trouble reading fluently may have some trouble with this book.

A Birthday Basket for Tia by Pat Mora

Genre: general fiction

Publishing info: Simon & Schuster Books, 30 pages

Summary: This is a story about a little hispanic girl who is trying to find the best present for her great aunt. She decides to make a basket full of things that the two of them find special. She puts in their favorite book, a mixing bowl, a flowerpot and lots of other things. Throughout the story the author mixes english and spanish as the characters speak.

Personal rating: *** Good This story has pretty pictures and does a great job of showing the mexican culture.

Reading level: 2.4

Interest level: K-2

Integration: The teacher could use this book to read and talk about hispanic culture. The teacher could talk about how different cultures celebrate birthdays. Then the class could focus on the hispanic culture and study how they celebrate. The class could finish up by having a fiesta of their own by creating a pinata and having chips and salsa. The teacher could also invite any hispanic parents in who might want to share about their culture to the class.
In math this book counts by tens as the little girl counts up to how old her aunt is so the class could practice counting up by tens to ninety.

Potential problems: This book has some words that are native to the spanish language and may confuse children who are not familiar with spanish.

The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

Genre: General fiction

Publishing info: Mulberry Books, 22 pages

Summary: Mom made twelve cookies for Tom and Hannah so they could have six a piece. The doorbell starts ringing and each time the door opens there are more people to share the cookies with. Each time the children have to divide the cookies among themselves.

Personal rating: ***Good This is a fun story to introduce the concept of division.

Reading level: 1.9

Interest level: K-2

Integration: This story would be great to read to a class when the teacher introduces division. The teacher could take paper cookies or plastic cookies and have the students act out the story in front of the class.
The teacher could also use this book during a social studies lesson about everyone getting their fair share.
The teacher could finish up talking about this book by bringing in cookies that can be divided up among the class.

Potential problems: The students may have some trouble discussing how division works.

The Giving Bear by Isabel Gaines

Genre: General fiction


Publishing Info: Scholastic INC, 38 pages


Summary: The Giving Bear is a Winnie the Pooh first reader and is a cute story. Piglet and Tigger are giving some things to Christopher Robin to give to people who are in need. They ask Winnie the Pooh if he has anything to give, but he can't think of anything to give. They all go in and help him look through his house. They find that Winnie has too many honeypots so he ends up giving way some of the honeypots. Winnie the Pooh says at the end that his heart swelled with joy knowing he could give something to help.

Personal Rating: ***Good This is a great story with a good message

Reading Level: 2.3

Interest Level: Pk-2

Integration: The teacher could read this book for social studies and discuss how Winnie the Pooh felt when he gave away his honeypots. They could talk about what the students might have at home to give away. Then maybe bring some things in for a clothing drive or food drive for homeless people in the community.
This book could be read with other Winnie the Pooh books and discuss how they are similar and different.

Potential problems: I don't see any problems with this book.

Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser

Genre: nonfiction

Publishing info: The Millbrook Press, 28 pages

Summary: This book has lots of information about worms. It is written in a way that will be enjoyable for young children. The pictures show what earthworms look like tunneling under the ground and what kinds of things happen around the worms. It describes how worms dig and eat dirt as they go stretching out and squeezing. Worms are important because they mix and turn dirt so the plants have soft soil to grow in. The story also tells what worms look like and what they need to survive. The end of the book has two pages full of facts about worms.

Personal rating: ****Great! This story has cute pictures that realistically show what worms do and eat. It is written in language that children can understand and has good information.

Reading level: 2.2

Interest level: K-2

Integration: This book could be used in a science unit about gardens and things that live there. The teacher could have the children do a KWL chart before the unit and talk about what the students know about worms and what they they want to learn about worms. After reading this book they could answer their questions. If they didn't find the answers in this book then they could do research on the internet to find them. The teacher could bring in worms and have the students write about them in their science journals. They could label the different parts of a worm.
The teacher could read A Diary of a Worm and have the students compare/contrast the two books. Then the teacher could have them write their own story about the life of a worm using the information from Wonderful Worms.
The unit could be ended with the teacher bringing in chocolate pudding with oreo cookies and gummie worms stuck in it.

Potential problems: I don't foresee any problems while the students are reading this book.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publishing Info: Houghton Mifflin, 137 pages
Awards or Honors Received: Newbery Medal

Summary: Ellen and Annemarie are ten year old girls living in Denmark. The German Nazis have occupied their town, forcing Ellen's family to flee. Annemarie's family keeps Ellen, pretending that she is one of their children. Ellen and Annemarie face many different adventures while at Annemarie's Uncle Henrik's house. Uncle Henrik is helping Jews escape to Sweden, and Ellen's family is among those he helps. Ellen is united with her family and they make their way to Sweden where they can live without the Nazi control. Annemarie learns about courage and what it really means to be brave.

Personal rating and reason for rating: *** Good. I really like this book. Some of the topics may be a little hard for students to understand at first, and they take some serious discussion. The story keeps the reader engaged, though, and I think it teaches an important lesson about bravery.

Reading Level: 5.1
Interest Level: 4th -7th grades

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Social Studies: The story is set during WWII, so some background information is needed for students to really understand what is happening. A study into WWII and into the Nazi occupation easily ties into a unit with this book.

Geography: Using a map of Europe, find Denmark and Sweden. Then have students use the details in the book to trace the path of the escaping Jews.

Writing: Have students interview a grandparent, or someone else who lived through WWII. They should prepare questions ahead of time, then write what they learned in interview format. They can share what they learned with the class.

Character Education/Math: Have students create a recipe for peace, courage, or bravery. Have students write an ingredients list, and directions for creating of of the topics. Students can write their work on recipe cards or publish them in a class "cookbook."

Potential Problems or Difficulties: There are some sensitive topics in the story. Students need to understand that not everyone believes the same things, and that what some people think, others may not. Students need some type of historical background to be able to understand some of the events in the story.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Aladdin, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: The Caldacott Medal

Summary: This is a story about a donkey named Sylvester, who loved to collect pebbles. One day he found an awesome pebble, that seemed to be a magic stone. After playing with it for a while, he saw a lion, and in order to save himself from him, he wished that he would be a rock. When he turned into a rock, he couldn't get his stone back to wish to be back into a donkey. His family was sad because they thought he had gone missing. A long time past, and his mother and father went on a picnic and his mother sat on salvester, saw the pebble and thought of him. She set the pebble down and he was able to wish himself back to himself.

Personal rating and reason for rating: ***** Great. Very good story, illustrations are beautiful and I love how the author portrays emotion with all the characters.

Reading level: 4.0

Interest level: K-4

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): This is another great book to discuss fantasy and reality, or fiction and non-fiction. This book would be a great way to teach emotion and feelings, either how authors and illustrators show them in different ways, or use the books to show how they can show feelings in their own writing and illustrations

Potential Problems or Difficulties: This book would be mostly just a read aloud in younger grades, but a great story and lesson.

Be careful what you wish for!

The Black Pearl by Scott O'Dell

Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Yearling (Random House, Inc.) 100 pages
Awards or Honors: Newbery Honor Book

Summary: Ramon, the son of a pearl dealer, begins to help his father in his pearl shop. After learning about selling pearls, Ramon wants to learn to go diving for the oysters with the other men that work for his father. When Ramon's father leaves on business, and Ramon decides it is time to learn how to dive for oysters. A Native American that works with his father agrees to teach Ramon to learn to dive, making sure to stress to him that if he doesn't respect the waters, the Manta Diablo (a giant manta ray) will come for him. Ramon learns to dive, then decides to go out on his own. He finds the largest pearl that has ever been found, the Pearl of Heaven, and finds out that the Manta Diablo is more than just a myth the Native American was telling him. Ramon goes on an adventure trying to get the pearl back to the Manta Diablo before any of the other pearl dealers can steal it from him

Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great. This book was full of adventure while still teaching an important lesson. It is short enough that even students who do not like to read chapter books can feel successful at reading a novel. Scott O'Dell does a great job at keeping the reader engaged in the story and making it hard to put the book down.

Reading Level: The book says 5.2, AR says 5.4
Interest Level: upper elementary

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:

Math: Many of the measurements are given in non-standard units. Students can learn about leagues, fathoms, and other units of measure mentioned in the book and how they compare to US customary units and metric units.

Social Studies: The story is set in a seaside village in Baja California. Students can learn about the differences in the culture of the people in the story and their own cultures. They can extend this study by learning about their family's ancestors and completing a family culture project.

Science: The story focuses a lot on the Manta Diablo and other manta rays. There are many different versions of what the Manta Diablo looks like and how it behaves. Students can use the internet to research manta rays and find out which statements about a manta ray could be true and which are false.

Potential Problems: None.

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: Caldacot Honor Book

Summary: This book is a book about Farmer Brown and his typing cows. His cows has learned how to type on the typewriter, and they start writing him notes asking for things to make them more comfortable. When they didn't get the blankets they asked for, they went on strike, not giving out any milk. They asked for blankets for the hens also, and when they didn't get those blankets the hens refused to give eggs. This went on until they decided to exchange their typewriter for some blankets.


Personal rating and reason for rating: ***** Great. This book is really fun. Young children think it is hilarious, and it is a really fun story to read aloud. Many children at the end of first grade can read it themselves, and below level first graders have been read it many times they can read it from memory and gain confidence.

Reading level: 2.3

Interest level: k-3

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): This is a great book to intoduce or reinforce the difference between fiction and non-fiction. It includes many things that animals wouldn't do, and would not need. For a social studies lesson, students can come up with many things in their own words that they think is unfair, and they could write a letter to someone asking to change it.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: None

(P.S I thought this was a really nice website, with great activities http://www.teachingheart.net/clickclackmoo.html )

Clam-I-Am By: Tish Rabe

Book Genre: Non-Fiction (book about the ocean)

Publishing Info: Random House Books for Young Readers (May 24, 2005)

Honors and Awards Receive: None listed

Summary: Norval, the fish is hosting a seaside talk show for the Fish Channel and the Cat in the Hat and Thing One and Thing Two appear as the camera crew. The little boy and girl get introduced to many sea creatures. Clam-I-Am, horseshow crab, hermit crabs, sea star, seagulls, jelly fish and sand fleas. They even get to learn about seaweed and ocean tides. Norval then goes on to explain the second part of his show. (Question/answer section) The book answers questions like (1) Why is the ocean blue? (2) Why is seawater salty? (3) What makes waves? This book is perfect for having a quick overview about the ocean.

Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! I really liked this book because it was not only illustrated brilliantly but it had simple facts about each of the sea creatures listed above. In our ocean unit we talk about each one of these animals. So I was thinking this would be a good book to introduce our ocean unit with. It gives a quick overview of each animal that I can add to when I actually teach about that specific animal. This book is full of a lot of our kindergarten sight words that would be great extra practice for the children.

Reading level: 3.4 (Third grade, fourth month)

Interest level: K-5

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:

Reading: Complete a circle map before we read the story and put the word ocean in the middle. Ask students what they think of when they hear the word ocean. Take their answers and branch it off the word ocean. While reading, I would ask comprehension questions, for example: after reading the page about star fish I would ask….What happens when a star fish looses one of its rays (arms)? I would hope that all children would be able to answer this question correctly. I would continue to use this technique throughout the story. At the conclusion I would ask the students to pick their three favorite sea creatures. We would vote until we found our favorite three. We would then complete a brace map. (As I publish this book on the blog the brace map format does not copy correctly) Sorry!


Ocean

Star Fish * If it looses a ray, it grows back. * Has five legs. *It moves slow. *Has tiny cups on it's rays.

Clam *Lives in the sand. *Has rings that tell how old it is. * Clams have one foot.

Seagulls *Can drink salt water. *They eat trash and left over food.


Writing: Students could pick their favorite sea creature from the book and tell me two facts that they learned. They will then need to illustrate their sentences with a detailed picture. You could also incorporate writing by having them copy the brace map. (Which we have learned is not very effective)


Potential problems or difficulties: None that I can see at this time.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Dell Publishing Company. 159 pages.

Awards or honors received: Newberry Award Winner

Summary: Tired of her routine middle class life and feeling unappreciated as the oldest of four children and the only girl, Claudia Kincaid decides to run away from home. Prefering comfort to nature, she chooses to hide in the Metroplitan Museum of Art and takes one of her younger brothers, Jaime, with her. While hiding in the muesum, the children must stay out of sight of museum guards, learn to take care of themselves, and even investigate whether a mysterious statute had been carved by Michaelangelo. Ultimately the statue leads them to Mrs. Frankweiler (who narrates the story as a letter to her lawyer Saxonberg.). Claudia's quest to learn the truth about the statue provides for her a sense of purpose that she had lacked and leads to Mrs. Frankweiler learning the truth about Claudia and Jaime (that they are Saxonberg's grandchildren).

Personal rating and reason for rating: Good. Interesting, creative story. Characters are realistic and children can relate to the feelings of being overlooked, unappreciated, and the longing for adventure.

Reading level: AR reading level 4.7. Fry reading level grade 7.

Interest level: 3-6

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:

Students could explore the ideas of familial loyalty, longing for adventure. Students could write about these topics as well as write newspaper articles describing the children's disappearance and/or the mystery of the angel statue. Students could do creative writing describing their own fantasic plan of running away "to" somewhere or could do persuasive writing focused on lobbying a parent for an increased allowance.

In other subject areas, students could take a virtual tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art or could study about the work of Michaelangelo or could do a more in depth study of the Renaissance.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: Vocabulary may be difficult for younger students.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Book Genre: Historical fiction

Publishing Info: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Copyright 1989, 137 pages.

Awards or honors received: Newberry Medal Winner

Summary: Annemarie and her best friend Ellen Rosen are young teenagers in Nazi occupied Denmark. Having lived several years under the Nazi regime, the girls take for granted the presence of the occupying troups until the Nazis begin intensifying their persecution of Jews. Realizing the danger, Annemarie's parents decide to help the Rosens escaped Denmark to the freedom of Sweden along with the help of Annemarie's Uncle Henrik. Along the way Annemarie learns more about the Danish Resistance movement, including the truth about her older sister's death. In the end, Annemarie must summon her own courage to confront the Nazi soldiers and help save her friend's life.

Personal rating and reason for rating: Great! As a fan of history, I think this story stays true to historical fact while portraying a intriguing account from a child's perspective.

Reading level: AR level 4.5. Fry readability level 6

Interest level: 4-7

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Historical tie-ins are fairly obvious. Students might study the countries of modern day Europe and how German forces proceeded across the continent. Students might prepare a timeline of German occupation. There is also a perfect opportunity to compare different types of governments, particularyly American Democracy and Nazi Dictatorship.

Concepts of friendship, loyalty (to friends, family, and country), bravery and patriotism could be explored. Students could write about any of these concepts.

The concept of percentages could be studies with math. Students could calculate the percentage of Jews in Europe, Germany, and various occupied countries. Depending on how you choose to treat the topic, these percentages could be compared before and after the war.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: The harsh realities of Nazi Germany are difficult for even adults to deal with and must be dealt with carefully based up on the age of the students. Two instances of Nazi creulty are portrayed with the deaths of Annemarie's sister Lise and Lise's boyfriend Peter Neilsen

The Lottery Rose

Book Title and Author: The Lottery Rose by Irene Hunt

Book Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Publishing Info. – Berkley Publishing Corp., 185 pages

Awards or honors received:

Summary:
The book is about a young boy who was abused both mentally and physically by his mother and her boyfriend. Growing up in an unstable home being raised by an alcoholic mother with no support or love, Georgie had few friends, did poorly in school and distrusted mostly everyone. He was able to hide his feelings and find comfort in a library book filled with beautiful gardens. He won a rosebush in a grocery store lottery given to him by a lady whom he trusted. He finally found his purpose in caring for and loving through the only thing he’d ever owned, his rosebush. After an abusive night when the rescue was called, Georgie was finally taken from his mom and sent to a home for boys where he learns for the first time to feel safe, trust in others and feel loved. He also learns to give and to receive love through his experiences, giving him hope for a future in society.

Personal rating and reason for rating:
It was a great book. You could witness the difference one can make in a person’s life by caring and giving of one’s time.

Reading level: 5th grade
Interest level: 5th grade – adult

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading/Comparison: the rosebush and Georgie’s life

Potential Problems or difficulties: subject content may be disturbing with child abuse and violence.

Combat Fighters: F-22 Raptor by Steve White

Book Genre: Non-fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic (48 pages)

Awards: None

Summary: This book describes the newest military fighter jet that the United States has to offer. Not only does the book give information about the F/A-22 Rapture, but it also gives a brief history of fighter aircraft that came before it, but also possible next generation fighter aircraft. The illustrations are excellent. There are close-up photographs of the aircraft in the hanger being manufactures, in flight, weaponry, and cockpit views.

Personal Rating: ****Great. I like the organization of the text. It contains a contents page, an introduction, a glossary of new words and their definitions, and an index. The book also contains resource pages, excellent illustrations and pictures, and lists citations for other books written about the F/A-22 Rapture aircraft. Finally, the author gives some technical specifications for the aircraft and its armament yet still remaining appropriate for younger children..

Reading Level: 6.2
Interest Level: 5-6

Possible uses in reading and writing across the curriculum:
Science: Both 5th and 6th grade science curriculums include objectives in technological design. This could include any of the various technologies associated with this aircraft: Stealth technology, engine design, aerodynamics, weapon systems, etc...
Math: Develop lessons on graphing speed, thrust, or maneuverability; also, comparing this aircraft to previously built aircraft used by the U.S.; and comparing this aircraft to the potential opponents built by other countries
Reading and Writing: For children who are interested in airplanes, this could be a good book to begin creating and writing research reports.

Potential Problems or difficulties: This is a high interest book for children who enjoy reading about military aircraft. Not every student will care to read it.

Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler by Margery Cuyler

Book Genre: fiction

Publishing Info: Simon and Schuster, 50 pages

Awards or honors received: N/A

Summary: At the beginning of the story the students in Mrs. Ruler’s class stuck inside because it had been raining all week. The students began to misbehave and treat each other badly. So Mrs. Ruler kept 5 of the students to speak to them about kindness. She told them they each needed to perform 5 acts of kindness and share what they did at show and tell. The next day at show and tell some of the kids couldn’t wait to share their acts of kindness with the rest of the class. The whole class was excited and they decided to design a class project where everyone would participate. Everyday the class shared their kindness acts. Everyone was excited except for one little boy , David, who couldn’t think of anything to do. The class continued to share their random acts and wrote them down. Everyday they would count their acts of kindness. One day the class gerbils go out of the cage and everyone panicked. David ran around the room collecting the gerbils and his act was added to the kindness wall.

Personal rating and reason for rating: **** This is a cute book with a great theme, and the teacher speaks in rhymes. Students will love it and get ideas for random acts of kindness.

Reading level: 3.7

Interest level: K-5

Possible uses of the text: Social Studies - have your class participate in random acts of kindness. Read the book and discuss examples of how to be kind. Then have the students/teacher/parents write each act of kindness and display. Try for 100 acts of kindness. Expand your kindness to the school by picking up trash on the playground, bringing the principal a snack, holding the door open for other classes, etc. Get your community involved by collecting toys to give away, collecting food to donate to a food shelter, makes cards for a senior center, etc.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: none

The Best Teacher in the world by Bernice Chardiet and Grace Maccarone

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: None

Summary: This book is about a litle girl named Bunny. Bunny is in Ms. Darcy's class, and all of the boys and girls in her class though Ms. Darcy was the best teacher in the whole world. When Ms. Darcy asked the students to take a note to Mrs. Walker, Bunny volunteered quickly. When she got the note and got into the hallway, she realized she had no idea where Mrs. Walkers classroom was, and she got very embarrassed. Without delievering the note she returned to the classroom, Bunny lied to Ms. Darcy and said that she had. She thought about her lie all night long, and stayed home from school the next day. She told Ms. Darcy the next day the truth, and She learned her lesson never to lie, and to ask questions about things she doesn't know.

Personal rating and reason for rating: ***** Great. Awesome book to show feelings and emotion. Children and adults can relate to Bunny and how she feels and how she acts.

Reading level: 2.3

Interest level: k-2

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): This book is filled with character value lessons. Every child has been in a situation where they are afraid to ask questions, told a lie they felt bad about, or been embarrased in front of friends. This is a great book to teach how to act in any of these situations.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: None

The Popcorn Book by Tomie de Paola

Book Genre: Informational Fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: None

Summary: This book is about two little boys who want to pop some popcorn. They were curious about popcorn so they decide to look it up. The author uses word bubbles and these two little boy character to explain facts about popcorn and teaches readers about the history. After reading a lot about popcorn, and learning lot of different facts, the boys decide that the best thing about popcorn is eating it!

Personal rating and reason for rating: **** Good. Very informational, only a read aloud for younger grades, but would be an awesome picture books for 3rd and 4th grade also

Reading level: 4.3

Interest level: 1-5

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): For younger children, this story can be used to show all of the cool things you can find out about something when you are curious. Looking words up in the dictionary, encyclopedia or even on the internet can be great ways to look up words and topics you are unfamiliar about. For older grades, this is also a good book to talk about popcorn, which is a very interesting food with an fun history.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: Students need to know how to read the book and follow the speech bubbles to understand the order of the dialogue.

Are Trees Alive? By Debbie S. Miller

Book Genre: non-fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic

Awards or honors received: N/A

Summary: This book compares trees to humans. The beginning of the book compares tree roots to feet that help you stand. The trunk of the tree is compared to the body of a person. It is used for support. Then the author compares the branches of a tree to the arms of a human which hold things. Trees can be dark or light, like skin color and the bark of the tree protects it like our skin protects us. The branches and leaves of the tree make a crown on top like the top of our head. Humans breathe with our mouth and nose and a tree breathes through its leaves. Sap traveling through the tree is compared to veins inside a human body transporting blood. The fruit and flowers on a tree are like a smile on a face, that draws people toward you. Seed grow up to be trees just like babies grow up to be adults. Some people grow very old, just like some trees do. Winter is a time for trees to rest, like the night is the time for humans to rest. Then Spring comes and the trees become alive again. The story ends rather suddenly by comparing a picnic to the food that trees provide
Personal rating and reason for rating: *** This story will get your students thinking about how trees and humans are alike. It has some really good information in it.

Reading level: 3.5

Interest level: K-5

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): Science - this story could be a great way to introduce living/non-living objects. It could also be used to identify what living things need to survive. Students could participate in a web quest about trees.
Math - Seasons could be discussed with this book as it identifies what the tree does during each season. Students can draw and label a tree during each season. A Venn Diagram could be used to compare and contrast a human and a tree.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: The story just ends very suddenly and you wish there was a better ending.

The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publishing Information: Random House Children's Books, Sept. 1987 (64pp.)
Awards/Honors:

Summary:
Gregory finds himself moving on his birthday. His father has lost his job, and they had to relocated closer to his new one. At first Gregory had his own room in his new house, but he wasn't able to keep it to himself. His Uncle Max came and took over. At his new school, things weren't going well for Gregory either. The only place Gregory felt at peace was the burn-out chalk factory behind his house.

Personal Rating: This is a great book. The book is so realistic that any child can find a way to relate to Gregory or one of the other character in the book.

Reading Level: 3.2
Interest Level: 3-5

Integrated Unit:
Science: Make chalk, learn about vegetable, and plant a vegetable garden
Reading and Writing: make and write about connections
Social Studies: Character Traits - Bullying
Math: Measuring ingredients for making chalk

Potential Problems of Difficulties: Difficult for students below reading level to read

Did You See Chip? by Wong Herbert Yee

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc, 24 pages

Awards or honors received: None

Summary: Kim is a little girl who is lonely because she has no friends in her new city. Her dog runs away and as her and her dad chase down her dog, Chip, she meets all kinds of new friends who help her find her dog.

Personal rating and reason for rating: **** Good. A fun story, children love it and it is fun to have them read on their own in second grade.

Reading level: 1.2

Interest level: k-2Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): This book is a fun book to use as a readers theater. A lot of characters and dialogue. This is also a good book to use to read as a read aloud or shared reading while teaching students to write using quotation marks. One good activity would be for students to choose a scene, and draw their own pictures using speech bubbles instead of quotation marks to show what the characters are saying.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I don’t see any problems or difficulties.

The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen

Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: HarperCollins; 40 pages
Awards or honors: Caldecott Medal

Summary: During the summer a mother duck's eggs hatch. When the eggs hatched the mother duck had 6 beautiful yellow ducklings. One large egg hatched and was very big, gray, and ugly! The barnyard animals made fun of the gray duck. He could not take all the teasing and ran away. He came to a swamp and met two geese. They said he was ugly but they liked him and he could stay with them. Winter came and the duckling was left alone as the geese flew south. For the rest of the winter he stayed by the swamp. When spring arrived he was able to fly, his feather were a beautiful white color! He flew by a pond and noticed two beautiful swans. He wanted to join them but he knew he was too ugly. When he looked in the water he noticed he looked like them! The beautiful swans greeted him and welcomed him to join them!

Personal Rating: *****Great! Excellent story for all ages!

Reading level: 3.4
Interest level: K- adulthood

Possible uses of the text:
Art/Reading: Student divide paper into two sections. Have them draw the duckling at the beginning of the story and at the end of the story.

Science: Discuss/illustrate the cycle of a swan.

Math: Using different colors/sizes eggs students sort and graph them.

Possible Problems: none

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Book Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publishing Info: Puffin; 20 pages
Awards: Caldecott Medal

Summary: A boy living in the city awakes to new fallen snow. He is excited to go out and explore in the snow. He gets dressed and makes footprints in the snow, watches a snowball fight, makes an angel in the snow, makes tracks with a stick. He hits the a tree with a stick and snow falls on his head. He puts the snow in his pocket and heads home. He takes a warm bath and goes to get the snow out of his pocket only to find that it had melted!

Personal rating: ****Great! Awesome story for winter reading!

Reading level: 2.5
Interest level: K-3

Possible uses of the text:
Art: Give students blue construction paper and a piece of chalk. Students can make a snowy scene! Add black strips of construction paper so that it resembles a window.

Science: Discuss the seasons. Divide a paper into 4 sections and students illustrate each season.

Reading/Writing: Give students pictures from the story and have them put them in order according to the story and write a caption about each one.

Possible Problems: None

Its Not Easy Being a Bunny by Marilyn Sadler

Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Random House Books for Young Readers; 48 pages
Awards or honors: none

Summary: P.J. Funnybunny is sad because he did not like being a bunny. Bunnies have to eat carrots everyday and he has long ears. He sets off to become a bear and decides he does not like being a bear. He decided to become a bird, a beaver, a pig, a possum, and a skunk. He did not like being any of those animals. He decides that being a bunny is best for him!

Personal rating: ****Great! Terrific story/pictures for young student. Helps students understand to like who they are!

Reading level: 1.7
Interest level: K-2

Possible uses of the text:
Art/Writing: Have students cut out bunny ears one pink and a smaller one white. Attach the ears to construction paper. Attach a smaller paper with writing lines. Students will write and illustrate why it is not easy being a kid!

Science: Discuss rabbit behaviors/habitats

Potential Problems: none

Bubble Bubble by Mercer Mayer

Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: School Specialty Publishing; 35 pages
Awards or honors received: none

Summary: A boy went walking one day and came across a man selling magic bubbles. The boy bought a bottle and began to blow bubbles. He started blowing bubbles and the bubble turned into a vicious snake that was about to eat him. He blew another bubble and it became a cat that chased away the snake. The cat began to chase the boy so he blew another bubble to take care of the cat and the story continues on this path. In the end the boy popped all the bubbles and poured them out.

Personal rating: ****Great! Funny story small children will love!

Reading level: 1.4
Interest level: K-2

Possible uses of the text:
Art: Give students an outline of a bubble and have them create an animal they think would appear if they had magic bubbles.

Writing: Have students write a short story about their magical animal.

Math: Using some, some went away stories (subtraction) to go with the bubbles in the story.

Potential Problems: none

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Penguin Putnam; 27 pages
Awards received: National Education Association Educators' Top One Hundred Children's Books 2007, National Teachers Association Top Ten Titles for Elementary Students 1999, American Library Association, Booklist Magazine Best Children's Books of the 1980's, New Yorker Magazine Best Children's Books 1989

Summary: A boy named Nicki was visiting his grandmother and she was going to knit him some mittens. Nicki wanted white mittens. His grandmother, Baba did not want to knit white mittens because if he dropped them in the snow he would never find them. Baba finally gave in and made white mittens. After the mittens where finished Nicki went out exploring in the snow. His grandmother told him when he came back home safe and sound she would check to see if he still had the mittens. As Nicki was exploring it wasn't long before he lost a mitten in the snow. A mole came along and tucked himself inside. Later a rabbit came along and tuck himself in the mitten with the mole. The story continues with different animals getting into the mitten. The mitten was stretched out when all of a sudden when a mouse came along and sat on the bears nose the bear let out a big sneeze. The mitten shot up in the sky and the animals went everywhere. Nicki saw the mitten high in the sky and he ran to catch it. He went home safe and sound with both mittens however, one was stretched out!

Personal rating: ****Great! Children will love this story!

Reading level: 3.9
Interest level: K-4

Possible uses of the text:
Science: Discuss the similarities/differences of the animals in the story.
Art/Reading: Give students copies of the animals in the story, string, outline of a mitten (2) with holes around it. Have the students color the animals and weave the string around the mitten. When completed have students retell the story while using the mitten.
Math: Use some, some more stories (addition) using the story line and characters.

Potential Problems: none

The Berenstain Bears in the Dark by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Book Genre: General Fiction

Publishing Info.: Random House New York, 32 pages

Awards or Honors Received: N/A

Summary: This is a story about Sister Bear being afraid of the dark after reading a scary mystery book with Brother Bear. Sister's imagination takes over and every sight and sound turns into some scary creature in her mind. After a night with no sleep, Papa Bear decides to give Sister his old night light. This does the trick and helps Sister to not be afraid of the dark again.

Personal Rating and Reason for Rating: ****Great! I loved this book. Most children can relate to being afraid of the dark, and I think that young children would enjoy this story. The topic is about something that is very real, but the book offers a solution to the problem. The illustrations are wonderful and the bear family and their treehouse will spark the imaginations of little ones.

Reading Level: 3.1

Interest Level: K-2

Possible Uses of the Text in Integrated Units of Study (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum): This story could be integrated with students writing about the dark and what they do to not be afraid. Since this story was about Sister Bear thinking she saw monsters, math could be incorporated by students making shape monsters. The teacher could cut out several different shapes in assorted colors, and students could create funny, silly, cute, or scary monsters. Before creating the monsters, students could sort, count, or make patterns with the colored shapes. After making the monsters, students could write a story about their shape monster.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I do not see any problems or difficulties with this book.

I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info.: Golden Books Publishing Company, Inc., 24 pages

Awards or Honors Received: N/A

Summary: This story is about Little Critter and a day full of things he forgets to do, and things that he says he does not forget to do but does not want to do. Little Critter is a bit mischievous and does not always remember to feed the pet right away, pick up his toys right away, or turn his bathwater off right away. Although he is very forgetful, Little Critter never forgets his bedtime story with mom or to give her a kiss goodnight.

Personal Rating and Reason for Rating: ***Good. This cute Little Critter and his mischievous ways will appeal to young ones. Although he does not intend to get in trouble, he forgets to do things during the day, and that gets him in trouble. His crazy antics and the funny illustrations are sure to get the attention of young readers.

Reading Level: 2.7

Interest Level: K-2

Possible Uses of the Text in Integrated Units of Study (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum): This story would be a great way to teach recall of events and sequence of events. Teachers could use various graphic organizers to record this information with students. Writing could also be integrated by students writing about a time that they forgot to do something or chores that they have to do at home. To incorporate art, students could draw or paint a picture about something that they have forgotten to do.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I do not see any problems or difficulties with this book.

The Rain Came Down by David Shannon

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info.: Scholastic Inc., 32 pages

Awards or Honors Received: The Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration

Summary: This is a story about some animals and several people in a town who are arguing and shouting at one another because the rain is ruining their plans. When one person acts out in anger, it affects another person, and then another person. However, when the rain stops and the sun comes out, everyone is happy again and the story recaps and shows how each character's attitude improves when the weather improves.

Personal Rating and Reason for Rating: ****Great! This story has very vivid and funny illustrations that would appeal to young readers. It also teaches how we affect other people when we have a bad attitude about things that we cannot control.

Reading Level: 1.8

Interest Level: K-2

Possible Uses of the Text in Integrated Units of Study (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum): This book would be a great one to use when working on retell and sequencing with students. A word web could be used to list characters and events in the story. This story would also be a good one to use if the focus was on problem-solution. Writing could also be integrated by students writing about something positive that they like to do on a rainy day. After writing, the teacher could write the various rainy day activities on the board and the class could do a graph to figure out their favorite rainy day activity.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I do not see any problems or difficulties with this book.

I Love You All Day Long by Francesca Rusackas

Book Genre: Realistic Fiction

Publishing Info.: Harper Collins Publishers, 32 pages

Awards or Honors Received: N/A

Summary: This is a sweet story about a little pig named Owen who is nervous about going to school. His mom reminds him that no matter what kind of day he is having, good or bad, that she will love him no matter what and that she will be waiting for him with open arms when school is over.

Personal Rating and Reason for Rating: ****Great! I loved this book. This would be a great book to read to children at the beginning of the year or to children who are having a difficult time adjusting to the school setting. The illustrations in this book are adorable and the heartwarming characters are sure to be a hit among young children.

Reading Level: 2.1

Interest Level: K-2

Possible Uses of the Text in Integrated Units of Study (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum): This would be a great book to read and then have students write about how they felt on the first day of school. This could also be a great story to get children to open up and share their feelings about being away from parents. Socialization would be the focus of this lesson. If this book was being used at the beginning of the year, an art lesson could be used by students creating a painting mural of their first day at school.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I see no problems or difficulties with this book.

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems

Book Genre: Comedy and Humor

Publishing Info.: Scholastic Inc., 48 pgs.

Awards or Honors Received: Caldecott Honor

Summary: This is a story about two girls who both decide to take the same bunny to school for show and tell. The girls argue all morning over the bunnies and eventually the teacher takes the bunnies away. The bunnies are returned at the end of the day, but it isn't until the middle of the night that the two girls realize they were given the wrong bunnies. Their dads arrange a place in town to meet and the correct bunnies are returned. In the end, the girls become best friends and share their bunnies all the time.

Personal Rating and Reason for Rating: ***Good. This story has a cute way of relating to young children and the attachment that they feel towards their toys. I think the illustrations are funny and would capture the attention of young children. The main character in the story, Trixie, makes funny faces and says funny things. Young children would really enjoy this story.

Reading Level: 3.7

Interest Level: K-2

Possible Uses of the Text in Integrated Units of Study (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum): This would be a great story to integrate with a writing lesson. Students could bring something for show and tell and then write about why the brought it. Students could also write about a toy that they have lost before and how they felt when they realized their toy was gone. A math lesson could also be integrated by sorting the show and tell items, counting the items, or comparing the items.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I do not see any problems or difficulties with this book.

Fire Fighters by Norma Simon

Book Genre: Informational Fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: None

Summary: Using Dalmation dogs as characters to act as firefighers, this book describes to the reader what happens from when the fire bell rings to getting to the fire and helping the people. Then the author explain how firefighters try to see how the fire started, and how the firefighters put away their equipment and go back to wait for the fire bell to ring again

Personal rating and reason for rating: **** Great. This book is awesome. Besides the illustrations being unrealistic, all of the information about firefighters is completely fact. It is a great way for young children to learn about the job of firefighters.

Reading level: 2.0

Interest level: k-2

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): Using this book as an informational read aloud during fire safty week would be a good idea. Also before a field trip to the fire department. Also would be a good read aloud for young children during a community helpers social studies lesson. It does an awesome job explaining the job of a fire fighter.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I didn't see any

Moon Boy by Barbara Brenner

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Byron Preiss, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: None

Summary: This is a book about a little boy and the fantasy that he had one night when he couldn't sleep about a boy that came from the moon. When he couldn't sleep he played with this moon boy and let him keep him company. When the moon boy was set free the boy was able to fall asleep.

Personal rating and reason for rating: *** Good. This book is very strange to me, but my children seem to love it. It is a good read aloud early in the year for first graders, and later in the year they can read it themselves.

Reading level: 1.7

Interest level: k-3

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): This is a great book to show how authors discribe childrens imaginations. Using it in a writing lesson to show the skill, before asking the children to write about an imaginative prompt, like a dream or a daydream they have had.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: This book is just a little strange, and it is not too clear if the boy is dreaming this or daydreaming. But my first graders seemed to love it!

The American Flag By Patricia Quiri

Book Genre: Nonfiction
Publishing Info: Children’s Press and 48 pages
Awards or honors received: None at this time

Summary: This book is about the American Flag. It talks about how the flag came about and the history of it. The book describes how the flag is a symbol of freedom that stands for the land, people, and government of the United States.

Personal rating and reason for rating: **** Great! I think that this book give great information about our American Flag. I read this book to my students just for fun. The students enjoyed listening to it and asked a lot of question about the American Flag.

Reading level: 4.8
Interest level: K-6 or any if students want to learn about the American Flag

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): This book could be used in a history lesson of the United States of America. Also, this book could be used to talk about holidays around the world and when other countries celebrate their independence day as well.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I don’t see any.

Jumanji By Chris Van Allsburg

Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Houghton Mifflin and 27 pages
Awards or honors received: The Caldecott Medal

Summary: This book is about a jungle adventure board game that becomes a real life game for Judy and Peter, who are the main characters. The game is not over until one player reaches the golden city. During the game Judy and Peter encounters lions, monkeys, rhinoceros, snakes, and many more animals. After Judy reaches the golden city she yelled “Jumanji” and the game was over and all the animals and messed up house were gone and cleaned up.

Personal rating and reason for rating: *** Great! I enjoyed reading this book. I love animals and this is a great adventure that involves animals. I think that students will enjoy listening and reading this story. I have not read it to my students yet, but when I do I feel that they will enjoy it. I think this book will help students that don’t really like to read, but may need some encouragement.

Reading level: 3.9
Interest level: I would say K-4

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): A wonderful activity to do with your students would be a dialogue response journal. This book could be read for fun before school lets out and for homework have the students write or if they are younger have them draw their interpretation of the story. The next day the teacher can respond to the journal entry. For math the students could graph their favorite animal from the story.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I don’t see any at this time.

African Americans and American Indians Fighting in the Revolutionary War by John Micklos Jr.

Book Genre: Non-fiction

Publishing Info: Enslow Publishers Inc. (48 pages)

Awards: None

Summary: As the title suggests, this book discusses aspects of African Americans and Native Americans during the Revolutionary War. It starts by giving the reader basic background into the roles of African Americans and Native Americans and events that led up to the war. The following chapters briefly describe how the two races chose sides and what their roles and conflicts were during the war. The final chapter describes events that took place and effected there lives after the war had ended.

Personal Rating: ***Good. I like the organization of the text. It contains a Table of Contents, an index, glossary, very good illustrations, and a Revolutionary War timeline. Also, there is a section of the book that lists references by chapter. What I especially like about this book is that there is a section called "Future Reading" that lists content area books and websites for expanded studies. However, the book doesn't go very in-depth with information.

Reading Level: 5.2
Interest Level: 5-6

Possible uses in reading and writing across the curriculum: NCSCOS for fifth grade include teaching about the Revolutionary War. This would be a good book to include in a unit for teaching those objectives. The book is too short to use for a book report except maybe for students who are not on grade level. On the other hand, it does mention several people and events that could lead to more in-depth research.

Potential Problems or difficulties: You might have to have a discussion about slavery and racism but by fifth or sixth grade most students are aware of what went on in the past.

More Spaghetti, I Say by Rita Gelman

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: None

Summary: This is a funny book about a monkey named Minnie who really likes to eat spaghetti. She is too busy to play with Freddy.

Personal rating and reason for rating: **** Good. This is a good story for young readers who are ready to read on their own. It is a catchy book with rhyming words, and many young students think it is very funny.

Reading level: 1.2

Interest level: k-2

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): This is a good story to work with young readers on predicting text based on rhyming words.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: I do not see any problems or difficulties with this text.

A Big Fat Enormous Lie by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Book Genre: Fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic Inc, 32 pages

Awards or honors received: None

Summary: This book is about a child who told a lie to his father about eating a jar of cookies. The child feels very bad about this lie. The lie is represented in the photographs by a large green monster, the boy continues to tell the lie to go away, but no matter how hard he tries the lie stays with him. The child finally tells him mom and dad about the lie, and the monster (or lie) gets smaller and smaller until it is no longer with him. The child feels better now.

Personal rating and reason for rating: **** Good. A good story with a good lesson.

Reading level: 1.7

Interest level: k-2

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study (reading and writing across the curriculum): Use while teaching about the importance of telling the truth. Also, can be used to teach about the importance of looking at pictures while reading a story. Reading this story without paying attention to the pictures would not give the same amount of comprehension.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: Young may have trouble understanding what the monster in the picture represents something that the boy feels inside.

Alfie the Apostrophe by Moira Rose Donohue

Book Genre: fiction

Publishing Info: Scholastic, 29 pages

Awards or honors received: N/A

Summary: This story is about an apostrophe named Alfie. Alfie was a young apostrophe who went to school with other punctuation marks. The annual punctuation-mark talent show was the next day. Alfie was worried that he didn’t have any talent. He practiced in his bedroom but couldn’t get his magic tricks to work correctly. The next day at school everyone was excited to perform in the talent show. The question marks went first and they told riddles and jokes that made everyone laugh. Then the exclamation points cheered in their cheerleading outfits. Alfie began to get more worried. The parentheses worked with the commas and quotation marks to perform a jump rope routine, but they all got tangled up. Last went a group of periods and hyphens. They performed in Morse code. The director was about to end the show when Alfie raised his hand to present his magic tricks. First Alfie pulled out the words can and not. He covered them with a scarf and said the magic words. When he lifted the scarf, two letters had disappeared and the contraction can’t appeared. He did the same thing changing will and not into won’t. Then for his final act he performed his “possessive” trick. The crowd went wild and Alfie was very happy to be an apostrophe.

Personal rating and reason for rating: *** This was a nice story with pictures of the different types of punctuation marks as characters. Students will see the marks as you are reading about the usage of each one.

Reading level: 3.2

Interest level: 1-4

Possible uses of the text: Literacy: This story would be a good lead-in for introducing contractions. Have student’s create “magic tricks” by changing two words into a contraction. Then they can be the detective to find which of the letters went missing. Make this activity into a game. Practice making contractions and reverse it, so the contraction becomes the two words. Re-read story when you teach about possessive nouns. Have students create a list of things that belong to them and write it with the apostrophe (Linda’s book). Students can then illustrate their belongings.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: this story might be a little difficult for the younger children, teacher will have to explain a lot as she reads.

Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller

Genre: General fiction

Publishing information: Scholastic INC, 30 pages

Summary: Groundhog has to find a substitute for Groundhog's Day when he comes down with the flu. He decides to put up a wanted ad, but quickly finds out that everyone applying can't do the job. He needs someone who can go down in a dark hole, come up, and look for their shadow. Eagle, Mole, and Squirrel try out for the job but they can not do it. Armadillo comes to visit from Texas and says that he will be perfect for the job. Groundhog is nervous at first, because Armadillo is from Texas and does not know about their weather. Armadillo does have the right qualifications, so Groundhop lets him do it. Armadillo predicts there will be six more weeks of winter. Groundhog decides to go with Armadillo back to Texas because it is already spring there.

Reading level: 2.9

Interest level: K-2

Integration: The teacher could read this story before Groundhog's Day and talk about what the groundhog does. They could talk about the traditions that go along with that holiday and then have the students do some kind of groundhog art project. Older students could do a research project centered around Groundhog's Day.
The teacher could also use this book to talk about how only certain people can do certain jobs. Everyone has different qualifications for different jobs. The teacher could talk about the other animals and ask what the students think their jobs could be.
The teacher could also have the students talk about how this is a fiction story and what makes it fiction. Then they could read a book that is nonfiction about groundhogs and compare/contrast the two books on a poster board. The students could then write a story about groundhogs.

Potential problems: This book had a some difficult words for a level 2.9 book, some students may have trouble.

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert

Genre: Fiction


Publishing information: Houghton Mifflin Company, 38 pages

Summary: Growing Vegetable Soup has interesting pictures that are labeled and kid friendly. In the story a child and his dad are growing a garden so that they can have vegetable soup. The story follows them through the process from beginning to end. Big gloved hands pland the seeds, water the plants, and pull weeds. They bring the vegetables home to cut and wash for the vegetable soup.

Reading level: 2.0

Interest level: K-2

Integration: This book would be great to use with a unit about healthy food. The teacher could read this book and discuss how vegetables grow. After discussing how vegetables grow the teacher could draw and label a picture of vegetables. The students could discuss the food pyramid and all the different types of food on it. The teacher could bring in a bunch of pictures of food and organize them into the different types of food. The students could also use vegetables to make stamps on paper and then decorate them. The large culminating activity could be to have your students plant some vegetable plants and watch them grow. They could use math to measure how tall the plants grow and graph how they grow.

Potential problems: I do not foresee any problems with this book.

Stuart Little by E.B. White

Book Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Publishing Info: Harper and Row Publishing Company, 1945, 131 pages
Awards or honors received: None

Summary: Stuart Little is born a mouse to a human family. Stuart is raised and loved as a son by the Little family and is only conflict is with the family pet cat Snowbell. Things change when Stuart meets and falls in love with a bird named Margallo. Margallo disappears after recieving an anonymous note warning of danger in the form of a stray cat. Devastated by the loss of his love interest, Stuart decides to take the opportunity to make his own way in the world and leaves his family home to search for Margallo. Throughout his search, Stuart is sidetracked as other opportunities present themselves and he takes the time to serve as a substitute teacher and pursue the diminutive Harriet Ames. When things fall apart with Ms. Ames, Stuart once more takes to the road and ends his adventures by heading north, pursuing Margallo.

Personal rating and reason for rating: Good story, interesting, engaging plot. Students will become involved with amusing adventures.

Reading level: AR Level 6.0

Interest level: Grade 3-6

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:

Stuart's relative size presents huge problems. Students could study ratios in math and the concepts of scale modeling.

In science students could study predator/prey relationships as it relates to cats and birds as well as cats and mice. Furthermore they could consider whether, given the relationship of predator and prey a mouse would likely fall in love with a bird.

The story is set approxiametely 60 years ago. In social studies students could compare how aspects of society (prices, culture, transportation, educational practices) have changed from then to now.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: Characters and situations are realistic. So long as you are willing to suspend your disbelief in regards to a personified mouse, there should be no real difficulties with this story.

The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

Genre: Fiction
Publishing info: Putnam Juvenile; 32 pages
Awards: Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year 1999

Summary: This is a twist to the original story, The Gingerbread Man. A boy in the story, Matti made a gingerbread man out of cookie dough. Instead of waiting a full 8 minutes like he was told he opened the oven door earlier. A gingerbread baby came out of the oven! When Matti chased him around the kitchen the gingerbread baby would say a chant. Throughout the story an animal or person would chase they baby. Finally, Matti had an idea to catch him. Matti built a gingerbread house and put it in the woods. When the gingerbread baby went to the woods, he went into the house and Matti locked it!

Personal rating: ***Good! Cute story with beautiful illustrations. The original story is still my favorite.

Reading level: 3.5
Interest level: K-5

Possible uses of the text:
Art: Another twist would be to give an outline of a gingerbread man to the students. Have them create a 'modern' day gingerbread baby/man! Use various items such as sequence, beads, or camouflage materials.

Math: Have students measure the 'Modern' Gingerbread Man/Baby they created using inches.

Potential Problems: None

Johnny Appleseed by Tamor Mays

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publishing Info: Scholastic; 32 pages
Awards received: none

Summary: The story begins with squirrels and birds discussing who planted an apple tree they were sitting on. They animals tell the story of Johnny Appleseed and the ways people enjoy animals. The story describes how Johnny Appleseed traveled around the US to plant apple trees.

Personal Rating: ****Great! Storyline is appropriate for the very young to understand!

Reading level: 0.5
Interest level: K-1

Possible uses of the text :
Science/Art: Describe and draw the cycle of an apple seed
Math/Art: On a sheet of paper have an outline of 5 trees. On the trunk of the tree add a number. Have the students draw apples according to the number on the tree.

Potential Problems: None

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

Book Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Publishing Info: Aladdin, 233 pages

Awards or honors received: Newbery Medal

Summary: Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse, knows it is time to move her children to their spring house. One of her sons is very sick, though, and will not be able to move. She decides to ask help from the rats that live in a nearby bush. Once inside their bush, however, Mrs. Frisby realizes that these rats are far from ordinary. They dislike the fact that rats steal everything, so they have developed a plan to be self sufficient and no longer have to steal. The Rats of NIMH learned that this was possible after they escaped from a science lab, where they were taught to read and communicate. Because of their intelligence, the are able to help Mrs. Frisby come up with a plan for how to protect her house and not have to move to the spring house until her son is better.

Personal rating and reason for rating: *** Good. I think this book keeps children wanting to read and it uses their imaginations in a fun way. It can be very long at points, though, which is one downfall.

Reading level: 5.1

Interest level: 3rd grade -6th grade

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:

Science- The students can work as the "engineers" that help Mrs. Frisby protect her house. Students will come up with a way to move her house from its current location to the new location behind the rock where it will be safe from the tractor.

Social Studies/Geography: Students can draw and label a map of the Fitzgibbon's farm including the Frisby's current house, their spring hose, the bolder where they move, the rat's bush, etc.

Science- Students will research information about the habitats and niches of mice, then compare them to the habitats and niches of the Frisbys.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: none