Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man - Realistic Fiction

 

I used these words for my wordle because
Encyclopedia Brown, a boy genius, solves
mysteries in this book.  The villain is
named Bugs Meany and tries to thwart Encyclopedia.
I would use this in my classroom as a fun book
 for students to read and try to solve the mysteries.

The Arrival - Graphic Novel

I did a voicethread for this piece. It can be found here http://cedncsu.ed.voicethread.com/share/419181/

Super Oscar - Multicultural Literature

This book was actually written by the famous boxer Oscar De La Hoya, and this is another book that is written in both Spanish and English. The main plot of the story is that Oscar, always a daydreamer, has forgotten about the neighborhood picnic! I think many students would be able to relate to this chronic daydreamer, and they would enjoy reading about the funny problems it causes. Oscar hurries to get ready for the picnic, and he takes a few silly shortcuts to get everything done. Nice illustrations follow him the whole way, and the story is just a fun read from beginning to end. I love that it's bilingual, and I am going to include a few books like this in my classroom to help my ESL students and other students who might be interested in learning about the Spanish language.

The Wolf Who Cried Boy - Modern Fantasy/Folk Literature

This is a fun book that, much like "The Paper Bag Princess," flips the script on an old tale. In this book, as you might guess, there is a fantasy land in which talking animals abound, including one mischievous little wolf who loves playing tricks on people. He cries out that a little boy is after him one too many times, and the shopkeepers are fed up with it! They get together and fool the wolf by dressing up as a boy and scaring him. He cries for help and no one comes! I remember the original "Boy Who Cried Wolf" story being told to me when I was young because I too had a problem with taking jokes too far. This story had a big impact on me, and I started taking important things more seriously. I think this story would have the same impact on students in my classroom, so it would be a good book with a valuable moral, not to mention the cute story and wonderful illustrations.

The Paper Bag Princess - Modern Fantasy

This is a very charming, if a bit simple, book about a princess from a far away land. She is captured by a dragon and needs to be rescued! This is no normal fairy tale, however. While her prince is taking his sweet time, this brave princess tricks her captor into tiring himself out and using up all his fire. By the time her prince arrives the dragon is out of commission, and all he has to say is that she doesn't look very lady-like. The princess realizes he's a useless bum and walks away. I love the way this story flips the script on the old fairy tale story, and I think many girls in my class would appreciate a story in which the damsel is not exactly in distress. I would use this in my class as an example of creative fantasy, because I think that's a genre that could help my students with their own creative writing.

Jazz - Nonfiction

Wow, this book was one that just blew me away. Having some background in studying the evolution of jazz culture, I can say this was an accurate and creative way to expose people to the nature of the music and culture. A lot of the history is told in song form, and the author uses colorful language and rhythm to teach the reader about the nature of jazz and blues songs. It's not all simple songs, though. Interspersed throughout the author puts bits of facts and interesting pieces about jazz culture. At the end of the book there's a timeline of jazz history and a glossary of jazz terms. I would call this book multicultural as well, because it details a subculture of America, one that could easily be overlooked in some school cultures. I would love to have this book in my classroom to spread awareness of types of music and also to teach kids about a culture that might not be represented in their history textbooks.

The Way we do it in Japan - Multicultural Literature

This is a wonderful multicultural book about a boy from a family with a Japanese father and an American mother. They live in America until suddenly his father's job relocates him to Japan! Gregory has to learn about Japanese culture quickly, and so does the reader! There are many japanese phrases used in this book, and the author gives pronunciation guides and translations for each item. I loved learning a little Japanese as I read it, and I'm sure students would too! I would use this book in a classroom to spread awareness about cultural differences, and I would have my students research Japanese culture a bit as enrichment. With Japanese phrases and colorful illustrations, this book would be wonderful to have in a classroom.

The Log Cabin Quilt - Historical Fiction

This is a touching book about a family in Michigan in the late 1800s. The mother has just died, so the dad decided to pack up everything and move. He's deeply hurt by the death, and the family is shaken. They build a log cabin in a wilderness area, and one day the father has to go out hunting. During the cold night the children decide to stop cold air coming in with their grandma's quilting pieces. When the father comes back he declares that "mama would be proud" and this breaks the spell of sadness that has haunted the family. They felt like a whole family again because their father could now speak about the mother. They called it "the log cabin quilt." I thought it was a great book, and the illustrations fit the story very well. I would have this in my classroom as a book to foster discussion about families and dealing with sadness. It would be best used as a read aloud for younger children, and for older children it wouldn't be a particularly difficult read.

Elmer and the Dragon - Modern Fantasy

This book follows a young boy named Elmer Elevator as he tries to get home. This is the second in a line of books, and in the first book he came to an island searching for a trapped dragon. In this book he has rescued the dragon, and as a show of thanks the dragon lets Elmer fly on his back all the way home. This is a chapter book, and each chapter holds a new adventure for the pair. They get caught in a storm, help a canary king dig up treasure, and finally make it back home before Elmer's parents get too worried. The one thing I loved about this book was the great pictures throughout. The dragon looks very fun and fanciful, and the whole book has a cute aesthetic that keeps it from being too scary. The writing is wonderful as well. The author takes great care to describe everything in detail for the reader. I would love to keep this in my classroom as a fun fantasy read, and I would use it as a great example of descriptive fiction writing for my students.

Las Magicas y Misteriosas Aventuras de una Bulldog Llamada Noelle - Multicultural Literature

This book's title, translated to English, reads "The magical and mysterious adventures of a bulldog named Noelle." The book's plot follows a bulldog as a young girl finds her and brings her home. The bulldog romps around nature, getting into mischief and meeting animal friends. It's a cute story with colorfully vivid pictures throughout. The most interesting thing about this book is that it's all in Spanish! There isn't even an English translation. I think that's a great thing, because in my fourth grade class this semester we have one student that is so behind in her reading because all the books are in English. She would love to have a book in Spanish, and she could start decoding words in her native language while she works on her English skills elsewhere. I would implement this in my classroom as a book for English speakers who are curious about the Spanish language, or for Spanish speakers who need something to read!

Baseball Legends, Babe Ruth - Biography

This book is a very comprehensive biography of the life of Babe Ruth, a baseball great from the 1920's.  It details his rise to stardom, his highs and lows, and ends with the inspiring story of his last days on the field.  This book tells it all, including his ultimately fatal bout of cancer.  I think this would be a great book for any aspiring athlete to read.  I really liked how the author didn't try to make the story more grandiose than it really was.  For a character that's already larger than life I think it took some restraint to write an objective telling of his life.  I would implement this book in class by giving students the opportunity to research people from earlier days in America, and considering Babe Ruth's celebrity status in baseball I think he would be a good choice.  

Stone Fox - Realistic Fiction

This short chapter book is a heart-wrenching story that was recommended to me by a fourth grade student I worked with this year.  She said, "Read this one if you like sad books."  The book is almost a tragedy!  It starts with the main character, little Willy's grandfather lying comatose because he "doesn't want to live anymore."  For the rest of the book Willy tries all kinds of things to help his grandpa want to live.  This youth has to tend the farm, pay his grandfather's debts, and ultimately put up his college fund money to enter a dog sled race to save his Grandfather.  There is a happy ending, but it remains a very heavy read.  I would definitely use this book in my classroom as a chapter book that could foster great discussions as part of a literature circle.

Perfect Pancakes if you please - Modern Fantasy

This is a really fun book for an elementary classroom.  There is nothing particularly challenging about it, but it has a nice fantasy story about a king that falls into trouble because of his love for pancakes!  He promises his daughter to anyone who could bring him the perfect stack, and a wizard uses sorcery to fulfill his wish.  A dashing prince saves the day!  I liked how the story had a positive lesson that could be taught while still being an exciting and compelling story.  I would implement this in the classroom by having the students read a fantasy story then write their own during writing time.  

Off to the Sweet Shores of Africa - Traditional Literature

This is a book of little poems and rhymes the author made up, and they have a very authentic feel.  There is a glossary with unfamiliar words in the back of the book, which is nice because there are several words that are traditionally African and would be unfamiliar.  Some examples are the iroko and the baobob, two types of trees students would be unfamiliar with since they are native to Africa.  My favorite part of the book is the introduction where the author explains what the "talking" drum was, and this sets a fun context for these rhymes.  This would be implemented in the class as a read aloud for a unit about folk traditions throughout the world.

The Way Meat Loves Salt - Folk Literature

Right on the cover this book is announced as a "cinderella tale from the jewish tradition." This is a picturebook full of magic, romance, and culture. I learned a lot about jewish culture myself reading this book, and students would too. There are Rabbis, traditional jewish food, and traditional jewish celebrations! At the end of the book there is a song called "Mazel Tov!" which has both yiddish and english translations. The story itself unfolds much like the version we know, but there aren't princes and princesses, and you meet a character from the Bible, Elijah the prophet! I would recommend this book as a traditional multicultural tale. It would fit well with an activity comparing cinderella tales from other cultures.

Eating Enchiladas - Realistic Fiction

This book would be a wonderful way to introduce multicultural awareness in a classroom. It is a story of a young girl whose class is given an unusual school project - each student has to pick a country to teach the rest of the class about. She doesn't know what country to pick at first, but after a sleepover at a new friend's house she falls in love with the country Mexico. Her friend is from Mexico and teaches her(and the reader) all about Mexican culture and tradition, including a bit of conversational Spanish. My favorite part of the book is that at the end we get to hear about several students' projects. We learn about Nigeria, China, and Italy before finally seeing the main character and her newfound friend talk about Mexico for the class. This was a charming book that would be a good cultural primer for students in elementary school. It's also part of a series that students might find compelling enough to jumpstart their reading interests!  This would fit into my class as a starter chapter book, and if many students might be interested it would be great for a lit circle as well!

Domitila - A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Tradition - Folk/Multicultural Literature

My first impression of this Mexican version of the "Cinderella" folktale is that it's a nice change from the Disney version everyone has always heard, and it has a very authentic feel to it. I think it would serve well to expand students' understanding of culture and differences among people and places. There are traditional mexican foods mentioned, and some Spanish is used in the story in a way that would still be well understood by English speakers. One problem I have with the book is that it's well too long for a read-aloud, but it's not divided into chapters. It's the kind of book that would be great to read in one sitting, but I think most younger students would need help getting through it. I suppose the point is, it would be hard to use for a lesson about folk tales around the world, but it definitely has a place in a classroom library as an example of a folk tale from another culture. There are also very nice illustrations on every other page that go along with the story, and on every other page there is a saying in Spanish with an English translation. One example is, "Al amor no se le desalienta facilmente" - "Love is not easily discouraged." I really enjoyed this book, but some consideration must be used when utilizing it in the classroom.

Sol A Sol - Multicultural Literature

I've always had a heart for ELL students, and this book seems like a great way to reach those students that struggle connecting Spanish to English. It's a book of bilingual poems - actually, each poem shows up on the same page in both Spanish and English, and there are also fun illustrations that go along with each poem. The subject matter of the poems are everyday things, such as the love of a mother or the sounds children make. I think the organic nature of these poems would really speak to children, and the bilingual style can open linguistic curiosity in English and Spanish speakers alike! This is a multicultural book and could work wonders for making your students start thinking about the world outside of their own family experience.  It would fit into my classroom as a book that would spark interest in any multicultural unit, and it would also fit for activities focusing on different types of families.

Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday - Realistic Fiction

This is a charming and funny book about a dilemma many children find themselves facing. What do you do with money you find? Do you save it? Do you spend it? This book details exactly where Alexander's dollar went as he gambles(children should learn his lesson!), buys candy, lends money to his brother, and more. Kids could definitely learn a lesson from this book while enjoying the simple story and the simple black and white illustrations. The only problem I have with this book is that some students don't see the dollar as a big amount of money anymore and wouldn't be able to relate to the story. They could still find it a fun and easy read with a lot to connect to.  This book would fit in my class as an easy fun read for students who might be a little behind reading level.

I've Seen the Promised Land - Nonfiction

Not only is this a book about the life of Martin Luther King, it also covers much of the other important history of the civil rights movement. The author does not sugarcoat hard facts about King's life, such as the assassination, but the main focus of the book is the peaceful and inspirational message he preached. There was also a chronological history of the civil rights movement at the end of the book, so I would say this is a phenomenal way for students to learn about this important era of American history. This Biographical nonfiction book has a place in any classroom and would be informative for students from grade 2 and up!  It could be implemented for students researching the civil rights movement, for students researching a famous person, or just for students looking for a quick history lesson.