Under the Persimmon Tree

By: Suzanne Fisher Staples (2005)
                                    

I really enjoyed this book and I can see myself using this book if I am a fifth grade teacher.  I think that the way the story is told is very important for students to see how things are in Afghanistan.  I think many people may be close minded about people from the Middle East since 9/11, but after reading this book their eyes will be opened to see that it isn't great over their either.  I think one of the main things that really caught my attention was that the characters from Afghanistan didn't want to leave there to come to America.  I thought this book was very emotional especially when her whole family died, but it is a reality and it is good to show students what happens in the real world.  

I think the author did an excellent job with this novel.  I think it was very important that she went over to Afghanistan and interviewed people so that her story was very close to the truth and told the story of these people from their perspective.  I am very glad that I had read the Breadwinner before reading this.  It gave me a little bit of background knowledge about the Middle East and how women are treated.  This book opened my eyes and I am very glad we read it in this class.

Be Good to Eddie Lee

By: Virginia Fleming (1993)

I loved this story!  This book was about Eddie Lee, a young boy with down syndrome.  The story took place during the summer and involved his neighbors Christy and JimBud.  Christy's mother told her she had to be good to Eddie Lee, but JimBud didn't want Eddie Lee tagging along with them down to the lake.  Eddie followed them and ended up showing Christy water lilies and found some frog eggs for her.  JimBud had promised to show her some frog eggs, but he couldn't find any.  As Christy looks at her reflection in the water she sees how odd she looks and Eddie Lee tells her that it doesn't matter what you look like, what matters is what's in your heart.

I thought that this was a very touching story and as I read it I thought back to high school.  In high school I was a lunch buddy for a student at our school with down syndrome.  A group of my friends would sit with her at lunch everyday and help her get her tray and open her milk and stuff for her.  We made sure that no one picked on her and helped her during the day as well when we would see her in the hallways.  I think that this would be an excellent book to read to students to show them that we may be different, but we do need to be kind and helpful to all of our peers.  I really enjoyed this book and can see myself reading this to my students one day.

Mommies Say Shhh!

By Patricia Polacco (2005)

This book was ok, but it was not my favorite book by Patricia Polacco.  I think that this book would be a great read aloud book for kindergarten or first grade, but it wasn't what I expected from her after reading some of her other books.  The book told what sounds different animals make, but it kept repeating "bunnies say nothing at all."  I guess I am just used to her other works such as Pink and Say that I was just expecting something different.  I do think that younger children would really enjoy this as a morning or afternoon read aloud, but I don't think I could use it in any other way in my classroom.

I really did enjoy the illustrations in this book though.  As in all her books the illustrations are just gorgeous.  You can see details and they reflect really well on the story that the author is telling.  I did find the bunnies with the red eyes a little creepy, but that is what they really look like.  Overall, the book was ok.  I'm not sure if I would read it again, but I may.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Laura Numeroff (1985)
This is one of my all time favorite books!  I used this book in my lesson about unlimited wants and needs.  The students in my class really enjoyed this book and learned a lot about wants and needs.  I think it was a great way to demonstrate how the mouse had unlimited wants in this story.  It showed them that no matter what you gave him, he always wanted something else.  This story is a classic and the majority of students really enjoy reading it and the other books in the series that are very similar to it.  I am also using this book as a model for my e-book.  We created a classroom book titled, If You Give a Teacher a Dog, as part of my lesson as well.  I decided to use that as my e-book and present it to the class.

I think the author does a great job in this story in showing how wanting one thing leads to wanting another.  It is a great lesson for kids and it demonstrates it in such a fun way.  They story and illustrations in this book are great and as I said before students and adults alike enjoy reading this book!

Love That Dog

Sharon Creech (2001)











I really enjoyed this book.  I loved the way that the story was told from a young boys point of view.  This book would be great to use in the classroom because it is a very quick read and it would be able to hold the students attention.  The book would also be great for a class discussion based on how the students feel about each part of the poem that is in the book.  It would be very interesting to split the class into small groups so that the students could really share their feelings about the book in a small group setting.

I loved how the author really captured me from the very beginning.  I really started to wonder what a dog had to do with it, but then when it finally came out, I found myself in tears.  I have lost a pet before and knowing the pain and heartache I went through, I couldn't imagine seeing it get hit by a car.  I thought it was very interesting how the author tied the blue car into the story.  It really caught my attention when they were discussing the Robert Frost poem and the kid couldn't figure out why the man didn't just rest if he was so tired.  It cam back around to the car, I am sure he wondered why the car didn't stop to help after it had hit his dog.

This book really made me think in a couple of places and I loved the way that he was not a very confident writer at the beginning, but when the teacher kept pushing hi and praising him, he became very confident in his work.  This truly was a great book and I look forward to using it in my classroom one day.

Jack and the Beanstalk

By: Steven Kellogg

I absolutely loved this book!  I used this book in my economics lesson for bartering.  I showed the students how Jack bartered his cow for the magic beans.  As I read the book to my students, you could of heard a pin drop in the classroom.  The students were hanging on every word of the book as well as the illustrations.  I thought that this book went along very well with bartering and it allowed the students to make a connection with the topic of bartering.  This is the book that turned me on to Steven Kellogg and I have checked out many books by him to finish my blog.

I think that as an author and illustrator Steven Kellogg is very talented and has the ability to capture the audience from the very beginning.  To be able to have 23 second grade students sit and hang on every word of a book is amazing.  The illustrations caught my attention as well.  I was trying to figure out which version of Jack and the Beanstalk to buy, when I came to this version I was totally captivated by the pictures.  Steven Kellogg has the special gift of being an author/illustrator that can captivate the audience from the very beginning of the story by just the illustrations.

Johnny Appleseed

By: Steven Kellogg (1988)

I decided to read more Steven Kellogg books after reading Jack and the Beanstalk in one of my lesson plans.  He is an amazing author and illustrator.  This book followed the life of John Chapman also known as Johnny Appleseed.  I thought that the way the story flowed was great.  It didn't drag our at all and it gave facts, while also giving details that you could tell were a little exaggerated.  One of the tale tales that were in the story was that he got attacked by a ratlesnake, but his feet were like elephants and the fangs didn't penetrate the skin.  I can hear some of the boys in y class now saying there is no way that that is true.  As I read this book I remembered when I was in elementary school and we did a PTO program on Johnny Appleseed. I can still remember that I was the Golden Delicious Apple.  I love finding books like this that I can relate to as a reader.  Bringing back fond memories like that is great and it helps the reader connect with the story and hold their attention to the very end.

This book would be a great way to introduce tall tales to the class.  While Johnny Appleseed did exist, some stories of him have become highly exaggerated.  This would be a great introduction to the unit and then have the students write some tall tales of their own.  Like the other book that I have read by him I thought that the story and the illustrations were amazing.  Steven Kellogg is very talented and can hook the reader from the very beginning of his story.

Ellie

By: Mary Christner Borntrager (1988)

This was an amazing novel.  I was trying to find something very different to read this week and as I was browsing the library I came to this series.  I have been fascinated by Amish people for awhile.  My grandmother lives in Upstate New York, so when we drive up to visit her, we drive through Amish country in Pennsylvania.  One of my grandmothers best friends are Amish as well so it is a completely different lifestyle than what we are used to.

This novel follows a girl named Ellie through her life.  It starts off when Ellie goes to school and is made fun of because she is the only Amish student in her class.  It follows Ellie through some very tough times in her life as well as happy times like her wedding day.  I thought the book was great, but it should of been edited a little better.  I found quite a few errors and typos in the story, but it was still very good.  I think that this book is great for all ages and would be a good book to read aloud in class.  I think the students would like to hear about someone from todays society that lives a completely different lifestyle than they do.  Ellie had no toys, video games or even colorful dresses.  She had to work very hard and had very little time to play.  It is a very eyeopening book and is very captivating in showing all about Amish life through a child's point of view.

Walter the Farting Dog

By: William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray (2001)

I thought that this book was hilarious!  I found my self laughing out loud a couple of times.  I think I would definitely have this series in my classroom library.  The only controversial thing I found in the book is the word farting.  It was a very cute story and I think that students would really enjoy it and the other books in the series as well.  The story was about Billy and Betty and their dog Walter that they adopted from the pound.  Walter smells awful, so their mom tells them to give him a bath.  The bath didn't help at all, Walter had a farting problem.  Billy and Betty's dad was going to make them return Walter to the pound, but the night before he was supposed to go back Walter farted and helped catch two burglars who were trying to steal from Billy and Betty's family.  Their dad decided to let Walter stay since he rescued the day!

I know that it isn't polite for students or anyone really to walk around and talk about farting, but I think that students would really enjoy this series and if it's books like this that make them want to read then I don't see a problem with them reading them.  I think the authors and illustrator both did an amazing job in this book.  The font the authors used was great and the way the illustrator did the pictures was a lot of fun.  It wasn't your ordinary everyday book and I think that students would enjoy it as much as I did!

My Grandfather's House

By: Bruce Coville (1996)

I really think the author did a great job in this story.  The story was about a young boy whose grandfather had died.  He didn't understand where his grandfather had gone.  When he asked his parents they said he was dead, but didn't know where he had gone.  He was just dead.  I lost one of my grandfathers when I was fairly young and I remember not really understanding what my parents meant when they said he was gone.  This would be a very hard topic to cover in a classroom, but it could be something that one of your students is going through or may go through soon.  It would be a good book to read to introduce the topic of death and have the kids respond.  Having the students respond could be very helpful to the student that may need to hear this story and show them that their friends and classmates have been through the same thing.

I think that the author Bruce Coville did a great job in this book.  He wrote a story about how a child felt when his grandfather died and how he was confused.  This is a controversial book in my opinion because it is dealing with the issue of death.  The one thing I noticed though was the little boys parents never said anything about his grandfather going to heaven.  I imagine if this book was read in class, some students would wonder why his parents didn't tell him that his grandfather had gone to heaven when he asked where he went.  I think that may of made the book a little more controversial if he had added that since there are some people and religions that may not believe in heaven.  Overall, I think the book was very good.

Molly Bannaky

By: Alice McGill (1999)

This book was very good.  It was the story of Molly, who was a milk maid.  The cow that Molly milked everyday knocked the pail over twice in a week and Molly was accused of stealing her masters milk.  Molly was put on trial, but since she could read the Bible, her life was spared, but she was sent from England to the New World.  Molly served as a slave for 7 years, before she was freed.  After she gained her freedom she staked a claim for her own land.  The work was too much for just her so she bought an African slave.  Molly and the slave Bannaky fell in love and got married.  This was highly frowned upon because a white woman was not supposed to marry a black man.  Molly and Bannaky had 4 daughters before Bannaky died.  One of her grandchildren, Benjamin Bannaker went on to be a famous scientist and mathematician.

I would read this as a controversial book while studying slavery.  This is an amazing true story that is very powerful.  I thought the book was very captivating from the very beginning and the fact that it is a true story is even more amazing.  This woman did something that wasn't heard of very often during this time, but she didn't care.  In society today interracial marriages are still frowned at in some areas, but for her to marry a slave during that time was very controversial.  The author and illustrator both did great jobs in the portraying Molly and Bannaky's story to the reader.  I truly enjoyed reading this book.

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother

By: Patricia Polacco (1994)

As always I absolutely loved this book by Patricia Polacco.  I am the oldest of three girls so I can totally relate to how her brother was treating her in the book.  I am sure my sisters would say I did much worse things to them growing up!  They story captivates the audience from the beginning and leaves you turning each page wondering if she will be able to do something better or longer than her older brother.  One night there is a falling start and Patricia makes a wish that she could do something better than her brother.  The next night at the carnival she rides the Merry-Go-Round longer than him, but when she gets off she is very dizzy and falls.  Ricky her brother carried her home and ran to get the doctor, it turns out she fell on some pop bottles and passed out.

I think this book would be great to use in the class and allow the students to predict if they thought she would eventually do something better than her older brother.  I think students who have siblings would also be able to relate to this story.  It would make an interesting class discussion hearing how the younger siblings felt about the book compared to students who may be the oldest.  I really enjoyed this book and will use it in my future classroom!

The Little Green Witch

By: Barbara Barbieri McGrath (2005)

This book was very similar to The Little Red Hen.  I think it would be great to use at Halloween based on the characters.  In the book the ghost, bat and gremlin are very lazy and do not want to help the little green witch do any of the chores.  One day the witch plants pumpkin seeds, but no one helps her.  The other 3 don't help her water, pick, clean out or carve the pumpkins.  After the witch has done all of these thinks she takes the pumpkin gloop and turns it into a magnificent pumpkin pie.  The ghost, bat and gremlin come running to help her eat the pie.  The witch tells them, you wouldn't help me plant, water, pick, clean out or carve the pumpkins so you don't get to have any of my pie.  Before she sits down to enjoy her pie, she turns the other 3 into....LITTLE RED HENS!!

I would use this book in my class to show the importance of helping each other.  While no one will get turned into a red hen, it is very important that we help each other in the classroom and treat each other with respect and act like we are a family. This story was very well written and illustrated and would be a great alternative to the Little Red Hen.

The Breadwinner

By: Deborah Ellis (2001)

Oh my! This was an amazing book!  This story was absolutely heart wrenching. From the very beginning of the book you are totally engulfed in this story and the characters lives.  The book was about Parvana an Afghan girl who came from a wealthy family.  Both her parents were educated and her mother was a published author.  Then enters the Taliban and Parvana and her family's lives are torn apart.

When the Taliban came into power women's rights were taken away and Parvana's mother wasn't allowed to even leave the house without a male escort or a written note from a male figure in the house, she definitely couldn't work anymore.  One day the Taliban arrested Parvana's father and when Parvana and her mother went into town to have him released they were beaten.  This part of the story was completely gut wrenching to me.  I couldn't imagine how they must of felt with all their freedom just stripped away like that.  Parvana decides that in order for her to help her family she must cut her hair and wear her dead brothers clothes.  She does this and goes out to work to make money for her family. Their lives never really get easier and the family under goes many more struggles.  This book has a sequel which I am very interested in reading!

I would use this book in a 4th or 5th grade class.  It would be a great way to show students how lucky we are to live in the United States where we have freedoms that were stripped away from these poor people in Afghanistan.  It will also open the eyes of students to show them that people who live in Afghanistan aren't all bad and the Taliban does horrible things to these people.  I highly recommend this book.

Lemonade for Sale

By: Stuart J. Murphy (1998)

This book is very similar to a book I used in my economics lesson plans.  This book had a great story line to it, but it would be an excellent resource in the classroom when teaching supply and demand.  In this story the kids wanted to repair their clubhouse, so they decided to sale lemonade.  Each kid had a part in the production part and the lemonade stand grew in popularity everyday.  However, one day they didn't sell very much lemonade and that was because all of their customers had gone down the block to see another neighborhood kid juggle and do tricks.  The group of kids decided they would invite the new kid to perform by their lemonade stand the next day.  The kid agreed and the lemonade stand did amazing and the kids were able to repair their clubhouse.

This book would be a great introduction to supply and demand as well as consumers and producers.  The main focus for the math integration in this story is the use of bar graphs.  One of the kids were responsible for keeping track of how many cups of lemonade they sold each day.  She put their data on the bar graph so they could see growth and loss.  This book would be a great to integrate across 3 different subjects.

Mud is Cake

By Pam Munoz Ryan (2002)

This was a great book!  The book was all about turning ordinary things into whatever you wanted them to be.  You could turn mud into cake, IF you don't really take a bite.  The book took a lot of things that children make believe everyday and made it into a story.

As I read the book it really took me back to my childhood.  I remember making mud cakes, and pretending the bathtub was a boat.  I think that students would love hearing or reading this story.  It was very magical in the way that it could transport you back in time and help you remember adventures you may have gone on as a child.  I think it would be great to read in the classroom and discuss with the students about the different things that they may have done that were similar to the book.

David McPhail did a great job with the pictures and the colors were very vibrant.  The illustrations would easily catch the eye of the students and help them visualize what the author was saying.  I think I will read this to the students in my class next week and see how they like it and if they have ever done any of this stuff.

There's an Alligator Under My Bed

By: Mercer Mayer (1987)

I loved this book! I have read many books from Mercer Mayer, but I have never read any from this series.  I could totally see some of the students in my class thinking like this if they thought an alligator was under their beds.  The little boy in the book saw the alligator, but his parents did not.  He finally trapped the alligator in the garage, but then worried about what would happen to his dad in the morning when he went to work.

The pictures were also by Mercer Mayer and they were phenomenal as well.  I think I could use this book in my classroom to have the students come up with a story about something being underneath their beds.  What would they do to conquer the thing that they chose to write about.  This would be a great way to have them be descriptive and come up with a solution to a problem.  I would then collect the stories and illustrations and put them in a class book and title it "What is Under My Bed?"  I think that the students would really get into this activity and it would be a lot of fun for them.

Our Mom Has Cancer

By Abigail and Adrienne Ackerman (2001)

This book was very good.  Two young girls wrote this book to help other kids who are going through the same things that they went through when their mother was battling breast cancer.  The book was very touching as the sister shared their feelings and what their family went through during this time.  Things changed and somethings were a little scary.

This book may be a little controversial, but it would be very helpful to kids of all ages.  Cancer is something that everyone has or will be affected by at some point in their life.  This book was great at giving details and helpful information for kids whose parent, grandparents, or even siblings may go through.  The illustrations were also great and very innocent since the girls drew them.  They told of ups and downs that their mother went through which I think is great.  This book was a great idea and was a good way to give kids another kids perspective on somethings as scary as cancer.

The Pied Piper's Magic

By: Steven Kellogg (2009)

I loved this story!  This book was about an elf who traveled around, looking for people to help.  He helped an old witch and she gave him a horn that was supposed to be magic, but it never did anything special for her.  He found out that the horn was magic and when he played words would come out and turn into real life things.  He also noticed that when he played "deer" and would flip over the deer would become a "reed."  He then came upon a kingdom that was filled with rats.  This was an awful place because the parents had to work all the time and never got to see their children.  The elf decided to play the word rats and then flipped over and played and all the rats became stars.  The elf saved the day and the parents and children were reunited.

Steven Kellogg is an amazing author and illustrator.  The story grabs your attention from the very first page.  I loved the way that he illustrates his stories and makes the illustrations catch the readers eyes.  This book would be awesome to use in language arts when you are talking about words you can turn around and make other words.  Students would also enjoying reading or listening to this book as well.  It is a fascinating story that makes you want to know what happens next.  I haven't read many books by Steven Kellogg yet, but I really enjoy his work and have checked out more books by him.   He is a great story teller and I will definitely have his books in my classroom library.

Last Summer with Maizon

By Jacqueline Woodson (1991)

If I had to sum up this book in one word it would be, AMAZING!  My emotions were all over the place as I read this book.  Margaret and Maizon are best friends and they are there to support each other through everything.  Margaret loves her parents and Maizon more than anything in the world.  In this book Margaret's life is completely turned upside down.   Her father dies of a heart attack and then she finds out that Maizon, who is very smart, has been accepted to a boarding school in New York.  Margaret feels so alone because her mother works all the time and is sad about her father.  My heart broke for this poor girl.  Margaret must come up with other ways to get her emotions out since her friend isn't with her everyday.

Jacqueline Woodson did such a wonderful job on this book.  I could not put it down and read it in a day.  I could totally relate to Margaret when he best friend was moving away.  My best friend moved to Wilmington to go to college, but we are best friends and keep in touch.  This book had some moments that were very happy, but I cried when her father passed away and when Maizon left.  This book would be great for 5th or 6th graders.  I like how the author made it so relatable to real life events.  I am sure many students have been through some if the same things that the characters in this book had.  Again, I am so glad that I was introduced to this author.  She is a powerful writer not only in her picture books, but in her novels as well.  I can't wait to read more stuff from her.

The Old Woman Who Named Things

By Cynthia Rylant (1996)

I have read a lot of Cynthia Rylant books during my author study, but I think this one may be my favorite.  This book was about a little old lady who named EVERYTHING! Her car, house, bed, dresser and even her rocking chair had a name.  The old lady was kind of sad though, she had out lived every single one of her friends.  One day a puppy came to her house, she fed it, but she told it to go home.  Everyday the puppy would come back and she would always tell it to go away.  She didn't want to take the risk of out living another friend.  One day the puppy who had grown into a dog didn't show up.  This worried the old lady especially when he didn't show up for many days.  The lady went to the pound to see if she could find her dog.  When the dog catcher asked what the dogs name was, the old lady was a little stunned this is the one thing she had never named.  She told the man his name was Lucky and as soon as she said it the shy dog ran up to her and she took him home.

I thought that this book was so heart warming and touching.  The lady was afraid of outliving the dog that she never named it, but in the end she made room in her home for her new friend Lucky.  This book was very well written and Kathryn Brown did an amazing job with the illustrations.  This book reminds me of my grandmother.  She had a cat who passed away and now she is afraid of getting another one and getting attached to it as well.  This book would engage the audience from the very beginning.  I think it would be a neat book to read to the class and ask the students if they name things around their house like the lady in the book does.  I really think that the students would love this book and it would keep them engaged to the very end to make sure that the old lady found her dog.

Just Plain Fancy

By Patricia Polacco (1990)

I really enjoyed this book by Patricia Polacco.  It was a great story about two girls being raised in an Amish family.  Naomi wants something fancy to brighten up their plain everyday lives on an Amish farm.  One day se finds a unique egg and puts it in a nest in her hen house.  When the chick hatches it is very different and fancy from the other chicks.  When the elders come for a visit, Naomi hides the special bird becasue she is afraid it will be shunned.  The bird gets out and the Elders are delighted by something as beautiful as this bird, which turns out to be a Peacock.

This book was very well written and illustrated.  I think it would be an excellent book to have in class to define your own personal values.  Naomi wanted something fancy, but in the Amish culture they are all about being plain.  Naomi didn't want to be shunned from her community just like she didn't want the beautiful creature to be shunned.  Naomi was very excited to hear the Elders approve of her beautiful bird and she even got her white cap which is what she wanted all along.

This book would also be great to use when studying communities.  The Amish community is very different from the communities that the students would be used to seeing.  I know I had so many questions when I was little and we would drive through Amish country on the way to visit my grandma.  This book will give students an insight to different cultures that are right here in the United States.

Coming on Home Soon

By Jacqueline Woodson (2004)

I really enjoyed this wonderful story of a young girl waiting for her mother to return from Chicago during wartime.  The book starts out with a mother packing her bags and telling her daughter that she is going to Chicago to work with other Black women during the war.  The daughter is very sad, but soon a kitten comes into her life.  Her grandmother says she can't keep it, but the kitten ends up staying.  The little girl writes letters to her mother all the time, but everyday the mailman keeps walking past their house.  The seasons change and still no word from mother.  Finally one day a letter comes and the little girl learns that her mother will be coming home soon.

I really loved this story and thought that it was very touching.  One of my favorite things the author does in this book, is that she italicizes the words that the characters speak to each other.   I think this is a great way to show dialogue in the book. Jacqueline Woodson does a fantastic job in engaging the reader from the very beginning.  Woodson made all the characters so likable you could almost feel their pain while reading the story.  The mother was in pain because she was having to leave her little girl, the grandmother was in pain because she was left alone with this little girl who missed her mother so much and the little girl was in pain because her mother left to better their lives and she hadn't received a letter from her since she had been gone.

I am so glad that I was introduced to this author.  Her books are very touching and they are a great resource to use in the classroom.  Many books that I find don't have many African American stories or characters.  So having this author in the classroom is a great way to incorporate multi cultural characters and books into the class.

Our Gracie Aunt

By Jacqueline Woodson (2002)

This book was amazing!  The story was about a young boy and his sister who you can tell from the beginning are used to being alone.  One day Miss Roy comes, but they won't answer the door.  They lie to her and tell her that their mother has only been gone for a few minutes when in reality she has been gone for days.  Miss Roy keeps coming back until one day she finally takes them from the home they are living in.  BeeBee the young boys sister tells him that they are going to foster care.  Miss Roy actually takes them to their mothers sister, their Aunt Gracie.  The young boy gets it confused and call her their Gracie Aunt.  BeeBee tries to act like she doesn't enjoy loving with her Aunt, but she truly does.  One day they go and visit their mother once she is finally found.  She tells them it will be awhile before she is able to take care of them, but Gracie is a good person and they should enjoy living with her.

This book was very touching to me.  Jacqueline Woodson does an excellent job in capturing the reader from the very beginning.  While reading this book I felt sadness for the children because they were left alone to fend for themselves with no food, and they had no idea where their mother was and when she was coming back.  I also felt so happy for them when they got to their Aunt's home and she loved them so much and tucked them into bed every night.  I think the title of the book is correct, their Gracie Aunt was truly their saving Grace!

Show Way

By Jacqueline Woodson (2005)

I really enjoyed this story by Jacqueline Woodson.  The story was about her  and her ancestors lives.  When I started reading the book, I thought that the book was going to be all about the character Soonie.  Soonie's great grandmother was a slave and was sold as a young child.  Each character in the book knew how to make quilt squares.  These squares helped guide people along the path to freedom.  The story keeps going down the line to eventually you find out that all these people are the ancestors of Jacqueline Woodson and she even tells about her daughter.

I think this book is very inspiring.  I think it would be so hard to be a young child and be sold or taken away from your parents and family.  During this time they really had no way of taking items that would even remind them of their family.  This was an amazing book and it was very well written.

This would be an awesome book to use in the upper elementary grades.  It would be great to use when studying slavery or to be read during black history month.  Jacqueline Woodson does an excellent job telling this awesome story of her ancestors struggle as slaves and eventually achieving their freedom.  I also think that Hudson Talbott did an amazing job with the illustrations.  This is one of the first multi cultural books that I have ever read and I really enjoyed it.

A Fine White Dust

By Cynthia Rylant (1986)






This book is one of the most touching and amazing books that I have read this entire semester.  The book is about a 13 year old boy, Peter Cassidy.  Peter is growing up in a small NC town when a traveling preacher enters his life.  Peter is an only child and while his parents love him very much, they don't share their sons beliefs in God and his need to find a relationship with him.  Peter becomes mesmerized by the Preacher and decides to run away from home and go with the Preacher.  Peter is let down when the Preacher disappears and leaves town with the girl from the drug store.  Peter doesn't let this incident move him away from his belief in God.  He knows that the Preacher is the one who let him down not God.  The book gets its name from the fine white dust of a shattered ceramic cross.

Oh my goodness I can't get over how entranced I was in this story.  I could not put it down once I started reading it.  I had a hard time deciding which type of novel I would read this week and I am so glad I chose one from  my author study.  Cynthia Rylant is one of my new favorite authors!  I have loved every book that I have read from her and this one was no exception.  This would be an amazing book to use in class to show that you don't have to have the same beliefs as your parents and friends, what a hero is and that sometimes you do idealize the wrong people and they let you down.  The most important lesson I think this book teaches is that YOU are the only person who can define your personal value system.

This book is definitely for the upper grade students.  It was very touching and I cried in a few parts of it, but it is definitely worth the read even as an adult.  I am so glad that I chose to read this novel and I may re-read it when I have the time!

Lightning

By Gail Saunders-Smith (1998)

I chose this book, because my class is studying weather right now in Science.  I thought this book would be great to read to them so they could learn about this fascinating, but very dangerous type of weather.  The students love reading about all the dangerous weather types especially the hurricanes and tornadoes.  They really enjoyed learning about lightning as well!

I found this book to be very informative.  I never knew there were different types of lightning. I just figured lightning was lightning and that was it, but I was very wrong!  The book lets us know that lightning is very dangerous and hot.  Lightning travels very fast and if you see lightning you should take cover and not stay outside if you can help it.

This book would be great to use during a weather unit.  It is a great book to read as a class, but young elementary kids would have no problems reading this to themselves.  The book has some amazing pictures of lightning and is filled with information. The kids will stay focused while you are reading the book and will get very excited when you show them the awesome pictures!

The Camping Trip That Changed America

By Barb Rosenstock (2012)

This was my favorite non-fiction book that I read this week!  This book was about how President Roosevelt came to the decision to make Yosemite a National Forest.  President Roosevelt and John Muir could not have been more different.  Roosevelt grew up wealthy and privileged while John Muir grew up poor.  Both men loved the wilderness and when PResident Roosevelt saw a letter from Muir asking the government for help in protecting trees Roosevelt knew he wanted to help.  Roosevelt writes Muir a letter asking him to take him camping for four days, if he can prove his case President Roosevelt will personally see that he get the help he needs protecting the trees.

This book was very interesting and I learned so much from it.  I think the reason that I loved it so much was because it read very much like a regular fiction picture book.  The author did an awesome job telling this important story and made it interesting so that the students would totally be able to stay engaged.  The book would be great for fifth graders when they learn about US History!  The illustrator did a great job on the pictures as well.  The illustrations were very detailed and went along so well with the story.

The author told some very interesting stories from John Muir.  My favorite one was when John met his first Grizzly Bear.  He told President Roosevelt that he had to stay still for hours until the bear finally left him alone.  We have this camping trip to thank for some of the most gorgeous places to visit in the United States.  We can go see not only Yosemite National Forest, but the Grand Canyon as well.  I also found it interesting that President Roosevelt and John Muir stayed in touch until their deaths.  They slept together under the great Sequoia trees on their camping trip and they are both buried under great trees in their home towns.

The White House

By Susan H. Gray (2002)

This book was very informative about the White House.  I liked how it covered many different facts about the house, but was short enough that the students wouldn't lose focus on the book.  I had no idea that the White House had over 130 rooms and 3 elevators.  The book gives great back ground history about the building of the White House to which rooms are the most important and the largest.  It had a lot of great photographs that went along with each section of the book.

I found that the book held a lot of information and it was presented in a way that the students could read it on their own.  The book would be great for younger students, but I can also see how upper elementary kids could use some of this information when learning about the United States.  I found out so many interesting details about the White House.  I already knew that Dolley Madison saved the picture of George Washington, but I had no idea that the desk in the Oval Office was given by the Queen of England.  I also learned that each President is allowed to choose which desk they want to use in the Oval Office.  The one that John F. Kennedy used had a secret door in it that JFK Jr used to play in while his father was working.

I really liked how there was a glossary at the end of the book.  This book is great for younger elementary students and showing them how to use the glossary and the index.  The book also had some really cool "Did you know facts," and information on how to learn more about the White House.  This was a great informational book on the very famous house!

I Want to be a Vet

By Daniel Liebman (2000)

I chose this book because there are about four students in my class that want to be vets when they grow up.  I thought this would be a great book to take in and read to the class.  The teacher that I am working with allows the kids to bring in their Non-Fiction library books and she will read them while waiting for dismissal.  The boys are always bringing in books about cars and motorcycles and the girls always bring in ones about animals.  I think that this book would be great to read during this time.

I found this book to be very informative and would be great for a second grade class.  It talks about how there are many different kinds of vets and what each one of those vets are responsible for.  It also gave information about how it's important that our pets go to the vet because they need their shots just like we need ours.  The book also talked about how vets know what to do with animals that are found in the wild and that they can help all different types of animals.

The pictures in this book were fantastic!  I think the students would really enjoy seeing them as well as learning all about vets.  This book would be great for K-2 because the terminology is something that they could understand and the pictures were age appropriate.

No One Saw Ordinary Things Through the Eyes of an Artist

By Bob Raczka (2002)

I really enjoyed this Non-Fiction book.  The book focused on famous artists and how no one saw ordinary everyday things like they did.  Each artist that was featured in this book saw things like stars, flowers, mothers and even cans of soup in ways that other people didn't.  They put their visions down on paper or canvas and now the entire world is able to see their unique visions.

I really enjoyed this book and think that it would be a great way to show students that it is ok to see things in a different way than their classmates see them.  The paintings in this book are great and it would be a great way to introduce many different artists styles at one time.  I personally love the painting Starry Night and I think that is why I was drawn to this book in the library.

The author used repetition a lot in this book.  Each page started out," No one saw object like artist."  I really like how the author ended the book by saying, "Artists express their own point of view.  And nobody sees the world like you."  I think that it is great that the students would be left with such a positive message at the end of the book.

Cam Jansen: The Mystery at the Haunted House

By David A. Adler (1992)

Before Internship 1, I had never heard of Cam Jansen.  The students in the second grade classroom that I'm in LOVE reading about Cam Jansen.  They can't wait to switch their books out each week and get a new Cam Jansen book in their box.  Since I saw how excited they got over this series I decided to read one.  I now know why they love them so much!  This series is based on a girl who has a photographic memory.  She walks around and says "CLICK" and it's like her brain is taking a picture.  These memories help her solve all kinds of problems and mysteries that happen in this series. I decided to read Cam Jansen: The Mystery at the Haunted House because I love Haunted Houses.  I really enjoyed this book and thought the author did a great job making the reader feel like they were actually apart of the mystery themselves.

David Adler does a great job describing how Cam's mind works and how important it is in helping her solve the mysteries.  In this book Cam remembered details about the Haunted House and that helped her figure out who the thief was that stole her Aunt's wallet.

This book and series for that matter would be a great way to teach details during writing.  As teachers we need to make sure our students are good writers and that they provide important details.  If the author wasn't as detailed in this series then we as readers wouldn't really get how important it was that Cam has a photographic memory.  Adler is also very detailed about the setting and other characters which is very important in writing as well. I can't wait to read more books from this series.

The Bookshop Dog

By: Cynthia Rylant (1996)

I absolutely loved this book!  I am a dog lover and this book was wonderful.  The book was about a bookshop owner who loved her dog Martha Jane.  She took Martha Jane everywhere and even renamed her bookstore after Martha Jane.  The entire community fell in love with Martha Jane.  One day the bookshop owner got sick and had to go have her tonsils removed, but the hospital wouldn't let her bring Martha Jane.  The entire community got in a fight over who would watch Martha Jane while she was in the hospital.  Eventually the man in the green coat got to watch Martha Jane.  The lady and the man in the green coat eventually got married.

I think that this book would be great to use when teaching about communities in social studies.  It is a great example of how when one person in the community was facing a dilemma, they all came together to help her.  Cynthia Rylant did a great job not only writing this story, but illustrating it as well.  She used the technique she has used before and made the drawings look like something a child would do.  I also loved how the font was different.  Sometimes the font was in white, sometimes it was in black, but it wasn't just plain font it was a different style of font and I think it would be really cool for the students to be able to see authors use different fonts in their books.

I think the students would also enjoy seeing how everyone really wanted to take care of Martha Jane and that the policemen and firemen and other people in the community were fighting over who would get the job.  It would also show them how the community came together to solve the problem and resolve the fighting.  I know the second grade class I am in now would absolutely love this book!

Christmas in the Country

By: Cynthia Rylant (2002)

I really enjoyed reading this book.  The descriptions that Cynthia Rylant used were brilliant.  The book was about her childhood growing up in the country with her grandparents.  She had many different tasks that she did during all the seasons, but winter was her absolute favorite.  Everyone waited for something special during winter.  That special thing was Christmas!  Cynthia described how her grandfather would go out and get a tree from the woods behind their house and how her grandmother would go in the attic to get the ornaments that smelled of wool and mothballs.  It is descriptions like this that made the book.  When she was talking about the smell of mothballs I could almost smell them.  If you were to close your eyes while someone read the book to you, you would be able to vividly see exactly what the author is writing about.  The illustrations by Diane Goode were amazing, but with Cynthia Rylant giving all the descriptions that she did you almost don't need physical pictures.  She talked about many other things that she did during the Christmas season such as singing at church and receiving a small bag of candy, nuts and a tangerine.  She always gave the tangerine to her grandfather because they were his favorite.

This book would be great to use during writing time in the classroom.  I know that during writing time in my classroom, some students have a hard time being really descriptive.  I could read this book to show them how to write and use great descriptions about what you are writing.

When I Was Young in the Mountains

By: Cynthia Rylant (1982)

This was an amazing book!  This book is about a little girl who grew up in the mountains with her grandparents.  She recalls everything from swimming in a dark swimming hole, what her grandmother made for dinner, going outside to use the bathroom and even her grandmother killing snakes with hoes.  Almost every page started out with, When I was young in the mountains.  The author really captivates the audience in this book with all the details she puts into the story.  The reader can almost imagine what it was like for the little girl growing up here.  I know when I read when her grandmother put out pinto beans, cornbread and fried okra for dinner I could almost smell it and it reminded me of eating dinner with my great-grandmother.

The illustrations are done by Diane Goode, and they are phenomenal.  The illustrations give so much detail and are just gorgeous.  I was really captivated by the pictures and how well it showed the details the author was talking about in the story.  I think students would like this book because it is so different from what they are used to.  There was no tv or xbox just the outdoors and kids today aren't used to that.  This book would be great to read and then have students write about when they were growing up so they can compare the two childhoods.

Mr. Putter & Tabby Spin the Yarn

By Cynthia Rylant (2006)

This book was pretty funny and I think students would really enjoy hearing the adventures that happen to Mr. Putter and his cat in this book.  Mr. Putter is worried that he isn't a very good neighbor to Mrs. Teaberry.  She is always making him treats and all he does is eat her food.  He decides that he wants to be a good neighbor to her, so when she says she is starting a knitting club he offers to come pour tea for her and her friends.  This all sounds great, until Mr. Putters cat Tabby and Mrs. Teaberry's dog Zeke get added into the mix.  Tabby and Zeke make a huge mess of things and end up ruining a sweater and a hat that Mrs. Teaberry's guest are working on and wearing.  Mrs. Teaberry's guest are furious and Mr. Putter doesn't want them to be upset at sweet Mrs. Teaberry, so he sweet talks the ladies and saves the day.  In the end Mrs. Teaberry tells him that he is a good neighbor, this makes Mr. Putter very happy.

I thought that this book was great!  I loved the characters and I think that students will love them as well.  The illustrations are great and are done by Arthur Howard.  The pictures really bring the story to life and show just how silly and crazy things get when Tabby and Zeke start causing all the problems.  This is just one book is the series Mr. Putter and Tabby, I can't wait to read a few more!

Dog Heaven

By Cynthia Rylant (1995)

I absolutley loved this book!  Dog Heaven tells all about when dogs go to Heaven.  It gives details about fields they can run in, how God gives them funny shaped treats and how there are Angel Children to play with.  This book is great for anyone who has ever lost a pet especially a child.  The book also tells how sometimes an angel will bring the dog back to its old home so they can check on things and make sure everything is ok.  While I was reading this book I was just mesmerized by the pictures and the story, the author did such a great job with this story.  I found my self smiling the whole time I was reading this and wanting to believe that this is actually true.  Cynthia Rylant is also the illustrator in this book and the pictures are awesome.  They look a little like children did them which is so great in a story that has this innocence about it.

This is the first book I have ever read by this author and I can't wait to read more of her books.  The way she told this story, brings hope that this is what really happens when our beloved pets die.  She even talked about dogs who had never had homes on Earth and that there are special homes set up for them so they can see what it is like.  She brings characteristics that dogs really have into the story which makes it so believable.  I know this is what I hope dog heaven is really like!

The School Nurse from the Black Lagoon

By Mike Thaler (1995)

This series is one of my all time favorite in children's picture books.  I love how the author makes references to things that students could get mixed up and rumors started.  The pictures in the book were great as well and were so funny.  Students really love hearing Black Lagoon books and this one was no different.  This story is about a little boy who breaks out in blue dots, his teacher sends him to the nurses office.  He is terrified because he has heard so many bad things about what happens when you get sent to the nurses office.  He walks in and sees Freddie Jones with his eyes closed, he thinks he is dead.  He goes up to the nurses desk and Miss Hearse the nurse is sitting at her desk and she looks normal.  He shows her his arm with all the blue dots and Miss Hearse gently rubs it with a wet paper towel.  The blue dots magically disappear, she shows him that his pen is leaking and gives him a new one.  He goes back to class and writes Miss Hearse a Thank You Note with his new pen.

This book always makes me smile when I read it.  I love how the author twists words around and that these things really happen in schools and students always fear the worse in teachers, nurses, principals, etc.  The students loved hearing this book and they were so focused on every word, even the ones who already knew what was going to happen.  This whole series is great and the students really love them.

D.W. the Picky Eater

By Marc Brown (1995)

This was another story I read to the class one afternoon while we were waiting for dismissal.  It was a cute story about Arthur's sister D.W. who was a very picky eater.  She HATED spinach even though she had never tried it. One night she goes out to eat with her family and throws a tantrum because there is spinach in her salad.  Her parents made her stay at home with a babysitter the next time they went out.  The next morning Arthur had a tiny paper umbrella from the chinese restaurant.  D.W. began to wonder what she was missing and decided she would go out with her family for her grandma's birthday.  D.W. made a happy plate and ate her entire meal.  When her mother asked for the recipe the waiter said it was a pie crust with lots and lots of spinach in it.

I thought this was a cute story and every child could think of something they didn't like to eat even if they had never tried it.  While reading the story I remembered a time when my parents took our family out to dinner and one of my younger sisters and I caused a scene.  We didn't go out to eat for a month and it was something we usually did on Friday nights.  We learned our lesson to say the least.  The students in the class really liked the story and the illustrations as well.

Arthur Goes to Camp

By Marc Brown (1982)

I read this book to the students in my class this week.  We were reading Arthur books for a week or so, and I read a few to them.  This book finds Arthur getting ready to go to summer camp.  He does not want to go and begs his parents not to make him.   Before he even gets to the camp he is writing his parents asking them to come pick him up.  Weird things keep happening to Arthur and his friends.  At first they think it is the girls, but then the girls have strange things happening to them as well.  The boys decide they are going to hide out one night and see what is going on.  THey discover that it is campers from another camp trying to scare them.  The boys and girls work together to get the other camp back.  Meanwhile Arthur has decided to run away since his parents wouldn't come pick him up.  The two camps have a scavenger hunt each year, so this year Buster and the other campers decide to scare the mean campers and win the scavenger hunt, all is going good until they can't find a flashlight.  Arthur turns on his flashlight as he is running away and helps his friends win the scavenger hunt.  Arthur writes his parents and says he is having a great time and he can't wait to come back next year.

This was very well received in the class.  The students really enjoyed the story and thought it was funny.  A great way to use this in the classroom would have the students write about a time they were scared and everything turned out ok like it did in Arthur's situation.  The illustrations in this book were great as well and really gave a visual about what the campers were going through.

The Paper Bag Princess

By Robert N. Munsch (1980)

This was another book that I found while searching for new authors. It is a little old, but the story is very good and I think that students would enjoy reading this.  The story is about a Princess named Elizabeth and she is going to marry her Prince named Ronald.  One night a dragon comes and burns down the castle and carries Ronald off.  All of Elizabeths clothes are burned and she is forced to wear a paper bag as a dress.  She goes off in search of her true love Prince Ronald.  The dragon has hid him in a cave and is going to eat him for dinner.  Elizabeth tries to get the dragon to give her Ronald back, but he won't.  Elizabeth decides to outsmart the dragon in a last attempt to get Ronald back.  She bets the dragon that he can't fly around the world in 10 seconds.  He does so she bets him he can't do it again.  After a couple times the dragon is very tired and takes a nap.  Elizabeth uses this as the opportunity to rescue Ronald.  When Elizabeth gets up there to rescue him he tells her she is dirty and to come back when she looks like a real princess and isn't wearing a paper bag.  Elizabeth leaves him there and they don't get married after all.

I thought that this was a really cute story.  You could read this to your class and then have them predict and come up with what they think happened to Ronald since the story doesn't really tell us.  Robert Munsch did a great job on the story and the pictures by Michael Martchenko are great as well.  I really enjoyed this book and I think students would as well.

Micah and the Magic Mattress

By Alvern Bunn Jr. (2012)

This was a cute story that I found on my iPad.  I really wanted to search for authors that I had never heard of this week so I did a little digging.  This story was about a boy named Micah who had played hard all day long and it was finally bed time.  As soon as he fell asleep his mattress came alive and out the window they went to a land far away.  He flew into space where he saw cows in spacesuits, saw flying cars and talking fruits!  He even got to go to a special island and see dinosaurs.  Then it was time to wake up and he couldn't figure out if it was real or just a dream, that is until his mattress told him that it had really happened.

This was a fun story that younger elementary students would enjoy.  The author made some of the words rhyme and it would just capture their attention.  I really enjoyed branching out and finding new authors to read.  The only downfall about this book it that it is only available on the iPad.  You could read this book to your class, but you would have to have an iPad to do so.  A positive thing about it was that it was free, so it wouldn't cost you anything to download it and have it in your iPad library.

Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta

By: Jarrett J. Krosoczka (2009)

I decided to read my first graphic novel this week.  I have heard that graphic novels are sometimes hard to read, so I wanted to find an easy one to read this week.  The Lunch Lady series is a great one for beginning readers in this genre.  You don't have to worry about colors meaning different things or flashbacks.  It was a cute novel and I really enjoyed it!

The novel opens with the students very excited about a famous author coming to their school.  They all have brought books for him to sign.  The author arrives and he is very snobby.  He won't eat the cookies the lunch lady made for him and he won't sign a book that one of the students brought because it has a small tear on the cover.  After the author leaves the lunch lady notices the gym teacher can't be found.  She goes to his house and discovers he has disappeared.  With her side kick they discover that every school that the author visits the gym teacher disappears.  The lunch lady decided to go rescue the gym teachers and takes along her secret weapons including her Fancy Ketchup Packet Laser.  The story goes on to show that the author was bullied by his gym teacher so he kidnaps all the gym teachers and hypnotizes them to be his servants.  The Lunch Lady saves the day and rescues all the gym teachers.

This is a cute story and I really enjoyed reading it.  I loved all the Lunch Lady's secret weapons which were made from things you would find in a school cafeteria.  I can see why so many students are enjoying reading graphic novels.  I'm sure I would find others difficult to read, but this one was very easy to read and would be great for someone reading their first graphic novel.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

By: Barbara Robinson (1972)

I chose to read this book as my award winner/ nominee novel.  It has won various awards from different states and is an ALA notable book as well.  This story will capture children's attention from the very beginning when the Herdmans burn down an old tool shed with a chemistry kit they stole.  The story goes on to tell us about how the Herdmans start coming to church because they think they get a bunch of snacks and stuff.  Around the time they start attending church it is time to start picking roles for the Christmas Pageant that has been the same for about 50 years.  The people who normally play the roles of Mary and Joseph don't volunteer, but the Herdmans do.  We find out this is because the Herdmans have threatened them and so they don't volunteer.  Everyone is really nervous about the Herdmans being in the lead roles, but they go with it because they have no one else to do it.  In the end after a few mishaps it turns out to be an awesome play and the town really enjoyed something different in the Christmas Pageant.

While I was reading this book I was actually laughing out loud!  The things that the kids did was hilarious and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.  I can see all ages getting into the story, but I think third grade would probably be the grade that could read the story on their own.  The author did a great job from the very beginning to capture the audience.  I couldn't put it down and I am 28, so I know that reading about the crazy things the Herdmans did  would capture the attention of students today.   This was a cute story and I think it would be a neat book to read as a class and write about in any grade.  Its well written and I think that students would enjoy a fun read like this.

Henry's Freedom Box

By: Ellen Levine (2007)

Henry's Freedom Box is a great historical fiction piece to use in the classroom while studying the Underground Railroad.  I thought it was a very touching story and incredible how Henry endured so much in his life and to eventually gain the freedom he so desired and deserved.  While reading this story I found myself so wrapped up in the story.  I was so sad when he lost his family, and I was praying that he would make it safely to Philadelphia.  I think it is important when writing historical fiction pieces like this one that the reader does feel empathy with the characters. Ellen Levine does a fantastic job in telling Henry's story.  It's like you are almost there with him in that box as he is traveling to Philadelphia and getting turned upside down and every which way.  I was so happy when he finally made it to Philadelphia safely and was able to get out of the cramped little space of the box.

Kadir Nelson did a great job illustrating this book.  As the reader you actually feel as if you are in the box with Henry as he is being turned upside down and every which way.  The Underground Railroad is such an important part in history and shows how hard slaves had to fight to gain the freedom that they deserved.  This is a great book to use to show students how things were back then and how hard the fight for freedom was.  The book takes the reader on a journey from the beginning of Henry's life through many trials that he faces, to the freedom that he eventually gained that cost him so much along the way.