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.