A Sick Day for Amos McGee

By: Philip C. Stead (2010)

This book is about a man named Amos Mcgee that goes to visit animals in the zoo every day before work. He plays games with some of them and others he just chats with. He then wakes up sick one day and all of his animal friends miss him so they decide to go and visit Amos. The arrive at his house and they make him feel better by playing games with him and keeping him company, like good friends do.

I really liked this book because of the funny things that Amos did with the animals. I also liked how each animal had something that they did with Amos that fit with how I imagined their personality.

I think kids would really like this story because of how silly it is and also because it teaches them a good lesson about friendship. This would be a great book to read to show students a fun example of how friends can come in all shapes and sizes, and they are always there to make you feel better.

My Friend Rabbit

By: Eric Rohmann (2002)

This book is about a rabbit that always seems to get into trouble, yet he has elaborate plans to get himself out of the trouble that he causes. Rabbit throws a toy plane up into a tree, and in order to get it out he rounds up a bunch of animals to stack on top of each other. The animals end up falling down and getting upset with rabbit, yet his friends still like him.

I liked the simple clean illustrations in this book and I thought that the animals that he collected to help him reach the plane were pretty funny. I thought the overall message of the story was cute, although I didn't think was anything earth shattering.

I think that kids would really like this book because of the silly plan that is hatched by rabbit to retrieve his plan. As a teacher I may have students try to predict the next animal that he is going to use to help him get the rabbit down.

The Babe and I

By: David Adler (2004)

This book is set during the Great Depression and it is about a young boy that decides to start selling newspapers to support his family after his dad lost his job. The boy sells these newspapers outside Yankee Stadium and he starts making decent money as Babe Ruth and the Yankees start playing well. One day the Babe Ruth buys a paper from the boy and gives him tickets to watch him play.

When I first read the title for this book I thought it was going to be more about Babe Ruth, but he turned out to be more of a side character in this story. I liked the story but I thought that message of cooperation was a little forced, in that the author just seemed to try to tie everything together on the last page by comparing the family dynamic to the way a team works.

This may be a good historical fiction piece to show students because it really shows students how difficult it was for many families and how many sacrifices people had to make, even young children. As a teacher I may want to do an activity where I have students discuss the different ways that they help out at home.

Winners Never Quit!

By: Mia Hamm (2004)

This book is about a young girl named Mia that loves soccer but hates losing. Whenever she misses a shot or loses she quits and goes home. Not liking this behavior, her friends decide to not let her play anymore because she has a bad attitude. Mia then decides that she would rather play sports than sit out and have a bad attitude so her friends decide to let her play and she starts having fun.

I liked this book because it talked about a topic that I have trouble with some times so I could really relate to Mia in this book.

As a teacher this would be a book that I would recommend to really competitive students that seemed to be having a hard time with losing. I think that the book would be really well received by students because of the positive message and the fact that it is written by a respected athlete like Mia Hamm.

The Crayon Box that Talked

By: Shane DeRolf (1997)

This book was about a box full of crayons that did not get along with each other because of their differences. Their differences got in the way of them interacting with each other, and as a result of this they only worked alone when they were coloring. Then one day a young girl bought the box of crayons and colored a beautiful picture using the box of crayons. After this the crayons realized that when they worked together they could create masterpieces.

I liked this book because it took a good message and made it simple to understand. The differences of the crayons seemed liked a small thing, but often times we often refuse to interact with people because of differences just as trivial. The illustrations were all nicely done and showed the different personalities of the crayons. 


I think that this book could be very helpful in a classroom for many reasons. Students could be taught about teamwork and cooperation where they could discuss times when they have been like the crayons, not interacting with others. Younger students may also enjoy this book and they may be able to work on many art activities linked to this book and the use to certain colors to make new colors.

Corn

By: Gail Gibbons (2008)

This informational book is all about corn as you could probably gather from the title. The book goes over where corn originated from, the different uses of corn, and the different types of corn.

I thought that this book was really interesting because I learned a lot of different facts about corn. The book did a really good job giving facts, while also providing pictures to show what they were talking about. There were many good illustrations of the different parts of the corn plant and the different types of corn as well. I did not know that corn was used in so many different things and this book was really helpful in pointing that out.

I think that this book would be really useful in a classroom that was learning about plants, Native Americans, Thanksgiving, or farming. This book covered all of these different topics and linked them all to corn. This book answers many questions about corn, but there are also some things that I think students would want to find out because of the new knowledge that they gain from the book. This book could lead to research projects on what was really eaten at the first Thanksgiving and about the different types of corn. I think that this book would also be really well received by students because of the friendly format with which the information was arranged.

Beastly Rhymes to Read After Dark

By: Judy Sierra (2008)

This book contains lots of different poems about scary and creepy things that kids would enjoy. There are poems about giant anacondas, werewolves, and other scary things. The poems are all pretty short, and many have familiar rhyming schemes. I liked this book because the poems were all entertaining and funny.

I think that this would be a good book to read during Halloween time in your class as a teacher of younger elementary age students. The title and the cover were two things that initially drew me to the book, and I think that those same things would make this book appealing for those students as well. As a teacher, I may read a poem during the last few minutes of a class to get students to calm down during the occasionally difficult transition times. This may also be a good book to have students perform coral readings out of because the poems are funny and fun to read, with the rhyming that students enjoy.

Rapunzel

By: Paul Zelinsky (1997)

This story is about a girl is held as a prisoner in a tower because she is given to a mean sorceress after the girl's parents are found to have been trespassing on the sorceresses property. With the help of the girl's long hair, the sorceress is able to climb up into the tower to check on the girl whenever she wants. A prince then finds her in the tower and climbs up her hair. Rapunzel then becomes pregnant, and seeing this, the sorceress becomes angry and cuts her hair and throws her out into the wild. The sorceress tricks the prince into climbing up the tower and when he gets to the top she pushes him out and he falls and becomes blind as a result of the impact. While wandering blindly through the forest, the prince finds Rapunzel and their two children. Rapunzel heals the prince with her tears and they live happily ever after.

While I have heard bits and pieces of the Rapunzel story, I have never read the whole thing and it was interesting to do so because there were some things that I learned that I did not previously know before about the story. I thought that the illustrations were really well done, and overall, it was a good story, although there really wasn't much of a message.

I think that this could be a story that would be popular with both lower and upper elementary students. The early elementary students would enjoy the popular fairy tale story that they may have heard parts of before, and this story could be read as part of a fairy tale unit. I think that upper elementary students could read this story as part of a unit that compared different versions of the same fairy tale. Many popular fairy tales have been redone many times, and this story could be one of the versions that they read. Students could then compare and contrast the different versions and see if there are any trends between the time periods and authors that recreate popular stories.

Who Wants Arthur?

By: Amanda Graham (1983)

This book is about an ordinary, brown dog that lives in a pet store and is trying to find an owner that he can go home to. Arthur sees rabbits, snakes, fish, and all other types of animals find homes, yet he is still at the pet store. Thinking that people are looking for one of these animals, Arthur tries to act like them, only this does not seem to work either. Finally, a man and his daughter come into the pet store looking for a dog that they have heard does tricks and they find Arthur and end up taking him home.

I liked book and I specifically liked Arthur and enjoyed the trouble that he went through to find himself a home. I liked how the book was written because it was somewhat repetitive and predictable by the end that, two things that would really help beginning readers. I also really liked the pictures and thought that they were funny and helped you better understand Arthur's personality and desire to find a home.

As a teacher I think that this book would be great for younger readers because of the message of being yourself and also because of the friendly way in which the story is written. The repetitive nature of many of the pages would help beginning readers become familiar with potentially new words. I also think that many elementary school kids struggle with trying to be someone that they are not and this book does a great job of humorously showing this message.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

By: Judith Viorst (1972)

This book is about a boy named Alexander that has a day where nothing seems to go right for him. He doesn't get the window seat on the way to school, he has trouble with his friends while at school, and he fights with his brothers and eventually falls in mud after school. At the end of the book his mother ends up telling him that some days are just not good.

I liked this book because I can definitely relate to having days where nothing seems to go right. I have had days where every little thing that could go wrong did, as it did for Alexander, and it was obviously frustrating, but it's important to realize that it is not the end of the world.

I think that this would be a good book to read to your students because it would show kids that sometimes things just do not go your way. Younger children, like adults at times, can get very grumpy when their day starts to go bad and this book would hopefully help them understand that days like that happen and it is important to not get too upset about it.

Fire Truck

By: Peter Sis (1998)

This book is about a young boy that loves fire trucks that one day he turns into a fire truck. He goes around town doing all of the things that fire trucks do, including rescuing cats and putting out fires. He then smells breakfast so he turns back into a boy and eats some pancakes.

I liked this book because it was a funny story that showed pictures of a boy literally turning into a fire truck. The pictures and words were very simple but the story was cute and I think kids would enjoy his vivid imagination.

This was a short, simple book about a boy's imagination that I would only be appropriate to read in probably either a kindergarten or first grade classroom. When he first turned into a fire truck they showed the different things that he had (1 driver, 2 ladders, 3 hoses, etc.) and I think this could be used to help practice counting. Students could also be asked to think of and write about what would happen if they turned into a fire truck like the boy in this story.

Thea's Tree

By: Alison Jackson (2008)
This story is about a girl named Thea that plants a seed as part of a science project she is starting for school. As the seed begins to grow into what she believes is a giant tree, she starts sending letters to various experts around the community to ask them for help in identifying the type of plant that she is growing. The experts send her letters back telling her that they have no idea what type of plant she is growing because based on her descriptions there is nothing like what she is describing growing in Topeka, Kansas. Thea begins to find items corresponding to the Jack and the Beanstalk story, like a golden egg, coins, and a singing harp. She contacts contacts the experts on these subjects, however they are not much help either in identifying the source of these items. As Thea is writing her final conclusion she hears a loud noise and suddenly the beanstalk is gone and all that is left are some giant footsteps.

I really liked this story because of how it was told and because of the interesting twist that it took on a popular fairy tale. I thought that it was neat that the author used letters back and forth from characters to describe what was happening in the story. There was also some humor involved that I think younger readers would really like, especially if they were familiar with Jack and the Beanstalk. Many of the responses from the experts were technical, yet clueless, and I think younger readers would be able to see that Jack and the Giant were behind many of the things that Thea was finding.

I would like to read this book to my class because it sets a good example for how to guide your own learning and ask questions that interest you. I also like how it shows Thea asking local experts for help, which I think is an important thing to do, especially in science. I think this book could lead to many science lessons on planting seeds, where students try to follow Thea's example of asking local experts for help.

The Rabbit and the Turtle

By: Eric Carle (1998)

This book contains some of Aesop's fables that are retold and illustrated by Eric Carle. The fables are all fairly short, with messages like friends come in all shapes and sizes and be proud of who are.

I really liked how this book had the messages for each fable at the bottom of each fable. I think that this makes it really easy for young readers to understand what the story is telling them, especially when there are times when this may not be so clear. The illustrations be Eric Carle were also nice in that they colorfully displayed an important part of the story.

I think that this book would be very helpful in a classroom when many of the messages in the fables could really help students learn about important topics. As a teacher it may be nice to read one of these fables a day or a week and then students could discuss how they think these messages relate to their lives. Students could give examples of when they could have used these messages or how they think they are important. I think the messages in these fables would be very valuable for younger students to hear, and the way that they are presented in this book would make them easier to understand.

Dinosaur!

By: Peter Sis (2000)

This wordless picture book tells the story of a young boy that takes a bath with his toy dinosaur and he imagines giant dinosaurs joining him during his bath time. His bath eventually fades away into what looks like a lake as his imagination gets more vivid, as do the dinosaurs. His mom then finds him splashing and making a mess in the bathroom as he is really getting into him playing.

I thought that this was a cute book that many younger children could definitely relate to. The idea of kids creating great stories from their imagination is something everyone has probably done, making this a story that would probably be popular with many young children.

As a teacher I think I would use this book to help students think about their favorite toy and a story that they could create around this toy. This activity would probably be for students in younger elementary grades, but I think that it would help show them that their imagination is valued in school. This sort of wordless picture book could also be used to help students create their own story to match the pictures to help them practice story telling.

Owl Moon

By: Jane Yolen (1987)

This book is about a young girl that goes owling with her father. After waiting patiently and silently in the woods they finally see a owl and their trip is deemed a success.

I liked this book because it described the relationship between a father and his daughter and it showed just how much this girl admired her father because she was willing to stay quiet for the whole trip because this was what he told her to do. I had never heard of owling before and do not think I probably ever will but it was interesting to hear about. I thought that the pictures were nice and that they helped give you the feeling of a cold winter night, helping you imagine yourself with the father and daughter on their trip.

As a teacher I think that it would be easy to tie this to a science lesson on either owls or the wilderness. The book uses very descriptive language that helps you visualize the cold surroundings and I think that this would be great to pair with a science unit on owls or the forest.

Flotsam

By: David Wiesner (2006)

This book tells the story of a boy that finds a camera that washes ashore on the beach where he is playing. He gets the film developed and finds a picture of a girl holding a picture of another child holding a picture, and on back through what appears to be many generations. The boy decides to carry on this tradition by taking a picture of himself holding the original picture of the girl and he then throws the camera back into the ocean so that it can be found by another person.

I really liked this book and I thought it was amazing how such an interesting story could be told without any words. The drawings were very descriptive and you could almost tell what the characters were thinking based on their facial expressions. It was a neat idea that this camera had been passed down through many generations and I think it would be an interesting concept for students to think about.

As a teacher, I think that wordless books can be a very valuable type of literature to introduce your students to. I think that students of all ages would enjoy this book because there are many different activities that they could do with this book, challenging children at all ability levels. Because this book doesn't have words, I would like to have students create their own dialogue that matches the pages of this story. I think that this type of activity requires students to really analyze the pictures and think about what they are telling them. Having students write their own story will give them an opportunity to exercise their own creativity, while also practicing things like story telling and grammar rules.

The Un-Wedding

By: Babette Cole (1998)

This book is about two parents that disagree on a lot of things and argue about those disagreements. The longer they live together the more they dislike each other and the uglier they get because they are thinking ugly thoughts about each other. This arguing makes their kids unhappy so they ask around at school if anyone else is having the same problems and many kids respond that they are having similar problems. This helps their children feel better and they decide to suggest that their parents have an "unwedding" where they un-married, and their parents agree to the idea. In the end, both of the parents end up being happy on their own.

I think that this book may be considered controversial because divorce can be a very sensitive subject for many people and some teachers or parents may want to keep it out of the classroom to protect their students or children.
I really liked this book and thought that it brought some humor to the topic to make sure that it was not depressing. I liked how the words and pictures really worked together to tell the story. Each page was filled with lots of funny pictures showing the differences between the two parents and you really were able to read any of the lines in any order, which gave you some freedom as a reader.

This is a book that I would definitely recommend and may consider reading in my classroom because of how common divorces seem to be and I think that the humor used in this book, combined with the overall message  would make this a very effective book. I think that students would be able to relate to the feelings of the children in this book and they would probably appreciate seeing that they were not the only ones going through these emotions. Realizing that they had others to talk to that could relate to their feelings would hopefully make them feel much more comfortable in my classroom.

Uncle Bobby's Wedding

By: Sarah S. Brannen (2008)

This book is about a girl named Chloe that has an Uncle Bobby that she loves and does everything with. Her Uncle Bobby decides to get married to a boy name Jamie and Chloe gets upset about this because she doesn't think that she will get to spend as much time with her Uncle anymore. These fears are erased when she spends time with both of her uncles and she has fun and they make her feel special.

The gay marriage topic in this book most likely makes it controversial, however, I do not think that there should be a problem with having gay marriage depicted in a children's book. I think that this sort of book could be very helpful in explaining this situation to a younger child because they may find it easier to relate to a picture book. There didn't seem to be a reason for this book to be banned because there was nothing graphic in the book, only something that some people may find offensive.

I found it interesting that the gay marriage issue was not really the may theme of the story. Chloe was not upset about her uncle marrying a male guinea pig, she was upset about not being able to spend as much time with her uncle because he was getting married. I liked this because it didn't make a big deal of two men getting married, it instead focused more on the topic of Chloe feeling left out. Because of this I think that this book could be used to help children in situations where they are worried about spending less time with a relative because of marriage or a struggling to understand gay marriage.

This may be a book that I would read in the classroom because I think that it discusses many issues that children may be struggling with or have questions about. This book helps answer those questions in a friendly, non threatening format that would allow for better understanding.

Happy to be Nappy

By: Bell Hooks and Chris Raschka (1999)

This story is about embracing the different types of hair styles of African American girls. The pictures show kids that are very happy, are having fun with each other, and seem to be spending time with their families in a loving atmosphere. The book seems to be telling children to be happy with who they are and what they look like.

I am not sure what was controversial with this book because it seemed to be about different hair styles and being happy with the one you have. I think that this is a good message to tell children and I am not sure why there were apparently some problems with this book.

I really liked the pictures in this book because I thought they showed a lot of emotion and really helped you feel the happiness from the characters. There were not many words in the book so the pictures really helped tell the story. I thought that the message got a little repetitive towards the end because it seemed to be repeating the same thing over and over, but it was still a good book to read.

This may be a book that I would read in class if there seemed to be problems with children making fun of one another because of their physical characteristics. It also may be a good book to read to make my classroom more diverse because many of the picture books show mainly white children so this would be a good opportunity for students to either be exposed to more diversity or to make them feel more comfortable in my classroom because they could relate to this book. As an activity, I may have students practice giving compliments by saying something that they like about themselves, and then saying something nice about other students in the class as well.

William's Doll

By: Charlotte Zolotow (1972)

This book is about a boy named William that really wants a doll to play with and take care of. His dad doesn't understand why he wants a doll, and he instead tries to get him other toys that he thinks William will enjoy more, like a train and a basketball. William's brother makes fun of him because he wants a doll and kids call him names. Finally, William's grandma decides to get him the doll that he wants so bad and she explains to William's dad that he need this doll so that he know how to raise and baby and provide for it when he is a father.

I did not really think that this book should be considered controversial because I think that it deals with an issue that many children face everyday. I have heard many stories of little boys playing with dolls and little girls playing with trucks, so I think that this book would be very helpful to parents and children that may be experiencing situations like this one that seem to challenge the gender norms in our culture.

As I was reading this book I tended to put myself in the father's shoes, trying to think how I would react if my son wanted to play with a doll. I could definitely see myself being a little apprehensive with my son playing with a doll, however, I think that if it is what he wants than I will support him. I liked how the grandma ignored the people saying that he shouldn't play with a doll and she explained why William needed it. I thought that the message was really good and I thought that the story accurately portrayed what probably happens to many children that don't care about what toys they are "supposed" to play with.

I think that this would be a really good story to read in a classroom where kids may be making fun of someone for liking a certain kind of music, wearing a certain type of clothes, or acting a certain way. I also think that this may be a good story for parents to read at home to help them support a child that may be experiencing what William is going through.

Jake Drake: Know It All

By: Andrew Clements (2007)

This book is about a third grader named Jake Drake that is competing in a science fair where the grand prize is a fancy new computer that Jake really wants. Initially, Jake is very serious about winning solely because wants to win the new computer. As a result of this competitiveness, he finds that he is not having fun during the process and that he has even been somewhat mean to his best friend Willie. Jake decides to change his approach, teaming up with Willie and trying to have more fun with his project. Their team ends up getting second place, but they discover that it is more important to enjoy what you are doing and do it for the sake of scientific discovery.

I thought that this would be a good book for younger students that are just starting to read chapter books. There were occasional pages that had pictures on that that would help those younger students visualize what was happening in the story. The sentence structure in this book was very simple but I think it would be appropriate for students trying to become more confident in their reading ability. I did not think that the story was too predictable and I was pleased with the ending and the overall message that Jake and Willie learned.

As a teacher I think that this book had many positive aspects that would make it a choice that I would probably recommend to my students. I liked how the book mentioned the scientific method and its different steps and I think that younger students could relate to what Jake and Willie were going through during their experiment. I also liked how they eventually learned that it is more fun to be working on something that you are interested in and I think that this is a would be a good message for my students to take with them. I think that it might be fun for students in my class to perform some of the experiments mentioned in the book to see what the actual results would look like. This may also be a good opportunity for students to design their own experiments based on their interests, much like the characters in this book. The one thing that I did not like about this book was how Jake seemed to put down two "know it all's" in his class that he was competing with. The author seemed to make it seem like it is a bad thing to try hard in school and try to answer lots of questions. While some kids may see this as annoying, others may act like this and not see a problem with this, and as a teacher I would not want my students to think that it is not "cool" to try hard in school.

The Misfits

By:  James Howe (2003)

This book is about a group of outcast friends that try to make a positive difference in their school by running for student government under the No Names Party, that hopes to outlaw name calling. The group comes up with this platform after realizing that they have all experienced this sort of discrimination and that it is a major problem at their school and can greatly stunt one's development as an individual. The book discusses controversial topics like sexual orientation, racism, name calling, and death in a way that I believe students will enjoy because of the free flowing dialogue and language used by the characters.

I enjoyed this book a lot and appreciated the many messages that it carried. I initially found the book to be a little hard to read because of the somewhat rambling narration by the main character but as I got used to it it seemed to be a nice change of pace from most of the books that I have read, because it was being told through the eyes of a 12 year old. I liked that each of the four main characters had their own distinct personality and these personalities were certainly evident during their Forum meetings that they held at their favorite restaurant. While the ending was a little predictable, I thought that the overall messages of standing up to bullying and embracing each others differences would be great themes to discuss in a classroom.

As a teacher I think that I would definitely like to have my students read this book because I think that they would be able to relate to the problems that many of the characters are having and would enjoy the style in which this book is written. Because of some of the content covered in the book and some of the words that are used I think that it would be important to give both students and parents an introduction to the book, the sensitive topics that are covered in it, and why you feel this book is a good way to discuss these topics. I feel that some of the topics, like sexual orientation, could be uncomfortable to discuss in class and I think that this book would be helpful resource for both teachers and students. When reading this book I think that I would discuss each chapter as it was read so that students could discuss what was read and relate it to similar experiences they may be having in their own lives. Finally, I think that this book may lend itself to some social activism projects that students could get involved in in their community or school, following in the footsteps of the characters in this book.

The Rifle

By: Gary Paulsen (1995)

This book tells the story of a rifle that is created during the Revolutionary War time period. The creator of this rifle sells it to a man that is passing by because he is planning on starting a family and he needs the money to support them. The new owner of the rifle encounters some British soldiers and he shoots one of them and escapes from the rest of the soldiers. This man then joins the revolution and becomes famous for being such a good shot with the help of his expertly crafted rifle. This man eventually dies in battle and the rifle is passed down through many owners and many generations until it eventually ends up on the mantle of family's home in Missouri. The rifle accidentally goes off as a lit candle ignites the weapon and a ball that has been lodged inside the gun for over 200 years hits and kills a neighbor boy.

This book was interesting because the main character of the book actually seemed to be the gun instead of one of the people that were associated with the gun. These people were discarded throughout the story, with the only constant character being the rifle itself. The first quarter of the book was spent describing how the gun was created, and while this was very descriptive, it was also hard to follow because of all of the technical terms that were used to describe what was happening. I enjoyed reading about the different time periods that were described, especially the Revolutionary War, as the different types of warfare employed by both sides were described.

While this was certainly an interesting book, I'm not sure if I would choose to read it in my classroom because of how focused the story is on this rifle. The book seems to glorify this weapon and what it can do which I do not think is a very good message for elementary school children. Given the ending of the book, the overall message seems to be that guns are dangerous and are designed to kill people, which is good for children to understand, but I'm not sure if this book is the best vehicle for this message. Overall, if your goal as a teacher is to have students read a historical fiction piece over the Revolutionary War time period, I would think there are probably better choices available.

The Giver

By: Lois Lowry (1993)

This book is about a boy named Jonas that lives in a town where everything seems perfect, and a little be strange. There are many rules and privileges that are granted to you when you reach certain ages. The most important age is when you become a Twelve and you are given your assignment. Jonas is assigned the mysterious role of receiver of the memories, which he soon learns opens his eyes to feelings and experiences that he and all the other citizens of the town are being deprived of. Through his teacher, the Giver, Jonas becomes aware of the diversity and feelings that used to exist in the world, which have been replaced by what is called Sameness, or everything being the same with the citizens not having any choices because of the danger that those choices can bring. With the help of the Giver, Jonas decides to leave the town so that he can share these memories with the rest of the citizens so that can experience the beauty of diversity, emotions, and choice.

I really enjoyed this book and thought that it was unlike any book that I have ever read. The way that things are named in this community and the rules that they have seemed absurd at first, but after comparing to them to the somewhat arbitrary rules that we have in our society, like being 18 to vote and 21 to drink, I began to think about how an outsider might view our rules in much the same light.  I also really enjoyed thinking about benefits and downfalls of giving individuals the power of choice. This is a major topic in this book and it is interesting to think about how taking this away from people can make for a potentially safer and more efficient society, however, this removal of choice also eliminates much of the joy in life as well. I thought that Jonas was a great character and some of his thoughts would provoke great discussion in the classroom.

I think that this is a book that I would be very excited to read in my classroom because of all of the great discussions that we could have as a class with many parts of the book. I think that I would initially like to have my students make a list of all the milestones and their accompanying privileges that we have in our society so that the students could compare them to those in the book. I think that this would help students see that all rules seem somewhat silly when you are not familiar with them and they are not ingrained in your culture. I would also like to have discussions with students about the pros and cons of free choice and the effect that this freedom has on society. I think that these discussions could also be supplemented with lessons on different forms of government around the world, and how they affect an individual's way of life.

Dirt On Their Skirts

The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship
By: Doreen Rappaport and Lyndall Callan (2000)

This story is about a championship game between two teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which took place during 1946. The game is narrated by a girl named Margaret who is cheering on her favorite team, the Racine Belles, who eventually beat the Rockford Peaches in extra innings to win the championship.

I thought that this book was really interesting because it told the true story of a women's baseball league that many people may not even know existed. I liked how the game was being described by a young girl fan because it showed just how much people enjoyed this league. I found it interesting to learn that this league was created to keep people interested in baseball while many of the male players were overseas fighting in World War II. I liked how the pictures really showed the emotions that fans most likely had during these games. The words used were also very descriptive and the made you feel like you were at the game and that you knew all about the players that Margaret was describing.

As I teacher I think that this book is one that I would definitely want to read to my students because it shows a side of the World War II time period that many people probably do not think about. I think that students would be really interested to learn about how women played baseball and how it was very popular. I think this would be a very empowering story for young girls to hear and it would show the boys in the class that certain things do not have to specifically be male or female activities. It would also be interesting to have students research about other activities and roles that had to be changed due to the ongoing war.

Henry's Freedom Box

By: Kadir Nelson (2011)

This story is about a boy named Henry that is a slave. His master dies and he thinks he is going to be set free, as is sometimes the case with slave masters that pass away, but he instead is given to his master's son. Henry is a hard worker that always does what he is told, but he misses his family. He eventually gets married and has three children, and he even has the privilege of living with his family, even though they are owned by another master. One day at work Henry finds out that his wife and kids have bee sold to another master in a different town. Devastated, Henry can barely find the strength the work anymore, as he greatly misses his family and realizes that he will probably never see them again. Henry then comes up with a plan to mail himself in a box up to Philadelphia, where they do not have slaves. With the help of a white man in the South who thinks that slavery is wrong, his plan is successful, though not very comfortable, and Henry becomes a free man.

I thought that this book, while it ultimately had a happy ending, was sad because of extremely difficult conditions that Henry, and millions of other slaves had to endure. This book did a good job of portraying the emotions that Henry had, both through the words and in the pictures. You could really see the hurt on Henry's face as his family was taken away, highlighting the great injustice of slavery.

I think that this book would have a great impact on elementary school students because of the powerful story that it tells. This would be a great story to read along with a unit on the Civil War because it makes the effects of slavery much more personal when told through the eyes of boy that could be as old as the students reading about him. This book would tell the story of these individuals in a way that students could understand. I also think that this book did a good job of subtly pointing out that not all white people in the South agreed with slavery. I think that this would help students realize that there were many different sides and opinions during this time period, and that those different opinions were not formed solely by the color of one's skin.

Tuesday

By: David Wiesner (1991)

This book is about frogs, and eventually other animals like pigs, that do crazy things like fly around on lily pads on Tuesday nights when everyone else has gone to sleep. The fly around the town watching TV and playing with dogs and then when the sun starts to rise then hurry back to the pond so that they can act like normal frogs, acting as we expect them to act.

This book was interesting to read and interpret because there were very few words in the whole book. The only times that words were used was to tell the reader what time it was in the story. The lack of words made you focus your attention to the pictures to help you understand what was going on in the story. The pictures were very well done and descriptive, making it easy to follow the story even with the lack of words. I think that each reader may have their own interpretation of why the frogs started flying around at night, which would make it a very interesting book for group discussion.

I think that this would be a very good book to read with younger students because it would help them focus on using the pictures to help them understand what is going on in a story, which is a very valuable skill for younger children to have. As a teacher you could go around the room, giving each student a chance to describe a page, in the end making up your own story using the book's pictures, as a class. I might also want to go through this story once and then have students share their interpretations of the story so that they could see that there are potentially many different viewpoints with even one story.

A Story A Story

By Gail E. Haley (1970)

This story is about a man named Ananse that goes to see the Sky God, Nyame, to buy his stories. The Sky God tells Ananse that for these stories, Ananse will have to bring him a leopard, some hornets, and a fairy. In order to collect these three things, Ananse tricks them all in different ways and he then brings them to the Sky God. He then receives the stories from the Sky God and he then sets out to spread the stories throughout the world.

I enjoyed this story although I found it somewhat difficult to follow because I was unfamiliar with some of the words that were used in the story. The introduction at the beginning of the story told of how this story is one that is very popular in African folklore and that many other stories have been derived from this story. It was interesting to see the similarities between this story and some of the other stories that I am more familiar with, like Jack and the Beanstalk, where the main character has to trick others to accomplish his task or reach his goal.

I think that this would be a good story to share in a classroom because it would expose students to different cultures and the type of words and language that they use. As an activity I might have older students compare and contrast this story with another popular story from a different culture. For younger students I might have them make a list of the words that they are unfamiliar with and then we could try to find out what those words mean. Students could then try to use those new words in a journal entry for a certain day.

Jumanji

By: Chris Van Allsburg (1981)

This book tells the story of two children that find a board game in a park and decide to play it while their parents are away. This game turns out to be a game unlike any other that they have ever played in that it comes to life as they begin to play it. Their house is eventually filled with monkeys, lions, and snakes that will not go away until someone finishes the game and yells "Jumanji!!!". The children eventually finish the game just before their parents come home and the house amazingly looks just like it did when their parents left.

I thought that this book told a really interesting and descriptive story that really immersed the reader into the crazy game that the children were playing. The pictures in the book were very well done and tended to be so detailed that they looked more like photographs then drawings. This was a book that I could definitely see reading again to my students because of the suspenseful story and great illustrations.

As a teacher I think that this book would be very popular in the classroom because of the great story and the imagination required to follow it. Children have great imaginations and I think that they would find themselves lost in a story like this. To go along with this story I think that I would have students create their own board games with different activities that had to be performed at different stages of the game. These activities could include math, science, or language arts tasks that helped students practice different skills.

Officer Buckle and Gloria

By: Peggy Rathmann (1995)

This book is about a police officer in the town of Napville that is very concerned about safety. To help inform the town of his safety tips he gives presentations to the school where he reads off different tips that he deems important. While the message may be good, the students are bored during these presentations and do not listen to Officer Buckle, causing accidents to occur. Officer Buckle then hires a police dog named Gloria to accompany him to his presentations. Unbeknownst to Officer Buckle, Gloria performs tricks during each tip that he reads and the crowd loves it, listening and heeding each tip that he gives, making the town a safer place. When Officer Buckle finally sees what Gloria is doing he gets upset because he doesn't think anyone is listening to him so he decides to let Gloria do the safety presentations on her own. Gloria does not do very well during her solo presentations, where she and the children both end up falling asleep. The children all end up writing Officer Buckle letters telling him that they miss him and that they want him back. He then decides to once again team up with Gloria, realizing that they work best as a team.

I really liked this book and I thought the story was really cute. There were not many words in the book which makes it very accessible to younger children. Even with the limited words, the pictures do a great job helping to tell the story. They are very descriptive and funny in the way that they show Gloria performing her tricks.
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I think that this story would be very useful to use in a classroom because of all the important messages that it conveys. This might be a good book to read at the beginning of the school year for a kindergarten or first grade class where you were trying to establish rules. To go along with the book you could have students think about rules, just like Officer Buckle, that would make their classroom safer. I think that the overall message of the book would be a good one for student to understand and reflect on because they may have their own experiences with working with others where they all had their own unique gifts to offer.

Where The Wild Things Are

By: Maurice Sendak (1963)

This book is about a young boy named Max who has a very vivid imagination. The story begins with Max causing trouble around his house in his custom made wolf suit. Because of his actions, Max get sent to his room without supper. Undeterred by this punishment, Max imagines himself sailing across the sea to a strange land filled with scary wild things. Max becomes has some fun with these things and eventually becomes their leader, however, he is lonely because he wasn't near someone that really loved him. He then sails back into his bedroom where he finds his dinner waiting there, still warm.

Having never read this book, I was excited to read it because of how popular it is and because of all the popular reviews it has received. I thought that the pictures of the wild things and their strange land were really well done and it helped you lose yourself in the story. I thought it was a really cute story about a little boy being tough, doing little boy things, until he realizes that he really misses the things he has at home that make him feel safe and loved.

I think that children of all ages would really like this story because everyone at some point has wished that they could travel off to a strange land full of new things. As a teacher I think that you could teach an art lesson along with this book where students had to create their own "wild thing" and describe it's personality. I think that you could also use this book to spark some creative writing ideas where you had students think about what their made up land would look like, who would live there, and how you could travel there.

Shortcut

By: David Macaulay (1995)

This book is about a man and his horse that set off a chain of events that affects many other people while on their way into town. The man, Albert, and his horse, June make many decisions along the way, including taking shortcuts, and stopping for rest that influence other characters in the book greatly.

As I was reading this book I wasn't quite sure what was happening at first but as I read more and studied the pictures I was eventually able to see how the different stories and characters influenced each other. I really enjoyed the pictures in the book and I thought that they were very descriptive, helping tell the story along with the words. The pictures were all very colorful and entertaining and I think they would be seen as very interesting and entertaining to elementary age students.

As I teacher I think that this would be a great book to introduce in your classroom because of overall complexity of the story. While many children's books follow the same routine of a straight forward story, this book breaks that mold by having multiple stories that occur around the same time and influence each other. I think that children would really like the pictures and the silly stories that they tell. This would be a great book to read to your students multiple times, asking them to reflect on how certain actions made by characters affect the rest of the book given that they already know the outcome from previous readings.

The Circuit

 By: Francisco Jimenez (1997)

This book is about a Mexican family that comes to the United States and finds work in the fields, picking cotton, strawberries, and other produce. Due to the nature of their line of work, this family is constantly on the move, following the crops that need to be harvested at different times of year. Because of this, the family cannot establish a permanent residency, causing the family to live out of tents and other temporary shacks and the children to constantly change schools, when their schedules allow the children to go to school. While their lives are certainly hard, they are able to overcome the difficulties that they face by sticking together, looking after each other, and loving each other through it all.

I thought that this book was really interesting because it presented a first-hand account of what it is like to be a migrant worker. The struggles that this family faced every day were amazing and yet they  continued to work hard and not feel sorry for themselves despite the hard life that they were living. I think that the author did a really good job telling the stories through a child's point of view, using a child's language and way of thinking.

I think that this would be a very powerful book for students to read, regardless of their age, because of the strength that this family shows in the face of adversity. Many people probably do not give much thought to the difficult lives that many immigrants had years ago, and are still having today as they try to make it in a new country. The stories told in this book would certainly put a lot of "problems" that children are having in perspective as they hear what it is like to work hard every day, without knowing where you will end in the morning.

Free Baseball

By: Sue Corbett (2006)
This book by Sue Corbett is about a young Cuban American boy, Felix, that came to the United States as a refugee with his mother when he was a baby. He loves baseball and his whole life he has heard stories about his father who was a famous Cuban baseball player, that stayed back in Cuba. Felix becomes bat boy for a minor league baseball team and that has some players from Cuba on it. He loves this new job as it brings some love and human interaction that he did not have previously with his mom working and going to college. Through the team's manager, players, and eventually his mother, Felix learns of the selflessness of his father as he vowed to stay back on the island, staying off the boat that carried his wife and child on because there was not enough room for him. Felix is proud of his father and is now happier with his life as he now knows the truth about his father and gets to spend more time with his mother because she accepted a job with the team that his is the bat boy for.

I really enjoyed this book because it displayed the feelings that an adolescent boy can have, even though it may seem like they are tough and at times disinterested. I liked how Felix's mother stressed the importance of education and I think that this is one of the many important smaller messages in this book.
I think that this book could be used in the classroom in many different ways and for many different reasons. This book could be very popular with students that may be missing a father or parent, helping them relate to Felix and his struggles. I think that this book could also be used as part of a social studies lesson on Cuba and their relations with the United States. Some students may not understand why we don't allow everyone to move and this would be a good way to discuss immigration.

Black and White

By: David Macaulay (1990)

This book by David Macaulay follows four different stories that all seem to influence each other in some way. A boy riding a train notices that cows seem to be blocking the tracks, which delays the train, making some passengers waiting to be picked up late for work. Two of the passengers are the parents of two children that think their parents are mindless and boring, following the same routine of watching TV, opening mail, and asking about homework each night. Because of the cows, the parents miss their train and never make it to work. They instead spend their time singing with all the other waiting passengers and dressing up in newspaper decorated costumes. When the parents go home their children are confused by excited to see their parents acting impulsively and having fun.

When I started reading this book i was confused by all of the different stories, not sure how they were going to go together. As I read more I began to realize that all the stories were intertwined, leading to the parents enjoying their time with their children.
I think that as a teacher this book could be used to show students that their parents, and other adults, are not always serious and that they can act silly at times just like children. I think that this would also be a good book to show students to give them an example of a story that is not told in the traditional way, opening up their eyes to alternative story telling methods.

Angelo

By: David Macaulay (2002)

This book by David Macaulay is about a building repairman named Angelo that finds an injured pigeon while he is working on a church. He brings the bird home a nurses it back to health. The bird and Angelo continue to spend lots of time together, going to work and spending time together on the weekends. The bird eventually leaves Angelo's house, going out on its own, however, it does keep an eye on him while he works. The bird begins to notice that Angelo seems to be slowing down in his work and she goes to keep him company and offer encouragement through songs while he works. Angelo just about finishes up with repairing the church when he realizes that he needs to add a permanent nest on the church so that Sylvia, the newly named bird, always has a place to go when Angelo is gone. With the nest complete, Sylvia has a place to call home and Angelo can rest peacefully knowing that Sylvia always has a place to go.

I thought that this was a really heartwarming story about friendship between two different individuals. They both tried to cheer each other up and help each other out in times of need, helping strengthen their bond. This love for each was evident by their desire to make sure that each individual was comfortable.
I think that as a teacher you could use this book to show how you can be friends with all sorts of people, whether they look like you or not. The ability of these characters to see past each others apparent differences sets a good example for how I would like my students to treat each other in my classroom.