13 Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack

Title: Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack

Author: Doreen Cronin

Illustrator: Betsy Lewin

Genre: Fiction

Sub-Genre: Fantasy

Theme: Alphabet

Primary Characters: All barn animals

Secondary Characters:

Awards:

Publisher and Date of Publication: Simon &Schuster ;2005

Summary:

This book is a very short, precise read that goes in order of the alphabet. Each letter beings a new sentence about what happens to the animals. This is a wonderful book for toddlers learning their alphabet. I read it to the baby that I watch each week, and he loved it! The pictures are colorful and the sentences are funny. The author of this book also wrote "Click, Clack Moo, Cows that Type". That book was a Newberry honor book and it has similar patterning to this book. I chose this book because I am a Pre-K-3 major, and I anticipate using books such as these in my classroom for demonstrations and projects.

6 Stanley, Flat Again!

Author: Jeff Brown

Illustrator: Scott Nash

Genre:  Fiction

Sub-Genre: Adventure

Theme: Adventure, Bravery

Primary Characters: Stanley Lambchop

Secondary Characters: his parents, Arthur, Emma

Awards:

Publisher and Date of Publication: Harper Collins publishing; 2003

Summary:

Stanley Lambchop has had his share of unusual adventures, but being flat was one thing he thought he was through with forever. Then one morning, he discovers he was wrong. Still, there is so much that a boy who is only one inch thick can do that a round person can’t. Maybe this time, all it will take is one amazing event for everything to finally make sense. Stanley acts as a human sail during a boat race and rescues a rude classmate from a collapsed building! In this exciting addition to the Flat Stanley adventure books, Stanley takes us on another fun-filled journey. In your classroom, you could read this book to your students. You could them have the illustrate what they heard, or you could have them create other unique sails on a boat they made. The possibilities are endless. This is a fun, easy read that allows your imagination to be set free.

12 Just Going to the Dentist

Title: Just Going to the Dentist

Author: Mercer Mayer

Illustrator: Mercer Mayer

Genre:  Fiction

Sub-Genre: Fantasy

Theme: Growing up, dentist’s visits

Primary Characters: Little Critter

Secondary Characters: his mom, the dentist

Awards:

Publisher and Date of Publication: Random House publishing; 1990

Summary:

In this book, “Just Going to the Dentist”, Little Critter is told that he needs to go to the dentist for a checkup. While at the dentist, he experiences all the normal activities someone at the dentist would. Will he survive the drill though? Read “Just going to the Dentist.” I think this book is also wonderful for preschool age children. I know when I worked in the Pre-Kindergarten classroom; they loved reading books about real type places. It makes them feel safer going to their own appointments. Also, this book is a fantastic “I can read books” for children that are still beginning readers.

11 Little Bear's Loose Tooth

Title: Little Bear’s Loose Tooth

Author: Else Homlelund Minark

Illustrator: Chris Hahner

Genre: Fiction

Sub-Genre: Fantasy

Theme: Bravery, going through changes in life, growing up

Primary Characters: Little Bear

Secondary Characters: Mother bear, Father bear, cat, duck, Emily

Awards:

Publisher and Date of Publication: HarperCollins publishing co.;2002

Summary:

In this book, Little bear finds himself wiggling a loose tooth. It feels so strange! He finds all of his friends and they all cleverly attempt to find ways to get Little Bear’s tooth to fall out. That night at dinner, Little Bear eats corn on the cob! Will that help his tooth to fall out? What happens when his tooth does fall out? Read “Little Bear’s Loose Tooth.” I think that this book is perfect for preschool aged children. The illustrations add to the story and allow the reader to be transported into Little Bear’s world. In a younger age group, this book would be easily relatable to the students and they would enjoy seeing all the different things Little Bear and his friends come up with.

5 Inside Out and Back Again

Title: Inside out and back again

Author: Thanhha Lai

Illustrator:

Genre: Non fiction

Sub-Genre: historical

Theme: Hope, survival

Primary Characters: Hà

Secondary Characters: mother, three brothers

Awards: Newberry Honor book

Publisher and Date of Publication: HarperCollins, 2011

Summary:

After her father has been missing in action for nine years during the Vietnam War, 10-year-old Hà flees with her mother and three older brothers. Traveling first by boat, the family reaches a tent city in Guam, moves on to Florida, and is finally connected with sponsors in Alabama, where Hà finds refuge but also cruel rejection, especially from mean classmates. One thing that I found interesting about this book, is that it is written in short, free verse poetry. This book is a Newberry honor book, and would fit easily into a curriculum in history about the Vietnam war. This book is appropriate for children 8 and up.

10 Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

Title: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans

Author: Kadir Nelson

Illustrator: Kadir NelsonGenre:  Non-Fiction

Sub-Genre: historical non-fiction

Theme: History though a different perspective

Primary Characters: “Everywomen” (narrator)

Secondary Characters:

Awards:  Coretta Scott King award 2012

Publisher and Date of Publication: Balzar and Bray, 2011

Summary:

This book tells the extraordinary story of America through the lens of African American history. With this book, any reader of this book has the chance to appreciate how American History happened through, perhaps, a different perspective. This is the story of the men, women, and children who toiled in the hot sun picking cotton for their masters; it’s about the America ripped in two by Jim Crow laws The detailed paintings include portraits of individuals and groups contrasted against wondrous skies. With this historical work of art, this book would be very easy to use in your classroom. Reading this book to your class and then have the students write an assignment on history would be ideal. They could also write a version of a historic event through either their eyes or the eyes of another historical figure. In conclusion, this book was great to read and the illustrations were fantastic.

09 Balloons Over Broadway

Title: Balloons over Broadway

Author: Melissa Sweet

Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

Genre:  Non- Fiction

Sub-Genre: Juvenile

Theme: Celebration

Primary Characters: Tony Sarg

Secondary Characters:

Awards: 2012 Robert F. Sibert Medal Winner Winner of the 2012 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award

Publisher and Date of Publication: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011

Summary:

This book takes place in New York City and tells the story of the Macy’s day parade. The book follows Tony’s journey from a childhood of creativity and resourcefulness to his exciting, unprecedented success as what many consider the “Father of American Puppetry.” The illustrations in this book are amazing and truly enhance the story. In your classroom, you could use this in the genre of biography or you could use this tell the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. This is the perfect book to read before Thanksgiving break to get the children excited about the parade and to allow them to learn the history behind it.