Everywhere by: Bruce Brooks (realistic fiction)

Brooks presents a very short, concise novel about a boy named Peanuts. The entire book covers a time period of one day when his grandfather suffers a heart-attack. Throughout the story, Peanuts undergoes emotions of grief, worry, and most importantly, love. He is accompanied by another boy, Dooley, who ensures Peanuts that a simple "soul-switch" (similar to voo-doo) will heal his grandfather. The book concludes with the grandfather living, and an overpowering message about the significance of love.

This book is very practical because it contains some heavier themes in it, but would not take several weeks to read aloud in the classroom. Aside from the conflict of his grandfather's ailment, there is also a theme of friendship. Dooley and Peanuts are of two different races and this issue only makes a minor appearance in the story. This emphasizes how crossing races in the name of friendship truly does not need to be as groundbreaking as some literature presents.

I would use this book soley for students to practice identifying themes in the story. I would craft questions that emphasized higher levels of thinking in Bloom's Taxonomy (application, synthesis, evaluation, ect). This could be implemented in an informal setting (similar to a literacy circle).

The Wind in the Willows by: Kenneth Grahame (science fiction/fantasy)

"The Wind in the Willows" Wordle

This book is a fantasy book, as its main characters are personified animals. The text and dialogue is rich and complex so the tales can be used in older grades. The sophisticated vocabulary is especially excellent.

I created a wordle that represents some primary features of this book, however, I Wordle could also be implemented in the classroom by students. Since there are so many literary components to this book (theme, illustrations, writing style, structures/supports, genre, lessons, poems, lyrics, ect), I would assign each student a particular topic and ask them to create a wordle emphasizing the topic found in the book.

Dandelions by: Eve Bunting (fiction)

Eve Bunting's picture book tells the story of a family moving from Illinois across the Nebraska Territory during the nineteenth century. The pioneer family is traveling out west to claim free land. While, the promise of opportunity awaits them, conflicting emotions are also prevalent. Papa is excited to start their new life and is eager to build their new "soddie" (house). However, Mama, who happens to be pregnant, is distraught and lonely. There seems to be this tension between intrigue for change, as well as melancholy for the life left behind.

Zoe, the daughter, brings dandelions to their new home in attempt to brighten her mother's mood. She plants them on the roof and they flourish into a bright gold. This represents the journey the family had to make from leaving behind the familiar and starting anew.

I would use this book to model how we can relate to those generations before us. I would accompany the read aloud with an accountable talk, asking questions to guide student thinking towards relating to each Papa's, Mama's, and Zoe's feelings throughout different points in the story. I would ask them to give examples of when they felt uncomfortable about starting something new and following, I would ask them to give examples of when they thought the change they experienced was a good thing. Students could write or bring in an object to symbolize their experiences (similar to the dandelions).

Snowflake Bentley by: Jacqueline Martin (non-fiction)

This biography of Wilson Bentley, tells the story of a man during the 19th century who was enthralled with the formation of snowflakes. He took hundreds of photographs over long periods of time and continued his study of this unique form of water. This picture book is suitable for lower elementary grades because it includes fantastic visual components (water color illustrations and copies of photographs and woodcuts) as well as for older elementary grades because of its focus on the science concepts associated with snowflakes.

I would use this book as an alternative method of studying water. I would include this book in a book pass when beginning a new science unit on water. When students realize the topic of the book pass (water), they may even question why this book is included because it may not be obvious to everyone that a snowflake is just water in a different form. Here, as well as if the book was read aloud, will promote science-focused discussions with the students. Also, Bentley's story models how learning science truly can be an interesting time of inquiry (not just traditional material learned in textbooks).

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by: Barack Obama (non-fiction)

The beauty in this book truly lies in its illustrations, done by, Loren Long. The book features iconic individuals who have had tremendous influence throughout American history. Those presented include Martin Luther King Jr., Georgia O'Keefe, Albert Einstein, Billie Holiday, as well as others. The pages are uniquely laid out: the left side of the page starts a sentence, for example, "Have I told you you are creative.." and pictures Obama's daughters with along side with another unknown young girl (Georgia O'Keefe). The right page features a large illustration of Georgia O'Keefe painting with a short description of how she influenced America.

While this book is very simple, in that it does not present a challenging or complex reading, the format of the book attempts to see eye-to-eye with its intended audience. Readers can relate to the left page (young children) and at the same time, realize that these great leaders of our nation also once started as young children, just like us.

I would use this book as a way to promote positive character development. I would tell students to select a person in history (or current) in which they feel they share common characteristics. Students could select those mentioned in the this book or peruse through other resources to find a person. Students would briefly research this person and write a short synthesis of their contribution. Finally, after I would give each student a folder. One side would show a picture of them and their unique personal characteristic. On the second side of the folder, they could write or illustrate who they want to be when they get older. On the back, students could write any information about their researched person of history.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by: Scott O'Dell (multicultural)

This short chapter book tells the story of a Native American woman who escaped a rescue ship in order to join her abandoned brother. O'Dell's story is based off "The Lone Woman of San Nicholas", an Indian woman who was evacuated with her tribe from their island when European immigrants colonized America.
The woman, Karana escapes the ship to return to her forgotten younger brother. Tragically, the brother dies  and Karana is left alone on the island. She is forced to survive on the remote Pacific island for eighteen years.

I would recommend this book for students to read individually or I would read aloud excerpts and compare with excerpts from the Robin Crusoe (very similar stories). I would have students construct a Venn-diagram comparing the two stories and the perspectives of each main character (boy vs. girl perspective?)
Also, in social studies, this book could be used to introduce students to Pacific Indian tribes. Working in small groups, I would assign students to each create a poster about a specific tribe from this geographic region. Information on the poster may include the Indian's indigenous environment, food sources, clothing, food sources, clothing, history, and homes.

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by: Joyce Sidman (poetry and non-fiction)

This book features a collection of twelve poems filled with exquisite and detailed illustrations to complement each. The first poem "Welcome to the Night" introduces the main subject of nocturnal natural wildlife. The remaining poems elaborate with factual information, describing various occurences that happen during the night. The book concludes by describing the night fading away and the sunlight coming through.

This is a great book to use with grades three and older to introduce science units featuring nocturnal events. Some of the margins also contain additional information and highlight science keywords in bold. The author also includes various types of poems in the book. This book can be used to introduce a new science unit to describe nature during the night. The book can also be used to incorporate literacy, specifically poetry. After students have experience with different formats of poems, I could use this book to give students practice of identifying some of these types.

Jumanji by: Chris Van Allsburg (science fiction/fantasy)

Jumanji Illustrations: At a Glance


The link above contains a short video of some selected pictures from Allsburg's picture book, Jumanji. This author and illustrator is well known for his unique drawings in other children's books such as "The Polar Express".

While Jumanji features an exciting and suspenseful plot for students, the students can also learn to appreciate how pictures contribute to a story. In the classroom, I would read this book aloud for simple enjoyment. Following, I would show this animoto video of some of the selected illustrations. For younger grades, I would encourage students to pay particular attention to Judy and Peter's facial expressions to draw conclusions about the action in the story. In older grades, I would guide children to looking at the perspective of each illustration's frame. For example, in some of the pictures, the point of view seems to be from above (observing the action), whereas in other scenes, the reader perspective is at eye level with the characters so that the reader feels closer to the action. Other features of visual images such as proportions, angles, and shading also contribute to the meaning of the story.

Harold and the Purple Crayon by: Crockett Johnson (modern fantasy)

This story is about a little boy who creates his own world through the use of a magical, purple crayon. It begins with the boy deciding to take a walk in the moonlight. However, since there was no moonlight he drew one for himself. He continues to draw things he desires, as well as escapes to avoid danger throughout his adventures during the night.

Since the book is an easier read (few text on each page, large illustrations, ect), my focus during classroom implementation would be critical understanding. Using the theme of the book: power of imagination and perseverance to determine fate; I would give students a different incomplete drawing. I would ask them to complete the drawing, using their imagination, to portray a personal desire. Following, I would present a hypothetical situation (conflict/dilemma) with an incomplete drawing to the students and ask, "what would you create/draw to make this situation better?"

This book gives an excellent opportunity for students to let their imagination run 'wild', all while under focused instruction by the teacher.