Biography/ Realistic Fiction

Title: Snowflake Bentley

Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin



About the Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin is the author of Snowflake Bentley, winner of the 1999 Caldecott Medal. She grew up on a farm in Maine and now she lives in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Amazon

Age Level: 4-8

Synopsis: This story is about the biography of a self-taught scientist named Wilson Bentley. He loved snowflakes and their ice crystals. His parents bought him a microscope camera with all the money they had. Wilson photographed snowflakes showing that not one snowflake is the same. He studies their unique formations. This is how he got his nickname Snowflake Bentley. This book is based on a true story of the life of Wilson Bentley.

Pre-Reading Activities: The science that snowflakes come in all different shapes and sizes. Discussion with the class about how snowflakes are formed. Have you ever looked at a snowflake up close? Do you know how snowflakes form? Would you be interested in doing what Wilson Bentley did (take photographs of snowflakes)?

Post-Reading Activities: What was your favorite part of the story? Do you think the snowflake pictures are important? Why? What do the pictures tell us? After the story, students will draw or cut out their own snowflakes and decorate them. The snowflakes will be displayed in the classroom to show how every snowflake is different.

My Reflection: I think this is a great book to use in the classroom. It can be used when studying biographies. It can also be used to study snow, how snow is formed, what it looks like up close, etc. I think that it also portrays the message to always follow your dreams and that anything is possible.

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Fiction/Picture Book/ Folklore

Title: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Author: Simms Taback




About the Author: Simms Taback grew up in the Bronx and graduated from Cooper Union. He has worked as an art director and a graphic designer, and has taught at the School of Visual Arts and Syracause University. He has illustrated many children's books, including I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (Viking), Spacy Riddles, Snakey Riddles, Buggy Riddles, and Fishy Riddles (all written by Katy Hall and lIsa Eisenberg, Dial). His work has won many awards, including the Caldecott Honor Award Medal for I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book. A father of three and grandfather of three, Mr. Taback lives with his wife in Willow, New York. Amazon

Age Level: 4-8

Synopsis: Joseph is the main character in the book, who has an overcoat that he really likes. The overcoat soon becomes old and worn, but instead of throwing the coat away he makes the overcoat into many different things. Finally the piece of overcoat becomes so small that the only thing that can be made from it is a button. Soon the button falls off and it is lost and Joseph is left with nothing.

Pre-Reading Activities: This story allows the reader to understand that you can always make something out of nothing. Sometimes people use things over and over again. People take old clothing or other things and can make them into something new. Have you ever taken something old and turned it into something new? What did you make? Did you keep what you made or did you give it to someone else? Discuss with the class how we can recycle old things to make new things.

Post-Reading Activities: What was your favorite part of the story? What kinds of clothes does Joseph make from the overcoat? If you were Joseph would you have done the same thing or would you have thrown the overcoat away? After reading the story, the students would gather something old from their homes and bring it in the next day to turn into something new. A letter would be sent to parents to let them know of the activity and
to help their child.

My Reflection: This story takes after a Yiddish Folk Song from 1977. This is an excellent story to portray that you can make a treasure out of anything. It shows that we can recycle something and make it into something new. I like the moral of the story at the end, that you can make something out of nothing!

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Fiction/Picture Book

Title: Where the Wild Things Are

Author: Maurice Sendak




About the Author: For more than forty years, the books Maurice Sendak has written and illustrated have nurtured children and adults alike and have challenged established ideas about what children's literature is and should be. Winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are, in 1970 Sendak became the first American illustrator to receive the international Hans Christian Andersen Award, given in recognition of his entire body of work. In 1983, he received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association, also given for his entire body of work.

Age Level: 4-8

Synopsis: Max is a wild child who gets sent to bed without supper after threatening to eat his mom. When he is in his room he begins to use his imagination and a forest grows. Max boards a boat and imagines himself sailing away to the land of the wild things. The monsters roared when he arrived but Max wasn’t scared. Max tames the monsters with a magic trick, they became frightened calling him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all the wild things. Max returns to his room to find his dinner, still hot!

Pre-Reading Activities: Discuss with the class the importance of using your imagination. Discuss why we use our imagination. Who uses their imagination every day? Do you travel to all different kinds of places? What do you think of Max’s imagination? Have you ever had an imagination just like Max’s?

Post-Reading Activities: What was your favorite part of the story? Has your mother ever sent you to bed without dinner because you were misbehaving? If you were max would you have been scared of the wild things? After reading the story, students will receive a blank stapled booklet. The students will create their own version of the story and illustrate it. They will use their imagination to create a unique story.

My Reflection: This book is such an inspiration for using your imagination, yet it provides a nice balance of children’s needs for imaginative thinking but has a sense of limits. This book allows children to close their eyes and create an imaginary place to travel to. They decide what it looks like, who or what lives there, and what they will do. Children can relate to Max and his thoughts. This book allows children to relate to people not understanding them or even the fact that they might not understand themselves yet. It shows that when children are upset about something or have a problem they can disappear with their imaginations and think about things on their own.

Amazon

Fiction

Title: The Polar Express

Author: Chris Van Allsburg



About the Author: The author of such bestselling children's books as Jumanji and The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg is a two-time winner of the coveted Caldecott Medal, as well as that National Book Award and the Regina Medal for lifetime achievement in children's literature.

Age Level: 5-8

Synopsis: A young boy stays awake at night listening for the jingle of Santa’s sleigh bells on Christmas Eve. He suddenly hears a loud rumbling outside on the street as a magical train called The Polar Express pulls up in front of his house. The boy goes up to the train and is invited in by the mysterious conductor. The train is filled with children, all dressed in their pajamas, who drink hot chocolate. This magical train ride takes the boy on a journey to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa.

Pre-Reading Activities: Discuss with the class the history of Christmas, traditions, and how other cultures celebrate Christmas. What do you do on Christmas Eve? Do you leave anything out for Santa Claus? What is the one special gift that you want Santa to bring you on Christmas? On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus visits everyone’s house to deliver gifts. This story is about the magical hope of Christmas and the boy who keeps believing in Santa Claus even when his friends begin to doubt his existence.

Post-Reading Activities: What was your favorite part of the story? What would you have asked Santa for if you were chosen? Would you have asked for a bell? After the reading, the students will write about what gift they would have asked Santa for and then draw a picture of the gift. The teacher could also have a lesson on the five senses that are incorporated in this book

My Reflection: This is one of my favorite books. I love the magical essence of this book. I think that it is so important that we believe in something and as a child, children need to have something to believe in. It is part of having an imagination. This is a story that provides children with a magical experience and a story that allows children to keep believing.

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Picture Book

Title: Corduroy

Author: Don Freeman




About the Author: Freeman was introduced to the world of Childrens' Literature, when William Saroyan asked him to illustrate several books. Soon after, he began to write and illustrate his own books, a career he settled into comfortably and happily. Through his writing, he was able to create his own theater: "I love the flow of turning the pages, the suspense of what's next. Ideas just come at me and after me. It's all so natural. I work all the time, long into the night, and it's such a pleasure. I don't know when the time ends. I've never been happier in my life!” Amazon

Age Level: preschool-6

Synopsis: This is a story about a bear named Corduroy who lives in a big department store. A little girl wants to buy him, but her mother refuses because he is missing a button on his overalls. Corduroy goes on a journey through the store in hopes of finding a button. The next day the little girl comes back and buys Corduroy. He finally find a home and gets a button for his overalls.

Pre-Reading Activities: Corduroy explores both the possibilities of toys coming to life, and what it’s like to be locked in a department store after everyone has gone home for the night. This book also demonstrates to children that they should never give up hope. Have you ever been to a store and your mom or dad wouldn’t let you get anything? How did you feel in this situation? Why do you think Corduroy wanted to find a button for his overalls so badly? Discuss with the class how both of the characters showed perseverance. Ask the students to share a time when they showed perseverance like Corduroy and the little girl.

Post-Reading Activities: What was your favorite part of the book? Did you think anyone would ever buy Corduroy? Was Corduroy really on a mountain? Was Corduroy actually in a palace? What happened at the end of the story?After the reading the students will pick three of their favorite parts of the book and write about it. They will also draw a picture to go along with their writing sample.

My Reflection: I love this story! It is another childhood classic. This story is about having hope. It is about not only receiving love but giving love. This story is also about not being accepted or loved at first but finding people that truly love and care about you. This book also touches on, that not being perfect is okay and that we need to appreciate the different values in others!

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Poetry

Title: The Snowy Day

Author: Ezra Jack Keats




About the Author: Admired as much for his inventive, colorful illustrations as his simple, earnest stories, Ezra Jack Keats literally changed the face of children s literature by introducing African-American characters into a mostly white genre. His gentle, big-hearted books have been loved by generations of children of all races.

Age Level: preschool-8

Synopsis: This is a story about a little boy named Peter who goes outside to play on a snowy day. He takes a journey and explores many things throughout the day. Before he comes inside, he makes a snowball and puts it in his pocket. When he goes to bed he dreams that the snow
is gone but he wakes up to another snowy day!

Pre-Reading Activities: The excitement of the first snowfall of the year. What do you like to do when you play in the snow? Have you ever built a snowman? What materials do you use when you build a snowman? Discuss with the class why it snows, how it snows, and why it’s cold. Allow and encourage students to ask questions.

Post-Reading Activities: What was your favorite part of the story? What kind of things did Peter do on the snowy day? What did Peter put into his pocket before he goes back inside? After the reading students will receive three pieces of paper with three different sized circles on them. They will cut the circles out and glue them one on top of the other. The two bigger circles (the body of the snowman) will have lines in the middle of them. The students will then write a description about what they enjoy doing on a snowy day. When they are finished writing, they may decorate their snowman, and put a face on the smallest top circle. The snowmen will be handed in and hung up on the wall.

My Reflection: This is such a wonderful book! It is a classic! The little boy in the story is able to experience something new for himself. Any reader of all ages can relate to this book. This book also delves into minorities and race and could have a much deeper meaning when critically analyzed. The illustrations are wonderful and the book is a simple story of a boy exploring a snowy day.

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Fairy Tale

Title: Many Moons

Author: James Thurber



About the Author: James Thurber was an American writer and artist. One of the most popular humorists (writers of clever humor) of his time, Thurber celebrated in stories and in cartoons the comic frustrations of eccentric yet ordinary people. James Thurber Biography

Age Level: 4-8

Synopsis: Princess Lenore is ill from eating too many raspberry tarts. She believes that having the moon will make her better. The King asks the Lord High Chamberlain, the Royal Wizard, and the Royal Mathematician to get the moon for Princess Lenore. They claim that there is no way to get her the moon and they try to keep her from seeing it at night. However, the clever Court Jester asks the princess about the moon and solves the problem.

Pre-Reading Activities: This book looks at a clever way of problem solving. It demonstrates a way of thinking outside of the box. How far away do you think the moon is? Do you think that you could get the moon? How would you get the moon? Why do you think the Court Jester asked the princess about the moon? How do you think they are going to solve the problem when the princess sees the moon? Discuss and make a list with the class of ways to solve problems. Allow and encourage students to ask questions.

Post-Reading Activities: Would you have done the same things that the King did? Who had the smartest idea? What do you think of Princess Lenore’s explanation about the moon? After the reading, students could discuss the extending questions in a small group discussion and create their own questions to share. Another activity might be to write a journal entry about wanting something that might be hard to get and how you would get it. They would also be required to write a picture to go along with their writing entry.

My Reflection: I really liked this book. I especially liked that it was a fairy tale. Usually fairy tales have some sort of clever solution in the ending. I loved how the Court Jester was clever enough to solve the problem in such a small way. It shows how children can solve a problem in a small way, and sometimes adults try to solve problems in a complicated way. I think that having students think of ways to solve problems gives them the necessary skills and tools for problem solving.

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