Traditional Literature
Bagels from Benny - Aubrey Davis
Reading level - 3.0; Interest level - K-5
from Angela Burgess
It could always be worse - Margot Zemach
Reading level - 4.9; Interest level - 2nd-4th
from Nicole Guifarro
Fantasy
Stellaluna - Janelle Cannon
Reading level - 4.9; Interest level - pre K - 5th
from Kammie Ruth
Runaway Ralph - Beverly Cleary
Reading level - 4.1; Interest level - 3rd-5th
from Jessica Williams
Oh my, Baby Bear! - Audrey Wood
Reading level - 4.5; Interest level - K-2nd
from Roxi Harp
Multicultural
My diary from here to there - Amada Irma Perez
Reading level - 4.0; Interest level - K-5th
from Frances Phan
First day in grapes - L. King Perez
Reading level - 3.2; Interest level - 2nd-6th
from Keri Bass
Dona Flor - Pat Mora
Reading level - 3.6; Interest level - K-2nd
from Angie Selig
Realistic fiction
Love, Ruby Lavender - Deborah Wiles
Reading level - 4.2; Interest level - 3rd-5th
from Laura Cochrane
Junie B., First Grader: Aloha-ha-ha! - Barbara Park
Reading level - 1.9; Interest level - K-2nd
from Cindy Brown
Biography
Helen Keller: Her life in pictures - George Sullivan
Reading level - 5.8; Interest level - 2nd-5th
from Melinda McLaughlin
Informational
Rain and shine: A first look at seasons - Sara Lynn and Dianne James
Reading level - 3.8; Interest level - K-6th
from Kristy Hollar
The Bermuda Triangle - Aaron Rudolph
Reading level - 5.0; Interest level - 5th-8th
from Angie Blair
Showing posts with label Animal Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animal Fantasy. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Giraffes Can't Dance
Author: Giles Andrae Title: Giraffes Can’t Dance
Book Genre: Animal Fantasy Publisher: Orchard Books
Summary: Gerald the Giraffe dreads the “Jungle Dance” every year because he is clumsy and cannot dance. The other animals make fun of him because he can’t dance. One day he meets a cricket that teaches him that we all can dance when we find the “music” that we love. This book is a great read-aloud and is wonderfully illustrated that will captivate your students.
Personal rating: *****
Pages: 32
Rationale: Loved this book because it teaches friendship, belonging and prejudice in rhyme. The illustrator uses vibrant colors to attract the reader.
Reading level: 3.80 Interest level: K-2
Thematic Areas: identity, friendship, belonging, courage, prejudice, being different, encouragement
Content Areas: self-esteem, dance, animals, friends, art, music, confronting and resolving fears, understanding self and others
Potential Problems or Difficulties: none
Possible use in classroom:
· Discuss with your students what they would like to be successful in at home or school
· Teach about Africa
· Teach a lesson on giraffes
· Have them draw a giraffe
· Talk to the students about the music that they love and make a chart to show popularity
· Let students bring in their favorite music and let everyone dance to it
Book Genre: Animal Fantasy Publisher: Orchard Books
Summary: Gerald the Giraffe dreads the “Jungle Dance” every year because he is clumsy and cannot dance. The other animals make fun of him because he can’t dance. One day he meets a cricket that teaches him that we all can dance when we find the “music” that we love. This book is a great read-aloud and is wonderfully illustrated that will captivate your students.
Personal rating: *****
Pages: 32
Rationale: Loved this book because it teaches friendship, belonging and prejudice in rhyme. The illustrator uses vibrant colors to attract the reader.
Reading level: 3.80 Interest level: K-2
Thematic Areas: identity, friendship, belonging, courage, prejudice, being different, encouragement
Content Areas: self-esteem, dance, animals, friends, art, music, confronting and resolving fears, understanding self and others
Potential Problems or Difficulties: none
Possible use in classroom:
· Discuss with your students what they would like to be successful in at home or school
· Teach about Africa
· Teach a lesson on giraffes
· Have them draw a giraffe
· Talk to the students about the music that they love and make a chart to show popularity
· Let students bring in their favorite music and let everyone dance to it
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Anansi and the Talking Melon
Author: Eric A. Kimmel Title: Anansi and the Talking Melon
Book Genre: Fantasy/Animal Publishing Info: Holiday House, 30,pp
Summary: Anansi, the trickster spider, drops into the elephants melon patch and picks a thorn to bore a hole in the best melon in the patch. Silly Anansi hears the elephant returning and is not able to get back out of the melon after becoming to round from eating too much so instead he decides to make the elephant believe that the melon is talking. With the elephant so amused, he begins to show all of his friends, and Anansi amuses himself by fooling the other animals. He is a real trickster!
Personal rating:****
Rationale: Good humor, well written, great illustration, fun, believable characters
Reading Level: 3.9 Interest Level: K-2nd
Thematic Areas: Animals, character and values, friends and friendships, humor
Content Areas: Science
Potential Problems or Difficulties: N/A
Possible uses in classroom: Use during a language arts/writing lesson. Give children an 8-1/2x11 piece of paper and fold into four parts. I will reread the story and stop at four spots in the story and have the students change that part of the story and have them illustrate it as well. Also use as an introductory story for a science lesson on spiders/insects. After reading the book, have the students make edible spiders. Give each student 8 Chinese noodles for the legs, 2 licorice strands for antennas, 2 mini M&M’s for the nose, and a large marshmallow for the body. Talk about the functions of the spiders body parts.
Book Genre: Fantasy/Animal Publishing Info: Holiday House, 30,pp
Summary: Anansi, the trickster spider, drops into the elephants melon patch and picks a thorn to bore a hole in the best melon in the patch. Silly Anansi hears the elephant returning and is not able to get back out of the melon after becoming to round from eating too much so instead he decides to make the elephant believe that the melon is talking. With the elephant so amused, he begins to show all of his friends, and Anansi amuses himself by fooling the other animals. He is a real trickster!
Personal rating:****
Rationale: Good humor, well written, great illustration, fun, believable characters
Reading Level: 3.9 Interest Level: K-2nd
Thematic Areas: Animals, character and values, friends and friendships, humor
Content Areas: Science
Potential Problems or Difficulties: N/A
Possible uses in classroom: Use during a language arts/writing lesson. Give children an 8-1/2x11 piece of paper and fold into four parts. I will reread the story and stop at four spots in the story and have the students change that part of the story and have them illustrate it as well. Also use as an introductory story for a science lesson on spiders/insects. After reading the book, have the students make edible spiders. Give each student 8 Chinese noodles for the legs, 2 licorice strands for antennas, 2 mini M&M’s for the nose, and a large marshmallow for the body. Talk about the functions of the spiders body parts.
Clara and the Bossy
Author: Ruth Ohi
Title: Clara and the Bossy
Book Genre: Fantasy
Publishing Info: Annick, 31 pp
Summary: Clara and Madison are best friends. Clara is a fun loving, outgoing, yet shy young gerbil. Madison is bossy. After taking orders and trying to be like Madison more than she could take it, Clara finally reverted back to herself. Madison realized that being bossy was not the way to be and tried to become friends with Clara again. Clara forgave her and they played happily ever after.
Personal rating: ****
Rationale: The illustrations in this book were great. There were conversation bubbles above most pictures which provided more detail to the story. The illustrations and story went together well. The animals act, walk, and talk just as humans do and the plot is very credible.
Reading level: 3.4 I
Interest level: K-3rd
Thematic Areas: friendship; love; manners; shapes; sorting
Content Areas: science; math
Potential Problems or Difficulties: No potential problems or difficulties
Possible use in classroom: This book would be a great book to use during a lesson on friendship and bullying. The children could tell their own stories of if they were bullied, or maybe if they were the bully. They could tell why these actions did not get them anywhere with their friends and what they learned from the situations. The children could talk about what they and their friends do together to have fun. Children could bring in their own favorite stuffed animals and do a sorting activity with the class stuffed animals.
Title: Clara and the Bossy
Book Genre: Fantasy
Publishing Info: Annick, 31 pp
Summary: Clara and Madison are best friends. Clara is a fun loving, outgoing, yet shy young gerbil. Madison is bossy. After taking orders and trying to be like Madison more than she could take it, Clara finally reverted back to herself. Madison realized that being bossy was not the way to be and tried to become friends with Clara again. Clara forgave her and they played happily ever after.
Personal rating: ****
Rationale: The illustrations in this book were great. There were conversation bubbles above most pictures which provided more detail to the story. The illustrations and story went together well. The animals act, walk, and talk just as humans do and the plot is very credible.
Reading level: 3.4 I
Interest level: K-3rd
Thematic Areas: friendship; love; manners; shapes; sorting
Content Areas: science; math
Potential Problems or Difficulties: No potential problems or difficulties
Possible use in classroom: This book would be a great book to use during a lesson on friendship and bullying. The children could tell their own stories of if they were bullied, or maybe if they were the bully. They could tell why these actions did not get them anywhere with their friends and what they learned from the situations. The children could talk about what they and their friends do together to have fun. Children could bring in their own favorite stuffed animals and do a sorting activity with the class stuffed animals.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wingdingdilly
Student Information
Author: Bill Peet Title: The Wingdingdilly
Genre: Fantasy/Traditional Publishing Info: Houghton Mifflin pp. 60
Summary: A dog named “Scamp” is tired of being a dog. He wonders into the woods and comes upon a witch, who magically makes him into a Wingdingdilly. He comes to find out that being a dog is all he really wanted.
Rating: ***
Rationale: Complex writing, imaginative characters, and well interpretive plot.
Teacher Information
Reading Level: 4.9 Interest Level: 3rd-6th
Thematic Areas: Friendship; survival; values; loyalty; self esteem issues
Content Areas: Science; Social Studies; Psychology
Potential Problems or Difficulties: Complex terminology for a young reader. Story plot was too predictable.
Possible use in the classroom: Science unit of all the combined animals and various body parts of Wingdingdilly. Bring a selection of animal magazine to the classroom and have students cut and paste and design their own Wingdindilly. Compare and Contrast living on a farm and living in the city.
Angie Blair
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Poppy
Author: Avi Title: Poppy
Book Genre: Animal Fantasy Publishing Info: Harper Trophy, 160 pp.
Summary: Poppy is a story about a young mouse’s efforts to seek out a new home for her expanding family. In this book Poppy faces enormous fears and challenges. She has several dangerous encounters with Mr. Ocax (a great-horned owl) that lives in the forest near her home. Poppy is able to overcome her fears and find a new home for her family. In this book Poppy is challenged to stretch beyond her comfort zone in order to find this new place to live otherwise her family may starve. Danger, heroic actions, and making new friends are a few elements of this exciting children’s book.
Personal rating: **** Great!
Rationale: Well written, charming characters, interesting plot with exciting events throughout
Reading level: 4.3 Interest level: 4th- 6th
Thematic Areas: courage, friendship, survival, quest
Content Areas: Language Arts, Science
Potential Problems or Difficulties: none identified
Possible use in classroom: This book could be used as an introduction to a Science unit on owls, porcupines, and mice. The teacher could have students explore the contents of the pellets that owls spit up after they eat their prey and report their findings. A study of the various types of owls could be incorporated with the reading of this book as well. The students could do a comparison chart with illustrations of the differences in eating habits, habitats, and physical appearance of each of the animals mentioned in the book.
Presentation of the information could be done as a group project or individual. Students could use the Internet and media center to gather information for this project.
For Language Arts the teacher could use this text as a spring board for introducing similes. She could cite ones from the book and have the students’ think of some examples. Students could write these examples out and illustrate them where possible.
Book Genre: Animal Fantasy Publishing Info: Harper Trophy, 160 pp.
Summary: Poppy is a story about a young mouse’s efforts to seek out a new home for her expanding family. In this book Poppy faces enormous fears and challenges. She has several dangerous encounters with Mr. Ocax (a great-horned owl) that lives in the forest near her home. Poppy is able to overcome her fears and find a new home for her family. In this book Poppy is challenged to stretch beyond her comfort zone in order to find this new place to live otherwise her family may starve. Danger, heroic actions, and making new friends are a few elements of this exciting children’s book.
Personal rating: **** Great!
Rationale: Well written, charming characters, interesting plot with exciting events throughout
Reading level: 4.3 Interest level: 4th- 6th
Thematic Areas: courage, friendship, survival, quest
Content Areas: Language Arts, Science
Potential Problems or Difficulties: none identified
Possible use in classroom: This book could be used as an introduction to a Science unit on owls, porcupines, and mice. The teacher could have students explore the contents of the pellets that owls spit up after they eat their prey and report their findings. A study of the various types of owls could be incorporated with the reading of this book as well. The students could do a comparison chart with illustrations of the differences in eating habits, habitats, and physical appearance of each of the animals mentioned in the book.
Presentation of the information could be done as a group project or individual. Students could use the Internet and media center to gather information for this project.
For Language Arts the teacher could use this text as a spring board for introducing similes. She could cite ones from the book and have the students’ think of some examples. Students could write these examples out and illustrate them where possible.
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