The Family Under The Bridge By Natalie Savage Carlson

Reading Level: 4-5
Genre: Multicultural
Awards: Newberry Honor Book

This book is about a group of homeless children that live under a bridge and the man that they end up latching themselves to and creating a family with.  The children's mother is less than thrilled about this arrangement or the adventures they get up to but she has no choice in the matter.  The story is set in Paris, France and the children and the man that they befriend, Armand have many adventures around the city.  One time they meet a band of gypsies and Suzy thinks she is going to teach Tinka, one of the gypsies how to read, but in the end she and the other children end up learning something from the gypsies and Tinka in particular teaches Suzy the "gypsies alphabet" which is a set of symbols that the gypsies read to know where to beg.

I think that this story is a great story about seeing more in people than just their status in life would make them out to be.  It is also about forming a family with whoever is there for you when you need them.  With this book I would have the student's talk about what makes a family and how they classify what a family is.  Then I would have them write a paper about who their "family" consists of and have them give reasoning for their choices.  This could be turned into a project with the students creating a scrapbook or family album or even a family tree with their non-biological family being put on the tree as well.

Each Little Bird That Sings By Deborah Wiles

Reading Level: 4
Genre: Realistic
Awards: E.B. White Read Aloud Award, Finalist at 2005 National Book Awards

Comfort Snowberger is surrounded by death living in a funeral home and she is used to it being in her family because as her Uncle Edisto says "Everybody's kind, Comfort."  But never before has death hit the Snowberger family like when Uncle Edisto dies and then Great-great aunt Florentine die within a few months of each other.  Comfort writes the "Life Notices" both Uncle Edisto and Great-great aunt Florentine.  Then during all the craziness preparing for the biggest funeral the Snowberger's funeral home has ever seen Comfort's best friend Declaration begins acting funny.  At a time when Comfort doesn't want to have to put on the smiles that she normally does as a part of a family that owns a funeral home Comfort also has to deal with too many things to count.

I think that this story is a great coming of age story and could facilitate a great discussion on dealing with death and hard situations in your life.  I also really like the ideas of the "Life Notices" that Comfort writes.  I would have my students write "Life Notices" on famous people that we have been talking about in class.  This could be scientists that pertain to the content we are studying in science or historical figures that we are talking about in social studies.  This writing exercise would introduce students to writing in the style of a newspaper article.

Grow: A Novel in Verse By Juanita Havill

Reading Level: 3-5
Genre: Poetry/Novel

This novel is written only in poems and is about two people, Kate and Berneetha who decide to create a garden in the abandon lot in their neighborhood.  Kate and Berneetha couldn't be more opposite.  Kate is a twelve year old girl and Berneetha is a former teacher that Kate discribes as older than her mom.  Both get so wrapped up in the project but then a developer says that they are going to turn the garden into a parking lot.  Now the whole neighborhood has to whether or not to come together and fight to keep the garden.

I would use this book as an example of poetry.  With this poetry becasue it is also a novel I could talk about how some poetry can be used to tell stories and then talk about the different types of poetry and which ones would be useful for writing a novel like this and which ones wouldn't.  I would then have my students take a story that they had already written and turn it into poetry to get the same story across.

Abracadabra to Zombies: More than 300 Wacky Word Origins By Don and Pam Wulffson

Reading Level: 3-5
Genre: Nonfiction

This book is a modern dictionary of sorts with the origins and definitions of words that are a part of pop culture.  It gives the origin of the words and how they came to be used in the context they are used in today.  It also explains the origin and meaning behind the names of brand names like Nike and the Harlem Globe Trotters.

I would use this book as a kid friendly way to explain how to use reference works like dictionaries and encyclopedias.  I could also use the information in the book as interesting facts that I could put on the board in the morning as trivia.  I could frame the facts as questions and have the students answer the questions as morning work.

Edward's Eyes By Patricia MacLachlan

Reading Level: 3
Genre: Realistic
Awards: North Carolina Children's Book Award Master List, Bank Street Best Books of the Year

Jake is Edward's older brother.  Jake has been taking care of Edward since Edward was born just like Jake's sister Wren took care of him when he was born but the bond between Jake and Edward is something more special than anything their other siblings have.  Jake is constantly fascinated by Edward and his fearlessness and determined spirit. Jake knows that Edward doesn't see everything the way other people do and that is just a part of what makes Edward special and it is Edward's eyes that end up changing a stranger's life not to mention Jake's.

An activity that I would do with this book is that I would that I would attach the baseball aspect of this book with some math activities.  There are many things to calculate in baseball and could be a great way to create an interest in the math problems that I have to give out.  I could use the actual calculations that they do in baseball like RBIs but I could also use baseball statistics.

Wonderland By Tommy Kovac

Reading Level: 4-6

Genre: Fantasy

This is a graphic novel addition to the Alice in Wonderland family.  This version follows the story of Mary Ann, the White Rabbit's personal maid after Alice has left Wonderland.  Mary Ann is thrust into this crazier than normal Wonderland as the heir apparent to Alice's rebel throne, although Mary Ann missed the whole Alice uprising against the Queen of Hearts.

This book is a graphic novel but it is also a fresh take on a classic fairytale which I think open up this story to many activity ideas.  I think that a great activity to do with this book would be to have my students choose a fairytale and have rewrite it. They could write it from a different perspective, they could change the ending, they could do whatever they wanted as long as when they were finished the reader was still able to tell from which fairytale the story was based and it keeps the characteristics of a fairytale.  Then they would have to illustrate their rewritten stories in the style of a graphic novel.  If the stories were long then they might only have to illustrate one section but if the stories were short enough they could illustrate the whole thing.

My Name is Maria Isabel By Alma Flor Ada

Reading Level: 3-5
Genre: Multicultural

Maria Isabel Salazar Lopez loves her name and the story of all the relatives she is named after but when her family must move because her father gets a new job there are already two Marias in her new class, this leaves Maria Isabel with the name Mary Lopez.  Maria doesn't understand why she isn't allowed to go by her name and her school work even begins to suffer as Maria struggles to identify herself with this new label of Mary Lopez.  Maria's class puts on a cultural display of the various winter holidays and Maria would love to sing one of the songs but Mary Lopez never participates in class so Maria is left out of the festivities even though her parents have promised to get off work to see Maria perform.

This story is a great lesson on the importance of allowing people to identify who they want to be themselves and being sensitive to each individual student.  As a project to go along with this book I would have my students research the origins of their names.  They could search online, interview their parents or any other method and then create a project based on their findings.  This could connect to social studies because the research could turn into a family tree project and discuss the immigration of different people to the US which would really connect well to the time period from the 1920's to now.

In The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson By Bette Bao Lord

Reading Level: 3-5
Genre: Multicultural
Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book, Library of Congress Children's Book

Shirley Temple Wong comes to the United States with her mother to join her father in Brooklyn.  When she starts school she doesn't speak English and  while the children at first try to make her feel welcome soon the effort it takes to be her friend and help her fit in is too much for her fellow students.  Shirley begins to feel alone and wishes she had never had to leave China when spring rolls around and baseball season starts.  Shirley Temple Wong falls in love with the Brooklyn Dodgers and rookie Jackie Robinson is an idol in her eyes.  Through baseball she is able to connect with her classmates, gain friends and finally realize her American dream.

I think that this story is a great way to talk about how even though everyone is different a lot of times there are things that we can come and enjoy together.  As an activity I would split my class into groups, being mindful of who normally hangs out and splitting those people up.  I would then have these groups work together on various skill building projects through out the day that still corresponded to the curriculum that would need to be covered that day and then at the end of the day we could all come together and either have a big discussion about the similarities that the students found that existed among the group or have them do a special project on their common interests and report it to the class.

The Story of Ruby Bridges By Robert Coles

Reading Level: 3-5
Genre: Biography

This is the inspiring story of Ruby Bridges, a six year old African American student who is one of six children chosen to be the first to integrate the schools in New Orleans.  Ruby was sent to a different school than all the other students chosen so she had to endure mobs of parents of the white children that didn't want her going to school with their children all alone.  She also had to spend the beginning of her school year in a classroom all by herself because the parents of the other children refused to let their children come to class with Ruby.  Through it all though Ruby tries to not allow all the craziness surrounding her to affect her and she even goes as far as to pray for the people harassing her.

This is a great story to address the topic of discrimination and hate because it address the fact that sometimes people aren't always fair and kind and sometimes they are down right hateful but that doesn't mean that when we are treated that way we have to stoop to our oppressor's level.  I think this could be a great book for a class discussion or a Socratic seminar.  Also, I think that this book is also a great book to bring up the topic of how even as young person they can make a change in the world and that they can stand up for what they believe in.

Tomas and The Library Lady By Pat Mora

Reading Level: K-3
Genre: Multicultural
Awards: Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award

Tomas is the son of migrant workers and during the summer his family moves from their home in Texas to Iowa to work on a farm there.  While Tomas' parents are working Tomas plays with his little brother and listens to the stories that Papa Grande, his grandfather tells him.  Soon though, Tomas knows all his grandfather's stories by heart so Papa Grande encourages Tomas to go to the library to learn new stories to tell his family.  When Tomas goes to the library the librarian there helps Tomas pick out books and Tomas ends up falling in love with the stories that the library holds.  Eventually, Tomas and his family return to Texas but Tomas brings back not only a brand new book of his own but also the title of the family's newest storyteller.

This is a great story because it depicts Tomas in a situation that is probably unfamiliar to a lot of the students that I will teach but he is a lot like any kid because he loves stories and the stories that he loves are stories that a typical boy would love.  This book is based off of the experiences of Tomas Rivera who eventually becomes the chancellor of the University of California at Riverside which gives the story more of a special message because in reality the boy in the story eventually takes his love of learning and becomes a very successful adult.  In teaching this story I would definitely latch on to the fact that this story is based on a true story to make the point that no matter what kind of background you come from you can always become whatever you want if you work hard.  I would have my students write a paper about what they hope to become in the future and what they think they would have to do to reach that goal.

Pecos Bill: A Tall Tale Retold and Illustrated By Steven Kellogg

Reading Level: 2-5

Genre: Folktale

This is the story of Pecos Bill and his adventures as he moves farther and farther out west to explore the open land of the western frontier.  Along the way he is raised by wolves, rides a tornado and ropes all the cattle in the west.  The illustration in this book are so detailed and have a lot of funny little extras that add so much visually to the story.

I would use this in my classroom as a part of the unit on tall tales and folk tales.  Since the book is pretty much made up of small stories of things that happen throughout Pecos Bill's life I would have my students write stories about their lives, either in the future or now, that were in the tall tale style.  This would be a great assessment tool because I would be able to tell through the student's stories whether or not the student understands what the characteristics of a tall tale are.

Paul Bunyan: A Tall Tale Retold and Illustrated By Steven Kellogg

Reading Level: 2-5
Genre: Folktale
Awards: Reading Rainbow Book

This book tells the story of Paul Bunyan and his adventures with his lumbering crew as the cross the United States.  Along the way Paul and his men create some of the natural wonders that the United States is known for like the Grand Canyon. The illustrations are very bright and have many details.

I would use this in the classroom as a way to connect either geography or the study of the formation of natural wonders to literacy and tall tales.  I would first read Paul Bunyan and then talk about tall tales and how the genre explains how things were created in exaggerated and improbable way.  Then I would be able to move into the science content for the day and contrast what the story said Paul Bunyan did to what actually happened.