Reading Record
Cover
LRC 480c
Title
Author
Where the
Mountain
Meets the
Moon
Grace Lin
Good
Driving,
Amelia
Bedelia
Herman
Parish
Aunt
Claire’s
Yellow
Beehive
Hair
Deborah
Blumenth
al
Illustrat
or
Callie Mattus
Year
Tags
Summary
Comments
Collections
2008
G – Fantasy
F – ChB
Story,
Chinese
folklore,
family,
fortune
Minli decides to change her family’s
fortune. In her journey, friends and
stories
help
her
broaden
her
understanding of fortune.
No story stands by itself. Stories
shape who we are… which are
the stories I/we live by?
International
-China
Lynn
Sweat
1995
G- Fiction
F- PB
Story,
automobile
driving, funny,
different
meaning
of
words
It is Amelia Bedelia’s birthday and Mr.
Rogers offers to help teach her how to
drive so that she can visit her cousin
Alcolu. Because Amelia Bedelia does not
understand English very well, she was
often confused when Mr. Rogers used
terms like “fork in the road”. After
getting lost, then getting a flat tire, they
were towed home to a birthday party for
Amelia Bedelia.
Some things have different
meanings, and situations in life
will be difficult or not go as you
planned; but everything happens
for a reason.
USA
Mary
Grand
Pre
2001
G- fiction
F- PB
Story,
memories,
family
A girl looking to connect to family from
her past digs through boxes of pictures
and memorabilia of family and creates a
family scrap book.
Learns about family from stories
and pictures.
I’ve done the same with my
family.
USA
1.
2.
2.
Reading Record
3.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
When
I
was Little
Jamie Lee
Curtis
Laura
Cornell
1993
G- Fiction
F- PB
Story,
memories,
comparing
A 4 year old girl describes how she has
changed since being a baby.
The picture and cover looks
interesting and fun for kids.
Very relatable for kids to
compare their changes from
babies to now.
USA
4.
My Mom
Had
a
Dancing
Heart
Libba
Moore
Gray
Raul
Colon
1995
GRealistic
Fiction
F- PB
Watercolor
illustrations,
seasons, family
A ballet dancer remembers how her and
her mom would dance outside to
welcome the seasons. Her mom had a
dancing heart, and she does too.
Very beautiful and captivating
illustrations.
Describes seasons through dance.
Connections between mom and
daughter
USA
5.
Houndsle
y
and
Catina and
the Quiet
Time
James
Howe
MarieLouise
Gay
2008
G- Fiction
F- ChB
Winter,
music,
friendship,
adventure
With the first snow fall of the year,
Houndsley and Catina are kept inside,
which Catina hates. But with some
pretending, a few books and board
games, a flourish of creativity, and some
time to dream, Houndsley helps Catina
let go of her worries and enjoy the snowy
day, wherever it might take them.
Good to read on first snow day.
Shows how friends help each
other
through
frustrating
situations.
Great beginner’s chapter book
with
wonderful
watercolor
pictures.
USA
Reading Record
6.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Dorothy’s
Dream
Kady
MacDonal
d Denton
Kady
MacDon
ald
Denton
1989
GJuvenile
Fiction
F- PB
Dreams, sleep,
bedtime
Dorothy is afraid to go to sleep in fear that
she might miss something. Then one
night she discovers how wonderful
dreams can be.
Good for preschoolers who do
not want to nap or kids who are
afraid to nap.
USA
7.
Amber
Brown is
not
a
Crayon
Paula
Danziger
Tony
Ross
1994
G- Fiction
F- ChB
Friendship,
moving,
school
Amber and Justin are best friends. When
Justin finds out he is moving, Amber has
a very difficult time. She wants to talk to
him about it, but he wants to ignore the
topic, which makes them mad at each
other and causes them to fight. Amber’s
mom advices her that some people deal
with situations differently and how they
need to understand each other. They
finally realize they are too good of friends
to let this fight separate them forever and
they enjoy the last few days together.
Really great chapter book to
explain how people deal with
things differently, and that’s
okay. It expresses the hardship of
moving away from your best
friend and how to deal with that.
Really fun chapter book with
small black and white drawings.
USA
8.
The
Crayon
Box That
Talked
Shane
DeRolf
Michael
Letzig
1997
G- Fiction
F- PB
Story,
friendship,
diversity,
working
together
A little girl bought a crayon box that
didn’t get along. She showed them how
important each color was by drawing a
picture that used each of them together.
They ended up realizing that each crayon
was special and important in their own
way and how they need each other to
make a picture.
Teaches diversity to young
children. Shows that each person
is unique and different, but
important and special too.
Bright colors and fun story.
I read to my preschoolers a lot
and the y loved the story! Good
for social studies lesson about
diversity.
USA
Reading Record
9.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Yertle the
Turtle and
Other
Stories
Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
1958
G- fiction
F- PB
Story, Rhyme,
Bully, Stand
up for yourself
The Magic
Treehouse
#21
Civil War
on Sunday
Mary
Pope
Osborne
Sal
Murdocc
a
2002
G- Juvenile
Fiction
F- ChB
Civil
War,
Imagination,
Travel
Charlotte's
Web
E.B.
White
1952
GSpeculative
fiction
F- ChB
Spider, farm,
friendship,
sacrifice,
death.
10.
11.
Yertle the Turtle was the ruler of a small
pond. Then he decided he wanted to rule
more and needed a taller throne. He
ordered turtles to stand on top of each
other so he could see more land. The one
on the bottom kept asking for a break
because he was hurting, but Yertle said
no because he was “just” a turtle. Finally
the little turtle had enough and burped,
causing Yertle to fall off and only be the
ruler of the pond.
Jack and Annie must collect some
writings to save a kingdom called
Camelot. They first have to travel back to
the time of the American Civil War.
Seeing all of the wounded soldiers is
difficult but they are determined to help
as much as possible in the field hospital.
They find a drummer boy who looks like
Jack. The boy is dehydrated, so they take
him back and take care of him. When
Jack and Annie arrive back home, they
find out that their great great great
grandfather served as a drummer boy in
the Civil War, and he lived.
A little girl named Fern falls in love with
one the piglets on her family’s farm. She
names him Wilbur. When Wilbur gets
big, Mr. Zuckerman (Fern’s dad) wants to
butcher him. A spider that lives at the
farm, called Charlotte, befriends the pig
and starts to spell out encouraging words
and phrases about Wilbur in her webs,
convincing the dad not to butcher him.
Instead, he enters Wilbur into the state
fair where he won first place, meaning
Wilbur will never be killed. However,
Charlotte gets old and right after she lays
her eggs, she passes away. Wilbur and the
barn rat, Templeton, rescue the eggs and
take them back to the barn. Most of the
baby spiders go explore the world while
Teaches kids to stand up for
themselves and that they are
never “just” something. No one is
better than them.
Very fun for kids because it is Dr.
Seuss.
USA
This is a wonderful chapter book
for children learning about the
Civil War or the life as a solider
in the battle field.
I love that it includes pictures of
the scenes, yet still allows for the
readers to create their own
images.
Includes notes in their journal as
they go on their adventure; so it
shows a good way to take notes
and observe.
USA
This is such a wonderful read for
children.
This book demonstrated themes
of friendship and sacrifice.
Explores the fact that friends die,
but they will always remain with
you in some way.
I loved this book as a kid and felt
close to Wilbur, especially
because when I first read it was
the same time my Grandma
passes away.
USA
Reading Record
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
three of Charlotte’s offspring stays at the
barn to be friends with Wilbur.
12.
Ish
Peter A.
Reynolds
2004
G- PB
F- PB
drawing,
confidence,
views, support,
family
A boy named Ramone loved to draw. His
brother thought his pictures looked
nothing like the props, and made him feel
horrible, which shut him down. His little
sister collected his crumpled work, and
explained that his drawings were "ish"
like, which was perfect for him. Ramone
discovered that it is okay not to be
perfect, but to try and accept himself.
This book is a great book. I loved
the meaning behind it, that he
could be amazing if he believed
in himself. The way his sister
believed in him reminded me of
the way my sister and I support
and believe in each other.
USA
13.
I
Don't
Want to go
to School
Stephanie
Blake
Stephani
e Blake
2009
G- FL
F- PB
Bunny, school,
learning,
scared,
nervous
Little Bunny would say "No way!!" in
response to anything about starting
preschool the next day. That is, until he
actually went to school. Then he said "No
Way!!!" when it was time to go home.
Very relateable to children
starting school. It shows that the
thought of school can bry, and
thats okay, but that it is always
going to end up being good.
USA
14.
Beach
Feet
Marjorie
Jackson
Lynda
Cohen
2006
G- FL
F- PB
This is about a little girl who decides to
wear flip flop, also know as beach feet.
She walks around her house trying to find
other family members with Beach Feet.
Finally ,she sees her Grandma has beach
feet, so they go to the beach together.
It is good for young kids to talk
about how people dress or the
right type of clothing to wear
during certain seaons.
USA
Reading Record
15.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
PiggyBoo
k
Anthony
Browne
1986
G-Fiction
F- PB
pigs,
slobs,
chores,
womens rights,
lesson
16.
A Story A
Story
Gail
Haley
1970
G- FL
F- PB
Folklore,
Africa, Stories
17.
The Three
Little
Javelinas
Susan
Lowell
1992
G- Fiction
F- PB
Javelinas
,Coyote,
Desert, Chase,
Smart, Trick
E.
Jim
Harris
A father and his two son, who are horribly
rude and selfish and lazy, push the mom
of the family to leave. She cleans, cooks,
and takes care of everything in hte
household, yet she gets no appreciation or
respect. One day, when the boys get
home from school and the father from
work the yfind a note that says "a\you are
pigs". The mom left because she was tired
of the way she was treated. The boys had
to figure things out for themselves, and
did a terrible job at. Finally, when they
ran out of food and had no clean clothes
left, the mom returned. She made them do
the chores and help out around the house
from then on.
This told about an African folktale about
where stories came from. A old man
when to the King in the Sky and asked to
buy his box of stories. The king tricked
him by telling him to bring him animals
and fairies becuase he though the old man
could not do it. But through trickery and
wisdom, the old man ws able to capture
what the king had asked for, and in return
recieved the box of stories, in which he
shared with the world.
Three little javelinas were traveling
through the desert, when they came to a
fork in the road. Each going their seperate
ways, they incountered different people
who provided them with materials to
build a house. The first one got straw, and
when a coyote saw, he blew the house
down to try to capture the javelina. He ran
to his brother javelinas house, which ws
constructed of sticks. The coyote
followed and blew his house down too.
The two javelinas an to their sister's
house made of brick. The coyote could
not blow that one down and tried to go
down the chimmeny, only to find a fire at
I loved the illustartions with pigs
on everything. You can learn so
much from the pictures alone. It
also teaches children who have a
stay at home mom to respect all
their hard work and to appreciate
her.
My mom wokred part time my
entire life, so she was home a lot.
But we never expected her to do
everything. My sister and I had
chores and helped out too.
USA
We all hear stories everywhere
we go. They are all around the
world and there are probably
many stories on how stories
began. This is a cool book
because it introduces African
language and stories
Africa
I love this twist of the three little
pigs, especailly living in Tucson
where these animals ar emore
common.
In third grade Iplayed the third
javelina in the Three Little
Javelinas play, so this story is
quite personal to me.
USA
Reading Record
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
the bottom. He was never seen by them
again.
18.
Goldilock
s and the
Three
Bears
Gurda
Muller
2006
G- FL
F- PB
Bears, sizes,
threes,
patterns,
sneaking,
porage, chairs,
beds,common
stories
19.
Mix It Up!
Herve
Tullet
2014
G- children’s
non-fiction
F- PB
Colors,
mixing,
changing,
interactive
A younggirl named Goldilocks was
walking through the wodds one day, just
as a family of three bears were leaving.
She came upon their house and welcomed
herslef in. She first noticed the porage on
the each bowl, finally deciding to eat all
of the thrid bowl. Then she sat in each of
the three chairs, deciding the smallest one
was just right for her, but accidentally
broke it. The worked her way up to the
beds, trying each bed, she fell asleep in
the smallest bed. When the bears came
home tey notied that all of baby bears
stuff was gone, broken, or used. The
discovered
Mix It Up gets children to interact with
the book by having them push and rub
places throughout the book. It teaches
them how to make new colors and what
happens when you mix them.
France
This is GREAT for learning
primary and secondary colors,
the color wheel, and mixing
colors. I love that it has children
“do the mixing” and that the
illustrations are made from real
paint.
USA
Reading Record
20.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
The Day
the
Crayons
Quit
Drew
Daywalt
Oliver
Jeffers
2014
G- fiction
F- PB
Crayons, quit,
letters, mad,
change
Each colored crayon wrote their owner a
letter about how they are mad because
they don’t like being used for the same
thing each time. Blue doesn’t like always
being the sky, and Pink doesn’t like only
being used for girly stuff. So in the end,
they crayons are used to illustrate a
picture where everything is colored
differently, and the boy ended up getting
an A on his creativity and talent.
I love that this book teaches
children that it is okay to color
things differently and to be
creative. They should use their
imaginations and color how they
perceive something to be. It also
teaches children how to write
letters.
USA
Hip Hop
Speaks to
Children
Nikki
Giovanni
Various
2014
GMusic,
Poetry
F- PB, music
book
Poems, music,
hip
hop,
feelings,
Editor Nikki Giovanni puts popular Hip
Hop songs to the rhythm of poems
written by children. These poems are
about various topics ,relating to most
situations.
Great way to get children
interested in poetry. I like that
they used popular songs to go
with the poems. It also
encourages
dancing
and
movement with the CD
USA
A
Bad
Case
of
Stripes
David
Shannon
1998
G- fiction
F- PB
Peer pressure,
sick,
lima
beans, stripes
A little girl, who loves lima beans, is told
that they a yucky by all her friends at
school, so she decides to stop eating them
to fit in. She starts to get sick with
something that causes her to turn colors,
eventually causing her to turn into her
house. When the doctor gets there, they
discover this is happening because she
need lima beans.
Great way to introduce peer
pressure to children.
Would also be a fun way to start
lesson on growing lima beans 
My elementary school librarian
read this book to us all the time
and we loved it!!!
USA
21.
22.
Reading Record
LRC 480c
Romana
Quimby,
Age 8
Beverley
Cleary
How
to
Babysit a
Grandpa
Jean
Reagan
There was
an
Old
Lady Who
Swallowe
d
Some
Leaves
Lucille
Colandro
Callie Mattus
1981
G- F
F- CB
Age 8, life
problems,
babysitter,
third grade
Lee
Wildish
2012
G- f
F- PB
Grandpa,
child,
cute,
story
Jared Lee
2010
Gyoung
fiction
F- PB
Leaves, fall,
scarecrow, old
lady,
song,
rhythm
23.
24.
25.
Ramona is an 8 year old girl who is going
through some tough times in life. She is
required to be nice to her babysitter, who
makes that a very difficult task. Her mom
has to work long hours so her dad can go
back to school, therefore she is missing
her parents. A boy at school picks on her
during recess every day, and it didn’t help
when she threw up at school either. She is
not liking her third grade year, but after
solving some issues with her teacher and
talking with her family ,everything turns
out for the best.
This cute story describes how to be a
good grandpa-sitter. It shows things
grandpa might like to do and have for a
snack. It even explains things to do on a
walk
I loved this series as a child, and
the movie is really great too! I
think this book is incredibly
relatable to young children
experiencing new and upsetting
situations.
Being picked on as a kid, I could
relate to Ramona through her
tough times.
There was an old lady who swallowed
some leaves, a shirt, a pumpkin, a pole,
some pants, a rope, and some hay. In the
end, after going through the song of
“There was an Old Lady who Swallowed
a Fly”, the readers discover that when she
burps, the outcome of the things she
swallowed was a scarecrow.
Very fun book that leads to many
activities. Great for fall.
The pictures and theme of the
story are funny and captivating f
or young children.
USA
It is a funny and charming story
that explains the bond between a
child and their grandparent.
USA
Reading Record
26.
LRC 480c
Pete the
Cat and
His Four
Groovy
Buttons
27.
If you
Give a
Dog a
Donut
Callie Mattus
James
Dean
Eric
Litwin
2012
Gfiction,
music
F- PB
Pete the Cat,
Buttons,
Colors, Sing-along
Pete the Cat has 4 groovy buttons, and
they keep popping off. Children sing
along with Pete through his adventure of
losing his buttons.
I LOVE Pete the Cat books and
songs for preschoolers. The
children get into the music and
love Pete the Cat too.
Great for teaching colors or
groups of 4.
USA
Laura
Numeroff
Felicia
Bond
2011
G- Fiction
F- PB
Dog, donut, if
you…,
connections
It starts off about a dog who wants a
donut, and when you give him that it
leads to him wanting other things. The
readers go on an adventure through what
the dog wants to do, and it always leads
back to him wanting a donut.
This series is a great series. I read
these books all the time and
always had a week devoted to
these books in my class. I like
that it teaches the sense of
repetitive
actions
and
circumstances.
USA
Reading Record
28.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Rumpelsti
ltskin
Paul
Galdone
1985
G- Fairytale,
Folktale
F- PB
Gold,
silk,
mill,
three
days, name
A mill’s daughter is promised to the king
to mill gold silk strands for him to make
him rich. In return he must marry her. The
girl is trapped in a tower to create the
gold, and must promise to give her first
born up because she was unable to fill the
entire tower up with gold. The king says
if you can guess my name in three days,
you will win the bargain. On the second
night, a voice whispers to her the Kings
name, Rumplskiltskin. She gains her
freedoms and the wealth.
Classic story that most children
grew up hearing at least once.
The story has repetition of 3 in it;
spinning straw into gold three
times, and then having three days
to guess his name.
German
Fairytale
29.
The
Rainbow
Fish
Marcus
Pfister
2013
G- fiction
F- PB
Fish,
scale,
friends,
different,
sharing
A fish that has rainbow scales is picked
on for being different. Everyone wants
one of the scales, and he continues to give
away his rainbow scales. In the end, he
has one left, but is also left with happiness
of sharing his scales with everyone.
I like that it shows the challenge
of being different, and how to
overcome it. I also like that it
shows he shared his belongings
with others, even if they weren’t
the nicest about it.
A story I grew up hearing in
every elementary class.
USA
30.
Pelle’s
New Suit
Elsa
Beskow
2007
G-realistic
fiction
F-PB
Sheep, wool,
suit,
hard
work, pride
Pelle, a young boy who took care of his
sheep, noticed his jacket was too short so
he cut his sheep’s wool and asked his
grandma to card it. In return he has to pull
weeds. Then he asked her to spin it, in
return he was told he must tend the cows.
As he continued to ask family member’s
help he would have to do favor in return
for them. Finally, when his suit was
complete, he realized that he worked hard
for his suit and was very proud.
I found this story very captivating
through its realistic looking
illustrations and inspiring story.
It teaches children that if they
work for what they want, it feels
that much better. It also shows
that you must earn your
belongings, even by exchanging
chores.
This story represents the
Scandinavian culture, from the
closeness of the family and
community to the importance of
livestock to the types of chores
that take place. I feel like I got to
Sweden
Eulalie
Reading Record
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
experience a day in the life of a
Swedish person.
31.
32.
Stone
Soup
One
Potato
Marcia
Brown
Diana
Pomeroy
Marcia
Brown
1997
1996
G-Non Fiction
F- PB
French
tale,
soldiers,
creativity, soup
Three hungry soldiers who were
traveling back from war entered a
village. They were hungry, but the
greedy inhabitants of a village gave
them no food. They outwitted them
into providing them with a feast by
gathering stones and a pot, eventually
adding carrots, spices, potatoes ,and
more. Finally there was enough for all
of the villagers and the soldiers to eat.
G-Counting
Book
F- PB
Counting,
potato printing,
relief printing
A counting book that uses images of
fruits and vegetables to illustrate
numbers from one to one hundred. It
the end it has an explanation of how
to do potato printing.
This story, based on an old
French tale, has very interesting
and unique illustrations. She only
uses three colors; black, white,
and red. These colors put Molly
Bang’s theory to use, using the
red color to focus on the actions
of the characters, uses the
placement of the people to have a
specific focus, and uses line
methods to help the viewer’s
eyes.
I enjoy that Marcia was able to
bring a well-known French tale to
the United States and introduce
the concept of working together
for success for all.
I loved the idea of using natural
and everyday resources to do art
with and learn to count with. I
would use apples to stamp with
during fall in my preschool
classroom, but seeing the ideas
and examples provided in this
book are incredible. Children will
love to create masterpieces with
foods they eat regularly. It would
be great to discuss recycling with
because it is a way to reuse fruits
and vegetables.
USA
Original
story
French
USA
is
Reading Record
33.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
The House
That Jack
Built
Jenny
Stow
Jenny
Stow
1992
G-Nursery
Rhyme
F- PB
Caribbean,
animals,
rhyme,
repetition
This fun rhyme introduces animals
that are found at Jack’s House in the
Caribbean who helped him in his
journey of building his house. The
story repeats each character and then
introduces another one on each page
as a continuous pattern and rhyme.
It is similar to “There Was An
Old Lady Who Swallowed A
Fly” in the fun and intriguing
rhyme. Jenny uses collages of
bright paints, ink, and crayons to
perfectly capture the beautiful
vegetation, skies, and life in the
Caribbean.
This book would be a great way
to discuss the nature and
environment in the Caribbean
while also using a fun nursery
rhyme styled story.
34.
On
the
Farm
David
Elliot
Holly
Meade
2008
GRealistic
Fiction
F-PB
Animals, farm
This story goes through explaining
every animal in the farm. The
animals that are discussed include
the rooster, the cow, the pony, the
dog, the sheep, the barn cat, the goat,
the pig, the snake, the bees, the bull,
the turtle, the duck, hen, and goose.
Holly uses woodblock and USA
watercolor illustrations, which
brings the illustrations into a
realistic view. It is a diverse
way of creating illustrations
that many children have yet to
experience.
It is also a great book to
discuss animals one might
find on a farm.
35.
What Can
You Do
With
a
Tail Like
This?
Steve
Jenkins
and Robin
Page
Steve
Jenkins
2003
G-Nonfiction
F- PB
Animals, tails,
eyes,
noses,
mouths,
functions
This books discusses why certain animals
have the bodies they do and how it makes
them unique and able to survive.
The art is absolutely amazing; it’s
paper collaged illustrations give a
3-demensional feel to the animals
and would make for a creative
and interesting art project for the
children to create their own.
It is a very educational book that
encourages open ended questions
with students. It compares and
contrasts animals and explains
why they need to be different or
unique in order to adapt and
survive in their habitats and
situations.
Caribbean
USA
Reading Record
36.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Oink Oink
N/A
Arthur
Geisert
1993
G- Fiction
F- Wordless
book
Pigs, mother,
babies, trouble
After mama pig falls asleep, her 8 baby
piglets go off for an adventure through a
corn field and mud puddle. Meanwhile,
mama pig wakes up and frantically calls
to them. Once she finds them, they are
taken straight back to bed and go to sleep
together.
37.
The
Everythin
g Book
Denise
Fleming
Denise
Fleming
2000
G-Poetry
F- ChB
Everything,
poems, food,
colors, people,
events
This book of poetry includes poems about
morning, chickens, mealtime, fruit
colors, kitchen toys, shapes, A-Z, traffic
lights, trains, blackbirds, seasons, robin’s
nest, backyard, pets, head to toe, games,
faces, favorite places, fireflies, bunnies,
night time, and much more.
38.
Gifts
JoEllen
Bogart
Barbara
Reid
1994
G- Fiction
F-PB
Grandma,
travel,
souvenirs, love
A grandma is traveling around the world,
in Africa, Antarctica, and China, brings
her granddaughter a souvenir from each
place.
This wordless book is told
through the descriptive pictures
that express the pigs emotions,
especially mama pig’s. The only
text in the book is the word
“oink”, used to tell the audience
how the pigs feel depending on
the pig’s faces and situations. The
illustrations are very realistic and
use the only color, which is pink,
for the pigs’ coloring.
These short poems are a wide
variety of educational and fun
rhymes that work with everyday
happenings that children will be
able to relate to.
The backgrounds and small
illustrations that support the text
are brightly colored and eye
catching.
USA
The amazing clay illustrations
show a 3-d effect and has great
detail.
I
was
absolutely
captivated by these sculptings.
This story showed the strong
connection between the grandma
and her granddaughter and the
special bond they share. It also
gives a good taste of diverse
cultures and artifacts from those
places.
A great way to discuss travel and
other places in the world.
USA
USA
Reading Record
39.
40.
LRC 480c
Fox
Walked
Alone
Bluebird
Barbara
Reid
Callie Mattus
Barbara
Reid
2006
G-Religious
fiction
F- PB
Noah’s
ark,
animals, alone,
friendship,
travel,
adventure
Bob
Staake
2013
G- Fiction
F- wordless PB
Wordless,
bully, alone,
friendship,
death,
loss,
letting
go,
moving on
A fox has always lived alone and had no
interest in being with any other animal.
That is, until he noticed other animals
around his started to migrate out of the
area. He decided to follow the crowd and
made many friends during the journey.
He discovered the comfort and love of
having company with him. Finally, after
walking for days, the animals, who are in
pairs of male and female, come up to a
large boat. Waiting for Fox there was a
female fox who has been waiting her
entire life to meet him. All of the animals
board the ark and survive the flood that
later came.
Illustrations tell the story of a bluebird
that flies past a school and watches a
lonely boy who is picked on and has no
friends. The bird follows the boy home
from school, and eventually the boy
grows to like having the company of the
bird. When they come across the bullies
form school playing soccer, the bird
cheers the boy up and gives him
confidence to play with new children at
the pond. However, the bullies meet up
with the boy and bird again, this time
throwing a rock at the bird and killing the
boy’s only friend. The boy is faced with
loss and must overcome this difficult time
in his life.
Being Catholic, this story was
quite important to me and had a
special connection to my beliefs.
I love that this tradition story of
Noah’s Ark is told in behalf of the
animals. It shows children a
different perspective of a wellknown story.
The artwork, made of clay, is
remarkable. The detail and
texture in each character and
illustration is captivating and
breathtaking. This was the first
book I have ever seen with clay
illustrations.
This book brought numerous
emotions to me, especially being
able to relate to being bullied and
picked on in school. I got an
attachment to the bluebird and
when he died, it found myself
tearing up. This book is a great
anti-bullying book, but also good
for introducing children to the
concept of loss or death. After
discussing the book with some
peers, I have come to the
conclusion
that
the
bird
represents the boy’s spirit; he
finally gains happiness, but the
bullies win in the end and
destroys the boy’s spirit,
resulting in his death.
The interesting thing about this
text is how powerful the book is
even without words.
Reading this book while having
music playing in the background
captures even stronger emotions
and creates connection between
literacy and music.
USA
USA
Reading Record
41.
LRC 480c
Uno, Dos,
Tres; One,
Two,
Three
Pat Mora
42.
M is for
Mexico
Maria
Cordero
43.
What Can
You Do
With
A
Rebozo?
Carmen
Tafolla
Barbara
Lavallee
Amy
Cordova
Callie Mattus
1996
2008
G- Counting
F- PB
Counting,
English,
Spanish,
Birthdays,
Rhyme,
This simple rhyming text pairs the
Spanish and English numerals 1-10
This is a great way to integrate
English and Spanish when
discussing the two cultures. I
would use it with young children
when learning to count and/or
students in a ESL or ELL class
learning either of the languages.
USA
GInformational
F- PB
Mexico
This book has an important part of
Mexico for each letter of the alphabet
Great for learning letters and
including multiculturalism in the
class
Mexico
G-Realistic
Fiction
F- PB
Meixan
American,
scarves,
rhyme, culture,
clothing, girl
A little girl explains the many ways to use
her mother’s red scarf, or rebozo in
Spanish. She uses it for play, for dress up,
and for games, she even used it as a table
cloth.
I like this book because it
explains the importance nad
everyday uses of an item found in
Mexico. It introduces the topic of
relationships between US and
Mexico. We can compare scarves
to rebozos and understand that
we aren’t too different from one
another.
Mexico
Reading Record
44.
45.
LRC 480c
The
Tortilla
Factory
Gary
Paulsen
The Small
Adventure
of Popeye
and Elvis
Barbara
O’Connor
Ruth
Wright
Paulsen
Callie Mattus
1998
GRealistic
Fiction
F- PB
Tortilla,
factory,
Mexico,
repeating
book,
traditions,
work
This book explains the long processes
and hard work it takes for tortillas to be
made in Mexico. It describes how a corn
seed eventually becomes a tortilla. IT
goes from how the black earth sleeps in
winter , to how it is worked by brown
hands that plant the yellow seeds in
spring. Then seeds become plants, and
then the corn is ground into flour and sent
to the tortilla factory. At the factory, the
flour is mixed into a dough and placed on
the machine to crate perfect tortillas. The
tortillas end up in homes of the
community, giving them energy to repeat
the process again.
2011
G- Fiction
F- ChB
Adventure,
river,
boys,
friends, funds
of knowledge,
self-guidance,
Popeye thinks living in the small town of
Fayette is boring with nothing to do
except listen to is grandma recite the
queens and kings of England over and
over again. That is, until the family of
Elvis came riding in in their Holiday
Rambler that got stuck right in front of
Popeye’s house. The two boys quickly
became friends, for lack of anything else
to do, and they decided to go on a small
adventure. After walking all through
town and still being bored, they rested
next to a river that ran through the forest
in the back of Popeye’s house. They
discovered a boat made out of a Yahoo
box that carried a note with it. Intrigued,
the boys went on search for more boats.
They traveled farther and farther down
the river to try to find the source of the
boats. Finally, the came across Starletta,
a little girl who had been sending her
These paintings have amazing
texture and sharp lines that make
captivating, almost realistic,
images. There is one image of a
man’s hand needing the dough
that looks like a photograph it is
so real looking.
One thing I liked, especially for
kids, is how the book
incorporates colors in the
processes; the hard black earth,
brown hands, yellow seed, etc.
You could encourage children to
create a nonfiction story using
colors to describe each step.
It also gives us an inside look at
the processes and culture in
Mexico. Corn tortillas are very
important and have become
symbolic of their culture, which
could lead to the topic of food
around the world.
This book is a great example of
FofK. The boys use what they
know and the skills they have
learned from their families (Elvis
is great at exploring because that
is all his family does) to
contribute to their adventures.
Starletta uses her Funds of
Knowledge to create boats and
games and her own adventures
that she ends up sharing with the
boys.
It also teaches the concept of selfguidance, which Popeye had
major difficulties with. He
longed to be like Elvis, following
him around all day and copying
his every move. He consistently
questioned his decisions and
actions, but gave in and went with
Elvis despite his gut feelings.
Mexico
USA
Reading Record
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
homemade boats down the river. When it
was time for Elvis and his family to go,
Popeye lost his new friend, but gained
memories that would last a life time and
a new friend, Starletta.
46.
Who Was
Helen
Keller?
Gare
Thompson
Nancy
Harrison
2003
GNonfiction,
biography
F- ChB
Helen Keller
biography
This book is an easy read for second/
third graders. It told about Helen Keller's
life and as a blind and deaf kid and adult.
It also told about where she went to
school, about the places she went, and
about who taught Helen how to read and
write and talk. It discusses her family and
her importance in history.
Throughout the story Popeye felt
desperately alone and unhappy
with being by himself. However,
at the end of the book, when the
Jewells family continued on their
travels, he finally realized that he
was capable of creating his own
adventures and living a life as
interesting and worthy as his new
friends’.
Wonderful
introduction
to
biographies for young readers. It
provided great and useful
information
that
is
not
overwhelming or confusing for
elementary children.
There were a few grammatical
errors, however, such as “At the
water pump. Helen held her mug
under the tap”; however, you
could use this as extra points or a
game for whoever can find the
errors.
I read this book in fifth grade for
a report, and then again this year
for S.S. and I loved it. It was very
helpful and I still remember facts
about Helen Keller from fifth
grade.
USA
Reading Record
47.
48.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Cam
Jansen and
the
Mystery
of
the
Stolen
Diamonds
David
Adler
Susanna
Natti
2004
G- Fiction
F- ChB
Mystery,
photographic
memory,
adventure,
friends,
diamonds,
Cam Jansen
Series
Cam and her friend Eric are sitting at the
mall when the jewelry store is robbed.
Cam sees the thief, but the police arrest
the wrong person. Luckily Cam has a
photographic memory that captures a
mental image every time she says
“Click”. Now Eric and Cam go on the
adventure to find the real thief, gathering
clues and taking mental images along the
way. Cam followed the robbers to where
they lived, but they saw Cam outside their
house and captured her. With the help of
her good friend and parents, Cam
eventually calls the police when her job is
done and the real robbers got caught.
This was my favorite series as a
kid; I even went by the name of
Cam for a short while (my initials
are C.A.M) because I loved this
character so much.
Cam introduces a unique tool, her
mind and its abilities to capture
images. The two children do
daring things, but they are
ultimately clever and responsible
enough not to go too far. They
always end up calling the police
when they know it is too much for
them to get into, which teaches
responsibility and the safety that
police officers provide.
USA
My Name
is Celia:
The Life
of Celia
Cruz
Monica
Brown
Rafael
López
2004
GRealistic
Fiction,
biography
F- PB
Celia
Cruz,
singer,
dancing,
Latino, Salsa
dancing
This bilingual book talks about Celia
Cruz’s life and her singing career. It
discusses her influences from Cuba and
her parents. It incorporates fun and
interactive phrases that encourage the
audience to dance and sing.
I love the way it was read by
getting the audience engaged and
into the book with actions and
dance. I think children would
love this book and learn about a
famous and inspirational singer
while doing it.
The illustrations use bright colors
that represent her and her Cuban
background. The character of
Celia is always happy and has a
huge smile on her face the entire
story, much like Celia was in real
life.
Cuba
Reading Record
49.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Brothers
and Sister:
Family
Poems
Eloise
Greenfield
Jan
Spivey
Gilchrist
2009
G- Poems
F- PB
Poems, family,
brothers,
sisters,
relationships
These poems relate to any sort of brother
or sister relationship, including full, half,
step, older, younger, close in age, and far
apart.
Illustrations are in pen and ink
and vibrant watercolor. They
illustrate African American
people and show expressive
relations in each picture.
I liked this because it could relate
to any sort of sibling relationship,
including the common ones like
fighting and getting annoyed with
one another. I think every child
with a sibling can relate and
connect to these poems in some
way or another.
African
50.
When
Turtle
Grew
Feathers
Tim
Tingle
Stacey
Schuett
2009
GChoctaw
Nation Tale
F- PB
Tortious and
the
hare
version, race,
turkey, friends,
winning
This is a Choctaw Nation version of the
Tortious and the Hare. A shy turtle is
laying in the grass when a turkey steps on
his shell and cracks it. After working
together to fix it, the turkey tries of the
shell and goes inside of it. Then a rabbit
shows up and asks the “turtle” to race.
When the turkey pops out of the shell, the
rabbit is frightened and is stunned. The
turkey takes that pause to get a head start
and won the race. The moral of the story
is that you don’t have to be the best, but
it sure is nice to have friends who are.
It was very interesting to hear a
different version of the wellknown tale. It is a great way to
make connections to other
cultures through literature with
children.
I absolutely did not like the moral
of the story. It states that you
don’t have to be good at anything
as long as you have friends are
better than. What kind of moral is
that? I wouldn’t read that part if I
read it to children.
Choctaw
Nation
51.
Xander’s
Pander
Party
Linda Sue
Park
Matt
Phelan
2013
G-fiction
F- PB
Panda,
zoo,
party, animals,
friends,
diversity
Xander is a Panda at the zoo. He decides
he wants to have a Panda Party, but
realizes that he is the only Panda. So he
opens his party up to the bears ,because
he is a Panda Bear. He keeps changing the
invitations to invite more and more of his
friends until the entire zoo is invited,
including the zoo keeper.
This book relates to diversity and
shows that it doesn’t matter what
race you are, everyone can be
friends. I also liked that it
explained how Panda’s aren’t
actually bears, opening up a
discussion about species and each
type of animal. I would use this to
introduce invitations and writing
letters.
USA
Reading Record
52.
LRC 480c
A Series
of
Unfortuna
te Events:
The Bad
Beginning
Lemony
Snicket
(Pen name
for Daniel
Handler)
Brett
Helquist
Callie Mattus
1999
G- Fiction
F- ChB
Orphans,
mystery,
unfortunate
events
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire,
become orphaned when an arsonous fire
destroyed their home and parents. They
are sent to live with their distant cousin
Count Olaf. The children soon learn that
Olaf has only accepted their guardianship
under the mistaken belief that he will
receive their inheritance. Olaf abuses the
children physically when he is tempered
and gives them outrageous chores to
complete. Little Sunny is kidnapped by
the cousin in turn for the children’s
inheritance, by Violet bravely rescues her
sister and turns Olaf in. Meanwhile, Olaf
is making Violet be his “wife” in his
“play” and tells her she needs to sign a
wedding agreement for the purpose of the
play, fully intending on tricking the child
and making her his true wife in order to
get to the money. However , Violet and
her siblings out smarts the man by
signing the document with the wrong
hand and the judge agrees that it is not
legal. Count Olaf flees, only after
threatening Violet that he will return and
take their fortune. The police are not able
to find the man, leading to the sequel of
the book.
This book has great meaning
behind it to me because my fifth
grade teacher, my favorite and
most inspiring teacher, read this
series to the class throughout a
couple months during quiet
reading time after lunch.
I own the first part of the series
and used to read them all the time
as a child. These books are
constantly twisting with new
happening and mysteries. The
connection between the siblings
was strong and an important part
of the series, to me. IT also
related to many children because
of the fact that the characters
were orphaned and not a talk-able
subject in my class until we read
these books.
The
small
illustrations
throughout the book also gave
shape to my imagination through
the many happenings that took
place in the story. They did great
in expressing the situations.
USA
Reading Record
53.
LRC 480c
A Series
of
Unfortuna
te Events:
The
Reptile
Room
Lemony
Snicket
(Pen name
for Daniel
Handler)
Brett
Helquist
Callie Mattus
1999
G- Fiction
F- ChB
Orphans,
mystery,
unfortunate
events
After their guardian Count Olaf tries to
steal their fortune, the three Baudelaire
children are taken by Mr. Poe, their
protector, to their new guardian, Dr.
Montgomery Montgomery, also called
Uncle Monty. He was much nicer than
Count Olaf and allowed the children to
wander throughout the house and live
comfortably. Uncle Monty had a reptile
room full of snakes that the children
loved to visit. They were told they were
going to go to Peru with Uncle Monty on
business, but Stephano, his new assistant,
is believed to be an impostor sent to steal
the Incredibly Deadly Viper. After
Stephano threatens the children, they
discover Uncle Monty’s dead body in the
reptile room. Stephano still planned to
take the children to Peru, where he would
find a way to get his hands on their
fortune, however, Mr. Poe shows up and
the children try to convince him that
Stephano killed Uncle Monty. To set him
up, the kids put Sunny in the cage with
the Incredibly Deadly Viper because they
have spent enough time with it to know
that it is harmless. Mr. Poe is scared for
Sunny’s life and Stephano blows his
cover by assuring the man that the snake
is harmless, leading to the realization that
he killed Uncle Monty. They discover
that Stephano is actually Count Olaf, but
once again he gets away.
This series is incredibly attracting
and captivating with all of the
dynamics and twists that take
place. As I mentioned above, this
book has an important meaning
to me, yet I would recommend it
even if that were not the case.
This book could be used to
express that events happen in life,
and although they might be
rough, as long as you stick
together you can overcome it.
USA
Reading Record
54.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
The
Patchwork
Quilt
Valerie
Flournoy
Jerry
Pinkney
1985
GRealistic
Fiction
F- PB
Quilting,
grandmas,
family
life,
African
American
55.
The Lion
and
the
Mouse
Jerry
Pinkney
Jerry
Pinkney
2009
G-Fiction
F- wordless
Lion, mouse,
friendship,
helpful, Africa
56.
The Little
Red Hen
Jerry
Pinkney
Jerry
Pinkney
2006
G- fiction
F- PB
Hen,
farm,
animals,
African,
planting, wheat
Tanya's grandmother had begun to make
a patchwork quilt using scraps from old
shirts, Halloween costumes, and any
other materials that had meaning to them.
Tanya was so interested in how her
grandmother so carefully cut pieces of
material and sewed them together so she
spent much of her time watching and
helping her grandmother produce this
"masterpiece." On Christmas morning,
Grandma becomes sick and is no longer
able to work on finishing the quilt. With
the help of her mother, Tanya takes it
upon herself to help finish the quilt for
her grandmother. Finally, when Grandma
is able to begin working on the quilt
again, she finishes it by stitching on the
last square, which reads, "For Tanya
From your Mama and Grandma."
This wordless book tells the story of a
lion and mouse in Africa. The fierce lion
releases a small mouse that he'd planned
to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue
and frees him from a poacher's trap. The
two diverse animals become friends.
Little Red Hen asks each one of her farm
animals friends to help her plant her seeds
and grow wheat, but her friends aren’t
giving her the help she needs. She finally
does it for herself and finds it rewarding
to have her own wheat that she worked
for.
The text in this book is really long
and might be a bit much for a
child to sit through. However, the
illustrations are so expressive that
they tell the story.
This story is multicultural
because it is focused on African
Americans, however that is all it
is focused on, no other ethnicity.
It has a strong bond between the
family and with the grandma. It
discusses FofK because of the
grandma’s abilities to quilt,
which is passed down to the
mother and then Tanya.
African
American
Pinkney created yet another
amazingly beautiful illustration
of Aesop’s fable, The Lion and
the Mouse. The astonishing
pictures have incredible features
and you can tell exactly what is
happening based on the detailed
expressions on the animals’
faces. This is one of the first
wordless books I’ve read, and I
think every person should
experience it.
The illustrations are so realistic, it
is amazing. The only animal that
is a bit untrue is Little Red Hen
because she is wearing a bonnet
and clothing. The African
Americana male in the end of the
story is also incredibly realistic
and looks like Pinkney himself.
I enjoyed the moral of the story to
work hard and be rewarded.
Africa
Africa
Reading Record
57.
LRC 480c
Dog
Cat
vs.
Chris Gall
58.
Go Away
Big Green
Monster!
59.
Growing
Vegetable
Soup
Chris
Gall
Callie Mattus
2014
G- Fiction
F- PB
Cat,
dog,
different,
friends, baby,
personalities,
siblings
Ed
Emberley
1992
G- Fiction
F-PB
Monster,
go
away, scared
Lois
Ehlert
2004
G- Fiction
F- PB
Garden,
vegetables,
soup,
gardening
“I am the dog. I am the cat.” This story is
about a dog and cat that end up being
adopted by the same family and must
share a room together. They are
completely
different
and
must
compromise in order to survive in the
same room. They both want the other to
go away, so they get each other in trouble
and create chaos amongst themselves and
their owners. They end up splitting the
room in two and living away from each
other, but they eventually miss each
other’s company and join together again.
By the time they agree to work together
and be friends, they must leave the room
because a baby comes along and takes
over their room.
Children turn the pages to create a big
green and scary monster, and when they
are ready to tell him to go away, they can
continue turning the pages and watch him
disappear. At the end they tell the
monster to go away and don’t come back
until I say so!
This is a very funny and relatable
story. Being able to meet Mr.
Gall and to see the process behind
creating this story was a
wonderful experience and gave
me greater appreciation for the
story.
This book can bring up opposites
and different personalities. It can
also lead to a discussion about
siblings and adaption.
USA
Children love this book. I love
how creative it is to build up to
the monster with each page and
cut out, and then take him away.
I had the children say “go away”
each time I turned the page to
give them the power and feeling
of their words making the
monster disappear.
USA
This story is about a father and child who,
together, share the joys of planting,
watering, and watching seeds grow. And
once their harvest of tomatoes, potatoes,
cabbage, and corn is ready, they mix it
together and cook it up into the best soup.
These easy to read pages is a
great book for beginning readers.
This would be great to start a
lesson on plants and gardening. It
might even be fun to have each
child grow their own vegetable in
a class garden and make soup by
combining their harvest.
It is a huge book with bright
colors and pictures that capture
young children through each
page.
USA
Reading Record
60.
61.
62.
LRC 480c
The
Giving
Tree
Shel
Silverstein
Halala
Means
Welcome!
A book of
Zulu
words
First
Come the
Zebra
Shel
Silverstei
n
Callie Mattus
1964
G-Fiction
F-PB
Tree,
boy,
giving,
selfless, greedy,
relationship,
love, happy,
sad
Ken
WilsonMax
1998
G- Fiction
F-PB
Language,
African,
dictionary
Lynne
Barasch
2009
G- Educational
fiction
F- PB
Masai, Africa,
Kenya, Fiction
This is a well-known story about a young
boy who loved this big tree and would
spend most of his time playing on it. As
he got older, he stopped hanging around
the tree and eventually left her alone for
quite some time. Then he came back and
asked for money, which the tree di not
have. But to make him happy, as she
strived to do no matter what it cost her,
she gave him all her apples to sell. After
a few years, he came back and asked for
a house. Again, to make him happy, she
gave him her branches to build one. After
more years, he came back and asked for a
car to leave, and to fulfil his happiness
she gave him her trunk to carve into a
boat and sail away. Now all she had left
was a stump, but the boy was happy, so
she way happy. When the boy returned,
he was an old man. He didn’t want
anything more except for a place to sit,
and her stump was the perfect spot; again,
he was happy, so she was happy.
Chidi and Michael introduce the Zulu
language throughout the story. Each page
is filled with large pictures of everyday
images such as ball, broom, tire, plate,
dog, and bed.
This story is not how I remember
it as a child! The boy/ man is so
greedy and selfish! And the tree
gives into his ugly behavior just
to make him happy. I saw this as
a mother/son relationship, where
the mother gives everything she
has in life just to make her child
happy and successful. However,
in the end, the boy was never
truly happy.
This can be turned into a good
lesson for children if you take the
time to explain it; do you want to
be the tree who gave everything
but was truly happy or the boy
who took everything and only
cared about materialist things and
ended up a miserable old man
who was alone and helpless?
USA
It can be used to introduce the
Zulu language of South Africa to
a class. I enjoyed that the images
and words were everyday objects
that would be beneficial to learn.
Great
way
to
include
multicultural literacy.
South Africa
2 boys find great dislike with each other
when the encounter one another in the
field while completing their daily chores.
However, when a situation occurs that
puts both in trouble, they work together
to get away from the dangerous situation.
It showed how a conflict can be
solved by working together. I
also appreciated that it was an
unusual situation because it
shows children that no matter
what happens, if you work
together you can fix the problem.
Africa
Reading Record
63.
LRC 480c
If I Had a
Dog
Carolyn
Jackson
Chester’s
Masterpie
ce
France
Brassard
Callie Mattus
2006
G- Fiction
F- PB
Realistic
illustration,
dog,
sister/brother,
gift
Maxine has always wanted a dog of her
own. Her brother explains that there is
more to know about a dog other than how
to pet it and feed it, so he teaches her how
dogs think and why they act certain ways.
After taking such great care of other
people’s dogs, their parents surprise them
with a puppy of their own.
I love how the brother helps her
learn more about her interest, and
in the process he wants a dog as
well. The illustrations were life
like and incredibly detailed.
Canada
Melanie
Watt
2010
G- Fiction
F- PB
Cat,
author,
book, silly
Chester the cat decides to create his book,
without the help of his author friend
Melanie. His random and wild story
cluttered with thoughts and scribbles are
not how Melanie thinks a story should be
done. When she gives him advice,
though, he says no and finally completes
it by himself.
Although the book was not
perfect, he did it on his own and
with his own ideas. Children need
to learn that their best work is as
good as it gets. This book is silly
and funny and will grasp
children’s attention.
Canada
Run Dog!
Cecile
Boyer
?
G-Fiction
F- Flap book
Dog,
commands,
ball, park
A flap book that shows young children
different tricks and commands a dog can
follow, including jump, run, catch, and
play.
The bright colors, only consisting
of 6 total, and the simple shape of
the objects is easy for a young
child to grasp and concentrate on.
Nordic
The
Gobble
Gobble
Moooooo
Tractor
Book
Jez
Alboroug
h
2010
G- Fiction
F- PB
Farm, tractor,
animals,
sounds
While the farmer is asleep the animals get
on the tractor and create a song with their
sounds. The noise is so loud that the
farmer wakes up, causing the animals to
run. When the farmer goes back to sleep
they start it up again.
The book introduces farm animal
sounds and is a funny story that
brings humor to the educational
aspect of farm life.
UK
64.
65.
66.
Reading Record
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Cry Baby
Ruth
Brown
1997
GRealistic
fiction
F- PB
Emotions,
sister, forest
Welcome
With Love
Overend,
J.,
&
Vivas, J
2000
G- Non fiction
F- PB
Birth,
new
baby, family,
labor
Let's talk
about it:
Adoption
Mr.
F.
Rodgers
1994
G- Nonfiction
FInformational
text
with
pictures
Adoption
Baby baby
blah blah
blah!
Shipton,
J., Chessa,
F.
2009
G- Fiction
F- PB
Baby, jealous,
sister
67.
68.
When 3 brothers go for a walk, their mom
tells them they need to take their little
sister. The problem is that she cries about
everything though, including when she
couldn’t climb the fence or got caught in
a sticker bush. When the brothers finally
stop to comfort her, she runs away and
does all the things she cried about not
being able to do in the first place. The
boys all laugh and they all play together.
“Welcome With Love” is a story about a
family preparing for a new baby. This
incredibly detailed explanation of a
child’s birth depicts the love a family
shares when welcoming a member to
their family. The images, drawn with
great realistic characteristics, expresses
the emotions, strength, and love each
member of the family has in preparation
for the baby. In the end, the family of 5
grows to a happy family of 6.
This is a story about adoptive families
and their children in where talks and help
them understand their situations, and how
to deal with feelings that they could
present in their lives.
I think many older siblings can
relate to a younger one crying
often. This book goes to show
that if you try really hard, you can
accomplish anything.
UK
Great story for a home
environment, too detailed for
school. The illustrations are
incredibly realistic and graphic
when it comes to the process of
birth.
USA
This book helps explain and
understand how children were
received with love and happiness
in the new family. The
illustrations help and make
families to understand the reality
of this amazing story.
International
Baby baby blah blah blah! is about a little
girl who makes a list about the pros and
cons of having a new baby in the family.
She is worried that when the new baby
arrives everyone will forget about her,
and it takes her dad’s reassurance for her
to realize that having a new baby is not so
bad.
This book is a great resource to
use when a new baby comes into
the family. It expresses the
emotions one might have when
preparing for a new baby in the
house.
USA
69.
70.
Reading Record
A Song for
My Sister
71.
LRC 480c
Simpson
, L., &
MaiWyss, T.
Callie Mattus
2012
G- Fiction
F- PB
Baby, crying,
Judaism,
naming
This book is about a girl whose wish for
a baby sister came true. However, she’s
not at all excited because all the baby
does is cry. On the day of the baby’s
naming ceremony, the sister comes to
bring the baby a gift and that gift is a song
that they continue to sing together as the
years progress.
This book ties in religious
concepts as well as activities
siblings can learn to do together.
USA
Pecan Pie
Baby
Woodso
n, J., &
Blackall,
S.
2010
G- Fiction
F- PB
Baby, mom,
daughter,
emotions
Pecan Pie Baby is an honest account of
sibling rivalry and jealousy when a new
baby is brought into the home. Gia is not
looking forward to the “ding-dang” baby
that everyone keeps talking about. She
worries how her life will change with her
mama when the baby is here.
This is a great book to prepare
children for a new baby. It is
important for them to know that
they are still special and loved by
their parents. Good book for
adaption theme.
Africa
All
the
broken
pieces: A
novel in
verse
Burg,
E.
A.
2009
G- Novel
F-ChB
Vietnam war,
trama,
America,
adoption,
support,
family, love
This novel is an inspirational text
about becoming a part of a new
family.
Vietnam/
USA
Bringing
Asha
home
Krishnasw
ami, U.,
2006
GRealistic
Fiction
F- PB
Adoption,
internation,
waiting
Matt Pin’s story of moving from Vietnam
to America reveals an unforgettable
perspective on the lasting impact of war
and the impacts a loving family can have
to heal him. This is a story of a boy who
loses his family and home, among
countless other belongings, during the
Vietnam war and is moved to an adoptive
home in the United States. The hard and
horrifying memories of his past become
easier to live with through the support of
his new family and loved ones.
Bringing Asha Home is an honest story of
the longing and love adoption brings to
families. Our story’s main character,
Arun, has to wait close to a year for the
arrival of his baby sister, Asha. Asha is
from India. Arun learns the process of
adopting is not easy. When Asha’s
adoption is finally approved Arun’s
father goes to India to bring her home.
The story is a wonderful example
of how there is more than one
way to become a family. Many
people who are adopting
internationally,
or
even
nationally, can relate to this story
and the emotions the young boy
is feeling.
USA
72.
73.
74.
Reading Record
75.
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Amelia
Bedelia
and
the
Surprise
Shower
Peggy
Parish
Barbara
Siebel
Thomas
1995
G- Fiction
F- ChB
Parties,
helping,
shower,
humorous
While helping prepare a surprise shower,
Amelia Bedelia and her cousin make
some arrangements that were not quite
what the guests had in mind.
This book introduces words with
the same sound but differnet
meanings, such as shower, press,
and frost.
USA
Molly’s
A+
Partner
Valerie
Tripp
Nick
Backes
2002
G- Fiction
F- ChB
American
Girl
Series,
project,
Presidents,
disagreeing
Molly and Susan are partnered together to
write a report about George Washington.
When they disagree about how to present
it, Molly thinks their grade and friendship
are failed. Luckily ,Susan has a great idea
that saves their grade and relationship.
In school, partnerships can be
quite difficult and need a lot of
work. This book is a great
example of how to overcome
problems and trust your partner.
It is also a fun story to share when
learning
about
President
Washington.
USA
Magic
Tree
House:
Dinosaurs
Before
Dark
Mary
Pope
Osborne
2002
GInformational
Fiction
F- ChB
Magic Tree
House,
Dinosaurs
While exploring one afternoon with her
older brother Jack, 7-year-old Annie
discovers a tree house. The two of them
investigate the stacks of books, including
one about Pennsylvania and Frog Creek
where they live, and one about dinosaurs.
When Jack touches a picture of a
Pteranodon and says that he wishes he
could see a real one, the magic tree house
takes them back in time to the time of the
dinosaurs. As they explore they come
across a T Rex who chases after them.
Just before the dinosaur reaches them
they climb to the tree house and which to
go back home, where the tree house takes
them.
This is such an incredible series
that combines informational text
with creativity and adventure.
The drawing Jack does in his note
book are great ways for the
children to see how to take notes.
I absolutely love this series and
will encourage them in my
classes.
USA
76.
77.
Reading Record
LRC 480c
Callie Mattus
Grandpa
Green
Lane
Smith
2011
G- Fiction
F- PB
Trees, green,
past,
story
telling
A young boy tells the story of his great
grandfather’s life as he walks through his
great grandfather’s topiary garden.
I believe it is too important to
know how life was for
generations before us and to hear
an older person tell about life
when he or she was growing up.
This book celebrates Grandpa
Green’s life but it also respects
Grandpa Green as an elderly
person who sometimes can’t
remember things any more. I love
that the stories are told through
gardening and how the young
boy uses the green artifacts to
connect to his grandpa.
USA
My Shoes
and I
Colato
Laínez
2010
G-Fiction
F- PB
Immigration,
Mexico,
America,
Shoes
A little boy gets a pair of new shoes from
his mother in America. Mario is thrilled
for his new shoes and wears them all the
time. But these shoes become necessary
to his life as he needs to cross the border
into America so he can be reunited with
his mother.
This book is a touchy topic here
in Tucson, but can be related to in
many ways. You can discuss
immigration,
long
distance
relationships, and belongings.
Mexico
Fitting In
Bernardo,
A
2006
GRealistic
Fiction
F- PB
Moving,
immigration,
diversity,
language
Children and their family adapting to
living in a new place with a new language
and culture. It is a collection of 5 small
stories discussing the idea of moving and
the adapting that goes with it.
This is such an important topic in
school, especially since many
families speak various languages.
It is important for them to know
their languages are welcomed
and appreciated and that they are
special and important for who
they are.
USA
78.
79.
80.
Reading Record
LRC 480c
The
keeping
quilt.
81.
Polacco,
P.
Callie Mattus
1988
G- Fiction
F- PB
Quilt, family,
moving,
artifacts
As a quilt is made from a babushka, an
apron and old clothes, it is passed down
from mother to daughter and is used as a
sabbath tablecloth, wedding canopy, and
blanket that welcomes new babies into
their world. The old clothes and fabric
keepsakes that make up the quilt is passed
down from generations as a symbol of the
family’s story and the enduring love
mothers have for their daughters.
This is a great way to talk about
important artifacts of the
students’. You could invite
children to bring in something
that is important to them and
explain why it has a special
meaning.
International