Grade Band: Preschool – 3rd Grade
Willems, M. (2004) Knuffle Bunny. New York: Hyperion Books. This realistic fiction book
is recommended for grades K-3. This story is
about a baby named Trixi who loses her favorite
stuffed animal when she is at the laundry mat with
her father. She tries to tell him that her bunny is
missing, but her words come out as gibberish baby
talk. This book can be used to teach inferences by
using Trixi’s baby talk and actions to infer how she
is feeling and what she is trying to communicate.
Yaccarino, J. (2004) Unlovable. New York: Owlet Paperbacks. This
fiction book is recommended for grades K-3. This story is
about a small dog that is called “unlovable” by the other
animals in the neighborhood. When a friendly dog moves in
next door, they develop a friendship, but he is afraid to meet
the dog in fear that his new friend might also find him
unlovable. This book can be used to teach author’s message
or main idea. The moral of the story is clear and relatable to
a primary aged audience.
Scieszeka, J. (1996). The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. New York: Puffin
Publishing. This fairy tale book is recommended for grades
K-3. This is the story of the three little pigs, written from the
perspective of the wolf. The wolf has an explanation for each
event and tries to persuade the reader that he got caught up
in an unfortunate series of events and was wrongly
imprisoned. This book can be used to teach point of view.
Ransom, J. F. (2009) What Really Happened to Humpty?: From the Files of a
Hard-Boiled Detective. Watertown: Charlesbridge Publishing. This
mystery book is recommended for grades K-3. In this story, the brother
of Humpty Dumpty is a detective trying to uncover the mystery of how
his brother really fell off of the wall. Many familiar characters including
Mother Goose, Little Miss Mufett, and The Big Bad Wolf play a role in
this nursery rhyme mystery. This story can be used to teach how to
make and confirm predictions and make text-to-text connections.
Grade Band: 3rd – 5th Grade
Bunting, E.(1993) .Fly Away Home. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This is a
realistic fiction book that is recommended for grades 3-5.
This story is about a boy and his father who find
themselves in a homeless situation after his mom dies.
They move from airport terminal to airport terminal trying
to hide the fact that they are without a home. Everything
they own is carried in their backpacks and they wear
respectable clothing in hopes that people will not know
that they are homeless. The boy continually shares his
frustrations about having to move from place to place
and is able to find hope when he witnesses a “trapped” sparrow’s search for
freedom. This is a great book for teaching Inferencing because the students can
analyze what it is about the books life that helps the boy understand his own. It
is also a great book for teaching author’s purpose, theme, and connections.
Woodson, J. (2001). The Other Side. New York: Putman Publishing Group. This is a
historical fiction book that is recommended for grades 3-5. The Other Side is a
magnificent story that every teacher should have in his or her classrooms. There
is great symbolism built within the story that pulls the reader into more than just
the plot of the story. It is narrated by a young African American girl by the name
of Clover. Throughout the story she seems to lead a typical little girl’s life,
playing in her backyard as little girls do. It is
only through the words of her mom, that your
students will start to wonder why and begin to
ask questions and develop inferences that will
help with comprehension. “And Mama said,
Don’t climb over the fence when you play…It
isn’t safe….Someday somebody’s going to
come along and knock this old fence down,”
said Annie. “Yeah” I said. “Someday.” This
book is great for teaching inferences, theme,
predictions, author’s message, and questioning (strategy described).
Steptoe, J. (1987) Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. New York: Harper Collins. This is an
African folktale that is recommended for grades 3-5. It is a story of courage,
kindness, and life lessons. Nyasha and Manyara are
Mufaro’s two daughters and they could not be more
different. Nyasha has a great personality, she is polite,
and is an overall kind person. Manyara on the other
hand, has an extremely negative attitude and continually
puts her sister down when no one is looking. The journey
of these two girls is an inspiring tale of humility and
generosity. There is a great moral to the story and lends
itself nicely to identifying the various story elements that
lie within Mufaro’s Daughters. It is also a great book for teaching determining
importance about characters. The author reveals to us throughout the story, the
meaning of the names given to Mufaro, Nyasha and Manyara. Throughout the
book, students can collect important information and ideas about the characters
that will help them to identify the meaning behind the names.
Johnson, J. (2006). Rain Forest. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book is a
non-fiction text recommended for grades 3-5, however, can be used with any
grade level when teaching research strategies. This book
takes you and your students through the rain forest with
your own real life expert Dr. Nalini Nadkarni. You will
climb up through the different layers of the rain forest,
dive into the deep undergrowth to some of the most
fascinating habitats in the world, and go where other
scientist dare to explore. The book is extremely
interactive and helps students to build knowledge they
use to make predictions along the way. This book is
great for teaching predictions, Inferencing, visualizing, questioning, and because
it is a non-fiction text, it is great for teaching research skills.
Grade Band: 6th – 8th Grade
Bridges, Ruby. (1999). Through My Eyes. New York: Scholastic Press.
Recommended for all ages in the autobiography genre.
This story is about Ruby Bridges, who became the first
African American student to attend the all white William
Frantz Public School in New Orleans, Louisiana, on
November 14, 1960. This would be a great story to use
while teaching about Human Rights and would fit in with
the study of the Civil Rights Movement. Strategies that can
be taught with this book would include: autobiographical
writing, building self esteem, helping students learn about
the elements of an autobiography story and a model for
writing their own life story.
Fleischman, Paul. (2004). Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. New York. Harper
Collins.
Recommended for all ages in the poetry genre. This book offers an especially
different way to look at poetry, because it offers poems in two
voices. These poems center on the topic of insects.
Strategies that can be taught with this book include: identifying
literary devices such as descriptive verbs, alliteration,
metaphors and similes, as well as connections in how these
literacy strategies influence the meaning of the poem. Writing
strategies that can be taught with this book include:
descriptive writing, word choice (6 traits), and poetry writing,
as students write their own poem in one or two voices. This
book could also be used as a great strategy to teach speech.
I am Phoenix would be a good companion to use while teaching these strategies.
Lee, Harper. (1960). To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, Inc.
Recommended for ages 16 and up in the fiction genre. This is a coming of age
story about a girl named Scout Finch and her brother Jem. Both learn that
everything in the world isn’t fair and that prejudice is a real. She also comes to
learn about the true goodness in people. This is all happening
as her father, Atticus, agrees to defend Tom Robinson, an
innocent black man. This book is such a plethora of ideas that
can be used to teach literary elements within the stories themes
(such as: race, prejudice, compassion, forgiveness, ethics, etc),
symbols (Mockingbirds, Boo Radley, etc), plot analysis, point of
view, tone of voice, writing style. This book can also be
integrated into learning about the Civil Rights Movement.
Yin. (2003). Coolies. New York: Penguin Putnam Books.
Recommended for grades 4 and up in the historical
fiction genre. This book is about Shek and Wong,
Chinese brothers that come to America in search of new
opportunities and find work with other Chinese
Immigrants to build the transcontinental railroad. This
book also illustrates the love and loyalty between two
brothers. This book can be used for many purposes.
This book can be used to teach American History,
especially about the building and issues around the construction of the
transcontinental railroad. This book can also be used to teach point of view.
This would be a great way to teach point of view and have students study the
history behind the building of the transcontinental railroad and then have
students write a narrative piece in the point of view of the white European
counter parts, the younger brother, and other Chinese workers. This story is
also told as a story passed down generations (Folklore). This would be a great
way to introduce Folklore. Students can find out about their own family history
and write their own story.