Literary Tool Kit
Genre/Type
Title
Author
Diversity
Grade Level
Summary/Review/Response
Alphabet
The Sea Mammal
Alphabet Book
Jerry Pallotta &
Thomas Leonard
NA
Pre-K to
Second
Alphabet
The Handmade
Alphabet
Laura Rankin
Culturally
Neutral
Any age
Number
Giraffes Can’t Dance
Number Rumba
Counting Book
Giles Andreae
Guy Parker-Rees
NA
1-4
Predictable
Why Mosquitoes Buzz
in People’s Ears
Verna Aardema
NA
1-4
Historical
All-of-A-Kind Family
Sydney Taylor
Culturally
Specific
3-6
This book is a good book to read to
preschool and pre-k. The animals
are beautifully illustrated. The
author could not think of a sea
mammal that starts with an x.
The book illustrates the sign
language alphabet and in the
picture of the hand there is
something the starts with that
letter. For example the letter W
has a web in the background.
This book is wonderfully illustrated.
The sides are marked so children
can quickly move to their favorite
animal.
Caldecott winner. This is a good
book to read is you have problems
with rumors or gossips in your
classroom. After reading you could
have students sit in a circle and play
telephone to show how distorted
information can get is goes down
the line.
I felt like it was slow in the
beginning, but you quickly fall in
love with the five sisters that live in
the lower east side in the early
Historical
Moon over Manifest
Clare Vanderpool
4-7
Historical
One Crazy Summer
Rita WilliamsGarcia
Cultural
Specific
3-6
Historical
Working Cotton
Sherley Anne
Williams
Culturally
Specific
PreK-2
1900’s. It gives a unique
perspective on Jewish traditions.
This is a wonderful story about a
small town. It is definitely a page
turner. It has moonshine, klu klux
klan, WWI and many other mature
material. I cannot wait to read
another one of her books.
Newberry Medal Winner
Scott O’Dell Award Winner and
Newberry Honoree. This is a great
book about the Civil Right
Movements in the 1960s that
includes children. The story tells of
three sisters that go out to
Oakland, California, to see their
Mother that left them when they
were very young. They go to a
center every day that is run by the
Black Panthers. The main
character, Delphine, who is elven
and is very surprised by the Black
Panthers. She only saw newscast of
violent action by the Black
Panthers. I think this is a good
book to hook children on history
and teaches them that even though
they are young they still have an
impact on their community.
Caldecott honor book. This
beautifully illustrated book is told in
the day and life of a young girl
whose family are migrant workers.
This is one of the author’s notes:
“In environment characterized by
minimum wages, minimum
shelters, minimum food and
education- individual character, the
love of a family, can only do so
much; the rest us up to the
country”.
Realistic
Rules
Cynthia Lord
Culturally
Neutral
4-8
Realistic
Three Times Lucky
SheilaTurnage
Culturally
Neutral
5-8
Newberry honor book. The main
character’s name is Catherine and she
is twelve years old. Catherine’s little
brother is autistic. She makes rules for
him to fit in and to make life easier on
her. She also had rules for herself.
Catherine meets a boy in a wheelchair
that cannot speak and needs book with
cards of each word. Catherine notices
that the words have plain black and
white drawing and does not have any
words young people say like
“Whatever” and “that stinks a big
one”. Through the cards Jason and
Catherine become friends. This is
coming of age book where Catherine
starts to not care what other people
think and just lives her life. A great
book for children as they are becoming
hyperaware of what others think and
most of the time overly self-conscious.
Newberry honor book. This is
wonderful mystery or should I say
mysteries. The setting starts with an
eleven year old girl looking for her
mother and all she knows is that she
floated into a small town during a
hurricane when she was a baby. One
of her guardians found her after
crashing into a tree and the Colonel
does not remember anything before
that time. There is a murder in Tupelo
and the Colonial is starting to look like
one of the suspects. There is some
violence and mature issues, but the
reader will not be able to put the book
down. I would recommend this book.
Realistic
My Side of the
Mountain
Jean George
Culturally
Generic
3-8
Newberry honor book. This is a
great book to get children
interested in plants and earth
science. Think of how many
children have thought of running
away at one time or another. The
reader quickly learns the challenges
of living off the land. This is easily
one of my top fives.
Realistic
Pictures of Hollis
Woods
Patricia Reilly Giff
Culturally
neutral
5-8
Newberry honor book. This is a
story of a twelve year old orphan
that wish for a family. She goes
from foster home to foster home.
She runs away from every foster
home. Then once she does she find
the family she deserves she has to
realize that she does deserve a
Realistic
Alexander and the
Terrible, Horrible, No
Good, Very Bad Day
Judith Viorst
Culturally
Generic
K-2
Traditional
Cinderella is Evil
Jamie Campbell
Culturally
Neutral
4-7
Traditional
Fairy Tale Comics
Edited by Chris
Duffy
Culturally
Neutral
k-6
family and to be happy. She thinks
she is the root of everyone’s
problems. It takes running away
and being placed with and elderly
lady, Josie, who is sweet but is
losing her memory. Josie and her
cousin Beatrice teach Hollis that
sometimes things are not as they
always appear.
A really good book to read when it
appears a child is having “one of
those days”. It is also beautifully
illustrated.
This is a “Mean girls” version of
Cinderella. The story is told from
the stepsister Anna, who feels like
she needs to set the record
straight. She describes Cinderella
as a very arrogant, egotistical, and
selfish person. “Cinderella” did not
even let her family properly mourn
her own father. I personally did not
like this short novel, but I could see
how some fourth graders would
like this book.
This is a great book for those kids
that love comics. There are sixteen
fairy tales such as “Hansel and
Gretel”, “Snow White”, “Little Red
Riding Hood” just to name a few.
There were a few I had never heard
Traditional
New Fangled Fairy
Tales-Classic Stories
with a Funny Twist
Book #1
Edited by Bruce
Lansky
Culturally
Neutral
4-8
Science Fiction
The Mysterious
Benedict Society
Book 1
Trenton Lee
Stewart
Culturally
Neutral
3-7
Fantasy
Black Beauty
Anna Sewell
Culturally
Neutral
4+
of such as “The Boy Who Drew
Cats” an old Japanese fairy tale. I
think this is a fun book and may
help the reluctant reader.
A cynical modern version of fairy
tales that funny. The editor said
after his mother read fairy tales he
would try to understand them with
his modern mind. He thought the
fairy in Sleeping Beauty was
homicidal not just jealous. I think
kids would like these books. I do
not know if I would put in my
classroom library just because so of
the humor is a little dark and
mature.
A New York Times bestseller. I
really liked how the author found
magic in the regular or “gifted”
person that might be a little odd as
well. I personally thought the book
was slow, but I have not read any of
the other books in the series. This
book may be long to give the
reader the full picture of its
characters.
Definitely for more mature
audiences. I read this book in the
sixth grade and forever had a
different view of animals. I wanted
to go out and save every animals. I
Fantasy
Fiona’s Luck
Informational
Informational
Teresa Bateman
Culturally
Specific
3-5
Energy Island: How one Allen Drummond
Community Harnessed
the Wind and changed
their World
Culturally
Specific
K-4
The Magic School Bus
At the Waterworks
Culturally
Generic
K-5
Joanna Cole
ruined quite a few dinners telling
my parents of the injustices I read.
A great passionate classic. It will be
in classroom library
I enjoyed this tale for most of my
ancestors came over during the
potato famine from Ireland. This
book could be read to younger
children. It would be a good St.
Patrick’s Day read aloud that also
teaches a lesson about luck and wit.
Colorful and easy to follow for early
readers. The sides of some the
pages have more indebt
information that could be read to
children by an adult. It teaches
children that even the small (small
island) can make a difference in the
world. This book is part of a series
of environmental books for
children.
This could be read to younger
children. It has an excellent
description of the water cycle. I
used to have to read this book over
and over to my little brothers then
my nephews. There is a lot of
information on some of pages but
while teaching the water cycle I
would cover maybe one section at
time and that will also spark some
Biography
Manfish a Story of
Jacques Cousteau
Jennifer Burne
Culturally
Neutral
3-5
Autobiography
Boy Tales of Childhood
Roald Dahl
Culturally
Specific
3-7
Poetry
Inside Out & Back
Again
Thanhha Lai
Culturally
Specific
Third –
Seventh
intrigue as well. This book should
be in every classroom library.
I was drawn to this book, because I
use to love watching Jacques
Cousteau on PBS. This a great book
to get children interested in the
world around them, their
environment. It also inspires them
to dream big and that with
determination they can reach those
dreams.
I think this is a wonderful way to
get children interested in
autobiographies. Roald Dahl at one
time was a chocolate taster for
Cadbury which happens to be one
of my favorites. The only thing I
would be hesitant about is he
mentions his vice is drinking and he
also talks about a doctor that is
drunk. This is definitely for a more
mature third grader. He does give
some awesome writing tips in the
end.
Newberry Honor Book, National
Book Award Winner. This is a story
of a young girl’s exodus during the
Vietnam War. The author admits
she is a natural story teller and
always embellishes memories, so
Poetry
My America
A Poetry Atlas of the
United States
Selected by
Lee Bennett
Hopkins
Third-Sixth
Caldecott -2009
The House in The Night
Susan Marie
Swanson
NA
PreschoolSecond
Caldecott
The Invention of Hugo
Cabret
Brian Selznick
Culturally
Generic
4-7
Newberry
Number the Stars
Lois Lowry
Culturally
Specific
4-7
the main character Ha is based on
the author’s life.
The book gives facts about all 50
states and then had poems to go
with certain regions and states.
There are many bright and vibrant
illustrations. The one
disappointment was there was not
a poem for Virginia.
This is a beautiful illustrated
bedtime story. There are few
words, so great for young readers.
A great book for children who
might be afraid of the dark or are in
new house.
This is great transition book for a
student weary of reading longer
books. It has both chapters and
picture sequencing so it could help
a reader if they get tired or need a
break they can look at the pictures
which will make them want to read
more. It is both beautifully
illustrated and written.
My sixth grade teacher read this
book aloud and we were on the
edge of seats wondering what
would happen. I read the diary of
Anne Frank after. I think after this
book I really started to read more
mature topics in books. It was a
BBOAT
Little House in the Big
Woods
Laura Ingalls
Wilder
Culturally
Specific
3+
real eye opener for me. I
remember thinking I hope I have
friends that are that brave and
loyal.
I love the whole collection. My
third grade class read this book and
went to her home on a field trip.
We also made toys out of dried
apples and tried to make things
that were described in the story.
Our teacher made some of the old
fashion candy. I think this is a great
book that teaches children about
other times, but also that there is
plenty of things to do without
electronics. After I read this book I
had to read all the others then I had
to read all about the pioneers and
the old west. I hope to find other
great books that will hook kids and
make them lifelong readers.