Cheyenne Again by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: In the late 1800s, a young Cheyenne boy is taken from his home and sent
to a boarding school to “learn the white man’s ways.” The boy struggles, but learns,
to hold onto his heritage and memories.
Teaching Points: asking questions before, during, and after reading, the ending is
especially thought-provoking; see also making inferences
Teaching Points: making inferences – character traits, character motivation,
theme; see also asking questions
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: A colorful cast of characters surrounds a girl and her new dog. Themes
include friendship, self-realization, and maturity.
Teaching Points: asking questions, especially generating questions while reading
about setting, the characters’ pasts, character interactions
Dreaming of America: An Ellis Island Story by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 4
Summary: When traveling to America, Annie Moore and her younger brothers are
separated from their parents. Includes details about immigration through Ellis
Island
Teaching Points: making inferences; cross-curricular connections to social studies
(immigration)
Sometimes You Get What You Want Meredith Gary
Grade- Primary
Summary: Predictable story about being independent, but sometimes needing help.
Teaching Points: Choices, decisions
January’s Sparrow Patricia Polacco
Grade: Upper Elementary
Summary: Fleshing out historical events with invented but credible details, Polacco
retraces the 1840s flight of the Crosswhite family from slavery to freedom and the
dramatic standoff between the residents (black and white both) of the Michigan town
where they settled and a band of "paddy rollers" sent to fetch the fugitives back to
Kentucky.
Teaching Points: Cross- Curriculuar connections to Social Studies. Idioms;
compare/contrast
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: Based on a true story, this book follows two teenage boys during the
Civil War. Their friendship blossoms as they deal with injuries, fear, and death.
Teaching Points: asking questions about the story line and language
Green as a Bean Karla Kuskin
Grade-Primary
Summary: If you could be...?" is an often-asked question by a child. What would you be if
you were something other than yourself? And if you were that other thing, would you still
be you? Kuskin poses these questions throughout this playfully thoughtful book. In
delicious rhythmic language, readers are asked what they might be if they were the color
green or a square shape, soft or loud, small, red, or fierce, and more.
Teaching Points: Questioning, lists, communicating
Big Plans Lane Smith
Grade-Primary
Summary: A boy sits in a corner of his empty classroom, his misdeeds recorded on the
blackboard. Without a bit of remorse, he muses, "Soon, the entire world will know of my
big plans." He climbs to a mountaintop and shouts: "I got big plans! Big plans, I say!" This
line becomes his mantra and is repeated many times.
Teaching Points: Repeated Text, Varied text sizes and shapes, ellipses, dialogue
My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother Patricia Polacco
Grade-Primary/Intermediate
Summary: Featuring an obnoxious, freckle-faced, bespectacled boy and a comforting,
tale-telling grandmother, this autobiographical story is as satisfying as a warm slice of
apple pie. Patricia can't quite understand how anyone could possibly like her older brother
Richard.
Teaching Points: Compare/Contrast; personal narrative; voice; author study;
character transformation
Mr. Lincoln’s Way by Patricia Polacco
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: A young boy who acts as like a bully due to racist views expressed in his
home learns to accept and celebrate differences thanks to the intervention of a
caring African-American principal and some special birds.
Teaching Points: making inferences – character development, theme
Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco
Grade(s): 5
Summary: Traci and Marilyn love their fifth grade teacher, Miss Wichelman and
learn in her class that if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Marilyn becomes ill
with leukemia, but together the class is able to support her.
Teaching Points: synthesizing – using multiple strategies, changes in thinking
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: A story of friendship across a racial divide.
Teaching Points: synthesizing – finding symbolism as the fence grows in
significance, especially in the last line of the text
The Biggest Test in the Universe Nancy Poydar
Grade-Primary
Summary: Sam and his classmates are facing the Big Test! The older children tell them
exaggerated stories: The test is so hard…your head looks like a marble when it's over, the
booklet is like a telephone book, and Nobody finishes, and Sam begins to worry. When the
big day arrives, the children have been well prepared, and all goes well.
Teaching Points: Inferring, Drawing Conclusions, test prep,
Ring! Yo Chris Raschka
Grade- Grades 1-4
Summary: This is a return engagement by the two friends from Yo! Yes? Here, readers
find themselves privy to half of a conversation as, Hollywood-style, they watch one boy
respond to what is being said on the other end of the conversation.
Teaching Points: Conventions, dialogue, conversations, creative writing
The Web Files Margie Palatini
GradeSummary: This punny parody freely alludes to the TV drama Dragnet, as two
"ducktectives" attempt to "quack the case" of several robberies on a farm. Each scene
opens with a time of day and location, noted in hard-boiled bold print.
Teaching Points: Mystery, voice, prediction, drawing conclusions
The Graves Family Patricia Polacco
Grade-2-4
Summary: When Doug and Shalleaux Graves and their children move to Union City and
paint their house blood red, the villagers stay away. Then Seth and Sara, two young
neighbors, visit and become friendly with young Hieronymus, and they explore the spooky
house. Their mother invites Mrs. Graves to a garden club tea, where her baby Venus
flytrap eats the lemon squares, the tea set, and the ladies' hats. After this fiasco, the
Graves family's social standing declines further.
Teaching Points: Word Play, Puns, characterization
Willoughby and the Lion Greg Foley
Grade-Primary
Summary: Willoughby, dejected because of an unwanted move, sees a gold lion sitting on a
rock in his backyard. The lion can grant him 10 wishes but warns: "unless you wish for the
most wonderful thing of all, I'll be stuck on this rock forever." The boy wishes for a
bigger house, a roller-coaster ride, the fastest shoes in the world, and many more delights.
Teaching Points: Friendship, drawing conclusions
My Red Balloon Eve Bunting
Grade-K-4th
Summary: Today's the day a little boy's Navy Dad comes home after being at sea. As an
excited crowd waits for the ship, he holds a Welcome Home red balloon tied tightly around
his wrist so that his father can find him on the dock. He loosens the string and sadly
watches the balloon float away. Of course, his daddy still finds him and all is well. Gently
told, this story shows the joy felt when loved ones come home after serving our country.
Teaching Points: Realistic Fiction, family, Social Studies connections, point of view,
voice
Your Move Eve Bunting
Grade-1-5
Summary: A powerful picture book about how a good kid avoids gang involvement. James,
10, and his 6-year-old brother Isaac are alone at night while their single mother works.
Teaching Points: Realistic Fiction, Social Issues, Social Studies connections, point
of view, voice
Pop’s Bridge Eve Bunting
Grade-1-4
Summary: Robert and his friend Charlie Shu spend many an afternoon at Fort Point
watching from afar as their dads work on the crews building the Golden Gate Bridge.
Robert's father is a high-iron man, a skywalker, and, in his son's eyes, has a far more
important and dangerous job than the painting Charlie's dad does. When Robert's mom
gives the youngsters a jigsaw puzzle based on an artist's rendering of the yet-to-be
completed bridge, Robert hides a piece to give his father the honor of completing the
puzzle. When a scaffold falls and 10 men die, however, he realizes that the work is equally
dangerous for all involved. While the two families are celebrating the completion of the
bridge, he cuts the last puzzle piece, offering half to each dad. Finish it. It's your bridge.
It belongs to both of you, he says.
Teaching Points: Historical Fiction, Social Studies connection, inferring
Owney The Mail-Pouch Dog Mona Kerby
Grade-1-4
Summary: One rainy night in 1888, a stray dog wandered into the U.S. Post Office in
Albany, New York. Workers found him the next morning asleep on a pile of mail pouches.
The dog seemed to like the post office and the smell of the mailbags and the men’s wool
uniforms. When no one came to claim him, they named him Owney and made him their pet.
However, Owney’s loyalty and sense of adventure soon made it clear he wasn’t just an
average mutt. Over the course of nine years, Owney guarded the mail—not only in Albany
but on mail trains that traveled all over the United States.
Teaching Points: Social Studies connection, inferring, geography,
Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears Emily Gravett
Grade-K-4
Summary: Tiny mouse and his gigantic fears collide in this humorous creation. This
handbook dramatically states, "A fear faced is a fear defeated," and encourages the
fainthearted to conquer their fright through writing, drawing, and collage. Spare text and
delightful illustrations chronicle this nervous rodent's journey.
Teaching Points: Vocabulary, Mapping, geography, voice, different perspectives
A Particular Cow Mem Fox
Grade-K-2
Summary: When a cow decides to take her usual Saturday constitutional, she accidentally
steps through a clothesline and ends up with a pair of bloomers covering her head. Unable
to see and running off in a panic, the poor bovine wreaks havoc as she falls into a postmans
cart that heads down a long hill, followed by all the characters whose lives shes disrupted:
the underwears owner, the postman, some children, and a few yapping dogs.
Teaching Points: Word Bubbles, Mapping, geography, voice, different perspectives
The Wretched Stone by Chris VanAllsburg
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: A captain’s record of an extraordinary journey to sea and back. The
crew begins as avid readers, musicians, and storytellers, but the wretched stone
they find seems to change them.
Teaching Points: asking questions before, during, and after reading; see also making
inferences
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster
Grade(s): 3-4
Summary: A young girl is cared for by her grandparents. The family has a special
window where she is greeted and waves goodbye. This book demonstrates how
special family experiences can create memories that last forever.
Teaching Points: text-to-self connections, belonging
Diary of a Worm (or Fly or Spider) by Doreen Cronin
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: A humorous diary of a worm’s experiences.
Teaching Points: Summarizing – telling the “gist” of the worm’s experiences as
revealed through the diary entries; see also synthesizing
Teaching Points: Synthesizing – using background knowledge to understand humor;
see also summarizing
The Other dog Madeleine L’Engle
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: Touche L'Engle-Franklin, the very talented, sophisticated, and articulate poodle
of the house, is shocked and dismayed when her master and mistress bring home another
dog, especially such an odd-looking one. This interloper has no fur to speak of, no tail, and-horror of horrors--it does its business inside the house, in something called a diaper.
Teaching Points: Point of View, bold text
A Very Important Day Maggie Herold
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: November 25th is the day that 219 people will take the oath of allegiance to
the United States and become citizens. The focus of this multicultural narrative is the
naturalization ceremony, which brings the 12 families introduced in the previous pages
together in celebration of this momentus event. Each double-page segment is devoted to
one family as fathers, mothers, children, and other relatives prepare to leave for the
court in lower Manhattan.
Teaching Points: Social Studies connections, realistic fiction, geography
A Very Important Day Maggie Herold
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: November 25th is the day that 219 people will take the oath of allegiance to
the United States and become citizens. The focus of this multicultural narrative is the
naturalization ceremony, which brings the 12 families introduced in the previous pages
together in celebration of this momentus event. Each double-page segment is devoted to
one family as fathers, mothers, children, and other relatives prepare to leave for the
court in lower Manhattan.
Teaching Points: Social Studies connections, realistic fiction, geography
The Potato Man Megan McDonald
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: This book gives a readers a picture the early part of our century. Scissor
grinders, organ grinders, and peddlers' wagons creaked through the streets and alleys in
those days with things or services to sell. Mr. Angelo, with a face as lumpy as his potatoes,
is just such a huckster and it seems natural that he should be the butt of the
neighborhood boys' pranks. But he is the ultimate winner of these "battles" through his
use of gentleness and understanding.
Teaching Points: Social Studies connections, realistic fiction, point of view, cause
and effect
Molly Bannaky Alice McGill
Grade(s): Intermediate
Summary: After a cow knocks over a pail of milk, Molly, a 17-year-old dairy maid, must go
on trial for theft A crime punishable by death in 1683 England. However, because she can
read the Bible, the court spares her life and instead deports her to America as an
indentured servant.
Teaching Points: Social Studies connections, historical fiction, point of view
Piggie Pie
Margie Palatini
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: The tables are turned on Gritch the Witch, whose own sense of importance
(and the skywritten warning "Surrender Piggies!" ) gives her victims time to implement a
plan to save their bacon. When hungry Gritch arrives at the farm, she can't find a single
pig. Instead, she finds a wolf, whom she slyly invites home: "I always enjoy having a wolf
for lunch."
Teaching Points: Point of view, characterization, dialogue, voice
Harry the Tarantula
Leigh Ann Tyson
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: Complete with quirky illustrations, this spoof of a radio talk-show interview is a
clever method of revealing facts about tarantulas. Harry Spyder appears as a guest on
Katy Did's program, "Up Close and Personal." Prodded along by her questions, the tarantula
describes his frightening encounter with a girl who scooped him up into an empty glass jar.
Teaching Points: Facts, Question/Answer, voice
Grandfather’s Journey
Allen Say
Grade(s): Intermediate
Summary: Home becomes elusive in this story about immigration and acculturation, pieced
together through old pictures and salvaged family tales. Both the narrator and his
grandfather long to return to Japan, but when they do, they feel anonymous and confused:
"The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other."
Teaching Points: Connections to Social Studies, Drawing Conclusions
Miss Alaineus A Vocabulary Disaster
Debra Frasier
Grade(s): Intermediate
Summary: This inventive picture book is a spelling book, a vocabulary book, a game book,
and a costume book all rolled into one. Sage, a fifth grader who is home sick, phones a
classmate to get her homework assignment. In a big hurry, Starr spells each word out
except for the last one. Mistakenly, Sage writes what she hears, Miss Alaineus.
Teaching Points: Vocabulary, spelling, characterization
100th Day Worries Margery Cuyler
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: For Jessica, a worrier by nature, there's a dark underside to her first grade's
100th Day celebration. In honor of the occasion, her teacher wants each student to round
up a collection of 100 small things. The girl spends an entire week ruminating--"100 ice
cubes? Too melty. 100 marshmallows? Too sticky. 100 toothpicks? Too pointy"--and the
pressure builds as all the other kids' collections start rolling in.
Teaching Points: Math Place Value, numbers, characterization, connections
Rosa
Nikki Giovanni
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: Rosa Parks's personal story moves quickly into a summary of the Civil Rights
movement in this striking picture book. Parks is introduced in idealized terms. She cares
for her ill mother and is married to one of the best barbers in the county. Sewing in an
alterations department, Rosa Parks was the best seamstress. Her needle and thread flew
through her hands like the gold spinning from Rumpelstiltskin's loom. Soon the story moves
to her famous refusal to give up her seat on the bus, but readers lose sight of her as she
waits to be arrested.
Teaching Points: Connections to Social Studies, Point of View,
Salt in His Shoes Michael Jordan
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: Before basketball star Michael Jordan's name was uttered reverently in
households all over the planet, young Michael was just a shrimpy kid trying to play ball with
the big boys in the neighborhood. Tired of being teased by the biggest boy on the court,
Michael is convinced the only solution is to grow taller. His mama smilingly suggests putting
salt in his shoes and saying a prayer every night.
Teaching Points: Determination, Question/Answer, Realistic, connections
Minty Alan Schroeder
Grade(s): Intermediate
Summary: This fictionalized account of Tubman's childhood on a Maryland plantation
provides a cruel snapshot of life as a slave and the horrid circumstances that fueled the
future Underground Railroad leader's passion and determination.
Teaching Points: Questioning, Connections to Social Studies,
Irritating Irma
Robin Klein
Grade(s): Intermediate
Summary: The Dragons peaceful life is interrupted with Irma arrives to spend her
vacation on his beach.
Teaching Points: Characterization, vocabulary, plot, inferring, prediction
Buffalo Jump Peter Roop
Grade(s): Intermediate
Summary: A faster runner, Little Blaze is disappointed at his father's choice of his older
brother to be the decoy that leads the buffalo over a cliff to their death. On the day of
the jump, however, Curly Bear tires and eventually falls in the path of the frenzied herd,
only to be rescued and joined by Little Blaze. Both boys are recognized for their bravery,
and Little Blaze is renamed in honor of his deed.
Teaching Points: Social Studies Connections, inferring
Game Day Tiki and Ronde Barber
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: The Barber twins, both NFL superstars, teamed up with Burleigh to write an
engaging memoir that touches on themes of cooperation and individual differences.
Teaching Points: Point of View, realistic, character
Stranger in the Woods
Carl Sams and Jean Stoick
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: Stranger in the Woods" is a great book. It has wonderful pictures and a funny
story about animals that find a stranger in the woods who is a snowman. There are two
children who build the snowman and put out food for the animals including a carrot nose on
the snowman and bird seed. The animals think that the snowman is a nice stranger.
Teaching Points: Point of View, nonfiction features, variety of texts
Stranger in the Woods
Carl Sams and Jean Stoick
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: Stranger in the Woods" is a great book. It has wonderful pictures and a funny
story about animals that find a stranger in the woods who is a snowman. There are two
children who build the snowman and put out food for the animals including a carrot nose on
the snowman and bird seed. The animals think that the snowman is a nice stranger.
Teaching Points: Point of View, nonfiction features, variety of fonts
Amazing Christmas Extravaganza
David Shannon
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: The Merriweather family is really going to celebrate Christmas.Instead of
simply trimming their tree and hanging a holly on the door, the Merriweathers decide to
decorate their whole house. And decorate they do, with colored lights, candy canes, giant
snowmen, and a fifty-foot Santa...and soon the family's Christmas extravaganza is the talk
of the town!
Teaching Points: Circle Story, prediction, connections
Two Bobbies
Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: Neither Bobbi the dog nor Bob Cat has a tail, and some say that’s what brought
them together.” Abandoned during the Katrina evacuations, pets Bobbi and Bob Cat wander
dangerous, debris-strewn streets seeking food and water. Eventually taken to a rescue
shelter, the Bobbies show distress when separated but remain calm when together.
Workers then discover that Bob Cat is blind and that Bobbi seems to serve as his seeingeye dog. A national news appearance ultimately results in the animals' shared adoption in a
happy new home.
Teaching Points: Curricular connections – science (Hurricanes), Social Studies
(community) , friendship,
Snowflake Bentley
Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Grade(s): Primary/Intermediate
Summary: From the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley saw snowflakes as small
miracles. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder
of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often
misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important
truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful. His story is
gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts, giving children insight into a soul who
had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of
nature. "Of all the forms of water the tiny six-pointed crystals of ice called snow are
incomparably the most beautiful and varied." — Wilson Bentley.
Teaching Points: Multi-genre writing, inferring, questioning, connections,
http://www.vickiblackwell.com/lit/bentley.html
Amanda Bean’s Amazing Dream
Cindy Neuschwander
Grade(s): Primary
Summary: The advantages of multiplication are introduced in a simple story about an
African-American girl who loves to count things, both in and out of school, but is unsure
how multiplication will speed up the process. After counting the tiles on the kitchen
counter and the books on the library shelves, she falls asleep and begins to dream of a
calm bike ride in the country. Then, eight sheep on bicycles come zooming by and stop at a
barn to get five yarn balls apiece to give to seven grandmothers knitting sweaters. Amanda
is overwhelmed by trying to tot up bicycle wheels, sheep legs, knitting needles, and
sweater arms-until the sheep and the grandmothers begin shouting, "Multiply!" She
awakes, convinced that she wants to learn how.
Teaching Points: Multiplication, arrays, problem solving
A Poke in the I
Paul B. Janeczko
Grade(s): 2-5
Summary: A collection of over 30 concrete poems.
Teaching Points: Concrete poems, repetition, imagery, word choice
Zen Ties
Jon Muth
Grade(s): 2-5
Summary: Stillwater, the giant panda who taught Zen parables to siblings Karl, Addy and
Michael in Zen Shorts, continues to combine his slow-moving grace with genuine spiritual
tranquility. This time, Michael faces a daunting spelling bee, and Stillwater, first seen
wearing a necktie, introduces the three to Miss Whitaker, an elderly neighbor whose
crabby outbursts have frightened them. Stillwater's inward eye sees through her anger to
her fear and loneliness. She turns out to be a marvelous spelling coach (Just like plants,
words have roots, she tells Michael. Roots of words can teach you to spell)
Teaching Points: Play on Words, roots of words, haiku, friendship
Christmas Tapestry
Patricia Polacco
Grade(s): 2-5
Summary: Jonathan has made a good adjustment to life in Michigan after his father takes
over as the pastor of a rundown Baptist church. The whole family has worked hard to
renovate the building and restore the congregation. The boy becomes distraught, however,
when a snowstorm causes a leak and ruins the wall behind the altar just before Christmas.
In a series of events that would strain belief in anything other than a holiday story, he and
his father find a tapestry to cover the wall and bring about a reunion between two
Holocaust survivors who had used the hand-stitched cloth as their wedding canopy.
Teaching Points: Plot, inferring, friendship, Social Studies Connection to Holocaust
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree Gloria Houston
Grade(s): 2-5
Summary: The Armistice has been declared, but still there is no sign of Ruthie's father in
their little Appalachian town. So, in accordance with the traditions of Pine Grove, it falls
to Ruthie and her mother to bring home the perfect Christmas tree to donate to the town.
Ruthie had accompanied her father to the rocky cliff where he marked a tree in the
spring, so she and her mother set out to find it again, and haul it home. Their trip becomes
the basis overnight of a new town legend; Ruthie, chosen for the role of the heavenly angel
in the church Christmas play, finds herself outfitted in a made over wedding dress of the
finest silk another "miracle" wrought by her hardworking mother.
Teaching Points: Plot, inferring, dialect, Social Studies Connection to World War 1,
characterization, vocabulary, imagery
The Seashore Book Charlotte Zolotow
Grade(s): k-2
Summary: A young boy who lives in the mountains and has never seen the sea, asks his
mother to describe it. From there, Zolotow carefully chooses her words to create a poem
full of the colors, sounds, and sights of a day at the beach. The verbal description is firmly
framed within oceans of white space on the left and matched by the equally well-crafted
gouache and watercolor paintings on the right. Minor's softly detailed photoreal
renderings use the perspective of a gull to capture the vastness of the sea and sky as well
as that of sandpipers running along the shore to denote precision of movement.
Teaching Points: imagery, mood, descriptive writing, visualization
Jin Woo Eve Bunting
Grade(s): k-3
Summary: David's parents are adopting a baby from Korea, and the boy, also adopted, is
less than thrilled. Bunting's sensitive writing tells of Jin Woo's arrival from David's point
of view, infusing the story with childlike sensibility and humor.
Teaching Points: characterization, realistic fiction, geography
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves
Lynne Truss
Grade(s): primary / intermediate
Summary: Truss's picture-book version of her adult bestseller tackles the topic of
commas and what can go wrong when they are misused. The title is derived from an old
joke in which a panda misunderstands correct panda behavior after reading a poorly
punctuated wildlife guide. Versions of two identically worded sentences are presented side
by side, demonstrating the difference in meaning achieved when a comma is added or
subtracted.
Teaching Points: Commas, conventions
Grandfather Tang’s Story Ann Tompert
Grade(s): k-4
Summary: Two competitive fox fairies go through rapid physical transformations until a
hunter's arrow reminds them of their true friendship. This original tangram tale is framed
by the loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter as they share the
story under the shade of an old tree, and culminates in a tangram of an old man and a girl
likewise resting.
Teaching Points: Tangrams, Cultures, problem solving
http://www.teachnet-lab.org/ps101/chornik/grandfather.htm
http://www.k-state.edu/smartbooks/Lesson019.html
Ten Black Dots Donald Crews
Grade(s): k-2
Summary: A Counting Book
Teaching Points: Counting, phonemic awareness, Rhyming Words
Mapping Penny’s World Loreen Leedy
Grade(s): 1-4
Summary: Lisa and her dog from Measuring Penny (Holt, 1998) are back. Since the girl's
class is learning about maps, she decides to draw one of her bedroom and then makes a
few for her Boston terrier. These maps show where the pet has hidden her toys and
treats, the best route for a neighboring animal to take to their house, biking and hiking
trails (Penny rides in the bike basket), and a 3-D map of places where the pup likes to play.
Lisa explains terms such as "key," "scale," and "symbol," and introduces tools such as
pedometers and odometers.
Teaching Points: Map reading skills, perspective,
Measuring Penny Loreen Leedy
Grade(s): 1-4
Summary: Leedy offers another winning math-concept book. Lisa has a homework
assignment to measure something in as many ways as she can, using standard and
nonstandard units. "Use your imagination!" is the last instruction the teacher gives the
students. Lisa chooses her Boston terrier and the fun begins. She measures Penny and a
variety of other dogs. In the process, readers learn that Penny's nose is one inch long. Her
tail is one biscuit long. She is bigger than a pug, smaller than a cocker spaniel, and weighs
about the same as a Shetland Sheepdog. Lisa measures how much her pet eats, how high
she jumps, how much time it takes to care for her, how much money is invested in her, how
fast Penny runs, and a variety of other doggie traits.
Teaching Points: Standard and Nonstandard measurement, perspective, charts,
graphs
Probably Penny Loreen Leedy
Grade(s): 1-4
Summary: Lisa's class is studying probability. For homework, she must make
predictions about what will, might, and can't happen over the weekend. She
must also think of different events with varying chances of happening.
Penny, her Boston terrier, helps Lisa visualize the situations needed for the
assignment. Leedy's uncluttered, computer-generated artwork matches her
clear and orderly text. What Lisa imagines—Penny eating a birthday cake,
discovering buried treasure, and inventing a jet pack—appears in thought
bubbles with scalloped edges.
Teaching Points: Probability, perspective
The Bee Tree Patricia Polacco
Grade(s): 1-4
Summary: Young Mary Ellen would rather be "outdoors running and playing"
than indoors with a book. Sympathetic to her feelings, her grandfather
suggests that they find a bee tree. The Michigan woods literally buzz with
activity as Mary Ellen and Grampa chase a pollen-laden bee to its far-off
hive, picking up curious neighbors and passers-by along the way. Before
long the original pair becomes a "thundering stampede of goats, buggies,
people and bikes" in search of honey.
Teaching Points: Characterization, family traditions, plot, similarities/differences
Take Me Out of the Bathtub Alan Katz
Grade(s): k-5
Summary: This hilarious collection goes straight to the heart of playground
humor. What made "On Top of Spaghetti" such an integral part of popular
culture is what makes these selections so equally successful. Well-known
songs like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,"
and "I've Been Working on the Railroad" become-with a wink, a poke, and
nod-"Take Me Out of the Bathtub," "The Yogurt Flies Straight from My
Brother," and "I've Been Cleaning Up My Bedroom." Some of these
transformations are so clever that kids will want to burst into song
immediately.
Teaching Points: Poetry, rhyming words, rhythm, oral fluency
How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World Faith McNulty
Grade(s): k-5
Summary: The story of a child’s imaginary 8,000-mile journey through the
earth to discover what’s inside. Facts about the composition of the earth are
conveyed painlessly and memorably
Teaching Points: Social Studies and Science connections, Earth’s layers,
connections
www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/lessonPlans/50sq/2005/0406-3.rtf
A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: A boy and his grandfather work as day laborers. The boy learns a lesson
after making a mistake and seeing his grandfather’s reaction.
Teaching Points: text-to-world connections; see also making inferences
A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: A boy and his family make an annual trip to Battery Park to celebrate
the anniversary of his grandparents’ immigration to America.
Teaching Points: making inferences, especially about characters actions and
unspoken words; cross-curricular connections to social studies (immigration)
The Dot by Peter Reynolds
Grade(s): 3-4
Summary: A girl who thinks she can’t draw makes a single dot. Gradually, her
confidence grows and she becomes more and more successful as an artist. Finally,
she shares her wisdom with another child.
Teaching Points: making inferences – predicting, character development/change,
theme
The Lily Cupboard: A Story of the Holocaust by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: A young Jewish girl is sent to the country for safety during World War
II.
Teaching Points: making inferences – character traits/motivation
The Royal Bee by Frances Park and Ginger Park
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: A young boy wants to learn to read and write, but because of his family’s
status in Korean culture he must overcome challenges to accomplish his goal.
Teaching Points: making inferences – difference between predicting/inferring,
meanings of unknown words, theme; see also asking questions
She’s Wearing a Dead Bird on Her Head! by Kathryn Lasky
Grade(s): 3
Summary: Harriet and Minna are upset with the killing of birds for use in hats and
decorations so they decide to take action. The story chronicles the development
of the Audubon Society and how two women made a difference in 1896.
Teaching Points: making inferences – figurative language; see also asking questions;
cross-curricular connections to social studies (Massachusetts history)
Tight Times by Barbara Shook Hazen
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: A young boy whose family is struggling financially wishes for a pet dog.
Teaching Points: making inferences; see also asking questions
Always Remember Me: How One Family Survived World War II by Marisabina
Russo
Grade(s): 5
Summary: Based on the author’s family history, this book chronicles the events of
a Jewish family before, during, and after World War II. Many recreations of
primary source materials are included.
Teaching Points: summarizing timeline of events in main character’s family; using
primary source materials
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: The true story of Philippe Petit’s tightrope walk between the World
Trade Center towers in 1974.
Teaching Points: summarizing – the difference between retelling and summarizing,
elements of a summary
An Angel for Solomon Singer by Cynthia Rylant
Grade(s): 5
Summary: A man who lives in New York longs for the things he can’t have and for
places from his past. One night he enters a café “where all your dreams come
true.” He eventually begins to appreciate and enjoy the things in his life.
Synthesizing: synthesizing – changes in thinking
Crickwing by Janell Cannon
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: Tired of being bullied, a cockroach with a twisted wing begins picking on
smaller creatures. The smaller creatures are not as harmless as they seem, but
when they are threatened, Crickwing becomes an unlikely hero.
Teaching Points: synthesizing – noticing character change/development; see also
making inferences
Gleam and Glow by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: The story of a family who is forced to flee their war-torn country. The
family’s beloved goldfish are left behind, but when the family is reunited and
returns home they find that the goldfish, like the family, have survived.
Teaching Points: synthesizing – finding symbolism
Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: Set in segregated Nashville in the 1950s, young Tricia Ann is frustrated
by the Jim Crows that exclude her from many public places but she finds welcome
at the public library.
Teaching Points: synthesizing – changes in thinking about importance of
libraries/reading, effects of segregation
Granddaddy’s Gift by Margaree King Mitchell
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: Set in Mississippi in the 1960s, an African-American grandfather
volunteers to register to vote. Despite the dangers, he longs for his
granddaughter’s life to be better and for her to have greater opportunity.
Teaching Points: synthesizing – tracking changes in the reader’s understanding of
the “gift” as the story unfolds; see also making connections, asking questions,
inferring
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Grade(s): 5
Summary: Catherine’s brother David is autistic and their family life revolves
around his needs. She is often frustrated and embarrassed by her brother and
creates “rules” for him to live by.
Teaching Points: good interactive read aloud to model using multiple comprehension
strategies and synthesizing thinking, especially about author’s
message/theme/point of view
Smoky Nights by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: The story of a family’s experiences during the Los Angeles riots.
Teaching Points: synthesizing – tracking changes in thinking
Tough Boris by Mem Fox
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: Boris is a tough pirate, but he still mourns when his parrot dies.
Teaching Points: synthesizing – changes in perceptions about a character
A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: A boy and his grandfather work as day laborers. The boy learns a lesson
after making a mistake and seeing his grandfather’s reaction.
Teaching Points: text-to-world connections; see also making inferences
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: Narrative story of a boy’s family’s move to and time in a Japanese
internment camp during World War II. Carries reader through time when baseball
unified the group and offered opportunity for personal growth.
Teaching Points: text-to-self connections (teasing, feelings of inferiority), textto-world connections (Pearl Harbor, immigration issues)
Come On, Rain by Karen Hesse
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: A young girl and her mother endure the heat of a summer day and wait
for the rain to bring relief.
Teaching Points: text-to-self connections; see also sensory images
Lightning by Seymour Simon
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: Lightning is explored through dramatic photographs and vivid
descriptions. Kids love this book!
Teaching Points: text-to-self/world connections; see also creating sensory images;
cross-curricular connections to science
Teaching Points: creating sensory images from descriptive language; see also
making connections; cross-curricular connections to science
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: The story of relatives visiting from Virginia.
Teaching Points: text-to-self connections
Say Something by Peggy Moss
Grade(s): 3-5
Summary: A story about teasing, bullying, and being ignored. Important lessons in
empathy and thinking about how one’s actions can result in change are conveyed.
Teaching Points: text-to-self connections, text-to-text connections with The
Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes; also ties in with Second Step program
Under the Quilt of Night by Deborah Hopkinson and James Ransome
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: Beautifully illustrated story about a slave girl who escapes on the
Underground Railroad.
Teaching Points: text-to-world connections; see also creating sensory images;
cross-curricular connections to history/social studies
Teaching Points: creating sensory images from descriptive language; see also
making connections; cross-curricular connections to history/social studies
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 4-5
Summary: A boy and his father go to the Vietnam Memorial to see the
grandfather’s name.
Teaching Points: text-to-self/world connections (losses of war, memorial items,
wounded veterans, gravestone rubbings)
How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting
Grade(s): 2-4
Summary: A family flees its native country in a small boat and lands in
America on a particularly appropriate holiday; PW called this "a Thanksgiving
story that knows no season or race, but is for everyone all year 'round.
Teaching Points: text-to-self/world connections
A is for America by Devin Scillian
Grade(s): k-3
Summary: Patriotic themed alphabet book
Teaching Points: text-to-self/world connections, alphabet, good citizenship, social
studies connection-famous Americans
Capital by Lynn Curlee
Grade(s): k-3
Summary: This in-depth look at the planning and construction of some of our
country's most treasured architecture.
Teaching Points: History, Geography,
The War Between the Vowels and Consonants by Priscilla Turner
Grade(s): k-5
Summary: A fable of vowels and consonants who do not get along. There is
terrible bickering and constant rivalry between them. Finally, war is declared
and a conflagration occurs complete with dive-bombing T's, marching D's,
spear-tossing J's, and paratrooper U's. Amid the fighting, a scrawling,
formless chaos appears. Individually, the letters cannot halt the scratching
threat of disaster, but when they cooperate and form actual words, the
jumbled scrawl at last rolls out of town.
Teaching Points: Grammar (comparative and superlative forms), point of view,
Vowels and consonants,
Our Granny by Margaret Wild
Grade(s): k-5
Summary: Some grannies live in...apartments, big old houses, old people's
homes, little rooms in the city, trailers.... Our granny lives with us in our
house." Grandmotherly characteristics (interesting hair, crinkly eyes, friendly
smiles); clothing (blue jeans, silky dresses, big bras, high heels);
occupations (driving a truck, plumbing, working in an office); and ways of
kissing (big sloppy ones, none at all) are catalogued. Eight to ten
possibilities alternate with the comfortable, one-sentence statements of two
children about their own relative. The lists are varied enough to stimulate
the imagination and, combined with the return to a personal point of view,
avoid the dullness often found in repetitive formats.
Teaching Points: Compare/contrast, descriptive writing, connections,
Polar Bear Math by Anna Whitehead Nagda
Grade(s): 1-5
Summary: Following the lives of two cubs that were born at the Denver Zoo
and abandoned by their mother, this book provides information about polar
bears and fractions. Right-hand pages tell the story of Snow and Klondike,
with excellent, full-color photos showing how zoo personnel raised them
from newborns until their first birthday. On each left-hand page, a lesson on
fractions incorporates data about the animals.
Teaching Points: Fractions, Nonfiction Facts, captions, pictographs
Twizzlers Percentages Book by Jerry Pallotta
Grade(s): 1-5
Summary: This colorful book uses Twizzlers as the device to clarify the
concepts and will definitely get students' attention. The page that illustrates
100% has 90 red Twizzlers and 10 black ones arranged across the spread.
Teaching Points: Percentages
http://csmstu01.csm.edu/students/skaplan/Lesson%20Plans/Math%20Lesson%20Plans/Twizzlers
%20Math.htm
Hershey’s Kisses Addition Book by Jerry Pallotta
Grade(s): 1-5
Summary: Hershey's kisses and miniature clowns introduce simple addition
concepts in The Hershey's Kisses Addition Book
Teaching Points: Simple Addition
Hershey’s Kisses Fraction Book by Jerry Pallotta
Grade(s): 1-5
Summary: Open the wrapper, and what do you see? A Hershey's Milk
Chocolate Bar is made up of 12 little rectangles that provide the perfect
opportunity to teach fractions! A bunch of comical cows, some cocoa pods,
and stalks of sugar cane join the fraction fun.
Teaching Points: fractions
http://www.teachnet-lab.org/miami/2005/linero2/lesson%206%20math.htm
Counting on Frank by Rod Clement
Grade(s): 1-5
Summary: A boy and his dog present amusing counting, size comparison, and
mathematical facts
Teaching Points: comparison, measurement, estimation
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L203
Mummy Math by Cindy Neuschwander
Grade(s): 1-5
Summary: Matt and Bibi go to Egypt with their scientist parents in search of
an ancient pharaoh's mummy. When the siblings are accidentally shut in the
pyramid, they decide to explore. Using hieroglyphic clues, they discover that
the path to the mummy is delineated by "faces," the flat surfaces of
geometric solids. As they find either pictures of solid shapes or the objects
themselves, the twins count the faces of the shapes and are guided through
the pyramid by relating their answers to the hieroglyphic clues. They find the
mummy and a map indicating the way out.
Teaching Points: geometry, Social Studies connections
The King’s Commissioners by Aileen Friedman
Grade(s): 1-5
Summary: A confused king has appointed a commissioner to handle every
problem in the kingdom from flat tires to chicken pox. Now he has no idea
how many commissioners there are, and he orders his royal advisors to
gather and count them as they walk through the door. The first advisor
counts by twos, the second by fives, and the little princess by tens. Of
course, they all arrive at the same answer.
Teaching Points: Problem solving, place value
Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong
Grade(s): 1-5
Summary: A Chinese folktale with a perfect blend of humor and wisdom. One
spring morning, Mr. Haktak, a poor farmer, unearths a brass pot in his
garden. Placing his coin purse inside for safekeeping, he carries his discovery
home to his wife. After she accidently drops her hairpin inside, Mrs. Haktak
reaches into the pot and, to her amazement, pulls out two identical hairpins
and two matching coin purses.
Teaching Points: Problem solving, function machines, folk tales,
http://my.nctm.org/eresources/reflections/grade_3_patterns/g3patternslp.pdf
Safari Park by Stewart Murphy
Grade(s): 2-5
Summary: This story begins with Grandpa taking his five grandchildren to the
opening of Safari Park. Though each child starts out with 20 free tickets for
rides, Paul promptly loses his. Grandpa decrees that each cousin must take
Paul on a ride, which might take 2, 4, or 6 tickets. Other treats, such as food
and games, cost 1 ticket. As they go through the day, intense mathematical
calculations ensue as the kids figure out what they have spent, how much is
left, and how they can spend it.
Teaching Points: Problem solving, finding unknowns
http://www.stuartjmurphy.com/activities/activity_ideas.php
Elevator Magic by Stewart Murphy
Grade(s): k-2
Summary: The plays on words make this book about subtraction amusing as
well as informative. Like other titles in the series, it uses a common daily
activity to teach some math basics. A boy meets his mother on the 10th
floor of a high rise. On the way down, Mom needs to do some errands. The
first stop, two floors down, is to cash a check at the Farm Bank and Trust,
which is (lo and behold!) filled with horses, barns, and hay fields. Farther
down is the Hard Rock Candy Store, which is not only full of candy but also
of the sounds and lights of a heavy metal band.
Teaching Points: Problem solving, subtracting
http://www.stuartjmurphy.com/activities/activity_ideas.php
Racing Around by Stewart Murphy
Grade(s): k-3
Summary: It's a long way around Perimeter Path! Mike's brother and sister
say he's too young to compete in the 15-kilometer bike race. But if Mike just
gets a chance, he knows he can make it all the way around.Teaching Points:
Problem solving, perimeter
http://www.stuartjmurphy.com/activities/activity_ideas.php
Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns
Grade(s): k-3
Summary: An offbeat introduction to geometry. When a triangle tires of
having only three sides, he asks the shapeshifter to change him first into a
quadrilateral, then a pentagon, a hexagon, and so forth until he realizes he
is happiest as a triangle: he can hold up a roof, be a slice of a pie and, best
of all, slip into place when people put their hands on their hips. "That way I
always hear the latest news...which I can tell my friends."
.Teaching Points: Problem solving, shapes, geometry
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3385
If You’re Not from the Prairie… by David Bouchard
Grade(s): 2-5
Summary: A young boy grows up on the prairie. He knows what a special
place it is and through his experiences others can come to know America’s
Heartland as well.
.Teaching Points: Repetitive Text, Social studies Connections, visualization,
dialogue
**Another good title that would also work is Heartland
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud
Grade(s): 2-5
Summary: This story encourages positive behavior as children see how easy
and rewarding it is to express kindness, appreciation, and love on a daily
basis.
.Teaching Points: Cross-Curricular connections-good character,
The M and M Counting Book by Barbara McGrath
Grade(s): k-1
Summary: Beginning Math with M and M’s
.Teaching Points: Counting, shapes, basic addition and subtraction, Rhyming
Be Good to Eddie Lee by Virginia Flemming
Grade(s): 2nd-5th grade
Summary:This is the story of a boy, Eddie Lee, who has Down’s syndrome. The
other children in his neighborhood think he is a nuisance. They learn to appreciate
him in new ways after witnessing his understanding of nature.
.Teaching Points: characterization, plot, inferring, similarities and differences,
friendship
What’s Smaller than a Pygmy Shrew? by Robert E. Wells
Grade(s): 4th -5th grade
Summary:.This book shares examples of things that are smaller than a Pygmy
Shrew, from a ladybug to an atom. The reader is able to make comparisons as they
learn about many of the wonders of science.
Teaching Points: Compare/Contrast, science connections, vocabulary
What you Know First by Patricia MacLachlan
Grade(s): 4th -5th grade
Summary:.This is the story of a little girl who must leave her home on the prairie
to move to a new place. She discovers a special way to bring part of this first
home environment with her.
Teaching Points: Compare/Contrast, Social Studies Connections, connections,
visualization, descriptive writing, word choice
Tiger Math by Ann Whitehead Nagad and Cindy Bickel
Grade(s): 2nd -5th grade
Summary:.Explore a variety of ways to display data while learning about T. J. the
Siberian tiger cub.
Teaching Points: Compare/Contrast, graphing, nonfiction facts and text features
The Adventures of Harris Burdick
Grade(s): 2nd -5th grade
Summary:. Need description
by Chris Van Allsburg
Teaching Points: Descriptive writing, inferring, visualization
Tuesday by David Wiesner
Grade(s): k-3 grade
Summary: In this nearly wordless picture book, Wiesner ( Hurricane ; Free Fall ) again
takes readers on an imaginative voyage, using everyday reality merely as a touchstone.
Here, a squadron of frogs soars through the night air one Tuesday, squatting upon lily pads
that they use as flying carpets. Apparently intending no harm, these mysterious visitors to a
suburban development leave a minimum of disruption as evidence of their eerie flight: a few
startled eyewitnesses, some scattered lily pads and a spooked dog.
Teaching Points: prediction, inferring, surprise ending
The April Rabbits by David Cleveland
Grade(s): k-3 grade
Summary: As Robert goes about his daily activities during April, he encounters an everincreasing number of rabbits
Teaching Points: prediction, inferring, surprise endings, writing connections
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
Grade(s): k-3 grade
Summary: She was a perfect baby, and her doting parents chose a name to match,
Chrysanthemum. She is proud of her musical name until kindergarten, when she finds
herself in a world of strange new names such as Sue, Bill, Max, Sam, and Joe--in short (
really short) a world of ordinary monikers. That wouldn't be so bad if the others--like
Victoria--hadn't made a mean-spirited game of tormenting her, sending her home in tears
to be comforted with cuddles and Parcheesi. Wisely, Chrysanthemum's concerned and
loving parents try not to interfere, but what can't be put right by them is dealt with by lucky
chance. The class learns that their popular music teacher not only has a whopper of a name
herself--Delphinium--but also plans to name her expected baby by the prettiest name she
has heard, Chrysanthemum. The charming mouse with her delicate little face seems just
right for her name.
Teaching Points: prediction, inferring, belonging,
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
by Kevin Henkes
Grade(s): k-3 grade
Summary: Lilly the mouse idolizes her teacher Mr. Slinger, but when she comes to school
flaunting three jingly quarters, movie-star glasses and a purple plastic purse "that played a
jaunty tune when it was opened," she interrupts Mr. Slinger's lessons on "Types of Cheese"
and words that rhyme with "mice." After one too many disruptions, he confiscates the purse
until the day's end. Lilly, humiliated, takes revenge by slipping a mean drawing into Mr.
Slinger's book bag?only to open her purse and find a conciliatory note from her hero.
Caldecott honoree Henkes (Owen) understands Lilly's enthusiasm for her prize possessions,
but astutely shows that Lilly goes too far when she acts up in class ("She's in trouble,"
whispers a classmate in a voice-bubble aside)
Teaching Points: prediction, inferring, belonging,
The Kings Equal Katherine Patterson
Grade(s): 3-5 grade
Summary: Finding a princess who is the ``king's equal'' in comeliness, intelligence, and
wealth is an order that confounds the wisest, most loyal councilors in this distant realm.
Finding a book equal in quality and brilliance to this one is an even more formidable task.
Paterson weaves her story within the structure of familiar fairy tales; she includes romance,
repetition of language, the number three, and a moral of goodness and love triumphing
over selfishness and greed. Her careful attention to the beauty and variety of descriptive
language is evident on every page. The story gains dimension with the inclusion of ``the
Wolf.'' At first glimpse, he seems a menacing, negative force, but he is revealed ultimately
to be the purveyor of magic, and even the perfect matchmaker. He never intrudes upon
court life in the capital city, but remains in his remote mountain lair, an enigmatic character
to ponder at the story's end.
Teaching Points: Characterization, plot, inferring, prediction, repetitive text
,friendship