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JoJo Makoons: The Used to be Best Friend by Dawn Quigley, Illustrated by Tara Audibert

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JoJo Makoons: The Used to be Best Friend by Dawn Quigley, Illustrated by Tara Audibert

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JoJo Makoons: The Used to be Best Friend is a new chapter book series about a spirited seven year old girl who lives on a Ojibwe reservation. She is best friends with her cat, Mimi, but is worried that she needs to start making new friends after her friend, fern, from school might not want to be her friend anymore. This book is full of pride, joy, and humor about a girl who loves who she is. This book teacher students to love who they are and be proud of where they came from. It also shows students what it is like to be a good friend. This is a great book for a fifth grade classroom because of the chapter book style and the text complexity of it having eight chapters. The pictures help to break up the words making it as easier to read chapter book. Students can engage in an activity with this book by comparing their life with JoJo Makoons life on the Ojibwe reserve. (Aligned to5.RI.CS.6 Analyze the similarities and
differences in points of view of multiple accounts
of the same event or topic.)

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We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell, Illustrated by Frané Lessac

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We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell, Illustrated by Frané Lessac

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We Are Still Here! is all about an Indigenous People's Day presentation night at school. Twelve Native American kids from various tribes present historical laws, policies, struggles, victories in Native American life. The phrase that stands out at the end of the presentation is "We are still here!" which sends a strong message to students on the idea of personal history, culture, and perseverance.  This book can teach students about Native American history and the things that those people went through to allow their family lineage to continue! Most of the time Native American history is treated as finished instead of relevant and this book is a great resource for students to start to be educated. The text complexity is high for this book because of the high level words that are used in the book. Thus meaning I would use this book for fourth grade students. In the back of the book is a glossary, but it still might be confusing for students to understand terms like assimilation, termination, or even relocation. An activity for this book could include students taking the top things the Native American went through and writing them down and reflecting on them. This allows students to feel the weight of the issues and start to understand why it was wrong. (Aligned to 4.RI.KID.2 Determine the main idea of a text and
explain how it is supported by key details;
summarize a text.)

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A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

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A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

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A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin  is a story about a little boy names Horace Pippin. He has loved to draw since the moment he could hold a piece of charcoal. He would draw pictures for anyone and everyone in his family. He eventually had to drop out of school to help support his family, but that did not mean his drawing stopped. Pippin also went to fight a war in WW1, but still he continued to draw until his right arm was injured so bad he could not even lift it. This story shows a true fighter spirit that was inside of Horace. No matter what obstacles came in his way, he never stopped drawing or painting. You can tell from this book all about the drive one has when they care about something. This book can teach students about the importance of perseverance. When you put your mind to something, there is nothing you can't do! This book would be great for fourth graders given the level of text complexity. The plot line changes three times when there are different challenges placed in Horace's path. This books also includes a little violence when Horace was unfortunately hit with a bullet at war that might be received better by older readers. Students can partake in an activity with this book that includes a time line of all the things Horace accomplished in his life as seen in the book or the biographical section in the back of the book. This will allow students to keep the different plot points of Horace's life in the correct order. (Aligned with 4.RI.KID.3 Explain events, procedures, ideas, or
concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text,
including what happened and why, based on
specific information in a text.)

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A Big Bed for Little Snow is all about a little boy named little snow. His mother made him a big soft bed specially for the long, cold winter nights. His mother tells him not to jump on the bed, but he just can't resist. The story then goes on to explain that every time he jumps on the soft bed more and more feathers come out of it! Eventually no more feathers are in the bed but coincidentally it is at the end of winter so they wont have to fill up the bed again until the next winter! The text complexity for this book is low. The language used in this book is low complex and the book includes a lot of alliteration. This book would be good for second graders because of the ease of the reading and the simple plot structure. An activity for this book should include the types of alliteration that is shown in the book. Teachers should give students the examples of alliteration in the book and have then recreate them on their own. (Aligned to 2.FL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding
words; write legibly. a. Use conventional spelling for one-syllable words including position-based patterns,
complex consonant blends, less common vowel teams for long vowels, vowel-r combinations, contractions, homophones, plurals, and possessives. b. Use conventional spelling for regular two- and three-syllable words containing combined syllable types, compounds, and common prefixes and derivational suffixes. c. Spell words with suffixes that require consonant doubling, dropping silent -e, and changing y to i. d. Write most common, frequently used words and most irregular words. e. Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, to check and correct
spelling. f. Print legibly in manuscript; write many upper and lowercase letters in cursive.)

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Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival by Lindsay Moore

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Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival by Lindsay Moore

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Sea Bear is about life of animals in the Arctic. Especially the life of a sea bear as she makes her way across the ice. The sea bear hunts, naps, and raises her young. She moves with the ice, walking and running while stalking the seals. She goes through a crisis when the ice begins to melt and begins to wonder what life is gonna look like now. This story covers a lot of key areas like perseverance, family, nature, and climate change. This sea bear adjust to the changing life and raises a family. The text complexity of this book is moderately complex. The text is clear and concise, yet it uses words that are not seem in everyday life. It is an educational book that will teach students so many things about the effects of everyday life can have on arctic life. This book would be great for first grade students. An activity with this book can be in the form of comprehension questions they ask and answer in a Think/Pair/Share activity. They will be given a list of generated questions about the story itself and its plot line. The students will take these questions and try and re-tell the story to their comprehension partner. (Aligned to 1.SL.CC.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.)

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What is Given from the Heart by Patrica C. McKissack, Illustrated by April Harrison

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What is Given from the Heart by Patrica C. McKissack, Illustrated by April Harrison

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What is Given from the Heart this is a sentimental picture book about James Otis and his Mama. They have had a hard couple of months, but his mother continues to build up his son and his hope. His temple lost everything to a fire and was looking for any type of donation. James was thinking hard about what to the "love box". He can't seem to think that anything he has is worth giving, however the author continues to show us that anything that comes from the heart, is a thoughtful gift. This book can show students that generosity can go along way even if it does not mean much to the one who is giving. It also showed the the selflessness that James had to think of something he can give away even though he has already been through just as much. It is a good reminder that a little can go a long way. The text complexity is moderately difficult because it shows two different disasters in one book. The reading is longer and not as concise as most book. Would most likely be best for more advanced readers.This book would be great for second graders and showing them the important idea if sharing in their classroom. Having the students bring in a something they value, but are willing to give up is a start for an activity with this book. Then having the students write 5 adjectives or reasons on why they love this item would help them to understand the importance of this item. Finally, have the students share their item and swap it with one person in the class. This helps the students to be able to share as well as cherish the item the classmate has given them. (Aligned to 2.RL.KID.3 Describe how characters in a story
respond to major events and challenges.)

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The Book of Mistakes is a captivating story about the power of making a mistake that allows your imagination to be set free. In this book, the art came before the words, but the mistakes made in the art allowed the book to become what it is. This book starts with a small mistake with the size of the girls eyes and transforms into a giant picture full of imagination. The creativity in this book is inspiring to all students to take your mistakes and make the most out of them. This book is low text complexity because of the simple phases, not having many words on a page, and the overall emphasis on creativity. Having a big emphasis on creativity and pictures makes this book perfect for first graders. The easy to read plot line is encouraging and the full page pictures in inviting. An activity with this book can be in the form of comprehension questions they ask and answer in a Think/Pair/Share activity. The questions will be aligned with what mistakes in the story turned out to fit with the picture, etc. (Aligned to 1.SL.CC.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.)

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When Aidan Became A Brother by Kyle Lukoff, Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

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When Aidan Became A Brother by Kyle Lukoff, Illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

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When Aidan Became A Brother is a coming of age story about a little kid who goes through some identity changes at a young age. This book goes through the changes of this transgender boy and his new life as being a big brother. The book explains that when Aiden was born everyone thought he was a girl, but that all made him sad and knew he was not what he was supposed to be. After transitioning to a boy, Aiden finds out his mom is pregnant. He is overjoyed to become a big brother, but wants to make sure everything is perfect for this new baby to be able to choose what gender they want to be as well as their name. Aiden then learned that everything might not be perfect, but they will learn as a family how to fix things if needed. I believe that this book is very high in text complexity. It changes the purpose of the story to Aiden transitioning to Aiden getting a big brother. This is two different plots that can be confusing for students to follow. Given the nature of what is happening in the book, I think this book would be good for third graders. I feel the readers need to be able to understand the concept of what is happening in the book before you can present it in a classroom! An activity for this book could include the retelling of the story bu each student to understand if they are getting the story or not. On a topic like this it is important for teachers to inform students on what this all means to make sure things do not get lost in translation. Students can take part in inference activities as well to understand WHY Aiden felt this way in the story. (Aligned to 3.RI.KID.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.)

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A Normal Pig is a story about a young pig named pip. She liked to make art, cook with her family, and think about what she wanted to be when she grew up. Pip thought she was pretty normal until a new pig at school started pointing out how weird everything she was doing was. This made pip start to second guess herself and everything she thought was "normal". She started to want to change everything about her life because of a small comment made at school. The story then goes on to show pip standing up for herself and her type of normal and it helps other students to see that no one is "normal". Instead everyone is their own type of normal. The text complexity for this story is fairly low because it follows one storyline. The language is largely explicit and easy to follow along meaning it would be good for first graders. An activity for this book would include asking the students to summarize the story on their paper in two sentences. This will allow the teacher to judge their comprehension and see if they understand the meaning behind the pig wanting to be "normal". (Aligned to 1.RL.KID.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.)

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The Bell Rang is a moving story about a week in the life of a little girl and her family as slaves. The week starts on Monday and most of the days seem to be the same. Wake up, mom makes breakfast, dad collect wood, parents go to work in the fields, and the little girl goes with all of the young kids. This week takes a turn for the worst when the family finds out that their son ran away. The family was punished for the actions of their son and they all wept together. The text complexity is moderately difficult in the topic this story is on. The word choice makes it easy for students to read and follow along. The story line is something that is so important for students to understand and be educated on. This book would be good for second graders to read and be educated on the courage of those who ran for freedom. It is important that any teacher that uses this book, makes sure to stress how important this is to be educated on. An activity for this book would include students filling out a graphic organizer provided by the teacher. It would include the four different main characters in the book, the mother, father, the little girl, and ben. They then fill out different characteristics for each character and their role in the story. (Aligned with 3.RL.KID.3 Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.)

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Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel, Illustrated by Shane W. Evans

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Hands Up! by Breanna J. McDaniel, Illustrated by Shane W. Evans

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Hands Up! is a story that draws attention and celebrates Black joy every day. It displays a young black girl and a phrase that is a part of her everyday life. "Hands up!" is used in the classroom, for a hug, to wash hands, to reach high, a high five, etc.  and finally showing her hands up at a protest for her equal rights. She is shown growing up in moments of love, joy, and kindness. Finally when she is a little older the book shows a picture of her and her family with hands raised in resistance and strength. This book would be great for all ages to inform all students on the issue of equal rights. It depends on the great how much you would need to explain, however, I feel that this book would be best for third graders. The text complexity is shown in the underlying message of the story that might not be understood by all students. It is important for the teacher to explain this to all students after reading the book and asking questions on their thoughts. It is an easy read with fun-loving pictures, but it does travel through many different scenes which may be confusing for younger readers. A good activity for this book would be having the teacher supply a graphic organizer in order to group all the activities via timeline to help students to fully understand the organization of the book. (Attributed to 3.RL.KID.3 Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.)

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Daniel's Good day is a story about a little boy named Daniel who is walking to his Grandmother's house while saying "Good Morning" to his neighbors. While walking there, Daniel asks all the people around him what makes their day a good day. After hearing all these answers, he finally gets to his Grandmothers house and she tells him how her day is good when she gets a hug from Daniel. They then recount all the things people said made their day great and make Daniel's day perfect by getting ice cream. I think this would be perfect for first graders. It is a happy story that is easy to follow along. It has bright and colorful pictures that allow the story to be taken to another level. This book has lots of dialogue but it is made easier to read by using the pictures as context clues. An activity for this book would be having students write one sentence about what would make their day good and include a picture as well. This will allow students to connect and understand the book in a new way. (Aligned to 1.FL.WC.4 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when encoding words; write legibly. a. Use conventional spelling for one syllable words with common consonant spelling patterns, including consonant diagraphs, double letters, and initial and final consonant blends. b. Use conventional spelling for one-syllable words with common vowel spelling patterns including VCVe, common vowel teams, final -y, and r-controlled vowels. c. Spell words with inflectional endings. d. Spell two-syllable words that end in -y or -ly, are compounds, or have two closed syllables. e. Spell untaught words phonetically, drawing on phonemic awareness and spelling conventions. f. Write many common, frequently used words and some irregular words. g. Print all upper and lowercase letters. & 3.RI.IKI.7 Use information gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of a text.)

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A Rock Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas illustrated by Violeta Dabija

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A Rock Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas illustrated by Violeta Dabija

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A Rock Can Be.., is a short story about all that a rock can be. It shows all the different properties a rock can come in. It explains adjectives for rock or even all the things rocks are used for. At the back of the book is a small educational section about how rocks are all around us! It also has a glossary of all the ways rocks are used talked about in the book and give more details and some important vocabulary words that were used in the book! I think this book would be great for second graders because of the educational aspect that will allow you to dive deeper with your students about rocks and rhyming. The book included important elements of rhyme and pattern that will help your students to understand the idea of a poem, alliteration, and more. A good activity for this book would be having students make a four sentence poem about what they like about rocks. The key to this activity is having them understand a rhyme and a pattern in their poem. (Aligned to 2.RL.CS.4 Describe how words and phrases
supply meaning in a story, poem, or song.)

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Hey, Water! is a fun read book about a little girl discovering a lot about water! It is all the different forms and locations water can be in. It shows that water does not always look the same and can show up in different shapes. It gives an educational lesson in the back of the book about different forms of water and even the water cycle. It also gives informative on how to conserve water and the importance of conserving water. Water is so important in all of our lives and this book explains all of this in a fun and creative way! This book would be great for students in kindergarten or even first grade. It gives an educational lesson on water and combines science and reading in a fun way to students. It is an easy read and about something that we use in our everyday lives! A fun activity to do with students would be allowing them to pick their favorite form of water ex. pool, ocean, drinking water, snow, etc. and write a sentence or a word about what type of water they picked. (Aligned to 1.RL.KID.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.)

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Crab Cake is a story about all life under water for all the different kinds of animals. The story is a great picture for us all to see the impact our pollution and trash dumping can have not only on our planet, but our animals as well! The book gives detail to all the tasks each animal has to keep life underwater running smoothly. The crab is the main character in this book and it always goes back to the crab baking a cake and it always interest the other animals. It was not until trash was dumped into the ocean that the crabs cakes were put to use to bring all the animals together to send a signal to the humans to stop dumping their trash in the ocean!! This book would be good for first graders because of all the colorful pictures clearly helping the story line. It is an easy read and gives an educational lesson on the effects of littering! A good activity to do with this book would be coming up with different thoughts for the crab based on what it is doing in the photo the student chooses! This allows the students imagination to soar while involving elements of the story! (Aligned to 1.RL.KID.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.)

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The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Illustrated by Van Thanh Rudd

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The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke, Illustrated by Van Thanh Rudd

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The Patchwork Bike is an abstract book about a family that do not have much to their name. The three siblings work with what they can to entertain themselves. They love to ride, jump, and climb, but the thing that entertains them the most is their bike. The author explains all the pieces that this bike is made of and the story gives an excellent picture but the artwork elevates that further. This story gives a great picture to the imagination children can have along with the constraints of poverty.The grade perfect for this book would be second grade! The language used is precise and clear and involves a lot of repeating syllables. The colorful pictures also helps to give context clues if students are not understanding the story. A great activity for this book could include a double letter phrase. In this book there was phrases like shicketty shake, winketty wonk, bumpetty bump, ect. Having students come up with their own phrases with the same first letter will allow them to start to  understand the idea of alliteration. (2.FL.PWR.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills when decoding
isolated words and in connected text.)

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My Papi Has A Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, Illustrated by Zeke Peña

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My Papi Has A Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, Illustrated by Zeke Peña

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My Papi Has A Motorcycle is a book written from the perspective of a little girl talking about her town she lives in. She travels around this town  on the back of her father's bike. The books shows different places that are meaningful to this little girl and the memories that her father and her have shared. It shows the culture they claim and the sense of community they value in their town. This book would be great in a third grade classroom because of the complexity of sentence length and structure. This book also includes Spanish words mixed in which shows the culture of this town. By having these Spanish words mixed in might be confusing for students younger than third grade and might not realize that it is another language being mixed in. By having the Spanish words in this story I would say the text complexity of quite high. However, An activity for this book could include going over the Spanish words in the story as a class. You can have students guess on what they think it might be and then give the actual definition of the word. For fun, you can go over how to say these words as a class! ( Aligned to 3.FL.VA.7a Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. i. Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. ii. Determine the meaning of the new word formed when a known affix is added to a known word. iii. Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root. iv. Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise
meaning of key words and phrases.)

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Another is a creative, colorful take on a wordless picture book. This book travels through an experience with a little girl and her cat. The book takes a new take on imaginations and shows the pair travel to a different dimension through a small hole in the wall. This book would be great for students in first grade. This book emphasis a sense of creativity and imagination in students. By having no words, the students are able to take their own representation of what direction they think the story is going in. The contrast between the background color and the colorful accents on the page create a good dynamic between space and time. Since this book has no words, the text complexity is quite easy. There is a large emphasis on creativity and imagination which is how you can judge the complexity of this book. A good activity for this book would have students pick their favorite page from the book and create their own words for it. This allows students to make sentences on their own and see their imagination in what words they chose for each picture. (Aligned to 1.RL.KID.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.)

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You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks by Evan Turk

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You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks by Evan Turk

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You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks is a picturesque book about the beauty of the national parks. It explains the different animals and sights seen in these parks and how everything is exactly where it is supposed to be. The author explains how the national parks have had a huge part in his life and wants people to see the beauty that we have in our country. He shows 25 different national parks while using persuasive, imaginative wording. I believe that this book would be great for first graders because young kids always seem to have an obsession for different kinds of animals and even the outdoors. This book helps to teach students about the national parks and animals which are two important things in our country. The storyline takes readers through different parks and the things they might come across while being there. It shows animals, landscapes, skies, stars, and even people. The people also includes a map of the United States in the back that shows 58 different parks in the United States. An activity with this book could have students pick their favorite animal. They can draw it, write what kind of food they might eat, or even where they might live. By doing this activity, it allows students to connect to the authors perspective of how important animals are as well as our national parks. (Aligned to 2.RI.CS.6 Identify the main purpose of a text, including what an author wants to answer, explain, or describe.)

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At The Mountain's Base by Traci Sorell, Illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre

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At The Mountain's Base by Traci Sorell, Illustrated by Weshoyot Alvitre

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At the Mountain's base is an informational short story about a family living in a log cabin at the base of a mountain. The family loves weaving, cooking, and singing. The singing and family connectedness helps to give them strength while they wait for their loved one, a pilot, to return from war. The book shares a message of strength as it explains the challenges a family may go through during a war while also explaining how their family roots are strongly grounded to allow any and all families members to soar. I feel that this book is great for second graders because it is not too complicated wording for reading, but it have an underlying message that is real and deep that may be complicated for some younger kids to understand. The storyline is easy to follow however, it eludes to the idea that one of their family members is fighting in the war and not just flying a plane. An activity for this book could involve the students making a chart of things they know about war and then things they have questions on. You can then give time to explain to the students why the family is eagerly waiting on the return of their family member and do all of this at a second grade level. This could connect a reading lesson to a history lesson and is an important thing for all kids to understand!(Aligned to 2.RI.CS.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2
topic or subject area.)