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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

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Author: Judith Viorst
Illustrator: Ray Cruz
Publication: June 16, 1972
Reading Level: All ages
Setting: The suburbs in the United States
Synopsis: Alexander is having a bad day, where everything is just going wrong. His mom helps him come to the conclusion that sometimes, that is just how life is and everyone has those days.
Activities:
1. Have the children write about a time they had a day similar to Alexander's.
2.Have the students write about positive ways to react and respond when things do not go our way.

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Early Childhood Books - Yellow
Elementary Chapter Books - Green
Middle School Chapter Books - Blue

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Author:  Rebecca Stead
Publication: August 7, 2012
Reading Level: 4th Grade
Setting: Brooklyn / apartment building / school
Synopsis: We are introduced to the adventures of Georges and Safer, two middle school students who are working to unmask a suspected spy in their building. We get to go on the adventure of George moving into a new apartment and all the things he is struggling with as a middle school boy. It deals with friend issues, family struggles, parent losing a job, parent getting sick, and having deal with a lot of new changes and self discovery.
Activities:
1. Play a scrabble like game like he does with his mom. I think having a time after or during reading this book to do different stations with different themed games from the book and use them to go along with the work that day and the reading.
2. I would have them do a creative writing assignment where they had to reveal a twist at the end of the story.

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Author: Cameron Scott
Illustrator: Ces Episope
Publication: March 2014
Reading Level: preK - 1st grade
Setting: out door in the mountains (Scottland ?)
Synopsis: Harry the Highlander is a young Highland cow who is shunned by other cows simply because he looks different. He sets off to find some friends who won't laugh at his shaggy coat and finds himself faced with various challenges that help to unite him with his fellow travellers. He ends up finding out that he is special the way he is and grows friendships along the way.
Activities:
1. Write about what makes you similar to harry or about a time you felt similar to harry.
2. a concept map.

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Author: Doreen Cronin
Illustrator: Harry Bliss
Publication: 2003
Reading Level: 4 - 8 yrs old
Setting: dirt / garden
Synopsis: This book tells us about the ups and downs of being a young worm. Students will identify with the worm's trials and tribulations in school and with friends, and they will be amused by the worm's antics and adventures, such as dodging girls playing hopscotch on the sidewalk after a rainy night.
Activities:
1. have the students write their own diary / have their own journal that they will write in every day.
2. go outside and look at worms and make observations and relate it to things we read in the book.

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Author: Aaron Blabey
Illustrator: Aaron Blabey
Publication: February 1, 2015
Reading Level: K - 2nd
Setting: some general farm
Synopsis: Thelma is an ordinary pony who wishes with all her heart to be a unicorn. Thelma dreams of being a glamorous unicorn. Then in a rare pink and glitter-filled moment of fate, Thelma's wish comes true. She rises to instant international stardom, but at an unexpected cost. She realizes that being yourself may be the best option after all.
Activities:
1. A "Happy to be me" sentence stem writing prompt.
2. Using a cartoon thelma to hold some math equations on little cards to do a math activity, but have the book being an overlying theme for the week.

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Author: Peter H. Reynolds
Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds
Publication: October 5, 2021
Reading Level: K-3rd
Setting: Family house / dinner table
Synopsis: Violet longs for the time when her family was connected: before life, distractions, and technology pulled them away from each other. They used to gather at the table, with food and love, to make memories, share their lives, and revel in time spent together.
Activities:
1. Give students a take home activity where they can all do an activity as a family together and away from technology.
2. Have the students create a "technology jail" box to take home and talk about the book and making time for no technology.

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Author: Janet Lawler
Illustrator: Olivia Chin Mueller
Publication: 2019
Reading Level: 3 - 7 yrs old
Setting: Mirabel's house and her school
Synopsis: When Mirabel's valentines fall out of her bag on the way to school, the shy little mouse panics. But those lost cards brighten some daysEbefore making their way back to her in this wonderful tale of overcoming insecurity.
Activities:
1. Make a valentines box
2. Make valentines for everyone

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Author: Richard Smythe
Illustrator: Richard Smythe
Publication: September 7, 2017
Reading Level: 2-5 yrs old
Setting: Pond
Synopsis: Every year when Moonlight Pond freezes over, a talent contest takes place deep in the woods. Ducks dance, mice perform… But there is one animal that never competes. Toad watches the talent show from behind his rock, careful to keep himself hidden. Because Toad doesn't have a special talent--or so he thinks! When Toad is finally discovered, he slips on the icy pond and realises he does have an incredible talent...ice-skating!
Activities:
1. Put on a talent show in the classroom (for a fun activity or indoor recess).
2. Do a matching / memory activity with the animals and their talents. With images and words to practice reading.

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Author: Vera Brosgol
Illustrator: Vera Brosgol
Publication: May 25, 2021
Reading Level: 4-8 years
Setting: Freda's house
Synopsis: Freda is devastated when she can't eat all the delicious blueberries she's picked. She has to wait a whole year before they're back, and she doesn't want to lose them! She comes up with a great idea to keep her favorite things in jars so she will not forget.
Activities:
1. make our own memory jars in class
2. write about a favorite memory that they have

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Author: Joanna Gaines
Illustrator: Julianna Swaney
Publication: November 10, 2020
Reading Level: 4-8 yrs old
Setting:
Synopsis: In The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be, Joanna tells the story of a group of kids who come together to build their very own hot air balloons. Along the way, these kids learn to work together, leaning in to their own skills and processes, to fill the sky with beautiful colors.
Activities:
1. Design / Color your own hot air balloon and write about what makes you special and how you want to use that to better the world.
2. Read at the beginning of the year and make a classroom anchor chart where everybody gets to right their name and write what they will bring to our classroom.

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Author: Anne Mazer
Illustrator: Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
Publication: 1991
Reading Level: 4 - 8 yrs old
Setting: a boys bedroom
Synopsis: A boy finds a salamander in the woods and imagines the many things he can do to turn his room into a perfect salamander home. Together, Anne Mazer and Steve Johnson have created a woodland paradise that any salamander would love to share with a child.
Activities:
1. Make a classroom book based of a different page for each kid
2. Do a creative writing

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Author: Jory John
Illustrator: Pete Oswald
Publication: February 12, 2019
Reading Level: 1st grade
Setting: egg carton
Synopsis: The good egg literally begins to crack from all of the self-imposed pressure. Deciding that it is in his best interest to leave the carton, the good egg embarks on a journey of self-care, and self-reflection. On his journey, the good egg finds peace by taking walks, reading, writing in his journal, and just breathing.
Activities:
1. Do a brain break and talk about self care and breathing and focusing on ourself
2. Bring in an egg carton and do surprises in the class that have to do with our upcoming assignments that go along with the book.

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My Favorite Things (According to Alberta)

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My Favorite Things (According to Alberta)

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Author: E. Lockhart
Illustrator: Anna - Laura Cantone
Publication: May 18, 2004
Reading Level: 5 - 6 yrs old
Setting:
Synopsis: In words and pictures, Alberta shares what she likes and does not like about dogs, cats, baths, and many other things as she leads up to what she likes best of all... HERSELF.
Activities:
1. do a "my favorite things" book of their own
2. Do a card sort using some of the words from the book.

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Author: Alan Gratz
Publication: July 25, 2017
Reading Level: 11 yrs old +
Setting: Cuba, Germany, Seria
Synopsis: The novel, Refugee by Alan Gratz, tells three different stories that all intertwine and have common themes and concepts. All three characters are suffering from some type of discrimination, and they are having to flee their homes in hope of a better and free life where their families and themselves can be safe and live in peace. The first character we are introduced to is Josef, a twelve (going on thirteen) year old Jewish boy living during the Holocaust in Germany. The second character we are introduced to is a loving, caring girl named Isabel. Her family and close family friends decide to flee Cuba after things get intense with the police and they are told that they can leave. Our third character, Mahmoud, is trying to escape Syria and all the violence and war that was taking place all around them. All three of these characters go on a journey with their family where they have to face a lot of hardships, loss, disappointment, and only for some, relief and peace at last. Josef’s story is a journey of what ends up being false hope and disappointment. After losing his dad and being told that Cuba is not taking anymore Refugees, they have to turn around. Ultimately Josef gets caught and ends up going to a Concentration Camp, where he does not make it out. Isabel’s journey is an intense journey from start to finish. While she does end up making it to the shore of Miami, she had to say goodbye to her best friend, and live her new life, knowing he never made it this far. Mahmoud’s journey is one of self-discovery and having to do a lot for his family. Thankfully, at the end he is taken in by an amazing lady that we learn is actually Ruth, Josef’s younger sister who is able to take Mahmoud and his family in because of the sacrifice Josef made for her so many years prior. Mahmoud ends in a safe place, surrounded by people he loves and it feels like home.
Activities:
1. look at recent news and do a compare and contrast to the challenges and struggles in the book with situations in different countries today.
2. split up and have each group focus on a different story from the book and talk about their stories and have them respond to things as if they were the character.

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Author: Cynthia Lord
Publication: 2006
Reading Level: 4th - 8th grade
Setting: Maine
Synopsis: Rules by Cynthia Lord is an amazing book that lets us in on the thoughts of Catherine and how she is affected by her brother’s differences and how the world responds to them. The book is set in the suburbs during the summer and Catherine’s summer is just getting started, with the eagerness of a new family moving in next door, she feels like this summer is going to be fun. She hopes to make a new friend with her neighbor to make her summer complete. We quickly see that she is a big help when it comes to David, her younger brother, and is also consumed with he thoughts of how he and her whole family are perceived by the outside world. One day when she is in OT with him, she draws a picture of Jason, a boy she has seen there before but never talked to. This interactions sparks a friendship that continues to grow and becomes a main premise of the book. Catherine goes from being hesitant and stand offish around Jason, to someone that knows him better than almost anyone else. Throughout the novel we see Catherine mature and grow in multiple ways, the biggest one being recognizing true friendship and letting go of the overwhelming worry of what other people are thinking. By the end of the book she is able to realize that all the restrictive rules she tried to live by and help David live by may not be as important as she once thought and made her miss out on things. She learns that friends can look a lot of different ways and you should not be ashamed of anyone. She also comes to terms with David’s differences and recognizes the special relationship that comes along with that.
Activities:
1. write about a time that you got to see someone differently after you got to know them
2. Do a character chart

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Author: Barabara Park
Publication: August 27, 1995
Reading Level: 3rd - 7th grade
Setting: suburbs
Synopsis: Barbara Park brings us the story of a girl named Phoebe’s story of the early days of coping with her younger brother’s death in Mick Harte Was Here. We begin the story knowing that Mick is no longer present and has passed away. Phoebe then goes in to tell us the story. Mick was a bright, rambunctious, humorous little boy that knew how to charm his way around a room. They were normal siblings, with quirky parents, and had a great and relatively normal family dynamic. Phoebe considered her parents a little bit too high strung with how particular they were about certain things, like weighing out exactly quarter pound patties for a hamburger dinner. All of this changed though, the day that Mick was riding his bike home from school and did not make it very far before he had a collision with a truck, and suffered from a severe traumatic brain injury that took his life. After Mick’s death we get the inside scoop on how his family handles it, especially Phoebe. Phoebe has a lot of questions and struggles with her grief, as well as understanding how her parents are grieving. Through Phoebe we see a lot of common struggles that people deal with after losing someone close to them. People saying the wrong things, people saying nothing, and even people saying mean things. Overall Phoebe handles these situations really well and with the help of her best friend, Zoe, she comes to the realization that Mick is everywhere and can hear her when she talks. Her grandma also helps her whole family get back on their feet and we see how even though their family will never be the same, they are able to live their life, not by moving on but by moving forward.
Activities:
1. Create a poster on bike safety using key things from the book to go on the poster.
2. Write about how death has affected you and those around you.

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Author: Jeanne Duprau
Publication: May 2003
Reading Level: 4th - 8th grade
Setting: Underground / The City of Ember
Synopsis: In the novel The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau we are introduced to an underground city that has been kept in the dark in more ways than one. The city has been dwindling slowly on resources and they are having more and more power outages. Our main characters Lina and Doon are especially bothered by the state of their city, and they are desperate for ways to help the city or escape from it.  Lina has dreamed of another city where there is light always and she cannot help but feel like it is more real than just a dream. Doon longs to just have a look at the generator because he feels if he could just see it, he would know how to fix it. In this city, after finishing school at the age of twelve, you draw a job out of a hat and serve in that job for 3 years before getting reevaluated to see if you will stay in that job or get a new one. After drawing Doon and Lina end up switching jobs, Lina working as a messenger, and Doon as a pipeline worker. Lina takes care of her grandma and baby sister, Poppy, when she is not working, she has them and Doon has his father. One day, Lina comes back to another mess, made by her grandma while looking for a lost item, and finds this funny looking box that had been opened and a letter inside that looked very important. After getting the remain pieces of the letter from her Poppy’s mouth, she realizes she is missing some key words to the paper, but knows it is instructions for something. Feeling hopeful about these instructions she ends up telling Doon about them, he is the first person to care and think they are as important as she does. They set out to discover the missing pieces of the instructions and where they might lead. After dealing with many different things, including the loss of Lina’s grandma, discovering some bad things out about the town and the mayor, and escaping the guards after them both, they finally set out to escape the city. They are both very brave and end up making their way out of the City of Ember, and up into the world again, above ground.
Activities:
1. Try to make the classroom pitch black and have the students trying to perfrom tasks during a black out.
2. Talk about symbolism and author's purpose

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Author: Katherine Applegate
Illustrator: Patricia Castelao
Publication: January 17, 2012
Reading Level: 2nd - 5th grade
Setting: shopping mall
Synopsis: In the novel, The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate brings us the story of a silverback ape that has been in captivity for twenty-seven years, and most of his life. The novel is written from Ivan’s point of view, where we are introduced to his friends, the humans that are in his life, the living circumstances that he endures, and occasionally memories of his past. Bob, a stray dog that has made his home mostly on Ivan’s belly, and Stella, a wise elephant who lives right on the other side of Ivan, are his closest friends. Julia and George come to the animals at night where George cleans up all around and Julia sits drawing instead of studying most nights. Julia and Ivan have a very sweet relationship and they have an understanding amongst each other that no one else has with Ivan. Julia slips Ivan paper and colors some nights and their connection stems from them both being artists. In the beginning of the book, we see Ivan struggling a lot internally with his purpose, the loss of his family, and his understanding of the world around him. As the book goes on and Mack, the owner of the place that Ivan and Stella live, struggles to make money and keep visitors, he looks for new ways to bring money in. Ruby, a baby elephant, gets brought in as the shiny new attraction for visitors. Stella is good at making Ruby comfortable and easing her into the little family they have created. Shortly after Ruby gets there, Stella’s hurt becomes overwhelming, infected, and eventually fatal. Before she dies, she has Ivan promise to take care of Ruby and get her to a better life. Ivan feels hopeless at first, but shortly has a brilliant idea. He slowly starts making paintings for his idea, all while consoling Ruby and continuing to be there for her. Eventually, when his work his done he presents it to Julia and George. Julia and Ivan’s special connections leads to Julia understanding his plan completely and convinces her dad to help them execute it. Ivan’s homemade call for help gets up on the billboard and starts to get a lot of attention. With the newfound attention, the right people eventually take notice and end up rescuing Ruby and Ivan and taking them to the zoo, the place where “humans make amends” according to Stella (Applegate 64). In the zoo Ivan and Ruby get to be with animals the same as them and they get to know each other is going to be okay. Bob goes to live with Julia and George and makes a special visit to Ivan and Ruby as well. In the end, after many years and because of the courage to follow through with a promise, everyone lives happily ever after.
Activities:
1. research and learn about the real Ivan and his story
2. Raise money as a class to donate to a nonprofit that helps animals like Ivan.

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Author: K.L. Going
Publication: 2005
Reading Level: 4th - 6th grade
Setting: Georgia in 1976
Synopsis:The Liberation of Gabriel King, written by K.L. Going brings us the story of friendship, courage, and standing up for what you believe is right. This story takes place in 1976 shortly after and focuses in on two best friends and their family. Gabriel King is a white little boy who fears almost everything. Frita Wilson is a young black girl who is fiery, fierce, and an amazing friend. The book starts with both of these friends at their graduation from fourth grade and takes place in the summer before their fifth-grade year. Gabriel has finally gotten to spend a year away from Duke Evans and his friend, Frankie and it could not of been long enough. It is because of them that Gabriel decides he is not going to be moving up and joining the fifth grade. Frita knows that that is neither realistic nor good for Gabriel and she comes up with a plan to “liberate” Gabriel and help make him brave. Shortly after this plan takes place, Frita’s fearless spirit is broken when Duke Evans’s dad calls her a derogatory term, and she realizes that maybe there are things for her to fear as well. They both decide to write down a list of things that make them scared and spend the whole summer conquering them so they will be brave enough to face there most daunting fears. In the process of Frita facing one of her fears, it is brought to her attention that the Klu Klux Klan is present in their town and she is stunned. Once she shares this information her family and Gabriel’s family help organize a rally to show that there is a whole lot of people who stand against racists and the Klu Klux Klan. Although it might have happened a little differently than they thought, they both conquer lots of things on their list and become braver and stronger. Gabriel decides that he will go to fifth grade because they have each other, and they make each other strong.
Activities:
1. Have the class create their own fear list to tackle
2. Crossover this book with history and talk about integration, segregation, etc.

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Author: Ryan T. Higgins
Illustrator: Ryan T. Higgins
Publication: June 19, 2018
Reading Level: K - 2
Setting: classroom
Synopsis: It's the first day of school for Penelope Rex, and she can't wait to meet her classmates. But it's hard to make human friends when they're so darn delicious! That is, until Penelope gets a taste of her own medicine and finds she may not be at the top of the food chain after all.
Activities:
1. Do a concept map
2. make a fun snack and talk about classroom rules

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Author: Brendan Wenzel
Illustrator: Brendan Wenzel
Publication: August 23, 2019
Reading Level: 5yrs +
Setting: Stone
Synopsis: A Stone Sat Still tells the story of a seemingly ordinary rock—but to the animals that use it, it is a resting place, a kitchen, a safe haven...even an entire world. This is a gorgeous exploration of perspective, perception, and the passage of time, with an underlying environmental message that is timely and poignant.
Activities:
1. Describe and focus on point of view and perspective
2. Discussing authors purpose

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Author: Bob Shea
Illustrator: Bob Shea
Publication: 2021
Reading Level: 5 - 7 yrs old
Setting: swamp
Synopsis: Bob is a lazy–but hungry–alligator who hopes that birds will fly into his mouth when he calls to them. When that plan fails, he notices how much birds like birdseed, and decides to open a seed restaurant on his nose. Chez Bob attracts its first customer the very next day.
Activities:
1.  Create own menu (crossover with math to work with prices and coins )
2. Story map

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Author: Gene Zion
Illustrator: Margaret Bloy Graham
Publication: 1956
Reading Level: 2 - 8 yrs old
Setting: backyard
Synopsis: Harry is a family dog with white fur and black spots who, disenchanted with taking baths, buries the bathtub scrubber and runs away from home. Harry becomes very dirty after playing in the streets, at the railroad, and in the dog park to the extent that, covered in dirt, he becomes a black dog with white spots.
Activities:
1. Card sort using the words from the book

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Llama Llama Misses Mama (First day of School)

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Llama Llama Misses Mama (First day of School)

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Author: Anna Dewdney
Illustrator: Anna Dewdney
Publication: 2009
Reading Level: PreK - Kinder
Setting: school
Synopsis: When LIttle Llama is afraid he will miss his mama when he goes to school, he is upset and doesn't want to make new friends. After the teacher makes him feel more welcomed, he begins to break out of his shell and start to enjoy school!
Activities:
1. Talk about their feelings on the first day of school
2. Dramatic Play

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Author: Leo Lionni
Illustrator: Leo Lionni
Publication: 1960
Reading Level: K - 3rd grade
Setting: outside
Synopsis: ​Leo Lionni's 'Inch by Inch' (1960) is a story about an inchworm who avoids being gobbled up by a hungry robin by offering to measure things for the bird. First, the robin tells the inchworm to measure its tail. The inchworm then promptly makes five loops across the entire length of the robin's tail.
Activities:
1. informally measure things using an "inch worm" when working on informal measurement and standard measurement in math
2. retell the story orally to help with reading comprehension

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I am Amelia Earhart (Women's History Month)

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I am Amelia Earhart (Women's History Month)

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Author: Brad Meltzer
Illustrator: Christopher Elipoulos
Publication: January 14, 2014
Reading Level: 5 - 8 yrs old
Synopsis: Amelia Earhart refused to accept no for an answer; she dared to do what no one had ever done before, and became the first woman to fly a plane all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. This biography follows her from childhood to her first flying lessons and onward to her multi-record-breaking career as a pilot. It is all about her life and done in a creative, fun, easy to follow way. A good moral of "never let anyone stop you"
Activities:
1. Make an airplane (life savers and other candy)
2. 5 layers of altitude
3. Talk about the impact she had on history and America

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Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Mark Teague
Publication: December 29, 2015
Reading Level: PreK - 1st
Setting: School
Synopsis: In this funny, engaging book, award-winners Jane Yolen and Mark Teague present humorous, naughty dinosaur antics that any young sibling or friend will instantly recognize - followed by dinosaur-sized hugs and expressions of affection. the book ends by telling us that dinos stay friends with "Good hugs and more..."
Activities:
1. good vs. bad friend card sort
2. write a nice letter to a friend

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Author: Suzanne Collins
Publication: December 8, 2011
Reading Level: 7th - 12th grade
Setting: Distopian world / The arena
Synopsis: The nation of Panem is divided into 12 districts, ruled from the Capitol. As punishment for a failed revolt, each district is forced to select two tributes, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games until there is only one survivor.
Activities:
1. Compare and Contrast the lives/ ruling of the districts with our world today.
2. Play a rock paper scissors hunger games in the class

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Author: Louis Lowry
Publication: 1993
Reading Level: 6th - 8th grade
Setting: distopian world / town
Synopsis: The Giver is a morally driven and interesting story about a young boy called Jonas who lives in a society free of crime and sadness. At the age of 12, children are assigned their jobs, which they will train for and do for the rest of their lives. Everything is chosen; from your parents to your partner.
Activities:
1. Discuss the concepts of the text
2. Debate whether it is better to be ignorant (ignorance is bliss) or it is better to know everything even with the burden that comes with it.

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Author: Trinka Hakes Noble
Illustrator: Steven Kellogg
Publication: 1980
Reading Level: k-3rd grade
Setting: school field trip
Synopsis: The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate The Wash is about a young girl who retells the story of her class trip to a farm to her mother. As the mother questions her daughter about the trip, the daughter conveys the interesting series of events that took place.

Activities:
1. word sort with OA
2. cause and effect worksheet

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Author: Patty Lovell
Illustrator: David Catrow
Publication: 2001
Reading Level: 1st grade
Setting: home and a new school
Synopsis: Molly Lou Melon is short and clumsy, has buck teeth, and has a voice that sounds like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor. She doesn't mind. Her grandmother has always told her to walk proud, smile big, and sing loud, and she takes that advice to heart. But then Molly Lou has to start in a new school. She has to deal with a bully, but handles everything so well because of the values and confidence her grandmother has instilled in her.
Activities:
1. Give a Penny that says something nice about a peer in the classroom - they can give throughout the entire year.
2. Write a letter to someone who has helped you be brave and confident.

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Author: Alan Katz
Illustrator: David Catrow
Publication: July 2008
Setting: school
Synopsis: A collection of fourteen Silly Dilly songs, focusing on the silliest aspects of school—from smelly lockers and stressing about testing to class picture day and lunchroom angst—now in paperback, a format easy to carry, share, and pass around the classroom!
Activities:
1. Write own poems
2. crossover on poetry lesson

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Author: Andrew Clements
Illustrator: Tim Bowers
Publication: 2007
Setting: Dog's House
Synopsis: Written in Hiku poems. Wandering through the neighborhood in the early-morning hours, a stray pooch follows his nose to a back-porch door. After a bath and some table scraps from Mom, the dog meets three lovable kids. It's all wags and wiggles until Dad has to decide if this stray pup can become the new family pet.
Activities:
1. Write their own Hiku poems
2. learn about Hikus and the structure of them

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Author: Kwame Alexander
Illustrator: Dawud Anyarwile
Publication: March 18, 2014
Reading Level: 4th - 8th grade
Setting: North Carolina ? (Unnamed Suburb)
Synopsis: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander is an amazing story about a middle school boy dealing with changes in his life and how he handles them. Josh is the protagonist of this story and we see the whole story through his eyes, or rather through his poetry. It is the story of this year of his life in junior high. He comes from a very close-knit family of his Dad, Mom, and his twin brother, JB. Basketball is a huge thing for this family, their Dad played professionally and it is everything to Josh. The whole family values education, becoming a person of integrity, and playing basketball well. Everything is perfect according to Josh, he has an amazing family, he is leading the junior high basketball team to an undefeated season, and everything is going according to plan. Josh’s world gets thrown upside down when the new girl, Alexis, and his very own flesh and blood start talking. JB getting this girlfriend ruins everything for Josh. As if his brother paying attention and being consumed by this new girl weren’t enough, he finds out that his dad may not be as indestructible as he once thought. Josh starts to feel like all this change is shifting his world out of control and he does not know how to handle it. He handles his problems with his brother poorly and it drives a wedge between JB and him. JB and his relationship being on the rocks is bad enough, and then after showing multiple signs of illness, their father ends up in a coma in the hospital. The rest of the book is Josh dealing with the illness, and shortly the death of his father, improving is relationship with JB and Alexis, and finding himself in basketball, where he feels closest to his dad.
Activities:
1. Have the class write their own poems
2. Answer questions about the book using a basketball to pass around when answering questions.

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Author: J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrator: Michael Slack
Publication: 2012
Synopsis: Is this poetry? Math? A brainteaser? Yes! It’s all that and more. The poet J. Patrick Lewis
has reimagined classic poems—such as Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and Langston
Hughes’s “April Rain Song”—and added a dash of math. Between the silly parodies
and the wonderfully wacky art, kids will have so much fun figuring out the puzzles,
they won’t guess they’re learning! Answers appear unobtrusively on each page, and
engaging information about the original poets is included. Math games and concepts,
poetry and poet biographies—it’s all so cleverly put together. This funny book is a
treat for fans of words and numbers alike.
Activities:
1. Use as a weekly "Friday Fun" activity to introduce math for the day
2. Use to analyze the poem structure of the poems

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Author: (Selected by) Jack Prelutsky
Illustrator: Marjorie Priceman
Publication: 1991
Synopsis:  There are poems about food, school, sibling rivalry, and hungry beasts, plus a wonderful potpourri of nonsense verse, tongue twisters, and limericks by nearly 40 of the best contemporary poets for children, including Shel Silverstein, John Ciardi, Mary Ann Hoberman, and of course, Prelutsky himself.
1. Choose a poem to read and analyze
2. write their own poem and we make a class collection book

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John Muir America's First Environmentalist

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John Muir America's First Environmentalist

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Author: Kathryn Lasky
Illustrator: Stan Fellows:
Publication: 2006
Setting: Yosemite
Synopsis: John Muir loved the land. Born in 1838, he was a writer, a scholar, an inventor, a shepherd, a farmer, and an explorer. But above all, he was a naturalist. John Muir was particularly devoted to the high cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient giant sequoia trees that, through his careful influence, were set aside as Yosemite, one of the first national parks in America. Here is the life story of the man who, moved by a commitment to wilderness everywhere, founded the Sierra Club in 1892, a conservation group that carries on his crucial work to this day. Back matter includes an epilogue, a bibliography, and information about the Sierra Club.
Activities:
1. Research National Parks
2. Have a discussion on the importance of preserving these National Parks

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Author: Maurice Sendak
Illustrator: Maurice Sendak
Publication: April 9, 1963
Setting: Max's House - Bedroom
Synopsis: Feeling misunderstood at home and at school, mischievous Max (Max Records) escapes to the land of the Wild Things, majestic -- and sometimes fierce -- creatures. They allow Max to become their leader, and he promises to create a kingdom where everyone will be happy. However, Max soon finds that being king is not easy and that, even being with the Wild Things, there is something missing.
Activities:
1. wild thing counting game
2. Creative writing assignment

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Author: Jen Bryant
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Publication: 2013
Setting:
Synopsis: Even during W.W.I, Horace filled his notebooks with drawings from the trenches . . . until he was shot. Upon his return home, Horace couldn't lift his right arm, and couldn't make any art. Slowly, with lots of practice, he regained use of his arm, until once again, he was able to paint–and paint, and paint!
Activities:
1. Paint their own pictures
2. Discuss Horace Pippin and his life

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Author: Charles J. Shields
Publication: April 2008
Setting: Monroeville, AL
Synopsis: To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most widely read novels in American literature. It's also a perennial favorite in highschool English classrooms across the nation. Yet onetime author Harper Lee is a mysterious figure who leads a very private life in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, refusing to give interviews or talk about the novel that made her a household name. Lee's life is as rich as her fiction, from her girlhood as a rebellious tomboy to her days at the University of Alabama and early years as a struggling writer in New York City.
Activities:
1. Relate to To Kill a Mockingbird and have a discussion about both books and compare and contrast
2. Talk about the value of biographies

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Author: Jean Fritz
Illustrator: Jean Fritz
Publication: May 7, 1996
Setting: United States
Synopsis: A brief biography of the eighteenth-century printer, inventor, and statesman who played an influential role in the early history of the United States.
Activities:
1. Make a small (not real) version of his kite and key experiment
2. Write about what our nation might look like if we did not have Benjamin Franklin all those years ago

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Author: Jennifer Torres
Publication: January 17, 2017
Setting: California
Synopsis: A heartwarming and charming debut novel about family, friends, and finding your voice all wrapped up in a warm tortilla. Estefania "Stef" Soto is itching to shake off the onion-and-cilantro embrace of Tia Perla, her family's taco truck.
Activities:
1. make your own food truck and write about what you would sell.
2. Bring in authentic food like from the book and talk about cultural differences.

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Author: Suzanne Collins
Publication: May 19, 2020
Reading Level: 7th - 10th grade
Setting: Districts /  Capital
Synopsis: Set in the universe of The Hunger Games, the book follows young Coriolanus Snow, who is chosen to mentor a tribute in the upcoming 10th Hunger Games. He is assigned the District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, who sparks the Capitol's attention after singing during the reaping.
Activities:
1. Discuss and identify author's purpose.
2. Practice using text evidence in writing.

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Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publication: October 6, 2009
Reading level: 8th - 12th grade
Setting: distopian society
Synopsis: Living in a future where sixteen-year-olds are surgically transformed from "uglies" to "pretties," Tally Youngblood struggles with a choice: to become beautiful and content forever living in a high-tech paradise, or to leave the world she knows and keep her own identity.
Activities:
1. Relate concepts and themes in the book to our society today
2. Discuss author's tone and purpose

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Author: Brandon Mull
Publication: September 11, 2007
Reading Level: 4th - 8th grade
Setting: California
Synopsis: The story follows a boy named Nate and his friends, who become the recipients of magical candy from magicians seeking a powerful treasure. The book is partly based on Mull's own childhood experience of moving to and living in a Northern California town.
Activities:
1. Create a new candy bar and design the packaging for it
2. Creative writing with the prompt to write like you were there in the book and what your experince was.

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Author: Chris Grabenstein
Publication: January 5, 2016
Reading Level: 3rd - 6th
Setting: Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Synopsis: Kyle Keeley and his teammates won famed game maker Mr. Lemoncello’s scavenger hunt in his new library, causing them to become household names as they start in commercials for all of Mr. Lemoncello’s new games.  But library lovers around the country are upset they were not invited to participate in the last game.  Surely they are way smarter than Kyle and his friends!  So Mr. Lemoncello launches a new game in the library, but when books start to go missing, a group of adults intent on censorship see a way to gain control.
Activities:
1. Create your own scavenger hunt and create a game for everyone to play in class
2. Discuss censorship

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Author: Harry Allard
Illustrator: James Marshall
Publication: 1977
Reading Level: 2nd grade
Setting: Classroom
Synopsis: Miss Nelson is a grade-school teacher whose students constantly take advantage of her nice nature. After their constant misbehaving and rudeness, and their refusal to learn, Miss Nelson determines something has to be done. But then one day, she does not come to school.
Activities:
1. Story Map
2. Guided Reading

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Author: Kelly DiPucchio
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Publication: 2014
Reading Level: 1st
Setting: Dog park / Houses
Synopsis: Gaston tells the story of a young bulldog who was raised in a family of prim poodles and then encounters his biological bulldog mother and the young poodle with whom he had switched places.
Activities:
1. talk and write about what makes a family
2. family tree

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Author: J. K. Rowling
Publication: 1997
Reading level: 5th - 8h grade
Setting: Hogwarts
Synopsis: On his 11th birthday, Harry receives a letter inviting him to study magic at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry discovers that not only is he a wizard, but he is a famous one. He meets two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and makes his first enemy, Draco Malfoy.
Activities:
1. Play a human version of Quidditch
2. Use adjectives to describe the different houses

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Author: Kevin Henkes
Publication: 2001
Reading Level: 12 - 14 yrs old
Setting: FL
Synopsis: Every summer, Martha leaves her home in Wisconsin to visit her grandmother, Godbee, on the Atlantic Ocean. One year, she receives a journal page from a woman whose daughter Olive, a classmate of Martha's, has died in a hit-and-run accident.
Activities:
1. Write a poem from the character's point of view
2. Do a disagree / agree pre reading activity and come back to it after reading

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Author: John David Anderson
Publication: June 21, 2016
Reading Level: 3rd - 8th grade
Setting: classroom / school
Synopsis: Ms. Bixby is one of the "good ones," the rare kind of teacher who makes school worth enduring. When a cancer diagnosis forces her to abruptly stop teaching, three of her sixth-grade students skip school to go on a mission to say good-bye. Topher, Steve, and Brand each have been uniquely touched by Ms. Bixby.
Activities:
1. Character chart
2. Comprehension questions

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Author: Adam Wallace
Illustrator: Andy Elkerton
Publication: 2018
Reading level: k - 2 grade
Setting: winter
Synopsis: A very clever snowman eludes the traps of the group of children who built him as a contest entry, while gathering items for a surprise.
Activities:
1. sequencing
2. snowman game

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Author: Jerdine Nolen
Publication: February 14, 2017
Reading Level: 8 - 12 yrs old
Setting: Belle Hill Farm
Synopsis: After three runaway slaves are offered refuge at the Union outpost Fort Monroe, Callie and her family decide to leave the farm and join other slaves seeking freedom. There, Callie's life begins anew; she starts school and meets an inspirational teacher who shows her that she has a say over her life and freedom.
Activities:
1. read and discuss the historical accuracy of the living conditions and experinces as  a slave.
2. Write using textual evidence

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Author: Sharon M. Draper
Publication: March 9, 2010
Reading Level: 3rd - 8th
Setting: school
Synopsis: Melody Brooks is a nearly eleven-year-old girl. Her parents have done everything they can to help her live a normal life, but life is often frustrating for Melody since she cannot speak, move, nor communicate her wishes due to cerebral palsy. As a result, Melody has to fight to get her wishes.
Activities:
1. Create a fishbowl and write things down on strips of paper to put in the fishbowl - things we think limit us, things that made Melody feel trapped as an after reading activity.
2. Characterization and talk/ write about her experiences and struggles in the book.