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Title: The Rainbow Fish *Interactive

Author: Marcus Pfister

Illustrator: Marcus Pfister

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date: 1992

# of pages: 32

Grade level: K-2

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Sharing is important

Topic: Kindness

Artistic Media: Holographic foils & paintings

Summary: The rainbow fish is the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean, but he is vain and proud. This causes him to be more lonely over time. Soon he finds out that you cannot make friends through beauty. Eventually he overcomes his pride and shares his scales with his friends.

Personal Response: Such a fun and colorful book for students. This is definitely a childhood book that I know many people have read. It carries a great message for anyone.

Curricular Connections: Art, create their own fish with holographic materials.

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Title: If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

Author: Laura Numeroff

Illustrator: Felicia Bond

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date: 1985

# of pages: 32

Age Level: 1-5 years old

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Cause and Effect

Artistic Media: Drawings

Topic: Sharing

Summary: A kid gives a mouse a cookie. Then the mouse asks for milk and begins requesting a series of materials and the kids grant them all. At the end, the kid and mouse share a cookie after a long day.

Personal Response: There are so many versions of this story and I love that you can read it in different capacities.

Curricular Connection: Art, drawing an animal they would want to be friends with

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Title: The Bad Seed

Author: Jory John

Illustrator: Pete Oswald

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date: August 29, 2017

# of pages: 40

Age Level: 5-7

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawing

Theme: We have the ability to change for the better

Topic: Right and wrong

Summary: A little sunflower seed has a bad attitude, he never puts things back, always late and cuts in line. This behavior started after he was taken from his sunflower, put into a bag, and almost eaten by humans. He now wants to change and be a good seed.

Personal Response: This book has wonderful drawings accompanied by the text. It provides a good example of bad behaviors. Especially at a young age, and how you have the opportunity to change your behavior.

Curricular Connection: Writing; discuss a time when you did something that was considered a bad behavior and how you changed

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Title: Being Frank

Author: Donna W. Earnhardt

Illustrator: Andrea Castellani

Publisher:Flashlight Press

Date: September 26, 2012

# of pages: 32

Age Level: 5 -7 years old

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings

Theme: Honesty is the best policy

Topic: Kindness

Summary: An overly honest Frank notices that his truthfulness gets him in more trouble than it does making him friends. With guidance of his grandfather, he learns how to better serve truth in life.

Personal Response: Cute story that builds on the idea of looking up to your elders when needed help. Also how the truth is always good but it's the way you deliver the truth that can be bad.

Curricular Connection: Writing about the affects of being honest

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Title: Alphabet Mystery

Author: Audrey Wood

Illustrator: Bruce Wood

Publisher: The Blue Sky Press

Date: September 1, 2003

# of pages: 40

Grade Level: Preschool to third

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawing

Theme: Memorizing alphabet

Topic: Alphabet

Summary: When Little x disappears from Charley’s alphabet, the rest of the letters begin to search for him and find him in the castle of Master M. Surprisingly, Little x does not want to be rescued because he is more useful in the castle than at home where he is rarely used.

Personal Response: I loved this book as a kid. When I found it in the library, I felt like a kid again with how giddy I got. I immediately read it again and again. It is a great source for knowing the alphabet while adding a fun twist.

Curricular Connection: Music, learn the alphabet song.

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Title: Room on the Broom *Audio Book

Author: Julia Donaldson

Illustrator: Axel Scheffler

Publisher: Macmillan

Date: 2001

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Preschool to second

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings in audio book

Theme:Helping others

Topic: Teamwork

Summary: The witch and her cat are flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows the witch’s hat away, then her bow, and then her wand. Lucky for her, three helpful animals find all the missing items and they want in return to ride on the room, but is there enough room?

Personal Response: I have a brief memory of reading this as a kid. Great short story on how teamwork is a great way to help others in a fun way.

Curricular Connection: Math, how many animals can fit on a certain length on a broomstick

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Title: Llama llama Red Pajama *Animated

Author/Illustrator: Anna Dewdney

Publisher: Viking

Date: 2005

# of pages: 34

Grade Level: Kindergarten to second

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: drawings

Theme: Independence grows

Topic: Growing up

Summary: Baby Llama turns bedtime into llama drama. Baby Llama immediately starts worrying when his mom goes downstairs, his soft whimpers turn into hollers when she doesn’t come back.

Personal Response: Such a fun story since it is animated. Not my favorite children's literature book of all time but it has a good sense of how independence grows as people get older.

Curricular Connection: Music since his whimpers and hollers change pitch

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Title: The Worrysaurs

Author:Rachel Bright

Illustrator: Chris Chatterton

Publisher: Orchard Books

Date: October 6, 2020

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Preschool to first

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media; Sketch and photoshop

Theme: Worrying

Topic: Anxiety

Summary: Through the dinosaur character, this story explored how children’s anxiety and worries have the ability to spiral. Coping mechanisms and mindfulness strategies they can use to deal with their worry are shown throughout the book.

Personal Response: Many young children don’t understand anxiety or why they worry. This is a good way to introduce the idea and not overwhelm them with a ton of information. It also provides a great resource for how to cope when they are showing signs of being anxious.

Curricular Connection: Health, talk about mental health

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Title: What Teachers Can’t Do

Author: Douglas Wood

Illustrator: Doug Cushman

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date: June 1, 2002

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Preschool to third

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawing

Theme: Teacher love teaching

Topic: Teachers

Summary: This book describes things the teacher can’t do and occasionally why they cant do that or things they can do.

Personal Response: I actually laughed a few times because of certain things the teachers “can’t do”. It has some funny ironic stories throughout.

Curricular Connection: Any subject, touches on all .

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

Author: Judith Viorst

Illustrator: Ray Cruz

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date: June 16, 1972

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: second to third

Genre:Fiction

Artistic media: drawing

Theme: Everyone has not so good days

Topic: Humane

Summary: Alexander deals with a number of different emotions during his day, he handles some of them on the inside and some very outwardly. He goes through a range of emotions from being in a bad mood, to jealousy, frustration, anger, and rage. He is forced to manage each of these emotions.

Personal Response: This book has a sentimental value for me and my family. It was one of the very first books my dad read as a kid and we still have that copy he owned, 50 years later. Such a good story for talking about types of emotions.

Curricular Connection: Health, dealing with emotions

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Title: Thank You, Mr. Falker

Author/Illustrator: Patricia Polacco

Publisher: Philomel Books

Date: May 4, 1998

# of pages: 40

Grade Level: Kindergarten to third

Genre: Nonfiction

Artistic Media: Drawing

Theme: Persevering and jumping over obstacles

Topic: Learning Disabilities

Summary: Trisha endures the cruel taunts of classmates who call her “dumb” and falls behind in her studies. Finally, encouragement and efforts of a new fifth grade teacher, Mr. Falker, triggers a turning point in Trisha’s life. She begins to blossom and develop all of her talents, including reading.

Personal Response: I first heard this book last year in a course here at Boise. It is such a great story on how a teacher can have a major positive impact on students. I personally went into teaching to make an impact on a student so this story was heartwarming for me.

Curricular Connection:All subjects, learning disabilities affect every learning experience

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Title: The Day You Begin

Author: Jacqueline Woods

Illustrator: Rafael Lopez

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen

Date: August 28, 2018

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Kindergarten to second

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings

Theme: All feel like outsiders

Topic: Diversity

Summary: A fun story that packs a powerful message. Woodson explains that the day you truly begin to live is the day that you realize that even though you may be different, once you find courage to share your story, the world will create the space that you deserve.

Personal Response: Such a strong message and an important one that should be learned at an early age. This story was incredibly sweet and heartfelt.

Curricular Connection:Art, create the perfect world

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Title: The Giving Tree

Author/Illustrator: Shel Silverstein

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date: October 7, 1964

# of pages: 64

Grade Level: Second grade and up

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawing

Theme: Love, friendship

Topic: Giving and receiving

Summary: Traces the life of a boy from a toddler to an old man and his relationship with the tree. The tree gives the boy everything she has. The boy takes and takes and never says thank you.

Personal Response: This is a timeless book and story. I love all the books by Shel Silverstein and the way he writes and illustrates. The story shows how much the words “thank you” can mean.

Curricular Connection: Science, life of a tree.

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Title: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle

Publisher: World Publishing Company

Date: June 3, 1969

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Kindergarten to third

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawing, picture book

Theme: Growth

Topic: Caterpillar

Summary: This is the story of a caterpillar who hatches out of an egg. He is very hungry as soon as he is born, so he starts eating through various foods every day of the week. In the pursuit to satiate his appetite, he makes some unfortunate choices of junk food and overeating, which causes him to feel over-inflated

Personal Response: I feel like this is a staple for smaller kids because it doesn’t contain heavy content or a lot of words. Not my favorite book but it’s definitely a childhood memory.

Curricular Connection: Health, discussion of healthy food choices

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Title: Lyle, Lyle Crocodile

Author/Illustrator: Bernard Waber

Publisher: Clarion Books

Date: 1965

# of pages: 48

Grade Level: Preschool to third

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings

Theme: Caring for others

Topic: Selflessness

Summary:Lyle the crocodile is perfectly happy living with the Primms on East 88th Street until irritable Mr. Grumps next door changes all that by putting Lyle in the zoo. But Mr. Grumps experiences a change of heart when his crocodile neighbor saves him from a fire.

Personal Response: I love when books personify animals, it causes children to be more interested in the book. This is a good book that does that to a crocodile and gives it a name, home, and human feelings and actions.

Curricular Connection:Art, create an animal into a human

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Title: The Polar Express

Author/Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Date: November 12, 1985

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Second to third

Genre: Fantasy

Artistic Media: Drawings

Theme: Believing the magic of Christmas

Topic: Christmas

Summary: It is a story of a young boy who is in bed wishing to hear Santa's sleigh bells, when all the sudden he hears a train pull up to his window. He gets up, climbs out his window and onto this magical train that takes him to the North Pole where he gets to pick out the first gift and so asks for a sleigh bell.

Personal Response: One of the best books that got turned into a movie. Such a fun holiday book and movie. I have read this book many times and seen the movie just as many times.

Curricular Connection: History, story of the holiday

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Title: Winnie The Pooh

Author: A. A. Milne

Illustrator: E. H. Shepard

Publisher: Dutton

Date: October 14, 1926

# of pages: 176

Grade Level: Second to seventh

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Fiction

Theme: Strength in friendship

Topic: Family

Summary:

Winnie-the-Pooh contains 10 short stories about Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood as they follow their imaginations to find adventure, using simple ideas and friendship to overcome any obstacles they face.

Personal Response: Iconic and timeless stories. Winnie-the-Pooh provides so many great messages and ones that children can understand. I also love that these stories became movies, encouraging students to read the book first.

Curricular Connection: Writing about a friend that encourages them

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Title: Fox in Socks

Author/Illustrator: Dr. Suess

Publisher: Random House

Date: 1965

# of pages: 72

Grade Level: Preschool to second

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings

Theme: Transformation

Topic: Fitting in

Summary: It features two main characters, Fox (an anthropomorphic fox) who speaks almost entirely in densely rhyming tongue-twisters and Knox (a yellow anthropomorphic dog) who has a hard time following up Fox's tongue-twisters until the end.

Personal Response: I adore any books from Dr. Suess, I think they always have such a great message. I also think they are a great source for mentor texts when discussing rhyming. Plus the drawings are incredibly good.

Curricular Connection: Find rhyming words

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Title: Love You Forever

Author: Robert Munsch

Illustrator: Shelia McGraw

Publisher: Firefly Books

Date: October 1, 1986

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Kindergarten to first

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings and pictures

Theme: Importance of love

Topic: Family

Summary: The story centers on a mother who sings a lullaby to her son at each stage of his life. During his childhood, she becomes frustrated with his rebellious nature, yet always sings to him after he falls asleep

Personal Response: This is another book that holds a high value in my family. My parents read it when they were younger and it was one of the first books given to me. Absolutely love it.

Curricular Connection: Mother’s day activity

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Title: No, David

Author/Illustrator: David Shannon

Publisher: Scholastic

Date: September 1, 1998

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Preschool to third

Genre: Fiction

Artistic media: Drawings

Theme: Mistakes occur

Topic: Discipline

Summary:It tells the story of a young boy named David who finds it hard to make good choices. The words that constantly are told to him are … yes, you guessed it … “No David!”. However, in the end David is told that he is loved regardless of however many mistakes he makes.

Personal Response:I remember reading this as a kid, it was a fun story. I was reading it when I was working on what an exclamation mark was and a question mark and how we need to change our tone. It was a great source for that.

Curricular Connection:Thumbprint pledge , creating rules for the class to follow

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Title: A Light In The Attic

Author/Illustrator: Shel Silverstein

Publisher: Harper & Row

Date: 1981

# of pages: 181

Grade Level: First to third

Genre: Poems

Artistic Media: Sketches

Theme: Varies

Topic: Varies

Summary: This book is full of poems about clowns, pirates, monsters and all manner of strange people and animals doing crazy things. Will easily delight themselves with the silly shenanigans of the characters.

Personal Response: I know Shel Silverstein books are a little controversial, but I think they are good and different books for older students who may struggle with loving reading.

Curricular Connection:Poetry, create their own

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Title: Corduroy Bear

Author/Illustrator: Don Freemen

Publisher: Viking Press

Date: 1968

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Kindergarten to first

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawing

Theme: Love can go way beyond

Topic: Comfort in everything

Summary: Corduroy is a small stuffed bear who lives in a department store and waits to be taken home by somebody special. One day a little girl named Lisa wants to buy him, but her mother says no because he is missing a button on his corduroy overalls. That night Corduroy goes in search of his missing button

Personal Response: Yet another classic children's literature. I find comfort in objects such as a blanket or even a teddy bear, and did at a young age. Some children need to find comfort in more than a person and this book does that.

Curricular Connection: Physical education, scavenger hunt for stuffed animals

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Title: The Snowy Day

Author/Illustrator: Ezra Jack Keats

Publisher: Viking Press

Date: 1962

# of pages: 40

Grade Level: Kindergarten to first

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media; Drawings

Theme: Exploration

Topic: Snow and youth

Summary: The adventures of Peter, a little boy in the city on a very snowy day. Peter wakes up one day and finds the whole city covered in snow. He happily goes out to play in the snow and have fun. He first thought of going to the older kids to play with the snowball.

Personal Response: Many people don’t get to experience snow, or they experience it at an older age. This book describes one experiencing their first snowfall in such a majestic way.

Curricular Connection: Science, how snow occurs

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Title: A Bad Case of Stripes

Author/Illustrator: David Shannon

Publisher: The Blue Sky Press

Date: 1998

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Kindergarten to third

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings

Theme: Being true to yourself

Topic: Values

Summary:Camilla Cream is very worried about what other people think about her, but at the very moment she most wants to fit in, she becomes completely covered in colorful stripes! Worse yet, she seems to change colors to match whatever is happening around her.

Personal Response: At some point in your life, you have cared what people think about you. This story does a wonderful job of how you should only care about yourself and what you think. Everyone is too wrapped up in their own lives to worry about yours. Cute story, easy read, and great message.

Curricular Connection: Health, mental health discussion

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Title: The Very Busy Spider

Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle

Publisher: Penguin Books

Date: September 26, 1996

# of pages: 32

Grade level: Preschool to first

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings and sketches

Theme: Perseverance of tasks

Topic: Strength

Summary:"The Very Busy Spider" is about a spider that spends all day spinning her web. A variety of different farm animals approach her and ask if she wants to go do something with them that they enjoy doing. Each time, the spider didn't answer because she was busy spinning her web.

Personal Response: A memorable story from when I was younger. It touches on the idea of persevering, continuing tasks and not giving up. Great message.

Curricular Connection: Any subject, don’t give up on a task

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Title: The Very Last Leaf

Author/Illustrator: Stef Wade
Publisher: Capstone Editions

Date: July 31, 2020

# of pages: 56

Grade Level: First to second

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings

Theme: Hope

Topic: Fall

Summary: tells the tale of Lance Cottonwood, a leaf who is the best and brightest student in his class, but he's afraid of his final exam…falling. Lance struggles with anxiety, embarrassed and unsure of himself, until he works through his fears with his teacher, Mrs. Timber

Personal Response: Any story that touches on anxiety at a young age, I find a great one. The feelings that the Leaf, Lance, has are all normal and occur to several people. It also talks about how a positive influence a teacher can have on a student which is a goal of mine.

Curricular Connection:Mental health

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Title: The Dot

Author/Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds

Publisher: Candlewick

Date: September 15, 2003

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: Kindergarten to fourth

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings

Theme: Working through a tough spot

Topic: Diversity

Summary: The child in this story dislikes art class because she is convinced, she can't draw. Her teacher gently encourages her to begin with a single dot and her creativity takes off. The story celebrates the creative spirit in everyone.

Personal Response: I struggle with art because I also thought I was bad at it. That was until I found a certain type of art I enjoyed. This is a story of never quitting and the continuum of trying. Great message.

Curricular Connection: Art

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Title: The Little Engine That Could

Author: Watty Piper

Illustrator: Louis Lenski

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Date: 1930

# of pages: 48

Grade Level: Preschool to kindergarten

Genre: Fiction

Artistic Media: Drawings and pictures

Theme: You can do anything

Topic: Dreams

Summary: The underlying theme is the same—a stranded train is unable to find an engine willing to take it over difficult terrain to its destination. Only the little engine is willing to try and, while repeating the mantra "I think I can, I think I can", overcomes a seemingly impossible task.

Personal Response: There was a kid in my first grade class who had a disability and this was his all time favorite story. The best memory I have of this book is when he wanted to do a book report and share in the entire class. He and I were really good friends and it made me enjoy this book more knowing it was his favorite.

Curricular Connection:Engineering

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Title: The Lightning Thief

Author: Rick Riordan

Illustrator: John Rocco

Publisher: Miramax Books Puffin Books

Date: June 28, 2005

# of pages:377

Grade Level: Third to eighth

Genre: Fantasy

Artistic media: Drawings

Theme: Discovering yourself and others

Topic: Identity

Summary: The Lightning Thief is a light-hearted fantasy about a modern 12-year-old boy who learns that his true father is Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Percy sets out to become a hero by undertaking a quest across the United States to find the entrance to the Underworld and stop a war between the gods.

Personal Response: My brother introduced me to this book and the movie. It was one of the best books I read in middle school. I love fantasy stories because it acts as an adventure and escape. Plus, the movie was fantastic.

Curricular Connection: History, discussion of Greek God

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Title: The Three Little Pigs

Author: James Marshall

Illustrator: James Marshall

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Date: January 1989

# of pages: 32

Age level: 2-6 years old

Genre: Fiction

Theme: taking your time pays off, cannot trust everyone

Topic: hard work pays off

Artistic Media: drawing

Summary: Three little pigs leave their home to seek fortune. Two pigs build their home using flimsy materials and the wolf blows down their homes. The third pig uses a stronger material that the wolf can't blow down, making him the smartest.

Personal Response: This is a book of my childhood and feel like everyone has either heard or actually read this story. It is an universal theme that can relate to every persons life. Such a great story for young kids to read.

Curricular Connections: Science and the use of strong materials.

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Title: The Thing About Jellyfish

Author: Ali Benjamin

Illustrator:Terry and Eric Fan

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Date: September 22, 2015

# of pages: 352

Genre: Children novel

Theme: Things happen for a reason

Topic: Grief, friendship

Artistic Media: Drawing

Summary: In a sad tragedy of her best friend dying from drowning, Suzy believes that the true reason for the death was from a rare jellyfish sting because everything happens for a reason. After keeping silent about this theory, she creates a plan to prove her theory, even if that means going around the world all alone.

Personal Response: As someone who struggles with the death of a relative even after 5 years, this was a book that was beneficial. Death and grief are such a tough concept for kids to comprehend and this does a good job of highlighting the denial stage. I enjoyed the symbolism and personification of a jellyfish.

Curricular Connection: Science, environmental issues and nature

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Title: The One and Only Ivan

Author: Katherine Applegate

Illustrator: Patricia Castelao

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date: January 17, 2012

# of pages: 336

Genre: Fantasy

Theme: Friendship, compassion for animals, finding for things important

Topic: Gorilla in captivity

Artistic Media: Drawings

Summary: Ivan, the main character, is the one and only gorilla of his kindleft. Ivan lives in a cage within a mall with his friend, an old elephant, but they’re getting unhealthy. A baby elephant is bought and added to the cage. Ivans oldest friend passes away but Ivan takes care of the baby. Ivan works long hours to take pictures of the baby, Ruby, to help promote the mall and gain attention. The billboard gets more attention, even from people who don’t like animals in captivity. The mall eventually gets closed down and all the animals are sent to a place where there is plenty of space to roam around.

Personal Response: I did some research on this story and found out that it was based on a real story but configured into a fictional character. This story is sad but happy at the same time and I think that’s why I enjoyed it. When a book can evoke multiple emotions, it creates a great message.

Curricular Connection: Social Studies, act of protesting

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Title: The Boy Who Painted The World

Author: Melody Bremen

Illustrator: Melody Bremen

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Date: 1997

# of pages: 254

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Friendship and family

Topic: Dreaming

Artistic Media: Drawing

Summary: Indigo, main character, is a boy with a dream; wanting to be a famous artist when he is older. Although never having a real family or home, he spends his night at shelters. During the day, he makes ends meet just to buy art supplies. Jade, his best friend, is the only constant in his life.

Personal Response: I was not super into this book. It has a great theme and a powerful story of the ability to achieve your dreams. I was not excited to pick the book up again or sad to set it down and that is how I classify a good book personally.

Curricular Connection: Arts, main character dreams of being an artist

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Title: Roll With It

Author: Jamie Sumner

Illustrator: Jamie Sumner

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date: October 1, 2019

# of pages:  150

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Accepting help and friendship from people who love you

Topic: Living with a disability

Artistic Media: Drawings

Summary: This story is about a girl who does not make the best decisions. She has cerebral palsy and her life takes an unexpected turn when she leaves her town she’s known forever to a new town. Ellie is blunt and tells it how it is.

Personal Response: After I read this book, I found out that the author is a mother of a CP kid herself. Knowing thus after reading it, I can see how that translates over into their writing. It was a sweet story that highlights the real and raw experiences of living with a disability, and loving someone with it.

Curricular Connection: PE, ways to provide differentiation in physical education

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Title: We Dream of Space

Author: Erin Entrada Kelly

Illustrator:Celia Krampien

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Date: March 22, 2022

# of pages: 400

Genre: Historical fiction

Theme: How different families can be, navigation of sibling relationships

Topic: Family, Space

Artistic Media: Drawing

Summary: A sibling trio, Cash, Fitch, and Bird, are going through life as pre-teens in the 80s. Cash is the older brother to Fitch and Bird, who are twins. Although Fitch and Bird are younger, they are now in the same grade as Cash due to Cash being held back. Different from the siblings, Bird dreams of being an astronaut due to being a space aficionado.

Personal Response: From someone who has an older sibling, it was interesting to read about a dynamic of siblings who are for one, twins, and two, different ages but same grade. Also seeing how each kid understands or lacks understanding of science is a relief because I would consider myself a failure in certain topics that my older sibling was a genius in.

Curricular Connection: Science, discussion of space

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Title: The Lemonade War

Author: Jacqueline Davies

Illustrator:Jacqueline Davies

Publisher: Clarion Books; First Edition

Date: 2007

# of pages: 192

Genre: Realistic fiction novel

Theme: motivation, learning from mistakes

Topic: Effective business moves

Artistic Media: Drawing

Summary: Having only a few days left of summer, Evan and Jessie start an all-out war of who can create the best lemonade before summer ends and school starts. As the war heats up, it is hard to tell who will win this war, but also if their fight will ever win.

Personal Response: I believe I read this book when I was younger because while I read it, it felt so familiar. Books that use real experiences but have a twist are such engaging books. Students are able to comprehend the experience but also put their minds in a scenario where they are encouraged to imagine. This book is great for students who love finding ways to create their own business

Curricular Connection: Math, different amounts of concentrate

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Title: Wayward Creatures

Author: Dayna Lorentz

Illustrator: Junyi Wu

Publisher: Harper Collins

Date: July 11, 2023

# of pages: 304

Genre: Adventure Fiction

Theme: Community, healing and family (people and animals)

Topic: Animal friendship

Artistic Media: Cover drawing

Summary: A troubled and lonely twelve year old boy, becomes friends with wayward coyote after a fire causes both of their lives to change. Both seeking friendship, their paths cross and unfold into a blossoming and heartwarming friendship.

Personal Response: This book pulled at my heartstrings. The main character, Gabe, feels isolated and alone from his friends and family. Unfortunately, I too have had this experience. It’s a painful feeling and one that no one should experience. I loved the idea it portrayed of how you can get friendship, love, and warmth from an animal as a person. Such a cute and universal theme.

Curricular Connection: Art, draw a creature or their best friend

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Title: Baseball Saved Us

Author: Ken Mochizuki

Illustrator: Dom Lee

Publisher: ‎Lee & Low Books;

Date: 1993

# of pages: 32

Age Level: 11 to 12 years old

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Hope, courage, and endurance

Theme: World War II, baseball, Japanese Americans

Artistic Media: Drawings

Summary: Shorty and his family are sent to an internment camp, along with several other Japanese-American families after Pearl Harbor. To boost spirits, Shorty and his father have the idea to build a baseball field and create a league within the camp.

Personal Response: This book was a great story for an introduction to life during World War II from another perspective than Americans. It also isn’t heavily focused on internment camps, but it still briefly describes what they were. I love stories about underdogs, they just make me happy knowing that they either win literally or figuratively. Such a great and impactful book!

Curricular Connections: Social Studies, Pearl Harbor

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Title: Three Billy Goats Buenos

Author: Susan Middleton Elya

Illustrator: Miguel Ordonez

Date: March 3, 2020

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre: Fiction

Age Level: 3-6 years

# of pages: 32

Theme: overcoming obstacles

Topic: Figuring out a problem, get past the grumpiest troll

Artistic Media: Drawings

Summary: The Three Billy Goats Buenos come up with a clever plan to try and get past the troll who is extremely grumpy. One of the three billy goats becomes curious as to why the troll is always grumpy. This question sends their original plan going in a different direction.

Personal: This story is such a great way to integrate different languages. It can show similarities between the languages also while showing the differences. It was a cute story, I enjoyed the images a lot.

Curricular connection: Spanish

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Title: The Girl and the Wolf

Author: Katherine Vermette

Illustrator: Julie Fleet

Date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Theytus Books

Type of the Traditional Literature: Folktale

Age Level: 5 - 8 years old

# of pages: 32

Theme: Independence, knowledge, strength, family

Artistic Media: Drawings .

Summary: A girl was picking berries with her mother, this little girl ran too far into the woods, after her mother told her to not go far. The little girl encounters a wolf in the woods while she realizes she is lost. The wolf used his senses to help her find her mom again.

Personal: This story sounds as if I was at a campfire and someone was sharing this story from memory. The illustrations accompanied the story in a great way. They portrayed what the writing was describing. It provided a great use of imagery and colorful wordings. The one thing it could use more of is integrating a specific culture in a more noticeable way. I was able to identify an indigenous tribe within but not sure if 5 to 8 year olds would be able to

Curricular Connections: Social studies, history of Native American Tribes

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Title: Froggy Plays Soccer

Author: Jonathan London

Illustrator: Frank Remkiewicz

Publisher: Puffin Books

Date: March 19, 2001

# of pages: 32

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Sports

Topic: Soccer

Age Level: 2-5 years old

Artistic Media: Drawings

Summary: A frog, Froggy, is on a soccer team and they are playing in a championship. His father reminds him before every game to “not use your hands” but everytime the ball comes to Froggy, he uses his hands and the other team scores.

Personal: Books where students can relate to, like soccer, are some of the best you can read to kids. This is one of them because so many kids have either played soccer or know what that sport is. Also throughout the book, Froggy is being yelled at or making mistakes, but always changed it into a positive situation which is a great teaching moment.

Curricular Connection: PE, compare/contrast what they have done in PE to the book

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Title: Our Class is a Family

Author: Shannon Olsen

Illustrator: Sandie Sonke

Publisher: Shannon Olsen

Date: April 7, 2020

# of pages: 28

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Kindness and being respectful

Topic: Classroom manners

Age Level: 4-7 years old

Artistic Media: Drawings

Summary: This book discusses how families don’t have to be blood. Kids learn that a classroom is a safe space to be themselves and be friends to others.

Personal: In the book, there are times where it rhymes, not sure if that is done on purpose but it made the book more likable for me. Great book to read at the beginning of the year to showcase how your classroom is a safe space to share opinions, make mistakes, and feel all the emotions. The illustrations are so good as well.

Curricular Connections: Art, create a classroom and then create rules, post in the classroom

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Title: The Crayons Book of Feelings

Author: Drew Daywalt

Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Date: 2021

# of pages: 22

Age Level: 1-5 years old

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Expressing emotions

Topic: Types of feelings

Artistic Media: Drawing

Summary: A book about feelings, and shows how students can express themselves through emotions/feelings.

Personal: This was a cute and easy book. I love that it was kind of interactive, you are able to stop at each page and discuss a time you were happy, sad, excited, invisible, scared, grumpy, brave, and curious. I also like how they used an everyday item younger elementary grades will use, crayons, because it helps student be more engaged when they recognize something they know!

Curricular Connection: Arts, ask students to draw their feelings of a particular time in their life

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Title: Charlotte’s Web

Author: E. B. White

Illustrator: Garth Williams

Publisher: Harper Collins

Date: October 15, 1952

# of pages: 192

Age Level: 8-10 years old

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Preserving friendships

Topic: Friendship & Life cycle

Artistic Media: Drawings

Summary: There's a pig, Wilbur, who is runt and the owner of the farm, wants to slaughter the pig. The owner's daughter tries to stop her father from slaughtering the pig. The pig is sold to a neighboring farmer who allows the daughter to see Wilbur frequently. Wilbur is lonely on this farm until he meets a spider, Charlotte. Wilbur finds out he is going to be slaughtered soon and Charlotte tries to save his life.

Personal: This book continues to make me cry no matter how many times I have read it or seen the movie version. It is a special book on friendship and the simple acts of kindness. I adore this book and find myself wanting to read/watch it again even at 21.

Curricular Connection: Art, creating a “web” of family/friends

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Magic Treehouse: Sunset of the Sabertooth

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Magic Treehouse: Sunset of the Sabertooth

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Title: The Magic Treehouse: Sunset of the Sabertooth

Author: Mary Pope Osborne

Illustrator: Sal Murdocca

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Date: April 14, 1996

# of pages: 80

Age Level: 6-8 years old

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Theme: Never give up on friends and family

Topic: Conflict of nature vs.person

Artistic Media: Drawings

Summary: Jack and Annie, two main characters, enter the time of the Ice Age. As they nearly freeze, they are put onto yet another adventure through a different world, where they encounter a sabertooth, but don’t let that stop them.

Personal: I always loved the Magic Treehouse books as a kid but I do not remember any plot of the books besides they go on adventures. This is a great chapter book for students who are wanting to expand their fluency in reading, it is not a hard read. Loved that Jack and Annie show a sibling dynamic and perseverance throughout, even if one is scared. This could be connected to Social Studies, specifically the Ice Age era.

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Poet/Illustrator: James Christoper

Publisher: Creative Editions

Publication Date: August 9, 2022

Ages: 9-12 years

Genre: Poetry

Theme: Winter
# of Pages: 16
Artistic Media: Drawing

In this poem, winter is personified as “Mother Winter” and it talks about what occurs during the winter season, like how it’s cold and icy.

This poem portrays great imagery tactics and uses personification entirely. The drawings added so much the poem and the word went along with it well. A great lesson or activity this book could be used for is when teaching personification.

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Author: Tanya Lee Stone

Illustrator: Majorie Priceman

Date: February 2013

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Ages: 5-8 years

Genre: Biography

Theme: Word hard for your dreams

# of Pages: 40

Artistic Media: Drawings

Began discussing how life used to be for a woman, only wives or mothers in 1830. Then we are introduced to Elizabeth Blackwell, a girl who was relentless, powerful, adventurous, feisty, and determined. Blackwell did not want to be a doctor, blood made her sick. But one person, Mary Donaldson, changed that for her. She got to know the word “no” very well because no one wanted to support a woman becoming a doctor at this time, but that did not stop Blackwell.

This biography was very well written for the age range. I did not know about this woman myself and I am happy to have just read about her. The theme is a great one when discussing students dreams and working hard to achieve anything. I also think this a great book for when discussing powerful women. Great introduction book for the genre of biographies.

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Title: The Gingerbread Man

Author: Eric Suben

Illustrator: Joe Boddy

Publisher: McClanahan Book C

Ages: 4-9
Publication Date: February 1995

# of pages: 24

Genre: Fairy Tale

Theme: Trust

Artistic Media: Drawing

An old woman wanted to make a gingerbread man for supper for her husband and herself. But the gingerbread man has other plans. After the gingerbread man hops out of the oven, he runs away and the fun begins. The woman, husband, dog, cow, a town full of people were all running after him. Soon, he met a fox, who helped him instead of chasing him. Or so he thought. The fox ended up eating the gingerbread man.

This story is such a classic. There are a few variations of this story but I love how they all share the common theme of being aware who you can trust. It is such a lighthearted story but provides a meaningful conversation. I feel like this book could be incorporated into art because students can create their own gingerbread man after they have read the story.

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Title: In The Blue

Author: Erin Hourigan

Illustrator: Erin Hourigan

Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Grade Level: Ages 4-8

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Navigating through depression

# of pages: 40

Summary: Through pictures and colors, a child is learning the ability to navigate through depression even when the sun isn’t rising. Her tour guide on this adventure, her father, as he travels an emotional journey along her side.

Personal Response: This book was amazing. It highlighted a hard and sour subject in such a lighthearted way. For many kids, it can be hard to dissect emotions and know how to properly show and work with them. I loved this book. I also enjoyed how at the end, there was an author note on their own personal experiences with knowing someone who has depression.

This would be a great book for a student who is either struggling with expressing their emotions, or expressing them in a harmful way. Along with that, it is a great source when discussing mental health and grief at a young age. Could be placed in a “quiet corner” for when a student needs some alone time to calm down. Also this is a great book to show how colors can have emotions.

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Author: Allison Lassieur
Illustrator: Danielle Ceminsky
Publisher: Capstone Press
Date/Number of Pages: 2016, 112 pages
Visual Elements: Black & White photographs of Pearl Harbor
Level: Third to Seventh Grade
Genre: Historical Fiction
Theme: Real events
Topic: Pearl Harbor
Setting: Hawaii

This chapter book was unique because it was written as if you were an active medic at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor from the US side. December 7, 1941, it begins with your first assignment being based in Hawaii, a beautiful state. As you're trying to work at the dock, you are trying to protect yourself from falling debris, and unsure if another bomb will drop near you. While boats are burning, people are screaming, and death seems to swarm everywhere you look, you are there to help the wounded. The hospitals are short-staffed. Cots are filling the hallways and rooms, but slowly, less and less injured are coming in. The attack was over, but the war has just started. You are asked to stay in Pearl Harbor until further notice. The world has become uncertain and fear is captivating you.

This book is great for the introduction of war, treaties, and US history. It provides just enough detail for a child who is in third to seventh. War and all the aspects with it can be tricky and complicated to understand, but this book gave a good truthful recap of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I also like how it was a perspective of a nurse and acting as if I was the nurse. This would work great in social studies focused content.