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by Andrew Clements

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0EiIVeifZ4A

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Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What is an Adjective

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Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What is an Adjective

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by Brian P. Cleary

This book is a great resource for not only introducing adjectives to students but also reintroducing the topic. I believe this book could be valuable in a middle school classroom to reiterate what an adjective is and it is a little funny. The illustrations are very cute and colorful and the characters in the book are animals. The cartoon cats throughout the book help the children expand their vocabularies and the rhythm of language through rhyming verse. The ending leaves the reader to answer what an adjective is, which they should be able to answer after reading.

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by David A. Adler

Place value is a very cute and colorful book to use when teaching students about place value. The author uses monkeys in this book to explain place value and their importance. I think he did an excellent job with using words as examples of the importance of order and how the importance of order is necessary for numbers as well. He used “pot and top” as an example, they both have the same letters but both have two different meanings. This is important when learning place value because there are certain places for the ones, tens, hundreds, etc… digits to go. The illustrations within this book are excellent as well as the tables and charts he uses throughout.

Here are some links with great activities to help students learn more about place value in a fun way.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/235805730467617130/
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/place-value/maths-place-value-display

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by Gina Hagler & Bob Ostrom

This book is an excellent resource for an elementary classroom. The book is very easy to read and it provides a great deal of information regarding different science experiments you can try. The book starts out describing what matter is and goes into the Scientific Method and then provides several easy and simple experiments for children. The book not only provides the examples of experiments to try but it also reminds the reader to research the facts, ask questions, make a prediction, review the results and draw a conclusion.

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by Kate DiCamillo

This book is a classic and in my opinion all children should read it. A lot of children can relate to Opal's situation sadly, whether they are being raised by a single mother or father. I liked how the author allows the reader to see how lonely Opal was before getting the dog and how Winn-Dixie helps her grow and become more open. Opal is a lot like Winn-Dixie in a sense, neither of them know their mothers and this something that could be brought into a literature circle with students to discuss.

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by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I found this book to be a great read. There is always something intriguing about the "unknown". Mary Lennox is a young girl that becomes orphaned after parents die and she has to live with her uncle, who by the way doesn't really care to much for her. His house is a huge manor that is very gloomy with a lot of rooms that are locked. This book is full of mystery and suspense, to rooms being locked, to Mary hearing cries at night. Mary's only escape is outside on the grounds where she discovers the secret garden. She has help from two companions and they are able to find a way in. The author did an excellent job bringing the story full circle for Mary finding that she is wanted by her uncle. Mary brought back friendship, the magic of nature, and the power of hope and the long-lost garden back to life.

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by Christopher Paul Curtis

The author did an excellent job with this book and his writing style. He did a wonderful job with making the reader feel like you were in the mind of a ten-year old boy, despite him being an adult. The author used a lot of similes and metaphors throughout the book that makes it more expressive and fun. The book is full of humor and wonderful characters throughout the Great Depression. Bud is a ten-year old boy who is an orphan in search of his father. He decides to run away and nothing will stop him. He meets several friends along his journey.

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by Pam Munoz Ryan

This book is about a little girl named Esperanza Orega who has everything a little girl could ever want, fancy dresses, servants and she lives in a beautiful home with her family in Mexico. Tragedy strikes and shatters their dreams and future forcing Esperanza and her mother to flee to California, where they settle in a Mexican farm labor camp. This is very different from the lifestyle they have known in Mexico and they are forced with the struggle of hard work and acceptance of their own people and economic difficulties during the Great Depression. The author did an excellent job with writing this book in great detail and without holding anything back on how things were at the labor camps. This is part of American History and it is something that is sometimes passed over or forgotten. I liked how the author included Spanish in the book and how she started each chapter off with the title in Spanish and then the English version underneath. She made great use of onomatopoeia's throughout the book. She also used great detail throughout her writing to let the reader feel as if we were inside Esperanza's head.

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by Thanhha Lai

Inside Out & Back Again is written in verse. I found this to be easier to read because it is more like a poem on every page instead of chunks of words on each page. The poems are written in a format/style of a diary entry from ten-year old Ha describing the year she escaped from South Vietnam, in 1973. I observed that there are dates under each poem, and the poems talk about her life. The poems are very personal and consist of her thoughts and feelings. I personally love this book and the story it tells. The author did an excellent job with how she presented the story of a ten-year old child traveling from South Vietnam to the United States and the struggles they encountered while on their journey and once here within a year.

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by Deborah Wiles

This book is a great historical fiction book of what it was like in the 1960s for a young child. Young Franny is only eleven years old and lives with her family in Washington D.C. amid the Cuban Missile Crisis. Her father is in the military during this time. Tension grows between Franny and her younger brother and she has to figure out where she fits in during this time and look beyond outward appearances. This is a chapter book and a lot happens within it. From start to finish the book is over a week span, and a lot happens during that week. Franny and her classmates experience drills at school in the event of a nuclear war. It is challenging and hard to be a child during this time. The author did an excellent job writing this book from a child's point of view of what life was/must have been like during this horrific time for Americans. I personally enjoyed the pictures that were in the book that were of actual events that took place during the 1960s. I think this is helpful for the reader and gives them insight to what it looked like during this era.

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by Andrew Clements
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0AGeeDDO2jF

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by E.B. White

This is one of my all time childhood favorite books. Fern's family has a farm and when a pig is born that is the runt Fern's dad is ready to kill it. Of course Fern will not have this and decides to take care of the pig as a pet and names him Wilbur. Wilbur soon outgrows the family home and Fern has to give him to her uncle and while Wilbur is sad to leave he ends up making friends with a friendly spider named, Charlotte. The animals find out that Wilbur will soon be cooked and it is Charlotte that comes up with a plan to save his life. In the end Charlotte knows she has done her job, but sadly she is dying and she will not see her eggs hatch. Wilbur saves the day and rescues her sac of eggs so they can hatch at the farm and has lots of new friends when they hatch.

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by Jacqueline Woodson

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by Kwame Alexander

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0N5DWHRDY2Q

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Teedie The Story of young Teddy Roosevelt

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Teedie The Story of young Teddy Roosevelt

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by Don Brown

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by George W. Bush

"We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world...."
George W. Bush

Not many people are fans of former President George W. Bush, but it does not matter whether you like him or not. He was elected into office during a difficult time and soon after 9/11 happened, which was very tragic. His memoir focuses a lot on the decisions he made throughout his life, his battle with alcohol, their struggle to have children, and whether or not to send our country to war after attacks on our own soil. Many people are against war and as a Veteran and military spouse it is what we signed up to do and part of the job. This quote resonated with me personally and I believe that he had the best intentions of protecting not only our nation but the world. If there is peace and freedom in all the world then we will not have terrorist attacks on any country.

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Emma's Poem The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

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Emma's Poem The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

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by Linda Glasser with paintings by Claire A. Nivola

Dear Mrs. Solomon Ph D,

I found a book that is a great resource for a Social Studies/ELA lesson. Emma's Poem is not only poetry but it explains the history behind the poem and the Statue of Liberty. In 1883, Emma Lazarus wrote a sonnet reflecting her humanitarian efforts. She was born into a wealthy Jewish family and the book describes this, she had never been exposed to the less fortunate immigrants that were coming to America. Once she was exposed to them she was determined to help them have a better life. She wrote "The New Colossus" , a poem about the Statue of Liberty. Her purpose for writing the poem was to welcome immigrants to the United States of America. Her poem is on display in the Statue of Liberty Museum and is viewed by millions of visitors each year who come to America. This book would valuable in the classroom for students to learn the history of the Statue of Liberty, poetry, and multicultural. I really enjoyed reading this book and learning things about our countries history that I did not know before.

Sincerely,

Brandi Masters
5th Grade ELA

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by J.K. Rowling

It was hard to pick just one book from the series, but this is the one that made me fall in love with the characters and the author. Harry Potter is an orphaned boy who lives with his mean aunt, uncle and cousin and on his 11th birthday things change for Harry. Harry is mistreated by The Dursley's and forced to live in the crawl space under the stairs despite there being plenty of room in the house for him. Harry is destined for greatness, although he does not realize or understand this. Rowling did an amazing job with bringing his character to life and making the reader fall in love with magic and all that Hogwarts has to offer. The suspense within the story and Harry finding out he is a wizard is heartwarming and entertaining. Rowling is a very impressive writer and did a wonderful job on the Harry Potter series. I recommend this series to all readers.

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by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet

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by Jennifer L. Holm
Turtle in Paradise is a Newberry Honor Award winner. Turtle is an eleven year old girl living through the Great Depression. Turtle's mom gets a job as a housekeeper for a lady who does not like children, and Turtle has to say goodbye to her mom and she leaves for Key West, Florida to stay with her Aunt Minerva whom she has never met. It is rough on Turtle at first because she still does not have a place of her own or her own home with her mother and her cousins are not the most welcoming. Turtle ends up coming out of her shell and her life opens up in the most unexpected ways. This is a great book for both girls and boys. The author did an excellent job with the sense of humor, adventure, and love in this book. It is an easy read for the reader. The nicknames given to the characters within the book are a little unusual but humorous in their own sense.

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by J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling is one of my favorite authors. She did an excellent job with The Harry Potter Series and it is no wonder that The Tales of Beedle The Bard would be no exception. This book is translated by Hermione Granger and commentary by Albus Dumbledore. One of the tales was mentioned in The Deathly Hollows series and J.K. Rowling elaborated within this book and told more "tales". There are five commentary tales that are told amongst the wizarding world. Each of these tales has a lesson with it and I think that was brilliant on Rowling's part. She not only used her creativity with the magic of the book but she also had a life lesson within each tale. The book is very well written and easy to understand, there are words that might be confusing to a young reader.

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by David Macaulay
"Shortcut" is a post modern picture book with a nonlinearity format. The reader can have a difficult time figuring out where the chapters intertwine if they are not paying attention to the illustrations. "Shortcut" also has intertextuality within the book. Each chapter seems "random" and can make the reader a little confused, but in the end it makes sense. David Macaulay did an excellent job not only with the storyline but with the illustrations. Although, it may have been confusing to figure out where the characters connected he brought it together wonderfully in the end.

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by Don Brown
"The Great American Dust Bowl" is an informational text taken place in the 1930s. The author does an excellent job with the illustrations and how well they flow with the text on each page. I found this book to be informative because not only does it tell a story about what happened on April 14, 1935, it also provides Geology information about Earth and tectonic plates. The author did an excellent job providing information on tectonic plates and how it relates to natural disasters such as a dust bowl. There is so much history within this book and yet it is a child's book with pictures. The author provides history on farmers and the highs and lows that they went through during this time. I think this book would be an excellent resource in either a science or social studies class or you could bring them together for a lesson because this book provides both. This book is a Blue Bonnet Award Winner.

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Retold by John Cech
There was a little boy named Jack.
He lacked understanding the difference between things like rake and chocolate cake.
He sold a cow for magic beans.
And out sprouted a magnificent beanstalk.
Curiosity got the best of Jack and up the stalk he went.
He came back with treasures for his mother and left and angry Giant in the clouds.

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by Siena Cherson Siegel

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by Gail Carson Levine
Ella is born to a noble family in the land of Kyrria. A fairy name Lucinda "bestowed a gift" on Ella, obedience. Her mother and their cook Mandy, were horrified by this because anyone could  order Ella to do anything, regardless of whether it is dangerous or in her best interest. Ella's mother suddenly passes away when she is fifteen years old and on the same day as her mother's funeral she meets Kyrria's Prince, Charmont. Ella and the Prince, whom she refers to as Char hit it off. Soon her father remarries, Dame Olga, and she has two daughters, Hattie and Olive. They are the typical "evil" stepsisters to Ella. Ella ends up meeting Prince Char again and the two fall in love. She is convinced she will break his heart because of her spell and decides not to marry him in order to protect him. While doing this Ella breaks the spell and is free. She and Prince Char marry and live happily ever after.
I think Gail Carson Levine did an excellent job when writing this book. In my mind it took me back to the medieval times and through her imagery I was able to picture this. She was very descriptive throughout the book with her text and it kept me entertained and I was able to visually imagine how certain things might have looked.
I suggest this book as a great Fantasy Genre book. It was a great read.

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by Judith St. George

This book is a Caldecott Award Winner. I found the illustrations to be intriguing and to go along with the writing on each page. Judith St. George did an excellent job providing information about the Presidents of The United States of America. She was very creative in her style of writing with relating it to the reader. "Lots of people want to be President. If you want to be President, it might help if your name is James. Six Presidents were named James." She writes different scenarios like the example throughout the book to relate the reader to these very important figure heads of our country. The book is outdated and stops with our 42nd President, William J. Clinton. She provides brief histories on each president throughout the book as well as the ending. I think this book is an excellent read for children, especially those that might not enjoy history as much. The information was given in a easy manner to understand and enjoy.

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The Adventures of Beekle The Unimaginary Friend 

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The Adventures of Beekle The Unimaginary Friend 

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by Dan Santat

This was the first time I had read this book and it was wonderful. The illustrations within the book were great and kept me interested in each page as I waited to see what Beekle would do next. The story takes place on a far away island where imaginary friends were created and they wait patiently for children/friends to imagine them so they can leave. Beekle decides to do the unthinkable and travels to find his friend. He finally meets his friend and they both realize they were perfect together. It is the ultimate happy ending for not only Beekle but also for Alice, his friend. Dan Santat did a wonderful job on this book with creating the use of imagination for children, friendship, and finding one's place in our world. This book is a Caldecott Award Winner.

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by Hans Christian Andersen

The Ugly Duckling has an underlying message about bullying. This poor ugly "duckling" was born into a nest of ducks and was mocked and mistreated for being different and ugly. He did not look like his brothers and sisters or anyone else. He went through several things throughout his journey to find himself and the beauty of his true identity. I found the most important information of this book to be in the end when the children are in the garden admiring his beauty. "He felt so very happy, but he wasn't at all proud, for a good heart never grows proud." This book in my opinion could be used in any classroom to address bullying. This book is a Folktale.

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by David Wiesner

I found this book to be interesting because there were no words, it is a picture book. It was left to interpretation by the reader. I liked how the David Wiesner set the scene at the beach and the little boy found the camera. As he is going through camera roll it is neat to see the pictures from the roll. David Wiesner makes the reader interpret that it is an actual person that has taken all of these pictures until the end and you can see that it is non-traditional sea creatures. It is a post modern story. This book is a Post Modern Picture Book.