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Bibliographic: Sisters is written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier. Published by Scholastic in 2014, intended for ages 8 and up. It is a graphic novel with 197 pages and themes around overcoming crisis and family working through problems together- not you on your own.

Artistic Media: cartoon like images seen in graphic novels

Literary Elements:

Main character- Raina and Amara

Setting: roadtrip from San Francisco to Colorado

Plot: Raina and Amara are struggling with their sisterly relationship and on top of that they have to take a 3 week road trip to Colorado. On the road trip they find out that their parents are struggling in their marriage and are heading towards divorce. The sisters are able to overcome their differences and understand their parents better.

Personal Response: These graphic novels are easy reads but still manage to cover intricate topics. I feel like you can tell that this is nonfiction from the emotion that you feel in the illustrations and dialogue.

Curriculum Connection: This book would again work to have students create their own story boards about a time they didn't get along with someone or faced a difficult piece of news.

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2023 Author Honor Recipient: The Talk by Alicia D. Williams, Illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu; published October 18, 2022 by Simon and Schuster. Intended for 4-8 year olds; a fiction book. 40 pages and has themes of racism and inciting change.

Plot: Jay lives in the same neighborhood as his 3 closest friends. The book details what games they play, how he interacts with his family, and him growing up. As he gets older, his family starts to give advice to Jay and his friends that they should never keep their hands in their pocket when in public, to stay quiet, don’t be in big groups, and to keep your hands on the wheel if pulled over by a cop. This book details the racial issues African Americans experience in America told through Jay growing up into a young adult.

On goodreads, the noticeable comments about this book is that it does a great job demonstrating how a child views the world while also shining a light on how African American parents must prepare their children for a society that shows racial bias. Some critics of the book expressed that they think this book did not cover the topic of racism and how African American parents have to prepare their children in depth enough. They understand how it might be difficult to portray such a heavy topic in a way children can grapes, but also think that it is an issue that needs to be explored deeper.

An activity that students can do to engage with this book award is to read two books that were recipients of the award and have them discuss in groups why they believe the book was a good contender for the award. Have the groups make posters depicting their understanding of the books and their reason for winning and then present them.

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Bibliographic: Inside Out and Back Again written by Thanhha Lai. Published by Harper Collins in 2011. It is a historical fiction book with 260 pages meant for middle schoolers or 10 and up. There are themes of overcoming loss and how to create a community to get through tough times.

Artistic Media: water color esque images

Literary Elements:

Main Character- Ha Kim

Setting-Saigon, Vietnam; Guam, Florida, Alabama

Plot: Ha lives in Saigon during the Vietnam war and flees with her family on a Navy ship to Guam, then to Florida, and finally to Alabama when sponsored by a cowboy who lives there. Ha struggles to learn English and being in a new country, and the grief over their father. Ha gains friends and is resilient i the face of all against her.

Personal Response: I enjoyed reading Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. It’s not often that I read children’s literature that explores such a deep topic that was a lived experience for many people in history. Everyone can relate to wanting to have a sense of belonging, especially when you enter a new community, but to be a young girl fleeing your home during a war time and moving to the country your home was fighting against is not an experience many can share. The emotions that Lai includes in her story really transports me as a reader.

Curriculum Connection: This book would be great to have students explore a past ancestor and write a poem detailing how their life was different from their own.

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Personal Response: This book was very informative on how residential schools treated indigenous people. Olemaun's experience in school and directly with her teacher was heartbreaking to learn about, but I think because of how distressing it is it's important to be known. She also yearns for a good education while also holding strong to her cultural ties. This book dealt with a difficult topic, but to make sure that the readers truly understand it it needed the details it had.

Cultural X-Ray: For my x-ray I focused on Olemaun's on her identity of being Inuit, living in the Arctic, being a young girl, and her family. The inside of the heart shows how she loves to learn/read, is prideful of her heritage, and is fearless.

Activity: This activity is effective for students because it looks at how a persons physical attributes and identity influenced by birth can either influence or differ from their feelings and what they believe is important in their life. Students will really get a deep understanding of characters and how that impacts a story.

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Personal Response: I liked how this children’s book did not try to hide the fact that the main character was experiencing life in an internment camp. While there were some childlike differences to how an adult may recount their time in the camps, the fact that it existed to separate Japanese Americans from society was not hidden to the reader of the characters. The word choice and tone throughout the book helped you feel the story, and while many of the readers cannot connect to the life one would lead in an internment camp, you can connect to the feeling of being different or the last picked to be on a sports team.

Personal/Academic Values: This book would benefit children in the classroom not only as a book to use to inspire analysis and conversation about society as a whole, but as a historical reference in social studies. This book would be a great way to start a lesson on the history of marginalized groups in the United States and allow the class to connect it to outside examples.

Visual Representation: My visual representation shows that even though he is on the field with everyone, he still feels the divide separating him from being like everyone else. Be it his size, race, or skill he never felt like everyone else, always different. I made the line the only color to show that it is one of the major things that holds him back from feeling like he belongs. Having students do a visual representation activity would be beneficial because they would be able to interpret the reading into how they understand it. It may not have any relation to baseball, but they would be able to explain how these events occurred in their eyes.

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Bibliographic: Wonder was written and illustrated by R. J. Palacio. It was published by Alfred A Knopf in 2012. It is a fiction book based off of an experience the authors son was frightened by a child with facial deformities. This novel has 310 pages, meant for 3rd to 7th grade, and contains themes around choosing to be kind and developing an identity separate from appearances.

Artistic Media: All of the art in Wonder is in black, blue, or white and is in a line art style.

Literary Elements:

Main character-Auggie

Setting: Auggie's house, school, nature camp

Plot: Auggie was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome that has caused him to receive many surgeries during his life and his face to be disfigured. He is starting a new private school, different form his usual homeschooling, and is met with bullying over his looks and 2 close friends. His relationship with his older sister is strained due to the attention Auggie receives over he from their parents. Auggie is recognised by his bullies for his ocurage after he stands up for himself from older students and at graduation receives an award fro strength.

Personal Response: Wonder is a book that always brings tears to my eyes. Auggie's perseverance and strength in the face of relentless bullying is admirable and heartbreaking at the same time. I like how this book never fully illustrates how Auggies face looks like as well and allows the reader to create their own image in their brain while reading.

Curricular Connections: This books can be incorporated into many different classroom activities. I think making a character analysis chart on different characters in the book would help students see motives, feelings, and the themes better.

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Bibliographic:

We're All Wonders written and illustrated by R. J. Palacio. Published March 27, 2017 by Random House Children's Books. 19 pages, juvenile level readers (preschool to 3rd grade), fiction

The theme/topic focuses son how all children are unique and Auggie's own experiences with having differences.

Artistic Media:

art made in procreate on an ipad and painted digitally with a stylus and in photoshop

Literary Elements:

Main character: Auggie

Setting: Auggies house, school, and outer space (Pluto), the city in which Auggie lives

Plot: Auggie looks different than other kids, and while his mother says he is unique, the other kids still point and laugh at him. To escape it tall he puts on an astronaut helmet and goes to Pluto. There he reflects on how the Earth is filled with som many different people and how we can't change the way we look but how they see people and be kind to everyone despite our differences. We are all wonders!

Personal Response:

This book delivers an amazing message on how people are different, but that makes life interesting and a wonder. I have read the full novel on Wonder and already know how this character is such a great inspiration to everyone on how acceptance and kindness despite our differences can change a person for the better. The illustrations in this childrens book really capture the child like imagination Auggie uses as a form of escapism and help show how he thinks.

Curricular Connections:

This would be a great book to incorporate into an arts lesson on self portraits. You could read this book to the class, talk about how our uniqueness may makes us different but how being different makes us human. And then you would have the students draw their own self portraits and talk to their tables about what makes them unique.

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Bibliographic: Scaredy Squirrel by Night by Melanie Watt. Published by Kids Can Press Ltd. in 2009. Intended for 4-8 year olds. A fiction book with 33 pages and themes of overcoming challenges.

Artistic Media: animation drawings

Literary Elements:

Main character: Scaredy Squirrel

Setting: Scaredy Squirrel’s tree/sleeping nook

Plot: Scaredy Squirrel is scared to fall asleep because of ghosts, dragons, and monsters that could appear in his bad dreams. He plans on staying up all night and doesn’t sleep for days. Finally, he is too tired to keep doing this, but he sees his horoscope and that all his dreams will come true. He plants traps for all his bad dream creatures, but instead of monsters appearing at midnight raccoons and other woodland creatures go for his traps. He falls asleep for eight hours and realizes he shouldn’t be scared of bad dreams because they are just his imagination.

Personal Response:

I think this book would be a great story to tell to young children that are also struggling with night terrors. It allows them to see that what they fear is not uncommon, but that it shouldn’t make them fear sleep. I think a strength this book has is demonstrating how Scaredy Squirrel doesn’t just learn to not fear bad teams overnight but it takes fighting back and being stronger than them to “win”. This message is important for young children and students to see that perseverance and problem solving can be helpful in many situations.

Curricular Connections:

This would be a great book to introduce before a quick write or plot drawing. Have the class sit and listen to the story, and then illustrate one of the creatures that Scaredy Squirrel feared and an alternate way he could’ve planted a trap and caught them with.

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My Powerful Hair written by Carole Lindstrom illustrated by Steph Littlebird. Published in 2023 by Abrams Books for Young Readers; 48 pages, PK- 3rd grade; a fiction picture book; themes revolve around belonging to a community and resilience.

The artistic media is digital drawings to look like brush strokes.

Main character: a young girl of Native American ancestry

Setting: her community, the school, home, lake, and garden

Plot: She wants to grow her hair long, as her ancestors say that it holds memories and brings strength. Her grandfather and grandmother teach her many things, and her hair kept growing holding those memories. Her mother was unable to grow her hair long when being assimilated in school, so she grows it long for her as well. When she loses her grandfather she cuts her hair short to send the strength/energy with him to the spirit world. And she continues to grow her hair long.

Personal Response: This book, while fiction, still helps inform people of cultural aspects of the characters and members of the Native American communities. Many people may not know how some groups put value and importance in long hair and especially braided hair, and seeing from a young girls perspective how her hair grew with all these memories is a great way to introduce it to young students.

Curricular Connection: This would be a great book to include a project on personal cultural connections of students in the class and then connect how they would share it with others.

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Bibliographic: The Empty Pot written and illustrated by Demi. Published by Henry Holt and Company in 1990. 32 pages, juvenile fiction meant for 1st to 2nd graders. The theme/topic focuses on how telling the truth is always important and the right thing to do, and is often rewarded.

Artistic Media: The art work resembles the traditional Chinese style of art.

Literary Elements:

Main character- Ping

Setting- China, the kingdom, nature

Plot- The emperor is choosing their successor from the people, but the stipulation is that the person who grows the best flower from seeds provided by the emperor will be given the role. Ping is one of these people vying for the role and struggles to get anything to sprout and ends up bringing his pot to the emperor with no flower. Others have gorgeous flowers and claim huge success. Ping ends up being the winner because the Emperor had actually given all the children seeds that had been cooked so no one should have been able to grow anything. Ping wins because they are the only honest child in the kingdom.

Personal Response: This is a book I read as a child in school and reading it today, it still holds the same impact as it did then. You can see how children want to succeed and will do anything, even “cheat”, to be able to show something for the time they dedicate to a task. Ping demonstrates that sometimes you will not always have something to show for your effort, but that does not mean the experience did not hold value.

Curricular Connections: This book would be a great way to start the conversation about academic integrity in the classroom and how honesty is the best policy. You could have students do a free write about how they themselves have acted like Ping and made sure to stay true to themselves even if it meant not achieving the same results as peers.

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Bibliographic: A Poem Grows Inside You written by Katey Howes and illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee. Published by The Innovation Press in 2022. Juvenile fiction book with 48 pages meant for first to second graders. Themes revolving around sharing yourself and talents with world and living your truth.

Artistic Media: colored pencil pictures and texture

Literary Elements:

Plot: The seed of an idea is planted and waiting for rain. The poems follows the seed that roots and grow and the courage to let the sun in a be beautiful. This all translates to humans as well.

Personal Response: These poems are so uplifting and positive. The illustrations show a girl with curly purple hair, which just adds to how personal expression, especially through poetry, is a beautiful thing.

Curricular Connections: This book would work well for a poetry lesson, where students write their own poetry about how they're seed is growing.

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The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge

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The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge

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The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge by Joanna Cole, Illustrated by Bruce Degan

Published: March 1st, 2010 by Scholastic Press

This book is fiction with themes surrounding climate change and global warming targeted towards 2nd to 5th graders. This book has 48 pages.

Summary: This book is about a teacher and her class taking their flying school bus on field trips to learn about specific topics. This book delves into how to stop global warming and learn more about climate change.

This type of literature is Global.

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Bibliographic: Smile written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier. Published by Scholastic Inc. in 2010. Intended for ages 8-11, it is a graphic novel memoir with 224 pages and themes surrounding accepting yourself and valuing whats on the inside over the outside.

Artistic media: cartoon like images seen in graphic novels

Literary Elements:

Main character- Raina

Setting: 6th grade (middle school), home, dentist

Plot: Raina falls and loses her two front teeth, leading her to have to get a fake teeth retainer, months of braces and surgery, and headgear. Not only is she having to deal with her appearance changing, but she is struggling in the 6th grade and the transitions between grades. She also experiences bullying at the hands of people she considers friends and stands up for herself and against the bystanders.

Personal Response: I enjoyed reading this book as a child and resisting it as an adult. Since it is a graphic novel, a main part of the experience as a reader is the images, and I think this book exemplifies the parts of a graphic novel that make them so fun to read. The dialogue is electric and the images show so much color, emotion, and movement that put you in the story. This book also incorparotes some heavy themes of bullying and self acceptance that are easier to abosrb in the graphic novel style.

Curricular Connection: This book would be great to have students create their on shorter comic/graphics about a time they felt different or frustrated and how they overcame those feelings.

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Personal Response: I thought “The One and Only Ivan” has such a great message of wanting better for others than you yourself have. Even though Ivan was living in the same terrible conditions in the mall, he still found a way for Ruby to have a better life and fulfill his promise to Stella. I can somewhat understand Ivan’s motivation, as I have siblings that I would want to do anything I could to get them to enjoy life and have better opportunities.

Journey Map: I used my journey map to show Ivan’s story from atop the mall, his relationship with Stella, and how he worked to bring all the animals to a zoo. Using journey maps with students will be effective for really analyzing themes and details from literature. Students can each illustrate and map out how they understood the story and explore characters in depth. Sharing maps amongst their peers will allow students to all get a deeper understanding of the books read in class.

The book I read “The One and Only Ivan”, which has the narrators talking about animals. While it includes elements that are realistic for the characters, like yearning for open space, the personification of the animals gives it its fictional element. This animal fiction book fits into fictional categories of literature.

Universal themes in this book are finding personal freedom, staying true to promises you make, and how far you will go to help those less fortunate. As we read about Ivan and the other mall animals, we see how his journey was almost dropped on him, but his personal convictions and strength leads to the betterment of all the animals' living conditions.

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Bibliographic:

Written by J.K. Rowling

Illustrated by Thomas Taylor

Published June 26, 1997 by Bloosmbury

223 pages, meant for ages 7+, fantasy, fictional

The theme is good vs evil and a coming of age story (while this is only the first part of the coming of age theme).

Artistic Media:

The book cover art was made using pastels.

Literary Elements:

Main characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger

Setting: England, Scotland, Hogwartz, Dursley Household, Diagon Alley

Plot: Harry Potter was targeted by Voldemort when he was a baby and lost both his parents to him. He was raised by his cruel Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin and at 11 received his letter of admittance to the magical school of Hogwarts. He spends his first year making friends in Gryffindor, learning about himself, and defeating a masquerading professor that was harboring a bit of Voldemort.

Personal Response:

This book is very nostalgic for me as I read it for the first time in third grade. It has all the best qualities of fiction and fantasy where children want to  read more while also being able to connect with the characters. It is easy to find parts of yourself in each character and also get involved in the storyline.

Curricular Connections:

This would be a good class read aloud chapter book where every student has a copy. Every couple of chapters can have activities associated with them, be artistic or writing prompts that connect back to the characters and plot.

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Personal Response: This novel is extremely impactful, especially since tales of the Taliban were prevalent throughout my childhood. Reading how Parvana had to take charge of her family due to her fathers imprisonment and having to overcome the lack of women's rights by dressing as a boy really highlights how much she had to risk to take care of her family. She was forced into the position of breadwinner, but she took it in stride so that her family could survive under the Taliban’s rule.

Heart Map: My heart map includes the traits that Parvana displays in The Breadwinner. Parvana values her family and demonstrates that through her sacrifices and courage in the face of the Taliban. I included family because that is her main motivation for all her actions, and inclusivity because the lack of gender equality in Afghanistan is a big catalyst for why she needed to dress like a boy. Heart map activities like this would be really beneficial to students to be able to deeply analyze how a character's beliefs and values can motivate them to make certain choices and direct the story. A heart map can also be incorporated in how a student brainstorms in the prewriting stage, by developing a character's traits.

Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways is our society different or similar to Parvana’s life in Afghanistan and how do these influence the characters in this story?

2. Like Parvana, what are some books that give you courage or inspire you?

3. How does this book demonstrate the importance of gender equality and education equality in societies?

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Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella

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Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella

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Awards:

IRA Notable books for a global society

Kirkus Best Book of the Year

Bank Street Best Children's book of the year

California Children’s Media Silver Award

Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts

Author/Illustrator: Paul Fleischman and Julie Paschkis

Published: Henry Holt Co. in 2007

Type: Fairy or Folk Tales

Juvenile Literature for kindergarten and up

32 Pages

Plot Summary: The story of Cinderella is a global story that has been told and interpreted in many languages and cultures. This book explores how traditional fairy tales can carry the same themes but incorporate that culture's traditions and customs.

Evaluation:

Narrative storytelling style?

A narrative storytelling style is maintained throughout the book, even though written down it reads as if told by someone throughout.

Preservation of sound and feel of the country of origin?

Each culture’s Cinderella explored incorporates accurate and detailed names and images depicting characters reflecting the country/cultural origin.

Illustrations match the tone of text and the essence of culture?

Paschkis illustrated this book excellently, with images depicting each culture and characters found there accurately and are all drawn in the traditional fairytale style matching the tone and culture nicely.

Tale employ a rich literary style?

The word choice in this book is an aspect of this work that I see appealing to young readers. With the pages being broken up into sections depicting each cultural story and the origin written next to it, the style attracts notice and is almost as interesting as the stories.

Lessons Learned:

This book really explored how a location/culture influences how a story is told but not necessarily the overarching themes/messages. The values of each country is apparent in the depictions, like with Iraq and Ireland, but it is interesting to see how the key features of the fairytale remain pretty consistent among the different cultures.

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The poem I read was “Two Young Women”. This piece of writing really demonstrates how poetry can present information and a story in a way that can hold more emotion. This poem shows the two different perspectives of women who want to get out of the current life they are leading, but not seeing a good route out. Having the two citations compared on top of another really shows how their struggles are not comparable in nature, but they are both facing what they think are constricting issues.

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Be Your Own Best Friend Forever (2021) by Gary Robinson

Personal Response: This book has such an uplifting message about self love and surrounding yourself with people who will love you for who you are. Every page reinforced positive thinking, a great theme to introduce to young readers and classrooms. I think the added aspect of the collaborator reading it, as her experiences are the basis of the book, shows self confidence that would be great to show in classes.

Good Books Expand Awareness: This book helps to show that readers should take pride in their personal identity and also introduce them to a person who may be different from them. It also demonstrates the power of loving yourself, even if the people around you don’t appreciate your differences.

Good Books Provide an Enjoyable Read that doesn’t Overly Teach or Memorize: This book did not involve too much further thinking to get the main message; each page explicitly told the reader what the author is feeling, believing, or sharing about herself and others.

Good Books Tell the Truth: This is Jayla’s personal experiences and her truth so it is accurate to herself and what she writes.

Good Books Embody Quality: This book uses powerful words of self love and worth to convince the reader to be their own best friend.

Good Books Have Integrity: The message is evident throughout the book and illustrations. All elements create a story with integrity.

Good Books Show Originality: This book is very original as it focuses on a young girl's own lived experiences and ideas. Her story is unique to anyone else's, and introducing it to other readers will expose them to different viewpoints and beliefs.

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Angelina: spent the whole summer with her little sister, spent summer reading books and telling stories, has curly hair, shares the same name as Rigoberto’s sister, African American, strong voice, friends with Rigoberto, older sister, student,

Response:

This book really encapsulates the feelings of entering a space you already feel different in and than hearing your fear be confirmed. This book demonstrates how when someone already feels different, the little comments about their lunch will mean much more to them then the person who made the comment. This book contains lots of lessons the reader can take away from not pointing out differences to being open minded about trying new things, but the overarching one I noticed is to always be nice to others because you don’t know what they are going through.

For my identity interaction, I drew a bookcase to show who Angelina is. One of the insecurities she held was the fact the only places she traveled to over the summer was through books. The spines of the books in my shelf have some of her character traits written as the title, showing who she is and how even though she didn’t physically go on any summer trips, she was still able to share and connect with her classmates.

The book and identity interaction activity would be good for students to focus on a particular character's experiences and analyze it deeper. They would appreciate differences rather than criticize them and comprehend the message and details from the book on a deeper level. Students would gain perspective on how diversity exists in the classroom and at home and gain literacy comprehension skills at the same time.

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Personal Response: I found El Deafo to be graphic novel that used illustrations to really make the story come alive to the reader. The theme surrounding accepting our own differences and personal confidence is a message that can reach a bigger audience than just the hard of hearing community, and also teaches acceptance of others to children.

Analysis:

1. El Deafo is a graphic novel, and as such if you remove an aspect like the word balloons, motion lines, or the color used in the illustration, you lose part of the story. There are a lot of visual aspects in the dialogue that help move you through the story.

5. In El Deafo, Cece's inner dialogue is illustrated in narration boxes. In movies, when characters inner thoughts are shared with the audience, it is often through verbal narration, which is very similar to what is being done here.

Activity: For an activity, you could have pairs of students do a character analysis on Cece, with one student doing before she accepted her differences and one student doing after she accepted herself for her differences. Then you could have a class discussion where studetns share how they think Cece was able to transition from the two thought processes.

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-This book really demonstrated how no matter your age, you can take a stand against something you disagree wit the is impacting you personally. I enjoyed this book because of this reason, seeing Amy fight against censorship and Mrs. Jones helping her students keep books on the shelf. Reading about how these characters stand up for themselves and for books that introduce different view points is inspirational.

-My character portrait is of the librarian Mrs. Jones. She was so supportive of her students and wanting books to be free and not banned. Her thoughts and feelings revolve around her displeasure of the banning of books and her hands are used to comfort students.

-I think this activity would work well with students because they would be able to choose characters form the reading they may feel personally connected to and then analyze their beliefs and actions further. And placing character traits into the heart, mind, and hands helps students think of the different implications each one has on how the story developed.

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Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

By Michelle Markel and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Genre: Biography

Grades: 3-7

Theme: making change/ activism

Page Count: 32

Date: 2014

Summary: A young girl, Clara, is an immigrant from Ukraine who is a seamstress in a factory that has unsafe working conditions. She leads a strike with the other women working there to get better worker rights and improve working conditions.

Evaluation:

Is the person presented in a way that captures the interest of children?

-Clara is a character that really displays her feelings and that translates well for children to connect to and be interested in.

Is the person presented as a human being with strengths and faults?

-Clara faces many obstacles and has many successes which demonstrates how each of these experiences make her human and relatable.

Is the depth of coverage appropriate for the intended audience?

-With children being the intended audience, the coverage of details and themes are appropriate for them while also still being informative asn touching on difficult topics.

Is the documentation of details unobtrusive and integrated into the narrative?

-The story is structured in a way that the information builds on each other and can be followed by the reader.

Is the information included in the biography accurate and documented?

-The information is accurate to the story, time period, and experiences of characters from this time.

Activity: An activity students could do about this book in class would be a role-play activity where students would be divided into groups and each be given a specific event/role from the shirtwaist makers strike of 1909 such as a factory worker, a factory owner, journalists, etc. The students can look at these perspectives and then simulate how this event happened in class. After the simulation, students should have a discussion where they reflect on their role experience and the challenges and lessons from each role.

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Bibliographic: Fly Away Home written by Eve Bunting and Illustrated by Ronald Himler. Published by Clarion Books in 1991. 32 pages. kindergarten-4th grade, fiction. The themes/topic is being thankful even if what you have is not what others have.

Artistic Media: watercolor esque and drawing

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Andrew and his father, brown bird

Setting: airport

Plot: Andrew and his father are homeless and living in the airport. Andrew befriends a little brown bird that is also living in the airport. Throughout the book, Andrew's father is trying to find a job and a home for him and his son but has little luck. Andrew understands that passengers at the airport leave but he will not. Towards the end, Andrew finds a window for the bird to fly out of and lets the bird fly away.

Personal Response: This book touches on a heavy topic while still making it comprehensible for young children. Even though those reading it may not be able to relate to Andrew and his Dad's predicament, you can empathize and gain a larger understadning for how people struggle to get out of being homeless.

Curricular Connections: This would be a great book to start a conversation about how people live differently and that lacking what others have does not diminish the love you can have for your life. Students could illustrate something in their life that is unique and discuss how like Andrew, they can find joy through his one little thing.

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Bibliographic: The Tale of Peter Rabbit written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. Published by Frederick Warne and Co. in 1902. 56 pages, ages 2-6, children's fiction. The themes surround the world being dangerous and listening to your parents.

Artistic Media: black and white illustrations and then color, drawings

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Peter Rabbit

Setting: Mr. McGregor's Garden

Plot: Peter Rabbit and his siblings are allowed out when their mother goes shopping but Peter does not listen to the rules and goes into the garden they were told to stay out of. In the book, he struggles to escape Mr. McGregor and finally manages to after losing his jacket and shoes and catching a cold from the water in the watering can. His mother scolds him and he has to have tea while his sisters get a real dinner.

Personal Response:

This book is very nostalgic to me as it is a story I had read to me as a child. I think it is a good book to read to young children in a family sense, because it reinforces the idea of listening to your parents and not going where you're told to stay away from.

Curricular Connections:

This book would work well with making your classroom norms list and having students think about consequences for not following them.

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Bibliographic: The Hello Goodbye Window by Norton Juster and Illustrated by Chris Raschka. Published by Michael Di Capua Books in 2005. 32 pages, Pre-k to 1st grade, children's fiction/picture book. The themes is about extended families and enjoying the people you have in your life while you have them.

Artistic Media: imitates children's drawings with lots of color and simple lines

Literary Elements:

Main Character: girl/granddaughter

Setting: grandparents house/window

Plot: A little girl visits her grandparents in town and through a window see them in the kitchen. play games with them, and also gardening with them. She has to leave them but is still happy because of all the moments she gets with them in the window.

Personal Response: This book is very sweet and really shows how children will enjoy even the smallest things with people if you care about them and take time to listen to them like her grandparents do. The idea of her seeing her family through a window is very symbolic for always seeing them in a good light and not seeing anything outside of the window.

Curricular Connections: This book would be good for students to illustrates their own window and put something in they fondly remember about a family member, a friend, or themselves.

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Bibliographic: Charlie and the Choclate Factory by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Joseph Schindelman. Published by
George Allen & Unwin in 1964. 176 pages, fantasy novel, 2nd grade and up. The themes revolve around how greed leads to bad consequences and the power of hope.

Artistic Media: watercolor drawings

Literary Elements:

Main Characters: Charlie, Willy Wonka

Setting: Chocolate factory

Plot: Willy Wonka a chocolatier hid 5 golden tickets in his chocolate bars for people to get a tour of his factory. Charlie finds one and takes his Grandpa Joe. While there, the other 4 winners are ejected from the tour due to their greed and overconsumption of the treats. At the end of the tour it is just Charlie and Willy Wonka and that he is now the heir of the Wonka factory and chocolate. Now Charlie's family can move to the factory and get out of poverty.

Personal Connection: This book is one very familiar to children and I think for good reason. It teaches important lessons about greed and controlling your impulses in a humorous way. This book also has many points that would be great to pause and lead discussions with the class.

Curricular Connections: The class could choose different characters to do an analysis of and then share their findings with each other to see why different characters made their choices.

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Bibliographic: Autumn the Falling Leaves Fairy written by Daisy Meadows. Published by Scholastic Inc. 2013, 176 pages, juvenile fiction. The themes revolve around teamwork to solve a problem and everyone has a special talent to help.

Artistic Media: colored drawings

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Autumn, Rachel, Kirsty

Setting: New Growth Farm

Plot: Rachel and Kirsty are going to New Growth Farm and notice that the harvest is not doing good despite good farming and weather. They meet Autumn the falling leaves fairy and see that Jack Frost is trying to skip fall and go straight to winter and hiding her magic objects. The girls help the fairy find all the magic objects, and saving fall.

Personal Response: This book is very lighthearted and enjoyable to read. It is a storyline that is easy to follow and takes the reader on an adventure in every book of the series.

Curricular Connection: This book would work well with an activity that has students look at each magic object and analyze how it helped lead to the solution. Students could then discuss how different objects in the class are necessary to learning to take place.

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In the Heart of the Rockies: An Adventure on the Colorado River

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In the Heart of the Rockies: An Adventure on the Colorado River

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Bibliographic:
In the Heart of the Rockies: An Adventure on the Colorado River by G. A. Henty. Published by Courier Corporation 2012, 304 pages, ages 9-12, juvenile fiction. The theme revolves around resource-fullness and perseverance.

Literary elements:

Main character: Tom Wade

Setting: Denver, Colorado

Plot: 16 year old Tom Wade travels to Denver to help find money for his poverty ridden family in England. He goes to find gold but along the way gets involved with Native Americans and takes part in a big game hunt. By the end of the book he has learned survival skills and can travel the Rockies safely.

Personal Response: Children's books that mirror real experiences of people and tie in adventure are very appealing to read. The adventure aspect keeps you reading and then you also learn what it may have been like for many people in that time period and situation.

Curricular Connection: This book would work well with an activity that has students faced with a problem that they have to go to other groups to get clues to solve. It would inspire team work and mirror the resource-fullness of Tom Wade.

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Bibliographic: Out of Time Book 1: Lost on the Titanic written by Jessica Rinker and illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe. Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing in 2020. 127 pages, juvenile fiction, ages 6-12. The themes revolve around problem solving and team work.

Artistic Media: computer generated art

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Allie, Vic, Max

Setting: Titanic

Plot: Three children are sent back in time to the Titanic the day it sinks and they have to work to get off the ship and back to their future to save their parents shop.

Personal Response: I like children's books that explore a historical moment wit characters form today. it exposes children to history in a way they can understand and relate to and find interesting.

Curricular Connection: This book would work well with a discussion of whether they think the way these children survived would work for people on the ship. It would help students see it as a real event and contextualize it.

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Bibliographic: A Very Bad Case of Stripes written and illustrated by David Shannon. Published by Blue Sky Press in 1998. 33 pages, children's fiction, for 2nd-4th. The themes focusses on the importance of being true to yourself and your uniqueness.

Artistic Media: similar to oil painting

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Camilla Cream

Setting: school, home

Plot: Camilla refuses to eat lima beans because her friend doesn't and she wants to fit in. The next day she develops stripes and she is sent home from school until they disappear because they are a distraction. She still refuses lima beans from her dad, and each time a specialist tries to cure her she turns into the cure (pill, animal, etc.). She ends up melting into the room a woman says the cure is lima beans and when she finally agrees to eat them she turns back into herself.

Personal Response: This was a book that I remembered from elementary school and I don't think the theme of personal acceptance really stuck until now. Reading it now really demonstrates what amazing lessons it gives children if you facilitate that conversation.

Curricular Connection: An activity that would work well with this book is have the class discuss insecurities and if they have ever stopped liking something due to others. This conversation could have students talk about why being an individual isn't something to be ashamed of.

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Bibliographic: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert. Published by Simon & Schuster in 1989. 36 pages, picture book, ages 4-7. The theme is to teach lowercase and uppercase letters.

Artistic Media: cut and paste art style

Literary Elements:

Main character: lowercase and uppercase letters

Setting: coconut tree

Plot: The lowercase letters climb a coconut tree and their weight makes the tree tip over. The uppercase letters come to save them and some letters get injured.

Personal Response: This book is definitely more educational and while not that interesting to read, works well for the targeted age groups.

Curricular Connection: This book would pair well with an art project where students make their own tree and add in the ABC's.

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Bibliographic: The BFG written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. Published by Jonathan Cape in 1982. 208 pages, children's fantasy, 8yrs+. The theme revolves around standing up to bullies with friends.

Artistic Media: watercolor

Literary Elements:

Main character: Sophie, BFG

Setting: orphanage, cave

Plot: Sophie is kidnapped from her orphanage because she spotted the BFG and taken to his cave. She learnes of his nine neighbors and she sees how mean they are. The BFG captures nightmares and gives children good dreams, so Sophie leads him to Buckingham palace to convince the queen to do something about the bad giants. Helicopters take the badd giants to a big pot, and the BFG is the official Royal Dream-Blower.

Personal Response: This book is great at showing children to not judge a book by its cover, because the BFG is scary but a great person.

Curricular Connection: Students can do a character analysis on any of the giants or Sophie and look at how their actions influence how a reader thinks of them. Then a class discussion can occur from these analyses.

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Bibliographic: Charlottes Web written by E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. Published by Harper & Brothers in 1952. 192 pages, children's fiction, grades 2-5. The themes are true friendship cannot be traded or found just everywhere and language can be a great bridge between things.

Artistic Media: watercolor and drawings

Literary Media:

Main Character: Charlotte, Wilbur, Fern Arable

Setting: farm

Plot: Wilbur the pig befriends spider Charlotte when he fails to make other friends in the barnyard. Charlotte promises to help when they discover he is being raised for slaughter and weaves praises of Wilbur in her webs. The barn becomes a tourist attraction and Wilbur works with a rat to find new words to weave into the web to keep people interested in him to survive. When Wilbur wins an award at the fair, Charlotte finally knows she can die in peace. She gives her egg sack to Wilbur and when they hatch a couple stay with Wilbur in the barn.

Personal Response: This book is written is a way that you understand each characters feelings and are emotionally attached to many. I like how E. B. White describes the relationships between barn animals.

Curricular Connection: Students could link arms and tangle themselves up. They then have to untangle without unlinking hands. This would show how without teamwork and language, they could not solve their problem.

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Bibliographic: My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson. Published by Longmans, Green, & Co in 1885. seven syllables per line, fourteener, children's poetry, ages ages 4 up. The theme surrounds children's joy/imagination.

Artistic Media: this poem was published in a book of poems that was later illustrated

Literary Elements:

main character: young boy, little shadow

setting: a place with the sun

Plot: A young boy is always followed by his shadowy friend, one that doesn't age properly and when the sun isn't up sleeps in late.

Personal Response: This poem is very whimsical and I like how it describes an experience many kids can go through when they don't know about their shadow.

Curricular Connection: This would be a great poem to start a lesson on the writing genre of poetry and have students write about a personal experience.

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Bibliographic: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. Published by Harper and Row in 1985. 32 pages, picture book, pre k-1st grade. The theme surrounds how every action has a consequence.

Artistic Media: colored drawings

Literary Elements:

Main character: mouse, Mathew

Setting: Mathew's house

Plot: Mathew gives a mouse a cookie, but then the mouse needs milk, a straw, napkin, a mirror, broom, a nap, etc. Until he asks for another glass of milk and then wants a cookie.

Personal Response: I like this book for how cute it is but also how it subtly introduces the concept of overconsumption to children.

Curricular Connection: You can use this book for an activity where students have to recreate the story but with an object to start the cycle that is personal to them. This will include writing and illustrations.

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There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick!

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There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick!

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Bibliographic: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick! written by Lucille Colandro and illustrated by Jared Lee. Published by Scholastic Inc. in 2011. 32 pages, juvenile fiction, 3-6yrs. The theme surrounds acting in a realistic way to avoid bad consequences.

Artistic Media: colored drawings with hatch marks

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Old Lady

Setting: a meadow path

Plot: An old lady swallows a chick, some straw, an egg, some candy, a basket, and a bow and then meets the Easter bunny.

Personal Response: This book is very entertaining and before my research I would not think it served an educational purpose, but sties show that it is good at teaching specific first sounds in words.

Curricular Connection: I would use this as a holiday activity book to start students to illustrate what they might find along their meadow path towards a bunny.

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Bibliographic: Last Stop on Market Street written by Matt De La Pena and illustrated by Christian Robinson. Published by Penguin Books in 2015. 32 pages, children's fiction, k-3rd grade. The theme surrounds family, community, and giving to the community.

Artistic Media: acrylic painting and collage

Literary Elements:

Main Character: CJ, Nana

Setting: city bus and soup kitchen

Plot: CJ and his Nana are going to a soup kitchen to volunteer and are taking the city bus. Nana is teaching CJ about the beauty of being outside, and CJ notices that his friend has a car but they are taking the bus. He sees the true beauty of the bus and community when they walk to the front of the bus.

Personal Response: This book has a great message of community and demonstrates how different people live every day.

Curricular Connection: This would be a great book to start a discussion on giving back to your local community and maybe the class plans a charity they would like to raise money toward to be more involved.

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Bibliographic: Broken Crayons Still Color written by Toni Collier and Whitney Bak and illustrated by Natalie Vasilica. Published by Tommy Nelson in 2023. 40 pages, juvenile fiction, 4-8. The theme is about going through tough life struggles but still being able to make a positive impact on your life and others.

Artistic Media: traditional mediums with digital art

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Avery

Setting: drawing desk and crayon adventure

Plot: Avery is drawing with her crayons when she breaks them and she learns they have feelings too. The crayons take her on an adventure where she learns how to manage her feelings, be curious and be a positive thinker. Even with the broken crayons she was able to color so much.

Personal Response: This book tackles the idea of self worth and negative feelings beautifully and maintains that these emotions can exist and good ones can at the same time. It encourages students to work to express your good emotions to shape your life.

Curricular Connection: This would be a good book to start an activity on self portraits where students have to write about their personality around their portrait.

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Bibliographic: How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Mark Teague. Published by Weston Woods in 2002. 40 pages, juvenile fiction, 2 yrs up. The theme is about good vs bad bedtime behavior.

Artistic Media: traditional mediums

Literary Elements:

Main Character: mother and dinosaur child

Setting: house, bedroom

Plot: The dinosaur is being put to bed by their mother and each behavior they could express is explored from should they jump on the bed or kiss their mom good night?

Personal Response: This book is definitely more for younger children but it would be very beneficial for those that developmentally are at the bedtime stage.

Curricular Connection: In a preschool or kindergarten this could work well with an anchor chart about which behaviors were good and which were bad.

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Bibliographic: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean. Published by Harper Collins in 2014. 40 pages, juvenile fiction, ages 3-6. The theme surrounds how material objects are not forever and we should find happiness elsewhere.

Artistic Media: different mediums, acrylic

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Pete the cat

Setting: skate board on path

Plot: Pete the cat is singing and loves his four groovy buttons but when they fall off he learns how to still be happy without them.

Personal Response: I like how this book introduces such a positive mindset to children with music, art , and a story that children remain engaged with.

Curricular Connection: This would be a great book to have students illustrate somethin that brings them joy that is not a material object.

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Bibliographic: We Are Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. Published by Roaring Brook Press in 2020. 40 pages, juvenile fiction, 3-6yrs. The theme is about environmental justice and native rights.

Artistic Media: watercolor

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Ojibwe young girl

Setting: oil pipeline location

Plot: A young Ojibwe girl rallies her people against the government trying to put a oil pipeline in and affect her peoples water supply. Her grandmother told her a story that one day a black snake will destroy their land and poison their water and that snake is the pipeline.

Personal Response: I like how this book reflects a real life event of the Dakota Access Pipeline and written by actual Native people.

Curricular Connection: This would be a great book for students to research their local environmental groups and know where their water supply comes from.

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Bibliographic: The Babysitters Club written by Ann M. Martin. Published by Scholastic in 1992. 176 pages, juvenile fiction novel, 4th-6th grade. The theme surrounds individuality and being your own person.

Artistic Media: traditional paint

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Kirsty, Claudia, Mary Anne, Stacey, etc

Setting: Stoneybrook, Connecticut

Plot: Kirsty's mom can't find a babysitter for her brother and this sparks an idea to form a club full of babysitters to offer this service. While they are all babysitters, they also deal with real problems like learning how to have a solid friendship despite their differences.

Personal Response: I like this book because the main characters are all female that have different strengths and they are all working as a team to run this service.

Curricular Connection: This would be a great introduction to businesses for older elementary students and you could have them split up in groups to create a new business idea and pitch it to the class.

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Bibliographic: My Food, Your Food, Our Food written by Emma Carlson Berne and illustrated by Sharon Sordo. Published by Capstone in 2018. 24 pages, juvenile nonfiction, 4-7 years old. The theme surrounds cultural differences.

Artistic Media: digital art

Literary Elements:

Main Character: group of friends

Setting: picnic

Plot: A diverse group of friends are on a picnic and they each bring their families traditional foods. They all learn about the different cultures food, how it is eaten, and how it is served. And they all remain friends.

Personal Response: I like the use of illustrations in this book because having a great visual representation of the food for readers who have never heard of it helps further share the culture.

Curricular Connection: This would spark a great conversation about each students cultural foods and perhaps a multicultural day where they bring in something form home that represents their family.

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Bibliographic: A Ticket Around the World written by Natalia Diaz and illustrated by Kim Smith. Published by Owlkids Books Inc. in 2019. 32 pages, juvenile nonfiction, ages 5-8.

Artistic Media: digital art

Literary Elements:

Main Character: young boy

Setting: around the world

Plot: A young boy travels around the world and visits 13 friends in 13 different countries in all of the continents. Each friend teaches them their culture, customs, and interesting facts.

Personal Response: This book is very informative but still engaging for young students. It really makes the reader want to hear about each country.

Curricular Connection: This again would be a great book to spark a conversation about where we come from and our different cultures as a class.

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Bibliographic: Officer Buckle and Gloria written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann. Published by Putnam Books in 1995. 19 pages, children's fiction, ages 4-8. The theme surrounds safety and friendship lessons.

Artistic Media: traditional mediums

Literary Elements:

Main Character: officer Buckle and Gloria

Setting: Napville

Plot: Officer Buckle gives speeches at the schools but students are bored so he takes police dog Gloria and she acts out his safety tips to the students. Buckle doesn't realize that schools want him more because of Gloria as she does it behind his back. He gets mad when he finds out, misses a speech, an accident occurs, and he comes back and makes up with Gloria.

Personal Response: I like how this book shows that reconciliation can happen, especially for elementary school students.

Curricular Connection: This would work well with an anchor chart activity with safety rules learned from the book.

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Bibliographic: Flora and the Flamingo written and illustrated by Molly Idle. Published by Chronicle Books in 2013. 44 pages, juvenile fiction, ages 3-7. The theme surrounds friendship and the effort that goes into it.

Artistic Media: animated drawings

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Flora, flamingo

Plot: Flora is a ballerina that sees a flamingo and wants to learn how to move like it. The flamingo reluctantly starts to teach Flora but finds out that she truly just wants to learn and they build a friendship.

Personal Response: This book explores how two very different personalities can form a friendship that is mutually beneficial which is beautiful.

Curricular Connection: This book could inspire an activity that has students explore historical friendships that were unlikely or broke society standards of the time.

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Bibliographic: Knuffle Bunny Free written and illustrated by Mo Willems. Published by Balzer&Bray in 2010. 52 pages, children's picture book, 2ng grade+. The theme in this book is growing up and taking responsibility.

Artistic Media: collage and traditional mediums

Literary Elements:

Main Character: Trixie, bunny

Setting: Holland, airplane

Plot: Trixie Willems and her family are going to visit her grandparents in Holland adn she accidentally leaved her bunny Knuffle in the plane. The Knuffle bunny flies to China instead.

Personal Response: This book is sweet to read, but having read the first one it seems repetitive, but I understand that is the formula for many picture book series.

Curricular Connection: This would be a great way to introduce geography to your class; get your own Knuffle Bunny and have it fly to different places and the class learn about those countries.

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Bibliographic: The Cat in the Hat written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss. Published by Random House in 1957. 61 pages, juvenile fiction, 2-6 yrs old. The theme surrounds trust and who you should trust.

Artistic Media: traditional mediums

Literary Elements:

main characters: Sally, brother, cat in the hat

Setting: their house

Plot: Sally and her brother are bored at home when The Cat in the Hat arrives and offers to entertain them. The pet fish says no but the cat just balances the fish on his umbrella. The cat brings in thing 1 and 2 and they destroy the house. Finally, Sally and her brother kick them out and the cat comes and cleans everything up before their mother returns.

Personal Response: This book fits in comedy with an essential question of what would you do in their situation? I think it gets kids thinking about how they would go about it all.

Curricular Connection: Have students make a timeline of the events in the book and share when they would ask the cat to leave because they feel like they are not following their moms advice.

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Bibliographic: Song and Dance Man written by Karen Ackerman and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Published by Knopf in 1988. 32 pages, children's picture book, ages 3-7 yrs old. The theme surrounds staying young at heart and protecting relationships.

Artistic Media: Colored pencil

Literary Elements:

Main Characters: grandfather, grandchildren

Setting: memories and house

Plot: A grandfather shares stories of his time as a performer to his grandchildren and how people used to not have tvs. He goes and gets his old performance stuff and puts on a show for them making his grandchildren laugh.

Personal Connection: My own grandparents always love to tell stories about their childhood or as a young adult and it is so nice seeing this same relationship in a children's book.

Curricular Connection: This would be a good book to have students do a family interview, where they interview a close family or friend on what they did when they were younger.