Diverse Literature for the Elementary Classroom by Olivia Heidelmark

Diverse Literature for the Elementary Classroom by Olivia Heidelmark https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr 25 Amazing Children's Books en-us 2019-09-18 22:00:25 UTC 2026-02-15 02:11:03 UTC hello@padlet.com Shaking Things Up fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/386267784 By: Susan Hood
Illustrated By: S. Alko et al.
Citation: Hood, S., & Alko, S. (2018). Shaking things up: 14 young women who changed the world. New York: Harpercollins Childrens Books.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY.
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre:Poetry (Biography)
Recommended Grade Level: K-4th
Themes: Biography, Social Activism
Major Awards:
A 2019 Bank Street Best Book of the Year, Also named to the 2019 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List
Summary: This book is a collection of poems about 14 famous young women and the amazing things they have accomplished.
Personal Response: This book is so useful in so many ways, I went ahead and bought it off of Amazon for my own personal library. I can't wait to use this in my future classroom!
Classroom Connections:

With a partner, students will pick a woman out of the book, conduct further research with teacher provided materials. Students will then create a poster and I would display in the classroom and hallway outside of the classroom.
Students can choose a famous women or a woman in their own personal lives to do a report on and present to class.

]]> 2019-09-18 22:06:05 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/386267784 Interrupting Chicken fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389511995 By: David Ezra Stein
Illustrated By: David Ezra Stein
Citation: Stein, D. E. (2019). Interrupting chicken. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Format: Picture Book
Location: Somerville, Massachusetts.
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Recommended Grade Level: PreK-K
Themes: Animals, Fairytale, Good Manners.
Major Awards: Caldecott Honor, New York Times Bestseller.
Summary: Papa chicken is trying to read little chicken a bedtime story, but little chicken keeps interrupting him because he get's too excited. They end up running out of stories to read, so little chicken writes his own story, reads it to papa chicken and papa chicken falls asleep.
Personal Response: This book is lovely and lively. I can see why it received the Caldecott Honor because it portrays a common situation that happens to us all. It's a funny way to teach good manners and the importance of bedtime.
Illustrations: There are a lot of important details that set up all the scenes. While Papa chicken was reading to little chicken the physical book turned into what the pages looked like that papa chicken was reading. There was a lot of shadows, thick lines to demonstrate movement.
Classroom Connections:

To make writing fun and to include the arts, students can create their own interrupting chicken scene.
As a class, we can make a list on why it is not polite to interrupt someone when they are speaking, or why it could hurt someone feelings.

]]> 2019-09-25 15:04:46 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389511995 Last Stop On Market Street fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389524167 By: Matt De La Pena
Illustrated By: Christian Robinson
Citation: Peña, M. d. l., & Robinson, C. (2015). Last stop on Market Street. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY.
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommended Grading Level: K-3
Themes: Inter-generational Friendship, Social issues, Gratitude.
Major Awards: Caldecott Medal, John Newbery Medal.
Summary: A boy and his grandmother are riding the bus and the boy is questioning why they have to take the bus, or why he doesn't have specific material things. The grandmother helps him see the beauty in what is around them and to be grateful for what he does have.
Personal Response: This book is in my family book set. I really enjoyed this book, and I have it in my personal collection at home. It's a great story for teaching children to be grateful to also make children aware that there are other kinds of economic life styles as well.
Illustrations: This book was created with acrylic and collage. The illustrator uses sharp lines to depict movement and importance, It's also very colorful and expressive with that color.
Classroom Connections:

This book could be use to open up a lesson on public transportation. And depending on the age one could use the "Wheels on the bus" song.
For social emotional growth and to build upon writing skills, students could write a list of material things they want and write a list of things they have and like and why they are grateful for what they have.

]]> 2019-09-25 15:19:49 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389524167 A Tale from Turkey, The Hungry Coat fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389666913 By: Demi
Illustrated By: Demi and Michael Nelson
Citation: Demi. (2013). The hungry coat: a tale from Turkey. Columbus, O.H.: Zaner-Bloser.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: Folklore
Recommended Grade Level: K-3
Themes: True Friendship, Helping others.
Major Awards: CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council), NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, and the Christopher Award

Summary: Nasrettin Hoca, the main character, wears a big white turban and a bright red coat that has patches on it due to how much he's used it, he rides around on his little donkey, being helpful to whom ever he can. His friend ignores him at a banquet and he thinks that it's because of his ragged red coat that people don't like him. He leaves the party, buys a new coat, returns to the party and is treated better. He then teaches his friends about appearances through a clever story.
Personal Response: I spent some time in Istanbul a few years ago so this was really nice to read. I love Turkey and the culture of the country.
Classroom Connections:

We could use this book as a jump off for a geography unit on the middle eastern countries and cultures.
As a class children would each pick a favorite article of clothing, write about it, and draw or create a picture about it.

]]> 2019-09-25 18:23:03 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389666913 Mixed Me! fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389675547 By: Taye Diggs
Illustrated By: Shane W. Evans
Citation: Diggs, T., & Evans, S. (2015). Mixed me! New York: Feiwel and Friends.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Macmillan
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommended Grade Level: Pre K- 2nd Grade
Themes: Family, Cultural, Diversity.
Major Awards: The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
Summary: This story is about a biracial boy who is embracing who he is and speaking positively to his friends and himself about being mixed. This book also fits into my family set.
Personal Response: I really enjoyed this book, because the main character and I share an identity, being biracial or mixed.
Illustrations: Illustrator uses a collage of fabrics, printed paper and professional drawing. This book uses mixed media
Classroom Connections:

Using images cut from newspaper and magazines, students will create an image of themselves, present to partner or class about why they chose certain pictures or words for the collage.
I would read this book with my students and do a interactive read aloud, and ask questions like "What does race mean?" or "Why did people stop and stare at Mikes parents?"

]]> 2019-09-25 18:36:06 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389675547 My Daddy Rules the World fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389678868 By: Hope Anita Smith
Illustrated By: Hope Anita Smith
Citation: Smith, H. A. (2017). My daddy rules the world: poems about dads. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Format: Picture book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Macmillan
Genre: Poetry.
Recommended Grade Level: Pre-K to 2nd Grade
Themes: Family, Fathers, Fatherly love
Major Awards: A Kirkus Best Book of the Year, An Arnold Adoff Poetry Award Winner, An NCTE Notable Poetry Book.
Summary: This is a collection of poems about children sharing special moments with their fathers.
Personal Response: I really loved reading this book. My dad primarily raised me, and for the most part it's only been just us two, so it was nice to see beautifully written poems about the special moments in which children and father share. This book is also in my family book set.
Illustrations: The illustrations were created with textile materials that were cut and glued or sowed together to create the images in the book.
Classroom Connections:

After reading a few poems out of this book, I would have the students create an image of themselves and their dad or grandfather or uncle, by cutting fabric and or colored paper.
Students could also write in their journals a special memory they have about their father, uncle, older male cousin, or grandfather.

]]> 2019-09-25 18:40:51 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389678868 Drawn Together fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389679074 By: Minh Le
Illustrated By: Dan Santat
Citation: Lê Minh, & Santat, D. (2018). Drawn together. Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Fiction
Recommended Grade Level: Preschool to 2nd grade.
Themes: Inter-generational friendship, imagination, artistic expression, family, communication.
Major Awards: Bangkok Book Award Finalist.
Summary: This tale is about a grandfather, who doesn't speak English, and his grandson who is spending the day with him and bored. The two figure out how to communicate with each other through art and play. They end up figuratively, saying more to each other than they ever could with words. They gain a deeper understanding and love for each other. In addition, this book is in my family book set.
Personal Response: I enjoyed this book because I have had friendships, overseas, where I couldn't speak their language and they could't speak mine and we still found away to communicate and bond, specifically through music.
Illustrations: The book is illustrated in a comic book fashion, and portrays a lot of action with thick and sharp lines. This book relies heavily on the illustrations to tell the story which models the story itself.
Classroom Connections:

Students could make a list on how the characters came over their differences.
The teacher could provide a blank comic strip and students could create their own stories with their grandparents or other older family members.

]]> 2019-09-25 18:41:08 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389679074 Mango, Abuela, and Me fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389679163 By: Meg Medina
Illustrated By: Angela Dominguez
Citation: MEDINA, M. E. G. (2018). Mango, Abuela And Me. Place of publication not identified: LIVE OAK MEDIA.
Format: Picture Books
Location: Somerville, Massachusetts
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommended Grade Level: K-2nd
Themes: Family, Inter-generational Friendships, culture.
Major Awards: Pura Belpre Honor Book
Summary: Mia, the little girl you see on the cover of the book, her grandmother, or as it is said in Spanish, Abuela, comes to stay with her and her family, from far away. Even though her and her grandmother share a bedroom, Mia still feels like she's a far away grandmother. They get closer because Mia helps her Abuela learn English, and Mia learns some Spanish, and they also bond through a parrot that Mia gets to help her grandmother learn English and to remind her of her own home.
Personal Response: This book is also in my family text set, and I chose this book because it is a beautiful representation on inter-generational relationships. Personally, I am very close with my own grandmother, and my closest friend is 71.
Classroom Connections:

As a class we could talk about what communication means, what we use it for, and why it's so important.
We could use this book as a prompt for writing about their grandparents, or older relatives, and how they communicate with each other, and how much that relative means to them.

]]> 2019-09-25 18:41:17 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389679163 Nino Wrestles The World fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389679333 By: Yuyi Morales
Illustrated By: Yuyi Morales
Citation: Morales, Y. (2015). Nino Wrestles the World. Turtleback Books.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommended Grade Level: PreK-2nd
Themes: Sports, Martial Arts, Brother and Sister, Superhero.
Major Awards: Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Winner
Summary: Nino is a super hero, or better known as a lucha libre fighter, going around and fighting monsters. There are Spanish words and the book is narrated in English.
Personal Response: This book is really funny, and I think boys would really like this book because of its's comic book like illustrations. This book led me to think about how fun it can be learning about other cultures and new words in another language. I have not have any personal experience relating to this story but there are many boys in my preschool who play super heroes and bad guys all the time. I would definitely use this book in my classroom because if I have children of Hispanic background they will feel a sense of belonging in this book, helping my create an emotionally safe environment. On the other hand, if I don't have any students with a Hispanic background the boys in my classroom, perhaps, will find likeness in Nino.
Classroom Connections:

Students can act out the book, in other words, readers theater. This can be done because there are no dialog tags.
One could also use this book as an introduction to sports around the world for a social studies lesson.

]]> 2019-09-25 18:41:32 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389679333 Grandma's Gift fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389679415 By: Eric Velasquez
Illustrated By: Eric Velasquez
Citation: Velasquez, E. (2010). Grandmas gift. New York: Walker and Company.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Inc.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommended Grade Level: Prek to 2nd
Themes: Family, Puerto Rico traditions, Christmas, Neighborhood,
Major Awards: Pura Belpre Award
Summary: A grandmother and grandson bond over celebrating Christmas in their cultural way, making pastilles, and his grandmother supporting him in wanting to become an artist.
Personal Response: Although I am not Hispanic, I have a few friends who are from Puerto Rico and I have helped them make Pastelles. Making this traditional dish is an all day thing and is usually done with a large portion of the family. This book ties into my family specific set.
Classroom Connections:

Students will create and illustrate a poster about who they are, their neighborhood and what they like about it, and where their family is from.
Students can write in their journals for 5 minutes about what traditions their own families have, and then share with a partner if they wish to.

]]> 2019-09-25 18:41:40 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389679415 I Am Enough fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389682026 By: Grace Byers
Illustrated By: Keturah A. Bobo
Citation: Byers, G., & Bobo, K. A. (2019). I am enough. Fairfax, VA: Library Ideas, LLC.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommended Grade Level: Prek to 3rd
Themes: Self love, Confidence, Acceptance.
Major Awards: Goodreads Choice Awards picture book winner
Summary: This book is full of analogies of the main characters attributes and strengths. It is a book about self confidence and self worth.
Personal Response: I bought this book as well, because it's so important for children of color to see positive representations of themselves. When I was growing up I rarely saw character in books that looked like me, so I'm glad that children today have diversity books.
Classroom Connections:

Using the quote from the book “I know that we don’t look the same: our skin, our eyes, our hair, our frame.” Students could use a mirror to draw a self portrait and write features that they see in their face.
Students find similes in the book and then compose a "Like me" poem about themselves.

]]> 2019-09-25 18:45:49 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389682026 Return fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389682111 By: Aaron Becker
Illustrated By: Aaron Becker
Citation: Becker, A. (2016). Return. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Format: Picture Book
Location: Somerville, Massachusettes
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: Wordless
Recommended Grade Level: Preschool to 3rd grade
Themes: Family, fatherly love, courage, exploration, and imagination.
Major Awards: Caldecott Honor
Summary: This is the third and final story to the Journey Trilogy. The main character is going through the red door that leads to her fantasy world. Her father finds this door and finds her and tries to convince her to come back home. They face challenges and they overcome them together by trusting each other and using their imagination.
Personal Response: I didn't get to read the second one but I didn't realize until I read the summary of the book. I really love this trilogy and I am going to buy it and bring it into my preschool classroom. I love the illustrations and although they paint a clear picture of what's happening there is still a lot of room for the readers imagination and interpretation.
Illustrations: The illustration were, again, created with watercolor, pen, and ink.
Classroom Connections:

Students could each take a page of illustration and describe it in their own words.
Students could create their own prequel story, and write about how the magic came into existence.

]]> 2019-09-25 18:45:56 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/389682111 Journey fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/392057141 By: Aaron Becker
Illustrated By: Aaron Becker
Citation: Becker, A. (2014). Journey. London: Walker books.
Format: Picture Book
Location: Somerville, Massachusetts
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: Wordless
Recommended Grade Level: Preschool to 3rd Grade
Themes: Loneliness, Friendship, Imagination, Fantasy, and wonder.
Major Awards: Caldecott Honor
Summary: This story is about a girl who is lonely and finds a magic crayon and draws herself a door in her room that leads her to a magical place. As she faces obstacles she uses her imagination and magic crayon to create objects to help her. Towards the end of the story the little girl gets captured and meets a little boy with a purple magic crayon who saved her. The story ends as them both becoming friends.
Personal Response: I really liked this book, even though it didn't have any words, the illustrations moved me. It's a story of wonder, fantasy, and new found friendship.
Illustrations: The illustrations were created with watercolor, pen, and ink. The illustrations fill up the entire page and the lines are more defined on the outside of structures and characters. The values and hues in the background are lighter than the focus point. The author/illustrator effectively transitioned the story from one story to the next by having the images take up the whole page, and connected pages together.
Classroom Connections:

Students could create and write their own story, with words, in accordance with the illustrations in the book
Students could also partner with a classmate and they could create their own wordless book, have a separate script to it, share it with the class, and have the class guess what their story was about.

]]> 2019-10-01 17:50:17 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/392057141 Alphabet Under Construction fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/398508071 By: Denise Fleming
Illustrated By: Denise Fleming
Citation: Fleming, D. (2002). Alphabet under construction. New York: Henry Holt.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Henry Holt
Genre: Alphabet book
Recommended Grade Level: Pre K- 1st
Themes: Construction, Alphabet, Verbs
Major Awards: Notable Children's Books Award
Summary: In stead of your run of the mill alphabet book, it tells a story of action. A mouse is building, constructing, designing, and creating all sorts of things. Each page has a letter and uses a action verb.
Personal Response: This book is so different from any other alphabet book I have seen. I think it is a really fun book and because of the active verbs on every page, it's a great way for children to learn their ABC through action.
Illustration: She makes her own paper and uses it for her collage style.
Classroom Connection:

While reading the book have children stand up, on their circles, and try their best to act out every action verb.
Children could pick one letter and use the collage method to decorate their letter that they chose. For younger kids this is a good way to build fine and gross motor skills.

]]> 2019-10-16 14:51:57 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/398508071 Benny and Penny in the Big No-No fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/401494161 By: Geoffrey Hayes
Illustrated By: Geoffrey Hayes
Citation: Hayes, G. (2009). Benny and Penny in The Big No-No! New York: Toon Books.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Toon Books
Genre: Fiction
Recommended Grade Level: Pre K-5th grade
Themes: Anger, hurt, remorse, gratitude, fear, misunderstanding, apologizing.
Major Awards: The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winner
Summary: Two siblings discover that there is a new neighbor and at first they are excited to meet them! But when Benny can't find his pal he automatically assumes that the new kids stole it. The siblings discuss going over the fence into their new neighbors yard, and even though they know it is a big No-No they do it anyway. They find out that their new neighbor is nice! And so they apologize. Moral of the story is people aren't as bad as they seem.
Personal Response: This book I think is a great example of handling ones emotions and teaching children about making new friends. I really enjoyed the comic book feel of it. There are a lot of kids who are reading graphic novels, maybe as a society we are slightly moving away from the traditional book, this may get kids to read that usually don't enjoy reading.
Classroom Connection:

Students could create their own comic strips or even their own comic book about a specific subject and or topic.
For preK or a kindergarten classroom, as a sensory table the teacher could have mud in it with different things they could find outside in the mud like leaves, sticks, and worms.

]]> 2019-10-23 14:50:48 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/401494161 Goldilocks and the Three Bears fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/404661117 Retold By: James Marshall
Illustrated By: James Marshall
Citation: Marshall, J. (1988). Goldilocks and the Three Bears. New York, NY: Penguin Young Readers Group .
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Genre: Traditional Literature, Fiction.
Recommend Grade Level: pre K-2nd grade
Themes: Selfishness and consequences.
Major Awards: Caldecott Honor
Summary: This version of the classic tales portrays Goldilocks as a naughty girl who has little regard for rules. She learns the hard way, when the three bears come home and scare her.
Personal Response: This wasn't my favorite book out of all the Goldilocks books I have read, but I do see the value in it, which is why I picked it anyway. I see that this is a good social emotional building story to help your students better understand that there are rules for a reason, and what may happen if you break those rules and have to find out the hard way.
Classroom Connection:

Social emotional connection about why rules are important and what could happen if we break rules
Teacher could have students create a comic strip and draw out a personal story of when they did not listen to the rules and something bad happened.

]]> 2019-10-30 18:47:22 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/404661117 Seeds Move! fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407541761 By: Robin Page
Illustrated By: Robin Page
Citation: Page, R. (2019). Seeds move! NY, NY: Beach Lane Books.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Genre: Non-Fiction
Recommend Grade Level: Prek-4th Grade.
Themes: Seeds, Dispersal
Major Awards: Caldecott Honoree
Summary: This book is about how seeds move around the planet and grow, and also how some animals and insects help with that process.
Personal Response: I mainly chose this book because of it's beautiful illustrations. This book is almost like a story and could be used with smaller children.
Classroom Connection:

Great way to introduce a unit on seeds, one could do an IRA before having the students grow a seed in a bag themselves.
Based off of this book students could write their own story about a specific seed and how it traveled.

]]> 2019-11-06 16:15:16 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407541761 Time to Sleep fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407542795 By: Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Illustrated By: Steve Jenkins
Citation: Jenkins, S., & Page, R. (2014). Time to sleep. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Format: Picture Book

Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Genre: Non-Fiction
Recommend Grade Level: PreK-2nd grade
Themes: Family, Sleeping, Cuddling, animal sleeping habits.
Major Awards: Eureka silver honor book
Summary: This book shows and tells how different animals sleep. The funnest thing about this book is it features rare and unusual animals.
Personal Response: I had no idea that what stork could sleep in flight! I learned a lot of interesting facts in this book that I had ever learned. I really enjoyed this book and it has just enough information, but not too much, to make it interesting and educational from preschool aged children to maybe 3rd grade aged children.
Classroom Connection:

Students could discuss with each other how they sleep.
Teacher could ask students to measure their bed room, or even their bed in feet and inches.

]]> 2019-11-06 16:16:35 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407542795 Flying Frogs and Walking Fish fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407543540 By: Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Illustrated By: Steve Jenkins
Citation: Jenkins, S., & Page, R. (2016). Flying frogs and walking fish: leaping lemurs, tumbling toads, jet-propelled jellyfish, and more surprising ways that animals move. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Format: Picture Book
Location: Boston, MA.
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Genre: Non-Fiction
Recommend Grade Level: Pre K-3rd
Themes: Frogs, Fish, Biology.
Major Awards: NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books 2017.
Summary: This book combines science, art, environments, and biology. This book shows how animals move throughout our world and their environments.
Personal Response: Before I took Dr. Napoli's class on children's literature, I did not have an interest in non-fiction books. I have grown to enjoy and see the great importance of non-fiction books, especially science ones. The illustrations in this book made it so interesting!
Classroom Connection:

A fun way to conduct an animals move activity. A interactive book where the children could act out the creatures in the book.
Students could pick an animal out the book and create their own collage of the animal with multiple art materials.

]]> 2019-11-06 16:17:34 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407543540 One Last Word fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407711968 By: Nikki Grimes
Illustrated By: Cabrera et al.
Citation: Grimes, Nikki (2017). One Last Word: wisdom from the Harlem renaissance. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY.
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Recommend Grade Level: 3rd-12th
Themes: African American living,
Major Awards: 2014 Garden State Teen Book Awards list. Nominated for the 2012 NCAAP Image Award.
Summary: This is book compiled of poetry about the Harlem renaissance. Nikki Grimes uses the "Golden Shovel" style of poetry. All the illustrations are done by African Americans.
Personal Response: I was really moved by this book, I myself, am not from Harlem New York, but I could resonate with the struggles of being a person of color in this country. I think this book is relevant at almost all ages.
Classroom Connection:

This book is a great example of the Golden Shovel poetry style, give students a task to write their own short and simple Golden Shovel poetry style about something in their home, family, or culture that makes them happy or they are proud of.
Students could do readers drama and act out some of the poems, or illustrate one of the poems. Or students could get into pairs, one student could be the poet and the other the illustrator.

]]> 2019-11-06 19:51:44 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407711968 The Golden Sandal fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407713372 By: Rebecca Hickox
Illustrated By: Will Hillenbrand
Citation: Hickox, R. (2012). The Golden Sandal A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story. Paw Prints.

Format: Picture Book
Location: Connecticut
Publisher: Paw Prints
Genre: Traditional Fiction
Recommend Grade Level: K-3rd grade.
Themes: Family, magic, hardship.
Major Awards: The 2000 Patricia Gallagher Picture Book Award Nominee.
Summary: Maha, or Cinderella, is forced to do housework by her evil stepmother while her father is away fishing, and her stepsisters are lounging around the house. Maha finds a magical red fish, because she did not kill and eat him, the fish agrees to help her whenever she calls for him. When Maha wants to go to a great wedding feast, her step mother forbids it, and Maha calls for the red fish. He dresses her in a beautiful gown with golden sandals. As the original Cinderella, she leaves a golden sandal at the ball and the brother of the rich merchant, for whom the party was for, founds it and then finds her.
Personal Response: I am personally interested in middle eastern cultures so that is what originally attracted me to this book because it is based in Iraq. It is a wonderful and cultural twist on the original Cinderella.
Classroom Connection:

Children could investigate different versions of Cinderella from different counties all over the world. Students could work in pairs and then give a small presentation on their story and how it relates to the country that version is form.
Children, working in groups could write their own version of Cinderella, illustrate it and then read it to the class.

]]> 2019-11-06 19:53:36 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407713372 Planting Stories, The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407713910 By: Anika Aldamuy Denise
Illustrated By: Paola Escobar
Citation: Denise, A., & Escobar, P. (2019). Planting stories: the life of librarian and storyteller Pura Belpré. New York, NY: Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY.
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Non-Fiction
Recommend Grade Level: 1st-4th grade
Themes: History, storytelling, Puerto Rico culture, community, great girl role models.
Major Awards: Junior Library Guild Selection, Indie Next List Pick. New York Public Library's Best Books of 2019, Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books of 2019.
Summary: Pura Belpre come to America in 1921, she started off at the New York public library as a bilingual assistant. She brought with her stories from her home country of Puerto Rico. Pura Belpre turned her homeland stories into puppet shows for the children at her library, she then wrote them into books and gets published.
Personal Response: The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover, as you see below. The colors are so vibrant! I really enjoyed getting to know Pura Belpre better. This is a great way to teach how important stories and ones culture are.
Classroom Connection:

Discuss with students how stories can plant seeds and what that means to plant seeds with storytelling and writing.
Good book to showcase how folklore is different from stories we have today. Children can talk about and read their favorite folklore stories.

]]> 2019-11-06 19:54:18 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407713910 Dave the Potter. Artist, Poet, Slave. fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407714777 By: Laban Carrick Hill
Illustrated By: Bryan Collier
Citation: Hill, L. C., & Collier, B. (2011). Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave. Massachusetts: Little, Brown & Co.
Format: Picture Book
Location: Massachusetts
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Genre: Non-Fiction
Recommend Grade Level: Pre K- 2nd Grade
Themes: Art, resilience, slavery, African American history.
Major Awards: Coretta Scott King Award Winner. Caldecott Honor
Summary: Dave was a real person who lived in South Carolina during the 1800s. Dave was a potter who eventually learned how to write and read. He wrote on his pots short stories. The book is written in poem form and showcases his pottery.
Personal Response: I was immediately drawn to this story because it wasn't just another slave story of suffering and loss, it showed a man working with his hands and creating his art. I am really glad I found this book because this is a different way to teach and show slavery and the history that goes along with it.
Classroom Connection:

The book uses very descriptive language so students could find it within the book and pictures representing the descriptive language.
Students could write a poem about something they are good at and illustrate it, then share it with other classmates.

]]> 2019-11-06 19:55:26 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/407714777 I Remember: Poems And Pictures Of Heritage fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/419935946 Compiled: Lee Bennet Hopkins
Illustrated By: Barragan et al
Citation: Hopkins, L. B. (2019). I Remember: Poems And Pictures Of Heritage. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books Inc.

Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Lee and Low Books Inc.
Genre: Non-Fiction Poetry
Recommended Grade Level: 3rd grade to 7th.
Themes: Racism, identity, African American, Jewish American, Asian American, kindness/caring, Native American, Fathers, Grandparents, Gratitude, and Confidence.
Major Awards: Award winning authors and illustrators contributed to the collection.
Summary: Each poem in this collection dives deep into the complexity of family, heritage, and identity. Some of the poems in this book even portray some of the fears African Americans may have.
Personal Response: I really connected with most of poems in this collection. I myself, an African American female, have struggles with the same things. In fact, just this morning I had pediatric CPR training and on the form it asked my race, and the trainer specifically asked us to fill that part out. I will never understand what my race has to do with learning pediatric first aid.
Classroom Connection:

Depending on grade, students could write a short poem about their heritage, or a tradition they do at home.
Students could chose a poem out of this book that resonates with them and write a story around that poem, further developing empathy.

]]> 2019-12-04 21:01:08 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/419935946 This Is Not My Hat fatcampgirl https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/419939207 By: Jon Klassen
Illustrated By: Barragan et al
Citation: Klassen, J. (2019). This is not my hat. London: Walker Books and Subsidiaries.
Format: Picture Book
Location: New York, NY
Publisher: Lee and Low Books Inc.
Genre: Fiction
Recommended Grade Level: Prek-2nd grade
Themes: Stealing, punishment, lying, and trust
Major Awards: Caldecott Medal and Honor
Summary: The little fish steals the big fish's hat while he's sleeping. The Big fish wakes up and starts following the little fish, without the little fish knowing. Little fish runs into a crab that says he will not tell anyone where little fish is hiding. The crab tells the big fish where the little fish is hiding and the big fish takes his hat back.
Personal Response: I really enjoyed this book, it was simple, and I really enjoyed that this book conveyed so many different lessons that children need to learn in so few words.
Classroom Connection:

This would be a great book to do an interactive read a loud with and to ask thought provoking questions.
Discussion questions to consider "What does it mean to trust someone?" "Is it every okay to lie?"

]]> 2019-12-04 21:09:06 UTC https://padlet.com/fatcampgirl/2u86sq9ttkcr/wish/419939207