Author and illustrator: Yuyi Morales

Publisher: Neal Porter Books

Publication Date: September 4, 2018

Number of pages: 40

Grade level: Preschool - 3

Artistic Media: acrylic illustrations

Literary Elements

Characters: Mother, Baby

Setting: A foreign land

Themes: immigration, social justice, diversity, inclusion, empowerment

Plot: A mother and daughter immigrate from their homeland to a new land to try and make a new beginning for themselves. The two run into language, cultural, and societal barriers. However, the duo can get through anything with perseverance and yearning to learn.

Style: linear, simple sentences with common words

Point of view: The mother, third person limited

Personal Response: I thought the story was powerful because the mother's point of view was clearly defined through the things she did not understand. The reader gets a clear sense of just how foreign the new land the mother and baby inhibit is to them.

Circular Connections: Dreamers is a great book to use when discussing the importance of diversity and highlighting many perspectives. It shows students just how isolating it can be for people in new settings and, therefore, to treat those people kindly because of the help they need. Simultaneously, it teaches students that even those with different backgrounds hold similarities in the most human qualities.

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Illustrator: Rafael Lopez

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Publication Date: August 28, 2018

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: Kindergarten - 3

Artistic Media: mixed-media illustrations

Literary Elements

Characters: Angelina, Rigoberto, Maisha

Setting: A school

Themes: diversity, inclusion, equality, individuality

Plot: Angelina and her classmates learn about each other's lives and cultural norms. At first, this puts disgust and confusion in the students, but eventually, they all come to understand each other.

Style: non-linear, simple sentences with common words

Point of view: Second person

Personal Response: I thought this book did a nice job with cultural perspectives, as the story has different people from different backgrounds trying to connect with one another.

Circular Connections: The Day You Begin is a great book to help young students recognize how to respect other students from other backgrounds in the classroom. This story is perfect for young children who aren't always able to translate lessons from stories that differ from their own lives, as no translation is needed.

Authors: Deborah Lee Rose, Jane Veltkamp

Photographer: Glen Hush

Publisher: Persnickety Press

Publication Date: March 27, 2019

Number of Pages: 48

Grade level: Preschool - 1

Artistic Media: photography

Literary Elements

Characters: the bald eagle, Janie, Nate

Setting: the mountains, the outdoors

Themes: conservation, collaboration, humanity of humans

Plot: It is the story of a bald eagle who grows up and eventually is shot by poachers whose bullet destroys the eagle's upper beak. Later, the bald eagle is rescued and given a prosthetic beak by a raptor biologist, Janie, and Nate, an engineer. 

Personal Response: The book provides information in a simple yet informative way. It is not too much information, but enough information for young children to be able to take away something valuable from the reading experience. The book also sets up an essential backstory of the eagle, which lets young children attach themselves to the bird's life. Later, this translates to the children caring for the bird's well-being when it gets shot. The pictures in the book are not illustrated but actual photos taken from the bald eagle's journey. Realistic pictures allow children to quickly realize that the story is true.

Circular Connections: Students can effectively gain biological and scientific knowledge through this story. Following up this story with one that is fantastical yet similar would be good for a compare and contrast in effectiveness for their messages, themes, or any other components.

Author: Margarita Engle

Illustrator: Rafael López

Publisher: Clarion

Publication Date: March 31, 2015

Number of pages: 48

Grade level: Preschool - 3

Artistic Media: Surrealistic art, folk art

Literary elements

Characters: Young girl

Setting: Island

Themes: persistence, transformation of gender roles

Plot: A girl on a faraway island dreams of playing the drums, a reserved right for boys. Through persistence, she breaks the culturally set barrier and plays the dreams for everyone to hear.

Style: linear, simple sentences with common words

Point of view: The young girl, third person

Personal Response: I thought the book carried an ethereal tone with it. One that elevated the importance of the problem of girls not being able to drum on the island. It took away from its realism, which I often don't like with subjects like this. However, the fantastical quality did keep the attention of children, which is most important since that is the demographic it is targeting.

Circular Connections: As I said above, the fantastical style of this book works well for children, but I would still be curious if children would respond similarly to a realistic book. Discussing this one along with a realistic book would be a good way to compare and contrast the students' responses to each.

Author: Hiba Masood

Illustrator: Hoda Hadadi

Publisher: Daybreak Press

Publication date: September 3, 2016

Number of pages: 38

Grade level: Preschool - 3

Artistic Media: Realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Najma, grandmother

Setting: Turkish village

Themes: persistence, transformation of gender roles

Plot: Najma wants nothing more than to be the musaharati who bangs the drum during Ramadan. She persists throughout the story until she finally takes the drum in the early morning for herself. Now, she is banging the drum for Ramadan.

Style: linear, simple sentences with common and some uncommon words

Point of view: Najma, third person limited

Personal response: The realistic take of Drum Dream Girl is not as impactful as I would have expected it to be. It shows just how much a fantastical style can heighten the emotion or sentiment of a message. However, by showing a realistic environment, a sense of hard work and connection between the character and reader presented itself. Neither of which were as strong in the fantastical version of this story.

Circular Connections: Students can try to relate times they have been challenged to the story of Najma. Seeing an actual individual can make it easier for younger students to compare themselves to them since they are also real.

Author and illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh

Publisher: Abrams

Publication date: August 25, 2015

Number of pages: 40

Grade level: 2 - 5

Artistic Media: Realistic art, folk art

Literary Elements

Characters: Jose Guadalupe Posada

Setting: Mexico

Themes: perseverance, artistry, hard work, persuing excellence

Plot: The book is about the journey of Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada from birth to the eventual creation of his iconic calaveras drawings to his death in 1913. The book goes into the tumultuous printing life of Posada that eventually led him to his Calaveras drawings, which are now synonymous with Mexico's Dia de los Muertos festival.

Style: linear, simple sentences with some uncommon words

Point of view: Jose Guadalupe Posada, objective third person

Personal response: The book is set up and written in a digestable, informative, format. Young students are able to understand what the life of Posada was. Students know why he is important. The story is moving on a fairly fast pace to keep younger kids involved. However, I believe it is not too fast.

Circular Connections: Testing the recall of students is beneficial and a biographical story seems like a good opportunity to test that. Using the key events of Posada's life, students can put them all on a timeline from earliest to latest. It can be a group or individual activity.

Author: Derrick Barnes

Illustrator: Gordon C. James

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Publication date: September 1, 2020

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: Preschool - 2

Artistic Media: impressionistic and realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: young black boy

Setting: the present

Themes: individuality, cultural pride

Plot: A young African American boy goes through his daily life in complete confidence. He believes he can achieve anything if he puts his mind to it. Even if he gets down or is hindered by others, he still gets up and continues on.

Style: linear, simple sentences with common words

Point of view: The young black boy, third person

Personal response: Out of all the books I have read for the class, this one exemplifies individuality the best. The story shows how unique and special the young boy is. The boy's specialty translates to saying that everyone is special no matter what background they come from. The language is not hyper-specific, either. The sentences aid the themes and the message in a general way.

Circular Connections: Students should springboard off this book by figuring out what makes them unique. Teachers should encourage these unique qualities. Students should also learn to use these unique characteristics to connect with one another.

Author: Cece Bell

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Publication date: September 2, 2014

Number of pages: 248

Grade level: 3 - 7

Artistic media: Cartoon art

Literary Elements:

Characters: Cece, Laura, Mike Miller

Setting: Rural, small town, 1970s

Themes: inclusion, communication, perseverance

Plot: A young deaf girl, Cece, moves from the city to a rural town where she experiences more downs than ups with the peers she meets at her new school. After enough perseverance, Cece gains multiple friendships and a community that accepts her disability, so much so that she becomes a superhero.

Style: linear, simple sentences with common words in speech bubbles, graphic novel

Point of view: Cece, third person limited

Personal response: What I found in the story is how effective children's literature can be at writing about personal disabilities without engaging in the grave details. Some details were modified or omitted because the audience needed help understanding them. However, all the details were written so innocently that even I was touched by the story, so I can only imagine how much it would touch someone in the targeted audience.

Circular Connections: With this text, students can think of how they would interact with a disabled classmate. A classroom activity to aid this train of thought is to have a student wear something distinct to separate them from the other students. With the visible difference, the students can figure out how to treat them equally and respectively.

Author: Douglas Florian

Publisher: Voyager Books

Publication date: 1994

Number of pages: 47

Grade level: 1 - 4

Artistic media: watercolor paintings

Literary Elements

Characters: animals

Setting: Nature

Themes: observation, nature

Plot: Poems that describe the physical description of different animals.

Style: poetry, neologism, wordplay, rhyme, humor

Point of view: observer

Personal response: I thought the paintings, in conjunction with the poems, created a fun dynamic. The reader feels as if they are observing the animals along with Florian.

Circular Connections: A fun activity for students is covering up the paintings that correlate with the poems. Then, read the poems, think of what the animals look like, and then uncover the paintings to see if the animal seems like they thought it would.

Author: Dan Smith

Publisher: Chicken House Ltd.

Publication date: January 1, 2015

Number of pages: 288

Grade level: 4 - 8

Artistic media: NA

Literary Elements

Characters: Oskari, President of the United States

Setting: Woods of Mt. Akka, Place of Sculls

Themes: perseverance, loyalty, friendship, survival

Plot: Oskari is sent out from his village and into the woods to test his manhood. With a bow and arrow, he must survive and bring back what he kills in the forest. Eventually, Oskari meets the President of the United States after the President crash lands running away from Terrorists. Oskari and the President must survive as they try to escape the terrorists. After the boy and the President take out the terrorists, the military rescues the President, and Oskari returns home to a proud village and father.

Style: linear, moderately sized sentences with common and uncommon words.

Point of view: Oskari, third person

Personal Connections: I thought the story was suspenseful, thanks to good pacing and descriptive language. The author's descriptions also provided a great sense of setting. Oskari seemed genuine, and his relationship with the President seemed authentic given the circumstances.

Circular Connections: Once students start reaching higher grade levels, more is required when discovering literary elements in complex texts. This novel is an excellent break from that. Students should read the story to take a break from the profoundly literary texts while still taking time to think about what makes the book good and bad.

Author: Rick Riordan

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication date: April 1, 2006

Number of pages: 416

Grade level: 3 - 8

Artistic media: NA

Literary Elements

Characters: Percy Jackson, Grover, Annabeth

Setting: Long Island, New York, Yancy Academy, Camp Half-Blood

Themes: identity, trust, cooperation

Plot: The book starts with Percy Jackson learning about his true father, Posiden, and the real world of mythology through a series of events, including killing a fury and a minotaur that takes away his mother. After arriving at Camp Half-Blood, Percy is instructed to find and return Zeus's lightning bolt. Eventually, after surviving trials and tribulations, Percy returns the lightning bold, and his mother is returned to safety.

Style: linear, moderately sized sentences with uncommon and common words

Point of view: Percy Jackson, first person

Personal response: Like Big Game, this book has fun adventures and suspense. Riordan did an excellent job adding the right amount of mythology into the story. Considering how dense Greek Mythology is, it could have gotten confusing.

Circular Connections: This book suits students who want to challenge themselves in reading length while still dealing with relatively simple themes and messages. Simultaneously, it can be a break for students who aren't in the mood for deeply literary texts. It can empower young students since Percy is around the age of many readers.

Author: Eiko Kadono

Publisher: Fukuinkan Shoten

Publication date: January 25, 1985

Number of pages: 259

Grade level: 5-6

Artistic media: NA

Literary Elements

Characters: Kiki, Tombo, Jiji

Setting: Koriko

Themes: tradition being lost over time, tradition vs. change, growing up

Plot: Kiki is a developing witch who is sent on a journey to find a town that needs a resident witch. Koriko, the town she chooses, dislikes witches. However, through time, Kiki changes the townsfolk's opinion through actions.

Style: simple sentences with common words, linear

Point of view: Third person limited, Kiki

Personal Response: I enjoyed this book as much as I thought I would because I saw the movie before reading it. I love innocent, fun, adventure stories like this novel. They're good stories to enjoy when you're sad or happy while still being able to glean something from them. For example, readers can learn about the journey to independence or adulthood by watching Kiki become comfortable living away from her family in Koriko. The journey's more minor points are relatable, too, because Kiki deals with a variety of emotions as she tries to figure out the outside world by herself. Here, there are trials and tribulations to which all people can relate.

Circular Connections: A effective activity for students would be to compare Kiki's growth with their own. Students could write about a time they were in a new setting and had to mature because of it. A Venn diagram would work well for this.

Author: Monica Brown

Illustrator: John Parra

Publisher: Tricycle Press

Publication date: August 9, 2011

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: K-3

Artistic Media: folk art

Literary Elements

Characters: Ana, mother, father, brother, biblioburro man

Setting: rural hill country in Central America

Themes: Metrocentrism, power of education, power of reading, reading gives freedom

Plot: Ana lives in a rural town and wishes to read more than the one book she owns. One day, a donkey carrying a mobile library arrives, allowing her and the town's children to read as many books as they'd like.

Style: linear, simple sentences with common English and Spanish words

Point of view: Third person, Ana

Personal response: The book does an excellent job of emphasizing reading through children's literature fun. The author uses the main character's thoughts and emotions as she yearns to read more to emphasize the power of reading. None of the messages remain on the surface, which creates a story first and message second narrative, which I find most compelling. Usually, when a message comes first, the flow of the story is ruined. The lack of resources in rural areas was also an excellent touch by the author.

Circular Connections: An eye-opening activity for students could involve choosing and reading one book. Then, ask them to write down what they learned from it. After that, have the students talk to each other about their books. Most likely, the students won't be able to relate to each other's books because they only read their own. After student discussion, the teacher should highlight how the ability to read multiple books would have made for better understanding between students. Therefore, it becomes hard to connect with the world and others by reading only one book in your lifetime.

Author: Lila Mehta, Meredith Brucker

Illustrator: Youshan Tang

Publisher: Lee and Low Books

Publication date: April 29, 2014

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: K-3

Artistic Media: Expressionistic art, realistic art, watercolor

Literary Elements

Characters: Cinduri, stepmother, stepsister, Prince of Suryanagar, the snake

Setting: India, 1,000 years ago, farm

Themes: Hope, karma, good vs. evil

Plot: Cinduri's parents die which forces her to live with her stepmother and stepsister. The two treat her poorly. One day, she meets a snake from a lake who offers to help her get through life. On the ninth evening of Navatari, Cinduri dances with the Prince of Suryanagar. After running away from him, the Prince tracks her down, and the two live a married and happy life with the snake.

Style: linear, moderately sized sentences, moderate-level words in English

Point of view: Omniscient

Personal response: I thought there was a good balance between Indian culture and the typical Cinderella story. There is not too much, making it easy for children of all cultures to understand. The illustrations were beautiful, too.

Circular Connections: An important activity would be to compare this Cinderella story to the basic Cinderella story to see what was changed due to the culture in which it is placed. Students can look from an aesthetic and thematic perspective to see what worked and did not work in this story.

Author: Ai-Ling Louie

Illustrator: Ed Young

Publisher: Puffin Books

Publication date: May 7, 1996

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: Preschool-3

Artistic media: Realistic art, expressionistic art, drawing, colored pencil, florid

Literary Elements

Characters: Yeh-Shen, stepmother, stepsister, king of the island of T'o Han, the carp

Setting: Before the Han and Ch'in Dynasties, China

Themes: hope, karma, good vs. evil

Plot: Yeh-Shen is stuck with her stepmother and stepsister after her parents die; she befriends a carp the stepmother kills. She loses a golden shoe at a festival she attends. A prince desires to find the shoe owner because of its beauty. The two live happily ever after, away from her stepmother and stepsister.

Point of view: Omniscient

Personal response: What surprised me the most about the Cinderella stories was that they mostly came from the Chinese version (Yeh-Shen). The first significant surprise was the Princes wanting to find Yeh-Shen not because of her as a person but because of the shoe's material beauty. It's an odd thing that drives him, considering how many other versions have the Prince go after the girl purely because he wants to see her again. The other surprise I had was how explicit the Chinese version was sometimes. For example, the story mentions that Yeh-Shen's stepmother and stepsister were crushed to death by stones. I never expected to read that in a children's Cinderella story. 

Style: moderately sized sentences, moderate-level words in English

Circular Connections: An activity the students could do is compare this Cinderella story to the Indian Cinderella story to compare the cultural differences. The similar storylines would make said comparison easier for young students. With this activity, students can learn about the different cultures of the world rather than being stuck with just a Western cultural perspective.

Author: Virginia Hamilton

Illustrator: James E. Ransome

Publisher: Blue Sky Press

Publication date: October 1, 2003

Number of pages: 36

Grade level: K-4

Artistic media: Realistic art, folk art

Literary Elements

Characters: Bruh Rabbit, Bruh Wolf

Setting: rural farmland

Themes: the cruelty of nature

Plot: Bruh Rabbit regularly steals Bruh Wolf's crops. However, the wolf finally has enough of Bruh Rabbit's escapades and sets defenses for him. The first, a scarecrow, does not work. The second, a tarred-up fake rabbit, does trap him, but Bruh Rabbit's trickster smarts get the best of Bruh Wolf, and he escapes again.

Personal response: I learned several things about enslaved African Americans' history, geography, and culture. I learned that they prized rabbits because they believed they were similar to them because of their helplessness with predators like wolves. They also liked rabbits for their ability to escape sticky situations with their tricky agility. Words like "croker sack" and "bruh" set the story's text with the heavy Gullah speech of the Sea Islands of South Carolina. Overall, from this children's story, I was able to glean the sentiment, tone, and world of general African American slaves faced and of slaves in the Sea Islands of South Carolina.

Point of view: Omniscient

Personal response: I find animal fantasies to be captivating because of the pieces of human nature that get exposed when the animals exhibit the emotions, talk, and reason of humans. This story is no exception. The conflict highlights humanity's capability of being cruel for no good reason, among other things.

Style: simple sentences with simple words, linear

Circular connections: An activity students could learn about the enslaved African Americans in the Sea Islands of South Carolina and then read the story. After doing both, students should compare the two to see if they can identify the unique cultural touches in the story. The activity introduces students to the depths that literature can reach from a historical perspective.

Author: Michael Morpurgo

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Publication date: 2012

Number of pages: 173

Grade level: 4-7

Artistic media: NA

Literary Elements

Characters: Shadow, Aman, mother, Matt, Matt's grandfather

Setting: Afghanistan, England

Themes: The inhumanity of humans, immigration, the atrocities of war, displacement caused by war, love in war

Plot: Aman and his mother live in an Afghan cave when he meets his new companion, Shadow, a spaniel. With the cave destroyed and war looming down on them, the three journey to England for salvation. After serving many trials and tribulations, the two arrive in England without Shadow, who runs away from the police at a checkpoint. However, their adversity doesn't subside as they are put in an imprisonment camp and almost sent back to Afghanistan. Thanks to the help of an Army sergeant, the prime minister, Matt, and his grandfather, the two get to stay in England.

Personal response: This story is excellent for young students because it portrays realism with simple sentences and dialogue. Students can grasp real-world events, and the author doesn't need to cut back on the actual events. The ending is happy, too, which helps students not feel too sad about the real-world events that were and are going on in the Middle East.

Style: simple sentences with simple words, linear

Circular connections: Students should compare the book with some actual accounts of immigrants who escaped war-ridden countries. This will help them understand the realism of the story and raise awareness of the atrocities of war, which will be more fully explored in their literature and history classes later in their academic careers.

Author: Jerry Craft

Illustrator: Jim Callahan

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Publication date: February 5, 2019

Number of pages: 256

Grade level: 3-7

Artistic media: Cartoon art

Literary Elements

Characters: Jordan Banks, Drew, Andy, Alex, Ashley

Setting: New York City, Riverdale Acadamy Day School

Themes: Social conditions defining agency, diversity, clashing cultures, tradition vs. contemporary thinking

Plot: Jordan Banks is forced to attend a wealthy, predominately white private school in New York. Jordan is separated from his black culture and put in a setting dominated by a toxic white culture. Eventually, after many clashes between the two, Jordan becomes friends with many of the kids in the school. He befriends kids of all races and cultures. Simultaneously, he repairs the relationships between other races and cultures within the school.

Style: linear, simple sentences, simple words

Point of view: First person, Jordan

Personal response: I found this story interesting because it handled a serious subject with a cool aesthetic. Jordan showed kids of all backgrounds how to handle racial situations effectively and nicely. The demographic for this book should not be making political speeches or putting themselves in grave danger for defending morality. Instead, they should do what Jordan did: verbally stand up to the oppressed. Jordan shows them how to do that with simple actions and words. The move references for the chapters were a nice touch, too.

Circular activity: The teacher should guide the students in a thoughtful discussion on how they should handle situations like the cafeteria fight in the story. The teacher can write their proposed strategies on the board to make the students feel heard and empowered in a serious conversation. The conversation will open them up to future ones like it by giving them positive recognition for the answers they contribute.

Author: Jerry Pinkney

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication date: October 1, 2013

Number of pages: 40

Grade level: Preschool - 3

Artistic media: folk art

Literary Elements

Characters: Tortoise, Hare, animals

Setting: Desert

Themes: speed, overconfidence, steadiness over speed

Plot: The Hare and the Tortoise race each other, and the Tortoise, despite being a slower creature, wins the race.

Style: linear, simple plot with little dialogue

Point of view: Omniscient

Personal response: I thought the story's lack of words was a welcome surprise. It gave the story more adrenaline and momentum, as readers could just focus on the illustrated action.

Circular connections: An activity incorporating a unique element of the story would be having students create their own wordless storyline. Where the class can only use actions to illustrate what is going on in their stories, students will grasp the functional importance of illustrations in the stories they are reading.

Author: Toby Forward

Illustrator: Izhar Cohen

Publisher: Candlewick

Publication date: October 11, 2005

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: Preschool - 3

Artistic media: folk art, realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf, Grandma

Setting: Forest

Themes: perspective, nuances of good and evil

Plot: The Wolf finds Grandma's house not to hurt her but to warn her of Red Riding Hood's toffee, which will hurt her teeth. Sadly, the situation escalates despite the wolf's good intentions to help LittWolfed Riding Hood and her grandmother.

Style: simple sentences, simple words

Point of View: Third person limited

Personal response: This story is perfect for teaching the class about perspective. Throughout their young lives, students become very familiar with the Little Red Riding Hood story yet never get to learn the other side. This animal fantasy book does just that. By registering the wolf's perspective, the wolf's students will learn to gather information from all sides and, therefore, treat each side not as good and bad but as multifaceted and human.

Circular connections: Students should take a popular story told from a third-person limited perspective and write the other side of the story. It engages their creative juices while learning a valuable lesson about perspective.

Author: Astrid Sheckels

Publisher: FastPencil Premiere

Publication date: October 16, 2014

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: Preschool - 3

Artistic media: folk art, realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Hector, Mo Marten, Charlie Chipmunk, Jeremiah Rabbit, Lucy Skunk

Setting: Forest

Themes: adventure, power of friendship

Plot: Hector and his friends decide to adventure beyond the forest and their comfortable homes to search for a real giant and a chance to capture the fairy tales they know and love.

Style: simple sentences, simple words

Point of view: Omniscient

Personal response: The story teaches readers about finding acceptance while remaining unique. The story focuses on friends who set out on one common goal. The journey they go on highlights the importance of friendship and genuine connections. The common goal they share helps bring the group together. Furthermore, it is the first book in a series, so it gives those students who liked the book more material to read during their independent reading time.

Circular Connections: An activity students can do is get together in groups and come up with a simple goal they all can achieve. Then, they can figure out how each group member can do a part to complete that goal. Once achieved, students can reflect on the journey to realize, like the book does, that friends are a worthy endeavor that helps you adventure through life.

Author: Julia Sarcone-Roach

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Publication date: January 6, 2015

Number of pages: 40

Grade level: Preschool - 2

Artistic media: realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Bear

Setting: Forest, city

Themes: adventure, discovery, perspective, perseverance

Plot: A bear unintentionally finds himself in the city after a pick-up he was sleeping in takes him there. After eating a sandwich, the bear encounters many odd and funny situations till he eventually arrives back home.

Style: sparse sentences, simple words

Point of view: Observer

Personal response: Like many other tall tales, I like this one's innocence. It's innocent, yet it provides great insight into perspective and discovery.

Circular connections: An activity students can do is think about a journey they've been on that's taken them to an unfamiliar place. It doesn't have to be a new state; it could be a new location in their hometown. The teacher should have them describe what it felt like to be in an unfamiliar setting. Then, students should compare those feelings with the feelings of the bear.

Author: Megan Wagner

Publisher: Candlewick

Publication date: August 16, 2022

Number of pages: 144

Grade level: 3 - 7

Artistic media: NA

Literary Elements

Characters: Haven, Ma Millie

Setting: Ma Millie's house, forest

Themes: Survival, friendship, perseverance

Plot: When Ma Millie, Haven's owner and best friend, gets sick, Haven goes out on a mission to get her help. On the journey, Haven encounters a newfound fox friend who helps her complete her mission to help Ma Millie.

Personal Response: It is a good bridge between picture books and chapter books since it is 144 pages long. Like many of its counterparts, it has loads of adventure. By now, students are beginning to grasp the common themes and plot devices throughout this genre, such as adventure.

Circular connections: This book should encourage students to consider how far they would go for their loved ones. They should also consider questions like what is the appropriate amount of risk certain people should take for certain relationships.

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Illustrator: Timothy Basil Ering

Publisher: Candlewick

Publication date: August 25, 2003

Number of pages: 272

Grade level: 2 - 5

Artistic media: Pencil

Literary Elements

Characters: Despereaux Tilling, Roscuro, Mig, The Princess Pea, King Phillip

Setting: Medieval castle

Themes: Good vs. evil, conformity, growing up

Plot: Despereaux Tilling is born and grows up differently than every other mouse: his eyes are open at birth, and he has ambitions to explore the exterior world. Once he does, he is punished by his society of mice to survive among the rats. Once he survives, he continues to pursue his path to exploring the exterior world by saving Pea, the one he is in love with. By the story's end, the two become friends.

Personal response: After reading all the stories in my Padlet, I have seen a common theme of growing up or coming of age in many of them. It's a theme so timeless and demographic-bending that it's prominent in the literature of the Victorian Period all the way to today in children's literature. Usually, even the greatest genres or trends fade, but this one seems to keep going. Why that is? It most likely has to do with how relatable it is and how malleable it is to any life, besides the fact that it is necessary, of course. This book does a nice job of tying these themes with a fun adventure.

Circular connections: Students should take one nonfiction coming-of-age story and compare it to this story. The class should ponder how the two paths are different because of the period, animals, and culture the two are in.

Author: Dave Eggers

Illustrator: Shawn Harris

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Publication date: May 9, 2023

Number of pages: 256

Grade level: 3 - 7

Artistic media: painting, realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Johannes, Bertrand, Sonja

Setting: A park

Themes: Fight for freedom, control of information, freedom of expression

Plot: Johannes is a dog who watches over a park with three other animals. They do so at the request of bison. Over time, Johannes learns that there is more to the world around him than just a park. He starts to learn about the motley elements of life with paintings. The discovery of the art leads to a domino effect that has all the animals around him changing because of the exterior life they are now being exposed to.

Personal response: The introduction of society controlling information is done well for young students in this book. It raises awareness in a digestible way. Students can understand that something is wrong with the control of it without diving into a dark historical event. It can play on their subconscious by opening pathways that will later be used for intricate conversations later down the road.

Circular connections: Students should be asked the question: "Was it good for the animals to not know about the outside world around them?" and "If they had known about the outside world since their birth, would they have been able to the events in the story better?"

Author: Erin Hunter

Illustrator: Dave Stevenson

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication: January 21, 2023

Number of pages: 320

Grade level: 3 - 7

Artistic media: Pencil, realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Rusty, Graypaw, Bluestar, Lionheart, Tigerclaw

Setting: Forest

Themes: Adventure, family, corruption

Plot: Rusty leaves his home and meets several cats from the Thunderclan. He joins their clan to mixed reactions; many of the cats don't think he should join because of his pet life at home. After making connections and working his hardest to do what is right in corrupt situations within the clan, Rusty is officially given his clan name, Firepaw.

Personal response: I always find it interesting to read the serialized side of any genre. The animal fantasy genre includes many fun serialized stories because of the amount of room they have to play with. By combining human and animal characteristics, there comes a lot of intricacy in how the clans of the series work.

Circular response: I like the use of Into the Wild for pure enjoyment. Students are constantly pushed to find the meaning of everything in their lives. As a future teacher, I think it's important to let their minds relax and observe the world around them with zero pressure to glean anything from it. The students can be observers of this book if they want to.

Authors: Jan Berenstain, Stan Berenstain

Publisher: First Time Books

Publication date: March 12, 1982

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: Preschool - 2

Artistic media: Pencil, colored pencil, realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Brother Bear, Sister Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear

Setting: Rural area, forest, lake

Themes: coming of age, attacking your fears, trying new things

Plot: Sister Bear and Brother Bear spend their summer at a camp. The two encounter good and bad days at the camp. However, both eventually get the hang of the camp and love it. The two remain nervous for the camp's sleep overnight until they go and realize it is all fun.

Style: linear, simple sentences, simple words

Point of view: Omniscient

Personal response: I loved the Berenstain Bears books growing up and reading this book reminded me why. The story includes simple and fun lessons without sounding too serious. It gets its message across without getting political or judgmental.

Circular connection: The teacher should ask the students about the story's lesson. The teacher should also ask them to write down any similar experiences they may have had and whether or not their preconceived thoughts about those experiences were true or not.

Authors: Jan Berenstain, Stan Berenstain

Publisher: First Time Books

Publication date: May 14, 1996

Number of pages: 24

Grade level: Preschool - 2

Artistic media: Pencil, colored pencil, realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Brother Bear, Sister Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear

Setting: Rural area, tree house

Themes: Celebrating each other, helping each other, maternal love

Plot: Papa Bear, Sister Bear, and Brother Bear make breakfast in bed for Mama Bear on her birthday.

Style: simple sentences, simple words, linear storyline

Personal response: I like the amalgamation of plot and instruction in the story. On the bottom of all the pages, there is a steps list or tips list that tells readers how to do the things the Berenstain Bears are doing for their own mothers.

Circular connection: Students can put together their own steps list for another action in another book. For example, if a character in a story is making a garden, a student should write a step by step process on how to plant a flower.

Authors: Jan Berenstain, Stan Berenstain

Publisher: First Time Books

Publication date: July 27, 1999

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: Preschool - 2

Artistic media: Pencil, colored pencil, realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Brother Bear, Sister Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear

Setting: Rural area, tree house, Old Bears' Home, hospital, Bears Who Care

Themes: giving back, material wealth, caring

Plot: Mama Bear realizes the family has too many things in their house while others have very little. So, she decides they must give a lot of it away to those who would appreciate more than them. The family visits a retirement home, hospital, and charity to drop off the items those places would appreciate.

Style: Linear storyline, simple sentences, simple words

Personal response: The lessons in this story are as valuable as time itself. The ability to see outside of one's own familial or personal world is the key to understanding what life is truly like. It helps bring perspective into a person's life, therefore helping them navigate life in a healthier way—not just for themselves but for the people around them.

Circular connection: Students should write a journal entry on how they will or have helped their community and what they learned from it.

Authors: Jan Berenstain, Stan Berenstain

Publisher: First Time Books

Publication date: September 12, 1983

Number of pages: 32

Grade level: Preschool - 2

Artistic media: Pencil, colored pencil, realistic art

Literary Elements

Characters: Brother Bear, Sister Bear, Mama Bear, Papa Bear

Setting: Rural area, tree house

Themes: No lie can become a truth

Plot: Sister Bear and Brother Bear knock down Mama Bear's favorite lamp. When asked what happened, the two lie and say a bird knocked it down. Eventually, they reveal the truth, and they learn the valuable lesson of always telling the truth.

Style: Linear storyline, simple sentences, simple words

Personal response: Like the last story, this one holds one of the genuinely great lessons anyone can learn. It's simple yet effective in almost any aspect of life. It keeps all kinds of relationships alive, including the ones young students who read this book are creating.

Circular connection: Students should write in their journals all the negative effects of lying that they can think of. This will reinforce the problems that come with lying.