Published by Viking Books for Young Readers
Jul 12, 2022 | 40 Pages | 10 x 8-3/4 | 3-5 years | ISBN 9780593405178

genre: fiction

theme: identity, cultural diversity, finding belonging, growing up

summary: This book is about a little girl named Mirha who is super excited for her first day of Kindergarten. When she gets to school she realizes that the other kids and even the teachers are having a hard time pronouncing her name. One kid even asks if he can call her Maya cause it's easier. Mirha is super upset that no one can pronounce her name so she tells her mom that she is going to go by something easier to pronounce. Her mom explains that her name has a beautiful meaning and that people just need to learn how to pronounce it. The next day Mirha corrects the kids when they pronounce her name wrong and they learn the correct way to say it. She makes an effort to pronounce her classmate's names correctly as well and it's a happy ending.

I enjoyed this book and think it would be a great way to teach students to be mindful of how they day each other. Names are a big part of our identities and it is important that every child feels like they can express themselves. I also think that this is a good lesson for teachers to always make sure we are pronouncing our students' names correctly and ask them if we are confused.

Published by: Disney Publishing Group National Geographic Kids

On sale Jul 14, 2015 | 24 Pages |

Age 3-5 years | Up to Kindergarten

Reading Level: Lexile BR

Genre: Science non-fiction

Summary: This book is about the life cycle of a butterfly and goes from the egg to the butterfly.

Thoughts: This book would be great for kindergartners to learn about life science because it takes them through the exact steps of the butterfly cycle. I love how the book has a match the word to the picture at the end as well to ensure understanding. I would probably have my students draw and label the stages of the butterfly cycle.

genre: fiction picture book

themes: acceptance, cultrural diversity

Coming to America A Muslim Family:

Author: Benard Wolf

Publisher: Lee & Low Books in 2003

Number of pages: 48

Genre: Non fiction

themes: Cultural Diversity, Dreams & Aspirations

The Arabic Quit is a fictional story where a girl is shy about being from a different culture than her peers. Her teacher encourages her and her mom comes into her classroom to help the students write their names in Arabic and make a quilt for their class. I loved how the teacher reinforced the parents' idea that being bilingual is an amazing thing. The quilt also exposed the kids to a new language and they had fun making it. Coming to America A Muslim Family used literature and pictures to depict an Egyptian family's journey and life in America. This piece of non-fiction describes the father's hardships to earn enough money for his family and the mother taking care of everyone and relearning English. The kids acclimated quickly to American school but still missed home. I love how this book described them keeping their culture alive while becoming comfortable and settled in America. I think a good activity for these books would be to make a classroom quilt with every kid in the class's native language or ancestral language. 

288 pages

Publisher:Abrams Fanfare

Published:October 13, 2020

Audience:Ages 8-12

genre: fiction Comics & Graphic Novels
Themes - Friendship, Disabilities, coming of age

summary: I found it to have themes of coming of age and adventure. The book kept me engaged the entire time. One thing I appreciated was how the author walks us through Cece's different friendships and why they did not work out. She did not have very harsh criteria for friendship, she just wanted someone to treat her normally who she wanted to be around. I was invested in Cece's adventures and glad to see that she reunited with Martha as her sidekick at the end. 

Illustrator: Isabelle Arsenault

Published by:
‎Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Illustrated edition (May 8, 2018)

Hardcover‎ 48 pages

Genre: poetry fiction picture book

Summary:

This story is about the cycle that honeybees go through to make their honey. Hall goes through the process of the bees making honey in a poetic fashion and uses lots of onomatopoeias. I was drawn to this book because of the illustrations and I think that it would be helpful to teach some early science concepts to kindergarteners. The style of poetry reminded me a bit of Dr. Suess and I think this book could be a good alternative. 

Illustrator(s): Elliot Kreloff

Pages: 40

Publication Date: November 9, 2021

Age: 3-7

Genre: picture book

Themes: Friendship, science

Summary: A little boy Izzy is playing in the snow one day and meets a snowball that talks, he befriends the snowball and names him Larry. He takes Larry home and soon in the house Larry starts to melt. So he puts Larry in the freezer but takes him out to see each of the three other seasons, and when it is finally winter again Larry goes back to the snow.

Personal Response: I thought that this book was super cute and a good way to teach kids about the four seasons. I think it could also teach them about how snow melts in warmer temperatures

Activity: This book could be used in science or art and you could have kindergarten or first graders draw the four seasons.

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 28th, 1992
Pages: 80

Recommended Reading Level: 6-9

Genre: fiction/Sci-fyi

Summary: The Magic Treehouse books are wonderful adventure books for early readers. Dinosaurs before Time is the first book in the series and in the first book siblings Jack and Annie discover that they can time travel in their tree house. They go back to the time of the dinosaurs and have a wonderful adventure. When they get back home they decide not to tell anybody about their magical treehouse. I loved these books as a kid and they are very engaging.

Publisher: Aladdin (May 7, 2013)

• Length: 416 pages

• Grades: 3 - 7

• Ages: 8 - 12

Genre: fiction, greek mythology

Summary: Pegasus The Flame of Olympus is the first book in the Pegasus Series. This book was the book that started my love for reading. The story feels more young adult while still being appropriate for child readers. Emily meets Pegasus and must travel to Olympus and eventually become the flame of Olympus. She must fight agencies explore the hierarchies of Mount Olympus and live among the Gods. This action-packed book will definitely have young readers hooked.

Illustrated by: Brunkus, Denise
Interest Level: 1-3
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication Date: July 1992
Page Count: 80

Genre: Fiction

Summary: Junie B. Jones is starting kindergarten and must ride the bus to school. She is very unhappy and makes enemies on the first day. She gets into trouble and her mom recommends making a friend to make the bus more comfortable for her. I think that this story can help students understand that conflict is not the answer and acting the way that Junie B. does will get you into trouble. Also for them to understand that it is ok to be scared and making friends helps it to be less scary.

Publisher:
Publisher

Scholastic Paperbacks

Publication Date

February 1, 2006

4 - 8 years Print length

80 pages

Genre: Fiction

Summary: Two friends named Kirsty and Rachel must rescue Heather the violet fairy as she has been trapped by Jack Frost. The girls reunite heather with her rainbow sisters and defeat Jack Frost. Kirsty and Rachel get to go to Fairyland and have a blast! I think that this story would be great to engage beginning readers and instill a love for reading.

Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books published Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale in 1987

genre: folktale picture book

Summary: This story is about how two daughters are going to marry a king. One is kind and one is rude. The kind girl becomes married to the king due to her kindness and the rude sister becomes her maid.

Illustrated By: Ruth Heller

HarperCollins

Publication date: 1993

genre: folktale

summary: Pear Blossom is a maid to her evil sister and step mother. She has help from magical animals to do her chores. She meets the king and he finds her shoe and marries her.

by Lily Toy Hong

genre: Chinese folktale

publisher: Albert & Whitman Company

Publication date: January 1, 1993

Grade level: Preschool–3

summary: A poor farmer finds a pot one day and brings it home to his wife. His wife drops her hairpin into the pot and pulls out two identical hairpins. The couple discovers that their pot can duplicate anything and use it to duplicate clothes and money. One day the wife falls into the pot and another wife gets pulled out with her. Then, the husband falls into the pot and he is duplicated too. So the husband and wife build a house for the duplicates and they all become friends.

Illustrated by: Andrea Castellani

Being Frank was published by Flashlight Press

Publication date: 2012

Being Frank is a book for children that's recommended for grades 1–3

Genre: Picture Book

Themes: honesty, kindness

Summary: Frank prides himself on always telling the truth. However, Frank quickly learns that while honesty is important, there are kinder ways to express the truth. After his blunt honesty hurts people's feelings, he seeks advice from his grandpa, who teaches him that it's possible to be both honest and considerate. The story conveys a lesson about balancing truth with kindness and finding a way to be tactful while still being truthful.

Publisher: Clarion Books

Publication date: March 27, 1995

Page count: 128

Reading level: Grades 5-7.

genre: historical fiction chapter book

themes: belonging, finding a purpose

Summary:

Alyce slowly starts to feel like she is being treated more like a human being than a beetle which is what the village calls her. She does housework for the midwife to be fed and then starts to learn how to be a midwife. She hears the name Alyce and decides that will be her name. She fails to deliver a baby leaves the village and works at an Inn. Once she is able to deliver an emergency baby at the inn, the couple invites her to go to Salisbury. Even though it's a great opportunity she decides to swallow her shame and go back to the midwife. She finds her sense of belonging as the midwife's apprentice. I think that this universal theme was well adapted to the time period. During medieval England, people were just trying to survive and death was rampant. Even in a time that was more harsh and dark than now the human need to find a sense of belonging still existed and Karen Cushman shows this very well in the book. 

published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers

Author: E. B. White

Illustrator: Garth Williams

genre: chapter book fiction

themes: love, friendship

summary: Wilbur befriends a spider named Charlotte. Living on the farm they face challenges Wilbur is to be killed by the farmer but they farmer's daughter saves him. Charlette ends up passing away and Wilbur takes care of her spider babies.

Illustrated by Hélène Desputeaux

Publisher‎: Annick Press (May 1, 1992)

Paperback‎32 pages

themes: silly, listen to parents

genre: picture book

summary: Purple, Green, and Yellow is a book that I grew up with. It follows a girl who really was the ultra-extreme and never comes off until you die permanent markers but her mom won't get her them. Her mom finally caves and then Brigid colors herself and it won't come off. She ends up taking a pill to remove the marker but it turns her invisible so she has to color herself back to normal.

Authors: John Archambault, Bill Martin, Jr.

Genres: Children's literature, Picture book, Fiction

Illustrator: Lois Ehlert

Pages: 36

Summary: This book is about the letters of the alphabet climbing a coconut tree. It is a good book to introduce kids to the alphabet and has fun story elements for each letter.

Author: Marcus Pfister

Genres: Picture books, Children's literature, Fiction

Illustrator: Marcus Pfister

Themes: selflessness, friendship

Summary: The rainbow fish had many beautiful scales and wore them proudly. One day a little fish asks for one of the rainbow fish's scales and he gives it to him because he is tired of everyone not playing with him for being too stuck up. Rainbow fish then gives all but one of his scales away but he is happy because he now had friends

Illus. Arigon Starr

Publisher, ‎Kokila (April 11, 2023)

48 pp.

GR 1-4

Nonfiction Picturebook

summary: This is the true story of 2 native American baseball players who faced each other in the World Series in 1911. This story chronicles their lives and the racism that they faced while being native athletes. I found it very interesting and a good historical read.

Illus. Reem Madooh

Chronicle Books March 28, 2023

40 pp.

GR K-3

Autobiographical Picturebook

summary: This story is about the author's father and his memories of visiting his grandparents in Jerusalem when he was little. He tells he daughters about the last day he was there and the last day day he saw his grandparents. The art is very beautiful and I enjoyed this book.

Paul Boston (Illustrator)

Publisher: Charlesbridge
Publication Date: July 13th, 2021
Pages: 48

level: 7-10

genre: science picture book

summary: Mimic Makers tells the story of 10 scientists who have invented things based on nature. They each observed a phenomenon in nature and used it to solve a problem for humans. They further studied the phenomenon and invented useful mechanisms that often saved time and energy. 

One activity that I would have students do is maybe having a hands-on activity where I would give students some natural items. I would then ask them to be the mimic makers and develop an invention that they would make based on the natural phenomenon.