Response to the Book: This is a sweet, heartwarming story of a little girl and the memories that she shares with her mom in the kitchen, smelling the cultural food that she cooks and longing to be a part of it. This story could encourage students to talk to their parents about foods from their own culture and maybe even cook some themselves. 

Illustrator: Denise Brunkus

Publisher: Random House

Date: 1992
# of pages: 80
Visual Elements: N/A

Grade Level: 1-3

Genre: Fiction

Literary Elements: The main character, Junie B., a six year old girl, is extremely nervous about attending school and riding the bus for the first time. She manages to successfully finish her first day and bus ride; however, she doesn’t want to ride the bus home because of a rumor that a student told her. She tries to hide and avoid riding the bus home, but she becomes even more nervous because she is lost and alone, and learns about the importance of not believing rumors and hiding from problems.
Response to the Book: The Junie B. Jones books were my absolute favorite as a child. I loved reading them so getting to read this one now brought back a lot of memories. I like that they teach life lessons to children in a humorous, entertaining way. 

Literary Elements: The main character of this book is a little girl who turns into a grown adult by the end. It is set at a variety of different locations, including an orchestra hall, the musicians' homes, and the little girl's uncle's house. Cause and effect are emphasized throughout this story. Because people were inspired by a man's music, they created an orchestra. Because people have practiced music for years, they were asked to join the orchestra. Because her uncle had a cold, the little girl was able to attend the orchestra. Because the music moved her, she began to learn about music. Because the little girl was passionate about music, she grew up and created her own orchestra show. 
Response to the Book: I really enjoyed the way this book followed a pattern to get its point across. It was very easy to follow and I liked the way that everything was interconnected with a simple but profound message - everything affects everything else. I really enjoyed this book and I think it is a sweet story to share with children. It is inspiring for them to know that their actions, however simple they may be, can have a profound impact on the world.

Literary Elements: This book is set in Green Lake, Texas at a rehabilitation program for troubled boys. Rather than a lake at camp green lake, there are a lot of holes. The main character is a young boy names Stanley, whose family has been cursed for generations and he was unjustly sent to Camp Green Lake. The boys have to dig a five foot wide by five foot deep hole everyday as part of the "character improvement." Stanley discovers that they are digging for something, and the boys work to figure out the secret before the Warden does.
Response to the Book: I was excited to read this book because it is one that I remember my classmates and friends talking about when I was a child, but I never actually got the chance to read. It was fun to get to "catch up" in that way. I think its a fun chapter book for older kids to read, one that I would consider a classic now. 

Illustrator: Susan L. Roth

Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Date: February 2021

Page Number: 48

Grade Level: 2-6

Genre: Nonfiction

Literary Elements: This is a beautifully written book full of facts about the native Hawaiian butterfly, the Kamehameha Butterfly. It specifically talked about a group of fifth graders who were able to make it the state insect and a conservation group who has been working to restore the species and allow them to thrive in their natural habitat. It is full of interesting facts and beautiful pictures.
Response to the Book: I learned a lot of cool things by reading this book, and it was particularly interesting to me because I have been to Hawaii and love learning about the culture and life there. I think it is really fun for kids to get to learn about the wildlife and insects in places different from where they live.

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Date: 1960

Page Number: 177

Grade Level: 5-9

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Literary Elements: This book is about a 12 year old girl named Karana, who is stranded on an island with wolves when her family leaves very suddenly. She is forced to adapt to their lifestyle and be with them to survive. She spends 18 years on the island. The book is centered on a theme of friendship and community. Karana depends on this community to survive, and when that community no longer exists in her life, she depends on friendship with her environment for survival.

Personal Response: I felt the heartbreak and desperation of the main character as I read this book. The action and adventure was captivating and the situation was so bizarre that it was incredibly interesting to read. I loved this book as a child, and as an adult.

Publisher: Candlewick Press
Date: 2000 

Page Number: 182

Grade Level: 3-6

Genre: Children's Novel

Literacy Elements: This is a book about a young girl named Opal. Opal lives in a trailer park. She goes to the store one day and finds a dog, she begs her dad (the local preacher) who eventually agrees to let her keep him. Opal struggles with the disappearance of her mother and their lack of a relationship. She and the dog become best friends and do everything together. 

Personal Response: A good read for a heart warming story. It teaches that friendship can be found in many forms, including some that are unexpected. 

Personal Response: This story shows the power of community and common interests that bring joy and comfort in difficult times. It makes the historical events more relatable and understandable for children because of the narrative that is created. I think this story shows adversity and creates a good sense of hope for the reader. I love reading fiction books with accurate historical details because they are often written in a way that brings the historical event to life and makes it much more vivid and real in my imagination, rather than just being something we talk about at school and I think this book does a great job of accomplishing that.
Curriculum Connections: Social studies; WWII and Japanese internment camps

Date: October 2019
# of pages: 48
Grade Level: PreK-1
Genre: Fiction
Literary Elements: This book explains the importance of the food fry bread and how it came to be a part of Native American History. In this book, many children gather with their grandmother and other adults to make fry bread. This book shows everything that fry bread is, everything it means to Native American people, and shows a great example of how food can be shared to bring people together in a common culture, creating a sense of community.
Response to the Book: I really enjoyed the comforting feeling this book brings. It is full of interesting cultural history and I love the unified community that is created through the fry bread and the way that this is communicated through the story. My family is Ukrainian, and this book reminded me a lot of the days I spent helping my mom and grandma make vareniki or pelmeni as a child. It is so fun to see the ways that food brings people from all cultures together.
Curriculum Connections: Social studies; culture; family

Illustrator: Olivers Jeffers

Date: 2008

Number of Pages: 22

Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: PreK-1

Literary Elements: This is a simple story about a boy and a penguin who go on an adventure to find the penguin's home.  One day when a young boy finds a penguin he becomes very invested in trying to locate his home. This book goes through the steps of what to do if you lose something. He realizes that the penguins home is very far away. 

Personal Response: This is a very enjoyable story. It is a fun and simple read that was new to me. I like the way that the words flow and the lightheartedness of the book.  

Illustrator: Vera Brosgol

Date: 2021

# of pages: 25

Genre: Fiction 

Literary Elements: This book tells the story of a young girl names Freda who finds a way to keep all of her memories by keeping them in jars. As Freda goes through her memories and adventures she realizes that she has a lot of jars of jam for later. As she is eating her grandmas jam on day she realizes that she is missing her grandma. It is a story about living in the moment and creating memories that will last a lifetime. 

Personal Response: I like that this book includes a recipe for jam at the end so kids can practice making it with their own family. I think the overall theme of the story is very sweet. It is a good reminder for us all to cherish the time we have with our loved ones and enjoy the moments that we have rather than focusing only on saving those moments for later. 

Illustrator: David Shannon

Date: 1998

# of pages: 33

Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: K-5

Literary Elements: This is the story of Camilla, a young girl who is always struggling to be happy with her appearance and is always looking for people's approval. Suddenly, everybody's opinions become reality and she has so much happening to her appearance. She eventually realizes that what matters is what she likes and not what everybody else thinks. 

Personal Response: I think this book does a great job of illustrating what happens when you allow people's opinions to impact you too much. It is a fun read and kids love how crazy and silly the idea is with all of the colors!

Illustrator: Eric Litman

Publisher: Harper Festival

Date: 2018

# of pages: 24

Grade Level: PreK-2

Genre: Fiction
Visual Elements: Colors are vibrant, and while the cat is drawn as a cartoon, he is depicted doing human things.
Literary Elements:  This book is about Pete the Cat going to the library for the first time. He does all the different activities you can do at the library.

Response to the Book: This is a fun, colorful book that would be a great introduction to the school library for young students. 

Illustrator: Lane Smith

Publisher: Viking Children's Books

Date: 1989

# of pages: 32

Grade Level: K-3

Genre: Fiction, Fairytale

Artistic Elements: Pictures are drawn with dark colors. High contrast contributes to the tone of the story.

Literary Elements: The Three Little Pigs as told by the wolf (A. Wolf). The wolf claims that he was baking a cake for his grandma when he found that he was short a cup of sugar. He went to ask his neighbors for sugar but he sneezed and accidentally blew their houses down. He eats the dead pigs for dinner because its the right thing to do. He then tries to break down the last house as his grandma is insulted. When the cops show up, they paint a bad story of him. 

Personal Thoughts: I thought this was an interesting twist on a classic story, and one that would be great to teach perspective and point of view. 

Illustrator: Denise Brunkus

Publisher: Random House Inc.

Date: 1999

# of pages: 68

Grade Level: K-3

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Visual Elements: There is just a few drawings in the book. They are all in black and white and depict specific things relevant to that point in the story.
Literary Elements: Junie B. Jones is very disappointed when she finds out that she does not get to be the flower girl at her Aunt Flo's wedding after her and her friends decided that she should be. Instead, she is made the alternate flower girl. She tries her best to act as a grown up, but eventually realizes that she has more fun as a child.
Response to the Book: I love this book! It is easy to read and captures the attention of the reader, bringing them into Junie B. Jone's world. There are no curricular connections but it is a great book to read just for fun. 

Illustrator: Shel Silversteen

Publisher: Harper Collins

Date: 2014

# of pages: 66

Grade Level: PreK-3

Genre: Fiction

Visual Elements: Pictures in this book are black and white and have a cartoon-like feeling. 

Literary Elements:  This book is about a tree who gives apples and love. A young boy uses the tree for these things but as he grows older he begins to take more and more until the tree has nothing left to give. 

Response to the Book: I think this is a good story that illustrates the importance of taking care of ourselves and those around us, and avoiding greed because people can only give so much before they are drained and cannot help anymore.