Children's Literature
Arthur: Beatrix Potter
Illustrator: Beatrix Potter
Genre: Traditional Literature
Bibliographic Information: Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. New York: Penguin Young Readers, 2012. Print.
Theme: Obeying the rules.
Synopsis: This classsic is the story of Peter the rabbit who ignored his mother’s commands and made his way into Mr. McGregor’s garden. Once Mr. McGregor noticed Peter there stealing his vegetables, he chases after Peter and tries to catch him. Peter is chased for a long period of time and just makes narrow escapes every time he is almost caught.
Personal Response: The book has a very good message to it. It does a good job of portraying how much trouble disobeying an adult can cause.
Characters: Peter- the rabbit who disobeyed his mother; Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail- Peter’s siblings who set a good example for Peter; Mr. McGregor- the owner of the garden that Peter try to steal from; Mrs. Rabbit- Peter’s disappointed mother
Setting: a rabbit’s home; a garden; a forest
Grade & Reading Levels: K-2; 3.5 *Scholastic
Use of Book for Teaching: I don’t think this book would really be good for reading outloud to the class because it is small in format and kind of long. I think it would be great for students to use for independent reading though. It would make good practice for coming up with a theme of a book.
Arthur: Jeff Kinney
Illustrator: Jeff Kinney
Genre: Graphic Novel
Bibliographic Information: Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules. London: Puffin, 2010. Print.
Theme: Adolescence; Middle School days
Synopsis: In this book, Greg Heffley hopes to make his way through middle school and forget the experiences that have happened in the past. He wants to keep the secret safe- especially from the girls. His older brother Rodrick knows all about the secret though and would not have a problem letting the secret slip.
Personal Response: I am not a fan of these books so much- but that mostly is just because I am older and see them as more immature. I am sure they are great for middle school kids though. I wouldn’t stop kids from trying to read them because I know they relate to them well and love them.
Characters: Greg- middle school boy, main character; Rodrick- Greg’s older brother
Setting: Middle School
Grade & Reading Level: 3-5; 5.2 *Scholastic
Use of Book for Teaching: I would use this book to show students that writing journals or diaries can be fun. This may help some students who normally don’t like journal writing, enjoy it more. I would allow them to draw little cartoons to go along with their journal entries.
Author: Bill Martin Jr. & John Archambault
Illustrator: Lois Ehlert
Genre: Poetry
Awards: Children’s Choices, 1990; Children’s Catalog, 2001; Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children; Top 100 Picture Bookss;Kentucky Bluegrass AwardWinner 1991;Parents’ Choice Award(Gold 2003, Best 25 Books in 25 Years United States)
Bibliographic Information: Martin, Bill, John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 1989. Print.
Theme: Alphabet
Synopsis: Throughout the story the lowercase letters are all climbing up a coconut tree wondering if they will all fit. The letters begin to fall though and the capital letters (the parents) must come rescuse them.
Personal Response: This book is the best! It is still fun to sing and read. It is very creative and fun. I love the brightness and boldness of all the letters. I also like how the author represened the lowercase letters and the uppwercase letters together showing parenthood.
Characters: letters of the alphabet
Setting: a coconut tree
Grade & Reading Levels: K-2; 1.9
Use of Book for Teaching: I obviously would use this book with students who are just learning the alphabet. They would practice reciting the alphabet after the reading and pairing the lowercase letters with the uppercase letters.
Author: Ogden Nash
Illustrator: Lawrence Beall Smith
Genre: Poetry
Bibliographic Information: Nash, Ogden, and Lawrence Beall Smith. Girls Are Silly. New York: F. Watts, 1962. Print.
Theme: Boys & Girls
Synopsis: The book follows two characters: a boy and a girl as they discuss who is more silly.
Personal Response: The book is very old and had a weird storyline.
Characters: a boy & a girl
Setting: ambiguous
Grade & Reading Levels: Grades 1st-3rd
Use of Book for Teaching: I don’t think I would use this book because it would probably cause the boys and girls in the classroom to make fun of each other.
Author: Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Illustrator: Beni Montresor
Genre: Poetry
Awards: Caldecott Medal
Bibliographic Info: De, Regniers Beatrice Schenk., and Beni Montresor. May I Bring a Friend? New York: Atheneum, 1964. Print.
Theme: Keeping your word.
Synopsis: This story is about a young boy who is invited every day of the week to the King and Queen’s house. Each time they are more than welcoming to his request of bringing friends. Following their statement, the King and Queen must be welcoming to all the exotic animals that enter their house.
Personal Response: I enjoyed reading this book and found it humorous. I think there was a great moral taught throughout the story of staying true to one’s word and being accepting of all people (or animals in this case). I also liked how it not only all rhymed, but there was a consistent pattern kept throughout the book. The repeating pattern gave the story a good foundation and will be very helpful to younger readers.
Characters: young boy- main character; narrator of story; King and Queen- always inviting the boy and his friend to their home for food
Setting: King and Queen’s home
Grade & Reading Levels: K-2; 3.4 *Scholastic
Use of Book for Teaching: This book would teach students about reading and rhyming. The stanzas are repeated and students could pick out the rhyming words between the 2nd and 4th lines of each stanaza. It also could serve as teaching students about accepting others and always keeping their word.
Author: Eileen Christelow
Illustrator: Eileen Christelow
Genre: Poetry
Bibliographic Info: Christelow, Eileen. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. New York: Clarion, 1989. Print.
Theme: Counting through song
Synopsis: The story is of five little monkeys who jump on their bed at night. One by one the monkeys fall off and bump their head which results in their mother having to call the doctor.
Personal Response: I love the illustrations with this book. The monkeys look so mischievous in each picture. I also loved the humor at the end of the book when the mother monkey was also jumping on the bed.
Characters: 5 little mischievous monkeys; mother monkey who can’t control her kids; doctor monkey who continuously says “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”
Setting: a house; in the monkey’s bed
Grade & Reading Levels: PreK-3; 1.6 *Scholastic
Use of Book for Teaching: I would use this book to help students learn counting down from 5 to 0.
Author: Dr. Seuss
Illustrator: Dr. Seuss
Genre: Poetry
Bibliographic Info: Seuss. Green Eggs and Ham. New York: Beginner, 1960. Print.
Theme: Determination
Synopsis: The story is of a character named Sam who is convinced others will like green eggs and ham. He does all he can to convince the other Dr. Seuss character to eat them.
Personal Reflection: The book is humerous and of course the pictures are crazy, but perfect for the story.
Characters: Sam- character who is trying to convince someone else to eat green eggs & ham
Setting: ambiguous
Grade & Reading Levels: K-2; 2.2 *Scholastic
Use of Book for Teaching: I would use this book for early readers. The vocab is limited and the words are very repetitive.
Author: Dr. Seuss
Illustrator: Dr. Seuss
Genre: Bibliotherapy
Awards: 2005 Mom’s Choice Standard Award
Bibliographic Info: Seuss. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! New York: Random House, 1990. Print.
Theme: New Experiences; Growing Up
Synopsis: The story is of a young boy going on a journey and experiencing new things. It represents somebody taking the next stage of their life and moving on.
Personal Response: I always like how Dr. Seuss books can portray a great message to all people. He uses the craziest words, characters, and images- but they are helpful in all areas of life.
Characters: A young boy; all the odd animals he sees along the way
Setting: ambiguous
Grade & Reading Levels: K-2; 3.2 *Scholastic
Use of Book for Teaching: This would be a great book to read to the students at the end of the year. It would get them excited for moving onto the next grade and next stage of their life.
Author: Audrey Penn
Illustrator: Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak
Genre: Bibliotherapy
Awards: New York Times Best Seller, Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Journalism
Bibliographic Info: Penn, Audrey, Ruth E. Harper, and Nancy M. Leak. The Kissing Hand. Washington, D.C.: Child Welfare League of America, 1993. Print.
Theme: doing new things; seperation; solving problems; first day of school
Synopsis: Little raccoon is nervous about his first day of school because he doesn’t want to leave his mom. Mother raccoon finds a way to give little raccoon her love even when he is away.
Personal Response: I always will love this book as it was read to me when I was younger. I had a terrible time having to leave my mom to go to school and this book helped a lot!
Characters: Little raccoon- doesn’t believe he will enjoy school; Mother Raccoon
Setting: a forest during the night
Grade & Reading Levels: PreK-1; 3.3 *Scholastic
Use of Book for Teaching: This book would be great for students who are struggling with the first days of school. It would be good to lend to the parents.
Author: Mildred D. Taylor
Genre: Young Adult Chapter Book
Awards: Newbery Medal (1977)
Bibliographic Info: Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Chicago: Puffin Group, 1976. Print.
Theme: African American History; Courage & Pride; Family & Social Struggles
Synopsis: This story follows the life of a 9-year-old girl named Cassie Logan and her family. Readers see the family being affected each day greatly by inequality and racism in Mississippi. Through all the violence and hatred, the family recognizes the importance of loyalty and thanksgiving.
Personal Response: Taylor did a wonderful job sharing a full personality of the characters with the readers. I not only was able to understand that they were going through a hard time by the storyline, but also by the characters actions. They represented both despair and hope. It is hard to fully grasp the personality of a character from a time period you didn’t live in and explains something you never experienced, but Taylor did a great job.
Characters: Logan Family- one of the richest black families; Cassie Logan- 9 year old narrator; Simms Family- white, racist family; Wallace family- local family who owns a store and also are racist
Setting: 1933 in Mississippi
Grade & Reading Levels: 4-6; 6.9
Use of Book for Teaching: I would use this book to teach about the poverty and hardships families went through during the Great Depressions. A story represents a time period so much better than facts in a textbook can.
