Lulu and the Brontosaurus

Lulu and the Brontosaurus was written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Lane Smith. The book is a fictional chapter book. The main characters are Lulu and the brontosaurus and the secondary characters are her mom and dad. The theme of this book is treating others how you want to be treated. It has not received any awards. This book was published in 2010 by Antheneum Books for Young Readers. The book is about Lulu who has horrible manners and is very spoiled by her parents. For her birthday she decided she was a brontosaurus. When her parents tell her no, for the first time, she leaves on her own to the woods to find the brontosaurus. After walking through the woods and being mean to many animals, Lulu comes across the brontosaurus. But the brontosaurus wants Lulu to be his pet instead. Lulu discovers that you cannot always be bossy. After using her manners for the first time she returns to her parents, with much better manners.

I would use this book as a fun read for students. The language would be very easy for them to read and children would find this book very funny. I like this book because it is humorous but it has a good lesson behind it. Children would also like the illustrations in the book. The book would be easy for students to read since there is not much text on one page and the text is broken up with illustrations.

Safe Return

Safe Return was written by Catherine Dexter. The genre of the book is historical, realistic fiction. Safe Return is a chapter book. The main character in the story was Ursula and the secondary characters were her Aunt Dana and her Uncle Josef. The theme of the story is family and hope. The book was published by Candlewick Press in 1996. The book has not received any awards. The book is about a young girl, Ursula, whose parents have been killed. She now lives with her aunt and uncle in a new place. In this coastal town, the women knit sweaters and leave every late fall/early winter to sell the sweaters. They must travel on dangerous waters for 3 days. Ursula must stay behind with her uncle. The story is about how she copes without her aunt, new things she learns, and how the town deals with the ship being over a month late coming back. Finally on December 24th, the women return just in time for Christmas.

I would use this book as part of my classroom library. I think many girls would enjoy reading this book because the main character is the same age. The book was a fast, easy read. The vocabulary was not difficult for this age group. The book also deals with bullying which many children this age face at school.

June and August

June and August was written by Vivian Walsh and illustrated by Adam McCauley. The genre of the book is fictional picture book. The main characters are August and June. The theme of the story is friendship. It was published by Abrams Books for Young Readers. It has not received any awards. The book was about an elephant, June, and a snake, August, who meet each other at night. It is too dark for the animals to see their physical differences and they have so much fun together. They agree to meet the next day. In the daylight, it is hard for June and August to find each other. Once they do they have a hard time finding things to do together. Finally the elephant carries the snake to the top of the hill and they watch the stars, the thing they had so much fun doing the first night they met.

I would use this book with younger elementary children. This book would be a good way for students to realize that it is not about physical traits they have in common when finding friends, but rather it is about what they enjoy doing together. The book also talks about how the other animals looked at them strangely because a snake and elephant were friends, this would be a good way to show students not to care what other people think of how your friends look.

Andy Shane and the Queen of Egypt

Andy Shane and the Queen of Egypt was written by Jennifer Richard Jacobson and illustrated by Abby Carter. The book was a children's chapter book. It was realistic fiction. The theme of the book is teamwork. The main character was Andy and the secondary character was Delores. This book was published in 2008 by Powell. It has not received any awards.The book was about a boy named Andy who wanted the country of Egypt for his project. However, Delores also wanted Egypt. The book talks about how Delores tries to be very helpful and always hint to Andy how the two of them could work together on the project. At first Andy is resistant. But once he is asked to stand in front of the class to describe what his project will be, he decides that Delores is very helpful and that they would be a great team.

 

I would use this book with higher elementary students. Its a fast reading book. I think students would really enjoy just having this as part of the class library. Through this book students could learn how sometimes working with people you really don't want to work with can turn out to be really great! This book would be good for older elementary students because it is easy for this age to relate to this book as they are the age of really starting group projects and presentations.

Horrible Harry's Secret

Horrible Harry's Secret was written by Suzy Kline and illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz.  The genre of the book is realistic fiction. The theme of the book is friendship. The main character in the story is Doug. The secondary characters are Harry, Song Lee, and Sidney. The book was published by Scholastic in 1990. It has not received any awards. This book is a chapter bok. The book is about a young boy, Doug's, friend Harry. Harry falls in love with Song Lee when she feeds her pet frog liver. Doug does not like Harry falling in love because he doesn't want to fight anymore. One day Harry comes to school and does not even smile at Song Lee. Everyone knows something is wrong. They finally find out that Harry has lost his prize possession, his front teeth! Everyone becomes friends again.

I would use this book as part of a classroom library. The book discusses many things that elementary students face, falling in love, losing teeth, dealing with bullies. The book would be fun for students and they would really enjoy it. Students would be able to relate to all of the topics presented.

Rattletrap Car

Rattletrap Car is written by Phyllis Root and illustrated by Jill Barton. The book is fictional picture book. The theme of the book is teamwork. The primary characters are Junie, Jakie, Poppa, and the baby. The book was published by Candlewick Press. It has not received any awards.  Rattletrap car is about a family who wants to go to the lake on a hot, hot day. Poppa is worried the car cannot make it. But the family packs their stuff. The car breaks down many times along the way, but the family works together to fix it and finally makes it to the lake.

I would use this book with younger children. The book is very fun with lots of expression and sounds that young children would absolutely love! I would read this book them at the beginning of the year since it is about hot weather and the lake. Children would easily be able to relate. This book may also help children feel more comfortable in the classroom the first of the year since it is so fun.

Absolutely Not

Absolutely Not was written and illustrated by Matthew McElligott. The book is a fictional picture book. The theme of the book is friendship. The primary characters are Gloria and Frieda. It was published by Walker and Company. It has not received any awards. The book is about two friends who are completely different. Gloria is brave and likes adventure. Frieda is terrified and thinks everything is out to get her. The two friends decide to go on a walk and the whole time Gloria has to comfort her friend so she won't be scared. Once the friends go into the woods, Frieda thinks she sees a bird, and she is right! The girls have to run away. Frieda has so much fun that she forgets her fear she asks Gloria to take her on a walk again the next day.

I would use this book with younger grade children. The book would be a great way to discuss friendship and explain to the students that differences are okay. Children would be able to see through this book that we can be friends with people even if they are not exactly like us and our other friends.

Story County: Here We Come

Story County was written and illustrated by Derek Anderson. The genre of the story is fictional picture book. The theme of the story is friendship and working together. The primary character was the farmer and the dog. The secondary characters were their farm friends. The book was published by Scholastic. Story County has not received any awards. The book is about farmer and dog who want to build a farm with their friends pig, miss cow, and chicken. The friends work together and create a farm with all the colors and foods they love. At the end of the story, the friends do not want to sleep but chicken tells them they must rest and play tomorrow.

This story would be so much fun for kindergarteners. I read the book to my kindergartener and he loved it. This could be used to get children's imaginations flowing. It could be read to the children and they could then create the kind of place they would make with their friends. It would be a very creative activity for students.

There Was An Old Man Who Painted the Sky

There Was An Old Man Who Painted the Sky was written by Teri Sloat and illustrated by Stefano Vitale. The genre of the book is children's picture book based on history. The theme of the book is how beauty can be found everywhere. The primary character of the book is the man who painted the sky and the young girl in the cave. The book has not received any awards. It was published by Henry Holt and Company. The book talks about the man who painted the sky and created the world with all the animals and people. Then the old man sent the people into the world to create their brothers and sisters and children. The young girl who sees all of this in the sky is amazed at how beautiful it is and wonders how the old man could reach the sky thats up so high.

I would use this book as a way for children to see beautiful art. The illustrations in the book are very absract and covers the entire page. Chidlren would love to look at the pictures and colors on the pages throughout the book.

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub was written by Audrey Wood and illustrated by Don Wood. The genre of the book is children's picture book. The theme about finding a way to do anything. The primary characters are the Page and King Bidgood. The book was published by Harcourt, Inc. It has received the Caldecott Award. The book is about a King who does not want to get out of the bathtub all day and night. The Page tries to get the townspeople to help get the king out but no one can, instead the King brings the people into the tub with him. At the end of the day the Page finally gets the King out by pulling the drain stopper and the King has to run out of the tub.

I would use this story as a fun story time for children. They would find the book very humorous and because of the repetitiveness it would be easier for them to interact. The students could also use this book as a model and create a similar story. Or the students could talk about how they have tricked someone into doing something they should.

Snow

Snow was written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz. The book is a children's picture book. The theme is how people cannot control nature. The primary character of the book is the boy. Snow has recieved the Caldecott Award. It was published in 1998 by Farrar Straus Giroux. The book is about a young boy who lives in a gray town. He thinks it is going to snow. When the first snowflake falls all of the townspeople say there will be no snow, but still the boy says snow. The book says that snow will not listen to people, or tv, or the radio. Within a short time the whole town is covered in snow.

I would use this book with children to discuss winter. Young children would enjoy this book because it is repetitive which makes it easier for them to interact with the story.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves

There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed Some Leaves was written by Lucille Colandro and illustrated by Jared Lee. It is a fictional picture book. The theme of the story is fall. It has not received any awards. It was published in 2010 by Scholastic. The book is about an old woman who swallows a whole list of stuff. The narrator says through the whole story that maybe the old woman will sneeze. In the end the old woman does sneeze and all the things she swallows comes out to make a scarecrow.

I would use this book with young children to get them excited about fall. I think students would have a fun time with this book because of the repetition and rhyme. They would be able to easily interact while having this read to them. I could also use this as a promt to getting students to write about things they would swallow and what would happen while they sneeze.