Books we are going to read this year!
Yangsook, Choi. The Name Jar. New York: Random House Children's Book, 2001. Print.
The main character in this book is a girl that just has moved to the United States from Korea. Unhei is nervous about going to school because she knows that none of her classmates will be able to pronounce her name correctly. On her first day of school in the United States she is asked to introduce herself. She tells the class that she will tell them her name next week. All of the students are curious about this so they keep asking her questions. Unhei's peers have a plan to put names in a jar and have her choose one. At the end of the book, she decides that she likes her real name and teaches her classmates how to pronounce it.
I would read this book to my class at the beginning of the year. I would do this because if there were a student that was uncomfortable with their name, looks, or ethnicity, they would understand that it is fine to be different. I would not teach this book, but rather just read it if there were a new student or an anxious student. After reading The Name Jar, I would keep it on my bookshelf for students to read as they like.
Christopher, P. C. The Watsons go to Birmingham. New York: Random House Children's Book, 1995. Print.
John Newbery Medal, Golden Kite Award for Fiction
This novel takes first takes place in Flint, Michigan and later moves to Birmingham, Alabama. Byron, one of the Watsons, is a bully at their school. His younger siblings get bullied by other students in the school. Byron is uncontrollable and eventually forces their family to make him stay with his Grandma so she can make him behave. While living with his Grandma, Byron begins to become a good kid while another person is beginning to bully.
I would read this book to an upper elementary class. The class would read it together throughout a couple of weeks, pause frequently, and discuss what is happening throughout the book. After reading the entire book, I would have each student research the time period (1963) and bring one event that happened in 1963. We would then share the facts the next day, and create a timeline. This would help them gather information about the time period.
Carlson, A. I Can Be Kind. New York: Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 2016. Print.
This book is for young children. It tells about ways that you can be kind. This is a book that informs the readers to love everyone.
This book would be perfect for reading if there was bullying in the classroom. It would help the classroom understand that kindness goes a long way. Treat everyone with respect, and they will return the act.
Beaumont, K. I Like Myself!. Boston: Cengage Learning Inc., 2010. Print.
This book encourages children to have high self-esteem. This book also teaches the readers to like everything about them because everyone is unique. This girl in the book does not care what other people think of her. She likes herself just the way she is, and we should too.
This book would be helpful to read if there is word about depression or self-esteem issues. As reading this to the class, be sure to express the importance of loving yourself and everything that comes with you. Hopefully, this book would help the students who feel like they do not belong.
Graham, B. How to Heal a Broken Wing. Australia: Candlewick Press, 2008. Print.
This children's book was originally printed in Australia in 2008, but was printed in the United States in 2017. This is a story for elementary age students about a bird with a broken wing. With the hustle and bustle of the city, nobody stops to see this bird laying on the sidewalk. Will, the main character, and his mom see this bird laying down getting passed by many people and decide to take it home to try to heal the bird. They take care of the bird, feed it, and let it rest. By the end of the book, the birds wing is healed and it flies high in the city again.
This would be a good book to read to young children. As they are learning how to read, this book could help them become more fluent. This book is very short, so the class could read it over and over again until they are gaining fluency. This is also a good book for the students to read because it shares the thought of kindness. If the little boy in the story would not have picked up the bird and helped it, the bird would have died. So, this book would teach fluency and help the students understand acts of kindness.
Hesse, K. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic Press, 1997. Print.
John Newbery Medal
This is a poem that reads as a novel, Out of the Dust tells the life of a little girl named Billie Jo, who tries very hard to help her family survive the dust-bowl years of the Depression. While she is doing this, she must fight against the elements on her farm in Oklahoma. She then learns that she has to take on even more responsibility when her mother passes away in a horrible accident.
I would read this book to my class to bring to light about the Depression. As we are reading, we will come across words that they will not be familiar with. I will write those terms on the board. As we are reading, I will have them define the word and then write a sentence using that word to help them retain what it means. Some vocabulary would include: drought, withered, scorched, sod, duster, parched, migrants, and gaunt.
Jurmain, S. Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and The True Story of An American Feud. New York: Penguin Group, 2011. Print.
Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and The True Story of An American Feud is a true story about Jefferson and Adams. They were friends; however, they had the biggest clash of personalities. When they were deciding how to run the newly United States, they began to become enemies. Their political views followed them to the White House. They eventually became leaders of opposing political parties.
This book would be perfect to read to the class as we are discussing presidency. It would give the students the insights on why Jefferson and Adams were no longer friends. However, it breaks the difficult concepts up into language that the readers understand. I would read this every year as an opener of discussing Jefferson and Adams.
Beck. W. H. Glow: Animals with Their Own Night-Lights. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2015. Print.
This children's book goes into the details of why animals glow. It talks about animals that glow underwater, in the sky, and on land. Glow gives each animal that they name a reason why they glow. This book is very informative.
I would read this to my students while discussing wildlife in the ocean because the majority of animals they name live in the ocean. This book informs the readers on why specific animals glow and what it is called. This book has terminology that the class would discuss and define.
Frank, A. The Diary of Anne Frank. New York: Contact Publishing, 1947. Print.
This book is written in a journal by Anne Frank. She was in hiding with her family and some of her mother and fathers friends. While she was hiding during the Holocaust, she began to write in a journal. This book tells the readers what Anne's world looked like, how she felt, and what she thought.
This would be a good book to read and then have the students do research on. After reading and researching, I would let the students watch the movie. As they are watching the movie, they could do a Vinn-Diagram to compare the two.
Sidman, Joyce. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009. Print.
Caldecott Medal
This is a poetry book that takes the readers into a world of colors. As the book goes along, the seasons start to change. The readers begin to see different colors and objects that correlate with the season.
I would read this poetry book to a fourth grade class. After reading and discussing the book, I would have them refer back to the page that discusses "Green is queen in summer". I would expand on this with the students. Then, I would have them draw with a green crayon what they think the green queen would look like. They would also include what clothes she would wear, what she likes to do, and what kind of person she would be. Using their ideas, I would have the class come up with a group poem that I would write on the board. If there was extra time, they would then choose their own color to draw and write a poem about. When they are drawing, they will think about the same questions we discussed in class. They then would write their own personal poem.
Seuss, Dr. If I Ran the Zoo. New York: Random House, 1950. Print.
Caldecott Medal
This is a book perfect for young readers such as first and second grade. This is a story about a young boy, Gerald McGrew, who wonders what the zoo would be like if he started to run the zoo. He imagines that there would be all kinds of unique creatures because he too, was unique.
I would read this book to the class during language arts. After reading and discussing the book, I would have the students imagine that our class was creating our own zoo. The students would draw an unique creature that they would put in our zoo, color it, and then give it a name. When they have completed those steps, they will cut their creature our and then give it to the teacher. The teacher will then put their animals on the bulletin board that is displayed like a cage in a zoo.
Becker, A. Journey. New York: Candlewick Press, 2013. Print.
Caldecott Medal
This is a picture book that takes the readers on a journey with a girl and her chalk. She imagines that she travels to all of these places where people pay attention to her. At the end, she meet a boy who also has chalk. They become friends and have adventures with each other.
This book would be perfect for readers who are not fluent because there are no words. As the class discusses the book, it will help the students to do close reading without even knowing it.
George, K. Spark. New York: Simply Read Books, 2013. Print.
This is a book aimed for younger readers. Spark, the dragon, has learned how to breathe fire. He cannot control his flame, so he sets everything on fire. At the end of this book, Spark is able to tame his flame and not set anything extra on fire. This book is a god reminder to students that there is a perfect time for everything.
This book would be good to read when discussing the plant life cycle. After reading this book and discussing questions, the teacher will have each student grab a seed and materials for the seed to grow in. Each student will care for their seed over the next couple of months. When the plant begins to grow, the teacher will discuss how it happened. They will also talk about how they had to care for the seed, and when it was ready, it sprouted.
Curtis, Christopher. The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963. New York: Delacorte Press, 1995. Print.
This is a novel about a family that moves to Birmingham, Alabama in the late 1900's. During the time the novel was written, the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing. This book also discusses the Church Bombing that happened in Birmingham.
This book is perfect for classrooms because it gives details about the Civil Rights Movement and the Church Bombing that are difficult to address. It is also a good book to read because you can base that off of internet research.
Morrison, Toni. Remember: The Journey to School Integration. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004. Print.
The author, Toni Morrison, is the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. This book is more of a picture book that provides the reader with more insight as to what was going on. It allows the readers to visualize how this moment in history contributed to today's time.
This book is a great book to bring into the classroom because it also talks about difficult topics that are hard to discuss in the classroom. This book also gives insights on the journey to school integration and talks about things that the average person does not know.
The main character in this book is a girl that just has moved to the United States from Korea. Unhei is nervous about going to school because she knows that none of her classmates will be able to pronounce her name correctly. On her first day of school in the United States she is asked to introduce herself. She tells the class that she will tell them her name next week. All of the students are curious about this so they keep asking her questions. Unhei's peers have a plan to put names in a jar and have her choose one. At the end of the book, she decides that she likes her real name and teaches her classmates how to pronounce it.
I would read this book to my class at the beginning of the year. I would do this because if there were a student that was uncomfortable with their name, looks, or ethnicity, they would understand that it is fine to be different. I would not teach this book, but rather just read it if there were a new student or an anxious student. After reading The Name Jar, I would keep it on my bookshelf for students to read as they like.
Christopher, P. C. The Watsons go to Birmingham. New York: Random House Children's Book, 1995. Print.
John Newbery Medal, Golden Kite Award for Fiction
This novel takes first takes place in Flint, Michigan and later moves to Birmingham, Alabama. Byron, one of the Watsons, is a bully at their school. His younger siblings get bullied by other students in the school. Byron is uncontrollable and eventually forces their family to make him stay with his Grandma so she can make him behave. While living with his Grandma, Byron begins to become a good kid while another person is beginning to bully.
I would read this book to an upper elementary class. The class would read it together throughout a couple of weeks, pause frequently, and discuss what is happening throughout the book. After reading the entire book, I would have each student research the time period (1963) and bring one event that happened in 1963. We would then share the facts the next day, and create a timeline. This would help them gather information about the time period.
Carlson, A. I Can Be Kind. New York: Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 2016. Print.
This book is for young children. It tells about ways that you can be kind. This is a book that informs the readers to love everyone.
This book would be perfect for reading if there was bullying in the classroom. It would help the classroom understand that kindness goes a long way. Treat everyone with respect, and they will return the act.
Beaumont, K. I Like Myself!. Boston: Cengage Learning Inc., 2010. Print.
This book encourages children to have high self-esteem. This book also teaches the readers to like everything about them because everyone is unique. This girl in the book does not care what other people think of her. She likes herself just the way she is, and we should too.
This book would be helpful to read if there is word about depression or self-esteem issues. As reading this to the class, be sure to express the importance of loving yourself and everything that comes with you. Hopefully, this book would help the students who feel like they do not belong.
Graham, B. How to Heal a Broken Wing. Australia: Candlewick Press, 2008. Print.
This children's book was originally printed in Australia in 2008, but was printed in the United States in 2017. This is a story for elementary age students about a bird with a broken wing. With the hustle and bustle of the city, nobody stops to see this bird laying on the sidewalk. Will, the main character, and his mom see this bird laying down getting passed by many people and decide to take it home to try to heal the bird. They take care of the bird, feed it, and let it rest. By the end of the book, the birds wing is healed and it flies high in the city again.
This would be a good book to read to young children. As they are learning how to read, this book could help them become more fluent. This book is very short, so the class could read it over and over again until they are gaining fluency. This is also a good book for the students to read because it shares the thought of kindness. If the little boy in the story would not have picked up the bird and helped it, the bird would have died. So, this book would teach fluency and help the students understand acts of kindness.
Hesse, K. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic Press, 1997. Print.
John Newbery Medal
This is a poem that reads as a novel, Out of the Dust tells the life of a little girl named Billie Jo, who tries very hard to help her family survive the dust-bowl years of the Depression. While she is doing this, she must fight against the elements on her farm in Oklahoma. She then learns that she has to take on even more responsibility when her mother passes away in a horrible accident.
I would read this book to my class to bring to light about the Depression. As we are reading, we will come across words that they will not be familiar with. I will write those terms on the board. As we are reading, I will have them define the word and then write a sentence using that word to help them retain what it means. Some vocabulary would include: drought, withered, scorched, sod, duster, parched, migrants, and gaunt.
Jurmain, S. Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and The True Story of An American Feud. New York: Penguin Group, 2011. Print.
Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and The True Story of An American Feud is a true story about Jefferson and Adams. They were friends; however, they had the biggest clash of personalities. When they were deciding how to run the newly United States, they began to become enemies. Their political views followed them to the White House. They eventually became leaders of opposing political parties.
This book would be perfect to read to the class as we are discussing presidency. It would give the students the insights on why Jefferson and Adams were no longer friends. However, it breaks the difficult concepts up into language that the readers understand. I would read this every year as an opener of discussing Jefferson and Adams.
Beck. W. H. Glow: Animals with Their Own Night-Lights. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2015. Print.
This children's book goes into the details of why animals glow. It talks about animals that glow underwater, in the sky, and on land. Glow gives each animal that they name a reason why they glow. This book is very informative.
I would read this to my students while discussing wildlife in the ocean because the majority of animals they name live in the ocean. This book informs the readers on why specific animals glow and what it is called. This book has terminology that the class would discuss and define.
Frank, A. The Diary of Anne Frank. New York: Contact Publishing, 1947. Print.
This book is written in a journal by Anne Frank. She was in hiding with her family and some of her mother and fathers friends. While she was hiding during the Holocaust, she began to write in a journal. This book tells the readers what Anne's world looked like, how she felt, and what she thought.
This would be a good book to read and then have the students do research on. After reading and researching, I would let the students watch the movie. As they are watching the movie, they could do a Vinn-Diagram to compare the two.
Sidman, Joyce. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009. Print.
Caldecott Medal
This is a poetry book that takes the readers into a world of colors. As the book goes along, the seasons start to change. The readers begin to see different colors and objects that correlate with the season.
I would read this poetry book to a fourth grade class. After reading and discussing the book, I would have them refer back to the page that discusses "Green is queen in summer". I would expand on this with the students. Then, I would have them draw with a green crayon what they think the green queen would look like. They would also include what clothes she would wear, what she likes to do, and what kind of person she would be. Using their ideas, I would have the class come up with a group poem that I would write on the board. If there was extra time, they would then choose their own color to draw and write a poem about. When they are drawing, they will think about the same questions we discussed in class. They then would write their own personal poem.
Seuss, Dr. If I Ran the Zoo. New York: Random House, 1950. Print.
Caldecott Medal
This is a book perfect for young readers such as first and second grade. This is a story about a young boy, Gerald McGrew, who wonders what the zoo would be like if he started to run the zoo. He imagines that there would be all kinds of unique creatures because he too, was unique.
I would read this book to the class during language arts. After reading and discussing the book, I would have the students imagine that our class was creating our own zoo. The students would draw an unique creature that they would put in our zoo, color it, and then give it a name. When they have completed those steps, they will cut their creature our and then give it to the teacher. The teacher will then put their animals on the bulletin board that is displayed like a cage in a zoo.
Becker, A. Journey. New York: Candlewick Press, 2013. Print.
Caldecott Medal
This is a picture book that takes the readers on a journey with a girl and her chalk. She imagines that she travels to all of these places where people pay attention to her. At the end, she meet a boy who also has chalk. They become friends and have adventures with each other.
This book would be perfect for readers who are not fluent because there are no words. As the class discusses the book, it will help the students to do close reading without even knowing it.
George, K. Spark. New York: Simply Read Books, 2013. Print.
This is a book aimed for younger readers. Spark, the dragon, has learned how to breathe fire. He cannot control his flame, so he sets everything on fire. At the end of this book, Spark is able to tame his flame and not set anything extra on fire. This book is a god reminder to students that there is a perfect time for everything.
This book would be good to read when discussing the plant life cycle. After reading this book and discussing questions, the teacher will have each student grab a seed and materials for the seed to grow in. Each student will care for their seed over the next couple of months. When the plant begins to grow, the teacher will discuss how it happened. They will also talk about how they had to care for the seed, and when it was ready, it sprouted.
Curtis, Christopher. The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963. New York: Delacorte Press, 1995. Print.
This is a novel about a family that moves to Birmingham, Alabama in the late 1900's. During the time the novel was written, the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing. This book also discusses the Church Bombing that happened in Birmingham.
This book is perfect for classrooms because it gives details about the Civil Rights Movement and the Church Bombing that are difficult to address. It is also a good book to read because you can base that off of internet research.
Morrison, Toni. Remember: The Journey to School Integration. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004. Print.
The author, Toni Morrison, is the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. This book is more of a picture book that provides the reader with more insight as to what was going on. It allows the readers to visualize how this moment in history contributed to today's time.
This book is a great book to bring into the classroom because it also talks about difficult topics that are hard to discuss in the classroom. This book also gives insights on the journey to school integration and talks about things that the average person does not know.