"George Washington"- James Cross Giblin

This is a biography. This book is a great way to get students interested in history. It does not just give boring information about his life, it really explains how George Washington grew up and students can relive his life by reading this book. I would have students write about what George Washington would think of our country now.

"Just a Dream"-Chris Van Allsburg

This is a fantasy/science fiction book. A boy named Walter spent most of his life not caring about the environment or where he threw his trash. One day he saw his neighbor planting a tree that she got for her birthday and he told her that was so dumb to want a tree for your birthday. Walter had always dream of the future and how there would be robots to take his trash out. That night Walter dreamed of the future, just not the future he imagined. During his dream Walter sees mounds of trash on the street he grew up on. Boats overjoyed by catching one small fish. He also saw a hotel on Mt. Everest and highways all over the place. This was not the future keep telling himself, there are no robots and no flying space ships. Walter finally wakes back up in his room and realizes that was the future unless he does something about it. So Walter goes outside to sort the trash and pick up his liter, he even asks for a tree on his birthday. The next night he dreams of the future and he is lying in between his tree and his neighbor’s tree, then he says “now this is a good future.”
This is a great book for students to read and they are really interested in because of the fantasy aspect of the book. This book can be used for so many lessons on the environment. I would have the students discuss how they help the environment, what do they do to keep our future looking as wonderful as Walter see’s at the end of the book.

Student Wordle "Thank you, Mr. Falker"(text to self)

Student Wordle to "Thank you, Mr. Falker"(Text to World

"Brer Rabbit in the Briar Patch"- Walt Disney's American Classics

http://cedncsu.ed.voicethread.com/#u290548.b415951.i2199218This a great story that many of the children will probably familiar with. The lesson that I would do with the students after reading this book is to show them how you can be fooled and how important it is to pay attention to the details. Just like Brer Rabbit thought the tar person was real, he should have looked closer to see that it was actually tar. That is how it is when you read something; you have to pay attention to get the true meaning of a story. This is a traditional /folk book.

"Thank You, Mr. Falker"- Patricia Polacco

http://cedncsu.ed.voicethread.com/#u290548.b415913.i2198990

I loved this story. I think that every student should read this book. Students can learn so much from this story. They can learn how important it is to never give up and to always persevere even if others think you can't. Also students can learn how important it is not to pick on people and treat them they way the students treated Trisha. So many students can relate to this story and it can give them hope. This is a realistic book.

"Back to School Fright from the Black Lagoon"- Mike Thaler

http://cedncsu.ed.voicethread.com/share/415892/
This a great book and it is very comical. This book is very relatable to students and I think this would be a great book for students to use as stepping stone for comprehension. Since there are so many pictures I think that the students would find this as an easy read and something that they are very interested in. This is a graphic novel.

"Anne Frank"-David A. Adler

This was a great book to read. This story really gets the reader involved in the emotions of the story and you can really understand the life that Anne Frank had lived. I would use this book to jumpstart a unit on the Holocaust. This is a non-fiction/biography book.

"Thomas Jefferson"- David A. Adler

This a great book that not only gives the history of what Thomas Jefferson did but it gives the history of our country. I would discuss the importance of Thomas Jefferson’s life and what would be different if he had not been alive during this time period. This is a non-fiction/biography book.

"Alligator Baby"-Robert Munsch

This is a fantasy/science fiction book. One night a mother is ready to have her baby, but instead of going to the hospital they go to the zoo. They finally get the baby home and are ready to show the baby to their daughter Kristen, but Kristen realizes that the baby it’s not human that it is and alligator. When she tell her mother this she thinks that Kristen is just jealous, that is until the baby alligator bites the mothers nose. So the parents head back to the zoo to get the baby but they get a baby seal instead and the same thing happens with Kristen. This happens one more time with a baby gorilla, so Kristen decides to take matters into her own hands and rides her bike to the zoo to get her brother. Kristen is successful, but when she gets home they do not know what they are going to do about the other babies from the zoo. That is until all the babies parents bust through their front door to get their babies.
This is a very funny book that students would enjoy reading. I would have students to point out the parts of the story that would never happen. Then I would have the students write their own fantasy

"Skippyjon Jones"-Judy Schachner

This is one of my favorite books. It is a great book to get a laugh out of and is very entertaining. I would use this book to get students imaginations rolling. After reading the story I would have the students create a story about what they would be if they could pretend that were something else. This is a fantasy book.

"The Story of Ruby Bridges"-Robert Coles

I really enjoyed this book and I think it is a great book for students of all ages to read. There are so many points that could be discussed. This book gives the students an insight into our countries history. A main point that I would discuss with students is how do you think Ruby continued to pray for those people when they were so mean to her, and could you treat people so kindly if they were so mean to you? This is a historical book.

"A Chair For my Mother"- Vera B. WiIliams

This is a realistic book. A young girl helps out at the dinner that her mother waitresses in. Every night the young girl and her mother put the money that they made into a huge jar in their kitchen. Every night her mother is so tired from being on her feet all day long, but she has not wear to seat but in a hard kitchen chair. The money that is in the large jar is being saved up so they can buy a bug comfy chair to sit in. The reason they do not have any comfy chairs is because one day their home caught on fire and they lost everything. All of their neighbors helped them out by bringing furniture, but not one brought a sofa or chair for the living room. After a year of saving the young girl and her mother finally go to the store and pick out the more beautiful comfy chair. They are so ecstatic to have their chair to relax in when they get home from work. The young girl is the happiest because now her mother has somewhere to sit and rest her feet.
This is a great book to teach students about how great it is to be humble. Just because everything they had was destroyed they did not lose hope. They worked hard to get the things they had. Also this can be used to show students how important it is to care about others more than your self. When you do something for someone else then you feel rewarded.

"Emily"-Michael Bedard

This is a realistic/historical book. A young girl becomes interested in her next door neighbor who is rarely seen and others call her the myth. The myth has contacted her family and requested that the mother comes over and plays the piano for her to make her feel revived like the spring. This young woman who is so reclusive is named Emily. The young girl who lives next door to Emily is so intrigued by Emily and who she is. Her mother invites her to go to Emily’s house while she plays for her, the young girl becomes worried about what she will see and find when she visits Emily. During the visit Emily does not come down to listen to the music, she sits upstairs to listen, but the young girl wonders around the house and finds Emily. Emily is quite pleased to see the young girl. The young girl gives Emily a few lily bulbs and Emily feels she must give her something in return. Emily gives the young girl a poem that she has written and the young girl cherishes the poem for the rest of her life. The young girl plants the lily bulbs in the spring and thinks about Emily and the mysteries of life. A later note we find out that Emily in the story is Emily Dickinson.
For this book I would discuss with the students about how sometimes things my appear to be one way and but in reality they are opposite of what they seem. Also students can discuss Emily Dickinson and what they know about her.

"The True Story of the Three Little Pigs"-Jon Scieszka

This is a book in the folk genre. In this twist of a classic the wolf tells the story from his point of view. He begins by only wanting to borrow a cup of sugar from his neighbors, but he has a cold which causes him to sneeze a lot. When he asks his neighbors for a cup of sugar and they don’t have any he begins to sneeze and blows their house down which in turn kills the pigs. Although the wolf did not mean to kill the pigs he can not help but to eat them. Since they are already dead he figures he does not want to let them go to waste, and he explains this as if we as humans saw a big juicy burger laying there in front you, you would eat it to. All that the wolf wanted to do was get a cup of sugar and ends up getting lock up for killing and eating the three pigs. Now the wolf wants to set the story straight and give people his side of the story.
I loved this book, it is so funny and I think that students would find it very humorous as well. This is a great twist on a classic and I think that this can teach students how creative you can be with anything. That there is always another side to a story and it is worth exploring.

"Rumpelstiltskin"-Brothers Grimm

This a great book that tells the story what happens when you become greedy. This story teaches children that when you become consumed by greed you end up doing foolish things, such as Rumpelstiltskin did when he was singing about what his name was. The story can teach students the morals of helping others without wanting something in return. This is a traditional/folk book.

"The Spider Weaver"-Margaret Musgrove

This is a multicultural book. In a Ghana village there were two expert weavers who made a very simple cloth called nwen-ntoma. One night the villagers went out into the jungle and they found the most beautiful and intricate web. They tried to take the web home with them so that they could replicate the design with cloth, but when they pulled it off the trees it crumbled and stuck to their hands. So the next day the two men went back into the forest and found another beautiful web and this time the spider who made it. They watch the spider make another beautiful web, this time they were able to take their knowledge back home with them. They began making clothing in every color imaginable in the intricate designs. At frist only the king wore the cloth called kente. Eventually everyone was allowed to wear this cloth and is still worn today.
This is a great book that shows African heritage and culture. This a great story for students to read because it includes a mini history lesson within it. Students can learn about legends and how they are passed down through generations.

"The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush"-Retold by Tomie dePaola

This is a multicultural book. A young boy in a Native American tribe had a hard time fitting in with the rest of the boys his age. He was not able to run and shoot his bow like the other boys. His name was Little Gopher. Although he could not do these other things as well he was able to create toy warriors and paint beautiful stones. The wise shaman had told little gopher that he was going to be remember for different reasons other than being a great warrior. One day he went to the hill to ponder becoming a man when to spirits appeared to him. They showed him what tools he would use to become great among his people, they told him to find white buckskin to paint the evening sky. Little Gopher went home immediately and began making his paintbrushes and painting pictures. He painted many great pictures of battle and great deeds but when he found the white buckskin he could not find the colors to paint the evening sky. Little Gopher never gave up trying to make the perfect colors, and one night he was rewarded for that. The spirits spoke to him and told him the colors would be provided for him on the hillside. He then painted the perfect sunset and left the colors behind. The next day there were flowers growing all over the hillside in the colors of the beautiful sunset. Little Gopher was no longer called that he was call He-Who-Brought-the-Sunset-to-the-Earth and his people began to praise him.
I think this is a great book to show students how it is to be patient and that you do not have to be like everyone else. That is good to fallow your own path and to be an individual. This book also shows that if you truly believe in something then you can and will make it happen.

"Missing May"- Cynthia Rylant

This is a realistic chapter book. Missing May is about a young girl named Summer who was orphaned at the age of 6 and her aunt May and uncle Ob came from West Virginia and adopted her. They took her back to their trailer in the mountains. They did not have a lot to offer Summer but she loved them with all of her heart. When May suddenly died Ob and Summer were devastated. Ob was having a harder time than Summer with May's death. Ob began to see visions of what he thinks was May's spirit. He was so consumed with trying to find May's spirit again that he did not take his responsibilities as Summer's guardian seriously. Then Cletus one of Summer's classmates began to hang around with Ob and believed all of Ob's sightings. Finally Ob decided that he was going to try just one more time to find May's spirit and when he couldn't he was devastated. Summer became so worried about Ob and she thought that he was going to die to because he missed May so much. Finally on the car ride home Ob snapped out of his depression and realized that Summer needed him and that he did have a reason to live.
I thought that this was a great story because it showed the cycles that people go through when someone they love dies. It also shows how important it is to have loved ones around you when you are going through a difficult time. I would use this in my classroom by having the students to related this story to themselves by writing about a difficult time in their life and who they had around them to help them through the difficult time and what that person did to help.
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"The Oustide Dog"- Charlotte Pomerantz

This book is a realistic chapter book. When Marisol finds a stray dog outside her grandfather is very hesitant about allowing Marisol to pet and feed the dog. The grandfather did not want the dog to think that their house was his home. As Marisol grows closer to Poncho (the dog) her grandfather becomes more hesitant. The grandfather begins to give in little by little. He finally gives in and buys the dog a bag of dog food. The point in the story that the grandfather finally gives in and allows the dog to stay is after Poncho is missing for a few days. The grandfather realizes how important the dog is to Marisol and how much he actually likes the dog. Once Poncho comes back home the grandfather allows the dog to stay permanently but only on one condition and that is that Poncho is an outside dog.
This book is on a second grade level, but in a third grade classroom it is important for there to be books that are on this level because not everyone in the class is going to be on a third grade level or above. This book is really good for children to have an easy read that they can really ignite their interest in reading. Just like the article about comprehension, it is important that there are all levels of books in the classroom. This book also interjects some Spanish language into the story.

"Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth"-Barbara Park

This book is a realistic chapter book. Junie B. Jones is always wanting to impress her friends, when it is time to decided what job she is going to be for career day at school she has no idea what to be, but she wants to have the best job of all. As the other students talk about how what they are going to be she says “oh yeah I am going to be that too.” By the end of the day she said that her job was going to include painting, keys, and saving people. At this point all of classmates are laughing at her ideas and she too is worried about what kind of job she will find that will include all of that. Over the weekend Junie B. Jones worries about what her job will be when it finally dawns on her that she could be a janitor. When she shows up to school is so proud of the job that she has picked, but when it is her turn to tell the class about her job the students just laugh at her. Finally the teacher steps in and explains how important being a janitor is to the class.
I think that this book could be used to teach student about how important all jobs are and how each job in a society is what makes a community work. This would go along great with the NC standard course of study for social studies because the overall goals deal with communities and peoples roles in communities.

Brother Eagle, Sister Sky-A message from Chief Seattle

***This book is a multicultural book, I would use the book to show the students the Native American cultural and mindset about the earth. Also this is a great book to show students how important it is to value our earth. It gives students another perspective on our environment and how it should be treated.