There's A Book For That

  Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Gwen Strauss, and Floyd Cooper Historical Fiction 1-4 Summary: This story is about an African American (A/A) girl named Ruth and her family taking a trip. Ruth was very excited for this trip, because they were taking their new car. Her excited was over soon, when she discovered how poorly A/A travelers were treated in some towns. A lot of hotels and gas stations refused service to African Americans because of Jim Crow Laws. Eventually, they stop at a gas station where the attendant shows her family The Green Book, this was a book that listed places that would welcome the family. Using this book and depending on the kindness of others, Ruth and her family safely make it to her Grandma's house in Alabama.  Evaluation: This is a great book for teaching history. This is especially great for teaching about segregation and Jim Crow Laws. This book offers a good look into what life was like for African Americans in the past, and h...

  Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Kadir Nelson Historical Fiction K-4 Caldecott Honor Book Summary: This is a story about a slave boy named Henry, who finds a way to freedom. Henry was given to the son of his master as a young boy, but found a wife as he got older. Henry and his wife were lucky, since they were allowed to live together even though they had different masters. Henry and his wife, Nancy, had children together and were as happy as they could be given the situation. Until one day, his children and wife were sold at an auction, and Henry was devastated. A little while after this, Henry came up with an idea. He would put himself in a box and mail himself to somewhere without slavery. This was a risky plan, since he had to be very quiet so he did not get caught. Henry managed to get out of a day at work and has was successfully mailed to Philadelphia, and lived with some people he knew there and that is where the story ends.  Evaluation: I think this is a grea...

 Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey and Rebecca Gibbon Historical Fiction K-3 Summary: This is a story about a girl named Katie Casey. Katie is not what everyone thought a girl should be, her clothes were wrinkled, she could not knit or dance, and she did not like home economics. Katie WAS good at baseball, but her parents would rather her to play piano or paint and said what good is baseball to a girl. She tried out for the school baseball team every spring, but always got turned away before even getting a shot just because she was a girl. Finally, something happened and a women's baseball team was being formed. Scouts were sent out to find girls to play baseball, and were surprised to find a lot of girls playing baseball just as good as the boys, including Katie Casey. At their first game, the people in the stands laughed at them until they started to play. The story ends with Katie hitting a grand slam and everyone talking about how good girls were for baseball.  Evaluation...

  The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by E. B. Lewis Historical Fiction K-3 Summary: This is a story about an African American girl, Clover, who lives in a town that is divided by a fence, whites on one side and people of color on the other. This summer, there was a girl who climbed the fence to look at the POC (people of color) side, sometimes Clover would stare right back. This girl wanted to play with Clover and her friends, but Clover's friends always said no. One day, Clover decided to go up to the fence where the girl was, and the girl talked to her (her name was Annie). Clover began to sit on the fence with Annie everyday. At the end, Clover's friend accept Annie as their friend, and they all sit on the fence together.  Evaluation: I love books like this, that show some of the harsh reality of America's past, but in a more light-hearted way. In my classroom, I want my students to know the history of their country, good or bad. However, I do not want ...

  New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer and Eric Velasquez Historical Fiction K-4 Summary: This is a story that takes place around the 1950s and it centers around a young African American girl named Ella Mae. In Ella Mae's family, they do not have a lot of money, so they have to use her cousin's old shoes. However, this time, her cousin's shoes do not fit her. This excites Ella Mae, because she has never had new shoes that she got to pick out. Her excitement is soon foiled once at the shoe store, when she has to wait for help and is not allowed to try on shoes, because she has darker skin. At the end, Ella Mae and her cousin open up a shoe store of their own, where everyone can try on any shoes they want and buy them for just 10 cents and an old pair of shoes. Evaluation: I think this is a great book to teach many things. I think this book would be a great story to teach about the history of America, and to not make it so gloomy that everyone is sad at the end. This book shows some...

  I Am Enough by Grace Byers Audio Book PreK-4 Summary: This is a book that I would describe as very motivational. It goes on stating different things and describing herself as these things and being there for a purpose. It talks about looking differently from others and still being enough. The book ends with simply saying, "I am enough."  Evaluation:  This is a great audio book, I believe you can also get this as a physical book too, but I found it while looking on Audible. I loved this book, despite it being a little less than 5 minutes, I thought about it for a lot longer. This would be a great book to read in class to teach the students that they are enough and about accepting differences. I wish there was a bit more to the audio book as far as how it sounded, it was a little monotone. But I love that you also have the option of a physical book, so you can make it your own. 

  The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi Realistic Fiction 1-4 Summary: This is a story about a young girl named Unhei, whose family just moved to America from Korea. This story follows her as she struggles to adjust to like in a new country, especially when the people there cannot say her name. She worries the American kids will not like her and tries to pick a new name to no avail. The next day at school, there is a jar sitting at her desk filled with names the others picked out. They told her she could choose one or all of them if she liked and they would add more to it. One of the other students discovers Unhei's name at the store and the next school day, the jar was gone. There was one slip of paper on her desk that said Unhei. Unhei then decided to introduce herself to the class and wrote Unhei on the board in both English and Korean, and helped the students and teacher say it correctly.  Evaluation: This is another book that is great for teaching self love. In a classroom, you n...

  I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont illustrated by David Catrow Realistic Fiction PreK-4 Summary: This is a wonderful book about a girl who likes herself. It starts with her naming all the parts she likes, everything, and then transitions to her saying that even if she had blank she would still like herself. It ends with her saying she likes herself because she is herself. Evaluation:  I think this is an amazing book, for a lot of reasons. First of all, I think that we need to start teaching self love to children at a younger age. I think that if we start teaching them self love before they really get into the bulling stage, they will be better off. This is a great book to do just that, but it also is a great book for teaching rhyme. I am so glad I found this book, because, even at 20, I think it helped me love myself a little bit more. 

  Let It Rain by Maryann Cocca-Leffler Realistic Fiction PreK-1 Summary: This is a very simple book to read, with few words on the pages. The story starts in spring and the family is planting in their garden. Then it rains, making things all muddy, but when the sun comes out its sunny and there is a rainbow. They build a treehouse, then have to go to school. It ends at the last day of school< "Summer is coming! Let it shine!"  Evaluation: I think this is a great book for teaching younger students about rhyme and about the seasons. This book is mostly about the spring season and things that you can do in the spring, so it would be great for teaching students about spring. The book also features a lot of rhyme, so it would be great for teaching rhyme too. 

  The Night Before Mother's Day by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Amy Wummer Realistic Fiction  PreK-2 Summary: This is a book that follows the rhythm of The Night Before Christmas. The story starts with the children and dad trying to get the mom out of the house. Once they get her out they start making cards and cake. The next day, they wake up and surprise their mom with the cards they made and coupons and brunch. It ends with the mom saying she wished everyday was Mother's Day. Evaluation: This is a great book for teaching rhyme, but also for around Mother's Day. This would be a great book to read aloud before making crafts to give to their mothers. 

  I Have To Go! by Robert Munsch illustrated by Michael Martchenko Realistic Fiction PreK-2 Summary: This is a book about a young boy who, at the beginning, decides he is never peeing again. Of course, that does not last very long and every 5 minutes or so he yells, "I have to pee!" He does this the whole time until he goes to bed and does not say anything. Until he eventually says, "I wet the bed". After he wets the bed, his family waits for him to say he has to go, after a while he yells, " Grandpa, do you have to pee?" his grandpa says yes and they both go pee, and the little boy does not wet the bed again.  Evaluation: I think this is a great book for younger children, because it addresses a problem that the younger students might have. The fact that there is a book written about this, helps to show that having accidents at night is not all that abnormal. I believe it helps the students to understand that this is a normal struggle and there is nothing ...

  Me First by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger Fantasy  PreK-3 Summary: This is a story about a pig named Pinkerton. Pinkerton always has to be first, even if it means pushing and shoving and being plain mean. That is until the pig scouts go to the beach and he hears a voice calling out, "who would care for a sandwich?" He runs and yells<"Me first!", but when he gets there he is met with a surprise. Instead of someone making him a sandwich, he now has to care for a Sand Witch! After having to do many chores for her she makes him tell her the story about what happened. He admits to her that first is not always best, and she lets him go. He makes it back just in time to get on the bus, last.  Evaluation: I think this is a great story for a wide age range. I think even I benefited from reading this book. I would read this story to my class in the future to teach them about waiting and taking turns. This is just a really amazing book, and I think every child should he...

  The Monster Who Came To Visit by Neesa Bally and Nooshin Behyan Fantasy K-3 Summary: This book is about a little girl who decides to invite a monster to her house in order to get him to stop scaring her. When the monster gets there, he eats a whole lot and just causes quite  a bit of trouble, drawing on walls, chasing the cat and dog, and eating 100 pancakes! When the girl finally gets the monster to calm down and sleep, of which he only did if she held his hand, she realized the monster was a lot like her.  Evaluation: I think this is a great book for getting students to realize that people they think are completely different from them, might be a lot more like the than they think. This book is also super great for teaching rhyme. 

  The Straight Line Wonder by Mem Fox illustrated by Marc Rosenthal  Fantasy 1-3 Summary: This book was about three straight lines who were friends. One of them decides that he does not want to be straight anymore, but the others are worried that people will stare and tell him to stand straight. The line does not listen to his friends though! The line keeps on doing his thing and not staying straight. The story ends with the line getting seen by a famous film director, who asks him to be the star of a movie. His friends never tell him to stay straight again.  Evaluation: I love this book! I think this is a great book for children, because it has a message of being yourself and not worrying about what others think, and in the end it pays off. This book is repetitive too, and is great for learning rhyme. 

  Pretzel by Margret Rey and illustrated by H. A. Rey K-2 Fantasy Summary: This book is about a Dachshund who grows extraordinarily long. The Dachshund was named Pretzel. Pretzel had a crush on another Dachshund named Greta, however Greta was the only dog who did not admire him. Pretzel tries and tries to get Greta to fall in love with him and fails. One day, Greta falls into a hole and Pretzel uses his long body to save her, of course she falls in love with him and they get married and have puppies.  Evaluation: This is a super fun book that I think would be great for the younger children, because it really emphasizes that looks are not everything. Greta did not care for Pretzel's looks, or even the fact that he won a Blue Ribbon at the dog show. Greta loved that he helped her in a time of need. 

Hey, That's My Monster! By Amanda Noll illustrated by Howard McWilliam Fantasy PreK-3 Literary Classics Book Award, Silver Medal in Fantasy, 2017 Children’s Literary Classics Seal of Approval Oklahoma and Publishers Weekly Best Seller, 2017 Mississippi Magnolia Children’s Choice Award PreK-2, 2018 Summary: This book is about a little boy, Ethan, who has a monster that lives under his bed and helps him sleep at night. This little boy also has a little sister, Emma, who just got a toddler bed. His little sister needs a monster to help her sleep, but she cannot have her brother's monster! Her brother gets three tries to get her to bed, of course he cannot do it. All of a sudden, his monster's little sister comes to bring him snacks, and it turns out she is the perfect monster to get Emma to bed. Evaluation: I really enjoyed reading this book. It was very exciting and fun; you never knew what was going to happen next. This is a great book for the younger children, but I also th...

  The Ghost-Eye Tree by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault and illustrated by Ted Rand Poetry 1-4 Summary: This book is about a young boy and his sister on a dark and windy autumn night. They need to get a bucket of milk from the end of town   As they walk down the lonely road, bathed in eerie moonlight, all the boy can think about is the ghost-eye tree. The boy's sister scares him and picks on him about the tree, in the end the little boy says that whenever his mom needed milk again he never seemed to be around.  Evaluation: This is a fun book for reading to the class around Halloween. This book is a good amount of spooky/scary for children, meaning it will not give them nightmares but they will get a good suspenseful story. This book can also be used to show students that poems can be a little longer and can be fun and spooky.

The New Kid on the Block Poems by Jack Prelutsky and drawings by James Stevenson Poetry K-3 Summary: This book has a collection of poems that are mostly humorous. One of my favorite poems featured in this book is When Dracula Went to the Blood Bank. This poem is about Dracula going to a blood bank, but instead of donating, he took a pint and a half.  Evaluation:  This is another book that I would read to my class over a longer period of time (maybe one or two poems each day). As I mentioned before, I think this book would also be great to read while transitioning between activities. Some of the poems are fairly short and would only take a moment to read. The students would enjoy these poems, while learning about poetry. 

  Moo Moo, Brown Cow written by Jakki Wood and illustrated by Rog Bonner Poetry PreK-3 Summary: This poem is about animals and how many babies they have. A kitty goes and is asking all the animal if they have any babies to which they respond yes and how many babies they have. At the end the kitty gets asked and responds no kittens, no kittens- but many, many friends. Evaluation: This is a great book to teach many different things. This poem includes animals and the sounds they make. The poem also includes counting from one to ten. The book also tells the reader what the babies of each animal is called (calf-cow; piglet-pig; lamb-sheep).

  Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs by Alan Katz and Illustrated by David Catrow Poetry PreK-3  Laugh Out Loud Award Winner  Summary: This book features silly poems that can be sung to the tunes of well known songs. My favorite poem was the one the book is named after, called Take Me Out of the Bathtub sung to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ballgame. These poems are very fun and silly.  Evaluation: This book is great for teaching poetry and showing how poems and songs correspond. What I would do with this book, is I would take one poem/song each day to teach my class. This way the class is learning catchy poems and they will not even realize it. This book would also be great for transitioning between activities (you can just sing a song while everyone gets settled in).  

  This Old Man Illustrated by Carol Jones Poetry PreK-2 Summary: This book is about an old man who plays nick nack on a lot of different things. The book counts from one to ten with each number including a different item. This is a silly poem/song, that students will enjoy and most likely go home singing. Evaluation: This book is great for many reasons. This book can be used to help teach students how to count up to ten. This book also features a lot of rhyme and repetition. The students will catch onto the pattern and will be able to try to predict what happens next (what object he plays on next). 

 Goldilocks and the Three Bears Retold and Illustrated by Janet Stevens Traditional Literature PreK-2 Summary: This book tells the very well-known story of a girl named Goldilocks and three bears. The three bears make some porridge for breakfast, but it was much too hot to eat right away so they go for a walk to let it cool down. Goldilocks is walking through the forest and started to smell delicious porridge coming from a house, of which she decides to just walk right into. she tries the porridge, and then decides to relax in a nice chair. After finding a just right chair, she decides it is time for a nap. While she is napping, the bears return to all the porridge gone, the chairs sat in or broken, and a girl in the bed. Goldilocks gets scared and runs away from the bears, and vows to never walk through the forest alone again, and the bears are just fine with that. Evaluation: I think that this story is a great and timeless classic. Everyone knows at least one version of this stor...

Johnny Appleseed a Tall Tale retold and illustrated by Steven Kellogg Traditional Literature 1-4 Summary: This book is about a man who was born around the time of the Revolutionary War. He grew up around apple trees , and when he got older he started planting apple seeds all around him. He started moving west while clearing land to plant his huge apple orchards. After a while everyone knew his name and what he did. eventually he passed away, but the people never stopped talking about him and telling their children about what he did .  Evaluation:   I think this is a great book, because it is not limited to reading/English class. This is a book that can be read for a social studies class, not that its= is the most historically accurate, but it has some mentions of history. This book would be a great opener to a lesson about the Revolutionary War. I would definitely read this book to my class in the future, especially for social studies. 

 There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly Illustrated by Pam Adams Traditional Literature Pre-K-2 Summary: This story, as the title states, is about an old lady who swallows a fly. This old lady starts out with swallowing a fly, she then finds herself swallowing more and more things to help get rid of the previous thing. Eventually, she reaches her limits and dies, but it is very fun to watch her try to solve her fly problem. Evaluation: I think this is a great book to read in a classroom. this book features rhyme and fun page features that change as the story continues. I would not read this book in my class, only because I want to teach students who are a little older than the target audience of this book. However, if I ever find myself in a PreK-2 classroom, I will be sure to read this book. 

  The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! As told by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith Traditional Literature 1-4 Summary: This story is very much a "remix" of the original Three Little Pigs. The events in this book follow almost exactly the events in the original, with just a few changes. The wolf is claiming that he did not intend to kill the pigs , and it was all just a big misunderstanding. Of course it ends with the wolf in jail for killing/eating the pigs.  Evaluation:  I think this book would be great for teaching students about point of view and how everything is not always what it seems. This book will grab and keep the students' attention with its humor and overall fun vibe throughout. 

  Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans  Traditional literature K-3 Caldecott Honor Summary: Madeline is a story about twelve girls who live in an old house in Paris. The main character, Madeline, is not afraid of anyone or anything. The story follows the girls as they go about their days, until one night, Madeline's stomach starts to hurt. She goes to the hospital for a while. All the other girls worry about Madeline while she is gone. The story does has a happy ending, Madeline just needed her appendix removed. Evaluation: I would definitely use this book in my classroom. This is a great book for all children. This is a timeless story that has been loved all over the world for around 80 years. This book also has a series that was written based off this first book. I love the fact that this is a series, because if you h=read it to your class and they like it, there are many more books that are very similar that the children will also enjoy.