Thank You, Sarah (Historical Fiction)

Sarah Hale is not only a hero of her time period but for Americans everywhere!  She insisted that Thanksgiving be a national holiday. After being denied by many politicians and waiting over 35+ years, Abraham Lincoln  finally passed the bill! Sarah was celebrated by all her family, friends, and fellow Americans.

I would use this book as a start of a mini-history lesson.  Sarah Hale made  a contribution to this country but isn't remembered as much as other heroes of this country. As a class, we would discuss the unforgotten heroes. I would introduce different people in history and tell them how each person contributed.

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuoso (Non-fiction)

Ella Fitzgerald was a famous singer that was especially known for her talents back in the 1940s. After her discovery at a local talent show in 1934 she sang for the majority of her life.  A slick talking cat narrates and tells the ins and outs of her life and career.  This book is piece of art itself!  The illustrations are colorful and the language used is similar to the language they would've used in Harlem back in the 40s.

All the illustrations in this book were made by using types of scratch art. After reading and discussing the book with the students, I would ask them to make their own scratch art piece!  First, they would have to write about something that they found interesting about Ella Fitzgerald. Then, they would make a scratch are piece of Ella depicting any part of her life that was in the book.

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Realistic Fiction)

Peter is a fourth grader who has a little brother called Fudge.  Typically, little brothers are enjoyable but in this story, Peter finds that life would be just a little better if Fudge wasn't always into things, breaking HIS things, getting lost, or accidentally killing his favorite pet. Peter thinks it's already bad enough that he's only in the fourth grade but his brother just makes his life worse. Even though peter is annoyed by his little brother, he comes to realize that he's not so bad after all.

I find that this book has material that most students can relate to.  So, I would ask the students to "talk back" to the story. They can relate to Peter, ask Fudge why he was always into things, or even help Peter scold Fudge for breaking his things!

The Witches of Worm (Modern Fantasy)

Jessica Porter is a lonely, mischievous girl who lives with her mother.  Her mother is divorced from her dad and rarely has time or energy to communicate or have fun with Jessica.  One day, Jessica finds a blind cat and she claims that the cat has power over her and makes her do bad things to her family and friends.  In the end, the book isn't clear on whether the cat actually had powers over Jessica of if she was making excuses for doing those terrible things that brought her so much attention. 

Since the story doesn't have a definite ending and it's left up to the reader's imagination, I would ask the students to write in their journals about their perspective of the story.  They would have to say whether they think the cat had powers or if Jessica was making excuses.  They must explain why and have supporting evidence from the story.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Folk tale)

Minli is a young, bright, kind girl from a poor family in a china.  Most of her happiness comes from the stories that her father tells her at night.  Minli enjoys these stories so much that one day she decides to help her family by finding one of the characters from a story that her father told her.  She has to travel to and across to Never Ending Mountain in order to bring her family riches.  On the way she finds several new friends that help her get to her final, yet interesting destination.

This story is very similar to the American Version of The Wizard of Oz.  I would ask to the students to compare and contrast the two stories using any graphic organizer of their choice.

When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson (Non-fiction)

Marian Anderson had many talents as a child and adult but, because she was African-American, she was ignored and denied by many performing arts schools.  Even after may years of facing many  prejudices and racial barriers of America, Marian was very successful in Europe.  As the author incorporates some of her lyrics into the story, the book showcases her life, her struggles, and her many accomplishments.

Since this will most likely be the first time the students will be learning about Marian Anderson, I think this would be a great time to share some of her music with the class.  We will also discuss some of the things that Marian had to endure as an African-American during a time when African-Americans weren't accepted by many and  their feelings about the story.

The Jacket (Realistic Fiction)

This story is about about a boy, a black 6th grader, who gets accused of stealing another boy's, a white 8th grader, jacket.  The jacket originally belonged to the 8th grader but was given away to the 6th grader's grandmother who then gave it to him. This small misunderstanding lead to a thought-provoking, self-reflective time taught both boys a lesson prejudice and racism for both boys.

I would introduce the students to Wordle and ask them to make a word cloud about the emotions or main themes that were portrayed in this story. 

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3263118/The_Jacket-_Andrew_Clements

Follow the Drinking Gourd (Multicultural)

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Follow The Drinking Gourd is a story about the African American slaves in America during the times of slavery. Peg Leg Joe secretly helped the slaves to freedom by teaching them a song called "Follow the Drinking Gourd" that included the directions to help them to freedom.  The slaves have to endure a series of trials before they get to their destination but they have Peg Leg Joe's song to help along the way.

This story has some graphic pictures and it may be the first time that some students will be exposed to material about slavery.  I think this is a time for students to do their own personal reflecting.  I would ask students students to "talk back" to parts of  story to express their own emotions.  I would ask some students who are comfortable to share with the class.

Tippy Lemmey (Historical Fiction)

Even though this story was set in 1951 during the time of the Korean War, 3 kids are dealing with much bigger problems.  A dog with 2 first names, Tippy Lemmey, is causing problems in their neighborhood.  He always barks at them and tries to chase after them!  The kids really want him gone but they soon come to realize why he acts the way that he does and then come to find that he is a hero!

This book is mini-chapter book that introduces the Korean war and the effects that it had on this small town.  I would expose the students to some background information about that particular war and open discussion up for students that may have experienced some effects from wars that they have lived through. 

Aliens for Breakfast (Modern Fantasy)

Richard is just a regular boy in elementary school.  When a new boy comes to his class, he realizes how cool he is, how nice his clothes are, how popular he is, and most importantly, how beautiful and dazzling his smile is.  While Richard is trying to figure out how to be more like Richard, his mom introduces him to a new cereal,  Alien Crisp. When he begins to eat this cereal he is in for a big surprise.  A surprise that also has news about the new student in his class.

For this book, I would let have the students do a creative writing assignment in their journals about their experiences if they found an alien in their cereal box.

Freckle Juice (Realistic Fiction)

To introduce my students to Glogster, I would ask them to write a brief summary.  Afterwards, all the entries would be shared with the class.

http://jmr2012.glogster.com/freckle-juice/

No Talking (Realistic Fiction)

 Dave is a fifth grade student at Laketon elementary who is inspired to spend a day in silence in honor of Gandhi.  Although he had no problem accomplishing this goal, it caused quite a stir at his school.  In fact, it ended up being a competition of silence between boys and girls. Dave has to prove that he is better than the girls and prove that girls can't control their talking even if they tried!

After reading this book, I would have my students brainstorm what other projects they can do as a class to make a difference in the school.  I would then ask students to write in their journal about the specific project they would want to take on, why it's important to them, and how they would go about doing it.

Cendrillon (Multicultural)

Author: Robert San Souci

On an island in the Caribbean sea, there was a girl who came from a poor family.  When her mother died, the only thing she could give her was a wand made of mahogany.  She was told that she could tap anything three times and it would temporarily change into something else and that the magic must be used on someone that she loved.
Time passed and the little girl, called Nannin', grew up to be a washerwoman for the people of her town. She became the godmother of a baby girl, Cendrillon, whose mother passed away of an illness shortly after giving birth. Cendrillion's father remarried an evil woman who gave birth to a girl who was just as evil as the mother! Cendrillon is forced to do hard housework and is treated very badly by the two women.
Nannin' must help Cendrillon find happiness and what other way to help than to use her wand!

After reading this story, I would ask my students to create a Venn diagram comparing this story to the American version of Cinderella.

Kamishibai Man (Multicultural Fiction)

 Author: Allen Say

This story is about a  man that lived in Japan his entire life.  During his younger years, he told stories to children using a cart filled with pictures and candies. Because of this, he was called the Kamishibai man. The children loved his stories and always came back for more.  As the years progressed and technology advanced, the children watched more television, used hand-held games, and really didn't have an interest in listening to his stories.  The Kamishibai man aged and didn't have the chance to tell many more stories but he later found out that he'd influenced people in ways he never imagined.

After this story, I would ask the children to become Kamishibai men/women and create their own never-ending stories, record it on a flip-camera and share with  a small group of their classmates.

The Talking Eggs (Folk Literature)

Author: Robert San Souci


In a small town in Louisiana, there lived 2 sisters named Rose and Blanche and their mother.  Blanche was a kind, intelligent girl while Rose was greedy, mean, and very unkind to Rose.  The mother was also unkind to Blanche but treated Rose like she was the best daughter in the world! She ordered Blanche to do all kind of chores while Rose did nothing! All of that changed when Blanche befriended this old witch in the woods. The old witch granted her talking eggs and told her which ones to listen to.  If Blanche follows the directions of the witch, she will have many riches! If not, she will face a horrible fate.


Since this book is very colorful, set in Louisiana, and has Creole dialect throughout the story, this would be a good time to discuss genre, setting, plot, and theme.  This story is fairly short so I would read the story to the students and let them fill in their own charts individually as we went along.

Cinderella: The Graphic Novel (Fairy Tale/Graphic Novel)

In this story, Ella's mother passes away and is left with her loving father. While Ella remains sad, her father finds a new wife who has two daughters.  All three of the women are evil to Ella, make her do their housework, and they even gave her the nickname Cinderella because her face always gets smudged with cinders when she cleans the fireplace.  Later, the prince of the town throws a ball to find a wife.  After begging and pleading, the evil step-mother still told Ella that she couldn't go.

After reading this story, I would ask my students to create an alternate ending to this traditional Cinderella story using the same graphic novel format.

Chinye: A West African Folk Tale (Multicultural Fiction)

In this Cindrella like story, a girl named Chinye lives with her evil step-mother and step sister, Nkechi and Adanma in West Africa.  Chinye always has to do strenous chores while her step-mother and step-sister do nothing and complain.  Well, one night, Nkechi demands Chinye to go down to the river to get water.  Even the bravest of people wouldn't dare to go to the river at night! On her journey there and back, Chinye meets a few animals and an old lady who tells her to go in a hut and pick up the smallest roundest gourd. Chinye did just that and found that there were jewels and riches inside.  Well, Nkechi sent Adanma to the river the next night in hopes that she would return with riches too.  Only this time, Adanma ignored the old lady's advice and grabbed the largest gourd she could find. The gourd was filled with destructive winds and they lost all of their belongings.  Nkechi and Adanma moved away and Chinye remained to help the people of her village.


This story is very colorful and interesting to read.  However, I find the ending to be rather abrupt. I would ask my students to be creative and come up with a brief, alternate ending for the story complete with illustrations. Then, if time allows, they could share them with the class.

Baloney, Henry P. (Science Fiction)

This ironically titled story is about an alien who is trying to get to school on time but fails to do so.  So, he tells his teacher a colorful story filled with different languages, aliens, and other planets and explains why he was 7 minutes late for school. Of course, the teacher thinks his story is just a bunch of baloney!


This is an interesting story filled with different languages.  Before actually reading the story, I would have my students partner up with another student, read through the glossary and record the definition and origin of the foreign words used in the story. I would ask them to keep a set of flashcards to have as a reference while we are reading the story together.

You Wouldn't Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy! Disgusting Things You'd Rather Not Know (Non- Fiction)

You wouldn't want to be an Egyptian mummy and this book tells you why! The Egyptians believe in life after death and they are prepared for it through mummification. You will be walked through every step of the process and will become an expert (especially after learning how to pull a brain out through the nostril and how to take out the intestines for preservation). Be prepared to learn things that you probably wouldn't want to know!

This book is filled with pictures and examples of the Egyptian culture and the mummification process.  To incorporate art and literacy, and as a type of informal assessment, I would ask the students to use help from the book to create their own sarcophagus and explain what steps they had to take.

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (Folk Literature)

A mosquito is excited to tell his animal friends all about the crazy thing he saw the farmer doing the day before!  Too bad the first friend he tells doesn't believe him and puts sticks in his ears to stop hearing his lies. This was the start of a chaotic, even violent misunderstanding throughout the animals. The confusion is lead right back to the mosquito and he is forever shamed. Up until this day, he still wonders if everyone is still angry with him for causing so much mischief and he has to buzz in people's ears to find out!


To introduce the Prezi application to students, I would ask them to make their own version of the story or use the actual story and make a Prezi presentation. The link below is a example of how the student's might start their presentation:


http://prezi.com/mzkodkt7nkdf/why-mosquitoes-buzz-in-peoples-ears/