Posts filed under ‘Picture Books’
47. The House That Crack Built by Clark Taylor
Retell: A serious poem, told in cumulative verse, detailing the many lives affected by crack.
Topics: crack, drug abuse, responsibility
Units of Study: Social Issues
Tribes: right to pass
Reading Skills: interpretation, inference, questioning, making connections
Writing Skills: using rhythm and rhyme
My Thoughts: This is an intense book. I’m trying to decide if I will read it aloud to my students this year or not. On one hand I think it’s important to have realistic discussions about drugs with elementary school students, but on the other hand I have to be aware that this book may be too heavy for some students. If I do decide to read it aloud this year I think it could be a great for the Social Issues unit. Chronicle Books has a great reading guide for the book which provides questions appropriate for both elementary and middle school aged children.
45. A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Retell: Camilla Cream is very worried about what other people think of her. She loves to each lima beans but would never admit that to anyone at school. One day she wakes up covered in stripes. No doctor can cure her, people make fun of her and the media is obsessed with her. In the end her condition improves when she learns to be herself.
Topics: teasing, fitting in, self confidence, first day of school
Units of Study: Talking and Writing About Texts, Character, Social Issues
Tribes: right to pass, mutual respect
Habits of Mind: persisting
Reading Skills: interpretation, synthesis
My Thoughts: A Bad Case of Stripes is a great book for encouraging discussion about the importance of individuality. I think it may also be a good text for modeling how important it is to pay attention to details that may seem small but are actually really important. For example, if the reader passed over the part about Camilla liking lima beans, the ending of the book could be confusing. If you are teaching the Habits of Mind, you could ask students to pay attention to how the doctors and specialists ‘persisted’ when trying to solve the problem.
44. Shrek! by William Steig
Retell: Shrek is proud to be an ugly ogre. He loves everything disgusting and enjoys scaring people around him. One day he visits a fortune teller who tells him that he is destined to meet a princess even uglier than he. With the help of a donkey he travels to the castle, defeats a knight and meets the princess of his dreams.
Topics: ogres, nightmares, monsters, fortune tellers
Units of Study: Fantasy
Reading Skills: monitoring for sense, envisionment
Writing Skills: using rhyme, including interesting vocabulary
My Thoughts: I never realized how different the original story was from the movie. The movie version has a much stronger moral more lesson but that doesn’t mean Steig’s classic does not have value as a read aloud. I think this book lends itself quite well to modeling how readers monitor for sense. Steig writes with rich vocabulary. His characters never walk, speak, or work. Rather they, stalk, hiss, and scythe. Giggle alert: the story includes the word jackass, which refers of course to the donkey in the story. Read aloud with discretion.
43. A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech
Retell: Mr. Keene is a principal who loves his school. He loves it so much that he gradually increases the amount of days students and teachers come to school. He learns that it’s impossible to have a ‘fine, fine school’ without balance between studying and play.
Topics: school, siblings, principals, problem-solving, authority
Units of Study: Social Issues, Talking and Writing About Texts, Test Prep
Tribes: mutual respect
Habits of Mind: taking responsible risks
Reading Skills: interpretation, inference
Writing Skills: using repetition
My Thoughts: This may be a nice book to read aloud during test time. It will remind everyone that school isn’t the only place where learning happens. I think I may read this book when I want to discuss respectful and powerful ways to solve problems. The main character, Tillie is patient when her school year keeps increasing. However, when she’s had enough she doesn’t melt down. She goes to the principal, calmly states her case, and ends up changing his mind. A Fine, Fine School illustrates the importance of (respectfully) challenging authority. I hope after reading this book, my students will have the courage to (respectfully) challenge me.
42. River of Dreams: The Story of the Hudson River by Hudson Talbott
Retell: A beautifully illustrated history of the Hudson River.
Topics: Hudson River, New York, Native Americans, Henry Hudson, dreamers, Dutch, explorers, British, American Revolution, Robert Fulton, Erie Canal, trade, Hudson River School Painters, Industrial Revolution, environment, Franny Reese, pollution, immigration
Units of Study: Nonfiction, Social Issues, Content Area
Tribes: mutual respect
Reading Skills: envisionment, determining importance, questioning, synthesis
Writing Skills: including expository text features
My Thoughts: My eyes grew wide when I spotted this book in Barnes and Noble this afternoon. This book is treasure for New York 4th grade teachers who will be embarking on a year-long study of New York history. A timeline painted in the shape of the Hudson River winds throughout the book noting historic events including: the American Revolution, the commercial success of Fulton’s steamboat, the opening of the Erie Canal, and the Scenic Hudson Decision. I think I may read this book in September when we discuss what we will be learning in Social Studies this year. When we get to a new unit, I think I’ll reread corresponding sections of River of Dreams. Talbott also highlights writers and artists who were inspired by the Hudson River such as Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper and the Hudson River School Painters. This is a great book to use when discussing trade and industry. There is a beautiful painting in the book that shows the Hudson River bursting with steamboats and schooners–“America’s first superhighway.” I like how the story includes the environmental impact of industrial pollution and the story ends with a strong message–it’s up to us to protect the beauty of this river.
41. Shanghai Messenger by Andrea Cheng
Retell: Xiao Mei is invited by her uncle to visit China. At first she is reluctant to travel by herself and once she arrives she finds the new setting lonely and disorienting. She eventually adjusts and begins to appreciate her extended Chinese family.
Topics: Chinese, China, poetry, family, mixed-race, language barrier, traveling, homesickness
Units of Study: Character, Personal Narrative, Social Issues
Tribes: appreciations/no put-downs
Reading Skills: interpretation, inference, envisionment, making connections
Writing Skills: incoporating foreign languages, zooming in on small moments, including sensory details
My Thoughts: I love how this story is told as a series of free verse poems. I plan on reading this book aloud when I teach how writers zoom in on small moments. Each poem is a small moment from her trip. It can be a good mentor text for writers who want to write about a vacation and are tempted to write about the entire vacation. Cheng incorporates Chinese vocabulary throughout the story. She even includes a Chinese glossary with a pronunciation guide which will aid readers when they attempt to read it aloud. It’s also a good book to read when studying character change. In the beginning, Xiao Mei is afraid to go to China by herself and thinks she will never adjust to life in China. By the end she develops into a grown-up girl who is both completely American and completely Chinese.
40. Rent Party Jazz by William Miller
Retell: Sonny is worried. His mom just lost her job at the fish market and is worried that they may not make rent. Sonny meets the musician Smilin’ Jack who comes up with a solution that turns out to be both profitable and entertaining.
Topics: New Orleans, rent, money, jazz, parties, music, community
Units of Study: Social Issues, Historical Fiction
Tribes: personal best, attentive listening
Reading Skills: envisionment, interpretation
Writing Skills: using commas to tuck in details
My Thoughts: Great books teach us something new. Rent Party Jazz not only tells a story of Sonny and his family, but tells the story of the origin of rent parties throughout African-American communities in the South. The book will be great to read when your class needs to be reminded of the power a strong, supportive community. Even something as bleak as not being able to pay rent can be conquered when people work together.
39. Mama Loves Me From Away by Pat Brisson
Retell: Sugar and her mama share the same birthday. Sugar enjoys listening to her mother’s stories. She especially misses them now that her mother is in prison. Her mother finds a way to share her stories even from far away.
Topics: mothers, families, prison, stories, birthdays
Units of Study: Social Issues, Personal Narratives, Realistic Fiction
Tribes: attentive listening
Reading Skills: interpretation, questioning, empathy
Writing Skills: writing with a balance of description and reflection, keeping a writers notebook
My Thoughts: This is a moving story about a girl who is dealing with the fact that her mother is imprisoned. There aren’t many published stories like this in the world. It’s a great model to use when you teach your students to write about stories you wish belonged in the world–the ones that show aspects of your life or struggles you are going through. The author never reveals what the mother did to land her in prison which I think is a nice touch. The book isn’t about the mother, but about how much her daughter misses her.
38. Ling Cho and His Three Friends by V.J. Pacilio
Retell: Ling Cho is a successful farmer. He feels sorry for his three friends who do not share his success. He thinks of a way to help his friends without making them feel bad. Unfortunately things do not go as planned. His friends learn that it is more wise to ask for help than to take advantage of people.
Topics: harvest, farming, China, asking for help, honesty, friendship
Units of Study: Folk Tales, Talking and Writing About Texts, Social Issues, Poetry
Tribes: mutual respect, personal best
Reading Skills: inference, interpretation, envisionment
Writing Skills: using rhyme and rhythm, incorporating alliteration
My Thoughts: This beautiful book teaches an interesting lesson on asking for help. It also seems to caution against involving friends in business matters. Ling Cho does a favor for his friends by asking them to sell his bumper crop of wheat at market. They were supposed to split the profits. However, each friend ended up keeping the profits or keeping the wheat. The story is told in rhyming verse making it an engaging read.
36. You Can’t Go to School Naked! by Dianne Billstrom
Retell: Parents try to convince their young son to put on clothes for his first day of school. They manage to come to an interesting compromise.
Topics: clothes, consequences, individuality, decisions
Units of Study: Poetry
Tribes: right to pass
Writing Skills: using rhythm and rhyme
My Thoughts: This is a really cute ‘fun read.’ I can see using this during a discussion about rules and how they are usually implemented for a reason. “If you went to school naked when the sun’s overhead, you would get a sunburn and turn very RED!” It also addresses the idea of having the right to pass (even having the right to pass on wearing clothes) but that each decision we make has consequences.
Teachable Texts 