The Very Hungry Caterpillar # 13

1.      Author: Eric Carle
2.      Title: The Very Hungry  Caterpillar
3.      Illustrator: Eric Carle
4.      Genre: Picture Book  
5.      Theme: Metamorphosis, counting, and days of the week
6.      Primary Character: The Caterpillar
7.      Awards: American Institutes of Graphic Art Award in 1970
8.      Date of Publication: 1969
9.      Publication Company: The World Publishing Company

There is a little white egg that hatches a little caterpillar that is very hungry.  This little caterpillar is on a quest to find food to fill his hunger as he goes through the days of the weeks and counts the food.  After his journey the caterpillar goes through a beautiful transformation.  I would read this to Kindergarten students to practice the days of the weeks and simple counting.  I would read this to first of second grade students to show metamorphosis.

I Survived: The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 # 12

1.      Author: Lauren Tarshis
2.      Title: I Survived: The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941
3.      Genre: Historical
4.      Subgenre: Chapter Book
5.      Theme: War, attack, friendship, new surroundings, and acceptance
6.      Primary: Danny and Aki and secondary Characters: Finn, Mack, Ma, Mrs. Sudo and Mrs.   Mills  
7.      Date of Publication: 2011
8.      Publication Company: Scholastic Inc.

Danny and his mom have just moved to Hawaii from New York City.  He was devastated that his mother chose to move him away from his best friend Finn and his teacher Mrs. Mills.  His mother was a nurse and thought they needed to leave to keep Danny safe after Finn had a horrible accident.  Danny meets a small friend that eases the pain of missing his friends.  Danny was on the Pearl Harbor base when the Japanese plains started to attack, Danny put his lessons from the streets of New York to good use in a time of need.  This is a great book that I would have my fifth or sixth grade students read together at the being of our World War II history lesson.

Pirates Past Noon # 11

1.      Author: Mary Pope Osborne
2.      Title: Pirates Past Noon
3.      Illustrator: Sal Murdocca
4.      Genre: Juvenile Fiction
5.      Subgenre:  Chapter Book
6.      Theme: Adventure, Pirates, counting, and time travel
7.      Primary Characters: Jack and Annie and secondary Characters:
8.      Date of Publication: 1994
9.      Publication Company: Scholastic Inc. with Random House Printing

It was a rainy, boring day when Jack and Annie decide to go to their magic tree house.  They have fond lots of adventures here in the past.  On this particular rainy day a book with a beautiful beach scene carries them to an island.  On this island they run into trouble when pirates show up looking for their treasure. I would  have my sixth grade students read this book and add activities that have to do with counting and traveling.  I think this will make my students have fun learning and encourage them to pay attention to the book. 

I Spy Fly Guy # 10

1.      Author: Tedd Arnold
2.      Title: I Spy Fly Guy
3.      Illustrator: Tedd Arnold
4.      Genre: Transitional Book
5.      Subgenre: Chapter Book/Fiction
6.      Theme: Hide and Seek and Rhyming
7.      Primary and secondary Characters: Buzz and the Fly
8.      Awards: Noteable Childrens Books: 2010
9.      Date of Publication: 2009
10.  Publication Company: Scholastic Inc.

A boy and his pet fly are playing hide and seek, after Fly Guy hides in the trash can the dump truck picks up the trash before Buzz can rescue him.  Buzz and his dad race to the dump to try and find Fly Guy.  Buzz is faced with a problem when he finds thousands of flies and they can ALL say his name.  I would use this book to help transition them to chapter books because it has 30 pages and three chapters.

Gooney Bird is so Absurd # 9

1.      Author: Louis Lowry
2.      Title: Gooney Bird is so Absurd
3.      Illustrator: Middy Thomas
4.      Genre: Juvenile Fiction
5.      Subgenre: Chapter Book
6.      Theme: Poetry, leadership, and supporting classmates
7.      Primary and secondary Characters: Gooney Bird and Ms. Pidgeon
8.      Awards: Author is two-time Newberry Award winner
9.      Date of Publication: 2009
10.  Publication Company: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

It is January and Gooney Bird has to keep her brain warm with a special hat.  Mrs. Pidgeon was teaching her second grade class about poetry and the class began to really enjoy it.  They also learn that it is not easy to write.  The class and especially Gooney Bird is faced with a challenge after Mrs. Pidgeon’s mother passed away.  The class read a poem lead by Gooney Bird but not without all their encouragement.  Other than placing this in my classroom for free-reading, I would read this book to my class during our poetry lesson so that the kids could relate to the characters.

Tarzan # 8

1.      Author: Retold by Robert  D. San Souci
2.      Title: Tarzan
3.      Illustrator: Michael McCurdy
4.      Genre: Traditional Literature
5.      Subgenre: Picture book/ fiction
6.      Theme: Jungle, learning, honor,
7.      Primary and secondary Characters: Tarzan and Kerchak
8.      Date of Publication: 1999
9.      Publication Company: Hyperion Books for Children

A man and his wife survived a ship wreck and began living on an island. They had a boy and the wife passed soon after and then apes came into their home a killed the man.  A female ape rescued the baby and raised him amongst the apes.  The boy found his old home and began looking at books and learning to write and recognized words.  He found things and technique to help him fight against the wild animals of the jungle.  I would use this book to show my students how important education is and to show them how books and movies differ.

When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry # 7

1.      Author: Molly Bang
2.      Title: When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry…
3.      Illustrator: Molly Bang
4.      Genre: Picture Book
5.      Theme: Dealing with anger, overcoming problems, and family understanding
6.      Primary and Secondary Characters: Sophie and Her Mother
7.      Award: Caldecott Honor Book
8.    Date of Publication: 1999
8.      Publishing Company: The Blue Sky Press

Sophie is a little girl with a big problem…her sister!  Sophie is a very upset little girl when her mother let her little sister take her toys away.  Sophie’s mother told her it was not her turn anymore and Sophie began to get very angry.  Sophie went through many stages of anger before she calms down and joins her family again.  Molly Bang does a great job illustrating the different levels of anger children feel.  I would read this book to children in grades Kindergarten through second grade.  A study found that second grade students have the hardest time controlling their anger so I would also have an assignment or discussion about how to react when they feel like Sophie did.

The Cat Who Walked Across France # 6

1.      Author: Kate Banks
2.      Title: The Cat Who Walked Across France
3.      Illustrator: Georg Hallensleben
4.      Genre: Realistic Fiction
5.      Subgenre: Picture book/ Fiction
6.      Theme: Cats, Home, and France
7.      Primary and secondary Characters: The Cat and The old Woman
9.      Date of Publication: 2009
10.  Publication Company: Frances Foster Books

A happy cat that lived with an old woman by the sea was shipped to the city after the old woman passed.  The cat began his long and lonely journey all over France to try and find his old home by the sea.  His journey wore on his body but his courage and dedication was worth the reward of having a home.  I would present this book to students in grades kindergarten through second grade.  I would use this book to either give an example of how animals travel long distances or during a lesson that has to do with France.  The different scence in the book are well known places in France. 

Teacher's Pets # 5

1.      Author: Dayle Ann Dodds
2.      Title: Teacher’s Pets
3.      Illustrator: Marylin Hafner
4.      Genre: Picture book/Fiction
5.      Theme: Pets, classroom environment, and responsibility
6.      Primary and secondary Characters: Ms. Fry and Moe the Cricket
7.      Date of Publication: 2006
8.      Publication Company: Candlewick Press

In Ms. Fry’s classroom it is share day and all of her students bring in their animals.  The students are only supposed to bring their animals for one day but Ms. Fry takes care of a variety of pets until the very last day of class.  All of the students took home their pets except for one student that decided to leave his beloved pet behind.  I would us this book of a young age group to teach them the different sounds that animals make.  I would also read this book to my class before or after we have a day of show and tell.

Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening # 4

1.      Author: Robert Frost
2.      Title: Stopping By Woods on A Snowy Evening
3.      Illustrator: Susan Jeffers
4.      Genre: Poetry
5.      Subgenre: Picture book/Fiction
6.      Theme: Winter, wildlife, animals
7.      Primary and secondary Characters: The narrator and The Horse
9.      Date of Publication: 1923 (poem)/ 1969(book)
10.  Publication Company: E.P. Dutton

A man traveling through unknown woods admires the wildlife and nature during the winter snowfall.  The man describes his horse’s curiosity throughout their journey.  He talks about how he would love to stay and enjoy the snowy weather but he has promises to keep and a long time before he sleeps.  I would read this book to students in third grade through sixth grade that are working on poetry in class. I would read this to show them examples of different types of poems.

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! # 3

1.      Author: Karen Beaumont
2.      Title: I Ain’t  Gonna Paint No More
3.      Illustrator: David Catrow
4.      Genre: Poetry
5.      Subgenre: Picture book/Fiction
6.      Theme: Painting, Rhyming, body parts
7.      Primary and secondary Characters: Child and the mother
9.      Date of Publication: 2005
10.  Publication Company: Harcourt

A creative child was busy painting colorful artwork allover the walls until mom came in and tried to stop the child from destroying her walls.  The child just could help but keep painting and soon he began to paint his own body parts!  I would use this book with Kindergarten children to learn body parts, rhyming, and singing.

Dave the Potter # 2

1.      Author: Laban Carrick Hill
2.      Title: Dave the Potter
3.      Illustrator: Bryan Collier
4.      Genre: Juvenile Biography
5.      Subgenre:  Picture book/ Non-Fiction
6.      Theme: Dedication, art of creation
7.      Character: Dave
8.      Award date of publication: Coretta Scott King award winner-2010
9.      Publishing company: Little, Brown and Company

     This is a true story about Dave who was a slave from the 1800’s.  He valued the soil as a environmental resource to create pottery.  This pottery was important to Dave because of the things it kept together. Dave is now recognized as a talented artist from his time period.  I would use this book as an example of the importance of soil and environmental resources and more importantly the time period.  This would provide a visual aid or an example of the time period for student in third grade through sixth grade.