Children's Literature

picture books

1.  The Navajo Year, Walk Through Many Seasons Written by Nancy Bo Flood. 

         Beautiful illustrations by Billy Whitethorne.  An informative picture book and one the children would enjoy as the coyote walks through the seasons and explains each month.  It provides “poetic description  of the many signts sound and activities associated with each month.”  From jacket

2.  Piggie Pie! By Margie Palatini. 

         Very entertaining.  This book is about a witch who is outsmarted by some pigs. 

3.  Benito’s Sopaipillas Las sopaipillas de Benito by/Por Anna Baca. 

         This is a great picture book that is written in both English and Spanish.  It tells about sharing family stories.  I love sopaipillas so I was interested in a story about them.

4.  Munsch More! A Robert Munsch Collection with illustrations by Michael Martchenko, Alan and Lea Daniel, and Eugenie Fernandes.

         This book includes Alligator Baby, Andrew’s Loose Tooth, Ribbon Rescue, Get Out of Bed!, Mmm, Cookies! And Deep Snow.  All of these stories have great pictures and are very entertaining.   I really enjoyed the information on how the idea for the story came about.

5.  Edward The Emu  by Sheena Knowles.  Illustrated by Rod Clement. 

         Edward lives in a zoo and is tired of his life as an emu.  Edward tries being a seal, a lion and a snake.  He discovers being an emu is the best thing after all.   From the back cover.

6.  Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French.  Illustrated by Bruce Whatley

         This is a cute story of an Australian wombat who telling about all his favorite things.  Digging holes, eating and sleeping.  The funny part is he does it in somebodies yard.  I love this story.  It shows live from the wombats point of view. 

7.  The Story of the Little Mole Who went in Search of Whodunit by Werner Holzwarth & Wolf Erlbruch.

         Believe it or not this is a story about a mole who sticks his head out of his hole and someone poops on his head.  He then tries to find out who did it.  All the animals have to show him their poop to prove they didn’t do it.  A cute story. 

8.  Bear Noel by Olivier Dunrea

         This is a Christmas Eve story.  In stead of having a Santa Claus the animals have Bear Noel who brings them presents.  A cute story.  I like the pictures.  The students would like it because in is a repeating story and they could help you with the story.

9.  The Library Dragon by Carmen Agra Deedy.  Illustrated by Michael P. White

         Miss Lotta Scales was hired to guard the library.  And in this story she doesn’t let anyone touch her books even the teachers and the principal.  But of course, in the end a little girl teaches Miss Lotta about sharing stories. 

10.  Cold Paws, Warm Heart by Madeleine Floyd.

         A polar bear gets cold and a little girl named Hannah meets the bear.  Hannah is afraid of the bear but wants to help warm the bear up.  The thing that warmed Cold Paws up was the very big hug that Hannah gave Cold Paws.

11.  Minnie and Moo and the Potato From Planet X by Denys Cazet. 

         I have read several Minnie and Moo stories.  I think they are so funny.  They are An I Can Read Book.  They usually look at live differently that we humans do.  This book they meet an alien UPS driver and help him get back in space to deliver a package and save the planets. 

12.  The Dog Who Cried Wolf by Keiko Kasza

         This is a story about a dog named Moka thinks that he should not be a boring house dog.  He runs away to the woods.  There he finds the real wolves and decides maybe he would be better as a house dog.

13.  Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear written and illustrated by Hans de Beer

         Lars the little polar bear has several books about his adventures.  In this book he ends up on a ship with a cat that takes him to the big city to try and make it back home again.  Another cat helps get him on a boat going north.  He gets home and is very happy to get home. 

14.  Just So Stories illustrated by Van Gool

         The just so stories in this book were The Elephant’s Child, The Butterfly That Stamped, and How the Leopard Got His Spots.  The illustrations were not as good as I would have liked but I love the classic stories. 

15.  How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and illustrated by David Shannon

         I loved the illustrations and his life as a pirate.  As a pirate you don’t have to each spinach or carrots.  You were allowed to talk with you mouth full and nobody had to say please or thank you.  All the things that kids think they don’t like.

16.The Milkman’s Boy by Donald Hall and illustrated by Greg Shed

         This is a story about a boy growing up in 1916.  He is the son of a man that had a milk delivery business.  The story tells how each time of the year is different.  How they all help in the summer and they have to cover the milk with ice chips.  How in winter they don’t always deliver milk during snowstorms except families with babies.

17.  Basho and the River Stones  by Tim Myers and illustrated by Oki S. Han

         I like that this book explains that the main character is Japan’s most famous poet.  It also explains what a haiku is and that the poet Basho perfected it.  The story is not written in haiku but does have some poems in the story.  It also has a wonderful part about how Basho good fortune is a poem that he wrote not  gold.

18.  A Mama for Owen by Marion Dane Bauer and Illustrated by John Butler

         I had heard the story about the hippo and the tortoise.  The pictures in this book are great.  They are not really colorful but they are wonderful. This is about the baby hippo who was washed down the Sabaki River and washed ashore by a tsunami wave.  Since they could not find the mother they took the baby hippo to the Haller Park where the lonely young hippo chose Mzee the tortoise to be his mother.

19.  Magic Night by Isobelle Carmody and Illustrated by Declan Lee

         This is a different book.  The book has luminous, fantastical illustrations (taken from the cover but a very good description).  It is about a light that gets in the house and night and the cat follows it.  It turns out to be a young strange fairy like thing.  It finds it way back to the parents.

20.  Jake’s 100 Day of School by Lester L Laminack and Illustations by Judy Love

         As a Kindergarten teacher I have used many books about 100th day of school.  I liked this book.  It was a little different.  It didn’t go through everything you could count and poor Jake forgot his 100 things.  It is good to remind students that everyone could forget. 

2l.  Snail’s Legs by Damian Harvey and Illustrated by Kork Paul

         This is a very funny story about why the snail has a shell on it’s back and you never see his legs.  The illustrations are very colorful and a little different.  The poor frog got eaten by the King because he won the race and snails only race at night.

22.  Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier

         This is a great story.  Who ever heard of a cow that chased the mailman.  I mean you have the dog but not a cow who hides and then loves to scare the mailman.  What a great imagination!

23.  Delicious A Pumpkin Soup Story by Helen Cooper

         The cover of this book even has the recipe for Pink Soup.  The story is about a duck who is a very picky eater and won’t eat anything but pumpkin soup and they don’t have a ripe pumpkin.  They make a lot of other soups but the duck won’t eat them because they are not orange like pumpkin soup. Cat then makes a vegetable soup that is orange just to trick Duck.  This book also has another story going on with bugs.  Very interesting way of telling two stories at once.

24.  Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson and Will Hillenbrand

         Granddad decides to bake a cake for Grandma’s birthday.  Only the biggest will do.  It has fun pictures and it is written in rhyme.  I think that it is a whopper of a tale. 

25.  I’m Not Scared by Jonathan Allen

         Okay I picked the book for it’s cover. I did not realize that it was about an owl.  I was not impressed with the pictures but I think the concept of the book is good.  It’s about being out at night and that it’s not bad but it can be just a little bit scary.

26.  Very Hairy Bear by Alice Schertle and Illustrated by Matt Phelan.

         I loved the illustrations in this book.  They are colored pencils drawing and maybe chalk.  They are not bright colors but each page has a certain color.  The story is about a big hairy bear and what it does all summer.  It then goes into a cave to hibernate and has to cover it’s nose to keep warm. 

27.  Emma’s Turtle by Eve Bunting and Illustrated y Marsha Winborn.

         I liked the story.  I got it because I recognized the author’s name.  It is a great story but it should apply to children also.  There is so much in the back yard if you use your imagination.  The turtle only travels across the yard but yet she goes to visit Africa, Australia, and India.

28.Pigs Love Potatoes by Anika Denise and Illustrated by Christopher Denise.

         This is a counting picture book.  It all starts out with one pig wanting a potato and ends up with 10, of course, potatoes being eaten all up by the piggy piggies.  This story is in rhyme.

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Poetry and Verse

1.Song of the Water Boatman by Joyce Sidman

         This is a picture book but also a book of poems about the pond.  It has some great illustrations that children would love to look at.  Included are some facts.  I truly like picture books that have wonderful pictures and introduce children to poems and include facts. This kind of book is very difficult to find.

2.  Carl Sandburg Adventures of a Poet by Penelope Niven with Poems and Prose by Carl Sanburg. 

         Carl lead an interesting life.  He traveled and wrote a lot before his works were published.  He continued to write and publish his works.  There are enough pictures to keep it interesting.

3. Cornflakes Poems by James Stevenson. 

         Poems by James Stevenson are very short and to the point.  He also did the illustrations which help to explain the poems if you are a student and don’t read a lot of poetry.  I like to use his poetry to explain that poetry is about everyday life and it doesn’t have to rhyme. 

4.  Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Pictures by Susan Jeffers. 

         I think that the pictures in this book are fantastic.  The poem is a classic and the pictures bring a broader understanding to the poem.  Susan illustrates the area that Mr. Longfellow was describing and shows the animals from that area.  Another great book to introduce students to poetry and what it can mean.

5.  Snuffles and Snouts Poems selected by Laura Robb.  Pictures by Steven Kellogg.

         Now if you like poems about pigs and illustrations by Steven Kellogg then you will love this book.  If you are not thrilled about pigs and Steven Kellogg is your choice illustrator then you will want to skip this book.  I enjoyed the illustrations and a few of the poems but not all of them.

6.  Where the Sidewalk Ends.  The poems and drawings of Shel Siverstein.

         All of Shel Silverstein’s books have some great poetry that kids love.  The poems are short, silly and have pictures.  They rhyme sometimes but not always.    He has such logic that children love for example

How do we tell if a window is open?

Just throw a stone at it.

Does it make a noise?

It doesn’t?

Well, it was oen.

Now let’s try another

CRASH!

It wasn’t

Shel Silverstein

Folktales

1.  The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

         This is a fun book.  You know it’s going to be a great book when the title is The Tale of Despereaux being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup and a spool of thread.  So this is about Despereaux who is a mouse that was different.  Big ears small in size and born with his eyes open, which just isn’t done.  Princess Pea, the love of Despereaux life.   The soup whick is banned in the kingdom. And the red thread is the sign of death.  Lead to his death by his brother.

2.  The Legend of the Lady’s Slipper by Kathy-jo Wargin. Illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen.

         This is a wonderful book full of beautiful pictures which makes the story so interesting.  It was told to the author when she was a young girl in northern Minnesota.  Running Flower  was daughter to the Chief.  When her father, mother and the village get sick she must run to a neighbor village to find medicine for her people.  She runs to the village gets the medicine and runs back.  On the way back she gets sick. 

3.  Estrellita do oro Little Gold Star retold in Spanish & English by Joe Hayes.  Illustrated by Gloria Osuna Perez & Lucia Angela Perez. 

         This is an interesting version of the Cinderella.  I had not heard this version of the sisters growing things out of their head.  I enjoy all the versions of  Cinderella from all the different areas and countries. 

4.  The Frog Princess retold by J Patrick Lewis.  Paintings by Gennady Spirin.

         This is a Russian Folktale about Vasilisa the Wise.  A great tsar wanted his sons to marry to he told them to shoot an arrow as far and you can and whoever finds your arrow shall be his bride.  The youngest son finds his arrow in a swamp in the mouth of a little green frog.  The prince thinks that he is cursed but finds out that he is married to a stunning young lady trapped by her father’s spell.  The prince must rescue the princess.  This book has beautiful paintings.

5.  The Witch Who Wanted to be a Princess by Lois G Grambling.  Illustrated by Judy Love.

         A fun book with entertaining illustrations.  Bella has to stay a witch. “Due to sharply declining numbers, witches have been declared an endangered species by the grand wizard.  No witch is allowed to change herself into anything!”  The only way Bella can become a witch is to marry a prince.

6.  Anansi the Spider a tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott.

         I am familiar with Gerald McDermott’s Arrow in the Sun.  His illustrations in this book are similar to Arrow in the Sun.  Anansi stories are marvelous.  The description in the books sums it up. “Anansi the Spider is one of the great folk heroes of the world.  He is a rogue, a mischief-maker, and a wise, lovable creature who triumphs over larger foes.”

7.  The Horned Toad Prince by Jackie Mims Hopkins.  Illustrated by Michael Austin.

         This story has an important moral about keeping promises. The illustrations are a bit different. 

8.  Epossumondas by Coleen Salley.  Illustrated by Janet Stevens.

         I think the illustrations were delightful.  Eposumondas is a possum who takes all his instructions very literal and his mama always tells him, “Oh, Epossumondas! Epossumondas! You hon’t have the sense you were born with!”

9.  When Turtle Grew Feathers by Tim Tingle.  Illustrated by Stacey Schuett.

         This is A Choctaw variant of Aesop’s fable “The Tortoise and the Hare.”  I like this  version. It adds a twist of a wild turkey, a colony of ants and a group of Little Bitty Turtles. 

10. Ten Classic Jewish Children’s Stories retold by Peninnah Schram and Illustrated by Jeffrey Alloh

         Classic stories about the Jewish.  Each story concludes with a “Now Consider This” section, designed to enrich your child’s learning experience.  The questions in this section develop the moral lessons described in the stories and help perpetuate their role as classics of the Jewish home.  (Found on book cover.)

Realistic Fiction

Takes place in modern day

Characters are fictional

Characters deal with little or big problems of life.

Events could really happen

1.  The Cat ate my Gymsuit by Danzier

         This is a story about a girl who hates gym class because she thinks she is fat.  Marcy has a dysfunctional family and learns to stand up for herself when she defends a teacher that teaches differently.

2.The Misfits by James Howe

         This is told by a jr hi boy that is heavy and how he is part of a group of kids that just don’t seem to fit in. they work to run in the student council elections on the platform of being called names and how they degrade.  It has a good message and it also has some funny parts.

3.  Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. 

         What can I say.  The kids loved it.  Not my kind of reading but very entertaining especially to boys.  It has that young humor.  Very short chapter book with pictures

4.  Room One by Andrew Clements.

         This is a good book for young readers who like mysteries.  This would be a good book to read if you are discussing being homeless.  Ted Hammond finds a family that is running away from a potentially dangerous situation and doesn’t have anywhere to go. 

5.  Pictures of hollis woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

         Hollis Woods’s search for a family is a perpetual journey, as she moves from one foster home to another until she meets the Regan family and two rather quirky elderly women who teach her a lot about love, friendship, and belonging. (from inside the book)  I think this is a great book that pre-teens will like because it talks about just wanting to belong somewhere and I think that children all go through that stage. 

6.  Trapped by James Moloney and Illustrated by Shaun Tan.

         David moves to a new town and he is a skater.  He sees a big drainpipe that he wants to skate in.  When he goes there some of the local boys tell him to stay out because of the “accident”.  Being a teenage boy he goes back by himself and finds two boys.  Both from the accident. Who is the ghost.  One of the boys helps him out of the tunnel and saves his life. 

7.  Hank The Cowdog, The Case of the Shipwrecked Tree by John R. Erickson

         I have been reading and listening to Hank stories since my children were very little.  I still enjoy Hank.  He has a way with his words and describing a situation.  In this story he ends up a tree where no do should be all because of a tuna fish sandwich and a cat.

8.  The Christmas Rat by Avi

         I like Avi books, they are never the norm.  This tends to be a little too realistic in that it is winter break and the kid stays home alone.  He doesn’t have to fight intruders.  He battles a rat.  Kind of scary in the basement.  I don’t want to give away the ending so I won’t tell what happens to the rat.

The Best/worst Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

         This is a great book.  My daughter was the first one to recommend this book to me.  This is a book about The Herdsmans.  They have a hard life and they are willing to share this with others.  They are not real liked and they tend to get into situations that everyone else wishes they were somewhere else.  This happens with the Christmas Pageant.  The Christmas story has to be explained to them and they put a new meaning into it.

The Best/worst School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson

         The saga continues.  Poor Beth has to come up with some complimentary descriptive words of Imogene Herdsman.  This is the most difficult task that Beth has in her 6th grade year.  As you would expect it is a funny and exciting year with the Herdsman.  They give new meaning to what is family. 

Historical Fiction

Takes place in the past

Main characters are fictional

Historical figures may be secondary characters

Many events based on historical fact

Character events may really have happened

1.  This is a fiction based on what could have happened in Patrick Henry’s household.  It is told by the two daughter’s.  The first part from the older sister’s point of view.  How because of her mother’s mental illness she has to run the house and worries that she might become mentally ill.  The second part of the story is told from the younger daughters point of view.

2. Anne Hutchinson’s Way by Jeannine Atkins and Pictures by Michael Dooling

         This is a fictionalized story based on a real family.  The story is about one of our country’s first heroines and her struggle to uphold what later became our most precious freedom – that of speech – shows the impact of such bravery not only on the individual but also on the family. (From the jacket cover)  Although this is a picture book this book could be used with older students.

3. Almost to Freedom by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Colin Bootman

         This is a great story about the freedom train and why they had it in very simple terms told by a doll.  I think this would be a good story to use in class for all ages including high school.  It is just the basics without going into too much detail.

4.  Mackinac Bridge The Story of the Five-Mile Poem by Gloria Whelan and Illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen

         I had a hard time deciding where to put this book.  It is a picture book and yet it is based on history.  Having grown up in the southwest ferries are not something I know about.  This book actually explained that the ferries to Mackinac Island were operated by the Dept. of State Highways.  When the bridge went in it put all the ferry operators out of a job.  This book tells a story of the dad who would loose a job but of the older son actually gaining a job because of the building of the bridge and the younger son wanting to become a bridge engineer. 

Autobiography/Biography

A true story about a real person

May cover part of the person’s life or all of it

1.  E.B. White by Rennay Craats. 

         This is a good short book that has a lot of information about E.B. White.  It is not too long and has plenty of pictures so I think students would be willing to use it.  I found out that he only wrote 3 books.  They were all very popular. 

2. Anne Frank The Diary Of a Young Girl

         The diary was discovered in the attic where she lived in Amsterdam when she was in hiding.  Anne and her family lived with another family and a dentist.  This tells of her experiences and thoughts on living in hiding at the age of 14 and 15. 

3.  Bill Peet An Autobiography.

          Bill was an extraordinary illustrator and he had a very interesting life.  I did not know that he drew so many of the Disney movie pictures.  It wasn’t until after he quit Disney that he started publishing children’s books.

4.

Fantasy

Always involves some sort of magic

Ususally includes magical items (crystals, wands)

1.  The Spiderwck Chronicles Book 2 The seeing stone by Tony Diterlizzi and Holly Black. 

         This is a book about 3 children brothers and sister and all the creatures they meet.  Simon is grabbed by goblins and the sister Mallory and the main character Jared have to save him.  Not a very long book.  Short chapter book.

2.  Juliet Dove Queen of Love by Bruce Coville

         This book is about a girl who ends up with a necklace that she can not take off and all the things she has to do to solve the mystery.  Of course there are 2 rats that help her and some greek gods and godesses that are part of the story.

3. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

          A 12 year old boy named Artemis Fowl is rich smart and out to kidnap a fairy.  Artemis has help from his personal assist Butler capture the fairy and want the ransom paid in gold.  The story includes satyrs, trolls, dwarfs and fellow fairies.  Is willing to get the gold at any cost.

4. The Golden Compass Book 1 by Philip Pullman

         A young girl grows up at Oxford University in England and all the people have a daemon.  This is their animal form.  If the human dies so does the daemon.  Lyra then travels to London and back to Oxford to join with the gypsies.  She then travel to the North Pole.  A very intense book.

5.  Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

         Ten year old Winnie Foster meets the Tuck family.  They have a secret that she can’t tell.  Winnie learns about living forever and what she must do to keep the secret.   

Science Fiction

1. The Scrivener Bees by JT Petty and Illustrated by David Michael Friend

         This book was listed as a science fiction book.  After reading it I think it should be listed as fantasy but because I checked it out as science fiction and I need science fiction books that’s where I’m putting it.  This is a book about a made from clay boy named Inky Mess, who should have melted when given it’s 1st bath, is trying to become the master of every goblin, hobgoblin, and fairy in Make-Believe.  That’s the bad guy.  The good guy or in this case a girl is a real girl named Clemency who can change into a bee.  She is of course on the hobgoblin side and is trying to protect Make-believe from Inky Mess.  A different book. 

2.   The Extaordinary Advenures of Ordinary Basil by Wiley Miller

         Basil lives in a lighthouse in Maine. He thinks that he is very ordinary.  An eccentric professor comes flying by his window in a flying boat.  Basil goes with him and meets a girl in a city in the clouds.  She also thinks she is very ordinary.  Together they save the city in the sky and each goes back to their very ordinary life.

3.  The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell

         Sam's parents send him to spend his vacation week with their old friend Professor Ampersand. He meets the professor's great-niece and nephew, Zara and Ben.  The children learn that the two professors, Ampersand and Guantraker, were part of a team of "Seven Professors of the Far North", founding members of a university on the remote, icy island country of Nordbergen. One of their members, Professor Murdo, betrayed the team and destroyed the university. Years later, Murdo has reappeared on the island and all six professors are kidnapped. The children go to rescue the professors. 

Non fiction/Informational

Presents facts about a topic

Read to learn more about a topic

1. Now & Ben The modern inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta.

         This book gives information about Benjamin Franklin.  It is in the picture book format so it would appeal to students.  It tells about when Ben invented something and how it is used today.

2.   Alaska Kidsnacks recipes by Alice Blugni and Illustrated by Shannon Cartwright.

         This is a recipe book  featuring fun foods with Alaska –based names.  This would be a good book to use when you do an Alaska unit.  It had some fun ideas that you could use for snack time in Kindergarten. 

3.  Costumes by Lola M Schaefer

         This is an easy reader book.  It has some great photography of kids in costumes.  The pictures would draw the students in and hopefully they would read some of the words.

4.  Riding the School Bus with Mrs. Kramer written by Alice K Flanagan and photographs by Christie Osinski.

         I guess the draw to this book is that I was a school bus driver and my mother was a school bus driver for years while I was growing up.  I think that you should have books about the different jobs and the people who do them.  Students need to know that a lot of jobs are really important.  Especially if this is a job that a parent or guardian or even sibling does.

5.  World Book Encyclopedia Rain Forest Animals

         This book tells you about lots of exciting animals that live in the hot steamy rain forest of South America.  Some of the animals swing or fly through the trees, others roam the forest floor.  (From book)  This book even includes a story.  I liked the photographs and the drawings of the animals. 

6.  On One Flower Butterflies, Ticks and a Few More Icks by Anthony D Fredericks and Illustrated by Jennifer Di Rubbio

         This is a picture book, poetry book and a book about bugs.  In the back this book are field notes about the goldenrod and all the bugs who live on it.  I am always to see nonfiction books for the young.

7. We’re Sailing Down the Nile A Journey through Egypt by Laurie Krebs and Illustrated by Anne Wilson

         This is a picture book about sailing down the Nile and all the things to see on the way.  It is much more that just a picture book because it also has a map and all the places that the family visited as they sailed down the Nile.  It also has the History of Ancient Egypt, Life in Ancient Egypt, What the Ancient Egyptians did, Mummies and Pyramids, the Mighty Floods, Gods and Goddesses and Egyptian Scripts.  By the time you finish this book you will know a lot about Egypt.