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Book Blog #10 on "The Ugly Duckling"

Title: The Ugly Duckling
Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney
Publisher: Morrow Junior Books
Copyright: 1999
Number of Pages: 40
Genre: Traditional Literature
Grade Level: 2nd
Content Area: Science



This story is about a swan who is born into the family of ducklings and is thought to be ugly by all of the others. Even all of the other animals that sees him with them thinks he is ugly too and shuns him. After a long winter, he finally grew into the most beautiful swan in the pond and realized he was not a duck after all. I think this is a great story to read to children, especially if some of them feel like they look differently than the other children in the class. I would also use this to talk to the kids about bullying and how it is not tolerated in my classroom. Then I would relate it to science by talking about all the different animals that live in ponds.

Book Blog #9 on "The Giving Tree"

Title: The Giving Tree

Author: Shel Silverstein

Illustrator: Shel Silverstein

Publisher: Harper & Row

Copyright: 1964

Number of Pages: 64

Genre: Poetry

Grade Level: 3rd

Content Area: Science

This story is about a tree’s love for a boy. The boy visits the tree every day to gather leaves, climb, swing from her branches, eat her apples, play hide-and-seek, and rest against her trunk. The boy loves the tree and so the tree is happy. The boy gets older and doesn’t visit as much. He visits rarely throughout the rest of his life, but never wants to play. At one point, he wanted money, so the tree offered him her apples to sell. He does and she is happy again. The next time he wants a house, so the tree offered him her branches to build a house. He does this also and she is happy again. He visits the next time when he is an older man and says he wants a boat to travel far away. She tells him to cut down her trunk and make a boat, so he does but this time the tree is not as happy. The last time he visits he is an elderly man and the tree is upset because she has nothing left to give him. This time the old man says all he needs is a quiet place to sit down and rest, so she proudly offers her stump. The boy sits down to rest and the tree is happy again. I think this story is very sweet and cute for kids. The illustrations aren’t very vivid or colorful, but I think they illustrate the story very well. I would read this story to the students and then bring in science by talking about trees.

Book Talk #2

This book would be really great for Mathematics with Kindergarteners or First Graders. It also has a lot of flash cards and stickers that comes with it for the kids to use! I forgot to mention in the video, but the Genre is Modern Fantasy because of how the author personifies the animals!

Book Talk on Pete the Cat's Got Class

Book Blog #8 on "Ruth and the Green Book"

Title: Ruth and the Green Book

Author: Alexander Ramsey Calvin, Gwen Strauss

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group

Copyright: 2010

Number of Pages: 32

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade Level: 4^th

Content Area: Social Studies

Alexander Ramsey Calvin and Gwen Strauss wrote the book, Ruth and the Green Book about a young girl’s trip to see her grandmother in Alabama in the 1950's. Ruth is the young girl in the story. Ruth’s father had just bought a car, so she was excited to travel in it with her parents. She found out very soon that people outside of her hometown did not treat African American travelers very well. One gas station they stopped at did not allow them to use their bathroom and many hotels did not let them stay the night. They met a friendly attendant at a gas station that showed them The Green Book. This book was a guide for African American travelers on where they would be welcomes without hesitation. They were able to spend the rest of the journey among friendly people and made it safely to Ruth’s grandmother’s house. I would relate this book to Social Studies and talk to the students about how different it was in that time and that we should be so thankful for change. I would put the students in a group of three to find a true story from that time period that relates to this story. Then I would have them either act it out, draw a picture about it, or write a summary about it. The illustrations help a lot to show that the story is set in the 1950's.

Book Blog #7 on "The Invisible Boy"

Title: The Invisible Boy

Author: Trudy Ludwig

Illustrator: Patrice Barton

Publisher: Random House Children’s Books

Copyright: 2013

Number of Pages: 40

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Grade Level: 2^nd Grade

Content Area: English Language Arts

Trucy Ludwig wrote the book, The Invisible Boy, to show how a small act of kindness can change someone’s life. No one ever notices Brian, not even his teacher at times. The other kids don’t include him in any games or invite him to their birthday parties. A new student arrives and does not quite fit in at first either. Brian is the first person to be kind to Justin, the new student. Justin returns the favor by being his friend and helping him stand out. I would use this book as a way to show the students how important is to be kind to people and relate it to the content area of English Language Arts. I would make a big T-Chart poster with kind actions on one side and mean actions on the other side. I would give each student two sticky notes to write a short example of a kind action and a mean action. Then they would stick them on the correct side of the poster. The illustrations portray how Brian started out as invisible and dull, then how he becomes colorful and noticed towards the end.

Book Blog #6 on "Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat"

Title: Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

Author: Javaka Steptoe

Illustrator: Javaka Steptoe

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Copyright: 2016

Number of Pages: 40

Genre: Nonfiction

Grade Level: 3^rd

Content Area: Social Studies

Javaka Steptoe wrote and illustrated the book, Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. This book is written about how Jean-Michel Basquiat grows up to become a famous artist. It all started in Brooklyn when he was a little boy and dreamt of being a famous artist one day. He would draw from early in the morning until late in the night. He would not go to sleep until he had created a masterpiece. His mother would sit in the floor and draw with him until she got sick and had to live somewhere else. He would find art in everything, like poetry, books, and even games. When Jean-Michel was a teenager, he left for New York City to chase his dreams. He slept on his friends’ couches and floors, leaving his art work everywhere he went. He would sign his artwork with “Samoo,” and everyone wanted to know who Samoo was. His artwork moved from street corners to gallery walls. The illustrations are real artistry which fits perfectly with what the whole book is about. I would relate this book to social studies by having the students look up and research their favorite artist. Then I would get them to recreate one of their pieces of art work.

Book Blog #5 on "Boy and Bot"

Title: Boy and Bot

Author: Ame Dyckman

Illustrator: Dan Yaccarino

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Copyright: 2012

Number of Pages: 32

Genre: Science Fiction

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Content Area: Science

Ame Dyckman wrote a sweet book about a new friendship between a little boy and a robot, which is the book Boy and Bot. They meet in the forest and decide to play together. The robot rolls down a hill and his power switch gets bumped and turns him off so he is unable to respond to the little boy. The boy does not understand this and thinks he is sick so he helps him. He helps him by doing things that would help a person feel better, like feeding him applesauce. His parents peep in on him during the night and accidentally bump the robot’s power switch with the door to turn him back on. The boy is asleep so he does not respond to the robot which makes the robot think that something is wrong with him. The robot returns the favor of helping him by doing things that would fix a robot, like giving him oil. Eventually the boy wakes up and they are both happy because both of them are awake or turned on. The illustrations are very cute and suitable for young kids. The illustrations go together well with the words written on each page. I would connect this book to science and have each student design their own robot with materials that I give them. Since they are so young I would help them and give them some ideas to help them start.

Book Blog #4 on "A Bad Case of Stripes"

Title: A Bad Case of Stripes

Author: David Shannon

Illustrator: David Shannon

Publisher: Blue Sky Press (Scholastic Press)

Copyright: 1998

Number of Pages: 32

Genre: Modern Fantasy

Grade Level: 2^nd

Content Area: Science

David Shannon wrote and illustrated the book, A Bad Case of Stripes. This story is about a young girl named Camilla Cream who worries too much about what people think of her. She loves lima beans, but she never eats them because all of her friends hate them and she wants to fit in. She woke up covered in colorful stripes for the first day of school. All kinds of doctors and specialists visit her to see if they can figure out what is wrong, but anything they suggest is something else that pops up on her skin. Things such as bacteria and fungus grew on her skin within seconds of them mentioning their opinions on what might have caused her bad case of the stripes. At the end of the story, a little old lady comes to help with a container of lima beans. She did not want to eat them at first, but she finally did and her bad case of stripes began to disappear. The illustrations are very colorful and show Camilla with all of the different things that pop up on her skin. This book would open up a great discussion with the students about how we should all be ourselves. I would start off the discussion by telling them some of the stuff that makes me different. Then I would give others the chance to share something like that about themselves. I would connect this book to science by talking about lima beans and separating other food into different food groups. I would set out pictures of food to separate in groups like meat, vegetables, and fruits and have them guess which group they go with. Then we would go over it and talk about what kind of food is good for them.

Book Talk #1

This book would be really great for English Language Arts or if some of the students don't think they need any friends. It would probably be best for first or second grade students.

Book Talk on Don't Need Friends

Book Blog #3 on “But This Night is Different: A Seder Experience”

Title: But This Night is Different: A Seder Experience

Author: Audrey Friedman Marcus and Raymond A. Zwerin

Illustrator: Judith Gwyn Brown

Publisher: Union of American Hebrew Congregations

Copyright: 1980

Number of Pages: 48

Genre: International Literature

Grade Level: 3^rd

Content Area: English Language Arts

Audrey Friedman Marcus and Raymond A. Zwerin wrote about a sacred holiday and why the night of this holiday is so different from every other night. They tell about their usual routines for each night, like how they normally just sit down and eat, or they would wash their hands at the sink. But on this night, they would first share stories and prayers, then they would wash their hands at the table. Close to the end of the book they list all the things they do differently on this night from saying Kiddush and sipping sweet wine four times to feeling close to their family and feeling especially Jewish. This book shares a holiday that most children from around here may not know about. I think this book opens students minds to how different they are from one another and that they should respect each another’s differences. The illustrations relate to each thing they do on that night and portray it very well. I would read this book to my students and then have them write about how they celebrate a certain holiday with their families.

Book Blog #2 on “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters”

Title: Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters

Author: Barack Obama

Illustrator: Loren Long

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Copyright: 2010

Number of Pages: 40

Genre: Diverse Perspectives

Grade Level: 4^th

Content Area: Social Studies

Barack Obama wrote a beautiful letter to his daughters about the many good qualities he sees in them. He relates each quality to Americans throughout history that have used that talent for good. From the intelligence of Albert Einstein to the strength of Helen Keller, along with many more iconic heroes, Obama connects them to his children and the children of America. He shares that America is made up of people of every kind, “People of all races, religions, and beliefs. People from the coastlines and the mountains. People who have made bright lights shine by sharing their unique gifts and giving us the courage to lift one another up, to keep up the fight, to work and build upon all that is good in our nation.” He encourages children to share their gifts with the world, like others before them have so they too can make a difference. I also really like the last page where it says, “Have I told you that they are all a part of you? Have I told you that you are one of them, and that you are the future? And have I told you that I love you?” The illustrations portray each person he talks about beautifully and then has more and more children as the book progresses, until by the end of the book the page is covered with children. Most of the children are illustrated with their talents, like a bat, guitar, football, rocket, and so on. I would relate this book to Social Studies and have each student pick someone from the book to do more research on and share their findings with the class.

Book Blog #1 on "Oh, the Places You’ll Go!"

Title: Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Author: Dr. Seuss

Illustrator: Dr. Seuss

Publisher: Random House

Copyright: 1990

Number of Pages: 44

Genre: Picture Book

Grade Level: 3^rd

Content Area: English Language Arts

Standard: 33. Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail. [SL.3.3]

Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated the book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! I got this book as a gift from my parents when I graduated from high school and I think it is very inspirational for kids at any age. It gives an insider to the good and bad times that we will face along our journeys. Dr. Seuss encourages the reader with words like, “Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.” He also informs the reader of things that they need to hear but may not want to. One example of this is on the very next page of the book when he says, “Except when you don’t. Because, sometimes you won’t. I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you. You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.” This book encourages and uplifts the reader, while also enlightening them with the reality of life. The illustrations are very colorful and interesting for children to look at. I would use this book to connect to English Language Arts and ask verbal questions before, during, and after I read the book aloud to them.