Picture book 21

Title: Momma, Where are you from?
Illustrator: Chris K. Soentpiet
Genre: Picture book
Sub Genre: Realistic/ historical/ biographical fiction
Theme: we all have a past. the past is full of good memories that makes us who we are.
Primary and Secondary Characters: The young girl and momma
Award(s) date of publication: 2000
Brief Summary:One day, a young girl asks her mom where she is from. The young girl is full of questions. Her mother replies with artifacts and moments in her past. She tells her daughter all about herself with past events. She tells her what she use to do, what she use to cook, but all of what she tells her is introduced by the sentence, "I'm from." For example, she says, "I'm from beans - green, lima, and pea - picked, strung, snapped, and shelled into pans, then put on the stove to simmer for an hour."
Used in the Classroom: I think this would be a good book to read to students. It may be different from what they are use to. I really enjoyed the response the mother gave. It showed creativity of expression. This might inspire students to do the same. This could introduce another topic or a creative project could follow this book.

Picture book 20

Title: Mammalabilia
Illustrator:Douglas Florian
Genre:Picture book
Sub Genre: Poetry
Theme: Animals have fun facts!
Primary and Secondary Characters:None
Award(s) date of publication: 2000
Brief Summary: Each animal has it's own poem. They are very short. For example, there is one about a coyote, and it says, " I prowl. I growl. My howl is throaty. I love a vowel, for I am a coyooooote. There is no order in which these animals or poems are presented, but there are a variety of them. Some of them take the shape of the subject being read. For example, when talking about a camel, the poem is in the shape of the camel's back.
Used in the Classroom: This is a great way to share with students. They can learn about the different animals. It also shows the ways in which poems can be written. I think that it would show students that poems don't always have to be long and serious. They can be fun and full of facts. They don't always have to be factual, but they can be. I think that this book is very interesting and that students would enjoy reading this. Younger students could benefit from this and this book is something that could be read to them during the class time. If there was a similar subject or topic related to animals, reading this book would be a great way of introducing that topic.

Picture Book 19

Title: Word Play ABC
Illustrator: Heather Cahoon
Genre:Picture book
Sub Genre: poetry
Theme: every letter stands for something
Primary and Secondary Characters: none
Award(s) date of publication:1999
Brief Summary: This is a very short book. Each letter that is presented has a different object attached to it. For example, the book starts out with a and end with z. For the letter d, dragonfly is used. It continues on like this. There is one word for each picture/ page.
Used in the Classroom: I think that this is a good book for introducing and increasing the students' vocabulary. I think that it is also a great way of teaching the alphabet. I think that after this book is read in the class, students can be encouraged to find things that go with certain letters and they can create their own book. I think it is very fun and great for younger students just learning the alphabet, vocabulary, or how to read books.

Picture Book 18

Title: The Reverend Thomas's False Teeth
Illustrator: Dena Schutzer
Genre: Picture book
Sub Genre: Realistic Fiction
Theme: When people work together, nothing is impossible
Primary and Secondary Characters: Gracie, Reverend Thomas
Award(s) date of publication: 1995
Brief Summary: One day, Gracie learns that Reverend Thomas is going to come over to eat fried chicken with her and her family. Everyone is extremely excited and anxious to see Reverend Thomas. Once he arrives, however, everyone starts to notice that something is different about the Reverend... he has lost is teeth! Where have they gone? How did you lose them? Everyone starts to asks questions. He tells them that he lost them when getting off of the boat. They all work together to look for his teeth in the water. They try everything they can think of. Will, Gracie's brother, picks up and gathers every object that is in the water except for the Reverend's teeth. Gracie decides to sink a string down in the water to see if she can catch Reverend Thomas's teeth. Someone she is able to. Gracie saves the day, and the Reverend is able to eat the delicious fried chicken after all.
Used in the Classroom: This would just be a fun book to show everyone. There's some mystery to it. I think that students would really start to wonder what happened... how he lost his teeth and how Gracie was able to get them back just using a piece of string. This would be so great to read to the class. I think they will enjoy it and learn a little something about teamwork! Excellent book!

Picture Book 17

Title: A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever
Illustrator: Marla Frazee
Genre: Picture book
Sub Genre: Realistic Fiction
Theme:Memories are made with family and friends. Small things can turn into very important and special moments in a young child's life
Primary and Secondary Characters: James and Eamon
Award(s) date of publication: 2008
Brief Summary: This book is about two young boys who are best friends. They are preparing to go on a trip to the beach. On the way there and during their stay once there, they do so many fun things together. They have knew experiences and learn a lot about the ocean. This was such a cute book. My favorite part was when they were looking at the clams on the dock. The two little best friends do everything together for one week, and it turns out to be the best week of they have had yet.
Used in the Classroom: I think students will be able to relate to this. It's a feel-good book, and I think both boys and girls would really enjoy reading it. I think that it would inspire students to go on their own adventures. This would be a great book to read to the class during a break or something. There are not very many pages, and I think it would keep all of the students' attention. I loved it...they will too.

Ch book 8

Title:Turtle in Paradise
Illustrator: Jennifer L. Holm
Genre:Ch book
Sub Genre: Realistic Fiction/ Historical fiction
Theme: Good things can come from bad situations.
Primary and Secondary Characters: Turtle
Award(s) date of publication: Newbery Award
Publishing Company: Random House Children's Book
Brief Summary:During the depression, Turtle is sent to live with her Aunt in Florida. There, Turtle has to face different challenges. For example, one of the boys that lives there sets her cat's tail on fire. Though Turtle is faced with a variety of challenges, she is able to find the good in all of it. I thought this book was interesting because the events are so realistic.
Used in the Classroom: Because this is a longer chapter book, I would encourage upper grade levels (5-6) to read it. I think that this would give them a good idea of what the depression was like. That was the most important fact about this book to me. I think that this book could be used to introduce the depression and get the students familiar with different things that went on at that time. I think this book would be both interesting and educational because of the historical/realistic components.

Ch book 7

Title: Holes
Illustrator: Louis Sachar
Genre: Ch book
Sub Genre: Realistic Fiction/Fantasy
Themes: Friendships are important.
Primary and Secondary Characters: Stanley and Zero
Award(s); date of publication: Newberry, 1999
Publishing Company:
Brief Summary: When a young boy is wrongfully accused of stealing, he is sent to a camp in a desert- like area. He, along with the other boys, are forced to dig holes. While at camp, he and his new friend, zero find a way to escape. In the end, their lives change forever.
Used in the classroom:This would be a great story to read to the class. I think they would have a lot of fun with it. It has both elements of fiction and fantasy, but it's realistic fiction in some areas, so I think for that reason, a large number of students would like this. We could all read the book together, or I could read it aloud to all of the students.