Picture Books

- A good picture book needs to pull the reader in with its illustrations. Good illustrations vary from person to person, like colorful or realistic. Along with the good illustrations that pull the reader in, there should be a storyline behind them. This does not mean full descriptive sentences, but a story with the pictures telling what is going on. Especially for young readers who cannot read, the pictures/illustrations are what keep the readers interested and helps them understand the story or helps them make up a new story to go along with the pictures. 1. Author: Robert McCloskey Title: Blueberries for Sal Publisher and year: Viking Juvenile; 1948 Type of bookGenre: Picture BookClassics Reading level: Grades PreK-2 About: This story is about a mother and daughter who go to Blueberry Hill to pick berries to can for the winter. As Sal, the daughter, is collecting the blueberries in her bucket, while also eating some in the process. The mother and daughter get separated as her mother is concentrating on picking and collecting the berries. At the same time a mother bear and her cub are also on the hill eating berries for winter. The two duos are depicted as similar mother-daughter pairs. But Sals mother is making them collect berries to can for the winter, while the mother bear told her cub to eat as many as she could to store fat for the winter. Sal and the bear cub get mixed up and follow the wrong mother. After the bear cub tries to eat from Sals mothers bucket and the mother bear hears Sal putting berries into her bucket, the mothers realize that another child is following them and not their own. In the end the mother-daughter duos are reunited with their mothers and leave the hill. The end shows Sal again playing in the kitchen while her mother is canning the berries. Noteworthy traits: Themes/Subject of the book Parents/mother-daughter relationships. Awarded Caldecott Honor in 1949. Adapted into a short film in 1967 by Weston Woods. 2. Author: Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis Title: The Other Side Publisher and year: Putnam Juvenile; 2001 Type of bookGenre: Picture BookRealistic Fiction Reading level: Grades K-4

About: This story is about two young girls, one black and one white, and a fence that divided the black neighborhood from the white neighborhood. Clover has always wondered why this fence stood in between the black and white sides of town, but it wasnt until a little white girl named Annie started sitting on the fence (rain or shine) did Clover want to approach the fence. One day Clover approached Annie and realized that a fence should not stand in the way of a great friendship. Noteworthy traits: Themes/Subject of the book African American/Tolerance and Acceptance/Friends and Friendship/Prejudice and Tolerance/Experiences. Lifelike watercolor illustrations done by E.B. Lewis. 3. Author: Jan Brett Title: The Mitten Publisher and year: Putnam Juvenile; 1989 Type of bookGenre: Picture BookClassics/Fables, Folk Tales, and Myths Reading level: Grades K-4 About: This story is about a young boy named Nicki who wants his grandmother to knit him white mittens for the winter. The grandmother kept telling him that white mittens would get lost in the snow, but Nicki kept insisting until he got his way. Nicki ends up losing one of his white mittens and has to search for it throughout the novel. As Nicki is searching, the mitten is becoming a home to many chilly winter animals, like a hedgehog, rabbit, and bear. In the end a sneeze from a mouse sitting on a bears nose shoots all of the animals out. Nicki finds his glove and shows his grandmother that he in fact has both of his gloves in the endeven if one is stretched out much bigger than the other. Noteworthy traits: Themes/Subject of the book winter theme/Grandparents and Grandchildren. Amazing illustrationswith side panels that show what happened and what will happen. Helps the readers make predictions in the novel. 4. Author: Judi Barrett, illustrated by Ronald Barrett Title: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Publisher and year: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; 1982 Type of bookGenre: Picture BookComedy and Humor Reading level: Grades 1-3 About: The book is a bedtime story narrated by a grandfather to his grandchildren about the town of Chewandswallow. The town of Chewandswallow gets a different kind of weather instead of snow, rain, or wind; they get breakfast, lunch, and dinner that fall from the sky. The only problem with this is that they do

not get to choose what meal is falling from the sky. As the portions of food start to get bigger and bigger and start to fall faster and faster the citizens start to worry that their lives are in danger. But once the citizens come together through teamwork and smarts they are able to save themselves from this terrible food storm. After the grandfather finishes telling the story the grandchildren are awakened the next morning to snowfall with the scent of mashed potatoes, implying that the story might not be purely fictitious. Noteworthy traits: Themes/Subject of the book Seasons and Weather, Cooperation and Teamwork, and Resourcefulness. Posted on the New York Times Best Illustrated Childrens Books of the Year list. 2007 online pollthe National Education Association named the book one of its Teachers Top 100 Books for Children and Top 100 Picture Books of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal. 5. Author: William Steig Title: Sylvester and the Magic Pebble Publisher and year: Windmill Books; 1969 Type of bookGenre: Picture BookClassics/Comedy & Humor/Fables Reading level: Grades K-5 About: This story is about a donkey, Sylvester, who collects pebbles. One day the donkey finds a lucky pebble. After a lion frightens him, Sylvester asks the magic pebble to turn him into stone. As he turned into stone he drops the magic pebble and cannot wish himself back. All hope seems lost, but in the end he returns to his donkey self and decides to wish more carefully. Noteworthy traits: Themes/Subject of the book Magic and Supernatural Winner of the Caldecott Medal in 1970 Banned in parts of the USraised controversy with several school districts and organizations due to portrayal of police as pigs 6. Author: Christ Van Allsburg Title: The Polar Express Publisher and year: Houghton Mifflin; 1985 Type of BookGenre: Picture BookAdventure/Classics/Fables, Folk Tales, and Myths Reading level: Grades K-2 About: Christmas Themed bookin this book a young boy is awakened on Christmas Eve by the sound of a train. He boards the mysterious train to find out that this train is called The Polar Express and is headed towards the North Pole.

After a few mishaps the train finally makes it to the North Pole with all the children aboard. It was said that Santa would pick one of the children aboard to receive the first gift of Christmas. Of course the young boy is the chosen one and Santa asks him personally what he wants for Christmas. The young boy decides to ask for a bell from one of Santas reindeer. Once home the boy finds out that the bell had fallen out of his robe pocket. But on Christmas morning he finds the bell wrapped under the tree with a note from Santa himself. The boys parents admire the bell, but shake it to find out that it is broken. Confused, the young boy rings the bell to hear a beautiful soundfor only believers can actually hear the sound of the Christmas bell. Noteworthy traits: Themes/Subject of the bookCleverness, Creativity and Imagination, Life experiences, Christmas, and winter themes. 1986 Caldecott Medal Winner.

Nonfiction Books
- Good nonfiction books tell/give factual information about a true person, place, event or thing. Students who are interested in specific things can find nonfiction books about their specific interests, like cars, dinosaurs, George Washington, etc. Teachers should show/guide these students to the nonfiction books about cars or something that specifically interests them to get them to want to/be interested in reading. Nonfiction books should give true facts about the subject of the book and have pictures or illustrations. These illustrations should either be a photograph of the subject, a drawing, a map, a graph, etc. 1. Author: Claire A. Nivola Title: Life in the Ocean- The Story of Sylvia Earle Publisher and year: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2012 Type of bookGenre: General Nonfiction Reading level: Grades K-3 About: This is a biography that tells the story of Sylvia Earle and her passion for the seaafter he expedition in the Gulf of Mexico. It talks a lot about her ocean exploration and what had drawn her so passionately to the sea. She dedicated her life to learning more about the ocean, and this nonfiction books shows this with detailed pictures of what she calls the wonders of the sea. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the bookThe Ocean/Sylvia Earle One of The Washington Posts Best Kids Books of 2012. Detailed pictures of the sea and its wonders.

2. Author: Fay Robinson, illustrated by Carol Schwartz Title: Flying Bats Publisher and year: Scholastic, Inc.; 2002 Type of bookGenre: General Nonfiction Reading level: Grades K-2 About: This nonfiction book has simple facts with simple text about Bats. The facts are about where they live, what they eat, what they look like, etc. The easy text is great and simple enough for young children to read and understand. This is important because young children who are interested in bats should either be able to read the book, or have someone read it them and they still understand the language used. This book comes with a complete index that is colored and it has drawings/photos that label every type of bat that is shown throughout the book. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the bookscience and animals Level 2 Hello Reader Beautifully-detailed illustrations/ labeled drawings/photos 3. Author: James Cross Giblin, illustrator Ursula Arndt Title: Fireworks, Picnics, and Flags: The Story of the Fourth of July Symbols Publisher and year: Clarion Books; 2001 Type of bookGenre: General Nonfiction Reading level: Grades 3-5 About: This book talks about the familiar traditions people have during the holidays, especially Fourth of July. There are tons of gatherings with families and friends, sharing a picnic, and watching fireworks. This book answers peoples questions about why we do these traditional things, where these customs come from, when they began, and why we continue to observe them. These holiday books are full of fascinating historical facts and detailed with little-known stories, while being both informative and easy to read. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the booksocial studies/culture and diversity Fourth of July traditions 4. Author: Tim Green Title: The Road to the NFL Publisher and year: Scholastic Paperbacks; 2001 Type of bookGenre: General Nonfiction Reading level: Grades 3-5 About: This book is about how top athletes got their start in the game. Tim

Green, former NFL star, talks about all of the secrets and tons of information people want to know about football and the NFL. He describes in simple text about how some of the biggest, toughest, and hardest-hitting guys came to play the game. This is very interesting to students/readers who enjoy the NFL or want to learn more about it. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the bookSports NFLwith pictures and photographs of top players 5. Author: Christin Ditchfield Title: Presidents Day Publisher and year: Childrens Press (CT); 2003 Type of bookGenre: General Nonfiction Reading level: Grades 3-5 About: This novel talks about the holiday, Presidents Day. It is a day to honor two great American leaders, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. It tells the stories of these two men, and describes what each of them has contributed to American history. After, it then describes how it is celebrated and how it originated. These True Book holiday subsets introduces its readers to the origins, purposes, and ways to celebrate a variety of national, ethnic, civic, religious, and historical holidays. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Culture and diversity/Presidents Day

Poetry Books
- Good poetry books either contains poems with the same subject matter, like poems about school, or contains poems with a wide variety of subjects. Another special part I believe is important for a good poetry book is humor. Humor keeps the reader wanting to read more and attracts more readers, especially when talking about younger readers. Good poetry books also have some kind of illustrations to go along with them to decorate the page. These illustrations do not have to go along with every poem, but they should make it easier for the reader to look at the page and want to continue reading more of the poems. 1. Author: Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrator Marla Baggetta Title: Alphathoughts: Alphabet Poems Publisher and year: Boyds Mills Press; 2003 Type of bookGenre: Poetry CollectionGeneral Nonfiction/Rhymes Reading level: Grades K-2 About: This poetry book introduces the letters of the alphabet to the readers.

It does this by making poems about each letter that teach the reader something new with every letter. The author uses short verse like definitions of words from A to Z, including a word or words that begin with the letter that is featured. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the bookAlphabet poems Helps the reader learn about the alphabet in a fun and entertaining way 2. Author: Amy Gibson, illustrator Daniel Salmieri Title: Around the World on Eighty Legs: Animal Poems Publisher and year: Scholastic, Inc.; 2011 Type of bookGenre: Poetry Collection Reading level: Grades K-3 About: This is a humorous book containing a collection of poems about animals. The readers will read poems about farm animals, wild animals, and even house pets. It is relatable to tons of children who are obsessed with their pets, or even just animals in general. There are tons of poems about animals that many children love or even animals that children probably did not even know existed. The readers will connect to this humorous and entertaining collection of great animal poems. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book animals, humor, and poems Relatable to many children, and even adults 3. Author: Bruce Lansky, illustrators Stephen Carpenter and Bruce Lansky Title: Kids Pick the Funniest Poems: Poems That Make Kids Laugh Publisher and year: Meadowbrook; 1991 Type of bookGenre: Poetry CollectionComedy and Humor/Poetry and Rhymes Reading level: Grades 1-4 About: This collection of poems is even more relatable to children because along with Bruce Lansky, they were chosen by a panel of children to be placed into the book. From Dr. Seuss to Shel Silverstein, there are a wide variety of poems that are relatable, humorous, and informational. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Cleverness/Literature/Appreciation/Creativity and Imagination 50 illustrations Wide variety of authorsDr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelustky, Jusith Viorst, and many more

4. Author: Jack Prelutsky, illustrators James Stevenson Title: Pizza the Size of the Sun Publisher and year: HarperCollins Publishers; 1996 Type of bookGenre: Poetry CollectionComedy and Humor/Poetry and Rhymes Reading level: Grades 1-5 About: This poetry book is a collection of humorous poetry on a variety of topics. Whether the reader reads the book from the beginning or just picks a poem at random, these poems always please the reader. The humor draws the reader into the poems and helps them to want to read more. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Cleverness/Creativity and Imagination/Songs and Rhymes/Friends and Friendship Large variety of topics 5. Author: Kalli Dakos, illustrator G. Brian Karas Title: If Youre Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand: Poems about School Publisher and year: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers; 1995 Type of bookGenre: Poetry Collection Reading level: Grades 3-5 About: This poetry book is a collection of poems about school. These poems accurately capture both the ups and downs a child goes through in elementary school life. They connect to the students reading them through their hearts, fears, and joys in a humorous and thoughtful way. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the bookThe ups and downs of elementary school Relatable to many students/children

Children Novels (Chapter Books)

- Good children novels have a great plot and characters that go along with it. These characters should interest the reader in a way that they either relate or connect to the character in some way or feel some form of emotion towards them. Not all have to have happy endings, but a main problem should occur and should eventually be solved in some way. 1. Author: Madeline LEngle Title: A Wrinkle in Time Publisher and year: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux; 1962

Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookClassics/Science Fiction Reading level: Grades 6-8 About: Meg Murry is a fourteen year-old girl who both her classmates and teachers see her as a troublesome student that is emotionally immature, but still capable of great things. She is the daughter to a mother and father who are both scientists. She also has three brothers; ten year-old twins who are athletic and five year-old super-genius. Her father mysteriously went missing after working on a project called a tesseract for the government. The book then takes Meg and friends on an adventure into another new world (tesseract) trying to find her father. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Family life/ Courage, Bravery, Heroism/ Honor/ School life Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award Runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award 1st in the LEngles series of books about the Murry and OKeefe families 2. Author: Mildred Taylor Title: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Publisher and year: Dial Press (Now Penguin Group); 1976 Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookClassics/Historical Fiction Reading level: Grades 4-6 About: This story takes place in southern America or The South after the American Civil War. Racism was still common and many people were persecuted for the color of their skin. In this novel the reader will learn about the importance of land and the effects of racism in the south while the narrator, Cassie Logan learns about the way things are. The child narrator helps the reader see what it was actually like to grow up in the south and see how racism effected peoples lives. Cassie Logan and her siblings start to see how better off they have it when the notice the difference between how white children and black children are treated in the Jim Crow South during the Great Depression. Many different riots and racial prejudices show Cassie just how important owning their land during this time is/was. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book African American History/Family Life/ Courage, Bravery, Heroism/African American/ Honor/ Pride and SelfEsteem/ Tolerance and Acceptance/ Friends and Friendship 1977 Newbery Medal winner

3. Author: Andrew Clements, illustrator Brian Selznick Title: Frindle Publisher and year: Aladdin Paperbacks; 1996 Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookComedy and Humor Reading level: Grades 4-6 About: This book was set in the 1980s. A fifth grade student, Nick Allen dislikes his mean teacher Mrs. Granger. He decided to question where each word comes from. After hearing his teachers explanation and having to write an essay on it, he decides to create a new name for the pen, the frindle. Soon the word catches on and every student in the school is using the word. Then it starts to gain national attention. Mrs. Granger and the principal decide they need to put an end to the frindle, but at this point it is out of their control and frindle is a nationally recognized word for the pen. In the end it shows Nick Allen as a successful man all because he started the word frindle in the fifth grade. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Cleverness/Creativity and Imagination/ School Life Over 35 awards and honors197 Christopher Award, Sasquatch Childrens Book Award, Zyakafoo Childrens Book Award, and much more 4. Author: Lynne Reid Banks, illustrator Brock Cole Title: The Indian in the Cupboard Publisher and year: Doubleday/Avon; 1980 Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookAdventure/Series/Fantasy Reading level: Grades 3-5 About: Omri receives a cupboard from his brother for his birthday. He decides to use a magical key that he got from his great-grandmother to bring a plastic Native American figurine to life with the cupboard. The figurine is now living and tells Omri that his name is Little Bear, an Iroquois who lived in the 18th century. As Omris best friend finds out about the magic cupboard, he brings a cowboy to life named Boone. The two figurines fight and quarrel, until Little Bear wounds Boone. Omri tries to bring a WWI medic to life to help Boone, but he finds the key to be missing. After an adventure, the key is finally found and he can now heal Boone. Little Bear asks Omri to get him a wife, so he brings Bright Stars to life. In the end Omri sends all the characters back to their times and gives his mother the key to not be tempted to bring them back again.

Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Equality, Fairness, and Justice/Magic and Supernatural/ Native American/ Friends and Friendship 5. Author: Lois Lowry Title: Number the Stars Publisher and year: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2011original: 1989 Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookClassics/Historical Fiction Reading level: Grades 3-5 About: Annemarie and her best friend Ellen are ten-year-old girls in a time filled with school, food shortages, and Nazi soldiers marching through their town. When Jews are made to be relocated Ellen, a Jewish girl, moves in with Annemarie and her family and pretends to be one of them. But her life is still in danger and she has to live trying to pretend to be someone she is not. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Courage, Bravery, Heroism/Equality, Fairness, Justice/Jewish Experience/World War II/ Holocaust/Honor/Prejudice and Tolerance/Experiences/Survival 6. Author: Carl Hiaasen Title: Hoot Publisher and year: Random House Childrens Books; 2005 original 2002 Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookMystery & Suspense/Realistic Fiction Reading level: Grades 6-8 About: Roy Eberhardt is the new kid in town when he moved to Coconut Cove Florida from Texas. Of course being the new kid, Roy gets picked on and bullied especially by a boy named Dana Matherson. One day Roy sees a barefoot boy running away from the bus and he immediately wants to know about this barefoot boy. At the same time an All-American Pancake House Corporation, Mother Paulas, is trying to build a pancake house in Coconut Cove. This sounds like a great idea to everyone who loves pancakes, but what the people of Coconut Cove do not know is that the site to be bulldozed is the home to endangered burrowing owls. Roy befriends the running boy Mullet Fingers and his stepsister Beatrice the bear Leep along the way. These three children commit acts of vandalism to the Mother Paulas site to try to delay the bulldozing. Then the protesting begins and eventually they save the birds and their habitat. Noteworthy traits:

Theme/subject of the book Cleverness/School life/Bullying/Friends and Friendship Newbery Honor award in 2003

7. Author: Christopher Paul Curtis Title: Bud, Not Buddy Publisher and year: Random House Publisher; 2001 original-- 1999 Type of bookGenre: Chapter Book Historical Fiction Reading level: Grades 5-8 About: This book is about a young boy named Bud who lost his mother and is placed in foster care. At the foster family house he is mistreated and abused, so he decides to run away to find his father. The book tells his story and adventure of leaving his mean foster family and the people he meets on the way to find out who his real father is. He walks from Flint Michigan to the Grand Rapids, because he is convinced that his father must be Herman F. Calloway who is on one of the flyers, one of his only possessions. As his search for Herman F. Calloway ends he realizes that he cannot be is real father and his search for a family must continue. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Adoption and Foster care/ Parents/ African American/ Music/ Running Away Recipient of the 2000 Newbery Medal for excellence in American childrens literature 2000 Coretta Scott King Award 8. Author: Tomie dePaola Title: 26 Fairmount Avenue Publisher and year: Puffin; Reprint edition; 2001 Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookAutobiography Reading level: Grades 3-5 About: This is an autobiography of Tomie dePaola living in his house at 26 Fairmount Avenue in the 1930s. The book begins just as a hurricane hits his town making it a crazy year. The book goes through many different adventures that Tomie has. All of his childhood memories included in this book is hilarious and accompanied by charming illustrations to go along with them. The reader will love to hear about his memories in autobiography form. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Family life/ Writing/ Friends and Friendship/ School life

9. Author: Mary Norton, illustrators Beth and Joe Krush Title: The Borrowers Publisher and year: J.M.Dent; 1952 --HMH Books for Young Readers; 2003 Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookDictionaries/Series/Science Fiction/Fantasy Reading level: Grades 3-5 About: This fantasy novel is about a family of tiny people who live secretly in the walls and in the floors of a house and borrow from the big people to survive. This tiny family is very sneaky and no one notices them until one day Homily realizes that he had been seen by one of the big people who just moved in from India to live with his great-aunt. They warn their daughter, Arrietty, but let her still go to borrow from the big people. One day she met the human boy and develops a friendship with the big person. The rest of the novel shows the relationship between the two and the things that they learn from each other. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Courage, Bravery, Heroism/ Extended Families/ Loyalty 1952 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association 10. Author: Natalie Dias Lorenzi, illustrator Kelly Murphy Title: Flying the Dragon Publisher and year: Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.; 2012 Type of bookGenre: Chapter BookRealistic Fiction Reading level: Grades 4-7 About: This story is about two cousins who are very different. Skye is an American-born girl who is a good student and soccer player who doesnt ever think about her father being Japanese. Hiroshi, her cousin, lives in Japan and never really thought about her Uncle and his family that lived in the US. Until one day Hiroshi and her family are suddenly moved to the US and have to live with Skype and her family. Skype and Hiroshi learn a lot about each other and have to adjust to living with one another and their heritage. Noteworthy traits: Theme/subject of the book Diversity/ Family life/ Friends and Friendship