Mockingbird

 Kathryn Erskine (2010)

This is the story of a young girl with Aspergers syndrome that has lost her brother in a school shooting and is on a book long search for closure for both her and her father. This young girl sees the world in black and white, either yes or no and she shows incredible persistence in her daily life and willingness to work at life. This novel is my favorite book of all the books we have read. I have a deep passion for helping special needs children and her ever willingness to work at things and help her dad is inspiring. Also, this book has a strong message of understanding and acceptance, two things I strive to work at myself every day. This was just an excellent book and I hope others will pick it up as well.

In the classroom I would use this book as an example of why acceptance is such a key component to daily life and what can happen when people do not accept each other for who they are. After reading this book I would have the class participate in a class discussion about being different and I would make a class list of all the things the students come up with that make them unique. I would also have the students write a story as if they were Caitlin, the main character, so they would have to see the world in a black and white fashion as she does. Closure is also a major topic in this book and I think it would beneficial to have a discussion about closure. What it means to gain closure and what are possible ways of gaining closure? Great book and I hope others are willing to give it a look!

Visiting Day

 Written by Jacqueline Woodson and Illustrated by James E. Ransome (2002)
This is an interesting and possibly controversial book about a young African American girl going to see her father in prison with her grandmother. This little girl is so excited at the prospect of seeing her father in prison and the book is written in such a way that it shelters young children from being exposed to too much too soon, although serious questions could be brought up.I think this is an interesting book and the joy brought to the little girl in the story brings joy to the reader, but also the heartbreak that is felt by the little girl is also brought to the reader. I think it is important for children to be exposed to a multitude of situations and to be accepting of other children's situations. This book does a good job of using a very touchy subject and sheltering children from some of the harder facts of that subject.
 If I were to use this book in my classroom I think I would be very cautious and only use it with a class that I think would learn the lesson intended to be taught. I am sure in my teaching career I will be faced with a child that has a parent in jail and no present mother, and I think this book can teach students about the different life situations people deal with. I am very big on teaching students about things in life, but also teaching them how to deal with those same things. Also, there are two page spreads that do not have any words on them, so this book could be used to show the children how illustrations help advance the story.

Alphabet Rescue

By Audrey Wood and Illustrated by Bruce Wood (2006)

This book is told from the point of view of a set of lower case letters and they end up saving the day putting out a fire at the alphabet factory. Along the way the letters have to rebuild an old fire truck, help other letters clean off a very dirty car and save an animal form a tree. I really like this book because the drawings play a critical part in telling the story and there is a need to pay attention, just like Into the Forest by Anthony Browne. This book has a lot value for discussing topics such as well written picture books, jobs, and of course letters.

This book would be great for discussing the daily jobs of a firefighter, as well as other jobs in the community. With younger children it would be great for talking about letter sounds and the differences between upper and lower case letters. This book is also a great example of how important it is to pay attention to the illustrations, because when the letters are looking for way to put the fire truck together the different letters are next to things that start with their letter. For example, the K is by a set of keys, the T is by a set of tires and the O by an oil can. Without paying attention to these illustrations these extensions of the plot would be lost. 

The Dinosaur Who Lived In My Backyard

Written by B.G. Hennessy and Illustrated by Susan Davis (1988)

This story is a little boy explaining what it was like to have a dinosaur living in his backyard and he goes onto explain things about the dinosaur as well. We learn very simple things such as his dinosaur having a very long neck and we are given comparison to real life objects regarding the dinosaurs' size. I was a big dinosaur growing up so I liked this book and enjoyed the colorful illustrations that were included. I liked that the illustrations and text work together to tell the story as well. I always wondered what it would be like to have dinosaurs around, so maybe this book helped answer some of those questions or maybe not.

I think this would be a great book for discussing how illustrations reinforce the text. The author says the dinosaur was bigger than a school bus, even a house and the dinosaur being much larger than both the house and car. As something fun to do with younger children they could imitate and act out how dinosaurs would have walked all those years ago. As a writing assignment I would have the students think of other non-existent and even mystical creatures, then create a story telling the reader about what it was like living with such a creature or being. The point is the have the students become critical thinkers and work on their writing skills at the same time.

A Good Day

Written and Illustrated Kevin Henkes (2007)

A Good Day is a simple story about several animal being in unfortunate situations and being able to overcome those situations and turning a bad day into a good day. I think this book is a very simple book, but I am a fan of animals so I did enjoy the book. Also, at the end the little bird at the beginning who had lost their favorite tail feather forgets about and prospers. A little girl finds that tail feather and it makes her day a good day. So the possible message here is that one person's loss is another person's gain.

In my classroom I would use this book for younger students because of its simplicity and would be mostly used as silent reading book. There is also some nature elements in this book, so I could use this book as a starter book for a possible nature unit. When looking at the illustrations for this book they do an excellent job of reinforcing the text and really help express the animals emotions. I really think it is important for students to be able to read emotions and this book could be an aid in getting that point across. 

Ten Little Fish

Written by Audrey Wood and Illustrated by Bruce Wood (2004)

This book is a simple underwater counting story, that is playful in verse. The story has a nice flow and the picture are very colorful. I think this is a great book for very young children and will be a book that is read over and over again. I found myself wondering how the next fish was going to disappear and enjoying the colorful illustrations.

This would be a book I used with younger children to work on counting. It would be both a read aloud book and a book just to have the in the classroom. With the younger students I think it would be fun to create our own themed counting book. Just as I was wondering how the next fish was going to disappear I think students will be as well and this book could be used to discuss asking questions with younger students. If I were to use it with older children it would be to show them a simple example of music in language and have them come up with a rhyming counting poem of their own.

The Bee Tree

Written and Illustrated by Patricia Polacco (1993)

This book is about a little girl who was tired of reading and told her grandfather she wanted to go run and play. So, her grandfather says he has an idea which involves chasing bees in order to get fresh honey. The two find a couple bees and chase them back to their tree, while a bunch of people from the town join in on the chase. Eventually they get to the bee tree and are able to retrieve the honey to enjoy. When I was reading this book at first I wasn't really sure what was going on and thought them chasing bees sounded like a really bad idea. But, at the end of the book her grandfather places honey on the book and says "There is such sweetness inside of that book too! Such things ... adventure, knowledge, wisdom. But these things do not come easily. You have to pursue them. Just like we ran after the bees to find their tree, so you must also chase these things through the pages of a book!" This quote alone made this book worth reading and was my "a ha!" moment after reading. Growing up I really did not have a great appreciation for reading and I think a book like this with such a great message can create such an appreciation.

I think this book can be used with all ages because its never to late for students to gain an appreciation for reading and all it has to offer. The illustrations in this book do a great job of enhancing the text and would be great for a class discussion on this topic. With older students I would have them write their own stories about a time when a family member had them doing something seemingly meaningless, but had a lesson to be learned on the back end. Also, I think this would just be a fun book to read aloud like the yellow ribbon story we were read the last day of class.

G is for Goat

Written and Illustrated by Patricia Polacco (2003)

This is a cleverly written alphabet book. This book is written about goats, and the author uses a rhyming scheme throughout the book to tell the story. For example, E is for Ears, some floppy, some not and F is for Flowers, which goats eat a lot. I don't think I have ever read an alphabet book like this, so I really enjoyed it and wanted to see how the author was going to use the next letter and relate it to goats.

This book would be a great book to use during an alphabet genre study. The rhyming scheme and the flow of a story I think are two important keys to this book. I think it would be fun to have the student pick a theme and have an alphabet book that tells a story about that theme. This book would also be great for discussing letter sounds with the younger students. Another thing I think could be done is having a class theme and then every student is assigned a single letter. Then the students have to come up with some for their letter that goes along with the theme, then we would create our own class alphabet books. Also, this book does a good job of having illustrations that reinforce the text and students of all ages need to comprehend this element of writing. 

Brave Margaret

Written by Robert San Souci and Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport (1999)

This book is an adaptation of an Irish fairy tale. This book is about a girl longing to see other places in the world and she happens to meet a man that is traveling north. She ens up falling in love with this man and the two set out to sea together, but on their journey a sea serpent comes looking to kill Margaret. Margaret ends up fleeing the boat, killing the serpent and being thrusts onto land. There the women meets an old woman, a sorceress, who ends up holding her captive as a prize for the man that kills the giant that drove her from her home. Simon shows up and think he can kill the giant, but fails falling to his death. Margaret decides she will try her hand at killing the giant and was able to use the old woman's sword to kill the giant. The old woman uses a special potion to make herself young and bring Margaret's love back to life, the two live happily ever after. I thought this was another interesting fairy tale and I liked that the woman was the one who saved the day in the end. It is always interesting to see what the twist in a fairy tale is going to be. I don't know what it is about these illustrations, but they just seem like the perfect illustrations for a fairy tale and do such a good job of enhancing the text.

This is a book I could use in the classroom with any ages because it is a fairy tale. I think this book would be great for discussing gender roles, especially in fairy tales. This Irish tale breaks away from the norm and has the woman be the savior. I think students should learn that this is perfectly natural and everyone can do anything they put their minds too. Also, because it is a tale from another country it could be included in a text-set including foreign tales. I think the students would enjoy being introduced to fairy tales from other countries and seeing the differences and similarities between the "traditional" tales and the foreign tales. This book does a really good job of using the illustrations to create mood and I want to make sure the students are able to identify this while reading.

The Snow Wife

Written by Robert San Souci and Illustrated by Stephen Johnson (1993)

This is a story based off Japanese folklore. The story is about a woodcutter that meets a mysterious spirit like woman that asks him to never speak of their meeting. The woodcutter falls in love with a beautiful woman and after years of marriage speaks of the woman he met years ago, breaking his promise. The woman was that same mysterious woman and returned spirit form leaving the man heartbroken. He then goes to see the Wind God because the man is told only the god can return his wife to him. The man embarks on a treacherous journey up the mountain encountering evil beings, but eventually is able to reach the god and makes another promise to get her back. I like stories about magic and that contain a message, so this book was perfect for me. I had never heard the story and at first thought I was not going to like all the book because of all the text, but it turned out to be a really good story. I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book as well, I think they captured the Japanese culture very well.

In the classroom I think this would be a great book to use with the middle grades, some of the illustrations are kinda scary. This book could be used for learning about other cultures and lead into a research project on other cultures. Also, this book is a Japanese fairy tale and I would use it during a fairy tale unit because I am sure it is one that most students are not familiar with. The message in this book emphasizes the value of keeping a promise and the pain of breaking one. After reading this book another activity the students could do would be coming up with their own double meaning message and create a fairy tale to help teach that message. This book also has illustrations that do an excellent job of reinforcing the text and creating mood. Two literary components of good writing that I would show the students.