Sunday, April 4, 2010

The Discovery of America


The Discovery of America
by Geronimo Stilton
[Graphic Novel]

Geronimo Stilton is a mouse who lives with his family on Mouse Island in New Mouse City. He is also the editor of the newspaper in New Mouse City. The Pirate Cats are Geronimo's enemies, as they are trying to travel back to 1492 to take over Christopher Columbus' ship and stop it from discovering America so that they could discover it first. Professor Volt realizes what the Pirate Cats are trying to do and asks Geronimo to help stop them. This story takes you through Geronimo's adventure to stop the Pirate Cats, while providing information about Christopher Columbus' voyage, what life was like then, and the discovery of America.

This graphic novel would be perfect to use in an upper grades social studies lesson. While it is a fun read, it provides students with important knowledge about the discovery of their country. Students could read the story in accordance with their study of Christopher Columbus and compare the information they learn in class to the information presented in the story by using a venn diagram.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl
[Modern Fantasy/Science Fiction]

Mr. Willy Wonka owns the best chocolate factory in the world. He decides that five children and their parents will get to come to the factory, so he puts gold tickets in five candy bars and whoever gets those candy bars are the winners. The first four tickets went to children who each have detrimental character flaws. The fifth ticket went to Charlie Bucket. Charlie comes from a poor family who lives in a small house with his parents and all four of his grandparents. Charlie's family is very unfortunate and barely makes it. Charlie did not find his golden ticket until the day before the children were supposed to go to the factory. Charlies parents cannot accompany him because his mother has to care for his grandparents and his father has to work to make money for the family. When Charlie finds this ticket, one of his grandfathers gets a second wind and becomes happy and energetic. Grandpa Joe decides that he will go with Charlie to the factory. Out of the five children selected to go to the factory, all but Charlie get kicked out of the factory because of their flaws. When Charlie is the only child left in the factory, Willy Wonka congratulates him. It turns out that their trip to the factory was actually a contest, and the winner gets the whole factory. Grandpa Joe, Charlie, and Willy Wonka get in a glass elevator which charges through the roof and lands back at Charlie's house to get the rest of the family and take them back to the factory.

This story is great to incorporate with a character education lesson. It teaches students the importance of having good character, and that those who do will be rewarded. After reading this story, I would have children think of a time when they've shown good character and been rewarded for it OR a time when they have not shown good character and it has given them consequences. I would then have children write a paragraph about this event, followed by a paragraph about the importance of showing good character and what they think might have happened if they had shown better character in the event they are writing about.

A Wrinkle in Time


A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
[Modern Fantasy/Science Fiction]

On the night of a big storm, Meg Murry is not able to sleep, and goes downstairs to find her mother and Charles Wallace are awake as well. They hear a commotion outside on their porch, and come to find that it is Mrs. Whatsit, who is known as the neighborhood tramp. She doesn't stay for long, simply saying "there is such thing as a tesseract" before disappearing out the door. A tesseract is a wrinkle in time. The next afternoon, the children and their friend Calvin go to Mrs. Whatsit's house. While there, they are told that the universe is threatened by the "dark thing" and is turning into a cloud with stars around it. Mrs. Whatsit says that it has happened to many planets, including the one that their kidnapped father is on. The children want to go look for their father, so Mrs. Whatsit and her friends let them.Everything on the planet looks the same, because everything has to conform to IT, which is a huge disembodied brain. Charles Wallace tries to fight IT but loses, and turns into a robot under the control of IT. Charles Wallace is able to lead Calvin and Meg to their father while he is under the control of IT. Together, the three escape through a tesseract to a different planet. Charles Wallace is stuck on the planet with IT. When they arrive on the other planet, Mrs. Whatsit and her friends are there as well. Meg realizes that she needs to go back and rescue Charles Wallace, but she must travel by herself. She is toldthat she has something that IT does not have, but she must figure out what it is. If she does, she will be able to defeat him. When Meg gets back to the planet to rescue Charles Wallace and is in the presence of it, she realizes that her weapon is the ability to love. She uses this ability to love to restore Charles Wallace to his normal form and travel with him through the tesseract. They land on Earth, where their father and Calvin are waiting for them. The family is back together and they are overjoyed. As Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which are traveling through the tesseracts, they stop by to see the family together again.

This story is great to use with 4th and 5th graders. It is imaginative and differents, and keeps the reader fully engaged. A class could read the book chapter by chapter with discussion after each reading to ensure understanding. As a follow-up project after we finish the book, I would have students create a diaramma of a scene in the movie. On the outside of the diaramma they would include a summary, list of character descriptions, and a description of the scene in the diaramma. I think this would be a great way to go back after reading and double check that students comprehended the story.

The Boxcar Children (#1)


The Boxcar Children (#1)
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
[Realistic Fiction]
[Chapter Book]
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are orphan siblings whose parents are dead. They have a grandfather, but do not think that they like him and claim that the feeling is mutual. They have nowhere to live, but the children are determined to survive on their own. After a few nights of sleeping in random places outside Jessie found an old red boxcar in the woods, and they thought it was the perfect place for them to stay, at least for the time being. Shortly after they found the boxcar, they found a wounded dog in the woods, and decided to keep it as their own. They named the dog "watch" because he was their "watchdog." The children made the boxcar into their home by searching through dumpsters for things to use as dished and other household necessities. They were happy and proud. Henry went into a nearby town and found a family to work for so that he could earn some money. He became very close with Dr. Moore and his family. Dr. Moore saw an ad in the paper for lost children, and knew that the four siblings were the ones they were looking for. The ad was written by their grandfather and offered a $5,000 reward, but Dr. Moore did not turn them in. One day, Violet became very sick and the children had to go to Dr. Moore's house for the night so that she could be taken vare of. While they were there, the children's grandfather came to Dr. Moore's house looking for his grandchildren. The kids got to know him without realizing it was their grandfather, and seemed to love him. He loved them too. When Violet got well, the children moved in with their grandfather. He lived in a beautiful, luxurious house, but the children missed their boxcar and their grandfather kenw it. One day he surprised them by moving the boxcar onto his property, and the children were overjoyed. They promised their grandfather that they would never leave him, and all was well.
This story would be good to implement in the upper grades because it is a beginning level chapter book. The book could be incorporated with a literacy lesson where the class would sequence events from the story in a big flow map on the board. The teacher would then erase a few of the events, and have children rewrite the story with their own events in place. This would give them practice in both reading and writing, and would also be a good book to read to practice reading comprehension.
Animoto created about The Boxcar Children containing images pertinent to characters or events in the story.

Sacajawea


Sacajawea
by Elaine Raphael and Don Bolognese
[Historical Fiction]
**Note: this picture does not display the actual book that I read. I could not find a picture of the version that I used.**

Sacajawea is awakened by her brother, Cameahwait with a new pony. She excitedly jumps on the pony to see how fast it can go, and her brother joins her on his pony. Sacajawea and her brother are part of the Shoshoni Indian tribe. Sacajawea's father is the Chief of the tribe. In the winter the Shoshoni people lived on a high plateau, but in the spring they left to hunt for buffalo because meat became scarce. When they finally found a herd of buffalo, the Chief sent all of the men to hunt for them. Cameahwait had to leave, telling Sacajawea that he would bring her back many buffalo. While the men were gone, the camp got raided. Sacajawea was kidnapped by a raider, and never saw her parents again. She became a slave to the Minnetaree raider who she was kidnapped by. After three years, she was sold to a French-Canadian fur traider who lived with the Minnetaree. When Sacajawea was thirteen, she became married to Toussaint Charbonneau. In 1804, captains Lewis and Clark were going on an exploration and needed someone who could talk to the Shoshoni people, so they hired Sacajawea and her husband. Sacajawea was very happy, and they set off to the land of the Shoshoni people with their baby in hand. After a long journey, Sacajawea saw her people and sang their greeting song with pride. Sacajawea was overjoyed when she saw her brother, who she thought she would never see again. After just a few days, they had to part. She folded her hands across her chest and looked at her brother, which was the sign of love. Sacajawea rode off with much courage and optimism, determined to see the ocean.

This story would be great to use along with a social studies lesson. The class would do a read-aloud of the book, and have a short dicussion afterwards to summarize the book. Students would then get in groups, and each group would have a copy of the book. Each group will go through the book and pick out events, people, places, etc. that they think are an important topic of history that could be further researched, such as: Sacajawea, Shoshoni Indians, Minnetaree Raiders, Lewis and Clark, etc. The class would come together and compile a class-wide list, and each group will pick a different topic to research. They will then make powerpoint presentations on their topic and present it to the class.

The Chocolate Touch


The Chocolate Touch
by Patrick Skene Catling
[Fiction]
John Midas is a greedy young boy who LOVES chocolate. The doctor tells John he must stop eating chocolate, and his parents make him do so. John is not happy, and is determined to find a way that he can sneakily eat chocolate. One day, John finds a coin on the sidewalk. On one side of the coin is a picture of a fat boy, and on the other side is his initials. John comes across a candy store that he had never seen before. The owner seemed to know John's name, and the only type of money that the store took was the coin that John had found. With the coin, John bought a box of chocolates. That night, John opens the box to find only one piece of chocolate inside. John ate the chocolate, which he thought tasted funny. The next morning, John realizes that anything he touches turns into chocolate. John is overjoyed, but not for long. Soon John starts to feel sick, thirsty, and hungry for real food. John's chocolte touch turns his mouth into a trumpet of chocolate, and when John participates in a game of apple bobbing all of the children become covered in chocolate syrup. When John kissed his mother one night, she turns into a chocolate statue. When John comes to his senses and starts to feel guilty, he finds the candy store owner to try and change things back. The owner tells John that the coin is given to greedy people, and if he is truly sorry for and reluctant about his greed, it can be taken away and everything will return to normal. Once John is back to normal, he is grateful for the candy shop owner and the lesson he learned, so he runs back to the shop to thank him. When he arrives to the location of the candy shop, he finds only an empty lot.
This story is good for upper grades to teach a character education lesson about greediness. Students will read the book and have a class discussion about the importance of not being greedy, and remaining mindful of others. Students will be asked to think of a time when they may have been greedy, and imagine how they would feel if they had an extreme consequence like John did. At the end of the lesson, students will write a short paragraph on the importance of not being greedy.

The Magic Finger



The Magic Finger
by Roald Dahl
[Fantasy]

This story is told from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl who lives next door to the Gregg Family. The Gregg Family loves to hunt ducks, but the girls next door is less than amused by hunting and by the Gregg Family. The girl has a magic finger which punishes people when she points at them, but she has no control over this finger or when it is used. One day, she becomes so annoyed with the Gregg Family shooting ducks that she points her magic finger at them. The Gregg's wake up the next morning as tiny duck people with wings as arms, and there are four large ducks with arms instead of wings who have taken over their house. The Greggs must leave their house and build a nest in their yard to sleep in. When they wake up, they see the four large ducks standing under their nest with the Gregg's guns in hand. The ducks threaten to shoot them, since they seem to enjoy shooting ducks so much. The Gregg's promised the ducks that they would not shoot them anymore, so they are turned back into humans. The next day, the girl sees the Gregg's destroying their guns and making graves for the ducks that they have killed. The Gregg's have changed their name to Egg. Although the girls thinks it went a little too far, she is pleased. She then hears a gun shot from the Gregg's other neighbors, the Coopers. This made the girl furious, so she set off to change them into ducks and make them sleep in a nest for the night.

This is a good book to incorporate in upper grade literacy. It is good reading practice and is a funny, imaginative story. Students could read this book and discuss the literary components within. They could then write a summary about it and put the summary into wordle.

Flat Stanley - His Original Adventure


Flat Stanley - His Original Adventure
by Jeff Brown
[Fiction]
[Chapter Book]

Stanley Lambchop was a normal little boy who lived with his mother, his father, and his little brother Arthur. Stanley had a big bulletin board hanging above his bed that his father had given him and his brother for Christmas. One night, the bulletin board fell on top of Stanley while he was sleeping and completely flattened him. Stanley was now a foot wide and only half an inch thick. Stanley started to enjoy being flat, because he could enter rooms without opening the door and he could transport himself through mail. Stanley's neighbor, Mr. Dart was the director of the Museum of Art. When Stanley heard that there had been sneak thieves going into the museum at night, he offered to sneak in and hang on the wall as a painting to catch them. Stanley Lambchop was able to catch the sneak thieves, and he became famous for it. Not too long after, children started to make fun of Stanley and he no longer liked being flat. His brother found a football pump and put it in Stanley's mouth in hopes of pumping him back to normal size. Stanley Lambchop was no longer Flat Stanley.


This story would be good to incorporate in an upper grades literacy class. It is entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable for children. The story could be read as a class, and the class could make a story map of sequenced events as they read. At the end, the students would summarize the story. As a follow up activity, students would write their own ending to the story.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

The Wizard of Oz


The Wizard of Oz
by Eric Kincaid
[Fairy Tale]

Dorothy lived in Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and her dog, Toto. One day, while only Dorthy and Toto were in the house, a tornado came and lifted their house high into the sky. When the house finally landed back on the ground, they were in Munchkin Land. The house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, and killed her. The munchkins were so happy that the witch was dead that they gave Dorothy her magic read slippers. They told Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to Emerald City, where she could ask the Wizard of Oz how to get home. Dorothy put on the shoes and went on her way with Toto. Along the way she ran into a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Lion, all who wanted something from the wizard, and joined her in her treck. They finally reached the Land of Oz. When they got inside the palace, they each told the wizard what they came for, and he told them all that he would help them only if they killed the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wicked Witch of the West had seen them coming towards the palace, and tried to stop them by sending wolves, crows, and bees. Finally, she sent flying monkeys who dropped Tin Man on rocks, pulled the straw out of Scarecrow, put Lion in a cage, and took Dorothy to the Wicked Witch's castle. The Witch saw Dorothy's shoes and became so angry that she kicked Toto. Enraged, Dorothy took a bucket of water and dumped it on the Witch. This caused the witch to melt away and die. Dorothy then found Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man and returned to the Wizard of Oz. The room where they had been to see him before was empty except for a green screen. Lion knocked the screen over and the Wizard was behind it. The four of them got what they wanted from the Wizard. The Good Witch of the South appeared to rescue Dorothy. She told her to tap her heels together three times and tell the shoes where she wanted to go. Dorothy made it home. The Good Witch made Scarecrow the ruler of Emerald City, the Tin Man ruler of the Winkies, and Lion King of the forest.

This is a good story to introduce upper elementary students to fairy tales. I would do a read aloud with the class to begin the unit, and then dicuss the elements of fairy tales. We would then go back through the story and point out where we see these elements. I would then have students choose another fairy tale and identify the components of fairy tales within that story.

The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote


The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote
by Toni Johnston and Tomie dePaola
[Multicultural Literature]
[Traditional/Folk Literature]

This story is set in Mexico. One night, Rabbit found a field of chiles. He was so excited to see the chiles that he went over to the field and ate the biggest ones he saw. When the farmer saw what had happened, he decided to make a beeswax doll to catch the rabbit if he came back. That night, the rabbit returned for more chiles. He saw the wax farmer and went up to him to say hello and ask for some chiles. Rabbit was mad when he did not receive a response, so he punched the farmer. Rabbit eventually managed to get both paws and both feet stuck in the beeswax. When the farmer came to check his trap, he was pleased to see that he had caught the rabbit. The farmer put Rabbit in his bag and took him home, where he built a fire and hung the sack that Rabbit was in. When the farmer went to get his herbs, Rabbit saw Coyote in the distance. Coyote asked Rabbit why he was hanging there, and Rabbit told Coyote that the man want him to marry his daughter. Rabbit claimed that he was too young to marry and asked coyote to take his place, making him think that the water boiling over the fire was for making hot chocolate. Coyote agreed, and as soon as the farmer returned he was tossed in the water. Rabbit played many more tricks on Coyote to aviod getting eaten. Finally, Rabbit ran away and climbed a ladder up to the moon, and then threw the ladder away. Coyote saw Rabbit but could never find the ladder, which is why Coyote still sits gazing at the moon, howling at Rabbit because he is very angry.

This would be great to use in the classroom to indroduce literature that comes from other cultures. There are Spanish words throughout the story and there is a Spanish glossery at the end. After students read this book, they could be required to find their own piece of multicultural literature and summarize it for the class, so that students are exposed to many different types.

Oh, The Places You'll Go!


Oh, the Places You'll Go!
by Dr. Seuss
Oh, the Places You'll Go is a book about moving on to new stages of your life. The things we do and the places we go in life are in our own hands, that your life is yours and only you can decide what to make of it. Things can and will happen, everyone will encounter obstacles, but you just have to move on. Sometimes things will not work out the way that you hoped, you may be stuck in bad situations, and it may be hard to get out of them but things will turn around. There will be times when you may feel lost, helpless, and confused, and it may seem that your life is going nowhere, but somehow you will overcome those times. You will be alone at times and you may be afraid, but things will only get better if you face those times. Your life will be filled with all different opportunities and situations, but you ultimately decide the direction that your life goes on. And if you choose to live your life to it's full potential, if you put your all into it, you can do anything.
Although this is a silly, colorful book that may seem directed towards a younger audience, I think it is perfect to implement in any classroom. I received this book as a present from my second grade teacher when I graduated high school, and to this day I can learn from it. This book isn't about the pictures or the fact that Dr. Suess wrote it, it's about the important message that it gives. I would incorporate this book in a lesson about character. I would read the book to my students, and then go back and look at it page-by-page and have my students pull out the deeper meaning of each page-- such as, when the author says that you will look up and down many streets, is he really saying that you will literally look up and down streets? What is the deeper meaning? I think students can get so much out of this book at any age, but it is perfect for 3-5th grade students because they are at the age where they would really start to understand the meaning.

Martin Luther King, Jr. A Dream of Hope


Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Dream of Hope
by Alice Fleming
[Biography]
[Chapter Book]

Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) was born into a large family who resided in Atlanta, Georgia. MLK grew up during a time when things were very segregated: white people were seen as better than black people, and Jim Crow laws kept whites and blacks apart. He became enrolled in Morehouse College at the age of fifteen with no idea as to what he wanted to pursue as a career. After college MLK attended Crozer Theological Seminary, where he graduated as valedictorian and was awarded a scholarship to any graduate school he chose. MLK chose to attend Boston University's School of Theology where he met Coretta Scott, who would become his wife. MLK received his PhD in June of 1955, when his first child was born. When Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus, MLK was called on to join a protest against segregation on buses. The Montgomery bus boycott went on for 381 days until they were victorious, and on the morning of December 21, 1956, MLK rode on the first integrated buses. MLK organized and became president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. While MLK was on tour promoting his first book, he was stabbed by a mentally disturbed black woman, but survived the attack. In 1960, the King family moved to Atlanta, Georgia where MLK would become a co-pastor with his father while he led the SCLC. MLK was involved with many other movements, such as the Freedom Riders, The Albany Movement, Project C, and The March on Washington--where he gave what is likely one of the most powerful, famous speeches in history. MLK's speech was entitled "I Have A Dream," which was a line he repeated many times throughout the speech. MLK won the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership and dedication to the fight for civil rights. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot as he walked out onto the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee by a white man named James Earl Ray. His death devestated many, but MLK is remembered as a courageous man and the most prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement.

This book would be good to incorporate in a social studies lesson about the Civil Rights Movement. While focusing on MLK's life and his impact in the movement, the book provides much factual information on the time period in general. This is a prominent time period in our country's history, and it is important for students to have a solid background in it.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Adelita, A Mexican Cinderella Story


Adelita, A Mexican Cinderella Story
by Tomie dePaola
[Multicultural Literature]
[Traditional/Folk Literature & Fairytales]
Francisco Mercado was a merchant who lived with his wife, Adela in a small village in Mexico. One day, Adela came to Francisco and announced that she was going to have a baby. They called a long-time family friend, Esperanza, to help care for Adela during her pregnancy. Adela became very ill after she birthed the baby. She died soon after the baby was born, and Francisco was devestated. He decided to name the baby Adeilate, meaning "little Adela," after his wife. Adelita brought Francisco happiness in his life. Esperanza stayed around to help care for Adelita as she grew into a young woman. One day, Francisco told Adelita and Esperanza that he was going to re-marry Dona Micaela, a widow who had two daughters close to Adelita's age. Adelita had to share her father's attention and deal with the fact that Dona Micaela favored her two daughters, Valentina and Dulce. Francisco became ill and abruptly died. Dona Micaela had been very jealous of Adelita and decided to show it now that her father was gone. She made Adelita move from her room into the attic, and she only let Adelita wear hand-me-downs. Valentina and Dulce started to be very cruel to Adelita. One day, Dona Micaela fired Esperanza and said that Adelita would now work in the kitchen. From then on, Adelita was treated terribly. Dona Micaela got invited to a party one night, and took only Valentina and Dulce, leaving Adelita at home to work. Esperanza had a dream the previous night that Adelita was not allowed to go to the party, so she came to get her and give her a ride. When Adelita was ready she looked beautiful. Adelita was greeted by Javier at the door of the party, and told everyone to call her Cinderella. Javier fell in love with "Cinderella" at first sight, and didn't leave her side that night. At the end of the night, Adelita found Esperanza and they ran all the way home. The next day, all that Dona Micaela and her daughters could talk about was the mysterious beauty "Cinderella" at the party the night before. Dona Micaela told her daughters that Javier was coming to town the next day to stop at every house until he found his Cinderella, and exclaimed that this was their last chance to win him over. When he arrived at their house, he turned down Valentina and Dulce but was convinced that his love was there. Dona Micaela said that there was noone else in the house, but Adelita quietly murmered "yes there is." Javier was relieved to have found his love, and asked her to marry him as Valentina and Dulce watched with jealousy. Javier and Adelita lived happily together for the rest of their lives.
This story is great to use with a lesson on different versions of fairy tales. Students could read Adelita along with the American Cinderella and study the similarities and differences between the two books. Students could then write their own short version of the story, which would be great writing practice. A good extension would be for students to find two versions of a different story and make comparisons between those.

Where the Red Fern Grows


Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
[Realistic Fiction]
[Chapter Book]

Billy is a 10-year-old boy who lives with his family on a farm in the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma. All that Billy wants is to have two coonhounds, but his family cannot afford to buy them. Instead, his father gives him mouse traps to play with. One day, finds a sportsman's catalog at a camp and sees an ad for two coonhounds for $25 each. When Billy has saved up $50, his grandfather secretly orders him the dogs. Billy named the dogs Old Dan and Little Ann. Old Dan is very brave, and Little Ann is very smart. Coon season begins, and on the first night that Billy went out with the dogs they treed a coon in a very large tree. Billy gets very in to hunting and his father begins to lessen his chores in exchange for the money from his coon skins. There is a legend about a "ghost coon" and Billy and his grandfather make a bet with Ruben and Rainie Pritchard they they can catch it. The coon gives them a hard time, and after a while the Prichard boys want to give up, but Billy will not. Finally, they caught the ghost coon but Billy does not want to kill her. As Ruben starts to beat up Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann start to attack the Pritchard's dog. Ruben ran over to beat the dogs with an axe, but fell and killed himself. Billy is devastated, so he goes to visit Ruben's grave with flowers. Billy is entered in a coon hunting contest by his grandfather. Billy is intimidated by all of the beautiful, expensive coonhounds. On the first day, Little Ann won the beauty competition. After that, Billy and his dogs made it to the championship round. As they are out hunting in the championship, a blizzard starts. Billys grandfather sprained his ankle and they could not find Little Ann and Old Dan. When they find the dogs, they are covered in snow but have gotten enough coons to win the contest. Billy got $300 for winning the competition, and his parents are thrilled. One night, Billy is out hunting and his dogs tree a mountain lion, which starts to attack Old Dan. Billy trys to fight the mountain lion with his axe, but the dogs ended up defeating it. Old Dan was very hurt in the fight, and died the next day. Billy was very upset, and Little Ann was so sad that she no lost her will to live and died a few days after. Billy's father tries to convince him that it was for the better because they can now move to down with all of the money that Billy earned. Billy does not feel better until he goes to the dogs' grave on the day his family was moving, and sees a red fern. He remembers an old legend that only an angel can plant a red fern, and feels better.
This book is a great way to teach students about determination, and also to teach them to follow their passion. I feel that it is a solid piece of literature perfect for 4th or 5th grade students to read in literacy to practice the literary components such as plot, characterization, symbolism, etc. as well as comprehension, vocabulary, and much more.
Wordle: Red Fern
I created a wordle out of my book summary, which generated a word cloud with many important words from the story.

Our National Holidays


Our National Holidays
by Karen Spies
[Nonfiction]

Our National Holidays is an informational text with everything you need to know about the national holidays in America. The book is organized into chapters, and begins by discussing what a holiday is, why we celebrate them, and why they are all important and different in chapter one. The second chapter discusses holidays that celebrate our nation's roots, such as Independence Day, Flag Day, Labor Day, and Citizenship Day. Chapter three introduces holidays that honor famous people in our country's history, including Martin Luther King, Jr., President's Day, and Columbus Day. In the next chapter, you learn about the holidays that honor our armed forces, which are Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Chapter five incudes the holidays that celebrate our heritage, such as Thanksgiving, New Years, Cinco de Mayo, Kwanzaa, and Native American Day. The final section in the book tells about the holidays that celebrate our earth, which include Arbor Day, Bird Day, and Earth Day. For each holiday throughout the book, we you learn the date of celebration, the history and purpose of the holiday, common traditions associated with the holiday, and much more. The book contains great pictures displaying traditions or historical figures that are associated with the holidays. In this one text, you can learn an incredible amount of information on our national holidays, which every American should be knowledgable about!

This story would be ideal to incorporate with a social studies lesson on our nation's history. Students can find SO much information in this text, as well as photos to go along with it. It is very important that students are aware of the holidays that our country celebrates, and equally as important that they understand the meaning and history behind them. This is an easy read that is enjoyable as well as informational. After reading this text, students could choose one of the holidays to research further and do a presentation or report on.

Do Whales Have Belly Buttons?


Do Whales Have Belly Buttons?
by Melvin and Gilda Berger
illustrated by Higgins Bond
[Non-Fiction]
Do Whales Have Belly Buttons is an informational text containing questions and answeres about whales and dolphins. The book starts off with an introduction on why to read a question-and-answer book. The first section on the book is general information about whales, and contains a lengthy list of questions and answers that give much information about the life of a whale. The section contains answers to questions about the lifestyle, reproduction, body, prey, and communication of whales. There are also sections on toothed whales, baleen whales, and dolphins. Each section contains a plethora of background information and interesting facts about these creatures, which are highly amusing to children. This book contains great pictures and diagrams of whales and dolphins, and is not only educational but entertaining as well.
I think this book would be great in a classroom, especially for a science unit on marine animals. Children are fascinated by dolphins and whales, and love to learn interesting, wierd, and unusual facts about them. This book provides the information in an organized manner and has pictures on every page. Students who read this book could follow up by doing a project or presentation on whales and dolphins.

The Magic Gourd

The Magic Gourd
by Baba Wague Diakite
[Traditional/Folk Literature]
[Multicultural Literature]

Brother Rabbit lives a life of famine, hunger, and drought. One day, Brother Rabbit set out in search of food for his family. As he wandered, he sang "Luck will come. Life will be good." Brother Rabbit was startled as he heard someone talking in the thorny bush next to him. He looked, and it was a small green chameleon stuck in the thorns. The chameleon asked Brother Rabbit to rescue him from the bush, and the kind rabbit did. Once the chameleon was freed from the thorns, he asked Brother Rabbit to get his gourd from the bush, saying that he would pay him well. When Brother Rabbit retrieved the gourd from the bush, the chameleon told him to keep it. Brother Rabbit wondered why he would want a plain gourd. The chameleon then told Brother Rabbit that it was a magic gourd which would fill up with anything you asked for. Brother Rabbit took the gourd back to his family and filled it with food and water to eliminate their hunger and thirst. Brother Rabbit didn't want to let his neighbors suffer, so he told them about the gourd and word got around to the entire community. When word of the gourd reached the greedy king, the king and his soldiers forced the gourd out of Brother Rabbit's possession. Brother Rabbit's family returned to their famished lifestyle, when Brother Rabbit ran into the Chameleon once again. He told the chameleon what had happened, and the chameleon gave Brother Rabbit another gift, a rock that would bounce on the top of your head until you said the magic phrase to make it stop. Brother Rabbit took the rock to the king's palace, and let it bounce on his head until it drove him crazy in hopes of getting his gourd back. After much controversy, Brother Rabbit got the gourd back. Brother Rabbit was scared that the king would come after him, so he took his family and fleed to the country where his friend the chameleon lived. The chameleon taught Brother Rabbit and his family to camoflauge, and they lived happily undetected. Meanwhile, the king began to realize the importance of gerosity and friendship.

This story is great to incorporate in the classroom because there are many lessons you can get out of it. This story not only teaches the importance of kindness, generosity, and friendship, but it shows that even when you are in a bad situation or may not be living a plentiful life, if you look for the good in everything and keep your head up things will eventually work out in your favor.