Spiderman: The Sinister Six

MODERN FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION
GRAPHIC NOVEL

Doctor Octopus escapes from the jail to attempt to kill Spiderman, also known as Peter Parker, for another time. Doctor Octopus secretly gathers up his five villainous friends: Sandman, Vulture, Electro, Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio. The six bad guys create a plot to get rid of Spiderman. Spiderman loses his powers after falling from a building and is forced to fight the “sinister six” without his powers. Shortly after starting to fight, he regains his powers and wins all six of his conflicts. I would keep this book in my classroom library to accommodate readers who may be interested in action and comics.

Ahyoka and the Talking Leaves by Peter and Connie Roop

REALISTIC/HISTORICAL FICTION
CHAPTER BOOK

http://www.boobis.com/students/pyramid.html

Story Pyramid for Ahyoka and the Talking Leaves
By Peter and Connie Roop
Ahyoka
Dedicated Bright
Rustic Outdoors Natural
Cherokee needed an alphabet
Ahyoka and father work together
Mother burnt all the talking leaves
Finally they finish the new Cherokee alphabet
The Cherokee people hesitate but then use it


Pyramid created by Kelly Reardon

This is a book I would keep in my classroom library for students to read at their convenience. It would also be a goo addition for students who may relate to the Native American culture.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis

REALISTIC/HISTORICAL FICTION
CHAPTER BOOK

http://www.boobis.com/students/pyramid.html

Story Pyramid for The Watsons Go to Birmingham
By Christopher Paul Curtis
Kenny
Cross-eyed Smart
Suburban Freezing Middle Class
Kenny learns about life
Byron is mean to Kenny
The family traveled south to Alabama
The kids learn about troubles down south
Everyone should be treated with respect and love


Pyramid created by Kelly Reardon

I would use this book in my classroom as a literature integration when studying the Civil Rights movement in social studies. The book is award winning and would also offer great literature for the classroom library.

A Chair for my Mother by Vera B. Williams

REALISTIC/HISTORICAL FICTION


http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/694758/Untitled
Wordle by Kelly Reardon

A Chair for my Mother is a Caldecott Award winner for its beautiful colors and illustrations. I would use this book in my classroom as part of the library or as a way to talk about families and different events and values that families find important. The book also has an important theme of working hard and saving up for something special that can be discussed and related to other books.

Chester’s Way by Kevin Henkes

FICTION


This book touches on the importance of accepting new people and making friends. In the book, Chester the mouse has a best friend named Wilson who is very similar to him. When a new mouse, Lilly, moves into the neighborhood they ignore her until she sticks up for them against bullies. After the incident, Chester and Wilson become great friends with Lilly accepting her although she is different from them.
This would be a great book to read aloud to students at the beginning of the school year to encourage friendships and being kind and accepting to new or unfamiliar people. It teaches a valuable lesson about diversity and acceptance that kids of all ages and understand and relate to.

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo

TRADITIONAL/FOLK

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/694918/Untitled
Wordle by Kelly Reardon

I would use this book in my classroom as a literature compare and contrast lesson. Using the traditional story of Cinderella along with this book, I would have students make a story map that compares and contrasts the traditional and the Egyptian Cinderella stories. The two folk tales have similar character roles that can be easily distinguished by elementary students. Students can also compare and contrast the setting, time period, moral and values of the folk tales. Using this folk story with the traditional Cinderella story would also allow students to explore another culture and make strong text to text connections between the two books.

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

TRADITIONAL/FOLK

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/694883/Untitled
Wordle by Kelly Reardon

I think this would be a great book to use when studying literary themes and main ideas. After talking to students about the meanings of theme and main idea, I would have students read the book and identify what they think the main idea is and how it also fits into a certain theme. Students could then write or type a document explaining what main idea and theme they chose for the story of Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. Because of the nature of the story and how it can be easily compared to Cinderella, we could talk as a class about how the main idea is particular to the book but how this book’s theme also works for other Cinderella stories they may have read.

Jouanah: The Hmong Cinderella by Jewell Reinhart Coburn with Tzexa Cherta Lee

TRADITIONAL/FOLK

www.boobis.com/students/pyramid.html

Story Pyramid for Jouanah: The Hmong Cinderella
By Jewell Reinhart Coburn with Tzexa Cherta Lee
Jouanah
Kind Quiet
Moutainous Rural Agricultural
Mother became a cow
Father remarried a cruel woman
The cow died of broken heart
Jouanah went dressed beautifully to celebrate
Jouanah and Shee-Nang fell in love despite disguise


Pyramid created by Kelly Reardon

I would use this book in my classroom for a literature mapping exercise. Students could use various types of maps to identify what happened in the beginning, middle and end along with how the plot developed and how the events from the story determined the ending of the story. By identifying the beginning, middle and ending events, students are able to understand how each part of the story affects the next and develop better reading comprehension.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

MULTICULTURAL/INTERNATIONAL
CHAPTER BOOK

The book is about a girl named Sadako who was diagnosed with leukemia, a result of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Her best friend brought her a golden paper crane and told her the fortune that “if a sick person folds 1000 paper cranes, the gods will grant her one wish and make her well again.” Sadako began folding paper cranes each day. As the time passed, Sadako continued to become weaker and more infected with the leukemia. She fought the fear of the death along with her disease each day, keeping a positive outlook. She continued to fold the paper cranes, but could only complete 644 before her death.
I would use this book to present the Japanese perspective of the atom bomb, or Thunderbolt as the Japanese people refer to it in the book. It is important to represent all sides of an event, and the atomic bombings in Japan are something that we commonly think of as a victory for the United States. By reading this book, students could grasp the scope of the bombing and its affect on the Japanese culture. I would use this book as a supplement to social studies instruction and lessons concerning diversity and perspective.

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble

MULTICULTURAL/INTERNATIONAL

This book is about a group of Native Americans who travel nomadically following the buffalo, their main food source. There was a girl in the tribe who loved horses. She spent all of her time with them and one day got lost with them after a bad storm. Her tribe searched everywhere for her but could not find her. A year later she was found and came back to her tribe only to fall ill from missing the horses. She returned to the wild to live them and came back to visit her family once a year until one year she disappeared and never returned.
I would use this in my classroom as part of the classroom library in order to introduce the students to the Native American culture. This book offers a cultural experience for children because it tells about a girl who loves something so much, she cannot live without it and eventually becomes part of it. She has passion and dedication to her horses, something historically important to the Native American people.

Just Enough is Plenty by Barbara Diamond Goldin

MULTICULTURAL/INTERNATIONAL

This is the story of a Jewish girl named Malka and her family who all live in Poland. Malka’s family prepares for and celebrates Hanukkah. Suddenly, there is a knock at the door and an old peddler asks to come in and join them. The man plays games and tells stories to Malka’s family. When the family goes to bed, the peddler departs leaving only his sack and a note. When everyone wakes up, they open the sack to find a books and beautiful bolts of silk for their father to make and sell clothing to make more money.
I would use this book in my classroom during the winter holidays as a read aloud or book choice for students to read independently as we study various cultural celebrations. It is important for teachers to incorporate all cultures when celebrating the holidays. This book offers values, vocabulary and information about Hanukkah from the Jewish culture.

Hush! By Minfong Ho

MULTICULTURAL/INTERNATIONAL

Hush! is a book whose text is the words to a well known Thai lullaby. The words of the lullaby tell noisemakers from around the farm to be quiet as the baby sleeps. After asking who is making the noise, the words identify which creature is loud. The animal names (identified in Thai) include elephants, cows, lizards, monkeys, ducks, pigs and many others. At the end of the book, the mother has finally told all of the animals to be quiet and there is not a sound in the air when the baby wakes up and is ready to play.
I would use this book in my classroom as a read aloud followed by discussion about the Thai culture. This book would also be useful when studying onamonapias. The sound words from the book allow students to practice uncommon sound and letter combinations.

Goosebumps- Don’t Go to Seep! By R.L. Stine

SCIENCE FICTION/MODERN FANTASY
CHAPTER BOOK

This book tells about a boy named Matt. He complains about his small room and wants to move into the family’s guest room. His mom will not let him take the extra room so he decides to sleep in the guest room anyway. Matt woke up to a scary adventure. He continues waking up throughout the book as different people like an older boy, a lion, a squirrel, a chubby kid among other scary ideas to him. He could not escape his bad dream because he was in a reality warp. Finally he wakes up as himself to find it is his birthday and his mom gives him the birthday present of moving into the guestroom. As a result of what happened last time he slept in there, Matt screams terrified of what might happen.
I would use this book in my classroom as part of the classroom library. Students should be exposed to science fiction and this book, along with the rest of the series, are captivating action packed books that young boys and girls love to read. Part of having a great classroom library is having a variety of books that meet the reading needs and wants of every student. Incorporating this book into my library would give students a chance to read fantasy and science fiction chapter books with complex vocabulary and plot development.

Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold

SCIENCE FICTION/MODERN FANTASY

This book is about a girl named Wilma who woke up one morning as a green frog-like girl. Everyone is shocked and startled by her appearance and new mannerisms. Wilma goes school acting as a frog. Wilma disturbs the school and hops away to a pond and jumps into the water where she spotted a hungry fish that swam after her as she raced to the water surface and jumped on a log to safety. In the end of the book, we find out that Wilma was a frog the whole time, dreaming that she used to be a human and woke up as a frog one day.
I would use this book as a classroom library resource for third grade students. I think students would enjoy reading this book during DEAR time or when they have finished work and need something to read. It is funny and creative and has amusing pictures for students to look at. This book is also poetic, with rhyme throughout the text. I could use this book in a classroom as a way to get students reading poetry.

Free Fall by David Wiesner

Modern Fantasy/Science Fiction

Free Fall is a picture book with no words that follows the dream of a young boy. In the pictures of the dream, the boy falls asleep and fades into a fantasy world. The boy’s dream then takes him through various landscapes, adventures along with meeting new characters from various time periods. Finally he wakes up in excitement to see all of the objects from his dream scattered throughout his room.
I would use this book in my classroom during an activity that has students create text to explain what happened in the book. I would show the book to the students, spending lots of time showing each illustration. Students would then be asked to write one or two paragraphs explaining what happened in the story. This activity helps students develop literacy through visualizing and writing their own meanings rather than just reading text.

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull

NON-FICTION/BIOGRAPHY

Harvesting Hope is a biography of Cesar Chavez. Chavez was a Mexican-American who fought for labor rights. In 1937, Cesar’s family farm had to be sold in order to make money and pay their debts. His family then fled to California to work as farm hands, making little money. Cesar and his family were discriminated against and treated poorly. He began “La Causa” in correspondence with a group called the National Farm Workers Association. In the end he began a famous march to Sacramento to get a bill signed for better treatment of farm laborers.
I would use Harvesting Hope in my classroom during social studies. The fifth grade social studies curriculum focuses on learning about social movements in the United States. This would be a great social movement to study that would incorporate the Hispanic culture and United States government. The book also has many Spanish words and phrases that can also be used to introduce the Spanish culture and language to the non-Hispanic students.

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

NON-FICTION

This book explains the story of Ruby Bridges who was selected as one of four African American students in New Orleans to attend all white elementary schools. Ruby had to be escorted by U.S. Marshals to and from school each day because of death threats, vicious stares and cruel comments. Ruby worked hard in school despite the harassment and negativity from the while people. Ruby was forgiving and prayed for them each day as she walked into school. Her forgiveness and compassion are valuable lesson that students should be exposed to in the upper elementary grades.
I would use this book in a classroom as a read aloud during social studies when discussing the civil rights movement. Because of the age of Ruby Bridges, students in elementary school can make connections to what it would feel like to be discriminated against in school. The illustrations show the emotion of the characters and can be easily comprehended by elementary students for picture walks. The book would be a great tool to help students understand the scope of the Civil Rights Movement in the south.

Young Amelia Earhart: A Dream to Fly by Sarah Alcott

NON-FICTION/BIOGRAPHY

This is a non-fiction biography about the life of Amelia Earhart, history’s most famous female pilot. The book outlines Amelia’s childhood to the end of her life and career including information about her interests, family, childhood, nursing career, flying career and great accomplishments and events from her life. The text presents numerous factual dates and names from a third person perspective, creating an accurate biography.
I would use this book in my classroom to connect language arts with social studies by offering the book as a student resource. This book would be helpful for a student completing a biographical project on Amelia Earhart. Keeping the book available in the classroom library would also appeal to students who are interested in flying, airplanes or historical women.

From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer

NON-FICTION

This book outlines the frog life cycle. It describes how frogs hibernate, mate and grow. The book also discusses the dangers of being a tadpole and frog as far who preys on them and what they prey on themselves. The book ends by describing how the new frogs mate to create more tadpoles, emphasizing the cyclical process.
I would use this book in a science classroom, at any age group, when discussing life cycles or reptiles and amphibians. This type of non-fiction literature is a great tool to use as supplementary reading choices for students studying a specific topic or as a teacher read aloud during science instruction.

All About Electricity by Melvin Berger

NON-FICTION

All About Electricity describes the definition of electricity and introduces various concepts for how electricity is formed and functions in addition to showing visual representations through illustrations. There are many “do it yourself” electricity science activities described in the book to demonstrate how some forms of natural electricity such as lightning, static electricity and batteries work.
All About Electricity is a book that I would incorporate in my classroom library. It reaches out to students who are scientifically inclined and who want to learn more about the process of electricity.