I Can't Stop! A Story About Tourette Syndrome. By: Holly L. Niner. Illustrated by: Meryl Treatner. (2005).

This is a book about a boy with Tourette's Syndrome. I first became interested in Tourette's Syndrome a few semesters ago when we were asked to read Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, by Brad Cohen. This book is happy, and sad, and inspiring. Brad Cohen talks about his experiences with Tourettes Syndrome as a child and as an adult. It appals me the way he was treated in the classroom, not only by his peers, but by his teachers as well. Everyone wanted him to stop barking, and stop jerking around, and to just sit still and be quiet, but he couldn't. So when I saw the title, I Can't Stop: A Story About Tourette Syndrome, I just had to read it. You can read about special needs in text books, but when you read a real life story about someone with special needs, it becomes real to you. After reading about Brad Cohen, I just had to read more about Tourette's Syndrome, and this was my chance to do it, since there really are not that many books on it.

Nathan is the boy in this book that has Tourette's Syndrome. Much like Brad Cohen, Nathans teachers and classmates do not understand why he doesn't stop sniffing, or barking or jerking his head. Even his mother demanded him to stop, and could not understand why he wouldn't. They took Nathan to the doctors and the doctor said Nathan had Tourette's Syndrome. They were going to watch Nathan for a year and decide if he should go on medication or if his tics were improving. Nathan helped educate his classmates and teachers on Tourette's Syndrome. He felt more comfortable now that people knew he couldn't control his tic, and were not making fun of him all the time. He became closer with classmates and made some good friends. Now, even when kids who did not know Nathan made fun of him, he didn't care because he had friends now, and he knew that the other kids were only making jokes because they did not understand. Nathan became strong with the support of his friends and family. He might not have control of his tics, but he had control of his life, and he wasn't going to let his tics or anyone else ruin his fun. This was a great story, and the book had a lot of good information.

About the Author: Holly L. Niner grew up in Newberg, New York. She is a Speech Therapist with a passion for books. She now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana with her husband, Keith, and her two children, Evan and Beth. She also wrote Mr. Worry: A Story About OCD, because her son has OCD and she wanted to have a book that would teach about OCD that would children and adults could read and learn to understand about OCD.
http://www.hollyniner.com/bio.htm

Genre: Special Needs
Theme/Skill: Informing readers about Tourette's Syndrome.
Grade Level: It is recommended for grades K-4 but it should be read by all ages. Everyone should be more informed on special needs.

Pre-reading Activity: Go around the room and have everyone tell one thing about themselves that they think is different then other people or extra special. Class discussion on how everyone is similar and different, but that everyone is special.

Post-reading Activity:  Students should discuss what they learned about Nathan. How did they feel about the story? If they were friend's with Nathan would they understand his tics? Were all different. When people found out Nathan could not control his tics, they were more accepting of him.

More Wild Critters. Verse by: Tim Jones. Photography by: Tom Walker. (1998).

My son got this book for Easter, and I put it on the bookshelf in his room without even looking at it, I was just looking for one more book to add to my blog when I discovered this treasure. The book is a collection of 22 poems about Alaska's wildlife written by Tim Jones. Each poem has a beautiful photograph or collection of photographs of the animals in the poems. One of my favorites is called Critters in the Garden, by Tim Jones.

"When I go walking in the woods,

I never see a thing,

I never see animal,

on hoof or paw or wing.

There are some big ones out there;

that I know of for a fact.

So how can something

big as a deer, even hide it's rack?

I guess I'll just keep walking,

ever on my guard.

Someday I hope I'll see

some kind of critter in my yard."

Next to the poem is a beautiful photograph of a Mule deer with antlers hiding in the brush. The poems are wonderful, and the photographs really grab you. This book is wonderful; I think it would be enjoyed by children and adults.

About the Author: Tim Jones has lived in Alaska since 1973. He has been a boat captain, a commercial fisherman, a home builder, he has lived in the Bush and has voyaged on the ocean. He will occasionally fall back on his experience as an editor to make a living, "when necessary", as he said. He has written Wild Critters (1992), More Wild Critters (1998), Keep the Round Side Down (1994), Race Across Alaska  (1988), and Alaska and the Last Great Race (1981).

http://alaskanwritersdirectory.com/authors/jones_tim.shtml

Genre: Poetry

Theme: Poetry, wild animals

Grade Level: Amazon recommends ages 4-8 but I think this is a great book for all ages.

Pre-reading activity: Students should have a discussion about animals that they see in the wild. They should discuss what they think about the animals they see everyday and that they see every once in awhile. What do they look like? What do they act like? Do they remind you of anything?

Post-reading activity: After reading, students should write their own poem about an animal that they have seen, or know a lot about. They should also draw a picture of this animal in it's habitat to go along with their poem.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. By: Bernard Waber. (1965).

I remember reading Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, by Bernard Waber when I was a child. I was reunited with the book a few years ago at one of my practicum sites. The students were in second grade and they were in their reading groups. They were listening to Lyle, Lyle Crocodile on headsets while they read along. The five students in the group were totally engaged. They all were smiling and visibly enjoying themselves. So of course, the first thing I did when I left the school was to head over to Barnes and Noble and buy a copy of Lyle, Lyle Crocodile for my son. He was only 3 or 4 at the time, but he liked the book. It was a little long for him, but he always enjoyed it for as long as a book could hold his attention. He's almost 7 now and we still read it from time to time. It is just one of those classics that kids are always going to enjoy. Who doesn't like to read about a crocodile who lives in an apartment in the city?!?

This book is about Lyle, a crocodile who lives in the city with the Primm family; Mr Primm, Mrs. Primm and their son Joshua. The Primm's neighbor, Mr. Grumps had a cat named Loretta that did not like Lyle, but in the end it was Lyle who saved Mr. Grumps and Loretta. Lyle has many fun adventures in the city; shopping, and ice skating and all kinds of other fun activities! Not your average crocodile!

About the Author: Bernard Waber was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1924. He was a staff Sergeant in the United States Army from 1942-1945. After he left the Army, he went to the Philadelphia College of Art and graduated in 1951. He started writing in 1962.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Waber

Genre: Fiction, humor, character education

Theme/Skill: Be positive and kind. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be a good citizen

Grade Level: K-4

Pre-reading Activity: Discuss with the class what it means to be a good citizen and a good neighbor. Discuss how it makes you feel when you see someone who is not being kind and not being a good neighbor. Have students discuss as well. 

Post-reading Activity: Lyle is the hero. Mr. Grumps announces that Lyle is the bravest, kindest, most wonderful crocodile in the whole wide world. He did not always feel this way about Lyle. Discuss in partners a time when you decided something about someone before you knew them. When you got to know them, did you find out they were different than you thought? Did you find out you had more in common with them than you thought?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. By: Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. Illustrated by: Lois Ehlert. (1989).



Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is a children's classic. What a great story about the letters of the alphabet. Children can learn and practice the letters of the alphabet as they come alive playing around the coconut tree. This is a must read for all preschoolers and children in kindergarten. This story is told in a beautiful rhythm that any child would enjoy. Great book!! My son is a little old for it now, but when he was younger, he loved it!! Now I read it with my daughter who is 21 months and learning the alphabet, and she loves listening to it.

About the Author: Bill Martin Jr. was born in 1916 and died in 2004. He wrote children's books for almost 60 years. He wrote his first book, The Little Squeezy Bug: The Story of the Firefly in 1945. He wrote over 300 books including Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, which was illustrated by his good friend Eric Carle. John Archambault wrote this along with Bill Martin Jr, and the duo wrote a number of other books together.

http://billmartinjr.com/bill_martin

 

Genre: fiction, letter awareness

Theme/Skill: Letter recognition and awareness.

Age Level: 2yrs-6yrs.

Pre-reading activity: Students should recite their ABC's. Then in circle time, students should use picture/letter flashcards to identify words that begin with each of the letters of the alphabet.

Post-reading activity: Students should predict what is going to happen next. What order will it happen in? Who will come after a on the race to the top of the coconut tree (and so on...).

The Berensteain Bears and the Trouble With Friends. BY: Stan and Jan Berenstain. (1986)

The Berenstain Bears: Trouble With Friends, by Stan and Jan Berenstain was one of my favorite books growing up! Who doesn't love the Berenstain Bears; I think I had them all (that were published at the time). This one was one of my favorites, probably because I was a bossy little girl myself, much like Sister and Lizzie Bruin in this book. In this book, Sister Bear is sad because Brother Bear is always off playing with Cousin Fred, and his other friends, leaving Sister Bear to play by herself. Then one day, she sees a moving van down the road. A new girl cub was moving in... Lizzie Bruin. Lizzie and Sister became the best of friends right away. Then Sister went over to Lizzie's to play school. Both Lizzie and Sister thought they should be the teacher. They got in an argument and Sister left. Later on, Lizzie came by and Sister and Lizzie made up. This is a cute story about childhood friends, who may not always get along, but learn that they should compromise with one another to keep each other happy.

About the Author: Stan and Jan Berenstain started drawing together when they met in Miss Sweeny's drawing class on the first day of art school at Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art (now called The University of the Arts) in 1941. Stan went into the Army in WWII, and shortly after his return home, Stan and Jan married. They raised two sons, Mike and Leo. In 1962 then introduced the Bear Family in The Big Honey Hunt. Since 1962, they have created over 300 Berenstain Bear books. In 2005, at the age of 82, Stan died, but Jan and her son Mike continue to write Berenstain Bear books.

http://www.berenstainbears.com/sjbio.html

Genre: fiction, character education.

Theme/Skill: Character Education: How to be a good friend. Compromise with your friends so that you can both be happy. Take turns, and do what others want also (within reason).

Age Level: 2yrs-7yrs.

Pre-reading activity: Students should talk about the importance of being a good friend. What makes a  good friend? What makes you think someone is not a good friend? Class discussion.

Post-reading activity: Students should write something they like to do with their best friend and they should draw a picture of themselves with their best friend playing together.

My Brother Sammy. By: Becky Edwards and David Armitage. (1999).

My Brother Sammy, by Becky Edwards and David Armitage is a story that all children should read.The book is about a boy, and his brother Sammy, who is Autistic. The boy describes his feelings he has about Sammy, and about the things about Sammy that he does not understand. People are afraid of what they don't understand. If we teach people about special needs at a young age, they will understand more and be more accepting. This book was special to me because I have a child with special needs. Much like Sammy, he doesn't play the same way other children play, and he acts differently, and gets upset easily. When he was younger the difference between him and other children was obvious, but as he gets older, he seems a little less different than the other children. He's learning how to socialize, and through therapies, his world has opened up. I could really relate to this book though, looking back, not understanding why he was acting different than the other children. I now know that he is special, and I wouldn't change him for the world. He's so smart, he's so creative, and he's an all around great kid. When he gets upset by loud noises, we give him earplugs; when its a sunny day, we give him sunglasses; we buy him socks without seems and make sure all the tags are cut out of his clothes. He's different than the other children, but there is nothing wrong with him. Now that we are learning to control some of his sensory issues, he's really coming out of his shell and has been making a lot of friends. His friends know that he gets upset easily, and that he needs help in gym class, and they also know he's fun to play Pokemon with and and to color with. Its when kids are not exposed to people who are different than them that they become scared of those who are different.

The book My Brother Sammy  is all about accepting Sammy for who he is, not wanting to change him. He might play differently, but he's still a lot of fun!

Genre: Special needs, character education

Theme/Skill: Accepting and understanding differences.

Grade level: Kindergarten and up.

Pre-reading activity: Class discussion: What is your favorite thing to play? What are your brother/sister/cousins/friends favorite things to play? Do you always like to play the same things? What is your favorite color? What is your favorite food? Discuss the similarities and differences between the class. Is it okay that we like different things? Is it okay to be different?

Post-reading activity: Everyone should draw a picture of their family. Some families are big, some families are small, but we all love each other. Post everyones' family pictures so students can see the similarities and differences between families.

Mr. Worry: A Story About OCD. By: Holly L. Niner. Illustrated by: Greg Swearingen. (2004).

I was very interested to read Mr. Worry: A Story About OCD for two reasons. The first is that I have never seen a book like this on OCD before, and the second reason being that my best friend's son has OCD, and he is my son's best friend, so we are very close with him, so I have a personal interest to find out more about OCD. I first of all liked the fact that the author, Holly L. Niner has a son with OCD and that is why she chose to write this book.She starts the book with a note to parents and teachers, teaching a little bit about OCD. This is very important, because I always hear people talk openly about having OCD, when clearly they don't. I don't think people understand that just because you like to have a clean house, does not mean you have OCD. OCD is much more severe, their worrying thoughts and obsessions will consume much of their lives. This book is about Kevin, and his life with OCD. Kevin had rituals he had to do before he went to bed, Kevin had to ask questions to double check things over and over again, even if he should have known the answer. He names his obsessions, Mr Worry. In this book, Kevin tries to over come his OCD. In the end he says that when Mr. Worry calls, Kevin tells Mr. Worry that its nonsense and not to call again. That was his way of overcoming the OCD.

About the Author: Holly L. Niner grew up in Newberg, New York. She is a Speech Therapist with a passion for books. She now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana with her husband, Keith, and her two children, Evan and Beth. She wrote Mr. Worry: A Story About OCD, because her son has OCD and she wanted to have a book that would teach about OCD that would children and adults could read and learn to understand about OCD.

http://www.hollyniner.com/bio.htm

*I also want to mention, that when I googled lesson plans for teaching students about special needs (I searched in a variety of ways), I had a hard time finding anything. Usually, if you google a topic for a lesson plan, you will get a laundry list of sample lesson plans. I think teaching students about special needs is very important. I know it is not part of a curriculum, but I was surprised at how difficult it was to find anything. Luckily, I have my own ideas!

Genre: Special needs, character education.
Theme/Skill: Everyone is different. We should not be afraid to be ourselves, and we should embrace others for their differences.

Grade Level: 1-4

Pre-reading activity: Class disscussion on what makes us different. Everyone is diferent. Make a variety of graphs of favorite color, types of ice cream, eye color, fair color, etc. Students will see that many students have similarities and differences, and that some students may have the same eye color, but not like the same type of ice cream, etc. Then have a clas discussion about all the differenes we can see in the graphs.. Students will learn to appreciate their differences.

Post-reading activity:  Disscuss: What is something that was difficult for you to learn how to do? Was there every anything that you did that you wanted to be able to stop doing? Kevin had to teach his brain not to want to do certain things. I want you to write about something you had to teach yourself to do. I want you to write about how you felt when you were trying, how long it took you to do, and how you felt when you accmomplished it.

My Sister, Alicia May. By: Nancy Tupper Long. Illustrated by Shennen Bersani. (2009)

I really enjoyed reading My Sister, Alicia May, by Nancy Tupper Long. It is a story about a girl named Rachel, and her sister, Alicia May who has Down Syndrome. Alicia May is a very friendly, very lovable little girl. Rachel discussed that Alicia May is a lot like other kids; she likes dogs and horses, and she loves to paint her toenails and watch for bugs, especially ladybugs. Rachel does not always play with Alicia May, because she has her own friends. Sometimes Alicia May really annoys Rachel, some days Rachel is really sick of watching out for Alicia May. But by the end of the book Rachel says to her mama, "I wish everyone had an Alicia May. But then Alicia May wouldn't be special would she?" Rachel loves Alicia May, she loves her for who she is, she loves her for all her differences, and even though Alicia May annoys her sometimes, she feels lucky to have someone like Alicia May in her life. I really loved this book. It was beautiful!

Genre: Special Needs, Character education

Theme/skill: We all have special talents and interests

Grade level:

Pre-reading activity: Teacher should talk about someone with special needs that they know. Maybe the person is in a wheel chair, maybe the person is deaf or blind, or maybe the person has Autism. Teacher should make a point of talking about the things that the person with special needs likes, just like any other kid. Ask students if they also like these things. Its important for students to feel like they can relate people with special needs. It makes them seem less different.

Post-reading activity: Students should be assigned to work with a student that they do not always work with/ are not close friends with. Students will interview their partner to find out their partners special interests, what they like to do on the weekend, what their favorite foods are, what they are scared of, etc. Students should then present their partner to the class. This is a  great way for students to learn about one another.It's a great community builder!

Nancy Tupper Ling won the Writer's Digest Grand Prize and the Pat Parnell Poetry Award. She lives in Walpole, Massachusetts, with her husband Vincent and their two daughters.

Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday, by Judith Viorst. (1978)

In this story, Alexander's grandparents give him a dollar. He starts to spend his money right away, seven cents here, twelve cents there, and before you know it, Alexander who used to be rich, is out of money.

Alexander, from the Alexander series written by Judith Viorst has got to be one of my all time favorite child characters in literature. I actually added two books about him to my blog because I think there are so much you can do with them. I actually did a character education lesson with Alexander Who Is Not (Do you Hear Me? I Mean it!) Going to Move, during my student teaching also at the beginning of the year when we had three students who had just moved into the area. That book and lesson was also a big hit with students.

Alexander is always a big hit because he is your average kid, he has two brothers, an eye for mischief, and there is always something going on with him. In these stories there is always a good lesson, and in this particular story, Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday, I would use it as a way to show kids how fast you can spend money, and as a math lesson. I used this while student teaching in second grade while we were working on money. I gave students a money mat, and plastic coins that added up to a dollar. As Alexander spent seven cents, the kids would remove a nickel and two pennies from there mat. By the end of the story, they had no money left... Just like Alexander. This story is a lot of fun, and it was such a great tool for a hands on math lesson. Kids were really into it. 

About the Author: Judith Viorst was born in 1931 and brought up in New Jersey. She has lived in Washington D.C. since 1960 since she married her husband, Milton Viorst. She has three sons, and I was surprised and excited to learn that their names are Anthony, Nick and Alexander, because those are the names of the brothers in the Alexander series. She writes science books, children's picture books, adult fiction and non fiction, poetry for children and adults and she has also written three musicals.

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Judith-Viorst/707395/biography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Viorst

Genre: Learning about money, fiction

Age Level: 4-8

Theme/ Skill: Students will have a dollar, and subtract different amounts while following along with the story, until they, like Alexander have spent all of their money.

Pre-reading activity: (2nd grade) Before reading students will be given plastic coins to practice making different dollar amounts. They learned coin values in first grade, and they will have a review of the coin values before this lesson. They will practice adding coins together, and subtracting different amounts.

During reading:  Students will use plastic coins while they read along with the story. Students have a dollar worth of plastic coins on their money mat. They will subtract coins when Alexander spends a certain amount. They will record how much he spent, and how much he has left. When the story is over, the students be out of coins on their money mats, and Alexander will have spent his dollar.

Post-reading activity: There will be a mock store in the classroom. Students will have a certain amount of coins, and they will be able to spend their coins on different items in the store. Students will try to spend all their money on objects in the store without having any change left.

 

Cows in The Kitchen, By: June Crebbin. Illustrated by Katharine McEwen (1998)

Cows in the Kitchen, by June Crebbin is an adorable story about Tom Farmer and his farm animals where preschool and kindergarten students can practice phonemic awareness, and learn about parts of a story such as characters, setting and problem. The way this book is set up, students should be able to retell the story in a sequential manner using visual cues. In this cute children's story, the rhythmic verses follow the pattern of skip to my lou. The story uses repetition of beginning sounds and uses animal noises to help the children learn to read and to keep them engaged. For example, "cows in the kitchen, moo, moo, moo", "pigs in the pantry", "ducks in the dishes", etc. I really enjoyed reading this book at home with my son. He had a lot of fun listening to it, and then reading it back to me. I made animal masks for a lesson plan I used, and had him use them while he was reading the story and he had a blast with them. I would not recommend this book above first grade because it is so simple, but it is great for children under 6!

http://www.amazon.com/Cows-Kitchen-June-Crebbin/dp/0763606456



About the Author: June Crebbin was born in Leicestershire, England in 1938 and still lives there today. At a very young age June loved to write. She began writing stories and poems in a red notebook she bought at the post office as a child. One of the stories she wrote was about a chesnut pony, and her school art teacher illustrated the book for her. As an adult she worked as a teacher, but she retired early to concentrate on writing. She has written over forty children's books, and has also written poetry. She loves horses and rides regularly.

http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Authors_and_Illustrators/June-Crebbin

http://junecrebbin.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/

Genre: Fiction, barnyard animals, onomonepeia, learning phonemic awareness

Theme/Skill: Students will identify story characters, setting and problems in a story. Students will retell the story in a sequential manner using visual cues. Students identify letters and phonemes in the beginning and ends of words.

Pre-reading Activity: Class discussion on animals and the sounds they make. Then students will talk specifically about farm animals, and they will try to predict which of these farm animals will be characters in the story.

Post-reading Activity: Students will perform Cows in the Kitchen, using animal masks. They will be able to retell the story in a sequential order with the help of visual cues.

Fox and His Friends. By: Edward Marshall. Illustrated by James Marshall (1994)

I enjoyed reading Fox and His Friends by Edward Marshall (Actually James Edward Marshall, but he sometimes went as James Marshall). Just like James Marshall's other books, this book is a lot of fun! It is broken up into three short stories. During the stories Fox wants to play with his friends, but something always happens to get in the way. The stories are silly and easy to read. I read this during student teaching in a second grade classroom. This was a great book to practice contractions, because the book is full of them, and to have students put things in chronological order. 

About the Author: James Edward Marshall, who also wrote as Edward Marshall was born in 1942 in San Antonio, Texas. He was both an author and illustrator, and published a great number of books. He won the Caldecott Honor in 1989 for Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and in 2007 won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children". He died in 1992.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Marshall_(author)

Genre: Humor, fiction

Theme/Skill: Contractions, sequencing.

Age Level: Ages 4-8.

Pre-reading Activity: (2nd grade). Students will work with contraction flash cards. If they see the contraction on the flashcard, they should write down the two words that the contraction is representing. If it is the two words, students should write down the contraction.

Post-reading Activity: Students will work on chronological order. They will cut out directions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that are not in order. They will put the directions in order and glue them to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich recipe card. Each child will work on this individually.

Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. By: Peggy Parish. Illustrated by Lynn Sweat. (2004)

Amelia Bedelia is one of my all time favorite characters. She is such a sweet person, she always has the best intentions, but she will take everything that you say literally, and she doesn't seem to understand that words or phrases can have more than one meaning (colloquial). The situations she gets herself into will make anyone laugh. These books are also a great way to teach children about colloquial words. Many times children will not know what calling the roll is, or being a hand at singing, so this can open them up to more of our language that they may not hear everyday. Readers should use the illustrations to figure out what Amelia should be doing, and what Amelia actually ended up doing. In Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia, Amelia is mistaken as the new substitute teacher, and the laughs never end as she attempts to follow the days lesson plans. I have read this book so many times, and I still keep laughing. I read this with reading groups during my student teaching, and had a lot of fun with it, because I was having my own new teacher experience, so I could really relate to Amelia! It was a lot of fun!

About the Author: Peggy Parish

Genre: Humor, Fiction
Theme/Skill: Understanding synonyms and colloquialisms. Amelia Bedelia takes everything literally; read along to find out what Amelia Bedelia will do next and use the pictures to see what she is up to.
Grade Level: Kindergarten-3rd grade
Pre-reading activity: Have a reading group discussion on synonyms and  colloquialisms. Give students examples of words that have multiple means. Teach children to use context clues, and clues from the illustrations to understand which meaning of the word in intended. Give examples.

Post-reading activity: Students will work in a small group to review the book and to make a list of examples in which Amelia Bedelia misunderstood the meaning of something. Then give students a t-chart and on each side it should say "Amelia Bedelia calls the roll". Students should draw a picture on one side of what Amelia Bedelia was supposed to do, and on the other side draw a picture of what Amelia Bedelia thought she was supposed to do

Crocodaddy. By: Kim Norman. Illustrated by: David Walker. (2009)

Crocodaddy, by Kim Norman is a cute story about a little boy that is swimming with a crocodile, and he is the crocodile hunter. Only its not really a crocodile, its the crocodaddy. Its a really sweet story about a boy that is having a fun afternoon with his daddy. I love this story. I think of all the fun my son has with his daddy. Its a lot of fun to watch as Daddy becomes a child again while he plays with his little boy. While I am reading I can picture my husband as the Crocodady, and my son as the little boy. I love reading this book with my son, Jonathan, and he loves it too. He has such a special bond with my husband, and whenever there are stories or songs about a daddy and his little boy, my son gets really into it. It is so adorable!

Genre: fiction, humor

Theme/Skill: Family is important. Having fun with family

Grade Level: PreK-2

Pre-reading activity: Students should discuss in small groups activities they like to do in the summer. Do they like to go to the beach? On a hike? On vacation some place in particular? Students should then draw a picture of themselves doing their favorite summer time activity.

Post-reading activity: During rug time students will add to a family word web. They should talk about the best memory they have with someone in their family and it should be added to the word web. After students will go back to their seats and write about their special memory.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. By: Laura Numeroff. Illustrated by: Felicia Bond (1985)

I love the Mouse a Cookie series. We have every book in my home. We even have the  Mouse, Cookies and More Treasury,  which includes "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", "If You Give a Pig a Pancake", "If You Give a Moose a Muffin", "If You Take A Mouse to School", and also games, recipes and songs that go along with the stories. The Treasury also comes with a CD so that children can listen and read along at the same time, and listen to the songs. It is so cute!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, is definitely my favorite of the series. I've read it so many times in my life that I think I can recite the book, without even looking at it. The book starts with "If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll ask you for a glass of milk..." and the book ends with "And chances are, if he asks for a glass of milk, he's going to want a cookie to go along with it".

Genre: Fiction

Theme/Skill: Students will practice cause and effect relationships. Students will also practice putting things in sequential order.

Grade Level:PreK-2

Pre-reading activity: Students will be working on sequential order. They will read scrambled directions on how to make cookies, and they will put them in order. (The directions will be simple like start the oven, cook the cookies in the oven, turn off the oven, etc).

Post-reading activity:  Students will cut out different lines from the book on a worksheet. They will have to decide what causes what. For example, 'If you give a mouse a cookie' will go before 'he'll ask you for a cup of milk'. Students will decide the order based on what they just read. Students will also be able to go back and read the book again to check their work!

The Kissing Hand. By: Audrey Penn. Illustrated by: Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak. (1993)

At my son's kindergarten orientation, his new kindergarten teacher gave each child, The Kissing Hand  by Audrey Penn. I had never read that book before. We took it home and read it, and it became totally clear why this was handed out to children going into kindergarten. In the story, Chester Raccoon does not want to go to school. He wants to stay home with his mommy and play with his friends, and play with his toys and play with his friends, and read his own books and swing on his swing. His mother explained to him that sometimes we do things we don't want to do, even if they seem scary at first. And she assured him that he would love school, once he started.She told him he would make new friends, and play with new toys and read new book, and swing on new swings. Then she taught Chester about the Kissing Hand. She kissed the palm of his hand, and told him that whenever he feels lonely and needs a little loving from home, he could press his hand that she had kissed to his cheek and think 'mommy loves you. mommy loves you'. And she said that kiss would jump up to his face and hill him with toasty warm thoughts. Before Chester went to school his mother kissed his hand, and then Chester surprised his mother and kissed her hand too, so she would also have a kissing hand. Then Chester happily ran off to school.

I loved this book! I actually read this again to Jonathan the night before his first night of kindergarten, and before he left we did the kissing hand together. It was adorable, and he got right on that bus, and was a big boy and went to school. I don't know if the kissing hand actually helped Jonathan, but it was definitely a special moment on his first day of kindergarten! So cute!!



Genre: Fiction, character education, first day of school.

Theme/Skill: Students will learn that it is okay to leave home and go to school. Its okay to try new things, even if your scared, because you may learn that you like it!

Grade Level: PreK-2

Pre-reading activity: How did you feel on your first day of school? Have a class discussion about students' feelings on the first day of school.

Post-reading activity: Write a letter to Chester telling him what he will like about school.

The Snow Bear. By Miriam Moss. Illustrated by: Maggie Kneen.

The Snow Bear is a special book in my house. We always read it during the Christmas holidays. Jonathan loves it, and it's something I love to read. This year, at Jonathan's first grade classroom Christmas Party, I read The Snow Bear to his class. All the kids loved it, and many of them told me they also had this book at home, and liked to read it in the winter time.

The Snow Bear by Miriam Moss is a beautiful story about a little polar bear cub who is looking for his mother. He gets help from other animals as he looks. The animals help him build a snow bear. In the evening, all the other animals' mothers call them to come home, but not the little white bear cubs. He goes to sleep with the snow bear, and when he wakes up, his mother has found him. Its a beautiful story, and the picture by Maggie Kneen really help bring this story to life.

Genre: Fiction, character education

Theme/Skill: Be a good friend. Help others

Grade Level: PreK-2

Pre-reading activity: Small group discussion: Have you ever lost something very important to you? How did this make you feel? Did you ever find it? How did you find it?

Post-reading activity: The little bear lost his mother,and his friends helped him build a snow mother. He must have some great friends. What are some things you think would make a great friend? Students should have a copy of a word web. They should work with a partner to fill in what are characteristics of good friends.

Living Wild- Bats. By: Melissa Gish

Living Wild: Bats by Melissa Gish is a great information book on bats. It is full of engaging photographs and passages teaching readers so much about bats. I did a Unit Plan on bats during my student teaching experience. Our goal was to teach students about Bats, and show them that they are not scary vampires, but rather that they are very important part of our world. I would have loved to use this book during the unit. I was always looking for good books on bats so that children could do some of their own research on bats. 

Genre: Non Fiction, informational, Animals

Theme/Skill: Students will learn how to get information about animals from a nonfiction book.

Grade Level: 2-6

Pre-reading Activity: Teacher will take a poll of who in the class likes bats. Then there will be a class discussion about what students think they know about bats.

Post-reading Activity: Students should record three things that they learned from the book. They should share these three things with a partner.

Living Wild- Gorillas. By Melissa Gish

Living Wild: Gorillas by Melissa Gish is a wonderful information book filled with facts and photographs of gorillas. I enjoyed going through this book, because I do not know a lot about gorillas. For example, I did not know that gorillas may live for 30 to 50 years, and that they reach maturity between the ages of 10 to 13 years. Female will begin mating around the age of 10, and will generally give birth once every 3 to 4 years. The Females are allowed to breed with only the silverback gorillas of their troop. When the blackbacks reach full maturity, and grow silver hair, they leave their family troops and gather their own troops of unrelated females. The gorillas will not mate with siblings or with unrelated gorillas they have grown up with. This is fascinating to me, because I had not known any of that. The gorillas seem like a very sophisticated animal. I really enjoyed going through this book.

Genre: Nonfiction, Informational, Animals

Theme/Skill: Students will learn to research gorillas using informational text and photographs.

Grade Level: 2-6

Pre-reading Activity: Students should pick an animal they want to research. Students will get into groups of 4. This group will have picked gorillas. Students will write a list of things they think they know about gorillas and things that they want to find out. Then students will read together.

Post-reading Activity: In the same groups, students will record things they learned about gorillas. They will decide what they think was important and interesting and will share with the other groups in the class who researched other animals.

I Was So Mad. By Mercer Mayer (1983)

I Was So Mad, by Mercer Mayer is one of my all time favorite children's books. I love the Little Critter series, and can remember being a young child reading these books with my mom before bed. Whenever we were at a book store or another place where I saw a Little Critter book, I just had to have it when I was a child. My mother saved these books (along with a number of others from my childhood library), and she has given them to my children. My son Jonathan always gets a kick seeing Bridgid written in a child's hand writing in the inside cover. The Little Critter is so easily relatable to most little kids. In this book he was getting so mad by normal everyday kid stuff, but it really is the pictures that bring this story to life. While I was student teaching I used this book as part of a character education lesson on dealing with frustration. This was a perfect book because the words were simple, the kids could relate to the story, and they could see through the illustrations how the Little Critter was feeling.

About the Author:  Mercer Mayer was born in Arkansas in 1943, and he moved to and went to college in Hawaii. He began illustrating books in 1966 (and along the way wrote many of them too) and has published over 300 books! Very impressive!! Most of his books are about things that happened to him as a young child, and he also uses things that have happened to his children and grandchildren. He now lives in New England, and there together, he and his wife Gina write the Little Critter books. In 2007, he was chosen as the "Artist of the Year" at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C..
http://www.littlecritter.com/about_mercer_mayer2.html
Genre: Character Education, Fiction, Humor
Grade Level: Preschool and up
Theme: Dealing with frustration
Pre-reading activity: (2nd grade):  We will have a class discussion on frustration. Then we will make a word web. Students will add about times that they felt frustrated and why these things made them feel frustrated.
Post-reading activity: After reading, we will have a class discussion about appropriate responses to being frustrated or dealing with disappointment. Students will then take the Frustration word web and write about one example of feeling frustrated and an appropriate response and then they will share with a partner.

Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. By: Judith Viorst (1987)

I loved reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst. I read it for the first time a few years ago, and as a teacher, I saw so much potential in it. Not only is it a funny book, Alexander's character is very relatable, and there is so much children can learn from Alexander.

Alexander is having just one of those days; one of those days where nothing goes right. He didn't get the window seat on the way to school, he got in trouble in school, he had to go to the dentist, and they found a cavity, etc. Alexander starts to get really down and decides he's going to move to Australia.  Luckily his mom gives him some good words of wisdom, and he starts to see everything in a different way. This is a great book to teach students how to deal with disappointment and that things are not always going to go our way.

About the Author: Judith Viorst was born in 1931 and brought up in New Jersey. She has lived in Washington D.C. since 1960 since she married her husband, Milton Viorst. She has three sons, and I was surprised and excited to learn that their names are Anthony, Nick and Alexander, because those are the names of the brothers in the Alexander series. She writes science books, children's picture books, adult fiction and non fiction, poetry for children and adults and she has also written three musicals.

http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Judith-Viorst/707395/biography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Viorst

Genre: Character education, fiction, dealing with disappointment.

Theme: Things are not always going to go our way, no matter where we are (even in Australia). We need to learn positive ways to deal with disappointment.

Grade level: Grades 1-5

Pre-reading activity: Students will have already read I was So Mad, by Mercer Mayer and they will have completed the word web on frustration during the previous class. Before reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, students will discuss what makes them frustrated and the ways that they can make themselves and others around them feel better when this happens. It is important that during the story students help fill out a story man concept map. This will help them with the post reading activity.

Post-reading activity: After reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, students will use their story man to complete a new day for Alexander. They will take events from Alexander's day, and make them more positive. They will call their new versions: Alexander and the Terrific, Amazing, Super Duper, Very Good Day.



Junie B. Jones: Is a Graduation Girl. By Barbara Park (2001)

I was introduced to Junie B. Jones while I was student teaching in second grade. We read a couple of chapters of Junie B. everyday after recess to get the students calmed down and back into school mode. I fell in love with the adorable five year old! One thing I learned about Junie B. is that you never know what she's going to do or say. I chose to put Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl in my blog, because its the end of an era. This is the last of Junie B.'s adventures as a kindergarten student. The next book starts first grade.

In this book, Junie B. is so excited about her graduation from kindergarten. Mrs., her teacher gives each student a white cap and gown that they will need to bring home, and wear to school on the graduation day. She tells the students not to play with them, and to keep them safe. Well, of course, Junie B. cannot handle knowing that beautiful cap and gown are sitting there in a box in her house and she cannot touch them. If you know Junie B., you can just imagine what happens next! Everything works out in the long run, but there are a lot of laughs along the way.

Junie B. is such a great character for young children developing a love for reading. My son will read these books on his own, but we really enjoy reading Junie B. together before bed. Story time before bed is one of my favorite moments with my kids, and Junie B. always makes it even more enjoyable

Genre: Fiction, humor, character education

Theme/Skill: Getting ready for graduation/ moving from one grade to the next.

Grade Level:1-3

Pre-reading activity: Students will discuss what they felt like when they graduated from preschool/kindergarten/first grade, etc with a partner. Were they happy? sad? scared? excited? confused? And why did  they feel this way. They will share with the class how they felt.

Post-reading activity: Junie B. was ready to go to first grade, but things were going to be different for her next year. What can you tell Junie about the first day of first grade was like for you? What did you like best? Seeing old friends? Meeting new friends? School lunch? Write Junie B. a letter about what you think she is going to like best about first grade.

Hedgie Blasts Off! By: Jan Brett (2006)

Jan Brett is one of my favorite children's authors. Her stories are always so beautiful and they really come to life. Hedgie Blasts Off , is no different. Hedgie wants to be an astronaut. He has never flown in a spaceship but he takes care of  the Zeppadoppler rocket for the professor who is the smartest scientist on earth and who is also in charge of Outer Space. Finally, as chance would have it, there is a problem, and Hedgie is the only one who can fit into the rocket, and he gets his chance to go into Outer Space. Zoom! Hedgie blasts off! Hedgie has an exciting adventure in space, and when he returns home, he is surprised with the Official Astronaut Star for his courage and cool thinking from the Professor. He was now a real astronaut. "Three cheers for Hedgie! Hurray!"

This is another book I love to read with my son. We have a collection of Jan Brett books. I think Gingerbread Baby is my favorite, but I know that Hedgie Blasts is definitely Jonathan's favorite! Its such a fun story, and its perfect for children who like to read stories about Outer Space!

Genre: Fiction, Space

Theme/Skill: Never Giving up on our dreams.

Grade Level: K-3

Pre-reading Activity: Students should discuss what they want to be when they grow up with partners, and then share it with the class. Why do the students want these jobs? What makes these jobs interesting?

Post-reading Activity:  Hedgie finally got to go to space and become a real Astronaut. Students should write in their jouirnals about a time when something felt impossible, but they kept trying and did it anyway.

 

Froggy Gets Dressed. By: Jonathan London (2002)

I wish that there were Froggy books when I was a child. They are so funny! We have five or six of the Froggy books by Jonathan London, and they really are all very funny. My favorite is Froggy Gets Dressed. I don't know if this is my favorite because this is the cutest one, or if it's because I LOVE my son's reaction every time I read this. I do the voices of Froggy and his mother, and it leaves Jonathan laughing hysterically every time.

Froggy wants to go out and play in the snow, he will start to get dressed and then head outside, and then his mother will yell "Froggggggggggggggggggggyyyyyyyyy" and he'll yell, "Whhhhhaaaaatttttttttt?" and then his mother will tell him what he forgot to put on. Jonathan's favorite part is when Froggy's mother tells him he forgot to put on his underwear! But what first grader doesn't love the word underwear? Its just the funniest word to them! When my husband was the mystery reader for Jonathan's class (they give out clues about the reader to the kids every day, and then on Friday the mystery reader comes into the class) he asked me what I thought he should read to the class. I gave him Froggy Gets Dressed. When my husband got home, I asked him how it went, and he said that it was a huge hit, everyone laughed a lot, especially when Froggy forgot his underwear. He also said that Jonathan's teacher had never read that one before, and asked to borrow the book to bring him to read to her children. Definitely a cute book! I recommend to anyone looking for a fun book to read to children.

Genre: Fiction, humor

Theme/Skill: Students will work on putting things in sequential order.

Grade Level: PreK-2

Pre-reading activity: Students will write in their journals about what they like most about playing in the snow, and what they like to do the most while they are playing in the snow.

Post-reading Activity:  Students will have a doll, and they should first dress them in their shirt and pants, and then their jackets, and then their hat and gloves and scarf. Students will race with a partner to see who can get the doll dressed correctly the fastest, without leaving anything out!

Night Boat to Freedom. By: Margot Theis Raven. Illustrated by: E.B. Lewis (2008)

I read  Night Boat to Freedom by Margot Theis Raven for the first time in my children's literature class. I asked the professor if I could borrow the book, because I just had to add this to my blog! What a great book! Christmas John is the main character. He was born into slavery and raised by his Granny Judith. Granny Judith had been taken from Africa and brought into slavery in the United States. She had been tricked by a red cloth, and for her the pretty color of red, now had turned the sad color of slavery. Granny has Christmas John help people escape out of slavery. When he returns she asks him what color freedom was tonight. She is asking what color they were wearing when they became free. She adds that color to a quilt. She tells Christmas John that when there are only two spots left on the quilt, that's when they are going to escape to freedom. Eventually, Christmas John helps more and more people become free until there are only two spots left on the quilt. Now it is time for Granny Judith and Christmas John to become free. Finally they escape and become free. Its a beautiful story. I loved it. It was so inspirational.

Genre:  historical non fiction

Theme/Skills: Students will learn about freeing the slaves and the underground railroad. Understanding characters.

Grade Level: 3-6

Pre-reading activity:  Teacher should show the map of the free states and the slave states. Students should have a map of  the United States at this time period, and color in the slave states red and the free states blue.

Post-reading activity: Small group discussion: How did you feel about Christmas John? About Granny Judith? Teacher should direct conversation and see where students take it. How do you think Christmas John felt when he was finally free? How do you think Granny Judith felt when she was finally free? What else do you think about the book?