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?

Coraline, By: Neil Gaiman (2009)

Coraline,  by Neil Gaiman,
Adapted and Illustrated by Craig Russell.

Text copyright: 2002 
Graphic Novel copyright: 2008

Written for grades three and up.

I read this graphic novel and then I watched the movie. I enjoyed the graphic novel more than the movie. I actually became annoyed when things in the movie did not follow the book close enough because I didn’t think the book really needed to be changed. I did like that the movie had a friend for Coraline and that the characters seemed more magical in the movie, but other than that I felt the book was superior.

I like how Coraline came to appreciate her real parents and her not-too-exciting life throughout the book. The new world that the other mother had created could have been a perfect place. The food was better, the toys were better, her other parents paid more attention to her; but all this didn’t matter to Coraline after awhile, because she knew this was not real. Behind the façade, there was nothing good about the new home with her other parents. Everything was fake, and everything was forced to be a little more perfect.

I think that kids that read this can appreciate what they have a little more. In life everyone is always trying to one up one another, everyone always thinks that the grass is greener on the other side. Coraline learns that while you could wish that everything was bigger and better, and just to your liking, but that is just not real life. Home is where your heart is, Coraline could never of really felt at home at the new house with the other parents because her heart would always be with her real parents, in her real home.                

Coraline Awards:

• Publishers Weekly Best Book (WINNER)
• Book Sense 76 Pick (WINNER)
• Child Magazine Best Book of the Year (WINNER)
• New York Public Library's "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing" (WINNER)
• Amazon.com Editors’ Choice (WINNER)
• ALA Notable Children’s Book (WINNER)
• ALA Best Book for Young Adults (WINNER)
• New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age (WINNER)
• IRA/CBC Children's Choice (WINNER)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award Masterlist (Vermont) (WINNER)
• Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers (WINNER)
• Hugo Award for Best Novella (WINNER)
• School Library Journal Best Book (WINNER)

Neil Gaiman was born in England in 1960. He started writing in 1987. He is most famous for his Sandman graphic novel series that he wrote between 1991-1996.

< http://www.answers.com/topic/neil-gaiman>

Craig Russell was born in 1951 in Ohio. He got into comic books in 1971. He did Coraline in 2008.

< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._Craig_Russell>


Genre: Graphic Novel, Character Education
Theme: Appreciating what you have in life.
Grade Level: 3rd and up
Pre-Reading Activity: Students should discuss something they like about their lives. Then they should discuss something they would like to change. This should be done in a small group setting, so that students don't feel embarrassed are are more willing to share.
Post Reading Activity: Students should work with a partner to create their own graphic novel. They Should come up with a short script and use illustrations to tell the story.