RE 3030 Book Reports

Raisel’s Riddle

1. Author: Erica Silverman

2. Illustrator: Susan Gaber

3. Published: 1999

4. ISBN #: 0-374-36168-1

5. Grade Level: Second/Third

6. Topic: A Cinderella love story

7. Story Line: This is a traditional Cinderella story line however the focus of how Cinderella is discovered is not through beauty but rather through knowledge.

8. Why I liked it: I really liked this book because it is unlike all the other Cinderella stories because in this story knowledge is admired over beauty. I loved how of course the “good girl” got the boy. The book was not too long and I actually think that maybe a fourth grader would enjoy the story however the reading level would be a bit easy for them.

9. What you can do with this book in a classroom: This book can definitely be used in many different ways in discovering another culture. The characters in the book live in Poland and the Purim Holiday occurs during the story which would be a great starter and question time to get a class thinking about other cultures. The story talks about knowledge and riddles which would be a great exercise to have the children think deeper to figure out all kinds of riddles. The Poland culture in itself could be admired and discovered and this book would be a great introduction to the Poland unit.

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Silly Suzy Goose

1. Author/ Illustrator: Petr Horacek was the author and illustrator.

2. Published: 2006

3. Grade Level: Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten

4. Topic: Acknowledging oneself and being thankful for who we live around.

5. Story Line: Suzy the goose begins by noticing that she looked exactly like everyone around her and she did not like it. Suzy began exploring other animals comparing them to her but when she meets the lion things change and she decides to be a goose.

6. Why I Liked It: This book and illustrations were awesome. I would definitely enjoy reading this book if I were in kindergarten or pre-school because of the easy writing and the big colorful pictures of the different animals.

7. What can you do with this book in the classroom? After reading the book we as a class could discuss why it would be difficult for a goose to live with the bats and other animals. As a class we could talk about the importance of being happy with who we are and to have confidence in ourselves. As a class we could then go and draw a picture of our favorite animal in the story. Also, ff I were doing a unit on animals and their differences this book would be a good one to read because of the comparison made with a goose and elephant, lion, bat, etc.

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The Giant and the Beanstalk

1. Author & Illustrator: Diane Stanley

2. Published: 2004

3. Grade Level: Second – Third Grades

4. Topic: This is an awesome story of a boy giant named Otto who was different and did not care that he was. Otto knew he was himself and that was fine with him.

5. Story Line: This is an unusual story of a giant and a beanstalk. The boy giant, Otto,  is not like other giants, he doesn’t want to be mean or curse and he chose a hen as a pet instead of a dragon. One day his parents left the castle and him and his hen, Clara, were only there when all of a sudden a human came and stole Clara from the castle causing the giant to climb down the beanstalk into the town. Everyone ran from him because of his big claws, teeth and mangled hair so he wove a flower crown and cut his nails and began adventuring to find the boy with his Clara. He found out that the boy stole Clara to sale her to buy back his cow. The giant found the boy’s cow and then ended up trading even swap at the end. Back in the giant kingdom the friends of Otto began to follow his steps being nice and not cursing and poetry was actually taught in his school instead of cursing.

6. Why I liked it: I mostly enjoyed this story because Otto does what is right and actually comes out on top where as in life that does not happen. I thought it was awesome that his friends who were acting out at the beginning began to be nice, especially to Otto who they picked on at the beginning. In this story the “good guy” wins.

7. What you can do with this book in the classroom: This would be a great book to incorporate into a moral or self-identification unit. I could take each kids picture and have them printed the day this book is to be read and then have them place that picture on a piece of construction paper and write words or find words in magazines that they think refers to them.

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A Country Tale

1. Author & Illustrator: Diane Stanley (picture shown on right)

2. Published: 1985

3. Grade Level: Third or Fourth Grades

4. Topic: This is a unique story with the moral at the end to “be yourself”. Cleo the cat was happy until she dreamed for more than what she had. I thought that it was interesting for the author/illustrator to use cats as the characters rather than humans.

5. Story Line: This is a story about two female cats, Cleo and Lucy. Cleo got herself into trouble when she fell in love with being involved with the higher class which Lucy was not involved with so it hindered their relationship. Then when the opportunity for Cleo to enter the city from the village she lived in she went to the big city. Cleo was humiliated because she worked on a farm. Cleo ran back to the village and got tired so she took a nap by a tree which three different cats stole things from her. She woke up covered in mud from where a carriage splashed her and she had on torn clothes and shoes. She ran to her friend Lucy’s house telling her she was Cleo but woke up in someone else’s body. Lucy had her enter Cleo’s house pretending to use Cleo’s things when Cleo realized it was her and she was normal again. Lucy was happy that Cleo was finally content with who she is.

6. Why I liked it: I enjoyed this story because of the pictures being cats rather than humans. I also thought it was a unique story line in itself because a small down girl (cat) dreamed of being a city girl however deep down she could not change who she really was. I liked how the ending was a happy one with Cleo realizing that she is content with being herself.

7. What you can do with this book in the classroom: I, the teacher, could bring in all kinds of dress up clothing and have the kids put on different outfits identifying a policeman, fireman, teacher, doctor, preacher, etc. and then have them look at themselves in the mirror to identify who they are and talk about each kid being unique in their own way.

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Gunniwolf

1. Author & Illustrator: Wilhelmina Harper

2. Published: 2003

3. Grade Level: First & Second Grades

4. Topic: This story emphasizes how important it is to listen to instructions and pay attention to where you are.

5. Story Line: This is a very cute story about a little girl who is forbidden to enter the woods because of the “gunniwolf” that her mother warns her about. One day the mother had to leave for a while and she made the girl promise not to enter and she did. Later the girl discovered flowers at the jungles edge which of course lead her farther in when she saw more flowers. She had not realized where she was until the gunniwolf found her only to ask her to sing the song she had been singing which he fell asleep to. The girl ran as fast as she could home and never entered the jungle again!

6. Why I liked it: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this cute story. I thought that the pictures were awesome and that the girl was lucky to be alive even though this version of the story didn’t make the gunniwolf a very scary wolf.I was glad that the Gunniwolf did not eat the girl up!

7. What you can do with this book in the classroom: The teacher could have the kids get into groups and make up their own story of this but from the Gunniwolf’s perspective. Have the kids write and illustrate the story over again and have them bound for them to keep.

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Big Lips and Hairy Arms

1. Author & Illustrator: Jean Jackson

2. Published: 1998

3. Grade Level: Second Grade

4. Topic: This story is based on feelings of being scared and then realizing there was nothing to be afraid of. This is a Halloween seasonal book for sure.

5. Story Line: In this story, two scary looking monsters, Thorndike and Nelson, are enjoying their supper which just so happens to be caterpillar crisps when Thorndike’s new cell phone rings. The voice on the other end states that they have big lips, hairy arms and are five blocks away and hangs up. This mysterious caller calls every block until it gets to the front door and by this time Thorndike and Nelson are so scared they are holding each other. When the door slams open it turns out to be Thorndike’s mother!

6. Why I liked it: I thought that this was a change from your usual ghost story for kids. It would be a great book to read to the classroom as the teacher’s voice would emphasize voice changes and the slam of the door at the end. It is really neat how the author had me, an adult, scared as to what would enter through the front door!

7. What you can do with this book in the classroom: This book could be read to the class and then have the class brainstorm their own scary story using grammar instruction and what it takes to make a good scary story! This exercise would be great when helping the kids understand descriptive words and phrases.

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The Secret Lunch Special

1. Author & Illustrator: Peter Catalanotto

2. Published: 2006

3. Grade Level: Second Grade

4. Topic: This is a great cute story about the situations that may happen to kids in school. It is definitely relatable to all students and the storyline is typical being that a girl torments another and then they end up being friends.

5. Story Line: This is a cute short chapter book about a little girl named Emily who is starting her second grade year. All was going great until she got a different bus and bus driver and she left her lunch on the bus. Emily is a very soft spoken girl and comes in counter with Vinni, a trouble maker girl, and Vinni torments Emily about “mystery meat” and getting a “lunch ticket”. Emily was terrified because her mom had gotten a ticket before and had to pay lots of money for it (a speeding ticket). Emily winds up hating sloppy joes and her lunch until Vinni tells the cafeteria lady to give her the secret lunch special which wound up being a bagel. Emily finds out that the lunch lady is Vinni’s aunt and Emily and Vinni become friends.

6. Why I Liked It: I thought this was a cute story for girls to read especially. I liked the ending of the story and how it built up a mystery of the “lunch special” and the twist at the end was that Vinni’s aunt was the cafeteria lady.

7. What you can do with this book in the Classroom: This book could be an assigned reading book it being a chapter book and the kids could write a daily log of what they are feeling about Vinni and Emily in the story.

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The Red Chalk

1. Author & Illustrator: Iris van der Heide

2. Published: 2005

3. Grade Level: Kindergarten – First Grade

4. Topic: This book makes the reader think about what possessions they own are valuable and can be fun with an imagination.

5. Story Line: This book is great for students because it teaches them that with an imagination anything can be fun!

6. Why I Liked It: I loved this book about imaginations! It was awesome because you never knew what Sara would discover next that she didn’t like and then you were really excited when she realized that it is her imagination that needs changing, not her toys. That is simply a great lesson for all kids to realize.

7. What you can do with this book in the Classroom: This book could be read and then have the kids all choose from a hat a different scenario to act like. Of course this would take preparation from the teacher to write up different scenarios for the kids to use their imagination and expand on it. This would not be like charades, just strictly an imaginative exercise to get the kids moving.

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Vera Rides A Bike

1. Author & Illustrator: Vera Rosenberry

2. Published: 2004

3. Grade Level: First – Second Grade

4. Topic: This book is about listening to our parents and knowing bicycle safety as well as not going places alone.

5. Story Line: This is a really cute story about a girl named Vera who loved her bright red tricycle. Her mother and her were one day riding in the park and stopped to look in the fountain when all of a sudden the bike went missing! They searched and searched and could not find anyone nor the bike. Vera was extremely disappointed and so her father fixed up her older sister’s old bike and painted it Vera’s favorite color, green, and gave it to her as an early birthday present. Vera fell in love with the bike she just had to practice for a while on two wheels. Her parents usually always helped her except one afternoon they were busy and Vera went riding by herself and road for hours because she had not learnt how to use the brakes. It was getting dark so Vera decided to try the brakes out when she of course went flying over the handle bars and walked herself home bruised knees and sore limbs. Vera learned a very good lesson about brakes and telling her parents where she was going!

6. Why I Liked It: I thought that the book was a great story about learning from your mistakes. Vera of course in the story was wearing a helmet which is great too because kids these days don’t wear them. I thought that the graphics for the novel were fitting and told more information than the story itself. This would be a cute book to read to kids learning how to ride a bike.

7. What you can do with this book in the Classroom: This book could be read to the class and then have the class all learn how to ride a bike. Of course a bike would need to be brought to school but this could be a great lesson because some kids may not ever have road a bike before. It would be a fun outside activity to do that I think they would never forget.

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The Burger and the Hot Dog

1. Author & Illustrator: Jim Aylesworth was the author and Stephen Gammell was the illustrator

2. Published: 2001

3. Grade Level: First – Second Grade

4. Topic: This is a poetry book for elementary level students. There are a lot of pictures to go alone with the poems that help the students understand what the poems are telling the reader.

5. Story Line: This is an extremely cute story about all different kinds of foods and drinks that talk to each other or are described in a short poem. There is no main character just food being the main subject and cute two, three stanza poems. The rhymes are definitely an elementary level because the words that rhyme are of the lower grades. All the poems are about what I would say the food would say, if they could speak, to a friend of the same kind of food.

6. Why I Liked It: I thought that the overall book was really good, because the pictures really helped portray what the poem was saying which for elementary levels is needed. I know that even in high school I didn’t understand half the things I read in the poetry unit. The short mini stories told about each kind of food are about their problems, for example, a piece of unfried bacon sees a cooked piece and the uncooked one says that he remembers his friend being a lot taller before!

7. What you can do with this book in the Classroom: This could most definitely be used for an english lesson on grammar as well as personification. We as a class would discuss what personification is and how it is important to recognize that in books simply because food/animals cannot literally speak. Also, we could then discuss nutrition and how the foods in this book are not healthy at all and how important it is to eat and stay healthy!