1. Reading Log LIS 534 Fall 2012 James Belair Anna Rauvenpoor

2. Historical The Unbreakable Code Peppe the Lamplighter Redcoats and Petticoats

3. The Unbreakable Code Author/Illustrator: Sara Hoagland Hunter/Julia Miner Publication/Copyright Date: 1996 Awards Won: Smithsonian Magazine Notable Book Governor of Arizona Book of the Year Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 3-5 due to theme, setting, and story line. Genre: Historical Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: A young Navajo boy is afraid to leave his homeland in a move that will take him outside of the reservation he has always known. His grandfather comforts him by telling him that he has an “unbreakable code” that assures he will be alright. The grandfather was a Navajo “code talker” during WWII and the story unfolds as he relays his own experience leaving the reservation and serving in the Marine Corps as a “secret weapon” in preventing the Japanese from intercepting and decoding American radio messages. Evaluation & Use With Children: The story is interesting and detailed and would appeal to both male and female readers. The textured oil painting illustrations of desert canyon landscape, battle scenes and other military images would also appeal to both male and female readers. The historical aspect of the story lends itself to inclusion in the curriculum across subjects. I wouldn’t necessarily read this story out loud, I think there are moments for reflection in this story that require a quiet read. I would use this book to explore language and code. I’d have the children work in pairs to verbally “send” one another a short message in the Navajo code found in the back of the book. Another activity could involve having the children work in small groups to create a code of their own then send messages to the other groups who try and decipher them.

4. Peppe the Lamplighter Author/Illustrator: Elisa Bartone/Ted Lewin Publication/Copyright Date: 1993 Awards Won: 1994 Caldecott Honor Book Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 2-4 due to theme, story line, and detailed watercolor illustrations. Genre: Historical Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Peppe is a young Italian immigrant boy who lives with his father and sisters in a tenement in New York City. He must help earn money to provide for his family so he takes a job as a lamplighter but his father is not happy about it. His father insists that he did not come to America for Peppe to become a lamplighter. One night when the streets of New York City are dark and Peppe’s littlest sister doesn’t come home, Peppe’s father changes his mind on the importance of the lamplighter. Evaluation & Use With Children: The beautiful watercolor illustrations are detailed in a way that make the streets of the city come to life. The illustrations that include lamplight are alive with the warm glow of the light that casts shadows and illuminations. The themes of family and immigrants are central to the story and would be appropriate for students studying NYS in grade 4. I would use this book to prompt research in to the different immigrant groups that came to New York City at the turn-of-the-century. Students could use a neighborhood map of Manhattan to shade in the areas where the majority of the immigrant groups settled. A discussion around why people from the same countries settled in the same neighborhoods would be an appropriate foray into community and urban growth topics.

5. Redcoats and Petticoats Author/Illustrator: Katherine Kirkparick/Ronald Himler Publication/Copyright Date: 1999 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 3-5 due to theme, setting, and story line. Genre: Historical Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Set during the American Revolution in Setauket NY, the story is based on true events. Young Thomas Strong’s father is captured by the British redcoats and taken away while the redcoats move in to the family’s house. Thomas’ mother and siblings move to a small cottage on the water where they become part of a spy ring that helps George Washington win the war. Thomas’ mother hangs laundry as a series of signals that let Washington’s men across the bay know the location of the British troops. Includes historical notes, biographies and maps. Evaluation & Use With Children: The detailed watercolor imagery gives the reader details about the landscape and the clothing and uniforms worn at the time. The story is simply stated which leaves much room for elaboration and research on the topic. Children in grades 4 and 5 could use the book which is based on true events to do some research on the history of Setauket NY during the Revolutionary War. Information literacy skills gained through research could be shared through presentation either traditional or digital. This book could be used in the grade 4 social studies curriculum that investigates the history of NYS. Many schools in the WNY area take a field trip to Old Fort Niagara as part of the grade 4 social studies curriculum. Exploring this book before such a trip would enrich the field trip’s’ meaning. This book could also be used to explore language, code, and map reading. I would have the children work in two groups to devise a scavenger hunt that used a system of signals to lead to the next clue on a given map.

6. Caldecott Award winners Sylvester and the Magic Pebble A Sick Day for Amos McGee The Egg Tree Flotsam A Ball for Daisy Lon Po Po

7. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble Author/Illustrator: William Steig Publication/Copyright Date: 1969 Awards Won: 1970 Caldecott Medal Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 1-3 due to theme, cartoon drawings and story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Sylvester Duncan is a donkey who lives with his mother and father in a small village. One day he finds a magic pebble that makes wishes come true but he makes the mistake in his wishing and is turned in to a rock. His parents mourn his disappearance and Sylvester gives in to despair at forever being a rock until one day his parents picnic near the rock that is Sylvester and he gets the chance to wish himself a donkey again. The family locks the rock away in a safe knowing that being together again is all they truly ever wanted. Evaluation & Use With Children: This book asks children to examine some interesting questions such as: is a rock alive and what would I wish for if it could come true? The cartoon-like drawings will keep younger children engaged while the storyline will prompt older children to ask themselves these questions. The animals in the illustrations are drawn with exquisite personification that is right in-step with the text, children should have no problem relating human emotions to these characters. This book could be used to talk about personification. I would prompt the children in a discussion of examples of personification they noticed in the book. I would then ask them to reverse the personification and try and envision themselves as an animal or inanimate object. What thoughts do you have as a tree, a dog, a car? They could draw a picture of their favorite choice and write a few sentences about what they are thinking or feeling as that animal/object.

8. A Sick Day for Amos McGee Author/Illustrator: Philip C. Stead/Erin E. Stead Publication/Copyright Date: 2010 Awards Won: 2011 Caldecott Medal Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades K-2 due to theme, setting, woodblock printing and pencil drawings, and story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Amos McGee works at the City Zoo and every day he spends time with the animals in play and camaraderie. When Amos is too sick to come to work one day the animals come to his house and spend the day (and night) showing him the same compassion he shows them every day. Evaluation & Use With Children: The woodblock printing and pencil drawings in this book are phenomenal in conveying the attitudes and dispositions of the characters. The text is simple and the story line clear which makes this a good read-aloud for the younger children. The themes of caring and nurturing should be familiar and relevant for kindergarten students while ideas about personification can be grasped by older children. With the younger set I’d use this book to talk about support relationships and ask the children about the people they spend time with during the day. Who makes sure you have something to eat? Who tucks you in to bed at night? Who plays games with you? For the older children I’d explore the concept of personification and ask them to identify a human in their lives that most resembles one of the animal characters from the book. What characteristics does that animal have that you can imagine just from looking at the drawing? Why does that remind you of that human?

9. The Egg Tree Author/Illustrator: Katherine Milhous Publication/Copyright Date: 1950 Awards Won: 1951 Caldecott Medal Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 1-3 due to theme, colorful folk motifs and story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Katy and Carl are staying at their grandmother’s house with all their cousins to celebrate Easter. Set in a Pennsylvania Dutch landscape, the cousins hunt for Easter eggs left by the Rabbit but Katy finds something more. Her discovery in the attic of intricately decorated blown eggs prompts the family to create an egg tree which becomes part of their Easter tradition that other families travel to visit. Evaluation & Use With Children: This book contains an interesting story about traditions and how they are formed and kept. The text was written over 60 years ago and may prove a bit wordy for today’s young readers who are used to more exciting and straight-forward text. The illustrations are also from a different era and the muted colors of the folk illustrations may not appeal to young readers who are used to brightly colored graphics. This book could be used to explore the history of the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers and their daily lives. A close examination of the illustrations reveal many activities that were a part of the Pennsylvania Dutch lives such as churning butter, raising farm animals, and farming. Children in grade 2 could be asked to identify some of these activities through specific illustrations in the book. I would put the images up on a SmartBoard or other projection device for a closer look and group discussion of the findings.

10. Flotsam Author/Illustrator: David Wiesner Publication/Copyright Date: 2006 Awards Won: 2007 Caldecott Medal 2008 Vermont’s Picture Book Awards: Red Clover Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 3-5 due to its wordless nature, setting, detailed illustrations and interpretive story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 40 Brief Summary: A young, inquisitive boy spending the day at the beach investigating his environment discovers something unusual that washes ashore. A n underwater camera that contains film that when developed reveals the most magical photographs of underwater life. The final photograph reveals the most magical element of the story yet as the boy realizes that he has become part of something much greater than his discovery of the camera. Evaluation & Use With Children: There are so many things that can be said about this amazing book and its thought provoking illustrations and story line. The brilliant use of framing in the illustrations is a great example of conveying meaning through composition. The details found in the pictures offer readers a chance to discover the rich details of the story. Adults and children will want to turn back to page 1 as soon as they reach the end for further investigations of this imaginative journey. This book could be used in collaboration with the Art teacher in a photography unit. Have grade 5 students each shoot a roll of film on a disposable camera. The photos should capture something that either tells a story or provokes thought about what might be happening in that scene. Develop the film and select photos to exchange with other students who then write a short story about what is going on in the photograph. Another activity would be to have the students select photos from the class that they then sequence in to a story without words and publish online.

11. A Ball for Daisy Author/Illustrator: Chris Raschka Publication/Copyright Date: 2011 Awards Won: 2012 Caldecott Medal 2011 New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades Pre-K-K due to theme, simple watercolor line paintings and story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Daisy is a energetic dog that loves her red ball with absolute enthusiasm. One day another dog at the park pops Daisy’s ball and deflates her perky attitude. Happily, the humans in the story are concerned about sharing and responsibility and Daisy receives a new ball from the other dog’s owner. This is an uplifting story about friendship, disappointment and responsibility. Evaluation & Use With Children: This book should be read in small groups so that all children can see the images adequately. A discussion before the book is read could explore what the children think the book might be about based solely on the title and the cover art. After the book is read I would ask them what was different about the story line than what they originally thought. A story map that is put up on a SmartBoard or felt board could illustrate the flow of a story. The children would be asked to identify the Story Problem, events (as many as are needed) that take place and the Solution. This activity helps students identify the flow of a story at the most elementary level.

12. Lon Po Po Author/Illustrator: Ed Young Publication/Copyright Date: 1989 (story first published 1900) Awards Won: 1990 Caldecott Medal Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 1-4 due to fairy tale theme, vibrant illustrations and story line. Genre: Fairy Tale Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: A retelling of the Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood, this story puts the power back into the hands of the children in the story. The children use their wits to outwit the wolf who has managed to get inside their house. The illustrations tell the story of a wolf whose appearance can be deceptive but whose intentions are always clear. Evaluation & Use With Children: This is a great book to use in the 4 th grade ELA curriculum that examines fairy tales from other countries. Lon Po Po can be used to compare and contrast characterizations with the North American version of Little Red Riding Hood. I would use vocabulary as the starting point and have the children look up the definitions to some of the “foreign” words used in the text such as gingko and hemp.After the children understand the meaning of the words in question I would have them brainstorm some words in English that could replace the Chinese vocabulary.

13. Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Underground Dave the Potter

14. Underground Author/Illustrator: Shane W. Evans Publication/Copyright Date: 2011 Awards Won: 2012 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 2-4 due to theme, cut-paper collage and story line. Genre: Historical Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: A family moves through the stations of the Underground Railroad in pursuit of freedom. They run, crawl and take shelter in the darkly illustrated pages of this book to emerge in the brightly colored sunshine of freedom. Evaluation & Use With Children: The illustrations in this book are very effective in conveying the emotion inherent in escaping through the Underground Railroad. The themes of slavery and freedom are juxtaposed perfectly in the cut-paper collage and use of color which slowly changes from dark blues and black to light blues and yellow. The sparse text is a good example of how short sentences can have great impact. This book can be used in the obvious ways to talk about abolition and the Underground Railroad but I would use those topics only as a jumping off point so that children have a reference to the intense emotions connected to them. This book is a wonderful example of how illustration and limited prose can effectively convey information and emotion. I would have the children in grade 2 choose an emotion and then some colored paper they think matches that emotion. They could cut out shapes that go along with the emotion and glue them on another colored sheet of their choice. Then they could think of a few words that come to mind when they think of their chosen emotion and write them somewhere on the page. This activity could be used in a cross-curricular agenda with both Art ad ELA.

15. Dave the Potter Author/Illustrator: Laban Carrick Hill/Bryan Collier Publication/Copyright Date: 2011 Awards Won: 2011 Caldecott Honor 2011 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 3-5 due to theme, watercolor and collage illustrations, and poetic prose. Genre: Historical Picture Book Number of Pages: 42 Brief Summary: Dave was a potter who lived in South Carolina in the 1800s. He threw huge pots that required tremendous skill and strength and he sometimes etched inspired poetry in to his pots. Dave was a slave who transcended the limitations of slavery and his work and legacy are inspiring still. Includes photographs of Dave’s surviving work and biographical information. Evaluation & Use With Children: This book does a wonderful job of conveying a biographical story with a combination of simple verse and earth-toned watercolor and collage illustrations. The story presents affords a view of life as a slave that we do not normally see in historical representation for the simple fact that it was a rare one. The story of Dave’s life is inspirational and the themes of poetry, slavery, and art are all available in this book for exploring in the LMC and across curriculae. I would use this book with 3 rd graders to explore the topic of poetry as art and expression. Does the poetry Dave etched in the pottery enhance the meaning of the words? Where can you put poetry that might make people think more about the words than if they were simply on paper in a book? An activity where the children then find an object/location and write a verse to place there could follow. This book could also be used when talking about Black History. Students in grade 4 or 5 could use the website resources at the back of the book to further research the biography of Dave and present their findings in either a traditional or collaborative digital format.

16. Other award winners Naamah and the Ark at Night Balloons Over Broadway

17. Naamah and the Ark at Night Author/Illustrator: Susan Campbell Bartoletti/Holly Meade Publication/Copyright Date: 2011 Awards Won: 2012 Charlotte Zolotow Award Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in pre-K and Kindergarten due to simple paper cut-out collage artwork, rhythm, and story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: This book references the Bible story of Noah and the ark. Naamah is Noah’s wife and she sings all through the night to the animals and her family songs of love and prayer. The story is written as a lullaby and follows the strict poetic form of the ancient middle-eastern ghazal. Evaluation & Use With Children: This book does a great job of conveying the sense of peace found in lullabies. The rhythm of the ghazal and the content of the story work together to create a soothing and reassuring tone that is supported by the simple paper cut-out collage that highlight the figures against the night sky. This book would be well used in a kindergarten read-aloud that was prefaced with a discussion about feelings conveyed through poetic rhyme. I would ask the children to think about how the story made them feel (safe, sleepy, comfortable) and how the repetition of the word “night” and the illustrations contributed to those feelings. I would then read another rhyming book that had a completely different rhythm and pace for contrast in emotional evocation such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehler.

18. Balloons Over Broadway Author/Illustrator: Melissa Sweet Publication/Copyright Date: 2011 Awards Won: 2012 Sibert Medal 2012 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 1-5 due to theme, setting, collage composition, colorful watercolor paintings and story line. Genre: Biography Number of Pages: 36 Brief Summary: Puppeteer Tony Sarg’s love for building things with moving parts led him to a career building the iconic floating balloon puppets of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade was created in 1924 to honor Macy’s immigrant workers and their cultural celebrations and Sarg, a British immigrant engineered the parade’s main attraction. The book explores the evolution of the balloon puppets from rubber bags on wooden sticks to rubberized silk filled with helium. Evaluation & Use With Children: This book does a wonderful job of conveying a biographical story with a combination of informative text and visually engaging watercolor paintings and mixed media collage. The story of Tony Sarg’s life is interesting, colorful and fun and Sweet represents that in her balance of biographical information and detailed collage. This book contains many interesting elements that appeal to elementary students across grade levels and can be explored at different depths and for several themes such as: inventors and inventions, immigration, New York City history, cultural traditions and holidays. The level of detail in the collage art compliments the informational level of the text, however, the basic story and watercolor paintings are simple enough to be understood by children in 1 st grade. This book provides many opportunities for cross-teaching within the NYS grade 4 history of NYS curriculum. There are also opportunities to use this book for teaching visual arts and the use of collage to relay a story. It’s an exciting biography that provides an interesting story of an artist/inventor that could lead to an exploration of simple machines in science. I loved this book not only for the exceptional literary and visual elements but for it’s myriad potential applications in teaching across grades and subject matter.

19. Board Books Ten Little Ladybugs Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me Guess How Much I Love You

20. Ten Little Ladybugs Author/Illustrator: Melanie Gerth/Laura Huliska-Beith Publication/Copyright Date: 2006 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children birth - Pre-K due to theme and format. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 20 Brief Summary: Using rhyme and textured ladybugs, children countdown from ten to one while touching these plastic insects. The pattern and sing-song rhyme in this story introduces babies and toddlers to the anticipation of what comes next in a story, the ending is a surprise! Evaluation & Use With Children: A great tactile book, this one can be man-handled (or kid-handled) and not suffer. The plastic ladybugs are colorful and sturdy and the texture allows for children to touch while counting. The brightly colored graphic illustrations are sure to capture a young child’s attention and foster a joy in discovering books and stories. This book is a great read-aloud whose mathematic concepts would be reinforced through subsequent individual readings. I would read this book to small groups of children and then play a counting game afterwards. A game where the children are given M&Ms of different colors and then have to sort and count the individual colors would end in a feast!

21. Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle Publication/Copyright Date: 1987 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 1-3 due to theme, paper cut-out collage composition, paper fold-out and story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Monica wants the moon so she can play with it. What can a father do but try and get the moon for his little girl? The story unfolds (literally) with the waxing and waning of the moon and the dilemma of what to do with it once harnessed. This is an inspiring book of love and perserverance and the possibilities that exist in our desires. Evaluation & Use With Children: Librarians can use this book to show the waxing and waning of the moon. Students in grade 2 would benefit from this natural science lesson that could include the keeping a nightly journal of the moon and its shape over the course of a month. This is a good opportunity for collaboration with the Science curriculum.

22. Guess How Much I Love You Author/Illustrator: Sam McBratney/Anita Jeram Publication/Copyright Date: 1994 Awards Won: 1995 Zilveren Griffel 1996 American Booksellers Book of the Year Award for Children Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children 2-Pre-K due to theme, colorful watercolor paintings and story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 20 Brief Summary: Little Nutbrown Hare loves his daddy as only a child can but Big Nutbrown Hare’s love for his son contains the love of a parent. The duo make a nightly ritual of trying to out-do one another in describing the scope of their love. Evaluation & Use With Children: This book could be used at a holiday such as Mother’s Day to discuss how much we love and need our families. I would read this book aloud and then ask children to think of something big that they could compare their love for their parents to. Children could then draw the object on paper and the librarian could write “I love you as much as (fill-in the blank). This book is perfect for teaching and understanding the expression of emotion through language.

23. Notable Chapter Books Out of the Dust 13 Gifts When You Reach Me Number the Stars The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity The Higher Power of Lucky The Great Cake Mystery Frindle The Twits I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001

24. Out of the Dust Author: Karen Hesse Publication/Copyright Date: 1997 Awards Won: 1998 Newbery Medal 1998 Scott O’Dell Award 1998 ALA’s Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 4-6 due to theme, historical setting, and story line. Genre: Verse Novel, Historical Fiction Number of Pages: 256 Brief Summary: Written in free- verse as a journal of a 14 year-old Oklahoma dust-bowl dweller during the Great Depression. The historic dust storms of this time create a surreal backdrop to the story in which Billie Jo suffers loss after loss in her young life. Forced to swallow the gritty realities of poverty, pain, and grief she discovers a self-truth that creates order within her anguished life. There are no fairy tale endings in this story, but there is a glimmer of hope that endures even through the darkest storm. Evaluation & Use With Children: This story is heart-wrenching. Just when you think Billie Jo has seen enough hardship, she is blindsided by yet another event that brings unfathomable pain to her young life. The historical aspect of the story lends itself to inclusion in curriculum that explores the Great Depression. However, I would use this book to tie in to a science curriculum about weather and agriculture. While weather is one of those things that lie outside of the control of humans, the science behind Hugh Bennett’s topsoil conservation program (Bennett was a leading agricultural expert of the time) reduced soil loss in the region in one year by 65%. I would combine the reading of the book outside of class with an in-class viewing of PBS’s American Experience show “Surviving the Dustbowl” with 5 th grade students http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dustbowl/. The Library of Congress also has a digital photo library of images from the Dustbowl and migrant camps that housed farmers who abandoned their land during the drought and storms. The lesson could then be expanded into an exploration of Bennett’s breakthrough farming techniques such as terracing, crop rotation, and contour plowing. The students would break into groups that would each focus on the research of these farming innovations and share their findings in a traditional or digital presentation. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dustbowl/

25. 13 Gifts Author: Wendy Mass Publication/Copyright Date: 2011 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 4-6 due to theme and storyline. Genre: Realistic Fiction Number of Pages: 304 Brief Summary: Tara is suspended from school for pulling a ridiculous prank involving a goat that lands her an extended visit to stay with her aunt and uncle in Willow Falls, the small town where her parents grew up. She meets a mysterious old woman who entreats her to collect 13 objects in order to earn money to buy her new friend David a bar mitzvah gift. A journey of self-discovery and coming-of-age, this story borders on the mystical and includes a hint of romance, perfect for tweens in 5 th grade. Evaluation & Use With Children: This story would be great to use as an exercise in identifying realistic fiction as a genre in the 5 th grade ELA curriculum. I would introduce the criteria of realistic fiction in a worksheet format and ask the students to identify those elements of the story that meet the criteria. I would then ask the students to choose another book from their previous reading experience that they believe to be of the realistic fiction genre and list the identifying elements that make it so. A group discussion of books chosen could follow.

26. When You Reach Me Author: Rebecca Stead Publication/Copyright Date: 1999 Awards Won: 2010 Newbery Medal 2009 New York Times Notable Book 2009 Parents Choice Gold Award 2009 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2010 IRA Children’s and Young Adult’s Book Award for Young Adult–Fiction 2010 Indies Choice Book Award for Middle Reader 2010 ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults 2010 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 4-9 due to science fiction theme, and story line. Genre: Science Fiction Number of Pages: 199 Brief Summary: New York City in the 1970s was a colorful place to live for 6 th grader Miranda and Sal, her best friend since kindergarten. Everything starts to fall apart when Sal is attacked by a neighborhood boy and refuses to acknowledge his friendship with Miranda anymore. Mysterious notes appear with cryptic messages that seem to foretell the future and Miranda begins a strange friendship with a boy who discusses time travel as if it were like taking the cross-town bus. Confused and intrigued by the events around her, Miranda finds herself in the middle of a mind-bending mystery with a science fiction twist that will surprise any reader. Evaluation & Use With Children: The concept of time-travel is heavy for elementary students but even the main character doesn’t really grasp the concept until the very end of the story. Marcus asks Miranda if she knows about Einstein’s theory of relativity, which she does not. This is a perfect opportunity for students to do some general research on the theory. I would use this interesting subject matter to encourage some primary fact finding on the subject of Einstein’s theory of relativity. I would break them up in small groups and have them research Einstein’s theory using the school databases. I would then ask them to informally present their findings. I’d probably reinforce this with a few short videos that explain the theory in “kid speak” from the neoK-12 educational website at http://www.neok12.com/Relativity.htm. This discussion could peak some further interests in students regarding time travel and scientific theories on space and time that could be nurtured with similar readings and films on the subject. http://www.neok12.com/Relativity.htm

27. Number the Stars Author: Lois Lowry Publication/Copyright Date: 1989 Awards Won: 1990 Newbery Medal 1992 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award 1991 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award 1991 Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 4-7 due to theme and story line. Genre: Historical Fiction Number of Pages: 137 Brief Summary: Set in Denmark in 1943 during the World War II Nazi German occupation. Young Annemarie and her best friend Ellen face the cruel realities of the Nazi regime when the Danish Jews are “relocated” to concentration camps. While Annemarie’s family takes Ellen in to their home and pretends she is part of their family, Danish citizens form a secret movement, the Resistance, in an effort to smuggle Danish Jews out of the country to freedom in Sweden. This is a story of courage and kindness in the face of an historic evil. The afterward notes that nearly 7000 Danish Jews were bravely smuggled to freedom during the war. Evaluation & Use With Children: The holocaust is explored in some middle school curriculae; exploration of this topic in elementary school is perhaps done best in the kind of storytelling Lowry does in this book. Parallels can be drawn between the Underground Railroad and the Resistance network that moved Danish Jews to Sweden. In that way, this book can be used in conjunction with the NYS 4 th grade social studies curriculum in an exploration of human “railroads” that moved people to freedom. I would use this book to learn more about maps, map reading, and map creation. Map reading is a special kind of literacy that can be explored in the LMC in collaboration with the 5 th grade social studies teacher in the World Geography unit. I would have the students find Denmark on the globe. I would then have students locate Denmark and Sweden on a digital map from one of the LMC’s databases. Students would be given a worksheet with questions on it that relate to finding the map using the library’s resources, reading and interpreting the map for distances and landscape features. The route taken by the Danish Jews from Denmark to Sweden could be explored for distance and landscape features and a discussion about weather conditions and travel time could be had after the worksheets are filled out.

28. The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity Author/Illustrator: Mac Barnett Publication/Copyright Date: 2009 Awards Won: 2010 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Juvenile Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 3-5 due to theme and story line. Genre: Mystery Number of Pages: 192 Brief Summary: "Every Librarian is a highly trained agent. An expert in intelligence, counterintelligence, Boolean searching, and hand-to-hand combat.” Twelve-year-old Steve Brixton’s life goal is to become a detective. He has been studying the Bailey Brothers, the heroes of his favorite books in hopes of one day being just like them. An essay assignment triggers a series of very strange events and Steve finds himself involved in a mystery where he is the suspected criminal! Not exactly the side he always dreamed of being on but he will use the skills he learned reading the Bailey Brothers to save himself. Humor and cliffhanger chapters will keep readers turning pages until the end! Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book to helps students in grade 4 explore the mystery genre. ReadWriteThink offers a fun interactive resource called the Mystery Cube at http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/games-tools/mystery- cube-a-30188.html that asks students to separate the mystery into its distinct elements. Students use the online tool to list the setting, the crime, the detective, the victim, the clues, and the solution. The answers can then be printed out and assembled in a cube shape for a concrete example of the construction of a mystery. Students can use this “formula” to construct their own mysteries as an extension of this lesson. http://www.readwritethink.org/parent-afterschool-resources/games-tools/mystery- cube-a-30188.html

29. The Higher Power of Lucky Author: Susan Patron Publication/Copyright Date: 2006 Awards Won: 2007 Newbery Medal Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 3-5 due to theme and storyline. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 134 Brief Summary: Lucky is a 10 year-old girl who has been left in the care of her absentee father’s French ex-wife, Brigitte, after her mother dies. Lucky makes a habit of listening in on the twelve-step meetings that take place at the Found Object Wind Chime Museum where she often hears talk about a “Higher Power”. Lucky is sure that Brigitte is going to abandon her for her home in France and so takes it upon herself to leave Hard Pan, CA (Pop. 43) and go in search of her higher power. With her unbelievably heavy “rescue kit” she heads out into the Mojave Desert and encounters a dust storm that challenges her journey of self-discovery. Evaluation & Use With Children: This would be a good book to use in support of an upper elementary geography lesson on desert environments and animals. I would have students fill out a worksheet that requires them to use one of the electronic databases (CultureGrams would be a good choice) to answer pointed questions about the conditions, people and animals of the Mojave Desert.

30. The Great Cake Mystery Read as an e-book This title was fun to read as an e-book because of its sparse text and simple red and black ink drawings. Author/Illustrator: Alexander McCall Smith Publication/Copyright Date: 2010 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 2-4 due to storyline and pen and ink illustrations. Genre: Mystery Number of Pages: 73 Brief Summary: Precious Romatswe of Gabarone, Botswana thinks it would be interesting work to be a detective. She gets the chance to decide for herself when a piece of cake goes missing from her classroom. While all the children think Poloko must be the culprit because he is chubby and loves sweets, Precious sets out to use a more investigative approach. A message about false accusations told in a light tone for young readers. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book to guide 2 nd grade students in formulating questions related to listening activities. I would spend some time reading the text out loud and then ask them what they would do as detectives investigating the case. The students could work in groups to decide what course of action they would take in discovering the identity of the thief. The class could then come back together and share what the individual groups came up with. The rest of the reading could be done for homework so that the groups see how Precious solved the mystery.

31. Frindle Author/Illustrator: Andrew Clements, Brian Selznick Publication/Copyright Date: 1998 Awards Won: 2000 Kids' Picks 1999 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award 1999 Massachusetts Children's Book Award 2001 Flicker Tale Children's Book Award 1999 Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award 1998 Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award 1997 The Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature Honor Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 3-5 due to storyline and theme. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 105 Brief Summary: Nick Allen has always been able to come up with great ways to make the classroom more interesting. Unfortunately for Nick, his new 5 th grade teacher is on to his games and she gives him an extra assignment for his efforts. Through the assignment Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created are that leads him to his most brilliant idea yet, the frindle. As the new word Nick has invented for the word “pen” catches on in his school and across the nation, Nick realizes the power of words as well as the power of one. A great read for young readers to spark creativity and imagination. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book to explore parts of the dictionary such as syllables, word origin, and pronunciation key with 3 rd grade students. I would have each student choose a word from the dictionary that they had no idea existed and that sounds funny to them. They would report on the word’s origin, number of syllables, pronunciation, and definition to the rest of the class. This book would also make a good introduction for 5 th grade students into the different types of dictionaries that exist. A scavenger hunt for words in specific dictionaries in the LMC would be a fun and informative activity.

32. The Twits Author/Illustrator: Roald Dahl/Quentin Blake Publication/Copyright Date: 1980 Awards Won: 1980 Zilveren Griffel 2009 Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards for Early Readers Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 2-5 due to theme and storyline. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 76 Brief Summary: Mr. and Mrs. Twit are two of the most repulsive characters in children's literature. From Mr. Twit’s horrifically dirty beard to Mrs. Twit’s “fearful ugliness”, these characters live to play awful tricks on one another. Mrs. Twit serves up worm spaghetti for dinner while Mr. Twit spends weeks convincing his wife that she is shrinking. Eventually these two get what’s coming to them in a revenge plotted by the family of trained monkeys the Twits keep locked up outside. A gruesomely funny tale of two despicable characters and their comeuppance. Evaluation & Use With Children: The audiobook version of this story with Simon Callow reading is fantastic. I would have a group of 4 th grade students use their listening for information skills to pick out words Dahl uses to describe Mr. & Mrs. Twit. They could write the words down while they listen and then each student would have an opportunity to come up with a few of their own descriptive words for the Twits and share them with the class.

33. I Survived #6: I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 Author: Lauren Tarshis Publication/Copyright Date: 2012 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 3-5 due to content, theme, and graphic illustrations. Genre: Non-Fiction Number of Pages: 112 Brief Summary: Lucas, a teenager from Port Jackson, New York loves two things in life: football and his Uncle Benny. After Lucas suffers a concussion from playing football his parents believe he should give up the sport because of its dangerous health risks. Lucas knows his Uncle will understand why Benny can’t give up the sport he loves. One morning Lucas skips school to travel in to New York City and talk to his uncle at the firehouse where he works. The morning in question is September 11, 2001 and as the two walk down the street discussing football, the event that changes the world happens above them. Lucas watches as Benny and the other firefighters scramble to provide assistance in the chaos. Lucas finds his father on the rubble strewn streets and they try and help others and keep themselves safe from the collapsing towers. A good chapter book for introducing the tragic events that occurred on 9/11/01 for children too young to remember that day. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book as a jumping off point for further research on the World Trade Center Attacks. I would have 5 th grade students conduct further research to create a timeline of events in a Prezi presentation. This activity should correlate with the technology unit in 5 th grade that teaches students to use Prezi. The timeline must include the 4 airplane hijackings, the attacks on the twin towers, the pentagon attack, the airplane crash in PA, each tower falling, and the expected finish date of the Freedom Tower (now renamed One World Trade Center). Students are encouraged to include images as well as text in their timelines.

34. Notable Picture Books Night of the Pufflings If You Made a Million Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age Terrible Storm Jazz on a Saturday Night How I Learned Geography Cecil The Pet Glacier

35. Nights of the Pufflings Author: Bruce McMillan Publication/Copyright Date: 1995 Awards Won: 1996 American Library Assocation (ALA) Notable Book 1996 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 1996 Outstanding Science Trade Book Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades K-2 due to simple informative text and photographs. Genre: Non-Fiction Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: On a tiny island off the coast of Iceland, Halla and her friends wait with anticipation. Every spring, millions of puffins, the clowns of the sea, return to nest, lay eggs, and raise their chicks to pufflings. That means Halla and her friends will be busy in August when the pufflings venture out at night to take their first flight. Then, all of the children stay out all night, too. During the nights of the pufflings they rescue thousands of stranded young birds, and in the daytime set them safely free at the beach. A story of tender traditions and interacting with your environment that will fascinate young readers. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book to explore cultural traditions of other countries with 1 st grade students. I would read this book and have the students identify the tradition in the story of rescuing the young birds. I would then have the students choose another picture book from a pre-selected group of books that deal with cultural traditions. The students would read on their own and then come back to the group to tell the class what the tradition in their story was.

36. If You Made a Million Author/Illustrator: David M. Schwartz, Steven Kellogg Publication/Copyright Date: 1994 Awards Won: 1994 An ALA Notable Book 1994 A Horn Book Fanfare Selection 1994 A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 1994 A Teachers' Choices Selection Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 1-5 due to theme, content, and colorful illustrations. Genre: Non-Fiction Picture Book Number of Pages: 40 Brief Summary: Children love money but do they understand how it works? This book engages children in a conversation about the relationships between money and work, saving and spending, interest, and value of denominations. This is a follow up book to the author’s How Much Is a Million? Fun and lively watercolor drawings reinforce and expand ideas presented in the text. An author's note recaps the facts, including a history of money and banking, checks, loans, income tax, and the volume of money vs. its value. A valuable resource for teaching children the basics about money and how it works. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book to help students gain financial literacy skills. The activities could vary greatly with grade level as this book offers many opportunities for different levels of learning. A great idea would be to do a lesson around this book each year to every grade level that builds the financial literacy knowledge base of the students. One interesting lesson that I read about for 3 rd grade students was instructed by a group of high school students taking a financial literacy class in Cincinnati, OH. The high school students came in to the elementary school to talk to the 3 rd graders there about the concept of saving money. They told the children that if you saved $1 a day from that day forward until high school graduation, it would amount to about $4,000. The 3 rd grade students were instructed to go home and look online or in magazines for items that cost $4,000. I like this concept of long-term planning introduced to young students and would encourage them to also try and get their parents to open savings accounts for them.

37. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Author/Illustrator: Mo Willems Publication/Copyright Date: 2003 Awards Won: 2004 Caldecott Honor 2005 Kentucky Bluegrass Award for K-2 2004 Charlotte Zolotow Award Nominee for Highly Commended Title 2005 Vermont's Picture Book Awards: Red Clover 2004 An ALA Notable Children's Book for Younger Readers 2006 South Carolina Book Award for Picture Book Award 2005 Flicker Tale Children's Book Award 2005 Golden Archer Award for Primary 2004 Buckaroo Book Award 2009 Indies Choice Book Award for Picture Book Hall of Fame Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades Pre-K-K due to simple text and watercolor illustrations. Genre: Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: This pigeon really wants to drive the bus and isn’t going to take “no” for an answer. Children readers answer his pleas as he throws an exhaustive tantrum that most children will enjoy being on the other side of. An expertly cartooned book that is both funny and engaging. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book with kindergarten students to create a new version of the book. The new version would be called “Don’t Let the Pigeon be the Librarian”. We would start by reading the book and then brainstorming all the jobs a teacher does. Based on what the students came up with I would create a power point presentation to mimic the style of Willems book. Each page would show a picture of myself (and the children where possible) doing one of the jobs with word bubbles instructing the reader to not let the pigeon be the librarian. I think the children would love to have a hand in creating a book and showing it off to rest of the school, perhaps on the morning TV announcements with a voice over.

38. Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age Read as an e-book Reading this title as an e-book is beneficial to the format of the story as it is written in comic-strip style. The colorful graphics are perfect for an e-reader and older students will enjoy the difference in medium. Author/Illustrator: Raymond Briggs Publication/Copyright Date: 2002 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades 4-6 due to content and theme. Genre: Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Ug, a stone age cave boy wonders why things can’t be different in his daily life. Why does everyone have to wear stone pants, sleep with stone blankets and play with stone soccer balls? Ug thinks of ways to improve these uncomfortable and cumbersome aspects of stone age life, much to the annoyance of his mother. He invents the wheel but then doesn’t know what to do with it, discovers fire only to have it put out by his parents. This book is written in the style of a graphic novel and the tongue-in-cheek humor will appeal to a mature reader. Evaluation & Use With Children: While this book is a perfect fit for the 6 th grade social studies curriculum unit on the Stone Age, I think it would make a great primer for the 5 th grade students. Read as an e- book, the students can give their feedback on how they felt about reading the book electronically in a simple questionnaire embedded at the end of the book. The best answers could be uploaded to the OPAC as reviews.

39. Terrible Storm Author/Illustrator: Carol Otis Hurst, S.D. Schindler Publication/Copyright Date: 2007 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades K-2 due to theme and colorful illustrations. Genre: Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: In March of 1888, New York City and parts of New England were hit with a terrible blizzard. Two grandfathers tell the story of the awful (historical) blizzard where each was stuck in uncomfortable circumstances although completely different situations. Split page illustrations tell the story of each grandfathers’ experiences. This book offers a compelling format for teaching children how different people can have such radically different views of the same world. Evaluation & Use With Children: This book would work well as an accompanying element in the 2 nd grade ELA curriculum in identifying differing points of view. Using a double cell graphic organizer, students could fill in the similarities and differences between the two characters’ tellings of the event in the story.

40. A Second is a Hiccup Author/Illustrator: Hazel Hutchins, Kady McDonald Denton Publication/Copyright Date: 2007 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades Pre-K-2 due to concept and colorful drawings. Genre: Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: Units of time are explained in terms that children are familiar with. A second lasts as long as a hiccup. If you climb a tree, smell a flower and pretend you’re a kid with super- powers that should fill an hour. Creative explanations give definitions for time all the way through a year. Ink and watercolor illustrations provide text support and whimsy for younger readers. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book as an anticipatory set for 1 st grade students about to learn about measurements of time and telling time. A read-aloud and brainstorming activity where the students invent their own definitions of a second, minute, hour, and so forth would be a good way to get them thinking about time before they begin that curricular unit.

41. Jazz on a Saturday Night Read as an e-book This book is perfect for reading as an e-book because the CD that accompanies the book can also be loaded on the reader and listened to by the students. Author/Illustrator: Leo Dillon, Diane Dillon Publication/Copyright Date: 2007 Awards Won: 2008Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator Honor Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades K-4 due to story line and paper cut-out illustrations. Genre: Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: This book tells the story of legendary jazz musicians who come together on a Saturday night in a fictional nightclub. Performers include such jazz greats as Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis. Written in rhyme with beautiful paper cut-out and watercolor illustrations, the mood of a jazz club in full swing is set. A bonus section details more information regarding the historic musicians portrayed in the story. This book also comes with a CD meant to introduce the listener to jazz. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would have the students read this book electronically and then listen to the accompanying jazz CD. I would then have them access and complete a rubric regarding the effectiveness of the e-book medium for evaluation of the material.

42. How I Learned Geography Author/Illustrator: Uri Shulevitz Publication/Copyright Date: 2008 Awards Won: 2009 Caldecott Honor Book 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades K-4 due to subject matter and detailed illustrations. Genre: Picture Book Number of Pages: 32 Brief Summary: In an autobiographical story, Shulevitz describes a time during his early childhood after his family had fled Poland for Turkestan to escape the persecution of WWII. His father came home one day with a map of the world instead of bread for dinner. The map fills one wall of their home instead of their hungry stomachs. Young Uri spends many hours studying every detail of the map and uses his imagination to dream of visiting far-away places. The simple text, rich illustrations, and author's note in the back tell a powerful story about the strength of a child’s spirit that uses imagination to face and endure hunger, poverty, and isolation. This is a beautifully written and illustrated book that should be a part of every school library’s collection. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book to explore maps with the 3 rd grade students. Interpretation of maps is part of the 3 rd grade curriculum and this book would be a perfect partner. After reading this book, the students could be instructed to find a map (in the physical atlases in the LMC) that illustrates a country they’d like to visit. The students could then draw the outline of the country and label the major cities.

43. Cecil the Pet Glacier Author/Illustrator: Matthea Harvey/Giselle Potter Publication/Copyright Date: 2012 Awards Won: N/A Recommended Age Span and Why: Recommended for children in grades K-3 due to watercolor illustrations, theme and story line. Genre: Fiction Number of Pages: 40 Brief Summary: Ruby just wants to be normal and lives in fear that her eccentric parents (a topiary artist and a tiara designer) will make that impossible for her. On a family vacation to Norway, Ruby acquires a pet, as she has been longing for one. She didn’t expect it to be a pet glacier however. Ruby’s distaste for her strange pet changes one day when Cecil rescues one of her three dolls (all named Jennifer). This is a quirky story about embracing your inner weirdness with abandon. Evaluation & Use With Children: I would use this book as a companion to the 3 rd grade art curriculum exploring surrealism. The surrealist movement contained a great deal more than just paintings but surrealist writing is beyond the grasp of most elementary students. This story illustrates surrealism in a very simple form and would make a perfect companion to an art study of the movement. I would create a handout that asks the students to identify the elements of the story that are surrealist in nature. As a group, we could discuss what makes those elements surrealist and think of other elements that could replace those in the story and still remain surrealist. The students could then create a surrealist type drawing of one of the brainstormed elements placed in the setting of the book.