The Green Book by: Jill Paton Walsh (Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction)

The narrator of the story, Pattie, is a young girl whose family has traveled from Earth to a new planet.  They are with many other families and have been chosen to start new lives in a setting that they have no information about.  The families are anxious in the four year journey from Earth to the new planet and become discouraged when they cannot cut down trees or grow food in the same ways.  Everybody is constantly worried about the wheat harvest and whether it will turn out well enough to provide food.  The characters discover candy coming from the trees and enormous birds that are intelligent enough to join in on games but cannot communicate with the humans.  Pattie and her siblings are the first ones to test out the new wheat and make a miraculous discovery…

I would use this book in the classroom to integrate multiple subject areas.  After reading the story, the students can use their language arts and writing skills to respond to the text.  The students would be asked to be creative in coming up with a planet that they would like to travel to with their families and describe it in detail.  They would need to describe the trip from Earth to the new planet and describe the ways in which they obtain food and other necessary resources.  The students could use their imaginations to create a similar plot line based on discovering new life and attempting to find or grow food on the new planet.  I could also ask the students to all get out a blank piece of paper and provide them with one minute to write the beginning of the story before they have to pass their paper to the next person.  They continue on the new story with the introduction their classmate has written until I announce that it is time to switch again.  The stories would turn out to be much more creative that way and it is a fun way to practice writing skills while responding and relating to the text.

AR Book Finder Book Level 5.5

The Witches by: Roald Dahl (Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction)

 

The unnamed "boy" in the story is the main character and is terrified of witches after all of the stories he hears from his grandmother.  His grandmother tells him how witches despise children and can make them disappear, and also teaches him how to recognize a witch.  He thinks his grandmother is making all of it up until he travels to Norway with her and accidentally sits in on the witches' annual meeting.  The witches have disguised themselves as a group of women preventing cruelty to children, but actually are all getting together to find out the plan from the Grand High Witch for how to get rid of all of the children.  The Grand High Witch informs them they will create a poisonous mixture that will turn the children into mice and put it inside chocolate.  The witches will give the chocolates away for free and the children will all turn into mice.  The witches turn both the narrator and his friend into mice at their meeting, but even as mice, they are able to speak.  The narrator works with his grandmother to come up with a plan to stop the witches from turning every child into a mouse.  They use the witches own poison on them and come up with a plan to stop all of the witches in the entire world.

I would use this story to help the students consider multiple perspectives in literature.  I would ask them to choose a part of the story and write a paragraph from the perspectives of the narrator, the grandmother, the Grand High Witch, Bruno, and one of the witches attending the meeting.  I would focus on the narrator's character and ask students to think about how they would feel to live their lives as a mouse that can talk but know that they had saved all of the children of the world from witches.  I would ask them to write a page based on what kind of decision they would make as the narrator and if they would feel accomplished after putting an end to the formula.  Through exploring multiple perspectives, the students will be able to make connections to the story and understand the meaning behind the text.

AR Book Finder Book Level 4.7

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by: David A. Adler (Nonfiction- Biography)

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born during a time of segregation of the races and felt he was treated unfairly by the white community.  He longed for equality and studied black leaders while becoming a minister.  Dr. King fought for civil rights through peaceful protests and marches, but was met with anger and violence.  A man threw a bomb through his window to show his hatred and Martin wanted his followers to remain calm about the violent act.  He led a bus protest to end "White Only" sections on buses, gave very famous speeches, and won a Nobel Peace Prize through his actions.  Dr. King was killed fighting for freedom, but his dream lives on with the country.  His life and ideals changed the history of our nation.

I would read this book aloud to the class to introduce them to the ideas associated with the Civil Rights Movement.  I could use it during the time around Martin Luther King Day which occurs on his birthday or I could use it during Black History Month as I am going over different historical leaders.  I would ask them questions to gear their thinking towards understanding multiple perspectives and help them form opinions on what matters most to them.  I would ask the students to write "I have a dream..." at the top of their blank paper and to write and draw what their individual dream is.  I would encourage them to think of laws they find unfair or things in the world they would like to improve.  For example, students could write that they have a dream that people will not be bullies.  I would hang the drawings up in the classroom and use the book to start a discussion on the Civil Rights Movement.

AR Book Finder Book Level 3.8

Crocodiles (In the Wild) by: Claire Robinson (Nonfiction)

People hunt and kill crocodiles to use their skin for making leather.  Female crocodiles lay eggs and the baby crocodiles swallow their food whole until they can finally chew.  To hunt, crocodiles keep their entire body in the water except for their eyes, ears, and nostrils.  Crocodiles swim by moving their tails and love to bask in the sun since they are reptiles.  They have scaly skin and do not usually run unless they are afraid of danger. Crocodiles have teeth that are all the same shape.  Female crocodiles give birth once a year and look after their young by teaching them how to hunt.  They break their food apart with their teeth to swallow in smaller pieces but cannot chew their food.  The book gives a lot of basic information on crocodiles.

I would use this book in teaching Grade 4 to integrate science and literature.  The NCSCOS for 4^th grade indicates students learn about animal behaviors and adaptations, and this book would be helpful for a student who wanted to find out more information about crocodiles.  I would use this book, along with other nonfiction texts that give information about animals, to provide resources for the students to do a project.  I would have them each choose a different animal to research and create a power point presentation using multiple nonfiction literature sources.  Afterward, they could all present to the class so the class gains a wider range of knowledge regarding animal behaviors for many different animals.  I could also use this book for teaching Grade 5 where the students begin to understand the interdependence of plants and animals.  This book encompasses specific examples of how the food chain plays out in the grand scheme of a crocodile’s ecosystem.

AR Book Finder Book Level 3.1

Rapunzel: The Graphic Novel by: Stephanie Peters (Traditional or Folk Literature)

A man and woman are expecting a baby when the wife begins craving rampion from the witch’s garden.  The rampion is also known as Rapunzel, which is where the young girl in the story gets her name.  The husband sneaks into the garden in order to make his wife happy and is caught stealing from the witch.  The witch takes the couple’s baby in exchange for the rampion and keeps the baby girl, Rapunzel, locked up in a tall tower.  A prince finds Rapunzel and promises to save her.  When the witch finds out about the prince, she cuts off Rapunzel’s long hair and leaves her alone in a desert.  The witch blinds the prince and he is able to find Rapunzel by tracking down her singing voice.  Rapunzel heals the prince’s blindness with her tears and they live a happy life with their children.

Video of Rapunzel: The Graphic Novel 

I would use this book to create a discussion based around the book in the classroom.  My first discussion question would be, “When Rapunzel was trapped in the tower, she spent most of her days all by herself.  Imagine you were trapped by yourself somewhere.  How would you spend your time?”  Another question I would ask would be, “Each page of a graphic novel has several illustrations called panels.  What is your favorite panel in this book?  Describe what you like about the illustration and why it’s your favorite.”  My last discussion question would be, “Fairy tales are often told over and over again.  Have you heard the “Rapunzel” fairy tale before? How is this version of the story different from other versions you’ve heard, seen, or read?”  I would also give writing prompts to the students.  The first prompt would be, “Write a new middle and ending for the Rapunzel story.  Imagine that her parents had refused to give the witch their baby.  What would happen?  Would they have to go into hiding?  Would the witch catch them and put all three in the tower?”  The second prompt would be, “Before the prince found Rapunzel in the desert, he was forced to survive on his own.  As a blind person in the wilderness, what do you think was the biggest challenge he faced?”  The last prompt would be, “The story says Rapunzel and her family ‘lived in perfect happiness from then on.’  Write a story about their life together.  Will they stay in their cottage?  Will they try to return to the prince’s kingdom?”  The younger grades could choose one prompt out of the three and the older grades could respond to all three prompts.

AR Book Finder Book Level 2.5

Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything by: Lenore Look (Realistic Fiction)

Ruby is a second grader who goes through an adjustment in her life while her aunt, uncle, and cousin emigrate from China to move in with her and her family.  Ruby helps to welcome her cousin, Flying Duck, into her new school but sometimes feels jealous of her.  She struggles to maintain a friendship with her next door neighbor, Emma, and finds a new dog that her mother desperately wants to get rid of.  Ruby helps her class understand the best ways to communicate with deaf people since Flying Duck is deaf and is in her class.  Flying Duck has a hard time adjusting to the new country, but Ruby learns sign language to help make her feel more accepted and welcome.  She loves learning new things and her life is full of excitement.  Ruby sets goals for herself and sticks to them, such as learning how to swim.

I would use this book in the classroom as a read aloud if there was a new student that joined our class.  Ruby does a terrific job of welcoming Flying Duck and the book would demonstrate how to make other people feel welcome when they are new.  The students would be able to relate to Ruby and make connections to her life and the things she goes through on a day to day basis.  I would also use this book to emphasize the importance of accepting people from diverse cultures.  In the story, Emma calls Flying Duck an “alien,” and Ruby points out on several occasions that different is not wrong, it is just different.  I would use this to highlight the importance of understanding cultural differences.  I would ask students to write down words or phrases that contain unfamiliar words or words that they think are related to Flying Duck’s Chinese customs.  After the story was read, I would go through Ruby’s Amazing Glossary and Guide to Important Words at the end of the book to see if any of the words matched the ones they wrote down.  I would also use this book to talk about differences in every person, whether it is deafness or needing to wear glasses, and discuss ways to help make everybody feel accepted, even if they look or act different.

AR Book Finder Book Level 3.8

Heartbeat by: Sharon Creech (Realistic Fiction)

The book is about a young girl named Annie who loves to run.  She runs barefoot and only for enjoyment, which causes her to despise the thought of running to compete on a team.  Her parents are having a new baby and she is nervous and excited at the same time.  Her grandpa has a hard time remembering things, but Annie always has a way of making him feel more comfortable.  She saves her money to help her best friend, Max, buy new running shoes and he returns the favor by getting her art supplies to draw.  She practices drawing the same apple one hundred times and drawing the apple becomes harder with each successive drawing.  

I would use this book to help teach students some of the elements of literature.  The book discusses footnotes and how to use them, and I could allow class time for the students to practice using footnotes in their writing or adding footnotes to other books.  I could also discuss the importance of using a wide vocabulary since Annie often times uses a thesaurus to help her find more exciting words.  I would ask the students to choose twenty words from the story and use the thesaurus to find better words to replace them with.  I would allow the students to gain practice writing in a different style than the typical paragraph structures by asking them to mimic the author’s style using their own writing.  Each sentence is broken up into multiple lines and constructed in a particular way and the students would have a chance to explore Sharon Creech’s writing style.  I could also ask the students to explore the way dialogue is used in the story since the author chooses to use italics to represent quotations rather than quotation marks. 

AR Book Finder Book Level 5.0