Author: Pam Munoz Ryan

Illustrator: Brian Selznick

Date of Publication: 1999

Title: Amelia and Eleanor go for a Ride

ISBN #: 9780590960755

Grade Level: 4th

grade

Topic: Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt (two influential women) have an eventful night

Storyline: This book is based on a true story that took place in April of 1933. Eleanor Roosevelt

(the first lady), and Amelia Earhart (the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic), sat

down to eat dinner at the White House. The two ladies had a lot in common with each other.

Both were advocates for women’s rights, and both ended up being very influential people in

history. Although some parts of the story have been exaggerated, it is believed that Amelia and

Eleanor, while still dressed in their evening gowns, went on a midnight plane ride over

Washington, DC together. Eleanor also took Amelia out afterward for a spin in her new car.

This book lays out the events of that magical night.

Why I like it: This was a very interesting book to read. At first I thought it was fiction, but

when I got to the back of the book, there was a picture of these two influential women together.

This book was very educational for me. Before I read this book, I had no idea that the two

women even knew each other. While doing some research on the genre of the book, I read that

the story told in this book may be a bit fabricated. However, I love that the author used her

imagination to portray how the events may have happened that night. I also loved the

illustrations in this book. The cover is what first drew me to the story and when I first saw it; I

just had to open it up and read it.

Lesson Plans:

1. For this activity, I would read the book to the class and begin a discussion about Amelia

and Eleanor. I would ask the class why these women were influential and important for

us to know about. I would then hand out a plastic or Styrofoam plate to each student. On

the rim of the plate, each student will be instructed to write down the name of an

influential historical figure who they would like to have dinner with. In the middle of the

plate, the students can draw a picture of the person that they chose and present them to

the class. They must tell why they would have dinner with that person. This activity will

allow students to become familiar with important figures in history with hopes that they

want to learn more about them. After the students are finished with their plates, they can

be strung up across the bulletin board for the class to see.

2. After the students have become familiar with Amelia and Eleanor from the story, the

class will then choose someone from history who they would like to interview. If they

got to set down to dinner with that person, what sort of questions would they ask? The

students could choose Amelia, Eleanor, or another historical figure of their choice. After

the students are done, I would ask them why they chose the person they chose to

interview and allow them to share a few of their interview questions with the class.

Author: Herman Parish

Illustrator: Lynne Avril

Date of Publication: 2010

Title: Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie

ISBN #: 9780061964091

Grade Level: 2nd

-3rd

grade

Topic: A little girl who mistaking interprets words differently

Storyline: This book is about a little girl named Amelia Bedelia who is spending the day with

her grandparents. Amelia and her grandfather are raking leaves when Amelia’s grandmother

comes outside and tells Amelia’s grandfather to go to the store to pick up some apples so that she

can teach Amelia how to make an apple pie. They make a delicious looking pie that

unfortunately gets eaten by the birds while it is cooling down outside. Luckily, while Amelia’s

grandmother was cleaning the kitchen, Amelia took the leftover apple mixture and crust and

made a miniature apple pie. Her family was so proud of her and they got to enjoy a yummy

apple pie after all.

Why I like it: Ever since I was a little girl I have enjoyed reading Amelia Bedelia books. I love

how she always interprets things differently from the average person. For example, in this story,

young Amelia and her grandfather get into the car to find apples for a pie. Granny shouts,

“Don’t forget the Granny Smiths.” Of course she means apples, but Amelia asks her grandfather

who Granny Smith is. This is a newer version of the Amelia Bedelia series and shows Amelia as

a child. I was excited to find a copy of this in the library at Hudson. I think Amelia Bedelia

books would be a great to read to students because it shows that sometime the same word can

have different meanings.

Lesson Plans:

1. This and other Amelia Bedelia books, show words and their different interpretations. I

would teach a lesson on how words that sound the same may be spelled differently and

have different meanings. For example, Amelia Bedelia’s grandmother asks Amelia to get

her some flour. Amelia goes to the windowsill and picks a small flower instead of

getting the flour that her grandmother cooks with. This lesson may be a little

complicated so I would print off a list of the same words and their different spellings and

meanings for each student. I would then have each student write a sentence using each

word. For example, they could say, “I picked a flower from the garden.” Or, “I baked a

cake using flour.” This exercise is to get students used to using words with double

meaning in sentences. When they are finished writing their sentences. They could pick

two words from the printed list and write the word and illustrate its meaning.

2. In this book, Amelia’s grandma cuts the apples to make the apple pie. First she cuts them

in halves, then in fourths, then in eighths. For this activity, I would bring apples in for a

math lesson. I would use the various cuts of apples to introduce fractions. Each student

would get a bag of apples with either halves, fourths, or eighths in it. I would then split

them into groups of three. Each group will have one person with a bag of halves, one

person with a bag of fourths, and one person with a bag of eighths. I will then give each

group a worksheet with instructions. For example, the first instruction may read, “Show

the fraction 2/4 with your apples.” After the students are finished demonstrating each

instruction on their worksheet, they could then eat their apples. I would point out that

even though the apples are cut differently, two halves, four fourths, and eight eighths

equals one whole apple and they are all eating the same amount.

Author: Maurice Sendak

Illustrator: Maurice Sendak

Date of Publication: 1963

Title: Where the Wild Things Are

ISBN #: 9780064431781

Grade Level: Kindergarten-3rd

grade

Topic: A little boy who travels to the island of the wild things.

Storyline: This story is about a little boy who has a little too much energy and gets sent to

bed with no dinner. His room turns into a jungle and he travels by boat to the island of the

wild things. At first they intimidate him, but after he looks them in the eyes, they realize that

he is not scared and they make him the king of the wild things. They have a wonderful time,

but after a while, he gets homesick and travels back to his room where he finds his dinner

waiting for him.

Why I like it: I like this book because it is full of imagination. It is a magical story that has

captivated young children for years. I remember my mom reading it to me when I was little,

and I can’t wait to read it to my children and students. Any book that makes children excited

about reading is a must to have in the classroom. I feel that this book does just that.

Lesson Plans:

1. I would use this book as an opportunity for writing. I would give the prompt, “If you got sent

to your room without dinner and could travel anywhere and do anything, where would it be and

why?” This would be an excellent opportunity for them to practice their writing. The students

could also draw a picture of the place that they would travel to share with the class. The goal of

this lesson is to get the students reading, brainstorming, writing, and then sharing their ideas.

Author: Nancy I. Sanders

Illustrator: E.B. Lewis

Date of Publication: September 2007

Title: D is for Drinking Gourd

ISBN #: 9781585362936

Grade Level: 1st-5

th grade

Topic: African American history

Storyline: This book is a wonderful educational tool for teaching African American history. The

book gives an African American term for each letter of the alphabet.

Why I like it: I love this book because it is a wonderful teaching tool. It a great source to find

out more about African American history. The book also contains beautiful pictures. When I

was younger, any book that had beautiful pictures in it had my attention. This book has the

ability to capture the attention of young children while teaching them important facts that they

need to know. I have always had a hard time getting into history. Reading this book showed me

that using stories to teach need-to-know facts will benefit my classroom.

Lesson Plans:

1. An obvious use for this book would be to teach important African American terms. I would

use this book for African American history month and go over a new term in depth every day.

Another option would be to assign a term to a group of two students and have them research it.

They could teach their findings to the class.

Author: Allen Say

Illustrator: Allen Say

Date of Publication: 1993

Title: Grandfather’s Journey

ISBN #: 9780395570357

Grade Level: 3rd

grade

Topic: A boy who immigrates with his family

Storyline: This book is about a Japanese immigrant who comes to America and falls in love with

California. He lives there for a while but eventually gets homesick for Japan. He returns home

and falls in love with a woman. After he gets married, he brings his wife back to California to

live. They have a daughter and decide to move back to Japan to raise her. When she grows up,

she has a son and names him Allen (the author). This story conveys the love that grandfather

and grandson have for both their homeland of Japan, and the beautiful California seaside.

Why I like it: I loved this book because it is a true story about the author’s grandfather. Both

grandfather and grandson share the same lone for Japan and California. It reminded me of my

relationship with my grandfather. Like the author and his grandfather, my grandfather and I

share a love for the ocean. It is nice to know that we will always share that connection. I also

enjoyed how the author’s grandfather told his grandson of all the beautiful things that he saw in

California. His descriptions eventually led his grandson to journey there to see it for himself.

Lesson Plans:

1. This book would be excellent to introduce literature circles. I would have the students get in

groups of five and assign each of them a job. These jobs include summarizer, discussion,

director, literary luminary, graphic organizer, and vocabulary enricher. I would hand each

student a printout of their job description so that they understand the task they are to complete.

After each student completes their tasks, they can share with their groups. This activity will

allow students to better understand the story.

2. I would also use this book to teach Tier 2 and 3 words. I would pick out one of these more

challenging words and have the students make predictions of what they think the word means by

using context clues. I would then tell them the actual meaning and see if their guesses were

correct.

3. This book would also be a great multi-cultural teaching source. I would read the story to the

class, and have the students write a story and draw a picture where they are from.

Author: Kevin Henkes

Illustrator: Kevin Henkes

Date of Publication: September, 1993

Title: Owen

ISBN #: 9780688114497

Grade Level: Kindergarten-2nd

grade

Topic: A little boy named Owen who carries his fuzzy, yellow blanket around with him

everywhere.

Storyline: This book is about a little boy named Owen. Owen’s most favorite thing is a fuzzy

yellow blanket. He takes his blanket with him wherever he goes. Owen’s parents become

worried because Owen must start school soon and he can’t take his blanket with him. When all

hope seems lost, Owen’s mom gets an idea. She cuts Owen’s blanket into small handkerchiefs

that he can take with him wherever he goes. This solves the problem and makes everyone

happy.

Why I like it: I like this book because it tells such a wonderful story that almost everyone can

relate to. Kevin Henkes really brings his characters to life with his descriptions and illustrations.

The story also contains a lot of rich language.

Lesson Plans:

1. I would use this book toward the beginning of the school year. I would have the students

identify the problem in the story and make suggestions/predictions on how they would solve the

problem. I would turn this into a language experience and write the student’s suggestion on a

large piece of paper at the front of the classroom. I would then do an echo/choral reading after

completion of their sentence.

Author: David A. Adler

Illustrator: Robert Casilla

Date of Publication: 1989

Title: A Picture Book of Martin Luther King Jr.

ISBN #: 9780823408474

Grade Level: 3rd

-5th

grade

Topic: The life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Storyline: This book is about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. It takes us back to his childhood

in Atlanta, Georgia where he grew up with his father, mother, brother, and sister. His father was

a pastor and his mother was a teacher. Young Martin began to notice he was not treated the

same as his white friends and it made him sad. He finished school early and went on to become

a minister. He pushed for equality and peace and led the biggest march of all in Washington DC.

He did many great things in his time, but unfortunately his life came to a tragic end when he was

shot by James Earl Ray in April of 1968.

Why I like it: This book is not only a great picture book biography, but it also very informative.

I learned things about Martin Luther King Jr. that I never knew before reading this book. One

part that stood out to me the most was the part when young Martin cries to his mother about

being treated differently. He didn’t understand why the color of his skin should matter to

anyone. This event is significant because this is when he first realized the separation between

races. When he is older, he goes on to say that people should be judged by the content of their

character and not the color of their skin. This book is a wonderful source to keep in a classroom.

As a future teacher, I am aware that I am going to have many ethnicities in my classroom. I want

my students to treat everyone with equally and with respect. Books such as these encourage that

behavior.

Lesson Plans:

1. This book is a biography of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Since the events go in

order, the students will be instructed to make a timeline of King’s life. In the back of the

book, there is a list of important dates that the students could use in their timelines.

When everyone is finished, we would make a big one on the board to make sure everyone

has the same dates and important facts. After this activity, I would have my students then

make a timeline of their own life. They would need to include the day they were born

first and then list events that they feel are important. This activity will get children used

to putting important events in chronological order.

2. In the book, it talks about a young Martin reading about other black leaders. Frederick

Douglas, George Washington Carver, and Harriet Tubman are among those. For this

activity, I would break the class into groups and assign each group an influential black

leader. Each group will have a large poster board to compose a timeline of their leader’s

life and draw a picture of that person. Other books and computers should be available for

resources. After they are finished, each group will share the person they were assigned to

the class.

Author: Patricia Palacco

Illustrator: Patricia Palacco

Publishing Date: 1994

Pink and Say

ISBN: 9780399226717

Age/Grade Range: 3rd

grade-5th

grade

Topic: Two boys who become friends during the Civil War

Storyline: This book is about a boy named Say, a union deserter who was shot in the leg, and

Pink, a former slave boy who was separated from his unit during the Civil War. Pink finds Say

lying wounded and carries him home to his mother Moe Moe Bay. She nurses Say back to

health and is disheartened when Pink informs her that they have to return to their units. Say

begins to cry because he has to tell Moe Moe Bay the reason he doesn’t want to go back to the

war is because he is a deserter. Moe Moe Bay hugs him and tells him that he is going to die an

old man. Before both boys leave, they have to hide in the cellar when Marauders come to raid

the home. Moe Moe Bay is shot to death and the boys get taken to a Confederate POW camp. It

is there that Pink is hung within hours of arrival. Say lives and goes on to raise a large family.

As Moe Moe Bay promised, Say dies an old man, but not before passing along this story of

friendship to his daughter, who in turn, passed it down as well.

Why I like it: This story was extremely moving and heart wrenching. I actually cried at the end

of the book. It is so refreshing to see an unbreakable friendship between two boys that were so

very different. Against all odds they were there for each other from the time that they met, from

the time that they were separated in the POW camp. I felt that the most moving part of the story

is at the end when the boys are separated. Pink asks Say if he can touch the hand of the man that

touched Abraham Lincoln one last time. It really brings the devastation of the Civil War back to

my attention. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have had people like Pink fighting for what

they believed in to get us to this point today. This story made me want to read more from the

author Patricia Palacco. I loved this story and definitely want to check out some of her other

works.

Lesson Plans:

1. The first idea that I had for this book, was to have the class create a Venn diagram. The

boys in this story are very different; however, they have a lot in common as well. I

would break the class into groups of two and instruct them to find Pink and Says

differences but more importantly, what they had in common. When they are finished, I

will make a large Venn diagram on the board using the information that the class found.

After the diagram is complete, I would ask the students why they feel it is important that

Pink and Say became friends. I would also ask them what they think may have happened

if Pink hadn’t found Say when he was wounded. This activity will help students realize

the importance of friendship.

2. Since this book deals with real life struggles that occurred during the Civil War, I would

use this book as an introductory to it. I would go over the reasons behind the fighting,

and some of the struggles people of that time had to deal with. Each student then would

pick a character from the book Pink and Say to write a series of journal entries for. After

they have picked their character, I would hand out a small five page booklet that they can

write their entries in. They will write one entry per day in their journal. These entries

will be written after I go over the Civil War lessons each day in hopes that they will

incorporate some of what they learned into their journals.

Author: Eleanor Coer

Illustrator: Ronald Himler

Date of Publication: 1977

Title: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

ISBN #: 9780142401132

Grade Level: 4th

-5th

grade

Topic: A girl becomes ill in post-atomic bomb Japan

Storyline: This book is about a young girl named Sadako living in post-atomic bomb Japan. She

is a very happy little girl until one day she collapses. Her parents take her to the hospital where

they find out the she has leukemia. She got leukemia from the effects of radiation when she was

exposed to it at two years old. Her friend Chizuko tells her that if a sick person makes one

thousand paper cranes, they will get their wish granted. Sadako wastes no time and begins

working on the cranes. With every one that she makes, she wishes to be well again. Sadly,

Sadako loses her battle to cancer before she finished the cranes. Her classmates finish them so

that Sadako can be buried with them. This story shows Sadako’s courage and determination.

Why I like it: I remember reading this book in when I was in the 4th

grade at Hudson

Elementary. When I first learned about our assignment for this class, I knew that I wanted to

write about this book. Sadako was so courageous for a nine year old girl. Her determination and

strength should be a lesson to everyone. Even though she didn’t finish making one thousand

cranes before her death, the fact that her fellow classmates helped finish them warmed my heart.

This book not only is the perfect example of courage, but it gives us insight to how the atomic

bomb affected innocent people like Sadako. This book is an inspiration to me and I am

definitely going to share it with children in my future classrooms.

Lesson Plans:

1. Since Sadako spent the last moments of her short life making cranes, I think it is very

appropriate to have my students make an origami crane. I would give each student a few

pieces of origami paper and printed instructions on how to make one. I would go through

each step of the process slowly so that everyone could see. When everyone has finished

their cranes, I will discuss that Sadako’s wish was to get well. Then I would have

everyone write a wish that they have on the wing of their cranes. These will look

beautiful hanging up in the classroom.

2. At the end of the story, Sadako’s classmates finish Sadako’s cranes. I would point out

what a nice gesture that was. I would also discuss how the after effects of the atomic

bomb affected innocent children like Sadako. I would also explain how sometimes

children become sick and need some cheering up. The class could make cards for sick

children to be mailed to a hospital like the Ronald McDonald house. This activity will

make children aware of those in need and help them to see that a caring gesture can cheer

up those in need.

Author: Shel Silverstein

Illustrator: Shel Silverstein

Date of Publication: 1964

Title: The Giving Tree

ISBN #: 0060256656

Grade Level: 2nd

-5th

grade

Topic: A tree who gives everything that he has to his dearest friend

Storyline: This book is a story about the friendship between a boy and a tree. Throughout

the boy’s life, the tree makes sacrifices in order to make the boy happy. The tree is very

selfless and is willing to give everything that he has to help the boy. In the beginning he

gives him apples to eat and a place to play. As the boy gets older, the tree supplies him with

wood by letting him cut down his trunk. In the end, all that is left of the tree is the stump and

the boy (who is now an old man) uses it to sit.

Why I like it: This book was the ultimate tale of giving. The tree loves the boy so much that

his own happiness depends upon the boy’s happiness. When the boy returns to the tree at the

end of the story (now an old man), the tree is sad because he has nothing left to give the boy.

However, the old man just wants a place to sit and the tree pulls through for him once again.

I love that the boy and tree seem to grow together even when they are apart. They start out

full of life and are always together, but the boy is away from the tree a lot when he grows

older. However, in the end after they have served their purposes in life and are feeling sad, all

they have is each other and they sit in the quiet together. It seems that they are always going

to be connected in some way because the tree gave all that he had in order to give the boy a

good life.

Lesson Plans:

1. This is the ultimate tale of giving. A good activity after reading this book with my class

would be to get them thinking about all of the things that people give to them. I would print

out a worksheet with a picture of a tree. In the branches, there will be spaces for each student

to write things that people have given to them. They can share and compare their answers

with their classmates. I would also ask my class to write down a way that they can give to

others like the tree gave to the boy. They could even draw a picture of their ideas and share

it with the class.

2. I would also use this book as an example of personification. I would explain that

personification means giving something non-human, human characteristics. Then I would

ask the class if anything in this story was personified. I would give clues until someone

guesses the tree. As a class, I would then have them name all of the human characteristics

that the tree has and make a poster to hang in the room. The poster could have a tree in the

middle with the word “personification” written down the trunk. The way the tree is

personified could be written around the tree. This is a great way to teach what

personification means. The class will work together to create a poster that will be viewed

daily helping them to remember this vocabulary word and the story of The Giving Tree.