The Very Busy Spider, by Eric Carle

Specifics
The Very Busy Spider, by Eric Carle
Published by Philomel Books, 1984

Target Audience
Lexile level 130L
This book is for beginning readers, grades kindergarten to second grade.

Summary
This book is about a spider spinning her web. Many animals around her on the farm ask her to do things with them, but she never replies to them, because she is too busy spinning her web. When the spider finally finishes her web, she immediately catches a fly in it, and then goes to sleep. The web is drawn in a way that it is raised, so that the children can touch and feel the spider's web.

Evaluation
This is a great story for teaching students about the different things that animals do, and why they do it. The story is realistic, because spiders do spin webs, ducks do swim, cats take naps, dogs chase cats, etc. The characters seemed real, and they fit the setting of a farm. The setting of a farm seemed authentic, because each of these animals would easily be found on a farm.

Lesson
This book would go along great with a field trip to a farm to learn about all of the animals. The author's use of onomatopoeia would be discussed, and the students could even make the sounds of the animals together as a class. The personification of each of the animals would be discussed, as well as each of the animals talking about what they like to do. The repetition of each page would be pointed out and discussed. Foreshadowing in the form of a fly being on each page of the book, until the spider catches the fly in its web will be pointed out to the students by asking them what they think is going to happen to the fly.

Where do Balloons Go? by Jamie Lee Curtis

Specifics

Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery, by Jamie Lee Curtis, Illustrated by Laura Cornell

Published by Joanna Cotler Books, 2000

Target Audience

Lexile level AD230L

This book is for younger ages, kindergarten to third grade

Summary

This book is pretty much just wondering what balloons do when they get lost in the sky. The character wonders if they go to visit different places, if they meet up with each other and party, and if they worry about popping or about the child that lost the balloon. At the end, the character advises the reader to, "just hold on tight till you have to let go." And then there are pictures of postcards, with a big purple balloon (the one the character lost) in all kinds of different places around the world.

Evaluation

I thought this book was the cutest thing ever, because who doesn't wonder about where balloons go? The character of the little boy wondering about his balloon fit this story perfectly, and he seemed very real, because I think this is exactly where a child's active imagination would go when thinking about lost balloons. The message about holding on tight until there is a time to let go is important, especially because in childhood, there may be a time to let go of some things. I felt like I was in the shoes of the little boy exactly while reading this book, wondering about all of the balloons let go to the sky.

Lesson

The lesson for this book will have to do with the way Curtis rhymes all of her lines, using assonance. The personification of each of the balloons in this text will have to be talked about, because balloons can't really dance with each other, or read the words printed on other balloons. the puns in this book will be pointed out. I would like to have each student say where they think balloons go, before reading the text, whether it be out loud to the class or in a writing prompt. This is a good way to get students to use their imaginations and think about something that everyone wonders about, even as adults.

Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina

Specifics
Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business, by Esphyr Slobodkina
Published by HarperCollins, 1947

Target Audience
Lexile level AD480L
This book is for younger readers, kindergarten to third grades

Summary
This story is about a man who sells hats. He is very careful to not let his hats fall over, and to not lose his hats. He falls asleep under a tree, after not being able to sell any hats one morning. When he wakes up, he finds that monkeys from the tree have stolen all of his hats. He finally gets them back after the monkeys do as he does, by throwing the hats onto the ground in frustration.

Evaluation
This is a good story because it is a fun one for children to listen to, especially because silly monkeys are involved. The main character overcame his problem in a way that made sense, because he got frustrated and threw his own hat on the ground, and that so happened to be what made the monkeys do the same. The character fit the setting, since it was clearly set in a time where people dressed differently. The setting, though, I don't think is truly authentic, just because monkeys would not be living in a tree like the one that was in the illustrations.

Lesson
The lesson to go with this book would be about assonance, and how that made the language in this book flow really well. There would be discussion about onomatopoeia, because the monkeys were making noise at the peddler, and the students would have fun making that noise. The use of foreshadowing could also be talked about, since the peddler is so diligent about checking that each one of his caps is on his head. The students could also try balancing something such as a book on their heads, just to see how hard it is to balance so many things on top of your head.

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown

Specifics
Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, Illustrated by Clement Hurd
Published by Harper and Row, Publishers, 1947

Target Audience
Lexile level AD360L
This book is great for beginning readers, kindergarten to third grade

Summary
This book is about a room, where a baby bunny is about to go to sleep. It goes through what everything in the room is, and it says goodnight to everything in the room. Because this book has been around for so long, this book is kind of like a lullaby to put children to sleep to.

Evaluation
This book is a great story because it is so simple. It is just saying goodnight to everything, because everything needs to go to sleep. The detailed description of everything in the room makes the reader feel like they are in that room. The characters fit the setting. The language used in telling the story felt very natural, possibly because it is rhyming and so easy to read.

Lesson
This book would be good to teach students how to write a simple poem, because of the uses of assonance and alliteration. The hyperbole of a cow jumping over the moon would be a good example to point out to students.

Oh Say Can You Say?, by Dr. Seuss

Specifics
Oh Say Can You Say? by Dr. Seuss
Published by Random House, 1979

Target Audience
Lexile level NP
This book would be best for a read aloud, kindergarten to third grade, readers second to fourth grades.

Summary
This book is a classic Dr. Seuss book. It is a collection of 24 incredible hard tongue-twisters. Each page/two pages there is a new tongue twister. Maybe having the students each read one to a partner would be a good way of having them read and figure out exactly what makes these tongue-twisters.

Evaluation
This book was written incredibly well, the language flowed in a way that was so hard to read out loud, which, of course, is the point. The characters are fun to read about, and, of course, are either made up creatures or not very realistic. Each character did fit the setting they were put into. The illustrations make it obvious that this is a Dr. Seuss book, in that few of them are really human, and a lot of them are creatures. This book was just so much fun to read.

Lesson
What I would love to do with this book is to have each student try to read one of these tongue- twisters out loud, and then create their own tongue twister about anything they want. The anatomy of a tongue twister would be taught, with the literary elements of assonance, alliteration, and oxymorons being used throughout this whole text, and, hopefully, in the students' own tongue twisters, too.

Young Santa, by Dan Greenburg

Specifics
Young Santa, by Dan Greenburg, Illustrated by Warren Miller
Published by Viking, 1991

Target Audience
Lexile level not shown
This book is for students that can read harder books, because it is a longer chapter book. Grades three to six.

Summary
This book is a version of how Santa Claus became the man we think of today. It goes through how his parents chose his name, how they ended up living in the North Pole, how Santa got his sleigh, and how he started delivering presents. It is a version of a Santa story that has nothing to do with religion, but simply about all of the details that make Santa, Santa. Throughout the book, the character is always referred to as "young" Santa, to remind us that this was before he became the Santa we think of today,

Evaluation
This story is not the most realistic, just because nobody lives at the North Pole, there aren't, of course, both penguins and polar bears at the North Pole, like this books claim, and no one would buy an icebox if they lived in the North Pole. But this story is a fun way of explaining Santa. The main character overcomes his problems, maybe not in the most logical of ways, but in the ways that are necessary for telling a story about Santa and Christmas Eve. The language used for the dialogue in this book did sound natural. The illustrations were perfect for a Santa story, especially in that they were black and white, with the only color included being red. The people depicted, however, were not very diverse... besides the fact that there were elves.

Lesson
This book would go perfectly with a lesson about Christmas and Santa Claus. There would be a lot of things within the book to talk about, such as the allusions to all of the well-known Christmas stories, the hyperboles that the author includes, and the puns and sayings included that even Santa's character doesn't always understand.

High Tide in Hawaii, by Mary Pope Osborne

Specifics
Magic Tree House book 28, High Tide in Hawaii, by Mary Pope Osborne, Illustrated by Sal Murdocca
Published by Scholastic Inc., 2003

Target Audience
Lexile level 370L
This book is for early chapter book readers, second to sixth grades.

Summary
Jack and Annie are a brother and sister from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. There is a magic tree house that appears by their house. There are many books in that tree house, and if they point at a book, and say that they wish they could go there, the tree house takes them to that place. The magical librarian who owns the tree house sends the two on quests to find things. The two bring back some small item from each place and time they visit. They visit the island of Hawaii, where they run into a village, and become friends with some of the children. The two village children teach Jack and Annie how to surf, and they all learn what a tsunami is. They bring a lei back home with them, as a symbol of the friends that they made in Hawaii.

Evaluation
This is a great story that involves realistic definitions of magic and beauty. At the end of the book, Jack realizes that there are all kinds of Everyday magic that have to do with a person's relationship with the world and the people around them. The characters that Jack and Annie meet fit the setting of Old Hawaii. There is even a page in the back of the book that tells the reader a bit about the Polynesian people of Hawaii. Reading the book, you do feel like you are in that time and place, learning along with Jack and Annie about where and when they are. The culture of the Polynesians is accurately portrayed, and the facts that the author learned before reading this book are shared with the reader.

Lesson
There are a lot of lessons that can go along with this book. As a foreword to the book, Mary Pope Osborne wrote about her wish to go to Hawaii- and then wrote about how, by writing this book, she did go to Hawaii, in her imagination. This letter specifically is a great way to show students that reading really can transport you to a different place for a little bit. Students can also learn about Hawaii, surfing, and tsunamis The author's use of allegory and assonance with the poem telling Jack and Annie what to look for in Hawaii will be discussed, the class will be asked if they want to guess what the poem means before reading the rest of the book. The author's use of symbolism (the lei means friendship) will be discussed, as well as the alliteration used in the titles of Osborne's books.