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.

Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld

Specifics
Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld
Published by Simon Pulse, 2011

Target Audience
Lexile level 77L
This book, because of the length and some of the themes and ideas, is for older students, middle schoolers.

Summary
This book is about a futuristic society where everyone gets plastic surgery when they turn sixteen. With that operation, the doctors also alter the person's mind, to make them "happy" and compliant. After that operation, everyone gets to move over to "Pretty Town" where everybody parties and has fun all day long. Right before the operation, Tally meets a girl who has the same birthday as her. They become friends, and the other girl, Shay, talks about running away. She had had friends that ran away from the city, but she had chickened out. Now, she wants to go and meet up with this guy who will take her to a place where there is no operation, but also no city, no technology. Tally gets forced to go and join that society, and she learns a lot of things about her city and the people who run it along the way. She also learns to see beauty in a totally different way than she ever thought she would.

Evaluation
This is a great story that children, I believe, will relate to so easily. Because our society is so permeated with the ideas and ideals of beauty, this book will teach students to view the idea of beauty in a way that they will actually think about it. This story shows a society that we could potentially turn into, so I believe this setting and story is realistic, in that world. The setting is that there was some sort of thing that infected all of the oil, and so regular cars stopped working. The rusty city has shut down, and is now just a ruin of what that city used to be. Reading this book, I did feel like I was in that time and place with Tally. The characters are realistic because there are those who question, and there are those who just follow along blindly.

Lesson
The main theme behind the lesson with this book will be the idea of beauty, and how it is just a social construct that everybody believes in. Anything can be beautiful to anybody, if they look at it the right way. The author's use of foreshadowing will be discussed after finishing the book. The use of metaphors and allegory will be discussed, because the author is making a statement about our society, and what we believe, and so we will talk about how things should change, and how we can maybe avoid this kind of future.

Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson

Specifics
Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson
Published by Penguin Group, 2014

Target Audience
Lexile level 990L
This book is for older students, probably around middle school age.

Summary
This book is about the younger years of Jacqueline Woodson herself. It is about how her and her family moved from Ohio, to South Carolina, to New York City, and the many differences between all of them. A lot of the differences have to do with the fact that they are black, and this is the 60's and 70's, so not everything is equal for her and her family. Jacqueline sees the differences through a child's eyes, and is retelling the story of her life through things her family has told her and through her own memories, through the eyes of a child. This book is written in poem format, and is actually pretty easy and fun to read.

Evaluation
This book is a great tool for teaching about the civil rights movement that was going on at that time. The characters seemed real, especially because Jacqueline doesn't always understand the reasons for what the adults tell her. The language, for being written in poem form, sounded incredibly natural. I don't usually like poems all that much, but I love the way that Woodson wrote this. The characters mostly fit their settings, especially Jacqueline's grandparents in South Carolina, and how close they were to their grandchildren. The story is realistic, if you keep in mind the fact that most of the very early years are known because of stories from Woodson's other family members. I definitely felt like I was in that time and place with the character of Jacqueline.

Lesson
The lesson for this book will go along with a history unit about the civil rights movement of the 60's. The author's use of allegory throughout the book will be thoroughly discussed. Any uses of assonance will be noted and used as tools for the students to write their own forms of poetry. Metaphors and how they affected this story will be discussed. The students will either do a found poem, like we did with this book in class, or they will write their own form of poem about a memory from their own childhood.

Maximum Ride, by James Patterson

Specifics
Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 1, by James Patterson, Illustration by NaRae Lee
Published by Hachette Book Group, 2009

Target Audience
Lexile level GN380L
This book is for older students, probably around middle school age because of some of the themes.

Summary
This book is an adaptation of the novel by the same name, and the same author. It goes through about half of the first novel. It is about a group of children who are the result of scientific experimentation and gene splicing. They are kids who can fly. They have run away from the lab that had created them, and they are trying to stay hidden from those that are looking for them, but the lab sends these mutated wolf-men to find them. When they capture the youngest of the group, the rest have to go and save her.

Evaluation
This story is good because, while the characters in the book are technically different from "normal" humans, there has to be one character that each student can relate to. Because there is a girl who's in charge, a girl who loves fashion, a sweet little girl, a blind guy, a kid who loves explosions, and a guy who is the "broody" type, there is most likely going to be one character that everybody can relate to. The characters are portrayed both as individuals and as a group, which shows the power of teamwork and family. This story is realistic in that if there were bird-humans, they probably would have been born in a lab, and the scientists would not want to lose track of them. The characters and their actions and decisions matched, and they all seemed real and relatable.

Lesson
The lesson going along with this will be more complicated, so older students will understand it more. It will be about how DNA and gene splicing may work, so they can understand how the characters in this story were made. The author's use of foreshadowing with the dream in the very beginning of the book will be discussed. The author's use of allegory with the idea of having lab-born experiments basically being imprisoned their whole lives will be discussed and pointed out throughout. The author's use of similes will be pointed out throughout the book.

The Best Part About The Day of the Dead, by Marianne Arellano Pazos

Specifics
The Best Part About The Day of the Dead, by Marianne Arellano Pazos, Illustrated by Justin Dial
Published by Infinity Insurance, 2014

Target Audience
Lexile level not shown
This book is for younger children to learn about The Day of the Dead, kindergarten to third grade

Summary
This is a book specifically about the holiday of Day of the Dead. One of the characters in the book has never celebrated Day of the Dead before, so her friends are all explaining to her that on the second day of November, they honor the memories of their gone loved ones. It goes through all of the different decorations, traditions, and foods that are a part of the Day of the Dead. Each friend believes that the part they are putting into the celebration is the best part, and at the end, the main character finds that the best part of the celebration is actually that everyone does something to honor the ones they love. The story is told in English on the left side of each page, and in Spanish on the right.

Evaluation
This book, unlike the rest of the books illustrated by Justin Dial, has only animal characters, with no humans. The characters fit the setting well, in that the characters were all colorful, like the Day of the Dead decorations. This story is very good to teach students about the Day of the Dead, a traditionally Mexican holiday, that is becoming more popular in America. It is a great way to bring in the culture and heritage of some of our students, that would not normally be addressed. I believe the culture is accurately portrayed in this book.

Lesson
The overall lesson and activity will be a celebration of the Day of the Dead. The children can help decorate the classroom, and snacks can be brought in. The author's personification of the characters in the book will be addressed, and maybe the students can identify what kind of animal each character is. The author's use of onomatopoeia will be pointed out. The author's use of metaphor will be discussed.

The Twins Who Share, by Taneesha Crooks

Specifics
The Twins Who Share, by Taneesha Crooks, Illustrated by Justin Dial
Published by Infinity Insurance 2014

Target Audience
Lexile level not shown
This book is definitely for younger students, the storyline is fairly simple. kindergarten to second grade.

Summary
This book is about a brother and sister, who are twins. They share everything with each other, and have the same friends. One day, Ricky randomly decides that he does not want to share his toys anymore. He spends all his time trying to keep his things away from his sister, that he has no fun actually playing with the toys. He realizes that sharing his things leads to a lot more fun for everyone. The story is told in English on the top of the page, and in Spanish below.

Evaluation
This book is a great story to use for teaching students about sharing, and why it is important. The story is very realistic, because children can easily decide that they want to keep everything to themselves, and not share at all. We saw Ricky growing in this story when he realized that sharing his toys is the best thing for everyone. The only weird thing about this book was, again, the fact that most of the characters were human, but there was one character that was just randomly a lion. A lot of the read conmigo books, I have found, have the same illustrator, and he uses the same characters for each book, so they almost all contain animals and humans as characters.

Lesson
The lesson for this book will be about twins, and how they have the same birthday. It will also be pointed out that if the twins are a boy and a girl, it is the same as being brother and sister, but if they are both girls or both boys, it is possible for them to look exactly like one another. The author's use of allusion, with Ricky wanting his toys, will be discussed. The author's use of metaphors will be pointed out, and the author's use of personification of his characters will be discussed and analyzed.

Hanukkah in Alaska, by Barbara Brown

Specifics
Hanukkah in Alaska, by Barbara Brown, Illustrated by Stacey Schuett
Published by Henry Holt and Co., 2013
http://www.storylineonline.net/hanukkah-in-alaska/

Target Audience
Lexile level not shown
This book is for younger readers, kindergarten to fourth grade.

Summary
This book is about a young girl who lives in Alaska. It is explained that in winter in Alaska, daylight only lasts for about five hours, there is a lot of snow, and everyone has to watch out for moose. Moose like to use the path that humans shovel out, like driveways and roads. There is a moose that decides to camp out in the main character's back yard, right by her swing. She tries everything to get it to leave, but nothing works until the last day of Hanukkah, when she discovers that a Jewish food is something that the moose likes to eat. She ends up successfully luring the moose away from her swing, and she then enjoys the beauty of the northern lights with her family.

Evaluation
This story is good because it explains a lot of things that people don't normally think about, like what life is like in Alaska during the winter, and having to watch out for moose. The characters fit the setting perfectly, in that the main character dresses in a giant snowsuit just to go outside. This story makes it sound like this kind of thing could actually happen, because it says that you can hug a tree to avoid getting stepped on or attacked by a moose, and the moose stays where there is less snow. The character is portrayed as an individual who has lived in Alaska her whole life, and she knows that snow and darkness and moose are a reality of the winter.

Lesson
The lesson for this story will be about moose, the northern lights, and Hanukkah. The children can be taught about onomatopoeia, and what kinds of sounds a moose makes. They can discuss the author's use of foreshadowing, with the other moose that got caught in the swing. The author's use of simile can also be addressed. The students can do a research project about Alaska and the northern lights, as well as talking about the different winter holidays, other than Christmas.

A Perfect Season for Dreaming

Specifics
A Perfect Season for Dreaming, by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Illustrated by Esau Andrade Valencia
Published by Cinco Puntos Press, 2008

Target Audience
Lexile level not shown
This book would be for younger students, because they would really enjoy looking at the illustrations and counting the things Octavio Rivera dreams of.

Summary
This book is about an old man during the summer, and each day of summer he dreams about something wonderful. His dreams are so crazy, though, he does not want to tell anybody about them. After eight days of his incredible dreaming, Octavio can no longer keep his dreams to himself, and he thinks of someone that he can definitely tell- his granddaughter. So he shares his wonderful dreams with her, and the next night, he has an even more wonderful dream about nine hundred hummingbirds. There is an English paragraph on the top of each page, with a Spanish translation under each one.

Evaluation
This is a great story about it being okay to use your imagination, and to tell others about what your mind comes up with. The character's motivations for telling someone about his dreams are very realistic, because when you dream of something so great, all you want to do is tell someone about it. His reservations about telling other people are also realistic, though, because they might just believe that he is old and crazy. The character fit the setting because the illustrations do look like they have mexican influences, and his dreams are all in the background behind him, along with illustrations of his family members, including his granddaughter who loves his dreams. The author's message of it being a good thing to use your imagination is a very good message for kids, because as adults, we tend to use our imagination less and we should encourage them to use it as much as they can. The character overcame his problem of having no one to tell about his dreams in a very natural way, and I love that he told his granddaughter, rather than another adult, about his dreams.

Lesson
The lesson for this book will be for each student to write about some kind of fantastic dream that they have had, whether it was while they were sleeping, or if it is just from their imagination. The use of allegory for the message of the book can be discussed, by talking about what the book is telling readers. The author's use of repetition in the numbers, and each animal or thing Octavio dreams about being from a different place can be discussed, asking why the author decided to use repetition for this story. The personification of each thing that Octavio dreams can also be discussed, using the illustrations as tools to show how each thing is being brought to life by the dreams.

Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

Specifics
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi
Published by Pantheon, 2000

Target Audience
Lexile level GN380L
This book would be for slightly older students, because the content can be hard to read about.

Summary
This is the story of a girl growing up in the midst of the Islamic Revolution in the 80s. She strives to be her own person while not getting in trouble with the government. She hears her parents talking about things that she is too young to be hearing about. Her uncle gets arrested, and Marjane gets sent away to live with her aunt. She does things like talk to God and using her imagination for everything. This book is a great book to use for teaching about how other children live during wartime.

Evaluation
The character in this book seemed believable, especially since she gets into things like bands and music. The reader does feel like they are in that time and place with Marjane, especially because she does get interested in what is going on with the government and politics around her. The historical details are accurate, since these are things that actually happened to the author. The character in the story grew in that she no longer knows what to believe, but she still strove to be her own person despite the rules of the government.

Lesson
The lesson for this book will go along with a history unit about Iran and the history of their country. The illustrations will be looked at, and there will be a discussion about the differences between the panels that are mostly white and those that are mostly black. The fact that this novel is all black and white lends itself to the fact that a lot of the subjects addressed in this book are darker, and people don't all see in shades of gray. The author's use of allusion, foreshadowing, and metaphors can be discussed, especially the allusions to the new ruler and her political beliefs.

March Book 1, by Lewis, Aydin, and Powell

Specifics
March: Book one, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
Published by Top Shelf Productions, 2013

Target Audience
Lexile level GN760L
This book would be for older students who are learning about the civil rights movement.

Summary
This book is about a young John Lewis, learning about the world around him, and seeing the injustice in society. He meets Martin Luther King, Jr., and becomes an activist at a young age.

Evaluation
This was a great story that will appeal to students who may not like reading as much, and the subject matter draws the reader in. The characters were believable, probably because this book is based off of true events. The factual and historical details accurately portray to the reader the emotions and reasons behind the civil rights movement of the time.

Lesson
The lesson for this book will go along with a history unit about the civil rights movement, and it will probably be in the month of February, Black History Month. There are some great examples of allegory in this text, including the message that the world can be unfair to those of different races, and we need to work to treat all people equally.

I Want to Grow Up! by the Read Conmigo Team

Specifics
I Want to Grow Up! ¡Quisiera Ser Grande! by The Read Conmigo Team, Illustrated by Justin Dial
Published by Infinity Insurance, 2016
https://www.readconmigo.org/books/Little%20David%20RCM%20JPEG%20Book.pdf

Target Audience
Lexile level not shown
This book would be a good read aloud for a younger class, first to fourth grades

Summary
This book is about a chick who can not easily do things such as playing the guitar or karate kicking. His older brother is good at it though, so he wants to get older in order to get good at those things. After his parents explain things to him, After that, he goes to the Children's Day festival at his school. He reads about all the different things he could be when he grows up, and he pretends to be them. After that, he realizes that being a kid is actually fun. This book is bilingual, so there's English first, and then underneath that is the Spanish version of the same text.

Evaluation
This book was weird in that the main character was a chick, and his parents were both chickens, but when the character went to the festival, he had a friend who was a lion, and the rest of the people were actual people. The character in the story grew when he realized that he was okay being a kid, because he can be whatever he wants. The theme of the story, that it's good to be a kid and have fun and dream and not be good at everything, is a good message for a classroom. The setting and characters are the only thing that seem unrealistic.

Lesson
The lesson for this book will definitely have to do with personification, as the main character is a chick. We will discuss why the author chose to have a chick as the main character, and why he is friends with a lion. The choice of having this book be a bilingual text will also be discussed. This book would be read on Children's Day, so that the book serves its purpose of reminding students that being a kid is good. There will be a writing prompt about what each student wants to be when they grow up, and what they would like to get better at by practicing.

Luna, by Julie Anne Peters

Specifics
Luna, by Julie Anne Peters
Published by Little, Brown and Company, 2004

Target Audience
Lexile level 500L
This book is targeted more towards older students, especially because at this point in time, the subject of a transgender character is still controversial. The main character is also in high school, so older students would be able to relate more easily.

Summary
This book is about Reagan, who has an older brother who is a girl born in a boy's body. Reagan struggles with keeping Luna's secret, having friends, and dealing with her own problems. Luna is trying to decide whether to transition, and with starting to tell people other than Reagan about who she really is. This book is a great way to introduce a topic that may be hard to talk about for some people.

Evaluation
This book transcended stereotypes by portraying a character with a problem that does not get talked about enough. It shows the mindset behind wanting to have a different body than you were born with. The author tries very hard to avoid offensive or degrading language about the character of Luna/Liam. She switches between the pronouns he and she according to which persona is being addressed. The theme of the book was very worthwhile, in that this subject is important, because it could affect people's lives, and teaching students to be accepting of anybody's feelings is important.

Lesson
The lesson for this book is to introduce foreshadowing, so the students will be able to find foreshadowing of Liam wanting to turn permanently into Luna. They will find three instances in the book, and write a few sentences on how this was foreshadowing. They will also learn about oxymorons, and we as a class will try to find an example of Reagan or Liam talking about something that could be considered an oxymoron, since Liam is actually Luna. They will also learn about similes, and come up with similes for Luna's struggle with her decision to transition.

Shadow Play, by Paul Fleishcman

Specifics
Shadow Play, by Paul Fleischman, Illustrated by Eric Beddows
Published by Harper and Row Publishers, 1990

Target Audience
Lexile level not shown
This book is mostly pictures, so younger ages would be able to read and follow it, especially for a read aloud. This book is probably kindergarten- 3rd grade range.

Summary
This book is about two children who go to a circus, and they have only twenty cents left to spend, so they go to a shadow play that only costs ten cents each. The show is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but the beast is a bull, and Beauty is the only person who can tame him. The children are invited backstage after the show, and they realize that the shadows that were telling the story were just big cutouts, being moved by the same man that sold them their tickets.

Evaluation
This book has amazing illustrations, all in black and white. It tells a beautiful story in a way that students may not have heard Beauty and the Beast before. The use of illustrations to show the story of Beauty taming the beast, making it easier for students who may have a harder time with reading words. The students could still understand what the story is without reading at all. The personifications of the beast could be talked about. This was a good story about different ways that a fairy tale can be told, and how some things are just shadows, even if you believe they are real. The characters fit the setting of a circus, because they were excited, even when they found out that the things making the shadows were actually just one man. The pictures in the book transported you to that play, following the way that they told Beauty and the Beast, in a way that involved not love, but a little girl calming an animal.

Lesson
The lesson for this book will be that not everything is what it appears to be. The activity can be, using a light, teaching the class a few shadow animals that they can make with their hands. They could then write about a time when they thought something was actually something totally different, such as a student thinking something looked like a monster, when it was actually just a chair or something like that. This can teach them to look into things and ask questions before making assumptions.

The Birthday Tree, by Paul Fleischman

Specifics
The Birthday Tree, by Paul Fleishcman, Illustrated by Barry Root
Published by Candlewick Press, 2008

Target Audience
Lexile level AD660L
This book is a great tool to use to teach symbolism.

Weslandia, by Paul Fleischman

Specifics
Weslandia, by Paul Fleischman, Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
Published by Candlewick Press, 1999

Target Audience
Lexile level AD820L
This book is a great tool to teach students that it is okay to just be yourself, and that it is okay to be different from everyone else.

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal by Paul Fleischman

Specifics
Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella, by Paul Fleischman, Illustrated by Julie Pachkis
Published by Henry Holt and Company, 2007

Target Audience
Lexile level AD700L
This book, I believe, is great for all ages just because everybody knows some version of the Cinderella story, and this demonstrates that every culture has some version of the same story.

Summary
This book starts off with a map of the world on the inside cover, pinpointing each of the countries or areas that each different Cinderella version comes from. The author then takes each line of the story from a different version of the story, and the illustrations show what country each line is from. Each illustration shows the difference in the characters' appearances and cultures. This was a good story because it shows how different cultures are very different, but can also have many things in common. This book is a perfect way of showcasing little parts of different cultures to introduce to students, it also easily shows that all cultures are valued and as important as the others.

Evaluation
Any Cinderella story is going to be interesting for a class, because every child knows at least something about Cinderella. The author's use of all different cultures will appeal to the students, because it will most likely be something that they had never thought of before, since they probably thought that the version that they knew was the only one.

Lesson
The lesson for this book is going to be an exploration of different cultures, and how they may have different views on the same type of subjects and stories.

Joyful Noise: Poem for Two Voices, by Paul Fleischman

Specifics
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, by Paul Fleischman, Illustrations by Eric Beddows
Published by Harper and Row, Publishers, 1988

Target Audience
Lexile level NP
We used this book as a book for fifth grade and up, because of the difficulty of reading with two people at once, and writing their own poems.

Summary
This book is a collection of poems, each one about a different type of insect. Each poem has two columns, meant to be read at the same time by two different readers. The columns usually have one line in common to connect the readers to each other. It is a great tool for teaching about many different types of insects, and how they live.

Evaluation
Though some of the text may be harder to understand because it will be being read together, this book can be very helpful in getting students to read aloud, because they won't be doing it by themselves. The author's use of assonance and repetition can be discussed in how they show how the insects live or make sounds. The structure of each poem can be evaluated, discussing why the author chose that specific structure for each poem.

Lesson
The lesson for this book is for each students to be in pairs and choose an animal to write a poem about. They could write about two different types of this animal, they could write about a couple, like the poem Book Lice was about, or they could compare and contrast two different characters. The students can then present their poem to the class together. This will be a lesson on comparing and contrasting two similar but different things, and it will be a lesson in writing poetry.

Time Train by Paul Fleischman

Specifics
Time Train, by Paul Fleischman, Illustrated by Claire West
Published by Harper Collins Publishers, 1991

Target Audience
Lexile level AD490L
The book shows that it is for Kindergarten to fourth grade, in our mentor text study, we targeted this text to third grade for a read aloud.

Summary
This book is about a class of children that are going on a class field trip. They leave New York, headed for the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. One of the students tells the ticket seller in New York where they are headed, and the ticket seller tells them that they want a special train, called the Rocky Mountain Unlimited. This train takes them back in actual time so that they can study the dinosaurs in their natural habitat. The train appears a few days later to take them back to New York.

Evaluation
This book is fairly simply written, so younger readers would be able to follow the story. It is never explicitly said that the class goes back in time, rather it is shown in the illustrations. This story is not meant to be believable, since we can't actually go back in time to study the dinosaurs. You see the teacher in the illustrations kind of freaking out about going back in time. When they get to prehistoric times, the teacher is hiding between her suitcases, which the dinosaurs start to steal in the next illustration, and she runs through the water for the train when it comes back to pick them up. This would be a good introduction to learning about dinosaurs and how the environment of the Earth has changed since the time of the dinosaurs. Having the students look at some of the illustrations as the train is going back in time and identifying what elements show that they are going through time would be a good activity for older students.

Lesson
The lesson for this book would go along with a field trip to a dinosaur museum. This book would be read the day before, and the instructor would have a list of dinosaurs with exhibits at the museum. Each student would pick a dinosaur to become an "expert" on. After the museum trip, the students would write a short essay on the dinosaur they picked and a few students could present their dinosaur to the class. The literary element of allusion could be discussed, since the text simply alludes to the fact that they are going back in time.