Book Log & Wiki Checklist

Genre / Titles you read 

             I.      Non-fiction/Informational (1 chapter book or photo essay book reflection required on blog)

1)      My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

          II.      Poetry (1 chapter or picture book reflection required on blog)

1)      Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems  by Jack Prelutsky

3)      Songs of Innocence by William Blake

4)      Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg

5)      Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

6)      Revolting Rhymes by Ronald Dahl

       III.      Modern Fantasy (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)          

1)      I, Jack  by Patricia Finney. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

3)      The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

4)      The Giver by Lois Lowry

5)      A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

       IV.      Historical Fiction (1 reflection required on blog –can be a picture book)     

1)      The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

          V.      Multicultural/Traditional (2 reflections required on blog – one can be a picture book)         

1)      Hiroshima: A Novella by Laurence Yep (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Her Stories by Virginia Hamilton

3)      Why Mosquitoes Buss in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema

4)      M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton

       VI.      Realistic Fiction (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)

1)      Baby by Patricia MacLachlan. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      So B. It by Sarah Weeks

3)      Frindle by Andrew Clements

4)      Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

5)      Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

    VII.      Picture Books (5 reflections required on blog during the first two weeks of class. There should be a total here of at least six.)

1)      The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      –The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg

3)      –So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George

4)      –The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

5)      –Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

6)      – Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

7)      The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

Wiki Checklist

Instructions: Write the number of entries for each category you posted into on the Course Wiki (requirement is two total posts, in two different categories)

____ Social Studies

____ Science

____ Math

____ Music

__1__ Art (Poetry genre) Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems  by Jack Prelutsky

__1__ Reading/Language Arts (Multicultural/Traditional Literature genre) Her Stories by Virginia Hamilton

____ Physical Education

____ Other

Jumanji

Van Allsburg, C. (1981). Jumanji. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

     Jumanji is another one of Chris Van Allsburg's children's book that has a great story and vivid illustrations. Jumanji not only won a Caldecott Award in 1981, but also won The National Book Award in 1982. In 1996, Jumanji was made into a film.
      In this children's book, the characters Judy and Peter find a board game under a tree in the park and decide to give the boring game a try! The kids found out that the game Jumanji was nothing boring about it! During the game, they saw stampeding animals from a jungle in their living room! The story is enhanced by Van Allsburg's great artwork.
      Alike his award winning book The Polar Express and his young adult's picture book The Sweetest Fig, I am completely impressed with the illustrations again. In Jumanji, he conveys pictures of a normal and quiet living room that was taken over by wild animals.
     After reading this story, "the big idea" would be a great skill to teach using this book in the lower grades.  Using chart paper, the teacher could write down the main events that happened while students are retelling the story.  This story is great for determining the important events.  To expand the lesson, inferencing would be great to go into as well.

The Polar Express

Van Allsburg, C. (1985). The polar express. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

     The Polar Express is one of my all time favorite picture books.  Every Christmas, my mother would read this picture book to my sisters and I and it was something that I always looked forward to.  This children's book won a Caldecott Medal in 1986. 
    In this award winning book, the character of a young man tells the story of when he was younger how his belief in Santa came to real life on Christmas Eve. His friends would tell him that there wasn't a Santa, but he still believed in him. He knew Santa was real when the Polar Express took him to the North Pole!  The little boy wanted a small gift from the North Pole and that was a bell on Santa's sleigh. 
     Not only the story is great but with detailed and colorful illustrations draws readers into the Christmas spirit.  The illustrations make everyone feel as if they are in the story!  Aside from the illustrations, there are many activites teachers can implement using this children's book.  One great skill to go over with students is imagery and metaphor/similes throughout the book.  As a whole group, identify the examples of imagery Van Allsburg uses in his book.  Also, have students identify the metaphors and similes throughout the story.
   

Kitten's First Full Moon

Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten's first full moon. New York: Greenwillow Books.

      Kitten's First Full Moon is a great picture book for young students. This picture book won a Caldecott Award in 2005! In this book, a kitten makes a mistake when thinking the full moon was a bowl of milk. She goes through a lot of trouble to get to that "bowl of milk", but ends up upset and tired.
       Not only is the story great in this book, but the illustrations are phenomenal!! Kevin Henkes is the illustrator of this book. Done in a charcoal and cream-colored palette, the illustrations are created with thick black outlines, curves, and changing expressions that are full of nuance. My librarian at the elementary school I work at recommended me using this picture book for my class.
     Kitten's First Full Moon would be a great read aloud for primary grades. A great activity for kids to show the pictures in the book to the students first and have them narrate their own story based on the illustrations. For more fun, students can pick a page in the book and draw the illustrations using the grayscale pens (gray and black).

The Sweetest Fig

Van Allsburg,C. (1993). The sweetest fig. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
   
         The Sweetest Fig is a young adult picture book that has an unforgettable theme, as well as illustrations. Chris Van Allsburg is not only the author of this children's picture book but also the illustrator. After reading this book aloud to my students during an inferring lesson, he not only kept my 5th graders engaged throughout the story, but kept me engaged as well!
       Monsieur Bibot is a fussy dentist who seems unhappy throughout the book. He had been payed with figs after he did dental work on an old woman. Bibot was sure those figs weren't special like the woman said, but one night he decided to eat one for a snack. When he went to bed that night, Bibot realized the fig had the power to make his dreams come true. Afterwards, he was so ready to eat the second fig when his dreams were controlled. His dog had a different plan.
       This book was such a great read aloud for my students. We made inferences throughout the story using textual evidence and prior knowledge to draw an inference on what happened. The students enjoyed The Sweetest Fig as much as I did! I recommend others to read this book to your class! tlg

So You Want to Be President?

St. George, J. (2000). So you want to be President?. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

          So You Want to Be President? is a children's picture book that I found so interesting, yet hilarious! Not only does this picture book have great illustrations, but also tons of information about past Presidents of the United States. This picture book was one of The Caldecott Medal award winning books!
         In this book, I learned about the 42 presidents that have been in office from 1789-1993. Not only does this book tell readers about the good things about being president, but also tells the bad things about being President of the United States. Later in the book, I learned what kind of person the job of a president needs! The author compares presidents by size, habits, occupations, hobbies and martial statuses to add comedy in this picture book. David Small is the illustrator of this picture book! He used political cartoons with a lot of color in this book! This made the book so engaging to me!
        I highly recommend others to read this book and use it in the classroom! Often times I use picture books in my 5th grade Reading class to teach basic comprehension skills to model fix-up strategies! This book would be a great informational book to learn more about the U.S. presidents, as well as teaching reading skills. I know my Social Studies teacher would definitely like the integration of the subjects. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have!:) tlg