A is for Abigail- An Almanac of Amazing American Women

Written by Lynne Cheney and Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. Mrs. Cheney, the former 2nd wife the the United States of America.  (Former Vice President Dick Cheney's wife) Glasser was first a successful ballet artist.  Now she is a well known children's literature illustrator.  To find out more click here.

Genre: Non-Fiction/Biography
Theme: Historical Women/ Alphabet
Ages: 7-11

Summary: This is an alphabet book that for each letter highlights an important woman or concept for american history.







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Pre-Reading Activity: Ask students to name important historical figures. You may or may not be surprised, but most names that pop up will be male.  Have a discussion about how men and women are equally important to our history and bringing us to where we are today.

Post-Reading Activity: Using this text as a center activity have individuals or small groups review the page that was read aloud in class for the day.  Have them keep a log, or fill out a worksheet keeping track of the letter for the day, important names, what they did, and at least 2 other facts from the page.

Reflection: To be honest this is a book so full of wonderful facts and historical information that I may take only one person/page at a time, maybe each day or highlight one woman a week.

10 Little Rubber Ducks

Written and Illustrated by Eric Carle. Carle is most famous for creating the children's classic "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" which was published in 1969.  He is a Syracuse, New York native, but grew up was educated in Germany.  He returned to New York and has been an author illustrator ever since.  To find out more about Eric Carle check out his website.

Genre: Non-Fiction
Theme: Animals, Numbers/Counting
Ages: 2-7

Summary:  The story begins with rubber duckies being manufactured in a factory and then their travels by distribution. When one box of 10 rubber ducks fall overboard.   As they drift apart at sea each passes different animals on their way.





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Pre-Reading Activity: Tell students that they will be hearing a story about rubber ducks.  Have them explain the differences between living ducks and rubber ducks. Make a chart with differences.

Post Reading Activity: Have students take on the role of the 11th rubber duck.  Have them do a journal response about what direction they would drift in the water, what animal they would see, and what that animal would do.

Reflection:  What I like initially when reading this story is that on the very first page is that there are 10 out lines of rubber duckies for children to practice counting up to 10.  I also enjoy that there are lots of onomatopoeias and words that help create sound into the reading.  Eric Carle creates an enviornment that makes the reader feel completely emerged. He also uses a literary technique of repetition which is a good tool for young writers.  If you own the hardcover edition of this text it ends with a literal squeak!

10 Little Penguins

"A Pop-Up Book from the bestselling creators of 365 Penguins."
Written by Jean-Luc Fromental and illustrated by Joelle Jolivet.
Fromental is a French screenwriter, author, and publisher.  Beginning her illustration career in the late 80s, she began to team with Fromental in the mid 2000's.  Together the team has produced several popular and famous children's books about penguins and more.

Genre: Fiction

Theme: Animals/Numbers

Ages: 4 - 7

Summary:  This pop up book is also interactive with arrows to pull and penguins to count.  Starting at 10 and working the way down to 0, the penguins are all having mischievousness fun until one by one they all leave in unique ways.  

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Pre-Reading Activity:  Ask for 10 students to line up in front of classmates one by one, have remaining students count out loud how many they have. Repeat the process asking students to leave the line to join their peers.  Have class count down from 10 to 0.  Instruct the class that the skill of counting downward from 10 will be very helpful in reading this story.

Post-Reading Activity: Have students make their own 10 little (insert animal here) book following the pattern.  The initial assignment would be to create their own title and cover page for the book.  For adaptation or to create full length book students may begin at the number 5 and work their way down. 

Reflection:  This book is the kind that the reader wants to get up very closely to and play with.  Students will want to count each penguin with their fingers.  I really enjoy that this book can be used to talk about art, math, animals, habitat  and even the importance of how to care for books. 

My Friend Has Autism

Written by Amanda Doering Tourville and illustrated by Kristin Sorra. Tourville lives in Eagan, Minnesota with her husband and her pet bulldog. Sorra is an avid painter, having illustrated two other books as well. Today, she lives in New York with her husband (who is also an artist) and pet dog.

Genre: Nonfiction
Themes: Friendships/Relationships
Ages: 6 and up

Summary:  This is a cute children's story helping to describe what people with autism may be like. It is the short story of a young boy who is friends with another young boy from an airplane club. Each page includes a little 'did you know?' note that helps to explain common characteristics of people with autism. It is a great beginning book for introducing this condition to children. This text also offers other books and even web sites to consider for looking for more information.

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Pre-Reading Activity:

Post-Reading Activity:

Reflection:

Three Cups of Tea - Youth Edition

Written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver, adapted by Sarah Thomson, and foreword written by Jane Goodall.  For more information visit threecupsoftea.com or http://www.gregmortenson.com.

Genre: Non-Fiction
Theme: Social issues/Inspirational Stories
Ages: 9-12

Summary: This is a story about a mans journey after failing to reach the summit of the K2 mountain in the Middle East, particularly in a remote and small village in Pakistan.  After seeing the conditions of education for this village, Greg Mortenson, promises to return to the village and build them a school for their children to learn in. He asks for help from celebrities to no avail, and when he finally raises the funds for this amazing task, he is stifled by the need to first build a bridge for the village in order to bring supplies and infrastructure to their remote location. Finally after many hurtles, conflicts, and much sacrifice this man is able to not only build one school but eventually begin programs to raise funding for the building of 60 schools in the Middle East.

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Pre-Reading Activity:  Talk about current events going on in the Middle East.  Students are likely to either not have any prior knowledge or very limited pre-conceived notions.  This book will be a good way to help our class learn more about this culture and area we are less familiar with.

Post-Reading Activity:  Have class compose letter to Greg's daughter Amira.  Students should develop questions to ask her about her experiences in the Middle East and more.  

Reflection: This story is inspirational. It is about how an insignificant person can make a big difference towards making the world a better place. This story also helps to shed light and understanding to the cultural differences the people of a remote Middle Eastern village and of Muslim faith have. It tells how Greg has had to learn and change to accommodate unknown customs of the people he meets and interacts with. There is a very good message about patience and tolerance. I like how the book has been revised and adapted to make it approachable for younger readers. This adaptation includes a glossary, a time line, list of important characters and their roles, pictures, and an interview with Greg's daughter Amira. The connection students are able to make because she is a typical pre-teen much like themselves makes the story all the more relatable.

 I'm very excited that I have found this book. I know very little about the Middle East, aside from basic history classes in high school and college, and enjoyed an inspirational story that helped shed some light on the culture as well. I like that there is an adult version, young reader edition, and even a children's picture book to help spread this story to all ages.