Chapter Book #14 - The Next-Door Dogs

Author: Colby Rodowsky

Illustrator: Amy June Bates

Genre: fiction

Sub genre: Realistic Fiction

Theme: Overcoming Fears, dogs

Primary and secondary characters: Sara Baker

Awards: 

Publication Date: 2005

Publishing Company: Farrar, Straus and Giroux 

     Sarah Baker is one brave little girl, except when it comes to being around dogs. Every time she is around, sees, or even hears about a dog she gets clammy and nervous. Then Ms. Harrington moves next door, and instead of having children that Sarah can play with, she has dogs, two very large dogs. Sarah tries to avoid her dogs, but one day the time comes where she has to face her fear. Any student would be able to relate to Sarah because most everyone of them more than likely has a fear that they are unable to overcome. A teacher could have students share their own fears and how they think they could overcome them. This could be done in a journal project where the children keep up with their progress throughout the year. The teacher could also have the students look up and research various phobias that people might have. 

Chapter Book #13 - 7X9 = Trouble

Author: Claudia Mills

Illustrator: G. Brian Karas

Genre: fiction

Sub genre: Realistic Fiction

Theme: Multiplication

Primary and secondary characters: Wilson

Awards: 

Publication Date: 2002

Publishing Company: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

     Multiplication....a bad word in many 3rd graders vocabulary, especially Wilson William's. Wilson hates multiplication because he can never quite figure it out, sometimes he even wishes he was more like his two siblings who seemed to do things more easily than him. His two comforts are his friend Josh and the class pet, Squiggles. Wilson struggles and struggles in hopes that he will eventually be able to recieve the coveted award, an ice cream cone, for passing. He is thinking all is lost, but help comes from where he never would have expected. 

     Many 3rd graders will be able to relate to Wilson. Third grade can be tough, especially when it comes to learning the seemingly countless multiplication tables. This book would be a great way to add literature to a math lesson. This students could begin to keep a journal while they are reading the book and learning the multiplication tables themselves. They could write how they feel about multiplication and compair their feelings with Wilson's. This would give them a source to show how they feel about learning something new that they can look back on at the end of the school year and see how they grew. 

Chapter Book #12 - Piper Reed Navy Brat

Author: Kimberly Willis Holt 

Illustrator: Christine Davenier

Genre: fiction

Sub genre: Realistic

Theme: Travel, moving, Navy, 

Primary and secondary characters: Piper Reed

Awards: 

Publication Date: 2007

Publishing Company: Henry Holt and Co.

     Piper Reed is a spunky young girl who loves living the life of a Navy brat. She is the middle child, and her and her sisters are nothing alike! She has moved more times than most people, all the way from Texas to Guam. This book is full of fun and humor and any 3rd to 4th grade student would love to read all about Piper's adventures. Piper also has a challenge that few students face, dyslexia. But she learns to cope with her situation and many students would be able to learn from her attitude. If students enjoy this book then they will have a great time reading the rest of the books in this series. 

     Since this book is about a Navy family, it would be the perfect book to read while learning about our troupes and their service to our country. The teacher could have students write letters to military children their own age and then send gifts to them. This would help teach the students service to their country and would be a great lifelong lesson. 

Chapter Book #11 - The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis 

Illustrator: NA

Genre: non-fiction

Sub genre: historical

Theme: Travel, family, friendship, 

Primary and secondary characters: Kenny and his family ( the Watsons)

Awards: Newberry and Coretta Scott King

Publication Date: 2006

Publishing Company: Harper Collins

     The Watsons are not your typical family, each person has their own unique personality from sweet Joetta to mean Byron. The Watsons decide to take a trip after the oldest son, Byron, keeps getting into trouble. On and before their journey the Watsons have a lot of hysterical moments such as when Byron's lips get frozen to something and he is stuck there. On their trip Kenny gets attacked by the horrible Wool Pooh, Winnie the Pooh's evil brother. Although their are some funny parts, this book is quite serious. When Joetta goes to church one morning, Kenny is never the same after he hears of his sister's church being bombed. He searches for her, yet even when he discovers she survived he is still shaken. This book is an excellent balance of humor, history, and good moral lessons. 

     This book could be used in multiple different ways in the classroom. This website offers a variety of different ideas to have students complete after they have read the book. One idea would be to have students compare and contrast the different characters using a diagram or short essays. If the teacher wanted to focus historical content of the book then the students could do a research project on the bombing of the church and how life was for an African American family in the time the Watsons went on their journeys. 

Chapter Book #10 - One Crazy Summer

Author: Rita Williams-Garcia

Illustrator: na

Genre: fiction

Sub genre: Historical Fiction

Theme: Abandonment, family, racism, the Black Panthers

Primary and secondary characters: Delphine and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern

Awards: Coretta Scott King

Publication Date: 2010

Publishing Company: Harper Collins

     Summer or 1968, Delphine has a big job for an eleven year old girl. Since her mother abandoned them when she was very young, she has taken charge of taking care of her two little sisters Voetta and Fern. Their Pa still takes care of them, but Delphine has been the mother that her two younger sisters never had and certainly cannot remember. Although their Pa is reluctant, he knows that the girls must meet their mother and try to form a relationship with her while they are still young. He puts them on a plane across America to stay with her over the summer. The girls can hardly contain their excitement about the possibilities of going to Disney World and meeting movie stars while they are with their mom, but things that the girls could have never dreamed of happen instead. The girls get thrown into a whirlwind of events including having to deal with their mother who is constantly ignoring them and meeting the Black Panthers. The girls end up experiencing more than they ever thought possible, which makes for one crazy summer. 

     Because of all of the historical references, from something as small as a Timex watch to the Blank Panthers and racism, this book is an excellent classroom read. This book tells of historical events from a child's view, therefor it would be easier for a child to relate to than a history text over the same issues. This book would be perfect for when racism is being covered in a class. Some children in a class might even be able to relate to Dalphine in that they have been forced to take care of younger siblings when their parents were not around. A teacher could develop so many good essay topics and discussions for this book and I highly recommend it. 

     

Chapter Book #9 - A Time of Miracles

Author: Anne-Laure Bondoux

Translator: Y. Maudet  

Genre: fiction

Sub genre: Historical 

Theme: Soviet Union, hope, family

Primary and secondary characters: Blaise Fortune (Koumaïl) and Gloria

Awards: Batchelder Award winner

Publication Date: 2009

Publishing Company: Bayard Editions Jeunesse

     This book follows a boy and his journey through life and the struggles that it can sometimes throw at people. The book opens up with the main character Blaise telling how he ended up separated from his "mom" Gloria. When the Soviet Union collapses, Gloria and Blaise know that they must flee for safety. However, they are separated during the journey. Through the journey, Blaise attempts to untangle his identity and find out who he really is. It is not until he is a young man that he can truly understand himself. Though this is a heartbreaking story, it shows genuine signs of love, sacrifice, and hope. 

     This book would be perfect in the older classroom. It has a lot of good historical history in it so it would work for both a literature class or a history class. This book would be perfect for a critical thinking assignment or a literature circle because there is so much that can be taken apart in this story. 

Picture Book (poetry) #26 - Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave

Author: Laban Carrick Hill

Illustrator: Bryan Collier

Genre: non-fiction

Sub genre: Historical
Theme: Pottery, slavery, art, poetry

Primary and secondary characters: Dave

Awards: Coretta Scott King

Publication Date: 2010

Publishing Company: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

     Dave is a slave in the 1800s who has an extraordinary talent, he can make pottery and write poetry. This is something that slaves were not allowed to do, so it was an extreme risk for him. This book is written in a poetic way that beautifully describes the real life of the slave. Although a lot of information is not known about this man, what little is know is a great story. The illustrations in this book are truly captivating and tell the story as much as the writing. 

In the classroom, this book could strike a lot of great conversation. The teacher could use this as a base for learning about slavery in the 1800s. She could have the students find other slaves with talent that they could not share without risk. For younger students, this book could be used in the art classroom. The students could make pottery themselves and write a poem about the process.