Mmm, Cookies!

Written by: Robert Munsch

Illustrated by: Michael Martchenko

Age level: 4+

Theme: Giving

Summary:

This is a silly story about a boy who makes cookies out of playdough and tricks his parents, teacher and friends into taking a bite. The story is repetitive in nature which makes it predictable and easy to read. The illustrations are funny to look at as the characters turn from happy to bite the cookie, to being sick from tasting the playdough. 

Pre-Reading Activity:

Students will discuss the book cover. Why does Christopher look so happy? Why does his dad look like he is going to get sick? What kind of expression does his mom have?

Post-Reading Activity:

Have students in stations:

~Students will use playdough to make their own silly cookies, adding glitter and other art materials to decorate them.

~Students will make real cookies to enjoy.

~Students will listen to the story on tape read by the author.

~Students will sequence the story using pictures.

Reflection:

Robert Munsch stories are so fun to read to pre-schoolers! When I was teaching preschool, I would have a whole unit on Robert Munsch. His stories delighted every time with humor and silliness that kids just love. The other benefit is that he reads many of his books and this is so enjoyable. He can make his stories even better when he rads them! I just love this book and will use it in my classroom in the future!

About the Author:

Biography

Robert Munsch is the author of more than 25 books for children including The Paper Bag Princes and Stephanie's Ponytail. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and studied to be a Jesuit priest before deciding to work with children instead. He taught in a variety of nursery schools and daycare centers while he earned an MA in Early Childhood Education. In 1975, Munsch and his wife, Ann, moved to Guelph, Ontario. The Munschs have three children: Julie, Andrew, and Tyya (see them all in Something Good!).

From: Amazon.com

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear

Written by Don and Audrey Wood

Illustrated by: Don Wood

Theme: Sharing

Ages: 5+
Themes: Problem-Solving, Sharing

Summary:

The little mouse has a beautiful strawberry he has brought home. The author "speaks" to him about how the bear is coming and really wants the strawberry. After much convincing, the mouse shares the strawberry with the author, keeping it safe from the bear.

Pre-Reading Activity:
Have the students look at the cover of the book. Discuss what they think the story will be about. What do you think the mouse is going to do? What do you think will happen. The students will make predictions of what they think will happen in the book,

Post-Reading Activity:
This is a fun book to act out. Have the students be the mouse with the strawberry and have one child put a disguise on it, or try to hide it. It would be a hands-on creative lesson that kids would enjoy and love the book even more.

About the authors:

Audrey Wood started her career with Child's Play, and is now one of this country's best-known authors for children. Often, she works with her husband, Don, as the illustrator, and their recent books are published by Simon & Schuster and HBJ. Audrey and Don live with their son Bruce in Santa Barbara, CA.

From: Amazon.com

Reflection:

This is a much loved favorite of my children. We must have read this book thousands of times! The silly theme and the trickery involved kept my children amused every time. I will definitely bring this into the classroom to enhance a theme about sharing or helping friends.

A Friend Like Simon

Witten by: Kate Gaynor

Illustrated by: Caitriona Sweeney

Age level: 6-9

Grade level: 1-3
Theme: Friendship, Acceptance

Summary:

A child with autism, Simon,  joins a mainstream classroom. Many children can find it difficult to understand and cope with a student who is somewhat different. This story encourages children to be aware of and patient with differences in others. Emphasis is placed on appreciating the positive contributions that Simon can make to the group. This book is a Moonbeam children's book award winner in 2009.

Themes:

Acceptance

Belonging

Appreciating Differences

About the Author:

Kate Gaynor is the author of 11 children’s books which address the issues of children with special educational needs, or health and social problems. Karen is the managing director of Special Stories Publishing and began work on the ‘Special Stories’ series in 2005, drawing on the personal experiences of friends, relatives and healthcare professionals. Kate is an English and Sociology graduate of University College Dublin.

Pre-reading activity

~ What makes a good friend? (5 minutes)

Make a list on the board

~Ask the students if they each have a good friend.

~Tell them that you will read a list of things that a friend may do and they will need to decide if it describes a good friend or a bad friend. Tell them that if the action describes a good friend, they should put their thumbs pointed up, and if the action describes a bad friend, they should put their thumbs pointed down. Have them practice doing both motions (without talking!) before you begin.

Then, list the following actions and have the students decide whether the action would be done by a good friend or a bad friend.

~Someone asks you to cheat on a test

~Someone hits you

~You tell someone a secret and they tell the whole class

~Someone shares their new toy with you

~Someone invites you to play a game with them

~Someone doesn’t like you, so they tell the whole class not to like you either

~Someone tattles on you when you weren’t doing anything wrong

~Someone helps you up after you’ve fallen down

~Someone calls you a mean name

~Someone invites you to come over to their house to play

~Someone takes your pencil without asking first

~Someone tells the class something about you that isn’t true

~Someone laughs at your joke

~Someone tries to look at your test in order to cheat

Afterwards, explain that in order to get a good friend, we have to be good friends ourselves.

Q. What we can do that would show that we are good friends? A. share, listen, help them out, give them gifts, encourage them, etc.

Post reading activity:

Recipe for being a good friend – work together with a partner and write a recipe for being a good friend.

Example:

Ingredients: Kindness, friendly, nice, sweet, honest, funny, etc....

Mix together for: fun, friendship, and good times

Blend in: music, activities, walks, good stories

Follow up: Have students take the recipe and write a 3 paragraph essay on what it takes to be a good friend.

What does the President do?

Written by David J. Jakubiak

Ages: 8+

Grades: 3-5
Themes: US Government, President Obama

Summary:
This book is a factual book which gives information about Barack Obama and his job as president. It explains the electoral college and the election process. The author describes the duties of the president, including how the president works with other world leaders to solve problems. There is a description of Cabinet and Congress. A tour of the White House is given with details of all the rooms in the house.

Pre-Reading Activity:
Ask the students to fill out a K-W-L chart about the US government.

Post-Reading Activity:

Revisit the K-W-L chart and fill in what the students learned. Also, have them come up with questions that they still have about the government they would like to learn. Students could research these questions to find the answers in different books or online.

About the Author:

"I am a content strategist, a writer, a husband, a father, a gardener, a brewer, and a lover of food.

My goal is to capture voices in stories that are true to those who tell them, and to offer readers experiences when they take in my words. I work each day to be a better husband and dad. I weed, I compost, I brew, and I cook." 

taken from: http://www.davidjakubiak.com/about-me/

Reflection:

I like this book and would use it in the classroom. I think it provides good explanations of the parts of the United States government. It has great photos and is layed out in a way which is visually appealing to children. It is divided into different topics which would make it easy for students to use as a reference. This author has written other informative books which would be good references for any classroom.

Level Up

Written by: Gene Luen Yang

Illustrated by: Thien Pham

Ages: Middle School
Theme: Family wishes versus individual goals

Summary:

Dennis Ouyang, a Chinese kid growing up in America, is obsessed with video games. He fights with his father, who wants him to grow up to be a doctor. When Dennis' father dies of stomach cancer, Dennis flunks out of college and unexpectedly receives several signs from his father to study hard. These signs are in the form of a group of angels who appear on his doorstep and announce they are there to help him fulfill his destiny: to be a gastroenterologist. Dennis recognizes the angels as ones from a greeting card his father had given him. The angels are helpful to Dennis. They get him reenrolled in college and push him until he graduates and is admitted into medical school. Once Dennis is in medical school, he begins to realize his destiny is not what he wants from life. He struggles between what is expected of him and what he wants. He finally settles his struggle by becoming a surgeon because it utilizes his video gaming skills.

Pre-Reading Activity:

Have the students write a journal entry answering what is more important....doing what you want to do in life or fulfilling your parents dreams for you?

Post Reading Activity:

Think about your hobby. Write about how this hobby can turn into a career. In this story, Dennis took his gaming skills and utilized them in his surgeon skills. What are your hobbies and how can they be used for your career in the future? Write a 3-5 paragraph essay.

Reflection:

This was my introduction to graphic novels and I really liked how this was a fast read with a lot of pictures. The story was a good one, but became too detailed  in medical information, which could be difficult for middle schoolers to understand. It was a good story of the conflict students can have about their career goals versus what their family wants for them. Also, the debate between what a hobby is and when it becomes an obsession would be a fun activity to do with middle-schoolers.

About the author:

Gene Luen Yang began drawing comic books in the 5th grade. In 1997, he received the Xeric Grant for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, his first comic works as an adult. He has since written and drawn a number of titles. His 2006 book, American Born Chinese was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award. Gene currently writes the graphic novel continuation of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

 From Wikipedia

Dare

Written by: Erin Frankel

Illustrated by: Paula Heaphy

Reading Level: Grades 2-3

Interest level: Ages 5-9

Theme: Standing up for one self and others. 

Summary:

Jayla feels threatened by her classmate Sam, who has bullied her in the past.  Sam is now bullying Jayla’s friend Luisa, and she enlists Jayla to participate. Jalya reluctantly joins in but soon realizes it is wrong. With the help of caring adults and friends, Jayla comes to sympathize with Luisa and finds the courage to dare to stand up to Sam and put an end to the bullying.

Pre-Reading Activity:

Ask students to think of a time when they saw someone being bullied. What did you do? What could you have done differently if you didn't help? Have them draw a picture of helping a friend being bullied.

Post-Reading Activity:

Complete a graphic organizer listing all the ways to help a person being bullied. Some ideas are: tell an adult, stand up with them, get other friends to help, tell them to stand up for themselves. Use the graphic organizer to write an essay of how to stand up to a bully. 

About the author:

Erin Frankel has an M.A. in English education and is passionate about teaching and writing. She taught ESL in Alabama before her recent move to Madrid, Spain, with her husband and three daughters. Erin knows firsthand what it feels like to be bullied, and she hopes her stories will help bring smiles back to children who have been involved in bullying. In her free time, Erin loves hiking in the Spanish mountains and kayaking in her hometown of Mays Landing, New Jersey.

Reflection:

I strongly feel this book, along with the other 2 in this series would benefit every classroom. It does a great job of bringing out the issues and reasons for bullying. It explores these characters and the feelings in depth. Also, it tells the way in which to deal with the problem, giving students the skills to end bullying. 

Cosmic Carol Adventures in Color

Written by Lawrence Pitonza

Ages: 5-8

Theme:

Acceptance, Everyday Heros

Summary:

Cosmic Carol is a Dream Glider who is sent to earth by her dad, Father Star, to test if she is ready to use her magical skills. When she doesn't listen to him, he punishes her, and she loses her ability to see color. While on Earth, she meets Bailey and Brittany. She learns about friendship and families. She is successful because of her disability and saves the day. 

The message is that anyone can be a hero and successful, despite a having a disability.

Pre-Reading Activity:

Have students write in their journal what they think it would be like to not be able to see colors. Discuss their ideas.

Post-Reading Activity:

Work in groups to make a time-line of the events in the story. Have the students re-write the story in their own words. They can illustrate the pages. 

About the author:

Lawrence Pitonza has a B.A. in Visual Arts from Purchase College. In working with high profile A-listersin the movie industry in Hollywood, he has done photo shoots, commercials, special effects and prosthetics, costume and mask design, wig creations, and set and prop fabrications. Cosmic Carol is his first children's book. He lives in Metropolitan New York.

Reflection: 

The story in this book is a great story. While it has nice illustrations, it is very wordy. I think it could be shortened and keep the integrity of the story and draw more kids in. It would be a great story for many kids to read.