The Adventures of Captain Underpants
Author/Illustrator: Dave Pilkey
Genre: Graphic Novel
Grade level: 2-5
The Adventure of Captain Underpants is a graphic novel about two fourth grade boys, George and Harold, who love to write comic books and always pull pranks and get in trouble. One day, their principal, Mr. Krupp, threatens to expose George and Harold's prank until they hypnotize Krupp and turn him into an unfortunate superhero named Captain Underpants.
Dave Pilkey authors and illustrates the Captain Underpants series. He includes several pages of flip-o-ramas and black and white illustrations that give the book that old school comic book feel. These cartoonish illustrations will be sure to have readers of all ages laughing out loud.
This book is extremely silly so I would not do a whole class read aloud of it, but I would of course allow my students to read it if they were interested. This could be the type of book that will create a reader or even a writer. This book is actually one of my childhood favorites and really got me interested in reading because of its humor.
An Elephant Is On My House: And Other Poems By O.D.D. Cummings
Author/Illustrator: O.D.D. Cummings
Narrator: William Turbett
Genre: Audiobook
Grade level: PK+
An Elephant Is On My House: And Other Poems By O.D.D. Cummings is a collection of cheerful poems written and illustrated by O.D.D. Cummings. He writes very whimsical and fun-filled poems that children of all ages enjoy. These rhymes step away from the traditional scheme and a little different and sometimes unpredictable.
O.D.D. Cummings also created all of the illustrations for his collection of poems. The illustrations are just as creative of the texts themselves and seem to follow right along with the story of the poems. They are bright, colorful, and simple, perfect for young readers.
Poetry is a great way to get children interested in reading. This is an audiobook, which can be very useful in the classroom during the block five reading stations. Having the book read to them while they are following along is a great way to teach students how to read.
I See Without My Eyes
Author: Mark Brauner Hayward
Illustrator: Nancy Lee Hartman
Genre: Special Needs
Grade level: K-3
I See Without My Eyes is a story of a young blind girl and how she adapts to living with her disability. She learns to function with it so that she does not let it stand in her way of being the best she can be. This book teaches students about reading in Braille, their senses, and other resources that the blind use to adapt to life without sight.
Nancy Lee Hartman illustrates cute drawings throughout the book that are in cartoon form. The young blind girl seems to be drawn looking almost like a page of coloring book. The illustrations bring light to the struggles and hardships that are faced daily by those who are blind.
This book would be great to read to children in grades kindergarten through third if there is anyone in the class or even in the school that is blind. This book teaches students many of the resources used by the blind that they may see in school or in daily life, for instance, Braille or guide dogs.
Same, Same But Different
Author/Illustrator: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Genre: Multicultural
Grade level: K-3
Awards: Ezra Jack Keats Award, Children's Choice Award
Same, Same But Different is a book a boy named Elliot from America and a boy named Kailash from India. They become pen pals and learn that they enjoy a lot of the same things. They are from different places, but find many similarities in their lives.
The author and illustrator, Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, creates a beautiful story using colorful and vibrant illustrations to show how two boys living worlds apart can have so many things in common. The illustrations are collage-like and have a child's point-of-view in mind.
I would read this book to a class from kindergarten to third grade for any cultural unit. This is excellent to show the theme of cultural diversity. Through this book, a reader will learn to appreciate other cultures and realize no matter what culture someone is from, we are all people with commonalities.
Last Stop on Market Street
Author: Matt de la Pena
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Genre: Multicultrual
Grade level: PK-3
Awards: Newbery Medal 2016, Caldecott Honor 2016, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor 2016
Last Stop on Market Street is a very honorable book in recent years. It is about how a young boy, CJ, and his grandmother ride the bus across town. CJ begins to wonder why they do not have all of the things his friends have like a car and electronics. His grandmother helps him see the beauty in their routine. In the end, the reader finds out that they go on the bus ride every day to serve the soup kitchen.
Christian Robinson does an amazing job illustrating this heartfelt book, and even gets awarded the Caldecott Honor because of it. He uses color and light in a way that almost creates a whole new world for the reader. These lovely illustrations perfectly complement the lovely story.
This book is a perfect read for early readers. It has a beautiful message of being grateful for what you have and having a heart of service. Young readers will relate to this story because it is seen through the eyes of a young boy. The lessen he learns of being thankful and seeing the beauty in everything will strike a chord in readers no matter the age.
Circle Unbroken
Author: Margot Theis Raven
Illustrator: E.B. Lewis
Genre: Multicultrual
Grade level: PK-3
The book, Circle Unbroken, is about keeping African heritage alive. A grandmother teaches her granddaughter how to sew a traditional sweetgrass basket, while teaching about African tradition. The story begins with a boy sewing a basket so tightly it could hold rain, then the story circles all the way back to the granddaughter sewing the basket today.
E.B. Lewis illustrates this picture book using powerful images of cultural tradition. The paintings walk the reader through time and are so detailed it seems that the reader is there in whatever time period or setting that the story is in. This story is filled with realistic paintings that captivate its readers.
I would use this book in my classroom to promote cultural diversity and tradition. This book would be great to use in a Social Studies time when teaching on culture because this book is all about how a culture keeps a tradition from generation to generation with an unbroken circle.
When I Was Young in the Mountains
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Illustrator: Diane Goode
Genre: Caldecott
Grade level: K-3
When I Was Young in the Mountains is a Caldecott Medal winner about growing up in the Appalachian Mountains. It is written in beautiful, lyrical texts. The author remembers and writes about many cherished memories of her childhood living with her grandparents in the mountains.
Diane Goode does an amazing job illustrating this thoughtful book. The illustrations are very detailed so that they play as a visual text for the reader. The pictures are mesmerizing and almost seem like a lullaby because they are so gently done. This story's illustrations won it the 1983 Caldecott Medal.
This book tells a specific story, but it also tells a general story or message of finding happiness with whatever you have or wherever you are. This story teaches children the message of being content and happy with what they have in live. I would suggest this book to readers in kindergarten to third grade, but can be enjoyed by all readers.
Frindle
Author: Andrew Clements
Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Genre: Novel
Grade level: 4-7
Nick Allen is a very creative kid who decides to start referring to his pen as frindle, thus the name of this book, Frindle. His new word becomes the talk of the school, then the town, and soon enough ends up on the news. The word becomes known nationwide. In the end, Nick is a junior in college and is rich from all of the royalties of his word. The word makes it into the dictionary.
Brian Selznick illustrates the pictures for this Newbery Medal winning chapter book. These black and white illustrations enhance the humor throughout the story. They create a lasting memory of this story that will spark every reader's interest.
Frindle is a book that is loved by many middle schoolers. This book allows students to believe that anything is possible with an open imagination. This book is written with excellency which cause each reader to feel that they are a part of Nick's story.
The One and Only Ivan
Author: Katherine Applegate
Illustrator: Patricia Castelao
Genre: Newbery Novel
Grade level: 3-7
The One and Only Ivan is a book about a mellow gorilla living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Ivan is used to people watching him through the glass walls of his cage. He is fascinated by art. One day, Ivan meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her home. Ruby makes Ivan finally see the home is missing. Ivan creates a plan to relocate Ruby. His plan works and he and Ruby are relocated to a zoo.
Patricia Castelao is the illustrator for the Newbery Medal winning book. There are not many illustrations throughout the book. The font size is large and the illustrations are just as big. They are mainly drawings of Ruby and Ivan. They are very realistic cartoon figures.
This is a good read for students ages eight to twelve, although, this is a great story that people all ages would enjoy. This book has a great message of creativity, dedication, and friendship. It has been honored as a very well-written book by receiving a Newbery Medal.
Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Genre: Newbery Novel
Grade level: 5+
Award: Newbery Medal
Holes tells a story of a boy named Stanley Yelnats who is cursed with bad luck that send him to a juvenile detention center called Camp Green Lake for a crime he did not commit. There the boys are forced to dig holes in search of buried treasure. In the end, Stanley finds the treasure which lifts the curse of bad luck off of his family.
There are no illustrations in the novel because this book was created for the older reader. The author does an amazing job of painting pictures in the minds of the readers by the use of imagery and detailed texts. The book is so well-written that it has even been made into a movie that perfectly reflects the book itself.
This is a great read for readers of any age, but is most intended for ages ten and up. It most interests children of this age because the main character is fourteen, which is right around there age. It tells a great story with a message of friendship, family, and loyalty. This book is read in many middle schools and is the topic of many book reports.
Charlotte's Web
Author: E.B. White
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Genre: Newbery Novel
Grade level: 2+
Award: Newbery Medal
Charlotte's Web is a beloved classic about a pig named Wilbur, a spider named Charlotte, and a little girl named Fern. Fern saves Wilbur when he was born a runt of the litter. Wilbur gets too big so he has to move with Fern's Uncle Zuckerman, who wants to butcher him. Wilbur makes friends with Charlotte who begins writing phrases in her web that make Uncle Zuckerman think Wilbur is "some pig." Her uncle decides to instead take Wilbur to the county fair, where he wins a prize. In the end, Charlotte dies after she lays a sac of eggs. Wilbur saves the lives of the eggs and takes them back to the farm.
The illustrator of this version of the book is Garth Williams who also illustrated E.B. White's Stuart Little and Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Little House on the Prairie series among many other books. This special edition of Charlotte's Web contains colored pictures.
This book should be known by all children and be passed down for years and years. This is a classic story of love, friendship, life, and even death. This is a very saddening and touching novel that is sure to bring each reader to tears. I would suggest this book to any reader from second grade and up.
Who Was Walt Disney?
Author: Whitney Stewart
Illustrator: Nancy Harrison
Genre: Biography
Grade level: 2-7
Who Was Walt Disney? is a biographical book about the life of the great Walt Disney. He grew up loving to entertain people and draw pictures. He grew up living on a farm, which caused him to always love the small town feel. This book explains Walt Disney's life before he created his extremely successful theme parks.
Nancy Harrison created the illustrations in this book. The cover illustration is in a different style of cartoon. It looks similar to a caricature with exaggerated features and a large head. The illustrations throughout the book are black and white and simple.
This is a fun read for readers from ages seven to twelve. This story has a great message for students in school because Walt Disney did not come from a whole lot but continued to try and made a whole lot of himself. It also encourages students to be creative and allow their imaginations to roam wherever they want to go.
I've Seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Author: Walter Dean MyersIllustrator: Leonard JenkinsGenre: BiographyGrade level: PK-3
I've Seen the Promised Land: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a biography of the life of one of the most celebrated African American men to date. This book tells the story of how he led African Americans in their pursuit for equality, rights, and true freedom.
Leonard Jenkins's illustrations are beautiful paintings that are detailed to look as realistic as the man himself. The images are very vivid and moving. The images do a great job of recreating the feel of the 1960s through the use of striking color choices.
I would suggest this book for students who are young readers from pre-schoolers up to third grade. Children begin to learn of the history of the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. even in preschool. This book would be a great introduction into those topics. It contains many great details of his life and the amazing things he did to create equality.
Eleanor
Author/Illustrator: Barbara Cooney
Genre: Biography
Grade level: 2-5
This is a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt's childhood. Eleanor came from a wealthy family, but her home was not the most loving so she was very shy and lonely. In her later years, Eleanor discovered her intelligence and strength. Eleanor grows up to be an inspiration and beloved first lady.
Barbara Cooney also does the illustrations for this book. She has won two Caldecott Medals in the past, so her illustrations show her immense talent. She paints detailed picture of Eleanor's childhood world. They show beautiful watercolor art of upper class Manhattan.
This book is great for middle or late elementary. Eleanor has a great message to it that would speak to students who do not have a great home life, absent parents, or are shy. This true story shows that a woman who did not know who she was finally found herself and found that she was intelligent and capable of anything.
Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man
Author: David A. Adler
Illustrator: Terry Widener
Genre: Biography
Grade level: 3-5
This is a biography about the great baseball player, Lou Gehrig, and his legendary perseverance. He was an amazing first baseman for the New York Yankees. He considered himself a very lucky man, even though when he turned thirty-six, he was diagnosed with a fatal disease that was so rare it was named after him.
Terry Widener created the illustrations for this book. He captured the emotion of this story so well with his pictures. The energy given by the illustrations make the book come to life.
This book is great for middle or late elementary. It depicts a very emotional story of losing out on the completion of a dream. This is a great book for Black History Month as Lou Gehrig is a very prominent black man who is very inspirational to many.
The Darkest Dark
Author: Chris Hadfield
Illustrator: Terry & Eric Fan
Genre: Biography
Grade level: K-3
The Darkest Dark is an autobiography of a man named Chris Hadfield who writes of his childhood. When he was a young boy he loved space, but he was scared of the dark until he watched the moon landing on tv. He realized space was the darkest dark, but it was so exciting and his biggest dream to be apart of it. This is a true story of how a little boy's dreams of being an astronaut become true.
Terry and Eric Fan's illustrations in this picture book bring to life this true story. They cleverly used graphite colored illustrations to give the reader a feeling of space and the moon. Most of the illustrations are two-paged to show off the glow of the moon.
I would suggest this book for students who are young readers from five to about eight although readers of all ages would enjoy this book. It has a great message of not giving up on your dreams and overcoming your fears. It also includes a section of more information about Chris Hadfield that is a great addition to this autobiography.
Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature
Author: Sarah C. Campbell
Illustrator: Richard P. Campbell
Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade level: 1-4
Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature is a non-fiction book about mathematical patterns found in nature. This book is actually quite interesting because it shows pictures of this pattern that can be seen repeatedly throughout many different plants, animals, and even objects found in nature. This pattern is a sequence of numbers where each number is the sum of the two numbers that come before it.
The illustrations are photographs taken by Richard P. Campbell. The images show the mathematical pattern that can be found in any natural spiral. These photographs of daisies, pinecones, shells, and more allow the readers to see natural patterns from a new perspective.
A teacher could use this book in the classroom in many different ways. It is a great example of a non-fiction informative text. It is also a great introduction and a new perspective at looking into patterns. This could also be used when introducing the wonders of nature. I would suggest this book for a little bit of an older reader because this information could go right over a five year old's head.
The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors
Author: Chris Barton
Illustrator: Tony Persiani
Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade level: 2-5
Award: Robert F. Sibert Medal
The Day-Glo Brothers is a true story about two brothers, Bob and Joe Switzer. They are very different brothers in that Joe wants to be in show business and Bob wanted to be a doctor. When Bob gets in an accident that has him staying in a dark basement, the brothers experiment with florescent paints and ultraviolet lights to brighten up the place. They end up creating something totally different, Day-Glo paint.
Tony Persiani created really cool illustrations in Day-Glo paint, which is totally appropriate for this book. The colors and the drawing style have like an old time cartoon style, which is great because it is a story about something that happened in the past.
This book would most interest students who range in age from about seven to ten. This is an interesting story and a topic that they may have never heard of before. Students always hear stories of people who invent things having intent to invent them, but rarely do they hear of accidental inventions.
Bubble Homes and Fish Farts
Author: Fiona Bayrock
Illustrator: Carolyn Conahan
Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade level: 1-3
Bubble Homes and Fish Farts is an extremely fun non-fiction book about how different animals use bubbles in interesting ways. From a water spider building a bubble home under water to dolphins play a game with bubble, it can be seen that many animals use bubbles in ways people may not know about.
The illustrations by Carolyn Conahan are beautiful drawings made with mainly shades of blue and green since most of the pictures are in an under water setting. The illustrator was also clever in giving the animals speech bubbles provided the animal's point of view. They bring a really humorous aspect to the book.
Although, the title is questionable, the book is extremely interesting. This book is great when introducing animals that live in the water in science because it blends facts with humor in a way that will be interesting to young students. It includes facts about habitats, scientific names, survival, and adaption of animals.
Bugs and Bugsicles: Insects in the Winter
Author: Amy H. Hansen
Illustrator: Robert C. Kray
Genre: Non-Fiction
Grade level: 2-5
This book is a non-fiction texts that teaches students about insects in the winter months. Insects leave in the fall and magically return in the spring it seems. This book unveils the secrets of how bugs survive the winter season.
The illustrations are created by Robert C. Kray, and recreate the insects to show how they move from place to place and how they look during these cold winter months. He paints these pictures in acrylic to cause the pictures to look very realistic and almost three-dimensional.
This book contains lots of great information that would be very fascinating for students to learn. This information presents students with scientific data that could otherwise be taught to them in a boring approach. This topic is really never covered for students, and this book gives really interesting facts as well as science experiments in the back of the book.
The Gardener
Author: Sarah Stewart
Illustrator: David Small
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade level: 2-6
Award: Caldecott Honor
The Gardener is a story of a little girl, Lydia Grace Finch, who leaves her parents and her grandmother to live with her uncle in the city and help in his bakery during the Great Depression. The story is told through Lydia Grace's letters to her family members. Lydia grows throughout the story like the flowers she grows in her rooftop garden.
The illustrations won this book a Caldecott Honor Medal. David Small creates illustrations the perfectly represent the Great Depression era. The book's illustrations are done so well, they could tell the story even without the words. Some pages are only full-page illustrations with no texts and still tell the story. They are captivating to all readers.
This story would most interest middle elementary students from age seven to eleven. It tells students an important message of finding hope even in the tough times. This book contains a lot of history and will give students insight on what many families had to do during the Great Depression.
Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression
Author: Kate LiedIllustrator: Lisa Campbell ErnstGenre: Historical FictionGrade level: K-3
Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression is a book that takes place during the Great Depression. This story tells a tale of a girl named Dorothy and her family who must move and work as potato farmers for two weeks in Idaho. This is caused because the father loses job after job as well as the family's house. In the end, Dorothy's father found work and moved the family out of the Midwest.
Lisa Campbell Ernst does an amazing job of illustrating the desperation of the family during this extremely hard time during the Great Depression. The illustrations create a clear picture of the story itself and even help aid in telling the story. The pages are even colored like potato sacks.
The author created this story for readers to be able to learn about the Great Depression by relating to a young child going through this situation. This story will encourage students to be thankful for what they have and be aware of what America went through in the time of the Great Depression.
Naming Liberty
Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Jim Burke
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade level: 1-4
Naming Liberty is a historical fiction book about a young girl who is leaving her home in Russia to move to America. She begins wondering what her name will be when she arrives to America. When she sees the statue of Liberty, she knows Liberty must be her name. It also tells a tale of a young artist named Frederic Auguste Bartholdi who dreams of building a monument to honor freedom.
Jim Burke did an amazing job with illustrating Naming Liberty by creating pictures that complete the texts and also almost tell another story at the same time as the texts. His paintings capture perfectly the tales of the young girl and artist both seeking freedom.
When studying freedom or the Statue of Liberty, this would be a great book to read and have the students reflect on what freedom means to them. Whether they are immigrants or natives, the United States of America's freedom affects each and every person who lives here.
The Butterfly
Author/Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade level: 3-7
In The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco, a small girl named Monique lives in a French village that has just been flooded with Nazi soldiers who are terrorizing the town. She symbolizes the butterfly as the Nazis' victims. One night, Monique finds a little girl named Sevrine, whom she thought to be a ghost, sitting at the end of her bed. Sevrine had been living in her basement because she and her family were Jews.The two become friends, but must meet privately. The neighbor saw the two so Sevrine's family had to flee. In the end, Sevrine sends a letter to Monique with a butterfly inside saying she is the only one in her family to survive.
The illustrator is Patricia Polacco herself. The illustrations give a ghostly vibe to the book, while the texts also add a harsh light to this disheartening story. She uses watercolors to create images that evoke feelings of fear and sadness as well as hope at the end.
Through this story, the topics of racism, prejudice, and bravery can be discussed in the classroom. This book is a very appropriate read for students ages nine through twelve. It teaches history to students in a new way than just reading text books about World War II. This gives them a story that was based off of real life events.
Baseball Saved Us
Author: Ken Mochizuki
Illustrator: Dom Lee
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade level: 1-6
Awards: Parents' Choice Award
Baseball Saved Us is a book about a boy named Shorty and his family. They are sent to a camp after the Pearl Harbor attack. There he and his father decide to build a baseball field to make everyone feel happier in a tough time. Shorty finds that playing not only makes him happy, but causes him to gain respect for himself.
The illustrator of this book is Dom Lee, who creates realistic looking pictures throughout the books. They show the hard time that the Japanese descendant Americans went through at this time. The illustrator does not make the Japanese descendants look a certain way. They look like they could be anyone. This way the reader can feel based on the story not on the way the characters look.
This is a great read for students from ages six to twelve. This story has a great tale of the underdog overcoming a hard time. This story will allow students to experience what it was like to go through the aftermath of Pearl Harbor from a different perspective that one I have ever seen.
Vacation Under the Volcano
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Illustrator: Salvatore Murdocca
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade level: 2-5
Vacation Under the Volcano is the thirteenth chapter book in the Magic Tree House Series. Jack and Annie are the two main characters who travel through time to different places that are important in history. In this book, they travel to Pompeii in the days of the Roman Empire. Once there, they find out that it was the day that the city would be destroyed due to the erupting volcano. They must hurry to beat time so that they are not stuck in Pompeii.
The illustrator of this book is Salvatore Murdocca. He actually illustrated the entire Magic Tree House Series. His illustrations are realistically drawn. They contain detail and the characters and setting are not very abstract, but look very similar to how they would in real life.
This book is great for students because it does have an element of imagination with the time traveling, while also being historically accurate. These books are incredibly entertaining, so much so that students will not even realize they are learning about history at the same time.
Morning Girl
Author: Michael Dorris
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade level: 3-7
Morning Girl is a novel about a little Native American girl named Morning Girl. She got this name because she wakes up with the sun. She and her family live in a vibrant community and live a normal life, have the same imaginations, wants, and needs as everyone else. In the end, there world changes when Christopher Columbus's ship sails in and disrupts the lives of the Natives living there. It is saddening to think of what happens to the lives and communities of these peoples after Columbus arrives.
There are no illustrations in this novel, although the author paints a very vivid picture of the setting and each character. The author is very descriptive throughout the book. While reading the book, you can imagine everything the writer is describing.
This is a novel written based on an entry in Christopher Columbus's diary. This is a great read for students when they are learning the details of the founding of the Americas because this shows a different perspective than what is usually taught, which is the viewpoint of the Westerners. This shows what the lives of the Native Americans were like before the Westerners came to the Americas.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Author: John Boyne
Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade level: 3+
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a tragic story about a young boy, Bruno, whose family moves to a new place with no kids around to play because his father gets a new promotion. The new house is surrounded by a tall fence. One day Bruno adventures off to find a boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the fence. They became fast friends. One day, Shmuel's father goes missing, so Bruno devises a plan to get over the fence and put on striped pajamas to match the others so that he can help Shmuel find his dad. They are forced to march into a gas chamber. After Bruno's disappearance, his father has an epiphany of what happened to him. The story ends with the allies' soldiers coming to thee camp and making the father go with them.
Illustrations in this book are done by acclaimed artist Oliver Jeffers. This is a deluxe illustrated edition. The illustrations within the book are very powerful and moving. They are done in a cartoon style, which confused me at first because of the seriousness of this book's message, but the illustrations actually promote the message of the book.
The story and message of this book are very impacting on any reader who understands this story, no matter their age. I would suggest not letting children under the age of nine read it because it is an extremely disheartening story that also takes some understanding of the context.
