Unicorn Wings- Fantasy

Unicorn Wings
by Mallory Loehr

This book is great for students who are beginning to read short sentences and have a limited vocabulary. The story is about a unicorn that doesn't have wings. The unicorn admires other creatures that do have wings, such as birds and insects, and dreams of being able to fly, too. One day, the unicorn helps another unicorn that does have wings and the unicorn with wings give the one without a pair. The unicorns go off flying together and end the story on a pleasant note. I would want books such as this in my classroom library to help students build upon their reading strategies and learn to read for fluency.

My Dad, John McCain- Biography

My Dad, John McCain
by Meghan McCain

This book tells about John McCain, through his daughter's point of view. It covers his life, from when he grew up to the wars he fought in. The author does a great job of breaking down McCain's life into vocabulary that a child would easily comprehend. I would share this novel with my students to tell them about ways in which presidential candidates try to campaign before an election, which is what the author was doing for her father. I would also have the students to compare and contrast presidents and use this book as a helpful resource.

Shiloh- Realistic Fiction; Chapter Book

Shiloh
by Joyce Naylor

My response to this novel was recorded on Voice Thread

My Voice thread link:
http://cedncsu.ed.voicethread.com/share/419639/

This novel is about a beagle, named Shiloh, and a boy, named Marty, and the bond that they form. The dog is abused and neglected by his owner and the boy tries to save him. He hides him for a while, but then gets caught. The boy has to work out a deal with the owner so he can keep the dog. This is a great book for students to read and relate to about their personal experieces and relationships with their own pets.

Stuart Little- Fantasy; Chapter Book

Stuart Little
by E.B. White

My Voicethread link:
http://cedncsu.ed.voicethread.com/share/419634/

My Wordle link:




Student's Voice Thread link:
http://cedncsu.ed.voicethread.com/share/416815/

Student's Wordle link:


This novel is a wonderful children’s fiction piece, by a distinguished author. This story demonstrates the power of love within a family, while maintaining the fun spirit of adventure. A family adopts a mouse, Stuart, and has to learn how to adjust their lives in order to make Stuart feel welcomed and loved. The story also shows that a hero can be any size, even if it is a mouse.

Juan Bobo- Folktale

Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico
retold by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand

This book is about a boy named Juan Bobo and things that he encounters. The book is compiled of four short stories called: 'The Best Way to Carry Water,' 'A Pig in Sunday Clothes,' 'Do Not Sneeze, Do Not Scratch, Do Not Eat!,' and 'A Dime a Jug.' The last two pages of the book tell the entire four short stories in Spanish. I think that this book would be a great way to help ELL students to advance in thier reading skills.

In the first story, Juan Bobo's mother askes him to get water from the stream. He complains that he is not strong enough to carry the buckets back with water. His mother tells him to figure it out, and Juan Bobo goes to fetch the water. When he comes back he boasts about how strong he was to be able to carry the water back to his mother and that the load felt lighter as he got closer to home. His mom steps into a puddle on the porch and realized that Juan Bobo used baskets to carry the water and the water leaked through the baskets onto the porch!

In the second story Juan Bobo's mother gives him the option of going to church or staying home and taking care of the pig. Juan decides to dress the pig in his mother's belongings and take it to church. The pig acted like a typical pig, rolled in a mud puddle, lost an earring and tore the dress. Juan's mom found the pig on the way home from church and picks it up and carries it home, which of course gets mud on her dress. She is furious! When she sees Juan Bobo, he gets excited and says he didn't know they could play with mud in church and tells her he'd like to go to church next Sunday, as well!


In the third story, Juan Bobo and his mother are invited to eat at a lady's house. Before leaving, Juan Bobo's mother tells him things he can and cannot do while at the lady's house. As soon as Juan Bobo was served his food, he sniffed rice up his nose and had to sneeze, which was something his mother told him not to do. Then Juan Bobo is served steak, his mom tells him not to use his hands, so he uses a spoon and drops the steak. When he went to pick up the steak, he remembered he could not use his hands and left the steak on his lap. Then fried bananas were being passed around, just as he was about to get one a mosquito bit him on the neck and he yelled. His mom thought he didn't want a banana and did not give him one. Then the steak fell on his foot and he thought it was his mother's foot tapping his which was a signal that he was eating too much. Since Juan didn't actually eat anything, he got and ran home, deciding that good manners must mean no eating and he didn't want to practice his manners.

The finally story tells about Juan Bobo's mother asking him to sell sugarcane syrup to some widows. On the way there, Juan Bobo gets distracted by a handkerchief in a puddle that has dimes in it and takes the wrong path. He mistakes a barn for the church and thinks the shiny black flies are the small widows his mother told him about. He takes the corks off the jugs and lets the flies taste the syrup. He tells them that the jugs cost a dime each. The flies flew around him and into the bottles. He shook the flies out of the jugs and they flew away. He began to chase after them but fell. When he fell the dimes came out of his pocket and he thought it was the flies paying. He called after them to get the jugs, but they had flown off, so he ate the rest of the syrup and took the money home to his mother. She tells him he can have anything he wants for dinner, but he is full from all of the sugarcane syrup!

I think this book would also be entertaining to the students because of the comedy provided by Juan Bobo and his silly mistakes and misconceptions!

Meet Kristen- Historical Fiction; Chapter Book

Meet Kristen: An American Girl
by Janet Shaw

This novel is one from the American Girls series. The book is centered around Kirsten, who is a nine-year-old. She and her family go through obstacles while they journey from Sweden to the Minnesota frontier in 1854. When the difficult traveling is over, Kirsten and her family settle on a farm on the Minnesota frontier. The story tells about hardships Kirsten faces such as making friends with another little girl, named Marta, while on the ship then being seperated away from her upon thier arrival to New York. In New York, Kirsten struggles when she is seperated from her father around crowds and people who speak various, unrecognizable languages to Kirsten. Kirsten and her family have to travel by foot, steamboat and train to reach their new destination, and home, in Minnesota with Uncle Olav and his family.

Pollution- Nonfiction

Pollution
by Helen Orme

This book enlightens readers on the dangers presented to the earth due to pollution. The pictures are very vivid and allow the reader to see how many threats the earth faces. The author tell about pollution being in many different places, such as the air, water and land. The author explains how pollution ultimately affects every living creature on the planet. The author explains the different types of pollution and thier causes and affects on the planet. Several facts and suggestions for improvement are included throughout the book. From landfills to radio active pollution and noise pollution to the future, this book does a great job of educating about pollution.