Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are is a classic children's picture book that is a must-read for everyone.  The story is that of a young boy by the name of Max.  After Max dresses up as a wolf, he begins to create a ruckus in his house.  The chaos is met with such disapproval that he is sent to his bed without dinner.  Max's bedroom is then mysteriously transformed into a jungle setting.  Max is then seen traveling by boat to land where mean large beasts, known as the "Wild Things", live.  Max is able to intimidate the Wild Things, who then declare him their king.  Max is then seen having a wonderful time with the beasts,  After awhile, Max feels lonely and decides to return home, which the Wild Things find displeasure in.  After returning home, Max is thrilled to find a hot dinner waiting for him.  This book is a classic that deals with all emotions, from anger, frustration, forgiveness, awareness, and wonder.  The illustrations are beautifully done and enhance the author's words.  This book is a fantasy picture book that won the Caldecott Medal in 1964.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqkNfWy7ayQ

A read along version of this book can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo4OoLJR9uE

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book in their lessons at http://lessonplanspage.com/lawildthingsstoryelementsk2-htm/

Readers also enjoyed  

A Chair for Mom by Vera B Williams and The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Other books by Maurice Sendak are  Alligators All Around and Nutshell Library.

Sendak, M., & Sendak, M. (1963). Where the wild things are. New York: Harper & Row.

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale

Rapunzel's Revenge is a graphic novel by Newberry Honor winner Shannon Dale. The story is a retelling of Rapunzel set in the Wild West.  ng In this version of the fairy tale, the story begins where we find Rapunzel living the life like royalty with her unpleasant and witchy Mother Gothel.  But Rapunzel is not happy with her living situations and disobeys Mother's order and scales the walls of the villa to find out what is outside her world.  She shocked to an unpleasant sight of mines and smoke-billowing towers.  While surveying the land, Rapunzel recognizes one of the mine workers as her birth mother.  It turns out Rapunzel was taken from her family as punishment because her father was caught stealing from Mother Gothel’s garden.  Their reunion sets all wheels a blazing.  Mother Gothel banishes Rapunzel to a treehouse deep in the forest, where she checks every year for regret of what she had done; which Mother Gothel never gets.  As time goes by and her hair grows longer and longer; Rapunzel uses it to escape her dwellings, and then uses it as a weapon to knock out the villains that she encounters as they head out to free Rapunzel’s birth mother from danger.  Along the way she meets and teams up with Jack, from the Beanstalk fame.  The artwork in this graphic retelling is done with great detail that you must look closely to see what the illustrator has created.  There is something for everyone and it is not a book just for young girls.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4_Slu5J67M

Teachers can get ideas to incorporate this book into their lessons at  http://www.squeetus.com/stage/rap_classroom.html

Readers also enjoyed The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan and The Courageous Princess by Rod Espinosa

Additional books written by the same authors include The Goose Girl and Princess Academy

Hale, S., Hale, D., & Hale, N. (2008). Rapunzel's revenge. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

Comics Squad: Recess! by various authors.

Comics Squad: Recess! is an anthology book with contributions from various authors and illustrators.  It is the first book in the Comics Squad Series.  There is a total of eight stories that embrace a theme that deals with school or recess, but all in very distinctive ways.  Dan Santat explores his first love and the idea of homework sharing.  It also has a very interesting and very public incident that involves vomit.  We also have knock-off versions of Princess Peach, Iron Man and President Barack Obama competing in a schoolyard game of kickball.  We also see Babymouse dealing with Zeus; as well as Jimmy Sprinkles having a run in with some rude vegetables.  The reader will have a field day being able to read different stories from different authors/artist in one book.  It is the who's who in this terrific graphic novel.  It is a great book for fans of this genre and a great book to introduce children to the world of graphic novels.  The illustrations are beyond belief and will just make you smile from ear to ear when you see them.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jHXAvpd-9I

Teachers can find ideas in how to incorporate this book in their lessons at  http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2014/08/comic-squad-recess.html#axzz4QnL24V1X

Readers also enjoyed the Lunch Ladies Series by Jarrett Krosoczka and the HiLo Series by Judd Winick

Other books in this series include Comics Squad: Lunch and Comics Squad #3: Detention

Krosoczka, J., Yang, G. L., Wight, E., Holm, J. L., Holm, M., Vernon, U., . . . Pilkey, D. (2014). Comics Squad: Recess! New York: Random House.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant is the first book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series.  It is a book that mixes the genres of horror, comedy, fantasy and mystery.  The book follows the story of Skulduggery Pleasant who is an undead sorcerer and detective; who along with his allies must battle Nefarian Serpine from unleashing a terrible weapon on this world.
This novel starts off when Stephanie Edgely is attending her late uncle's reading of the will. She is bequeathed her uncles mansions, book royalties, and unpublished manuscripts.  One night she receives an anonymous phone call demanding her to turn over the key.  When she refuses she is attacked but saved by Skulduggery Pleasant who is revealed to be a skeleton that is being held upright by supernatural magic. The adventure then begins where they must battle forces of evil to save the world.  This is a great graphic novel for young boys and girls.  Though it is supernatural in nature, it is a fun book with amazing illustrations that enhance the adventure.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvFtUp03mTg

Teachers can find ideas to incorporate this book into their lessons at http://resources.collins.co.uk/free/TeachingSkulduggeryPleasant.pdf

Readers also enjoyed The New Policeman by Kate Thompson and  Malice by Chris Wooding

Additional books by Derek Landy include  Dark Days and The Faceless Ones

Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York: HarperCollins.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson

Bridge to Terabithia  follows the story of a young boy by the name of Jesse Aarons.  Jesse becomes best of friends with a new student at his school who beats him in a footrace.  His new friend is a tomboy by the name of Leslie Burke.  The two are inseparable and are using out playing in their make believe sanctuary where they both rule as the new land's monarchs.  They call their land Terabithia where they construct a small refuge where they can escape to and leave all their day to day worries behind them.  The two are always together until one day Jesse decides to go on a field trip with his favorite teacher; whom he as a crush on.  Jesse forgets to tell his mom and Leslie about where he went.  While he was gone, Leslie tries to go to Terabithia on her own; but unfortunately, the rope swing that is used to cross over to their land snaps and causes Leslie to fall into the creek below where she drowns.  Jesse is saddened with the news and is struck by the grief that Leslie's family is displaying at their loss. Jesse at the end decides to make his sister the new princess of Terabithia and is able to build a more stable bridge using wood that was given to him by Leslie's parents. This book is the 1978 Newberry Medal Award winning book. The book has a great story but young children should be cautioned regarding the tragic incident that occurs at the end of the story.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mEVhFZ2p9A

Teachers can find lesson plans to help them teach Bridge to Terabithia  at  http://files.harpercollins.com/PDF/TeachingGuides/0690046359.pdf

Readers also enjoyed The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman and  The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron.

Other books written by Katherine Paterson are The Great Gilly Hopkins  and Bread and Roses, Too.

Paterson, K., Diamond, D., & Hill, A. (1977). Bridge to Terabithia. New York, NY: T.Y. Crowell.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a historical fiction book that was inspired by French filmmaker Georges Melies.  The book is unique because close to half of the book is composed of black and white illustrations that are vital to the plot of the book.  The book is a combination of a graphic novel, a picture book, a traditional novel and a flip book all rolled up into one.  The story follows a young orphaned boy by the name of  Hugo Cabret.  It is a fast paced book that will engulf the reader into it's pages.  The story mainly describes the adventure of Hugo and his automaton that is trying to fix.  He goes to a local toy shop and tries to steal a part that will fix his invention.  It is there where the shop keeper apprehends Hugo and his books of drawings.  The story continues and the different adventures ensue, which the reader will be introduced to different characters, include Papa Georges, Mama Jean, Isabelle, Etienne and Rene Tabard.  This book relies heavily on its illustrations which bring life to the story once the words are gone.  The Invention of Hugo Cabret was the 2008 Caldecott Award Winner. which awards the best picture book of that year.


A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYiumrSxAg8

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book into their lessons at  http://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/selznik

Readers also enjoyed reading  A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka and Tales for Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

Other books written by the author include  Wonderstuck

 and The Marvels

Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret: A novel in words and pictures. New York: Scholastic Press.

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel

The Nest is science fiction book that tells the story of a young pre-teen named Steve. Steve is currently worried about his sick new baby brother.  His baby brother is struggling to survive and is constantly going to the doctor or the hospital.  During this time, Steve has a vivid dream where what he believes to be an angel comes to visit it him at night and inform him that his baby brother will be alright.  Steve is fascinated to dream this and shares his dream with his family.  It is later discovered through his dreams, that the angel in actuality was the Queen Wasp who had set up their nest just outside Steve's home.  The dreams continue and more and more life like; where the Queen takes Steve on a journey throughout the nest showing him that they plan to fix his baby brother by replacing him with a new baby that is being constructed in the wasp's nest.  What Steve believes to be a dream starts to come to life and in all out effort strives to protect his baby brother at all costs when the wasps come to take him away.  This book is a nice piece of science fiction that will grab the reader's interest and not let them go until the very end of the book.  It's subtle illustrations of the wasps and the nest compliment the story.  It is a great book for the student that is into science fiction and also for those that might be facing the same situations as Steve in their home.

A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZdbWYGHJ80

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book into their lessons at  http://www.kennethoppel.ca/images/The%20Nest_RGG.pdf

Readers also enjoyed  The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

Additional books written by Kenneth Oppel include  The Boundless and Every Hidden Thing

Oppel, K., & Klassen, J. (2015). The nest. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Hitler Youth is a historical account of the paramilitary organization of children that are dedicated to the aims of the third Reich.  This is a nonfiction children's book that centers around interviews of twelve former members and their experiences in this organization.  The young boys were what Adolf Hitler wanted because they were more easily influenced and made to believe in the power and the future of the third Reich. The Youth Group was one of the largest groups compromised of children with over 3.5 million. Throughout the book, the author looks at how Hitler was able to gain their loyalty, trust and exploit their passion.  This book is a great tool to use to show students what these children believed in and how they were made to believe was the ultimate truth.  They believed that they were doing the right thing and never did they feel that what they were doing was wrong.  This book makes it easier to understand why the children did what they did; and how they were influenced to be part of a mass murdering machine.  This book is a good resource of nonfiction regarding the WWII that libraries should have in their reference section. Hitler Youth is also the recipient of the 2006 Newberry Honor Award.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQzIQQcsXcE&t=1s

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book in their lessons at  https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/exploring-nazi-propaganda-and-hitler-youth-movement

Readers also enjoyed Claudette Calvin: Twice Toward Justice  by Phillip M Hoose and

Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson

Other books written by Susan Campbell Bartoletti include Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America

and The Boy Who Dared

Bartoletti, S. C. (2005). Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's shadow. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village written by Laura Amy Schlitz

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies is a set of monologues and dialogues composed to help students understand the medieval times.  The book was written by a librarian at Park School for his student there to perform.  The students at Park School were in the middle of a lesson where they were studying time era.  The students were baking bread, composing music and creating miniature castles; but the librarian wanted them to perform something.  The characters in the play are from different backgrounds and ages.  Some are the children of the nobility and some are the children of paupers, but they all know one another since they live in the same manor.  The story is set in the 1255 and is written in modern United States English and not the King's English.  The monologues are not are easy to be read by any student and can easily be remembered.  The story is more of a realistic fiction because of the time period in which it takes place.  This book is also the recipient of the 2008 Newberry Medal for excellence in children's literature.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6rVF_J6pyw

Teachers can find ideas on how to incorporate this book in their lesson at http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763615781.btg.1.pdf

Readers also enjoyed Dobry written by Monica Shannon and Roller Skates written by Ruth Sawyer

Other books written by the author include Splendors and Glooms and The Night Fairy

Schlitz, L. A., & Byrd, R. (2007). Good masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a medieval village. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book is fantasy novel that follows the story of Nobody "Bod" Owens.  The story starts off when Jack Frost murders the entire Dorian Family except for their young toddler.  The young toddler climbs out of his crib and ends up at a graveyard; where the ghost inhabitants find him.  The Owens family (ghosts themselves) decide to keep the toddler and raise him as their own.  Bod is given Freedom of the Graveyard; which allows him to pass through solid objects that are in the graveyard.  The book mainly follows Bod and his adventures growing up in and out of the graveyard.  Bod's time in school is also explored where he is able to learn supernatural tricks such as Fading, Haunting, and Dream Walking.  We also find out that Jack Frost is still searching for the young boy that he did not kill; because he feels that the boy will cause the end of him and his society, the Jack of all Trades.   This is a fun book for all ages that won the Newberry Medal in 2009.   It is reminiscent of the Harry Potter  books with similar plots but with a supernatural twist.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5weQLQFp-4o

Teachers can find resources to help them incorporate this book at https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=12845

Readers also enjoyed  Tales from Silver Land by Charles J Finger

After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

Additional books written by Neil Gaiman include Stardust and  Coraline. 

Gaiman, N., & McKean, D. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: HarperCollins Pub.

The Watsons go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Watsons go to Birmingham is a realistic fiction novel that is set in the early 1960s during the civil rights movement.  The starts off in a cold Flint, Michigan day and follows the lives of the Watson family and their three children, Joetta, Byron, and Kenny (the narrator of the story). Byron, the oldest, is one that is constantly getting himself in trouble, and because of his actions the family believes it is best to have Byron spend the summer and possibly the next school year in Birmingham, Alabama with his grandmother.   While in Birmingham, their grandmother's church is bombed; and instead of explaining the true implications to their children.  Kenny is the one that is most affected from the bombing; having been at the church moments after the explosion for fear that his sister was inside, and also never having faced this form of racism in his life.  Though every member of the Watson family was safe, there were fatalities and injuries sustained from the bombing.  It is Byron who explains to Kenny what and why this happened.  Kenny comes to realize that the world is not perfect, but everyone needs to keep moving forward.   This book is written in a way that the reader will visually see and feel what is going on in Alabama  during this time in history. The Watsons go to Birmingham is the recipient of the 1995 Coretta Scott King Honor and Newberry Honor Award.

A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7yLMoAKAXo

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book in their lesson plans at  http://www.walden.com/watsons-go-to-birmingham-7-creative-classroom-activities/

Readers also enjoyed Yolonda’s Genius by Carol Fenner and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Other books written by Christopher Paul Curtis include Bud, not Buddy and The Mighty Miss Malone.

Curtis, C. P. (1997). The Watsons go to Birmingham. London: Orion Children's Books.

The Crossover  by Kwame Alexander

The Crossover is a book that will appeal to the current younger generation because of its subject matter and the style in which it is written.  The story is about a pair of African American twin brothers that are amazing basketball players.  Their skills are one that will be talked about, but unfortunately, the twins begin to drift apart once they begin junior high school.  The story follows both Josh (aka Filthy McNasty) and Jordan as they dribble down their times in school.  It covers their basketball games where you are more than likely to hear their father (ex-NBA player) shouting out coaching instructions or their mother (Assistant Principal) trying to wrangle the family in.  The novel is written in verse that will appeal to the current younger population because it reminds most of rap and hip-hop lyrics.  The Crossover is also the recipient of the 2015 Newberry Medal and the 2015 Coretta Scott King Award Honor. This is a book that will be checked out constantly by young boys in your library.


A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81q0OpjoG7o

Teachers can use the following link to help them incorporate this book into their lesson: https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=38077

Readers also enjoyed The Red Pencil by Aundrea Davis Pinkney and Rhyme Schemer  by K.A. Holt

Additional books written by the author are Booked  and  Surf's Up. 

Alexander, K. (2014). The crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball  by Kadir Nelson

We are the Ship is the true story of the Negro Baseball league and their stories of triumph and defeat.  The book is a nonfiction book that depicts the times and struggles that the men involved were dealing and facing with on.  The book relates the stories of people such as Bud Fowler, Ben Taylor, and Brant Johnson just to name a few.  We follow along during their journey to make a name for themselves and the league.  The book is divided into innings instead of chapters which each inning taking on a different topic.  We are exposed to racial discrimination, league owners, amazing all-star players, playing in Latin America and the difference between the negro league and their white counterpart.  The illustrations in this nonfiction picture book are amazing and depict the accomplishments, and triumphs that these men so well earned and deserved.  The book concludes with the end of the Negro Leagues, with most of its players ending up playing overseas or ending up playing in the now integrated Major Leagues.  This book is a great one for baseball fans. and for any one that is doing research regarding baseball or African Ameican history.

A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ3NANR101w

Teachers can find ideas to incorporate this book in their lessons at http://www.storyboardthat.com/teacher-guide/we-are-the-ship--the-story-of-the-negro-league-baseball-by-kadir-nelson

Readers also enjoyed  Jazz by Walter Dean Myers and Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas.

Other books by Kadir Nelson include Baby Bear and If you plant a seed

Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship: The story of Negro League baseball. New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

Dear Mr. Henshaw is a story of young sixth-grade boy who writes a letter to his favorite author.  The story is written in a letter and diary/journal form.  The story is about Leigh Botts who after reading a book in class, decides to write a letter to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw.  The story depicts the life of this young boy during his sixth-grade year in middle school.  The story starts off as Boyd is writing letters to Mr. Henshaw letting him know how much he loved one his book.  The initial letter was written when Boyd was in the second grade, but he writes one every year to Mr. Henshaw until he reaches middle school.  In middle school, he ends up writing a letter with multiple questions for the author as part of research he is doing for a school assignment.  The author replies back with a list of his own questions.  The story continues as Leigh continues to improve his writing skills and ends up keeping a journal/diary where he chronicles his life.  Leigh talks about the different situations that affect him.  This includes who he and his mom are dealing with the recent divorce.  How he misses his dad and is upset that his dad does not communicate with him as often as Leigh would want.  He is also dealing with missing his dog who is now living with his father and his new family.  It is interesting to read about what goes on in a young boy's life who is dealing with divorce.  Just like most kids of divorce, he believes that he is somewhat at fault and we get to read his true feelings regarding the situation.  This is a good book for kids that are going through divorcing parents to read.  I believe that they would be able to relate to what is going on in this book.  Dear Mr. Henshaw was also a 1984 Newberry Medal recipient.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuEQKFc6NqQ&t=18s

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book in their lesson at http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/dear-mr-henshaw-teaching-plan

Readers also enjoyed … and now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold

Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer

Other books written by Beverly Cleary are The Mouse and the Motorcycle  and Ramona Quimby,  Age 8.

Cleary, B., & Zelinsky, P. O. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: W. Morrow. 

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Rules is a great book to read to any pre-teen.  The book chronicles the life of a twelve-year-old girl by the name of Catherine.  Catherine only wants one thing in life, and that is to live a normal life.  But that is hard for her to do when she has an autistic brother David.  Catherine has spent the majority of her life teaching David the rules of life.  From letting him know that it is not O.K. to pull down your pants in public. to teaching him the difference between different fruits are the daily struggles that Catherine must deal with.  Other rules include: to remember to always flush and to make sure that the rubber ducky is not in the fish pond.  One day, while accompanying David to the therapist, Catherine makes friends with a young boy named Jason.  The only problem being is that Jason is in a wheelchair.  Catherine is reluctant from continuing this friendship because she does not want for people to be staring at her with Jason in the wheelchair.  She ends up learning a lot about life from her interactions with Jason.  This is a great book to read because it showcases the feelings that siblings, of those with family members with disabilities, go through.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K6cFgcaaGM

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book into their lessons at  http://www.cynthialord.com/pdf/rules_discuss.pdf

Readers also enjoyed  Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson and Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L Holm

Additional books written by Cynthia Lord are Half a Chance and Touch Blue. 

 Lord, C. (2006). Rules. New York: Scholastic Press.

Spiders by Nic Bishop

Spiders is an interesting nonfiction book by Nic Bishop that details interesting facts about these interesting and diverse creatures.  The book is written perfectly for beginning readers to understand.  This is a book that can easily be found in the reference section of any libraries because it is great for students to use when they are researching information about spiders.   A few interesting facts that I found out regarding spider are that tarantulas love to lurk on the rain forest floors.  I found that interesting because I have seen my share of tarantulas lurking around dry desert like conditions in my town.  One thing that I was surprised to find out is that most spiders are meat eaters. Even though it should not come as a surprise because I see how they lure their prey. I just had trouble associating their prey to meat.  Another interesting fact is that spiders do have a "spidey sense" in that they can sense when their predator is near them.  For anyone that grew up watching the live-action Spiderman TV series, you will remember that Peter Parker had a sense when trouble was near.  This is a great book with close-up pictures of  that help illustrate to the reader the different types of spiders that exist in our world.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj6OeYmxAZA 

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book in their classrooms at  https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=10287

Readers also liked Actual Size by Steve Jenkins and Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley

Additional books written by Nic Bishop include Snakes and  Frogs.

Bishop, N. (2007). Spiders. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction.

How they Croaked:The Awful end of the Awfully Famous written by Georgia Bragg

 How they Croaked is a morbid book that tells the true ways of how famous people in history died.  The book starts off with the death of King Tut and ends with that of Albert Einstein.  In total, 19 deaths are discussed within this book.  We get to examine how blister beetles were used to treat our first President of the United State, George Washington.  The fact of Henry VIII's exploding coffin is one that I had not been aware of, and found hilarious that the author states that James Garfield died from a slow bout of ignorance.  The illustrations by Kevin O'Malley are done in black and white but perfectly compliment the text in this non-fiction book.

A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_g1DKSH6T8&t=23s

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book at 

https://ktwelve.wikispaces.com/Non-Fiction+Writing+Activity+using+the+book+How+they+Croaked

Readers also enjoyed I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat: History's Strangest Cures  by Carlyn Beccia and Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead  by Rebecca L Johnson

Other books written by Georgia Bragg are  How They Choked: Failures, Flops, and Flaws of the Awfully Famous and Matisse on the Loose

Bragg, G., & O'Malley, K. (2011). How they croaked: The awful ends of the awfully famous. New York: Walker &.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid follows the life of a young preteenage boy.  Greg Heffley is your typical young man who is about to head into his first year of middle school.  The book chronicles his times and struggles as he navigates through school and also dealing with his older brother, Rodrick. Greg is your typical middle schooler who would rather stay inside playing video games then to venture outside to play sports, which his father tries to discourage him from doing.  The book is written in the form of  a journal/diary with illustrations embedded in between the story to help the reader get a better understanding of what is being described.  This book is the first book of a series written by Jeff Kinney.  It is very popular with young teen boys who can relate with the struggles that Greg is facing and must endure.  The first three novels were also made into motion pictures.  This is a great read for young boys who will end up asking to read the additional books in the series.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9DIx1VJRMs

Teacher can find ideas in how to incorporate this book at  http://www.wimpykid.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Book1TeachingGuide.pdf

Readers also enjoyed  Queen of the World! by Jennifer L Holm

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee by Tom Angleberger.

Other books in the series include Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel

Kinney, J., Kinney, J., & Beckerman, C. (2009). Diary of a wimpy kid. New York: Amulet Books.

It's so Amazing: A book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies and Families by Robie H. Harris, and Michael Emberley

It's so Amazing really is an amazing book to read.  This book carefully details male and female reproductive organs and what it means when someone gets pregnant.  No topic regarding pregnancy is left unturned.  The book is a great teaching tool to inform young kids how a woman gets pregnant.  It shows  the different sex organs for men and women in various stages of life; as well as what sex and love are.  It also does a terrific job in explaining what good touches are compared to bad one; and also explains about HIV and other diseases.  The books' illustrations do a great job depicting the different body without exaggerations. It is done in the form of a graphic novel, which is funny considering most would believe the pictures to be kind of graphic in nature.   Even though I was reading the book alone, I kind of felt uncomfortable reading it and not quite sure how I would feel if I saw a student reading it in the library.  I also wonder if my administration would allow such a book out on the library floor. because even though it is not pornographic by any means; I am not sure how parents or other adults would react to finding out that this book would be available for their elementary aged child to check out.  I guess I would cross that bridge when I become a librarian.


Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book into their lessons at http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763626104.mis.1.pdf

Readers also enjoyed King & King by Linda da Haan and

Deal With It: A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain and Life as a gURL by Esther Drill

Additional books written by the authors are  It's Perfectly Normal: A Book about Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health and It's Not the Stork!: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends

Harris, R. H., & Emberley, M. (1999). It's so amazing!: A book about eggs, sperm, birth, babies, and families. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper  

Out of My Mind tells the story of a young girl during the first part of her life.  It tells about her fond memories of her parents, her doctor visits,  learning while with her next door babysitter and her days at school.  For the most part, it is a typical story about a young girls life.  But Melody is not your ordinary run of the mill girl.  Melody was cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair.  She has limited mobility in her extremities and cannot verbally communicate verbally.  The stories chronicles her life from her point of view.  We learn what it feels like to have these emotions bottled up inside of you and not being able to express them as most can.  We feel her pain, we feel sorrow, and we feel her enjoyment for life.  From reading this book, we learn not to take the simple things for granted; such being able to hold a stuffed animal or drinking water without assistance.  This is a thought provoking book that makes love life a little bit more, thank your blessings and realize that people with cerebral palsy are not dumb but intelligent.  While reading this book, I could not help but think about the new ABC comedy show, Speechless.  This show tales the tale of a High School student with Cerebral Palsy and his day to day struggles in a comedic fashion.

A book trailer can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCG6e2DifxY

Teachers can find ideas to incorporate this book into their lessons at  http://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/out-of-my-mind-lesson-plans

Readers also enjoyed  Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L Holm and Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord

Additional books written by Sharon M. Draper include Stella by Starlight and Copper Sun.

Draper, S. M. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach is an interesting story that comes from a Cuban folktale.  The story is about Martina's journey to find a husband. During this time, she receives advice from all her female relatives, but the one advice is one that she takes the advice from her grandmother.  She states that to find the perfect suitor, you must first spill coffee on his shoes.  When this happens, he will get angry, and the way he speaks to you will be the way he will speak to his wife when he gets angry at her.  The story continues on as each suitor is given this test.  This picture book about a Cuban folktale is illustrated wonderfully, making a cockroach look slender and beautiful.  Though sometimes the illustrations might be over dramatic; it still fits perfectly with the story.


A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNzjlmwgOes

Teachers can find ways to use this book in their lessons at http://www.vaasl.org/pdfs/Conference_Handouts/2010/Raspen%20-%20VRC%20Extensions%20part%203.pdf

Readers also enjoyed  Gracias/Thanks by Pat Mora and Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Monte

Other books written by the author include 14 Cows for America and The Library Dragon

Deedy, C. A., & Austin, M. (2007). Martina, the beautiful cockroach: A Cuban folktale. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.

The Three Pigs  by David Wiesner

The Three Pigs tells the initial tale of the three little pigs with a nice spin to it.  The book starts off telling the story of how three pigs set out to start and go out into the world to start their fortune.  The first pig decides to build his house out of straw, which the big bad wolf comes by and decides to blow it down.  And that is where the story changes.  While the wolf starts blowing the first house down the little pig is able to break the fourth wall and come out of the story panels and walk through the book.  The little pig, who is now outside the story is able to go through the book and rescue the other two pigs.  Having found themselves in a new dimension, the three pigs then tear up the pages.  They then use the pages to make a paper airplane which they use to travel to different stories, where the encounter other storybook characters such as a dragon, a cat, and a fiddle.   The book's illustrations are wonderfully done in a way that helps the reader differentiate between the traditional story and the 4-D part of the book.  This is an interesting book to share with kids to show them different versions of a traditional tale.

A book trailer can be found at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U41VWexL6gE

A read along version of this book can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NATbRmDKBHo

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book in their lesson plans at http://www.hmhbooks.com/wiesner/Wiesner_Art_Max_discussion_guide.pdf

Readers also enjoyed Black and White by David Macauley and So You Want to be President by Judith St. George

Other books written by David Wiesner include Tuesday and Flotsam

Wiesner, D. (2001). The three pigs. New York: Clarion Books.

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

Rosa tells the story of Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks and the moment in time that has lived forever.  The story starts off telling us about how Ms. Parks' day was going at her job.
She was given the opportunity to leave early, which she took advantage of to be able to go home and fix a nice meatloaf meal for her husband.  The story continues as she boards the crowded bus and finds a seat in the neutral section (for both whites and colored people).  The story continues when the bus driver asks for Ms. Parks to move from her seat. which she refuses.  The story informs us that the reason she did not give up the seat was because she was tired of all the injustices that African Americans were facing at that time.  The police were then called and unfortunately, Ms. Parks was arrested.  This sparked outrage within her community, who quickly organized to protest this injustice.  Because of this, a year-long boycott from the riding the bus began, which ended when the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was wrong.
This is a beautifully done picture nonfiction book that tells the tale of one the Civil Rights most influential people.  The illustrations by Bryan Collier are done in such as way that the spirit of the times is conveyed easily to the reader.  Rosa is a Caldecott Honor recipient and is one that should be shared with all, especially now that our nation is going through some hard times in regards to race relations.

A read-along version of the book can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyy1WFn-Zi4 

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book into their lessons at https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=5807

Readers also enjoyed Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford and Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Doreen Rappaport

Additional books written by Nikki Giovanni include I Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day  and Bicycles

Giovanni, N., & Collier, B. (2005). Rosa. New York: Henry Holt.

It's a Book by Lane Smith

It's a Book is a fun little book that tells the conversation that is held between Monkey and Jackass.  The story begins when Jackass asks what Monkey "What do you have there?" Monkey simply replies that he has a book.  Not familiar with what a book is, Jackass begins to ask numerous questions about this device.  Questions such as, "Do you need a password", "Do you scroll down it?" "Where's the Mouse" , and "Do you Blog with It?" are asked by Jackass.  And all that Monkey can say is that it is a book.  Getting a little bit frustrated, Monkey shows Jackass the book; who proceeds to begin to read a passage.  Jackass then gets swept away by the book and does not return it to Monkey.  Monkey decides to go to the library to get another book; which Monkey responds that no to worry that he will charge the book when he is done.  It's a cute little picture book that examines what most of us fear; and that is that our kids are living in an extreme technology age that they have no concept of using items that not technological.  The illustrations are simplistic but do convey the frustration that Monkey is dealing with and the inquisitve nature of Jackass; who is trying to figure out what a book is.  My favorite line of this book comes from the last line, which states "It's  a book, Jackass."

A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BK_2VULCU

Teachers can find ways to incorporate this book in their lesson at  http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/statics/dyn/1283737199726/Its-a-Book-Classroom-Ideas.pdf

Readers also enjoyed The Boss Baby by Marla Frazee

Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates. 

Other books written by Lane Smith include There is a Tribe of Kids and Grandpa Green

Smith, L. (2010). It's a book. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

Magic Windows: Ventanas Magicas by Carmen Lomas Garza

Magic Windows is a book that is written in both English and Spanish.  The book talks about different Mexican traditions and its culture.  Stories include the eagle with the rattlesnake; which is depicted on the Mexican national flag.  The story of its Aztec origin is explained. Stories about different animals such as the deer, horned toad, fish, humming birds and the turkey are told to explain their importance in the Mexican culture. In this book, we also learn about the importance of making paper flowers and celebrating the Day of the Dead.  The illustrations for this book are depicted as a part of a papel picado; which its story of how it is made is also explained.  The colors in the illustrations are very bold using deep purples, blues, red and yellow.  Besides black, mainly one other color is used in each page that seems to complement the story that is being told.  This is a great book for students to learn a little bit about the Mexican culture and its traditions

Teachers can find lessons to incorporate this book at https://www.leeandlow.com/uploads/loaded_document/60/Magic_Windows_BG.pdf

Readers also enjoyed  Vejigantes Masquerade by Lulu Delacre

Additional books written by Carmen Lomas Garza include In my Family/En mi Familia and Family Pictures/Caudros de familia

Garza, C. L., Rohmer, H., & Schecter, D. (1999). Magic windows. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press.

This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

This is Not My Hat is a fun story to read at bedtime to your children or to read to your first or Kindergarten class. The story is told two ways; by written word and illustrations.  The story is about a little fish that steals the hat of a very big fish.  The little fish states throughout the story the many reasons why it was ok for him to steal the hat. The little fish is also positive that no one will let the big fish know where he went to go hide.  He also is sure that if he gets to where the tall plants are that he will be in the clear of anyone finding him and the hat.  But unbeknownst to the little fish, the big fish is aware of what happened and is on the hunt for his hat. The big fish is aided with the help of those that saw where the little fish and the hat went to.
The little fish's story is told through the author's words; while the big fish's story is told through the illustrations. The illustrations are vital to this book and are done in a way that told the story without using any words.

This is a great teaching tool to discuss with the students and your own kids about the problem with stealing someone else's things. tol

A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSZFT58ne-8

Teachers can find ideas to incorporate this book in their lesson plan at http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763655988.kit.2.pdf

Readers also enjoyed  Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett

Other books written by Jon Klassen include I Want my Hat Back and  We Found a Hat.

Klassen, J. (2012). This is not my hat. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

The Legend of the Bluebonnet: An Old Tale of Texas by Tomie De Paola

The Legend of the Bluebonnet tells the tale of how the Texas Bluebonnet came to be.  The story begins with a Comanche tribe dealing with a drought that has affected them.  The drought has dried out their land and because of this, their people are not doing so well.  They dance and pray to their spirits to bring them relief.  A young girl by the name of  She-Who-Is-Alone starts talking to her doll and letting her now that once the shaman will advise the tribe what is needed for them to do  to bring the green grass and buffalo back to their land.  The shaman returns and informs the tribe that to please the spirits; a sacrifice of their most valued possessions must be made because of their past selfishness.  She-Who-Is-Alone knew right away what she needed to sacrifice, and gave up her doll (which was the only thing she had left; since all her family had passed away from the famine).  This was a selfless act that was rewarded by the Spirits, with luscious green lands and a new blue flower with petals that looked like the feathers from her doll.  From then on she would be known as One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People and was remembered every spring since then when the Bluebonnets blossom in Texas.

This book is a great little folktale about who the bluebonnet came to be.  The illustrations in this picture book are simply done in a way that enhances the story.  It is a perfect book for teachers to use when they are teaching their students about the different symbols of Texas.  This is also a great book to teach kids about sacrifices and not being selfish,


A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gcGlxsTrqE

Teachers can find ideas about how to incorporate this book into their lesson at  http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/blueb.html

Readers also enjoyed  The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R Friedman

Additional books written by the author are  The Art Lesson and Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

DePaola, T. (1983). The legend of the bluebonnet: An old tale of Texas. New York: Putnam. 

Mirror Mirror A Book of Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer

Mirror Mirror is a quaint poetry book that tells the stories of some of our beloved fairy tales.  The poems main characters are Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Goldilocks to name a few.  What is unique about this book is that the poems are written in a way that if you read them bottom to top (from the last word to the first), a different story is told.  These poems are a great piece of children's literature that will confuse and fascinate the young mind.  The illustrations in this delightful picture book makes the poems come to life.  After reading this little treasure of a book you will find the reading trying to come up with their own reverso poem.   Using an example I found on the internet I created my own reverso poem.

In the Blink of an Eye
This Class is Almost Over
What Did I Do?
Blog
Create Newsletters
Read
Write
For Three Months
What will I Do?


A book trailer can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMpAjvE3LC0

Teacher can find ways to incorporate this book into their lessons at http://www.penguin.com/static/images/yr/pdf/LessonPlans_MirrorMirror.pdf

 Readers also enjoyed In the Wild by David Elliot and Poetrees by Douglas Florian

Additional books written by the author are  Tallulah's Tutu

and Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths 

Singer, M., & Masse, J. (2010). Mirror mirror: A book of reverso poems. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books.

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade written by Melissa Sweet


Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade  tells the story of Tony Sarg and the origin of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloons.  The book tells the story of how Macy's Department store needed to replace the live animals that it was featuring in their parade.  They contacted Mr. Sarg to come up with an idea to replace the live animals. He had hoped to use his puppets, but unfortunately, they were not larger than three feet tall.  Mr. Sarg  contacted the Ohio company that specialized in making blimps out of rubber and designed his balloons.  The next problem that arose was to how to control the large balloons so that they would not fly away, and that is where is expertise working with the puppets came into place.  Mr. Sarg came up with the idea of controlling the puppets with string.  The book chronicles this time in history that we now get to enjoy on a yearly basis.

This is a wonderful picture book with beautiful illustrations.  The book is laid out in a way that reminiscent of a scrapbook of sorts.  Children of all ages will enjoy reading this book over and over again, and especially around the holidays.  Balloons over Broadway is a Caldecott Honor winner; that should be read aloud because it will bring back memories of past Thanksgiving for those that are present.

A book trailer can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONXv_7sXQdA

A read along can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMsYLtOVh2A

Teachers can find ideas to incorporate this book at http://www.hmhbooks.com/kids/resources/BalloonsOverBroadway_ActivityKit.pdf

Readers also enjoyed Here Comes the Garbage Barge!  written by Jonah Winter and Barnum's Bones: How Barnum Brown Discovered the Most Famous Dinosaur in the World written by Tracey E Fern.

Other books written by Melissa Sweet include Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White and

Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women.

Sweet, M., Newborn, R., & Paquette, C. (2011). Balloons over Broadway: The true story of the puppeteer of Macy's Parade. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

A Big Guy Took my Ball! written by Mo Willems

A Big Guy Took my Ball! is a cute little story about the time Piggie is telling Gerald about a big huge ball that she had found was having a blast with.  That is until a "Big Guy" takes her ball.  Gerald is determined to find out what happened to the ball; until they come across the culprit.  The culprit turned out to be a very huge whale.  The whale was sad at first but then became excited and glad that Piggie was able to return his lost ball.

This is a fun book for beginning readers to enjoy.  A Big Guy Took my Ball!  is a 2014 Theodore Geisel Honor Book that is a perfect picture book for young readers to sharpen their reading and vocabulary skills.  This book also shows a great lesson about how there are always two sides to every story and that we should always listen to both sides of a story before coming to any conclusion.

A Read along can be found at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXpLgExe1f4


A Book Trailer can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsHzU7Y-_ag

Readers also enjoyed Ball written by Mary Sullivan and Moo! written by David LaRochelle

Other books written by Mo Willems are We are in a Book and The Thank You Book.

Teaching ideas for A Big Guy Took my Ball! can be found at  http://www.pigeonpresents.com/teachersguides/EandP_eventkit2013.pdf

Willems, M. (2013). A big guy took my ball! New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Pablo Cantu
LSSL 5360
Textbook Assignment #5
November 12, 2016

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

K What You Already Know About the Topic	W What you learned about the topic	L What you still need to learn about the Topic	S How do you plan to share what you learned?

View the following YouTube Videos:

A) Genres and Formats,  B) Building a Community of Readers, C) Evaluating Non-Fiction, D) Evaluating Picture Books and E) Why we share literature with kids.

Item (A) Genres and Formats will be done using the KWLS format.  The rest will have a brief summary since they have already been reported on in previous assignments.

K What you already know about the topic?

(A). In regards to genres and formats, I am really not sure what I know about each one.  I believe that a genre is a type of category for a book.  I would think different genres would be mystery novels, sci-fi novels, and romance novels.  In regards to format; I would think that meant the way there were written.  What style was it done? This would include in poetry form, graphic novels, or third or first person.

W What you learned about the topic

(A) As in the previous assignments, I learned quite a bit.  I learned what genre can be basically split between Fiction and Nonfiction.  Fiction can then split into subgenres like Realism, Historical, and Fantasy.  Realism would then be broken down to realistic both modern and contemporary.  Fantasy can be broken down into subcategories of Traditional and Modern.  Traditional would then be split into folktales, fables, fairy tales, legends, and myths. While Modern would be split into Science (both Hard and Soft) and Fantasy (High and Low).  Hard Science stories is where science is the main part of the story; while soft science stories the characters play a major part with science still being a part of the story.  High fantasy is where a new world is created and the language from that world is also created.  Examples of high fantasy would be Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.  Low fantasy stories are more down to earth, with an example being talking animals as in Animal Farm.  Nonfiction can be split up into Informational NonFiction which includes, Biographies, Narrative Nonfiction, and Expository Nonfiction.  Under biographies, we have autobiographies and memoirs.  Most believe that autobiographies and memoirs are the same, but the do differ.  Memoirs deal with a portion of a person’s life; while autobiographies deal with their whole life span. Narrative nonfiction deals with stories of a person or event but is written in a way that they are telling a story.  While expository nonfiction is mainly facts. Some people might believe that Chick lit, mystery, guy reads, horror, sports, war, classics, humor, dystopian, and action adventure are genres; but they are not.  There are subjects and categories. Format is the style of which a story is written. Examples would be poetry, drama, novels, chapter books, short stories, picture books and graphic novels.  An example is Meet the Dillards; where the genre of the book is low fantasy, but the format is done in a picture book.

L What you still need to learn about the Topic

There is still a lot I need to learn; I have to change my way of thinking.  Because I was always thinking that poetry, crime, and war were types of genres, but they are not.  These are just categories.  I need to practice what I have learned by looking at the different books and finding out what genres they fall into.  This of course, will take practice, but that is why we are always learning.  I almost positive, I have the idea of what format means, but I just need to practice somewhat to gain the experience that is needed.

S How do you plan to share what you learned

A) I plan to share this new found knowledge, by creating flyers with this information for my teachers at the High School where I work.  That way they can share this new knowledge with their students.  The students and the faculty will be more informed and will use the correct terminology when talking about different books.

Summaries

Building a Community of Readers
                It takes trust and a while to build.  The following is what was learned.
                a)  There are real books in the school.  A school library that has a quality collection correlates to higher test scores.  Classroom libraries help students improve their scores as well.  Also the number of books in a child’s home correlate to how successful they will be at school.
                b). Read aloud occurs regularly.  This is from kinder to high school aged kids.  Sometimes kids need to hear how a word sounds.  An example of this was said in how to pronounce Hermione from the Harry Potter Books.
                c.)  Sharing books with kids in large, small groups, as well as an individual.  An example is to let kids know  how to train a dog; when they just recently became dog owners.
                d.) Silent reading time at school every day.  Students need to practice to become better readers.  This is also a correlation to higher test scores.  This might be a problem because Principals might see that this is wasted time that could be devoted to preparing a student for the state exam. 
                e.) Students should be able to check out books from the school library, public library and the classroom library.  Students need to have temporary ownership.  Especially where kids might not have books at their homes.
                f.) Teaching models everywhere.  The CATE, Math, Science, and Principals should be seen as readers, and not just English or Librarians. 
                g.) Choice.  Students and kids need to be able to choose what book they want to read. 
                h.) Kids need time to talk to one another about what they are reading.  This way they learn about different books. 

                  i)  Response.  Talking to others regarding different books and can take lots of forms.  

                  j) Build Community to be able to foster the love of reading with our children to become life-long readers. 
               

Evaluating Non-Fiction
                Nonfiction has different styles and formats. The majority of our library is composed of nonfiction books.  A good resource is the book Nonfiction for young adults: from Delight to Wisdom by Better Carter, Dick Abrahamson. 
                When evaluating nonfiction; we can use the following criteria:
                a) What are the qualifications of the author? We can check their website for their background, do they have positive reviews, and we can always read the back of the book for qualifications.
                b) Are the facts accurate?  Unfortunately, we rely on the authors’ words.  We can look at the different reviews, we can take a look at different books on the same subject and compare notes.  We can also have kids read different books on the subject and see where the facts listed are the same or different.  
                c) What is the purpose and scope of the book?  Is it written for older kids or younger kids?
                d) We need to look at the organization and order in the book.  How does it assist kids in finding answers in their book?  We need to look at the Table of Contents and see if it is easy to understand and use. 
                e) What roles do the visuals (if any) play?  Do they elaborate the text? Do they separate the text? Does it help them not be overwhelmed with the texts? 

Evaluating Picture Books
                First of I learned that there is a difference between Picture books and Picture Story Books.  Picture books are mainly concept books and books that help with limited vocabulary.  Picture Story Books are books where the text and the illustration combine in such a way that the sum is greater that the two parts alone. 
                When evaluating Picture Books the following criteria is used.
                a) Is something significant said to the child? What is the theme?
                b)  Can the youngster follow the story better because of the illustration? Do the pictures enhance the text?
                c) Is the audience for the book understood and respected?  Or does the book condescend or talk down to the kids?  This is usually prevalent in most celebrity children’s books. 
                d)  Do the pictures enhance a greater character development?
                e) What is the mood and tone of the book?  Do the pictures add to the mood or tone of the story?
                f)  Look at everything that physical of about the book
                                1) The Cover.  How does it introduce the book to the kids?
                                2)  What happens when you take the cover off?
                                3)  End Paper.  Does it convey part of the story?
                                4)  The Title Page. Does it give you a sense of what is going to happen in the story?
                                5) Binding.  It is paperback, library bound, hardback, or a reinforced trade edition?  This is important to know because we get an idea of how long the book will last.  Books from a book fair are usually trade bonded and are not meant to last for years.
                                6) Size and Spacing of the illustrations
                                7) Text Placement.  How different are the typeface and font?  How does it make the story come alive? `
                                8) The spine.  Does it have all the information that is needed?
                                9) The gutter.  Does it flow O.K.? 
                                10) The Paper.  How good is the quality of the paper that is being used?  Is the paper heavy so that it does not tear off?

Why we share literature with kids?

There are several reasons as to why we share literature with kids.  The main point is if we don’t, then what are we doing?  The following are reasons why we do this.
                a)  It’s fun.  We are apt to engage to things that are fun. 
                b) Because it aids that acquisition of language and language development.  If you read 20 minutes a day, 1,800,000 words are added to ones’ vocabulary.  The more reading time increases the vocabulary of a child throughout the years.
                c)  It develops empathy.  It develops empathetic bonds through reading books.  Literature develops empathy.  They understand how it feels.  Reading fictional stories children more empathetic. 
                d)  It supports lifelong readers.  It helps create an unconscious delight.  They do this by reading autobiographical.  Reading stories about us.  We need to see ourselves in a book.  We also for vicarious experiences. To be looking  how others are.  We also read for philosophical speculations.  We read to form opinions about things in their life.  Either ethically or religious.  And they read for joy and pleasure.
                e)  Literature develops the imagination.  It makes you ask a question.  What would happen if?  Inventions come from the developed imagination. 
                f) It can transmit culture. We need to share cultural books on a regular basis and not just during heritage months.