El Deafo Written and Illustrated by: Cece Bell Genre: Graphic Novel Grades: 3-5 Awards: Newbery Honor This book follows a little girl at the age of 4, Cece. She enjoys doing everything like a regular 4 year old would do, play games with friends and spending time with siblings. One day, Cece was rushed to the hospital after throwing up in the living room. Turns out she had fluid in her spine and was diagnosed with meningitis. While still in the hospital, she could not hear the nurses talking to her or hear what the tv was saying in her room. While at home, she discovers that she is losing her hearing when Cece called for her mom but did not hear her respond. Eventually, Cece goes to an audiology doctor and receives a hearing aid that helped her tremendously. It is the first day of Kindergarten for Cece and she is placed in a classroom where the other kids look like her, with hearing aids on. Cece and the other students not only learn the basic subjects of math, reading, writing, but also how to lip-read. Summer comes and Cece and her family moves away to a small town. Cece will no longer be in a classroom like her Kindergarten one for first grade, but she gets an upgrade to a phonic ear, which is stronger than a hearing aid. With this phonic ear, her teacher wears and talk into a microphone so that Cece can hear the teacher clearly. Cece also happens to hear everything the teacher say and do, even outside of the classroom, like in the restroom or in the teacher's lounge. Cece feels like a superhero with the ability to hear everything and she calls herself El Deafo. Cece becomes friends with Laura, but she is bossy and pushy to Cece. The next school year, Cece becomes friends with Ginny, who has the same interests as Cece and is much nicer to her. Cece finally realizes that she is tired of Ginny for calling her "deaf friend" and don't understand why she can't just be a friend, and also the fact that Cece is tired of being talked to at a slow pace while she can understand at a normal pace. Months pass by and Cece's mother suggested that her and Cece should take a sign language a class, since Cece's hearing aid batteries can easily die. Cece does not enjoy the class at all, as she does not feel like she is being helped but actually being made fun of for being deaf. Cece befriends the girl across from her house, Martha, who is in the grade below Cece. As Cece goes into fifth grade, she become friends with Ginny again, has a crush on her new neighbor down the street, and needs glasses now. Cece eventually tells everyone on her street and even her classmates about the superhero she is, especially with the power of her hearing aid being able to hear anything. Everyone thinks that Cece is even more awesome for this. I really loved reading this book. This book should be in every teacher's library and for the students to enjoy. This book would be best for third to fifth graders. A way to incorporate this book is by having your students write about a superpower they think they have. This is a great way for students to have more confidence about themselves.
On My Honor Written and Illustrated by: Marion Dane Bauer Genre: Realistic Fiction Grades: 3-5 Awards: Newbery Honor This book follows two boys, Joel and Tony. Both boys grew up with each other from when they are babies, but their personalities are different from each other. Joel likes to play everything safe, but Tony loves adventure and is on the fun side. One summer day, Joel was able to convince his father that him and Tony will visit the state park a few miles away and will be completely safe coming back. Tony tells Joel that they should visit and climb Starved Rock, which is a large and dangerous cliff that everyone says to stay away from. Halfway on their trip to Starved Rock, the boys stop at Vermillion River, a forbidden and risky river. Joel was tired of being made fun of by Tony, so he convinced Tony to a swimming race to the sandbar. Once Joel reaches to the sandbar, he looks back and he could not find Tony anywhere. Joel tried his best looking for Tony in the river even with a help of strangers, but Joel finally realized that Tony has drowned and died in the river. Joel arrived back home and did not tell anyone immediately of what happened to Tony, instead he lied to his parents that he didn't go all the way to Starved Rock because he was feeling sick, so he came back home and leaving Tony alone to go to the cliffs. Joel had to do his newspaper route around the neighborhood, but while he was throwing newspaper to the houses, all he could think about is Tony's death and the consequences he would have to face. That night, the police have arrived to Tony's house to announce that they found his clothes and bike near the river. Joel and his father went to their house and Joel finally admitted the truth of what happened when they went to the river and how Tony drowned. All night, Joel argued with his dad that it was his fault that Tony died and that it should have been him that drowned. Joel's father reassured him that it is the choices that you make can determine your fate. This book was really good to read and it was a bit emotional to read. I believe this book is needed in every classroom libraries. This book is best fit for third to fifth graders. This book would be good for book club, where the students can discuss with what has happened in the book. The students can also write a short essay about what decisions you make can lead to consequences.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears Written by: Caralyn Buehner Illustrated by: Mark Buehner Narrated by: Cassandra Morris Genre: Traditional Literature Grades: K-3 Awards: None There was a family of bears that included Papa, Mama, and Little Wee bear, that lived in the woods. Every morning, they had porridge for breakfast, but on one morning, Papa and Mama bear's porridge was too hot to eat, except for Little Wee bear. Mama bear suggested that they go on a walk so that their porridge's can cool down for a bit. Once everyone left, a little girl named Goldilocks, came and walked right in to the bears house. Goldilocks saw three chairs in the living room and bounced on them until she found that the Little Wee's chair was perfect for her. Goldilocks bounced so much on Little Wee's chair that she broke straight through it. Next, she started tasting everyone's porridge, but everyone's was too hot, except for Little Wee's porridge. She completely finished Little Wee's porridge and then went upstairs to take a nap from the food she ate. She tried Papa and Mama bears beds, but they were not comfortable enough, until she went to Little Wee's bed, which was just right for her to fall asleep in. Papa, Mama, and Little Wee bear came back as they were excited to eat their cool down porridge, but they noticed that someone or something have invaded their house. The three bears went upstairs to find Goldilocks all knocked out on Little Wee's bed. They were frightened and believed that Goldilocks was either a monster or even an alien. Little Wee bear poked Goldilocks, cause her to wake up, scream, and run away. After this crazy encounter with Goldilocks, Mama bear made a new batch of porridge, where the temperature was not too hot or too cold, but just right. I love this classic book and I believe everyone should have this in their library collection. This book would be good for kindergartners to third graders. I would have my students act out the actions that Goldilocks did in the book. This has the students perform what they heard from the book and it makes the storyline more enjoyable for them to understand. I would also discuss with my class what they would do if they saw Goldilocks ruin their house.
Lola Levine: Drama Queen Written by: Monica Brown Illustrated by: Angela Dominguez Genre: Realistic Fiction Grades: 3-5 Awards: Bluebonnet Award Lola Levine is known for being dramatic, the loud one, and the soccer team captain in her class. The school gets a new drama teacher, named Ms. Tinkle. Lola happened to embarrass Ms. Tinkle in front of her classmates because of her last name. One of Lola's classmates, Alyssa, is really mean to Lola and call her weird in front of the class as much as she can. Lola is also preparing herself to audition for the school play, as she wants to be the big star. It is the day of auditions, but Lola freezes up on stage, forgetting her lines of Dolores Huerta. Alyssa and her best friend even felt sorry for Lola for not even getting through her lines. Josh, Lola's best friend tries to make her feel better by playing soccer together. Once the roles for the play were posted, Lola started to cry and did not feel important as she got the role of squirrel #2. It is the day before the big play and Lola's grandma decided to surprise Lola and the family by visiting, just so she can see Lola act. It is the day of the play and once Lola walks in an hour early, Ms. Tinkle inform Lola that she needs to play squirrel #1 as the actor got the flu. Lola had only an hour to memorize squirrel #1 lines before the show began. Once the show started, the play started off well, but in the middle, Lola got her squirrel tail caught underneath the tree prop. Lola had to improvise since no one was able to help her. Lola tugged her tail out causing her pants to rip in the middle. Lola's grandma came in the rescue by giving her scarf to Lola to cover herself. Once Lola's scene was over, everyone gave her a loud applause and Ms. Tinkle was proud of the improv Lola did. Before Lola's grandma left, she reminded Lola that she is not dramatic as she comes from a family of drama queens, just like her grandma. This was a great book to read and would be a great addition in a classroom library. This book would be best for third to fifth graders. To incorporate this book, I would have my students write about what they would do if they were caught in the situation of Lola, being squirrel #1 and ripping her pants. This book would also be great to read during book club.
The Great Pet Escape Written and Illustrated by: Victoria Jamieson Genre: Graphic Novel Grades: 3-5 Awards: Bluebonnet Award There is a hamster that goes by the name of George Washington. GW or George Washington is stuck in jail, a cage in the second-grade classroom. GW explains that he was captured with two of his other best friends, Barry and Biter, and they called themselves the 'Furry Fiends.' GW has been creating an invention for him to escape, called 'The Hairy Houdini Escape-O-Matic.' One night, GW was able to escape from his cage and went on a search for Barry and Biter. GW found Barry in a first grade classroom, but he seemed off to GW because he was enjoying reading a book in his cage. GW was able to unlock Barry's cage and they made their way to Biter's kindergarten classroom. They got to Biter's cage and she has changed completely different from the way she used to be. Biter was now called Sunflower and she now meditates and enjoys sharing her feelings, just like the kindergartners in her class. As the Furry Fiends were discussing their way to escape, a mouse named Harriet stopped them and declared that they cannot escape as there would be more restrictions for the pets in the school. Harriet had an army of mouses that captured GW, Barry, and Sunflower into a cage and built a barricade of legos around it. Harriet explained that they plan on making the children in school sick tomorrow by messing up their lunch. The three Furry Fiends were able to escape and made their way to the school's kitchen to find Harriet and his army messing with the food. The Furry Fiends were able to attack Harriet and his army, causing a food fight in the kitchen. GW explained to Harriet that he won because all the food that Harriet made to make the children sick, were all wasted and all over the kitchen. The Furry Fiends return to one of their classrooms and GW explained that after their adventurous night, he wouldn't mind staying in the school, as long he goes on more adventures with his best friends. I really enjoyed reading this book and laughed a lot. This book would be perfect to have in a classroom library and would be good for third to fifth graders. An activity to include this book would be having the students sequence and draw what happened in the story. The students can also write and draw what they would do to stop Harriet from making the students of the school sick.
Extraordinary Warren: A Super Chicken Written and Illustrated by: Sarah Dillard Genre: Graphic Novel Grades: 1-5 Awards: None This book follows an ordinary, average chicken named Warren. Warren was getting tired of just pecking for chicken feed every single day and it drove him crazy, because he knew that he was more than just an ordinary chicken. Warren felt really alone among the other chickens, as they loved pecking for chicken feed and they did not understand Warren. There was also a rat called Millard. Millard was tired of going through the trash can and just finding rubbish, garbage, and not finding anything good to taste on, like a special chicken. Warren overheard Millard about wanting a special chicken, and Warren believed that he could be that special chicken, without knowing that Millard meant a special chicken to feast on. Millard told Warren that he is a more than a special chicken, but a chicken supreme. Warren went off telling his egg that he is special. Warren went back to the rest of the chickens to take flying lessons from Coach Stanley. Everyone was able to learn on how to fly, except for Warren, as he fell on his face. Warren ran into Millard again, but this time, Warren finally understood what was Millard's ultimate plan, to barbecue Warren and the rest of the chickens at his barbecue party. Warren went off to tell the other chickens, but no one believed him. So Warren went back to his egg at the top of the hill, but he accidentally bumped the egg, causing it to roll down the hill. Warren was able to fly and capture the egg, landing on Millard and his barbecue pit. Millard's plans were ruined as his barbecue pit was destroyed. Warren's egg hatched and that chick told Warren that he is ready to be Warren's sidekick. This book was really adorable and enjoyable to read. I believe this book would be great for first to fifth graders. A way to incorporate this book is by having the students write about how they would feel being around other chickens that did not believe anything they said. The students can also write and draw what ways they would stop Millard from eating them if they were chickens.
Early Aircraft Written by: John E. Allen Illustrated by: Dick Eastland and Eric Jewell Genre: Nonfiction Grades: 1-5 Awards: None In 1804, George Cayley made a model glider and fifty years later, he made a glider capable of carrying a person. In 1903, the Wright brothers built a petrol engine that could fit in a glider with simple controls, and they created the first aircraft, Flyer 1. During WW1, armies used aircrafts that had machine guns to battle with the enemy and to spy on them. In 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean without stopping, flying 6,000 kilometers in his aircraft Spirit of St. Louis. The first commercial airline started in 1919 called the Douglas DC2 and DC3, where people flew fast and all comfortable. In WW2, several countries built thousands of aircrafts that bombed enemy cities. This was a great book to read and learn the history of aircrafts. This book would be great for first to fifth graders. An activity to incorporate this book is by having the students create a timeline, using the information from the book. The students can also pick one fact from the book and do a bit more research surrounding that fact.
