Meredith Wright
Reading File
Caldecott:
- The Snowy Day
-Author: Ezra Jack Keats
-Grade Level: PK-2
-Genre: Caldecott (Weather)
-Synopsis: Peter is a young boy who wakes up to snow outside his window one day. Peter spends his day in the snow by snowball fights with older boys, building snowmen, making snow angels, and pretending to be a mountain climber. Peter also tries to keep a snowball in his pocket, but finds it melted at the end of the day. Peter dreams that the sun melts all the snow away, but finds fresh snow falling the next morning when he wakes up.
-Activity:Doing a story map as a class of different snowy day activities and then allowing the students to do a creative writing on their dream snow day and what they would do.
-Personal Review: *****(4) out of (5). This is a great book for lower-grade levels! It is a simple book that would captivate a child’s imagination, but is still easy to follow. I think that it would be great in incorporating a lesson on winter and the sun.
- This Is Not My Hat
-Author: Jon Klassen
-Grade Level: PK-2
-Genre: Caldecott (Morals)
-Synopsis: In this book, there is a small fish and a big fish. The small fish steals a hat that belongs to the big fish and thinks that he will get away with it by hiding “where the plants are big and tall and close together”. The small fish thinks that the big fish won’t know who took the hate or that he will not be able to find him. The whole time though the big fish is following him into the tall plants and gets his hat back.
-Activity:Have the students write a newspaper article about a stolen hat
-Personal Review: *****(5) out of (5). I love this book! I love how the illustrations in the book play a huge role in the story telling. I feel it would teach students a great lesson of doing what is right and not just trying not to get caught!
- The Little Island
-Author: Margaret Wise Brown & Leonard Weisgard
-Grade Level: 3-5
-Genre: Caldecott (Seasons)
- Synopsis: This book goes through what seasonal changes the little island experiences throughout summer and spring. It describes what all the animals, birds, and flowers experience throughout the spring and summer, also. During the summer time, a kitten comes to the island and realizes that islands are a part of the land.
-Activity: Make a Venn Diagram as a class that groups all the different animals according to rather they live on water, land or both.
-Personal Review: ****(4) out of (5). This book is a great read for students learning about the environment and geography of islands. I feel this book would be more beneficial for teachers if it included all four seasons, though. I would definitely recommend this book to teachers to include in a unit on geography, but it would probably not be one I recommend a student to read for pleasure.
- Madeline
-Author: Ludwig Bemelmans
-Grade Level: K-3
-Genre: Caldecott Honor
-Synopsis: Madeline is a little girl who lives in Paris with 11 other little girls raised by a nun. Madeline is brave, even though she is the smallest of all the other girls. One night, Madeline gets sick and has to get her appendix out. When the little girls visit, they see her scar and all the fun toys she got. That night, all the girls cry because they decide they want to get their appendix out, also.
-Activity: Have the students call out rhyming words on the second time reading the story and then have them make word families.
-Personal Review: ***** (5) out of (5). I love this book! Madeline is a timeless children’s book that all ages enjoy. This would be a great book to read to a class just for story time and help engage them in a love for stories!
- Where The Wild Things Are
-Author: Maurice Sendak
-Grade Level: 1-3
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: Max is a young boy who dresses up in a wolf suit and gets sent to his room by his mother. In his room, Max’s imagination grows and his room becomes a jungle where he hops on a boat to find the wild things. Once he finds the wild things, Max calms them and claims himself the king of all wild things. He dances and plays with them. Once they go to sleep, Max realizes he misses home and leaves
-Activity: Give the students a cut out of a blank wild thing and allows to decorate it how they would look if they were a wild thing.
-Personal Review: *****(5) out of (5). Where The Wild Things Are is such a classic and I love it! The imaginative that it can stir in children’s minds make it a must-read for every child! This would be a great book to use to help students in creative writing.
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
-Author: Mo Willems
-Grade Level: K-2
-Genre: Caldecott Honor
-Synopsis: This book starts out with the bus driver asking the reader to watch the bus while he leaves. Following the bus driver leaving, a pigeon then begins to try to convince the reader to let him ride the bus. Once the bus driver comes back, the pigeon moves on to thinking about driving an 18-wheeler instead.
-Activity: First, I would let the students vote on rather they would let the Pigeon drive the bus or not. Then, they would do a creative writing on why or why not they would let the pigeon drive the bus.
-Personal Review: *****(5) out of (5). This book is hilarious and adorable! I found myself smiling the whole time I was reading it. It’s silliness would be so fun to read to a classroom of lower-grade students and getting them involved would be a blast! It could also be used in teaching students to encourage students to obey.
- Make Way For Ducklings
-Author: Robert McCloskey
-Grade Level: 1-3
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are two ducks looking for a place to lay their eggs. They look all over the city and finally find an island in the middle of the river. Once all the ducklings are born and Mrs. Mallard teaches them to walk and swim,they begin to travel across town to live in the park where Mr. Mallard is waiting. Michael, the policeman, makes sure that Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings get to the park safely by calling other policemen to stop traffic.
-Activity: Have students make a booklet of the places that they live: hometown, state, country since this book focuses on finding a place to call home.
-Personal Review: ****(4) out of (5). This is a great classic that every student needs to read! The ducklings traveling across town will easily grab children’s attention. I feel that it’s a great book that children can relate to with their own mothers taking care of them.
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
-Author: Simms Taback
-Grade Level: K-2
- Genre: Caldecott Honor
-Synopsis: This story starts out with an old lady swallowing a fly. To catch the fly, the old lady swallows a spider. She continues to swallow a bird, cat, dog, and cow. At the end of the story, the old lady swallows a cow and dies.
-Activity:Do a letter study on the letter “D” and have them do a craft with their hand and feathers to make a duck.
-Personal Review: *****(5) out of (5). I love this book! It is great for younger students because of the creative illustrations. Also, the plot and rhyming words are great for simply engaging students!
9. A Tree is Nice
- Author: Janice May Udry
- Grade Level: K-2
- Genre: Caldecott
- Synopsis: “A Tree is Nice” takes the reader through all the different ways
trees can be useful to humans and our world. Some of these ways are useful and some are funny. Even just one tree can be helpful to the world. The story concludes with how to grow a tree and how nice it is to watch it grow.
- Activity:Have the students go outside and find a tree to observe. Give them a piece of paper and direct them to either write a few sentences or draw a picture of all the roles the tree plays.
- Personal Review: *****(5) out of (5). This story has a great simplicity and beauty to both its writing and illustrations! Its plot connects to a concept that young readers will be able to understand. Also, it’s a great story to use for introducing the importance of nature and the world around us.
- When I Was Young in the Mountains
-Author: Cynthia Rylant
-Grade: K-3
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: A young girl lives with her grandparents in the mountains and loves all the special things that they do together. From Sunday church in the schoolhouse to the porch swing in the evenings, the girl adores every second she spends with her family. She does not want to visit any other place because she has her family and the mountains “and that was always enough.”
-Activity: Read the book aloud to the class during story time. Then, create a word web of all the different verbs that the little girls uses of things she does in the mountains.
-Personal Review: *****(5) out of (5) I love this book! It will bring warmth and memories back to readers of all ages! The simple way of life and love that the young girl experiences from her grandparents draws me in and makes me want to experience that same lifestyle.
- The House on Maple Street
-Author: Bonnie Pryor
-Grade Level: K-3
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: This story covers the progression of a piece of land through three hundred years. Following the movement of forest fires, Indians, pioneers, and to the modern family that lives on the house on Maple Street. An arrowhead lost by an Indian boy and a cup lost by the pioneer girl is found hundreds of years later by the children who live in the house. The children of the modern family finding the arrowhead leads them to wonder what the history was behind them and what had happened in that spot years before them.
-Activity: Discuss how time changes habitats and have the students illustrate a time line showing how the house on Maple Street came to be.
-Personal Review: ** (2) out of (5). This book would be great for showing how the world changes. Unfortunately, it lacks clarity to properly demonstrate that to a class of young children. Not only does the text lack clarity, but also the illustrations are difficult to follow and do not necessarily assist the text.
- A Sick Day for Amos McGee
-Author: Philip C. Stead
-Grade Level:K-2
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: Amos McGee was the zookeeper at the City Zoo and always spent special time with all of his special friends: the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros, and the owl. Amos has specific things that he would do with the animals every day to make them happy. One day, Amos McGee came down with a cold and could not make it to the zoo! All of his zoo friends were worried and decided that if Amos could not make it to the zoo, then they could make it to visit Amos at his house!
-Activity:Discuss with the students what it means to love and take care of your friends. Then, have them write a creative story on what they would do for their best friend if they were sick.
- Personal Review: *****(5) out of (5) Wow! This book is incredible! I love the plot of the story and its example of true friendship. The illustrations are a great assistance to the text. Also, the friendship between Amos and the zoo animals will captive students and let their imaginations grow!
- Zen Shorts
-Author: Jon J Muth
-Grade Level: K – 3
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: Stillwater is a friendly elephant that one day shows up in the backyard of Addy, Michael, and Karl. At separate times, they all go to spend time with Stillwater. Addy had tea and cake with him, Michael climbed a tree with him, and Karl went swimming with him. During each of their times with Stillwater, he tells them a story that teaches them valuable lessons and they learn to treasure their friendship with Stillwater immensely.
-Activity: Instruct the students in a creative writing activity with the prompt, “If I had one day with Stillwater the Panda, I would….” and then allow them illustrate a picture to go along with their story.
-Personal Review: *****(5) out of (5). Between the incredible plot and beautiful illustrations, I would recommend this book to anyone! Every visit with Stillwater left me excited for the next! The friendship between Stillwater and the children is heartwarming and appealing to children.
- A Ball for Daisy
-Author: Christ Raschka
-Grade Level: PreK- 2nd
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: Daisy is a dog and one day busts her special ball at the park while her and another dog were playing. She is heartbroken over losing her dear ball. The next day, Daisy and her owner go back to the park and the owner of the dog who busted her first ball brought her another ball! Daisy and the other dog played and became friends.
-Activity: Since it is a wordless story, divide the students into small groups and have to students narrate the story to the class in their own words according to what they think is happening,
-Personal Review: ****(4) out of (5). Typically, I do not love wordless books. The illustrations are enough to tell the story in its entirety, though! This book relates great to children and would be great to help expand their story telling and imaginations!
- Sam, Bangs, & Moonshine
-Author: Evaline Ness
-Grade Level: 2nd – 5th
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: Sam has a huge imagination and no one could ever believe anything that she would say. According to Sam, her mother was a mermaid and she has fierce lions and even a baby kangaroo. Thomas is the only person to believe her. One day, after her father has warned her to stop telling lies or “Moonshine”, Sam sends Thomas and Bangs to Blue Rock to look for her baby kangaroo when the tide was high and they both are put in danger. Sam finally learns the importance of telling the truth of what was real and not “moonshine” when she gives Thomas the baby gerbil her father gives her.
-Activity: Have a group discussion with the class with why it is important to be honest and tell the truth. Ask the kids to share personal stories of when they needed to be honest and did.
-Personal Review: ****(4) out of (5). This is a great story to read children in the lower grades to challenge with them with a book slightly above their reading level! The father encouraging the girl to tell the truth will be relatable to students. The story does not just teach them a lesson, but captures their imaginations with fierce lions, mermaids, kangaroos, and a talking cat!
- Joseph has a Little Overcoat
-Author: Simms Taback
-Grade Level: K-2nd
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: “Joseph had a little overcoat. It was old and worn.” Joseph starts out the story with an overcoat, which he makes a jacket out of, which he makes a vest out of, and so on. Joseph continues to cut down his old and worn overcoat until it’s a button. When he looses his button, Joseph no longer has anything. Once he looses his button, Joseph decides to write a book about it and proves that “you can always make something out of nothing.”
-Activity: In the back of the book, there is a song called “I had a little overcoat”. For the activity, I would lead the class in singing the song.
-Personal Review: ****(4) out of (5). Young students will love this book! The interactive illustrations with holes in the pages will make the story engaging for students doing independent reading. Also, the underlying message to make the best out of all circumstances is a great lesson to teach to children starting young.
- A Chair for My Mother
-Author: Vera B. Williams
-Grade Level: K-2
-Genre: Caldecott
-Synopsis: A child, her mother, and grandmother, all save up money to buy a chair for their house. Their house has burned down and although people have been kind to donate all kind of possessions, they still did not have a chair to rest. After a while of putting their spare coins and tips into the big jar, they had enough money to buy the perfect chair for their house!
-Activity: Have a class discussion about people in need and create a class jar for them to bring in change. Once the jar is full, the class can go buy something together and donate the item to a family in need.