Officer Buckle and Gloria

Genre: Modern Fantasy
Author: Peggy Rathmann

Summary: This story is about Police Officer Buckle who's job was to go around to local schools and share safety tips to the students. He thought that his job was incredibly important but the students are shown in the pictures to be sleeping through and not caring about his lectures of safety tips. Not until Officer Buckle brings in police dog Gloria do the students pay attention. Gloria sits behind Buckle as the is giving his safety tips to the students, unaware that when Buckle's back is to Gloria, the dog performing outstanding tricks that relate to whatever tip he is sharing. The officer notices that the students are now awake and liking his tips, though its really just Gloria, and he begins to share more and more tips to numerous schools. Officer Buckle believes that it is his tips that are making the students interactive and becomes quite sad when he realizes that they only care for Gloria. It's not till Officer Buckles receives a safety tip in the mail from a student that he decides to go back into the schools with Gloria to share all of his safety tips.

Lesson: I would read this book at the very beginning of school while I am still trying to get the perfect classroom environment for my students. I would read this and then ask students to share why they think that safety tips are important for students to know. I would have a big piece of paper and write down all the safety tips they share that are important to remember while they are in class.

Land of the Buffalo Bones by Mary Rodgers

Land of the Buffalo Bones by Mary Rodgers

Land of the Buffalo Bones

Genre: Chapter Book
Author: Mary Rodgers

Summary: Above, its a wallwisher

Lesson: I would read this book to my students after lunch for about ten minutes each day till I was finished. Each day that I read, I would get the students to write how they would feel if they were in Mary Ann's place; how it would be to move to a new country, living in a harsh environment, meeting new people. I would have students share their thoughts about Mary Ann's life. I would encourage the students to keep their own diary outside of school.

If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon

Genre: Nonfiction
Author: Ellen Levine

Summary: The title explains it all. This book is giving readers information about the life of those who traveled west in a covered wagon. The Table of Contents page divides up the book into short, manageable sections, each labeled with a question such as, "What was a wagon train?" and "How far would you travel in a day?". Readers can look up a question they have about traveling in the west during this period and will find information that typically has a picture included with it. The print is large and easy to read for those students who are struggling but still fluent and interesting enough for higher readers to enjoy.

Lesson: I would group the students in my class and give each group of students a different "If You..." book that they would have to read and discuss as a group. Once they have done that, their assignment would be to present their book in a short skit with as much details from the book as possible, the skit lasting no more than 5 minutes. This will allow the students to become a master in one subject of history and allow those students to teach that subject to their classmates

Smoky Night

Genre: Historical Fiction
Author: Eve Buntings

Summary: Smoky Night is a story told by a young boy who witnesses riots outside his bedroom window. His mother tries to calm him while the building and shops below are being broken into with people stealing items and fires bursting out. The boy finally is able to fall asleep to only be woken up by his mother as she yells for him to go down the stairs to safety as their apartment building is on fire. All the boy worries about is his cat that has gone missing through the night. The boy, his mother, and others from their building are sent to a safe house where they are fed and given areas to sleep. They see a neighbor there that they do not speak to who the author makes references as being from a different group of people. The lady is named Mrs. Kim and her cat is known to dislike the narrator's cat and vice versa. At the end of the story the firefighter comes in with both cats who are laying calmly next to each other. The boy, his mother, and Mrs. Kim begin to realize that if the cats can get along, so can they.

Lesson: I would read this story and then explain that the story was set during the Californian riots. I would get students to discuss why they think that riots may of occurred during this time period. I would then tell the students why and when the riots occurred and ask the students to talk about what they thought about the riots and if they could connect that piece of history to anything else they have learned.

Snow White: The Graphic Novel

Genre: Graphic Novel
Author: Martin Powell

Summary: This version of Snow White is retold in the format of a graphic novel. The first two pages have illustrations of the main characters along with their names next to them. The story starts with the introduction to Prince Marco and how he meets the beautiful but evil Queen Mara. She wishes to make Prince Marco her husband but once he finds out that she is evil, the Queen makes Prince Marco part of her beloved mirror. Snow White is hated by the Queen due to Snow White being the most beautiful person and tries to kill Snow White time after time. Once Snow White moves in with the Seven Dwarfs, the Queen visits her in a disguise and poisons Snow White with an apple. At the end of the graphic novel Snow White is saved by Prince Marco and the Dwarfs bury Queen Mara underground.

Lesson: After reading this to my class, or even if my class was able to read it alone with enough copies of the book, I would get the students to write a different ending to the story. I would tell them that they are able to create a plot to the story after page 15, which would mean that all the stories would have Prince Marco stuck in a mirror with the Queen Mara wanting to kill Snow White in their plot for at least the beginning of their stories. I would encourage them to draw pictures along with their story.

Folk Tales from Asia for Children Everywhere Book One

Genre: Folklore
Author: Sponsored by the Asian Cultural Centre for Unesco 

Summary: This book contains eight folktales from eight different Asian countries such as Korea, Singapore and Thailand. Each story is retold by an author and is accompanied by pictures. The stories range in their theme, morals and topics. The first folktale is called "The Crow and the Sparrow" and is about a Crow who tries to trick the Sparrow though, by the end of the story, the Crow is the one who ends up dead. 

Lesson: For this book, I would read the story "The Crow and the Sparrow" and have children create a comic to retell the folktale. They would have to be able to draw and describe what happened in the folktale and in what order. I would also get the students to write on the first block of their comic the title, major characters, and moral and theme.