A Sister for Matthew by Pamela Kennedy

Author: Pamela Kennedy

Illustrator: Amy Wummer

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Awards: None

Grade(s): Pre-K - 3rd

Summary: A Sister for Matthew is a story about a family who is going to adopt a little girl from China. Matthew, the little boy of the family, found out that he was getting a little sister one day when he went and got the mail for his mom and saw a letter containing a picture. When Matthew's mom opened the letter, she showed Matthew the picture and explained that he would be getting a new little sister named Mingmei. Matthew had many doubts and questions about how and why he was getting a little sister. His parents explained what adoption was and reassured him that he was still a very special part of their family that no one could replace. The day came for Matthew's parents to fly to China to pick up Mingmei while Matthew stayed back home with his grandparents. When Matthew finally met his new sister, Mingmei, she realized that he loved her and was so happy that she was coming to be a part of his family.

My Thoughts: This book hits home for me in more than one way. I can relate to this book because I had went through the adoption process when my family decided to adopt my little brother when he was three. I also relate to this book because I have lived in China and was able to see the need for adoption while I was there. I think this book is going to make a wonderful addition to my classroom library, especially for my students who may be going through the adoption process themselves. I can also use this book in my classroom to explain the importance of not judging someone, but instead to try to get along with many different people. In this book, Matthew realizes that MingMei was different and that worried and scared him. So I could use this book to teach my students to accept all kinds of people, no matter how different they are from you.

Hide!!! by Jeff Foxworthy

Author: Jeff Foxworthy

Illustrator: Steve Björkman

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Awards: Mother's Choice Award

Grade(s): Pre-K - 2nd

Summary: Hide!!! is a fun, interactive book that is about a group of children who were stuck inside on a rainy Saturday. When the rain finally stopped, they decided to play hide-and-seek. As the book progresses, it describes each child's hiding spot and why they chose that spot. Also, each page becomes more and more filled with hiding spots, making it difficult for the seeker to find her friends. As all of the children were waiting for Rachel Green to find them, it started to pour down rain again and all of the children had to run inside. Except for one child, Tommy Smith, who had chosen to hide in a dog house and was "dry as a bone."

My Thoughts: This book is fun and I would use it in my classroom in many different ways. Since this book rhymes, using it in a rhyming lesson would be one way. Additionally, this book is interactive and each page asks you to find a small list of things on that page. I feel like I could use this during an interactive read-aloud or with a small group of students to find each item on each page. I cannot wait to add this to my collection of books for my classroom library!!

Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Author: Ryan T. Higgins

Illustrator: Ryan T. Higgins

Genre: Fantasy

Awards: TLA Texas 2x2 Reading List (2016), Bank Street CBC Best Children's Book of the Year (2016), IRA Teachers' Choices Reading List (2016), Wyoming Buckaroo Nominee (2016-2017)

Grade(s): 1st-2nd

Summary: Mother Goose Bruce is a hilarious tale of a bear who loves eggs, but pretty much dislikes everything else, especially cute little animals. He finds many recipes on the internet of how to prepare eggs many different and special ways. One day he finds a recipe that calls for geese eggs. So Bruce goes to a mother goose to get the eggs for his recipe. When he goes to cook them, they end up hatching into 4 baby goslings. Bruce tries everything to get rid of them, but the goslings think that Bruce is their mother and won't leave him. However, Bruce finally realizes that he is stuck with them. Although he is unhappy, he ends up taking the (now older) goslings to Miami every winter for their migration and his hibernation. Bruce's hibernation now consists of lazing on a beaching, relaxing and "dreaming of new recipes. Recipes that don't hatch!" 

My Summary: I fell in love with this book after reading it!! I will definitely have this in my classroom and I feel like it will be a good book to use for an interactive read-aloud. Although this is a silly story, I definitely feel like it shares a deeper message with students that even though you may have plans in your life, sometimes things come up and your plans will change drastically. It will be good for me to use this book to explain to my students that it's okay to have to change your plans, big or small, and not to get upset about it, but rather find a better way to make the change work.

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman

Author: Ame Dyckman

Illustrator: Dan Yaccarino

Genre: Science Fiction

Awards: AISLE Read-Aloud Books Too Good To Miss (2013), Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens (2013), SCBWI Crystal Kite Award (Atlantic, 2013), Please Touch Museum Book Award (2013), Utah Beehive Book Award Nominee (2014)

Grade(s): Pre-K - 1st 

Summary: This book is about a little boy who becomes best friends with a robot. One day, the robot fell in the forest and hit a rock that flipped his power switch to "off." Since the robot was not talking or moving, the boy thought the robot was sick or that something was wrong. So as the boy had always known, he took the robot home and fed him apple sauce, read him a story, and tucked him into bed. When the boy's parents came in to check on him that night, they did not see that Robot was behind the door and ended up hitting Robot's power switch with the door. When the robot powered on, he saw the boy was sleeping. He thought something was wrong with the boy since he was not talking or moving. So Robot did what he knew to do when something wasn't working quite right. He took the boy home and oiled him up and tried to give him a spare battery. The inventor came into the room and explained to the robot that the little boy was a human and did not take oil or spare batteries. When the boy woke up, he saw that Robot was okay and they gave each other a big hug. Then the inventor drove the boy home and the robot invited the boy to play again the next day. And they did. They became the best of friends.

My Thoughts: I loved this book and would definitely use it in my classroom to inspire my students. It is a cute tale that suggests to children that you can have many different types of friends. Well, maybe not robot friends, but definitely all different kinds of friends. I don't think I would be able to find a way to incorporate this book into any of my lessons, but I definitely think it would be a good book to enrich my classroom library with. 

Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen

Author: Hans Christian Andersen

Illustrators: Eva Montanari and Nicoletta Oeccoli

Genre: Fantasy

Awards: NCTE Adventuring With Books: A Booklist for Pre-K - Grade 6 (1993)

Grade(s): 1st-2nd 

Summary: Thumbelina is a story of a woman who wanted a daughter so very badly that she went to an old witch who gave her a magic coffee bean. When the woman planted the bean in a pot and watered it, her wish came true and she grew a tiny little girl that she named Thumbelina. Thumbelina was so small that she slept in a bed made out of a walnut shell. One day, a frog came and kidnapped Thumbelina to make her his son's wife. A fish helped her break free and she began floating down a river. Soon, a beetle swooped down and took her away to show his friends his new treasure. When his friends made fun of him, he let Thumbelina go free because he became embarrassed. As Thumbelina tried living on her own, she later fell into a hole that led to a mouse's den. Mouse's friend, Mr. Mole came over and found Thumbelina to be very attractive and wanted to marry her. When Thumbelina went to Mr. Mole's house to prepare for her wedding, she met a swallow who was hurt in Mr. Mole's house. Without Mr. Mole knowing, Thumbelina nursed the swallow back to health and she was able to let him fly free. Later, the swallow ended up coming back to rescue Thumbelina from having to marry Mr. Mole. She was taken to one of her favorite places, the meadow. Here she met many other tiny people and a prince just for her. Thumbelina was finally able to live a happy life with the Flower King among the flowers and other tiny people.

My Thoughts: Although I enjoyed reading this book, it wasn't one of my absolute favorites. I do feel like it would be a good book to use in my classroom to inspire my students to think outside of the box when writing fantastical stories. I do understand that just because it wasn't one of my favorites, doesn't mean that it won't be a favorite of one of my students. I will always include a wide variety of books in my classroom library, including this one.

A Halloween Scare in Texas by Eric James

Author: Eric James

Illustrator: Marina Le Rey

Genre: Fantasy

Awards: None

Grade(s): Pre-K - 2nd 

Summary: This book is about a little boy who was scared to go out on Halloween night because of all of the monsters, goblins, ghosts, and vampires that are roaming about on the streets of Texas. In a rhyming fashion, the boy describes how the creatures are roaming about and how its terrifying to him. Then, while the boy was hiding out in his house, he hears a noise downstairs and decides to check it out. When he gets downstairs, he sees the monsters having their Halloween ball. He notices one big monster that stands out and sees that the monster is coming for him. He pleads with the monster not to eat him, but instead the monster wrapped him up in a big monster cuddle. The monster gave him a prize for having the best and scariest costume of all, being a child. After this, the little boy decided to have fun with the monsters at their ball because he isn't scared of them anymore. He realizes that he scares them more than they scare him.

My Thoughts: I think this book will be a cute addition to my classroom library as I can use it for a fun Halloween themed reading. This book also offers students with a lot of familiarity as it talks about Texas and different parts of Texas. We all know that stories that incorporate students' real lives are always a winner. Also, this entire book rhymes so I would definitely incorporate it into rhyming lessons. I definitely feel like if Halloween came much later than my rhyming lesson, I would be able to activate my students' prior knowledge and lessons to reiterate what rhyming is and how they know the book rhymes. 

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Author: Beatrix Potter

Illustrator: Cyndy Szekeres

Genre: Fantasy

Awards: Waterstones The Nation's Favorite Children's Books (1997, No 41), 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up (2009, Ages 3^), New York Public Library's Books of the Century, 501 Must-Read Books (Children's Fiction), Growing Good Kids Book Award (Classics)

Grade(s): Pre-K-2nd 

Summary: The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a well known classic that features a rabbit named Peter who is mischievous and ends up learning a lesson. Peter lived with his mother and 3 sisters. Peter's mother told her children that they were allowed to go outside to play, but instructed them to stay away from Mr. McGregor's garden. She even mentions that their father had an "accident" there and was put into a pie. When Peter's mother went shopping and his sisters went to pick blackberries, Peter decided to visit Mr. McGregor's garden, just as he had been instructed not to. While there, Peter ate many different things that Mr. McGregor was growing. Mr. McGregor ended up spotting Peter and went to chase him. Peter's jacket button ended up getting caught in a net which resulted in him having to leave it behind in order to escape Mr. McGregor. Eventually, Peter had been chased all around the garden and had gotten lost. He was so scared he began to cry. However, Peter finally spotted the gate where he had come in and was finally able to escape back home. When he had returned home, he had fallen ill and had to go to bed early while his sisters enjoyed a nice, delicious supper. 

My Thoughts: I have read this book many times growing up and it still continues to be a favorite classic of mine. I definitely feel like this would be a good book to use in my classroom to teach my students the importance of following the directions given to them. Just as in the story, not following directions can result in becoming lost or even becoming sick. This book is a good book to use to teach this lesson and I feel like it will be enjoyed by my students just as it was enjoyed by me.