Mrs. Wade's Bundle of Books

There's a Frog in my Throat is an engaging and comical book filled with 440 animal sayings that are filled with a lot of meaning!  This book is jam-packed with similes, metaphors, idioms and proverbs and are scattered vertically and horizontally on each page making it interesting for the reader to read.  The illustrations make you giggle and make connections with the sayings.  I would definitely read this book with my students to introduce figurative language.  I would follow up with an activity on idioms and have them choose a saying and then draw a picture that describes the saying.  I think the kids would have a lot of fun with this study!

Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins is a must read for K-1 in the month of October!  This entertaining and action packed book integrates math and literacy as Sam, the raccoon, counts each pumpkin as he fills up his wagon.  However, Sam experiences some trouble on the way home and winds up with a mess. Instead of getting upset, Gramps takes Sam's mess and turns it into something delicious!  This simple story has a great message while reinforcing counting.  I would do a pumpkin seed counting activity after reading this story with my students.  I would also have students build sentences on how to make a pumpkin pie in my word work literacy stations.

Moving can be scary and confusing.  Boomer in Boomer's Big Day experiences many of these emotions as his predictable schedule gets turned upside down.  While his family and strange people hustle and bustle around his house loading up big boxes, nobody is paying any attention to Boomer. He doesn't understand what is happening and he feels lonely and sad.  But once Boomer discovers he is moving to a new home, he perks back up and adapts very quickly to his new environment.  Students can relate to this book as they experience a move of their own, anxiety to change, and worries of the unknown.  All of these emotions are normal and what better way to convey this message to your students.  I would analyze with my students Boomer's character traits at the beginning, middle, and end of the story and discuss how he changed during the story.  This story would also lead into a great discussion about a time when they might have felt like Boomer.  I would have my students write a journal entry following this discussion.

A classic folktale takes on a modern new twist when the Little Red Hen decides to make a pizza in The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza.  This tale is about a hen who is in desperate need of help running errands and gathering supplies while making her pizza. But to her dismay, her friends were too busy playing to help her until it was time to eat the pizza.  The friends learn a valuable lesson and experience a change in heart after their selfless friend shares despite their selfish ways.  I would use this book with my students to teach compare and contrast using the characters of the story.  I would also integrate this book study in with my literacy and math centers using the pizza theme and finish off with having my students make their own pizzas. 

Groundhog Gets a Say is an entertaining story packed with information about groundhogs.  A groundhog sets out to prove to his readers that he is more than just a shadow and should be appreciated more than just one day of the year. This story has kids laughing and learning at the same time.  I would read this book to my second and third graders on Groundhog's day and have them participate in several engaging activities.  This would be a great introduction to a research project on groundhogs, fact and opinion study, and learning to compare and contrast.

One is a Feast for Mouse is a wonderful book to remind young children to give thanks for even the small things in life.  This is a Thanksgiving tale of a mouse who courageously  leaves his little hole to seek out a feast of leftovers. As the mouse discovers a mountain of leftovers, his wants exceeds his needs, and he quickly finds himself in a little pickle trying to get all of the food back to his hole.  Students will enjoy the action filled and colorful illustrations on each page as the mouse tries to get out of several dilemmas and misfortunes with the house cat.  I would read this book to my lower elementary grades around the Thanksgiving holidays and analyze how the main character changed throughout the story using evidence from the text.  I would also focus on the problem and solution of the story as well as the sequence of events. At the end of the study, I would have a small Thanksgiving feast and discuss the many things we are thankful for in life.

This book will keep you laughing from start to finish!  Mrs. Millie is a silly teacher who says silly things to her class.  The students have to really sharpen their listening skills with this teacher, because she doesn't make a lot of sense!  Kindergartners will love this story as it relates to a day in the life at school.  They will enjoy laughing and correcting the teacher when she says wacky statements!  I would read this story the first week of school to help reinforce schedule, time, and routines.  The students can also practice making predictions with this simple story.

Show and Tell Bunnies is a captivating and heartwarming story about a first grader named Clyde, who is filled with worries and fear before his first show and tell day at school.  He searches high and low for an interesting object to bring to school and finally settles on a mysterious fuzzy treasure to bring to class. The object turned out to be a huge surprise and a big hit with his friends as spiderlings hatched from the fuzzy treasure.  The author did an amazing job capturing all the true emotions that a young student might experience at the start of a new school year.  This book would be an excellent choice to read to my lower elementary grades at the beginning of the school year or before our first show and tell.  I would also use this story to integrate a study on spiders in science.

Duck at the Door is a comical story about a duck named Max, who decides to stay behind and enjoy the winter season by himself.  However, it doesn't take long for Max to find out he made a bad choice.  Luckily, Max finds an endearing family with lots of pet friends to spend the winter months with until his flock returns home.  The illustrations are very colorful and captivating!  This is a perfect selection to read to Kindergarten and First graders during the winter months to discuss seasons and months of the year, as well as character traits and making predictions.

More Than Anything Else is an inspirational story about Booker T. Washington.  This beautifully illustrated book describes a young boy growing up in the days after emancipation. Despite his aches, pains and hunger, as a result of long laborious days shoveling salt, Booker cannot stop dreaming about learning to read.  His ambition and perserverance teaches a great lesson on not giving up. This is a great story to use with lower elementary classes while studying biographies, character traits, and the importance of literacy.  

Another fabulous book written by Kevin Henkes about friendship and acceptance.  This is a humorous and heartwarming tale of two inseparable mice learning to make room for one more friend.  At first, Chester and Wilson were unsure of the "new mouse" in town. However, after Lilly scares away some mean bullies, the mice quickly changed their opinion of her and discover they have many similarities with their new friend.  This book can be used in a variety of ways in the lower elementary grades.  I would have my students do a character trait study and compare and contrast how the characters change from the beginning of the story and the end of the story. 

This is one of my favorite childhood books!  The Miss Nelson collection is a must read to students in the primary grades and will keep them giggling from start to finish.  A great book to teach students the importance of showing respect and appreciation, or they may just end up with a visit from Miss Viola Swamp.  I would read this story to my first or second graders at the first of the year, while discussing behavior expectations and substitutes.  This is also a great selection to study compare and contrast with character traits, as well as cause and effect with third graders.  

An excellent book to read in the primary grades during an election year!  The author portrays the campaign trail and election process using farm animals and appealing illustrations.  This simple and humorous story introduces students to the different levels of government as well as the voting process.  What a fun book to read to students followed with a mock election in the classroom.  The students could choose candidates to run for offices, campaign, give campaign speeches, and vote for the best candidates.    

Most of us are familiar with the predictable classic fairytale, The Three Little Pigs, but we finally get to hear the wolf's side in this humorous story.  This is a well loved book, received by all ages, and is a great selection to study point of view and perspective.  I would first read the original tale of The Three Little Pigs to my second or third graders and discuss the author's point of view through the pig's perspective, followed by a reading of this book discussing the story from the wolf's perspective.  I would use these books to explain why it is important to hear from more than one point of view.

This story, illustrated on cool blue pages, paints a vivid image of a cold winter's night in the woodlands.  A great read to introduce nocturnal animals and life in the forest as it describes the animals' specific survival skills during the winter.  Deer, rabbits, owls, fox, and beavers are just a few of the animals that awaken at night and stay busy working to survive while humans sleep. This story is filled with figurative language and is a great way to introduce a lesson on adjectives. After reading this story to third graders, I would have them write their own story using descriptive adjectives to create more interest in their writing. 

Owl Moon is a beautifully illustrated story about relationships, hope and nature.  The author writes very descriptively using figurative language to set the scenes as a young girl and her father take a walk through the snowy woods in search for an owl.  This story is perfect to read while learning to identify figurative language.  I would have my second or third graders take part in a figurative language text hunt using this book to compare ordinary text with extraordinary text. This would also be a wonderful choice to integrate an owl or moon unit study.