Choice Book

How I Became a Pirate
Written By: Melinda Long
Illustrated By: David Shannon

Summary:

This is the story of a little boy who is playing on the beach one day and "becomes" a pirate. While his father and mother don't believe him, he knows pirates are real. He goes off on a pirate ship with them, learning how to speak like a pirate and play pirate soccer. He goes to bed way past his bedtime but doesn't wear pajamas! He begins to miss real life when he doesn't get a bedtime story or a good-night kiss. He really misses real life during a storm when no one even notices him. When the storm is over he takes the pirates to find a buried treasure in his friends back yard and stays on the beach, waving goodbye to the pirates.

Application:

This story is a good example of imaginative writing and could be a good introduction to such writing styles. Students could be read such a text and then be asked to write their own pieces about other adventures dealing with various topics such as space, the ocean, etc. This piece gives beautiful imagary and tells the story with such detail that students can truly learn from its example.

Choice Book

The Story of Ferdinand
Written By: Munro Leaf
Illustrated By: Robert Lawson

Summary:

There was a bull named Ferdinand who lived in a pasture. He liked to sit quietly away from the other bulls and smell the flowers as a young bull. As he and the other bulls got older and larger, he still liked to sit and smell the flowers. One day some men came to pick a bull to bull fight in Madrid, and when they saw Ferdinand he had just sat down on a bee and began to buck and make a crazy scene. Because of this the men picked Ferdinand over the other bulls. When he got to Madrid, he just sat in the middle of the ring...and smelled the flowers. :) They took him back to his pasture.

Application:

This book shows the culture of Spain while also telling the story of a bull who is nothing but himself, all the time. This would be a nice introduction to Spain in that it discusses bull fighting, matadors, parades, etc. that go along with Spanish culture.

Historical Fiction

Meet Kirsten: An American Girl
Written By: Janet Beeler Shaw
Illustrated By: Renee Graef and Paul Lackner

Summary:

This book of historical fiction is the first in a series about the life a a girl named Kirsten, a girl who traveled with her family from Sweden to the fronteir of Minnesota. It takes place on the pioneer in the 1850's and begins with the trip overseas on a ship from Sweden to America with her Papa, Mama, older brother, Lars, younger brother, Peter, and baby sister, Britta. Once the family safely arrives they face the task of living in a new country and on the fronteir. Kirsten's father always offers hope to the family, while her mother always keeps their Swedish traditions aliveas they begin to make this country their home.

Application:

This book takes the student and allows them to experience a piece of history from the eyes of a child their age. It takes struggles and triumphs that they would relate to and allows them to experience those along with the story teller, Kirsten. This is a great book in that it is a part of a series and that students can grow right along side of the characters. I would use this as an option to introduce the 1850's and this stage of history to the class, allowing them to do some creative writing to go along with their reading about how they would feel during this time.

Graphic Novel

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Written By: Jeff Kinney
Illustrated By: Jeff Kinney

Summary:

Diary of A Wimpy Kid details the life of Greg Heffley and his middle school experience. He is an ordinary middle schooler discussing his every day experiences, from "The Cheese" a game of tag that the kids play, to experience with Halloween, Christmas, and Safety Patrol. Greg goes through the everyday events of his life with his best friend, Rowley, until the two begin to fall away due to a safety patrol incident. Rowley begins to replace Greg with another friend, Collin Lee. In the end the two make up when they work together to pay back the teenagers and give them the "Cheese Touch."

Application:

This book is an extremely popular book as of late with upper elementary aged students, especially the boys, and is a book that can be used to get students excited about reading when they are having a hard time in this area. It has a humorous story line and a comic-strip layout so students are drawn to its pages. Students who are struggling with an understanding for a love for reading could use this book as a spring-board to spark this love for reading.

Multicultural Folklore

Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale
Retold By: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrated By: Alik Arzoumanian

Summary:

This is a Palestinian Folktale that has been passed down and retold in various ways. It involves a woman praying for a child, even if that child is a pot. She receives her wish, and a pot she owns comes alive. One day her child pot begs to go to market, and even though she doesn't thing the pot is old enough to know right from wrong, she lets her go. The pot runs into the merchant who thinks the pot is beautiful and fills it with honey. The pot runs off and takes the honey to her mother, making the noise Tunjur! Tunjur! all the way home. When her mother sees the honey she thinks someone has given them a gift, and allows the pot to go back the next day. The pot then goes to the king, and the king's wife fills the pot with jewels. The pot runs home and her mother is distraught because the pot has stolen. The next day the pot returns and the king and the merchant recognize the pot that steals, deciding to give it the "reward" it deserves. The pot is excited for a reward until it finds that its reward is mud and muck. This is when the pot learns its lesson!

Application:

This story should be used to study the form of folktale, especially Palestinian folktale. It provides great example of repetition within the story, of personification, and of a lesson learned. These are all plainly displayed and easy to pick out in the story, making this a great folktale to open with to discuss these points of folktale.

Multicultural/International Literature

Angel Child, Dragon Child
Written By: Michele Maria Surat
Illustrated By: Vo-Dinh Mai

Summary:

This is the story of a little girl, Ut, and her family. They are from Vietnam, and traveled to America together. Ut has a hard time adjusting to her new life here, especially because her family did not have enough money to bring her mother home with her. When she has trouble with a red-haired boy, Raymond, she has to constantly remember the words of her mother and try to be an "Angel Child." When she and Raymond get into a fight and the principal makes them sit in a room together, making Raymond write down the story of Ut's travel to America, the two of them find that they can be friends. Raymond comes up with the idea that they should have a Vietnamese fair to raise money to bring Ut's mother to America, and after much time has passed, the family is reunited.

Application:

Many children can relate to this book because it is about a girl in elementary school, who is experiencing problems with a classmate. Students can put themselves in Ut's shoes and think about how it would feel to be completely out of their own culture. Students can take time to learn about the differences between the Vietnamese way of life and why that way of life was so different from the American way of life when Ut came to America. This book offers insight into the Vietnam culture through vocabulary, pictures, talk of clothing, and talk of customs. It would provide great discussion surrounding Vietnam.

Modern Fantasy

James and the Giant Peach
Written By: Roald Dahl
Illustrated By:Quentin Blake

Summary: James Henry Trotter, a young boy who once had an extremely happy life, went on vacation with his parents and saw them eaten by a rhinoceros. This meant he had to live with his awful aunts, Spiker and Sponge. One day, a wizard comes to James while he is crying in the bushes and gives him a bag of magic crystals which he spills on the peach tree outside of his house. The peach tree, which has never given fruit, bears an enormous peach. James, who is pushed outside at night, crawls into the peach to find that the peach is not the only thing that has grown, but the insects inside are enormous! He befriends them and they plan their escape from Spiker and Sponge, crushing them with their peach as they roll away. Their adventure takes them over the Atlantic, through many perils, and to Manhattan, where the people believe they are about to be under attack because there is a huge peach atop the Empire State Building. When James comes out to explain everything the insects and James are welcomed with a parade and James has all of the childhood friends he has ever needed.

Application:
James and the Giant Peach has strong ties of friendship that would be great to discuss along with this book. Also, one could tie some of the events of the book into other subjects such as science by exploring whether the traits of the bugs are true, whether the actions of certain animals could happen, and whether the way the peach reacted in the ocean is plausible. (Do peaches really float or sink? Buyoncy test.)