Urgency Emergency! Big Bad Wolf by Dosh Archer

Written & Illustrated by: Dosh Archer

Publisher: Albert Whiteman & Company

Publish Date: September 1, 2013

Summary: Oh no! Wolf is choking and is brought to the hospital. While the doctors are trying to help him, a little girl in a red coat comes in looking for her grandma.  Is this a coincidence?

AR Book Points: .05

Source: www.arbookfind.com

Age Range: K-3 and up

Quality: A twist on the beloved fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Kids will love the humor in the updated version and will love the pictures as well. 

Life Connections

• Fairy Tales

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin

Author: Doreen Cronin

Publisher: Little Simon

Publish Date: September 17, 2007

Summary: Farmer Brown's cows have found a typewriter! And they know how to use it! They start leaving him notes in hopes of having a better living situation but Farmer Brown ignores them at first, until the cows refuse to produce any milk.  How does Farmer Brown and the cows reach an agreement? You'll just have to read it to find out!  

AR Book Points: .05

Awards: ALA Notable/Best Books, Book Sense Book of the Year, Publishers Weekly Best Book

Source: www.arbookfind.com

Age Range: K-2

Life Connections

• Life is not easy
• Sometimes you have to compromise 
• Barnyard Animals

How The Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend by Jerry Oughton

 

Author: Jerry Oughton

Illustrator: Lisa Desimini

Publisher: Sandpiper Houghton Mifflin

Publish Date: March 3, 1996

 

Summary: A retelling of a Navajo legend.  The First Woman writes the laws of the land in the sky and is tricked by the Coyote. 

AR Book Points: .05

Source: www.arbookfind.com

Age Range: K-3 and up

Life Connections

• Learning about Native American Myths and Legends
• Learning about Fairy Tales

The Empty Pot by Demi

Author and Illustrator: Demi

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Publish Date (reprint): October 16, 2007

Summary: An emperor puts out a decree that all of the children in the land would be in competition to become the emperor’s successor.  Each child must take home a potted seed and tend to it  and whoever brought in the best flower would be trained by the emperor. Try as hard as he might, poor Ping’s seed would not grow. He tended to it and watered it with nothing to show. 

When Ping produced the flower to the emperor, much to Ping’s surprise, the emperor was very impressed with Ping’s empty pot.

Source: Spring 2014 116B Syllabus

Age: 4-8

Quality: The moral behind the story is excellent—just because things aren't working out the way they should doesn’t mean they won’t work out in the end.  This would appeal to children because many different things could be going on in a child’s life that might appear different than their peers. Living a life of honesty and trusting their parents are some of the most important parts of a Pre-K to 3rd graders life.

Life Connections:

· Exposure to foreign countries

· Honesty

· Enduring even though it doesn’t seem like things are going your way

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Author and Illustrator: Maurice Sendak

Publisher: HarperCollins (50th Anniversary edition)

Publish Date: December 26, 2012

Summary: After being sent to be early without his supper one night, Max begins an adventure of monstrous proportions. The adventure begins in his room when a forest begins to emerge and monsters appear. Max is named the kind of the monsters and a wild rumpus begins.

Source: Spring 2014 116B Syllabus

Recommended grade: K-2

My suggested age range: any age is appropriate, from infant to adult

Awards: George C. Stone Center for Children’s Books Recognition of Merit Award, Indies Choice Book Award for Picture Book Hall of Fame

Quality: Everyone has hard days and it takes awhile to figure out a way to get over and/or change them.  I wish there was more of a resolution in Alexander overcoming his bad day, but I know the children would identify with some of the situations that Alexander experiences. The repetition would also appeal to children and adults alike.

Life Connections:

· Introducing new places: Australia

· Bad days happen to everyone

· It’s easy to get wrapped up in a bad day which can make it into a terrible day.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

Author: Salman Rushdie

Publisher: Puffin

Publish Date: November 29, 2012

Summary: After making a wish to silence the stories of his father, Haroun must travel to the Ocean of the Stream of Stories to restore the gift of story.  Haroun travels through fantasy lands to meet with the Grand Comptroller.  Along his journey he meets with characters that he thought were purely fictitious imaginings of his father. 

Source: Spring 2014 116B Syllabus

Age: 14 and up

Awards: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature

Quality: The book would appeal to some children but not all. Children would see humor in the play on words and letters but many would be lost on the themes and symbolism throughout the book.

Life Connections:

· Introducing new places, both make believe and real.

· Family is important and sometimes knows better than society

· Stories can be an important part of life

· Freedom of speech is an important part of life and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Holes by Louis Sachar

Author: Louis Sachar

Publisher: Dell Yearling

Publish Date: May 9, 2000

Summary: Stanley Yelnats has been wrongly accused of stealing a pair of shoes belonging to a famous athlete. This accusation leads to his incarceration at Camp Green Lake—a camp for boys. During his stay he

learns that even the most unlikely of people can be great friends.  coupled with flashbacks of Stanley’s ancestors and a curse against his family, Stanley and his friend Zero overcome obstacles that lead to finding a huge reward for the both of them.

Source: 116B Spring 2014 Syllabus

Age range: 12 and up

Awards: Newbery Medal, National Book Award for Young People’s Literature,  and many more.

Quality: This book would appeal to pre-teen boys because of the word usage, the nicknames and the humor involved in the story.  The seriousness of the story can be understood by this age range as well.

Life Connections:

· Actions have consequences

· Not all people are trustworthy

· Even the unlikeliest of people can become really good friends

· Anyone can be courageous

· Things do work out in the end