Chapter Book 5 --- The Case of the Bicycle Bandit

Title: The Case of the Bicycle Bandit
Author: James Preller
Illustrator: Jamie Smith
Genre: Mystery and Suspense, Series
Sub Genre: Chapter Book
Theme: Detectives, Friendship, Family
Characters: Jigsaw, Ralphie, Mila, Justin, Snarkster, Geetha, David Chang, Mr. Pickles
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2001
Publishing Company: Scholastic, Inc.
Summary: This book is about a couple of friends who love to ride their bikes together and ride them to school everyday. Two of them have new bikes and one of them, Ralphie, has a old hand-me-down bike from his brother Justin. Then something awful happens and someone steals Ralphie's bike from school. Ralphie is really upset about his missing bike, but he is in luck because his two best friends are detectives. Now can Jigsaw and Mila find Ralphie's missing bike? They are going to go an adventure to find Ralphie's missing bike, but lets just hope they find Ralphie's bike. I would use this book in my class to read to my class as a whole. We would read only a few pages or a chapter a day. I would use this bike to get the students attention. I would do this because almost all kids have bikes and would hate for someone to take their bike and most kids like mystery and trying to solve problems. I really feel like the book would appeal to them and interest them. I would also keep this book in my classroom library.

Picture Book 11 --- Buzz Boy and Fly Guy

Title: Buzz Boy and Fly Guy
Author: Tedd Arnold
Illustrator: Tedd Arnold
Genre: Comic Books and Graphic Novels
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Theme: Superheroes, Comic Books, Pirates, Super Powers
Characters: Buzz Boy, Fly Guy, Dragon Dude, and Pirates
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2010
Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.
Summary: This book is funny and its fun to see how children's imaginations work. The book is written form a child's point of view and it is like you are inside his imagination. Buzz boy has a pet fly named Fly Guy and they get these names from the comic book that Buzz Boy writes about how the two of them turn into superheroes. They go on a wild adventure to save their house and they make a friend and add him to their superhero team. I would use this book in my classroom if I had boys who were struggling to stay interested in reading and may find some of these themes interesting. It could also interest boys who do not like to read books but like to read comic books.

Picture Book 10 --- Max and Mo's First Day at School

Title: Max and Mo's First Day at School
Author: Patricia Lakin
Illustrated: Brian Floca
Genre: General Fiction
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Theme: Class pets, Art Projects, Friendship
Charcters: Max & Mo and the big ones
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date:2007
Publishing Company: Aladdin Paperbacks
Summary: Max & Mo are two class hampsters taht get placed in the art room and they realize that the big ones are calling them by other names because they do not know their names. So Max and Mo go on an adventure to create something that will help the big ones to know who they are. I would use this book in my classroom when we were going to start a project and it also gives directions in the book to make ur own name tag just like Max and Mo did in the story. That could be a fun ice breaker game at the beginning of the year.

Picture Book 9 --- My Best Friend Is Out Of This World

Title: My Best Friend Is Out of This World
Author: Sarah Albee
Illustrator: Nate Evans
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Themes: Friendship, Family, Aliens
Characters: Maddy, Victor, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date:1998
Publishing Company: Golden Books Publishing Co., Inc.
Summary: This book is short and easy for readers who may just be starting out. The book is about  Maddy a little girl whom wants to invite her best friend over for dinner with her family. The only thing is that her friend is really out of this world. His name is Victor. Victor arrives to the Wilson's house in a strange and unusual way and he brings Mrs. Wilson some strange flowers and he does some strange things will visiting. The important thing is that Victor is very important to Maddy because that is her best friend. You will just have to read the book to see why Victor is out of this world! I would use this book in my classroom for younger readers to explain to them the idea of friendship and how its only important if you like the person and not what everyone else likes for you. This book would also be just a book that I would keep in my classroom collection for down time reading because it is cute and funny.

Picture Book 8 --- So you want to be President

Title: So you want to be President
Author: Judith St. George
Illustartor: David Small
Genre: General Non Fiction
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Theme: American History, Leadership
Characters:The first 42 Presidents of the United States.
Awards: 2001 Caldecott Winner
Publishing Date: 2000
Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.
Summary: This book explains all of the different things about how cool it is to be the President. It explains the different and  weird things of each President til the current one( of this time) and explains the different things that happened to each while they served their term. It has humor mixed into the book. Like about how President Taft got stuck in the White House bathtub. I would use this book in my class when were going over the Presidents of the United States. It will help the children to learn them, and some may stick because some of the things about the Presidents are funny. It also in the end explains how important the Presidents job is to our country.

Picture Book 7 --- I have Feelings, Too!

Title: I have Feelings, Too!
Author: Nancy Parent
Illustrator: Ron Cohee and Brent Ford
Genre: Motivational
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Theme: Friendship, Consideration, Character
Characters: Audrey and Jessie
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date:1999
Publishing Company: Paradise Press
Summary: The book is really short and sweet. Audrey and her friend Jessie are playing and she is upset because Jessie doesn't consider anything that Audrey may want to do that day. She explains to him that she has feelings too. After this Jessie apologizes and they are going to do things that they both want to do. after reading this book i realized that it may not be acceptable for public schools because the two characters are made out to be angels, but in a private school this may be acceptable. I would use the book to help build character and to maybe solve conflict in a situation if it was related to this issue.

Picture Book 6 --- John Henry and His Mighty Hammer

Title: John Henry and His Mighty Hammer
Author: Patsy Jensen
Illustrator: Roseanne Litzinger
Genre: Legend
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Theme: steel driving, hammer, strong babies, marriage
Characters: John Henry, Polly Ann, Captain Tommy, Mom
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date:1994
Publishing Company: Troll Associates
Summary: This book is about a baby named John Henry who was very miraculous from the start. He was speaking right when he was born and eating enough food for a village at ten minutes old. He always said that he was a steel driving man and that he would die with a hammer in his hand. His mother did not want John Henry to drive steel, but he wanted too. He married Polly Ann who accepted John Henry as a steel driving man and they moved to work on the railroads. John Henry worked very hard on the railroads and he used a thirty pound hammer versus a ten pound hammer. One day John Henry took on a bet and it led to a terrible end but John Henry was right about his life. He was a steel driving man who would die with a hammer in his hand. I would use this book in my classroom when we began to discuss all the different types of traditional literature. It is kind of crazy but it explain in a sense that you can be whatever you want to be and nobody can or should stop you.

Chapter Book 4 --- Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

Title: Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
Author: Barbara Park
Illustrator: Denise Brunkus
Genre:Realistic Fiction
Sub Genre: Chapter Book
Theme: School days, School bus, Kindergarten, Friends
Characters: Junie B. , Mrs., Janitor, Mr. Woo, Mom, Lucille, Nurse, Jim, Principal
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 1992
Publishing Company: Random House
Summary: The book is sop adorable. I am starting to think that the whole series of Junie B. Jones books are adorable and funny. This particular book is about Junie B. and riding the stupid smelly bus. It is Junie B.'s first day of kindergarten and she isn't scared of school but she is a little scared of the bus. She gets on the bus and people are rude to her and then she gets to school and hears even worse things about the bus.  She takes a stand and does something to avoid riding the bus. Junie B causes Mrs. a lot of anxiety with what she does but it wouldn't be Junie B if she didn't do something outrageous. I would use this book in my classroom if I had some students who had anxiety about riding the bus or to just bring humor into the classroom. Whether the students have to ride the bus or not they will enjoy the book.

Picture Book 5 and Poetry Book --- Giant Children

Title: Giant Children
Author: Brod Bagert
Illustrator: Tedd Arnold
Genre: Poetry and Rhymes
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Theme: Life experiences and relationships, School life, Siblings, Animals, Family and social structure
Characters: Multiple Character for each poem
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2002
Publishing Company: Dial Books for Young Readers
Summary: This book was absolutely adorable. It has been my favorite book so far. It is looking at the world through children's eyes and seeing how they think and communicate. The poems are all about how children view the world and form relationships. The poems in the book are very funny to read. There are several poems in the book about sibling rivalry and boogers and food. It is just really cute and almost all of the poems rhyme. The books pictures are also very vivid and they really add to the enjoyment of the poems. The pictures really lure the reader in to reading the poems. I would use this book to introduce poetry to my class.I would use this book because after reading the book I do not see how anyone would not enjoy poetry. The poems are also something that I believe my students would be able to relate too.

Chapter Book 3 --- Snow Valentines

Title: Snow Valentines
Author: Karen Gray Ruelle
Illustrator: Karen Gray Ruelle
Genre:  General Fiction
Sub Genre: Chapter Book
Characters: Harry, Emily, Mom, and Dad
Themes: Culture and diversity, snow days, Valentine's day
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2000
Publishing Company: Holiday House
Summary: The book is about Harry and Emily and how they want to do something special for their parents for Valentines day. They try many different things but cannot come up with a good idea because they think it's to original or their parents say something negative about their ideas. They finally come up with a good idea after they have a snow day and build a snow family and all different things in the snow. They come up with a very cute idea for their parents. I would use this book in my class to read to my students around Valentines day before we make a craft for their parents. This would help to get them excited about the craft and giving it to their parents.

Picture Book 4 --- The Pirate of Kindergarten

Title: The Pirate of Kindergarten
Author: George Ella Lyons
Illustrator: Lynne Avril
Genre: General Fiction
Sub Genre: Picture Book
Theme: disabilities, doctors, vision, elementary school
Characters: Dr. Clare, Ginny, Ms. Cleo, Frank, Nurse, Mom
Awards: N/A
Date Published:2010
Publishing Company: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Summary: This book is a bout a little girl named Ginny who has problems reading. She then later in the book explains how she reads and she has double vision. She sees two of everything. Ginny then has to go and get her eyes checked by Dr. Clare. He tells her that she needs glasses and a eye patch. Ginny makes the best of her disability and calls herself the pirate of kindergarten. Ginny then has no more problems reading or seeing just one of things. I would use this book in my class to explain to my students how important it is to not feel bad because they are different from the others. I would also use it to teach my students that it is never okay to make fun of other students like some of the children in the book. Everybody is different but still special.

Chapter Book 2 --- Minnie and Moo The Night of the Living Bed

Title: Minnie and Moo The Night of the Living Bed
Author: Denys Cazet
Illustrator: Denys Cazet
Genre: Fiction
Sub Genre: Chapter Book
Theme: Halloween night, Domestic Animals, Candy
Characters: Minnie, Moo, Hamlet, Farmer, Old Lady, Madge, Bea Holstein
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date:2003
Publishing Company: HarperCollins
Summary: This book is about a bunch of farm animals who try and help out their friend after she has a bad dream. In her bad Minnie dreamed that all the chocolate was eaten by a giant mouse.In her bad dream she moves around and her bed rolls down the hill and scoops up her friends and rolls into town. Once they get into town the friends go trick or treating and get candy and Minnie doesn't have to worry about all the chocolate being gone. I would use this book in my classroom as a book to read aloud to the class around Halloween. I would use this book because it is about Halloween and the material is very cute for kids to read.

Chapter Book 1 --- Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth

Title: Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth
Author: Barbara Park
Illustrator: Denise Brunkus
Genre: Comedy Humor, Realistic Fiction, Series
Sub Genre: Chapter Book
Theme: Cleverness, Creativity and Imagination,Changes and New Experiences
Families and Social Structures ,Friends and Friendship,School Life, Job Day
Characters: Junie B., Janitor, Mrs., Mr. Woo, Grace, Lucille, William, Ollie, Mom and Dad, Cop, Dr. Smiley
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date:1993
Publishing Company: Random House
Summary: This book was so much fun to read. It was written from Junie B.'s perspective and she is in kindergarten. The book is about how she is in class and she gets told that they are going to have career day in room nine. She gets upset because she doesn't know what she wants to be for career day but she has an incident and then she realizes what she wants to be. The other kids all already knew what they wanted to be but it took Junie B. a little while to figure hers out. She finally does decide and its not the most prestigious job but she loves all the things that she will get to do at her job.I will use this book in my classroom as fun reading material and to discuss different things that my students may want to be when they grow up no matter what the job may be.

Picture Book 3 --- Dave The Potter

Title: Dave  The Potter
Author: Laban Carrick Hill
Illustrated: Bryan Collier
Genre: Biography, General Poetry
Sub genre: Picture Book
Theme: African American, Visual arts, Slavery, Visual arts
Characters: Dave
Awards:Coretta Scott King Winner, Caldecott Honor Book
Publishing Date: 2010
Publishing Company:Little, Brown and Company
Summary: This book is about an African American slave who worked all day and when he got done he would escape away to work at his pottery wheel. Dave used his pottery to escape from the harsh life that he had to live as a slave. He made all kinds of pots and he would  use his pots for many uses. He really uses the pots to store food in  and supplies. The book really goes into detail about how he works so hard on his pottery and how it all comes together just like he knew it would. I would use this book at a talk during Black History Month, and it show how he overcame his slavery and found something he loved to do to pass the time.. It could also be used to explain slavery to students.

Picture Book 2 --- Snowflake Bentley

Title: Snowflake Bentley
Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Illustrator: Mary Azarian
Genre: Biography Non-Fiction
Sub genre: Picture Book
Theme: snowflakes, winter, photography
Characters: Wilson Bentley, His parents
Awards: Caldecott Winner
Publishing Date: 1998
Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin
Summary: This book is about a young boy named Wilson Bentley. He loved the snow and all the snowflakes. He was so interested by all the snowflakes different designs that he wanted to photograph the m. He asked his parents to get him a very expensive camera. His parents spent all their savings to get the camera. snowflake Bentley began to photograph all the different designs of snowflakes and made beautiful pictures of them. He was able to sell these pictures for money and a university bought his collection of photos and made a book of them and used his findings of snowflakes. I would use this book in class when I was teaching my students about the different types of weather. This is a really good book and it will help them to learn of the winter weather months.