Picture Book 26 --- Buster Goes to Cowboy Camp

Title: Buster goes to Cowboy Camp
Author: Deniese Fleming
Illustrator: Deniese Fleming
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Picture Book
Characters: Buster, Brown Shoes, Betty, Mrs. Pink Slippers
Themes: Friendship, lonely,
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2008
Publishing Company: Henry Holt and Co.
Summary: This book is so cute. The book is told from the dogs perspective. His owner brown shoes is going away on a weekend trip and he doesn't get to come along. He knows he is going to have to go somewhere because Ms. Pink slippers doesn't like dogs. He gets sent to Cowboy Camp. He is nervous about having to go to the kennel but he is excited when he gets there and sees all the new friends he can make and all the fun things there is to do at the kennel. He then becomes one of them and is a little cowboy dog by the end. I would use this book as circle time reading or for independent reading in the reading corner of my classroom. The book is funny and cute and will appeal to all different types of readers.

Picture Book 25 --- Good Night, Good Knight

Title: Good Night, Good Knight
Author: Shelley Moore Thomas
Illustrator: Jennifer Plecas
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Picture Book
Characters:
Themes: protection, friendship, bravery
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2002
Publishing Company: Penguin Readers
Summary: The book is about a young knight who stands watch and one night he hears a mighty roar. He just knows its going to be something big and scary. He rides his horse to the scary sound and its at the mouth of a cave. He goes in and finds three little dragons that are all sleepy and ready for bed. The little dragons have nobody to read them a story and put them to bed. Then they find out that they have a good friend in the good knight. He will hopefully help the little dragons out. The book could be used in my kindergarten classroom to read to them will they lay down to take a nap or during quite time. It is so calming and relaxing and it will be enjoyable for them to read.

Picture Book 24 --- Baseball Hour

Title: Baseball Hour
Author: Carol Nevius
Illustrator: Bill Thomson
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Picture book
Characters:Classmates and coach
Themes: teamwork, baseball, sports, friends
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2008
Publishing Company: Amazon Publishing Company
Summary: The book talks about a class that goes outside and begins to warm up for a baseball game. The kids perform all of the activities that take place during a baseball game. They do the exercises together and some of the separate. Then after the class has warmed up the game begins.The team has little spatters about how the game is going but have to work together to win the game. In the end of the game the team realizes that teamwork is important and that it is what makes all of them better players. I would use this book to again interest boys in reading. Boys are always harder to interest in independent reading. Most boys love sports and this will really appeal to them.Boys need to understand how important reading is too, and this may just do the trick.

Chapter Book 14 --- Holes

Title: Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Illustrator:N/A
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Characters: Stanley, Armpit, Zero, The Warden, Zig Zag, Mr. Sir, Elya, X-Ray
Themes: Hard work, Truthfulness, Friendship
Awards: 1999 Newberry Medal
Publishing Date: 1998
Publishing Company: Farrar, Stratus, and Giroux
Summary: The book is about a boy named Stanley and how he is wrongly accused of stealing a pair of shoes because of a family curse. Stanley is convicted and sent to a juvenile detention center known as Green Lake. There is actually no lake there and Stanley is made to dig big deep holes out in the hot weather with horrible conditions. Stanley makes many new friend s there that help him to uncover what has really happened with his family and how he can escape the curse and punishment, but will this work out in Stanley's favor? I would use this book as a class read and then once we have finished reading the book a s a class the class will get into groups and perform book talks and then present what they learned and got out of the book to the class.

Chapter Book 13 --- We are the Ship: Story of Negro Baseball League

Title:  We are the Ship: The story of Negro League Baseball
Author: Kadir Nelson
Illustrator: Kadir Nelson
Genre: Historical
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Characters: Players of the Negro Baseball League
Themes: baseball, discrimination, determination, social change
Awards: 2009 Coretta Scott King Award, and 2009 Robert F. Sibert Award
Publishing Date:
Publishing Company:
Summary: The book is about the history of the Negro Baseball League. It starts at the beginning in the 1920s and continues all the way up until 1947 when the famous Jackie Robinson swapped over to the major Leagues. The story is told from a baseball player. The book tells about all of the hardships that the negro ball players had to go through just to play baseball like other people were doing but it was because they were African American. It tells about how they were discriminated against by others like they were not good enough to play baseball. The story is really touching and it really makes you feel for them and like you were really there to witness these events that have now made history. I would use this book when discussing things in history class that pertain to this time period and I would use this because it will fit into Black History Month and it discusses multiple players during that time and they were all hero's.

Chapter Book 12 --- Are you there God, its Me Margaret?

Title: Are you there God?, It's me Margaret.
Author: Judy Blume
Illustrator: N/A
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Characters: Margaret,Herbert, Moose, Sylvia, Barbara, Evan, Janie, and Phillip
Themes: Friendship, puberty, growing up, love
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 1991
Publishing Company: Laurel Leaf
Summary: The book is about a girl named Margaret who has grown up in an awkward household of one parent being Christian and the other being Jewish. The book also addresses many other female related issues of growing up and being in the sixth grade. It addresses all the facts of puberty for girls and then there is the whole other issue of getting boyfriends. Margaret gets all crazy and confused about how to be a teenage girl and what religion to go with. She just has to find her way in the boy crazy world of sixth grade. I would use this book as an independent reading assignment for my class if they were in fifth or sixth grade. It may help them to discover whats happening top them or whats coming up.

Picture Book 23 --- Roberto the Insect Architect

Title:  Roberto the Insect Architect
Author:Nina Laden
Illustrator:Nina Laden
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Picture Book
Characters: Roberto
Themes: Dedication, dreams, friends, success
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2000
Publishing Company: Chronicle Books
Summary: The book is about a small termite named Roberto. He has always had this dream of becoming an architect. He never thought he would get to become an architect because he was a termite and all him and his family did was est through wood. Roberto decided to be different and move to the big city and chase his dream. He meets several different bugs while in the city and they help Roberto to achieve his dream and build a city for all of them to live in. This makes Roberto so excited to go after his dream but can he accomplish this big task. I would use this book in the classroom to help get boys excited about reading and maybe spark their interest by reading about bugs and building things.

Picture Book 22 --- Ella takes the Cake

Title: Ella takes the Cake
Author: Carmela and Steven D'amico
Illustrator: Carmela and Steven D'amico
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Picture Book
Characters: Ella, Mr. Banjo, Belinda, Ella's mom
Themes: hard work, determination, helping
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2005
Publishing Company: Arthur A. Levine Books
Summary: The story is about a little elephant named Ella. Ella and her mom lived in a small village and her mom ran a bakery. Ella always wanted to help her mom but she never felt like she was old enough or good enough to help. Ella was getting upset because she really wanted a place in the bakery to help. Well one day a cake needed to be delivered to the captain house and Mr. Banjo couldn't deliver the cake to the captain. That only left Ella to deliver the cake. Ella does her best to deliver the cake to the Captain but some things pop up on her adventure. What will happen and will Ella deliver the cake? I would use this book for independent reading time for my students.

Picture Book 21 --- Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare

Title: Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare
Author: Patricia Polacco
Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Picture Book
Characters: Richie, Mom, Trisha
Themes: Siblings, Family, Compromise
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2006
Publishing Company: Philomel Books
Summary: The book is about the two siblings Richie and Trisha. Trisha does ballet and Richie plays hockey. Richie starts in teasing Trisha about her ballet class and older big brother stuff, but Trisha has had enough of Richie and challenges him to be in her ballet recital with her. Richie agrees but he tells Trisha that she has to get in gear for his big hockey game. What will happen in the ballet recital and the hockey game? i would use this book for independent reading in my classroom. This book is intended for older grades than the younger ones in elementary school. The book could be used to read if they have completed work early or just have free time.

Picture Book 20 --- Momma, Will You?

Title: Momma, Will You?
Author: Dori Chaconas
Illustrator: Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
Genre: Nursery Rhyme
Subgenre: Picture Book
Characters: Momma, little boy , and sister
Themes: Family, Directions, Siblings
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2004
Publishing Company: Viking Juvenile
Summary: The book is about a little boy and his little sister. He wants to show his little sister all of the great new things out in the world, but before he does any of these things he always asks his momma. She always answers him with yes, no, or maybe. The brother mainly wants to show his little sister about all the farm animals they have around their house and the things that the animals will do. I would use this book in class during class reading circle time and it would help to explain to students that they must always ask permission to do things and how to follow directions. The book would also be one to read at the beginning of the school year to establish to younger students the importance in asking first then doing.

Picture Book 19 --- Little Monkey Lost

Title: Little Monkey Lost
Author: Keith DuQuette
Illustrator: Keith DuQuette
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre: Picture book
Characters: Little Monkey, Various other monkeys
Themes: Family, Friends, Adventure
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2007
Publishing Company: Putnam
Summary: The book is about a little monkey that gets bored by doing the same old things with his troop. So one day little monkey decides to hop on a lily pad and go down the river. He meets all these different troops of monkeys who do different things than his own troop. He has fun doing these things but eventually he gets tired of them and some of them begin to hurt him to do them any longer. So he eventually decides to go back to his troop because he misses them. He does find his way back to them and he is so happy because that is home to him. I would use this book during circle reading time in younger grades because the book is meant for younger students. I would also let them read the book individually in the reading corner for free read time.

Chapter Book 11 --- Out of the Dust

Title: Out of the Dust
Author: Karen Hesse
Illustrator:N/A
Genre: Historical Fiction
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Characters: Billie Jo, Averly Wanderdale, Bayard, Polly, Louise
Themes: Depression, Dust Bowl, Family, Resentment, Forgiveness
Awards: Newberry Winner, Scott O'Dell Winner
Publishing Date: 1997
Publishing Company: Scholastic Press
Summary: The book is about a little girl that is growing up during the great Depression in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl. The family is that of a wheat crop farmer and the crops are not producing like they should and so times are stressful for the family. The family consists of Billie Jo, Ma and Pa. Ma is pregnant though with a little boy that pa had been wishing  for. There is a terrible accident in the book that changes everything in the families dynamic. Everything just seems to go wrong for all family members from that point on. Then there comes a time in the book where everything starts to become resolved since Ma has passed and so did baby brother. In the end of the book there is a happy ending for Billie Jo and Pa. I would use this book in my classroom for older grades like middle school history classes when they are learning about the great depression or the dust bowl to help the students to really relate to what was going on back then and how it affected children of that time. The students will discover a sense of empathy and they will learn facts of the dust bowl and depression.

Chapter Book 10 --- A Time of Miracles

Title: A Time of Miracles
Author: Anne- Laure Bondoux
Illustrator: N/A
Genre:Historical Fiction
Subgenre: Chapter Book
Theme: exile, bravery, politics, adventure
Characters: Blaise and Gloria
Awards: 2011 Mildred Batchelder
Publishing Date: 2010
Publishing Company: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Summary: Blaise is a young boy who is unaware of his identity completely. He understand only what he hears from the lady who has raised and taken care of him and her name is Gloria. he understand that he came to be with Gloria after a train wreck where his mother gave him to Gloria. Then as Blasie and Gloria struggle with all of the political turmoil in Georgia they decide to escape from Georgia and head toward France. The two of them go on this journey with other refugees and take on this journey on foot. The journey takes five years for them to complete over Europe and they experience unwelcome issues and problems. This journey turns Blaise into a man and he tries to untangle the mystery of his past. What all will Blaise uncover of his past and how he came to be where he is and with Gloria? I would use this book in my classroom as a independent novel for the students to pick and write a book report on for extra credit in history. I would choose history to be the subject because it is historical fiction and it deals the So0viet union Collapsing and other events in history.

Picture Book 18 --- Raindrop Plop

Title: Raindrop Plop
Author: Wendy Cheyette Lewison
Illustrator: Pam Paparone
Genre:Informational Literature
Subgenre: Picture Book
Theme: Counting, Rainy Days, Play
Characters: Little Girl
Awards: N/A
Publishing Date: 2004
Publishing Company: Viking Books
Summary: The book is about a little girl that was playing outside and it rains. The book is counting with every step she takes and it gives a little rhyme after every count in the book. It follows her from playing out in the rain to when she comes in and takes a bath and has snack. I would use this book in lower grades since it is on their reading level and interest level. I would mainly use this book in kindergarten when learning and reviewing counting and it would also transition well into discussion of weather. Then it would be being used across the curriculum with science and math.

Chapter Book 9 --- Bud Not Buddy

Title: Bud, Not Buddy
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Illustrator: N/A
Genre: Historical Fiction,
Sub Genre: Chapter Book
Theme: African American, Bravery, Sadness, Family, Orphans
Characters: Bud Caldwell, Lefty Lewis, Herman C. Calloway, The Amoses
Awards: 2000 Newbery Medal Winner, Coretta Scott King Award
Publishing Date: 1999
Publishing Company: Delacorte Book for Young Readers
Summary: The story is about a young boy named Bud Caldwell and he is an orphan because he doesn't know who his father is but has an idea because of a flyer his mother left behind when she passed away. He also has an old bag of rocks that she left him when she passed. He has been passed around to several foster homes and the last one he goes to is the one that sets the whole story in motion. He is treated badly and decides to runaway to find his father. He them gets picked by a railroad worker named Lefty Lewis who decides to help him out. He takes him to his house and feeds him and cares for him and then takes him to a restaurant where the man on the flyer he has performs named, Herman C. Calloway. Herman denies being the boys father and then when Bud spots Herman doing the same thing to current rocks as is done to the ones bud has he confronts Herman. Herman then believes that Bud stole them from his house. After much talking and debate it is come to be known exactly who Herman is to Bud. It works out for the both of them in the end and they are family but what relation. I would use this book in my classroom as independent reading material for my students. It could also be read if we were studying a unit on African American literature. The book would help them to understand the bravery of the boy to go in search of his father, and especially when he had nobody.

Picture Book 17 --- The Moon over Star

Title: The Moon over Star
Author: Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney
Genre: Diverse literature, Informational Literature
Sub genre: Picture Book
Theme: African Americans, Dreams, Space, Culture
Characters: Mae,Grandpa, Cousins, Astronauts
Awards: Coretta Scott King
Publishing Date: 2008
Publishing Company: Dial Books for Young Readers
Summary: The book is about a young girl who has always dreamed of growing up and going into space. She has been told that space is a joke and waste of money and that she should keep her dreams more realistic. Then one day she gets to watch the very first astronauts land on the moon but her grandpa is not interested and has had to work hard all his life and that is what he is use to, but Mae changes his mind and he learns to dream and then begins to encourage Mae to dream and dream big. I would use this book in my classroom to start a chapter on space exploration or to give information on Neil Armstrong because he is the main astronaut talked about in the book. it will hook the students in by displaying all the pictures of men on the moon and by the suspense of what happened that day.