Teach This Book!
Click on the books below to find them on Amazon!
Teaching Connections: 1. Strong vocabulary!!! Context Clues! 2. Problem Solution Structure 3. Science- How Did the Lumberjack Affect his Environment? (List benefits and harmful impacts) Also, you could discuss practical solutions vs. temporary solutions.
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What good is a moose? What good am I? Haven't we all felt that way at some point? This doubtful moose's story is written in beautiful rhyme. Each animal in this story is represented with a different gem. Supportive friends help Agate realize he is gem himself! You will have you fall in love with this book too!
How to Teach It! 1. Use it to teach rhyming and/or rhyme scheme. 2. Main Idea- Each animal has several details listed. 3. Research how gem are formed and explore the rock cycle. 4. Find all the beautiful adjectives and create anchor chart. 5. Graffiti wall each student with kind words that describe them! |
Eugenie Clark fell in love with sharks from the first moment she saw them at the aquarium. She couldn't imagine anything more exciting than studying these graceful creatures. But Eugenie quickly discovered that many people believed sharks to be ugly and scary―and they didn't think women should be scientists.
Determined to prove them wrong, Eugenie devoted her life to learning about sharks. After earning several college degrees and making countless discoveries, Eugenie wrote herself into the history of science, earning the nickname "Shark Lady." Through her accomplishments, she taught the world that sharks were to be admired rather than feared and that women can do anything they set their minds to.
Use Shark Lady to inspire young scientists to pursue their dreams. Journal about what a student is passionate about. Next, have them brainstorm and research possible careers. Have a many job fest where students can gallery walk the careers, dress up as them ect.
The language is rich and the imagery is excellent! Teach sequencing events by writing down major parts of her life then mixing them up. Have kids put them in order and add transition words using sticky notes. |
George and Blaise are pen pals, and they write letters to each other about everything: their pets, birthdays, favorite sports, and science fair projects. There’s just one thing that the two friends don’t know: George is a human, while Blaise is a dragon! What will happen when these pen pals finally meet face-to-face?
Ideas for Teaching-
1. Letter Writing! Use the letters to show how friendly letters should be formatted. 2. Write a letter to one of the characters. Write the correspondence incorrectly onto chart paper and have your students find the errors. 3. Give a journal prompt about a time when your students ran into an unexpected situation. How did they handle it? What would they have done differently? Or, write about a time when someone they met turned out to be totally different than they expected. 4. Use this book to teach the theme, “Never Judge a Book by Its Cover. 5. Use this book to teach, “Seek First to Understand”. (Both characters in this book make some assumptions that lead them to mistaking their pen pals’ identities!) |
Treasure hunting is never a “baaaaad” idea, right? But, when the treasure you’re hoping for is not what you get, what is a sheep to do? Turn something unexpected into something great!!!!!
Ways to use this in the classroom!
1. There are strong verbs in this book. Great for modeling strong writing! So... you could use this as a mentor text. Add the verbs to an anchor chart.
2. Russell builds his own inventions using every day household items. Your students can do the same. And then, use this for an imagination writing station! Set out odd props and let your kids use an iPad the camera app to record their ideas. The magic will start! How can they use the prop in non traditional way? Take a picture and write about it!
3. Russell's family steps into the picture, literally! Have your students create their own family album just like Russell.
4. Science Connection- Research how camera work. This research could lead into a great lesson for reflection and refraction!
5. For the K-2 crowd, there is a great section with antonyms! Create an anchor chart as you read.
6. Maker Space- Build your own treasure seeker!
Ways to use this in the classroom!
1. There are strong verbs in this book. Great for modeling strong writing! So... you could use this as a mentor text. Add the verbs to an anchor chart.
2. Russell builds his own inventions using every day household items. Your students can do the same. And then, use this for an imagination writing station! Set out odd props and let your kids use an iPad the camera app to record their ideas. The magic will start! How can they use the prop in non traditional way? Take a picture and write about it!
3. Russell's family steps into the picture, literally! Have your students create their own family album just like Russell.
4. Science Connection- Research how camera work. This research could lead into a great lesson for reflection and refraction!
5. For the K-2 crowd, there is a great section with antonyms! Create an anchor chart as you read.
6. Maker Space- Build your own treasure seeker!
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Books I Currently Love!
This is the story of four puppies: Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La, and Gaston. Gaston works the hardest at his lessons on how to be a proper pooch. He sips—never slobbers! He yips—never yaps! And he walks with grace—never races! Gaston fits right in with his poodle sisters.
But a chance encounter with a bulldog family in the park—Rocky, Ricky, Bruno, and Antoinette—reveals there’s been a mix-up, and so Gaston and Antoinette switch places. The new families look right…but they don’t feel right. Can these puppies follow their noses—and their hearts—to find where they belong?
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Cupcake dresses to impress. Her smile is brilliant. Her wave is flawless. She even wears a tiara. Everyone loves a tiara. And Cupcake wants everyone to love her. But when she tries too hard to make everyone happy, she crumbles under the pressure and realizes that sometimes just being yourself is enough.
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Accepting Others For Who They Are
Nerdy Birdy likes reading, video games, and reading about video games, which immediately disqualifies him for membership in the cool crowd.
One thing is clear: being a nerdy birdy is a lonely lifestyle.
When he's at his lowest point, Nerdy Birdy meets a flock just like him. He has friends and discovers that there are far more nerdy birdies than cool birdies in the sky.
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Rufus doesn't like school at first. He loves being a wolf and doing wolf stuff -- like running through the woods or howling at the moon. But Rufus, like all wolves, must go to school to learn real wolf work, like wearing clever disguises and speaking sheep.
While Rufus learns, he also teaches: Sometimes ou have to cut loose and learn to be yourself!
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It is a sad and sorry day when Burnt Beard the Pirate and his scurvy crew swagger into Old Cheyenne looking to bury their treasure. Black Bob McKraw—terror of the Wild West—and his posse don't take too kindly to pirates invading their town. And to add insult to injury, the pirates and cowboys can't understand a lick of what the others are saying. None of them cowboys speak Pirate, and none of them pirates speak Cowboy. Who will save the day before these sorry—and stinky!—bilge rats and yellow-bellied varmints draw their cutlasses and six-shooters?
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STEM BOOKS
Giraffe has a problem. It's his first day in the jungle, and everyone thinks he's a chair! All the animals take turns sitting on him—a monkey, a hippopotamus, and even a human mistake the herbivore for a comfy chair! Giraffe has no luck vocalizing his concern. However, when a lion decides to take a seat, Giraffe musters the courage to say, "I am not a chair!"
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This is a quick read about speaking up for yourself! But this could be great for a stem challenge or maker space! Like the main character, students could build a chair that will hold a hippo, have certain angles, look like a giraffe, etc!
Growing a Love of Reading...
Teaching Students to Persevere!
One hot summer night in the city, all the power goes out. The TV shuts off and a boy wails, "Mommm!" His sister can no longer use the phone, Mom can't work on her computer, and Dad can't finish cooking dinner. What's a family to do? When they go up to the roof to escape the heat, they find the lights--in stars that can be seen for a change--and so many neighbors it's like a block party in the sky! On the street below, people are having just as much fun--talking, rollerblading, and eating ice cream before it melts. The boy and his family enjoy being not so busy for once. They even have time to play a board game together. When the electricity is restored, everything can go back to normal . . . but not everyone likes normal. The boy switches off the lights, and out comes the board game again.
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Olive is a little girl who likes the types of adventures that exist in books. Her best friend Hoot, a stuffed-animal owl, prefers the ones that take place in the real world. Today, Hoot gets to pick the adventures. At first, Olive isn't sure if she's brave enough for the activities Hoot has picked: flying a makeshift hot-air balloon and navigating raging rivers. But when her dearest friend gets hurt, Olive discovers that she's not only brave, she's brave enough for two.
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he extraordinary story of James Banning, the first African-American pilot to fly across country
During the Great Depression, the ace black pilot James Banning decided to fly from coast to coast to serve as an inspiration to people everywhere. So with a little ingenuity and a whole lot of heart, he fixed up the dilapidated OXX6 Eagle Rock plane with his co-pilot and mechanic, Thomas Allen, earning them the derisive nickname, “The Flying Hobos.” But with the help of friends and family along the way who signed their names on the wings of the plane in exchange for food, fuel and supplies, Banning and Allen made it through treacherous weather and overcame ruthless prejudice to receive a heroes’ welcome upon landing in New York on October 9, 1932.
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Teaching Context Clues...
The Princess and the Pea gets a fresh twist in this charming bilingual retelling, winner of the Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration.
El príncipe knows this girl is the one for him, but, as usual, his mother doesn’t agree.
The queen has a secret test in mind to see if this girl is really a princesa, but the prince might just have a sneaky plan, too . . .
What happens at Nuthatcher Farm when the chickens get tired of the same old chicken feed? The rooster hatches a plan! With a pinch of genius, a dash of resourcefulness, and a little pilfering from the farmer's garden, the chickens whip up a scrumptious snack of chips and salsa. When the rest of the barnyard gets a whiff of the spicy smells and want to join in, it can mean only one thing . . . FIESTA! But when the big day arrives, all their spicy southwestern supplies are gone! Could Mr. and Mrs. Nuthatcher have caught on to the flavor craze?
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Holy guacamole! Skippyjon Jones is crazy-loco for dinosaurs! The kitty boy enters (via his closet) the land of dinosaurs in search of the fabled Skipposaurus. Instead he runs into his old amigos, the Chimichango gang. When a T-Mex threatens the pack, it’s El Skippito, the great sword fighter, to the rescue. With yips and yowls, he drives the big baddie away, so all the dino-dudes can rattle their bones another day.
Yuyi Morales takes us on a new journey with Señor Calvera, the skeleton from Day of the Dead celebrations. Señor Calvera is worried. He can't figure out what to give Grandma Beetle for her birthday. Misunderstanding the advice of Zelmiro the Ghost, Señor Calvera decides not to get her one gift, but instead one gift for every letter of the alphabet, just in case. Una Acordéon: An accordion for her to dance to. Bigotes: A mustache because she has none. Cosquillas: Tickles to make her laugh…only to find out at the end of the alphabet that the best gift of all is seeing her friends.
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At the station, sirens sound.
Corazones start to pound.
"House fire!" says el capitán.
"¡Fuego! Get your helmets on!"
So begins a rollicking race to save a burning casa from the roaring flames-and these bomberos are up to the task, with hoses ready and sirens blaring. Spanish words sprinkled throughout the lively text-plus a glossary at the end-will enrich young readers as they cheer for the firefighters to save the day.
Want to Challenge Your Fourth and Fifth Graders with Context Clues? Try this one!!!!!
Nacho likes to eat only one thing—gazpacho! Gazpacho for breakfast, gazpacho for lunch, gazpacho for dinner, for snacks, and for brunch. Nacho won’t even try other dishes—until he discovers miles and piles of mouthwatering vegetables at the market. This lively rhyming story, sprinkled with Spanish, will delight little chefs. A recipe for Gazpacho and a Spanish glossary are included.
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Cause and Effect
"On Saturday morning, the rain came down. It made the chickens squawk." But that's only the beginning. Before the sun comes out again, an entire neighborhood is in a crabby uproar. The owner of the beauty parlor squabbles with the barber, who argues with the painter, who has just accidentally bonked the barber in the head with his paint can. Then the baker unintentionally pokes the pizza man in the nose with his umbrella, and they start quarreling. Soon, "the whole block was honking, yelling, bickering, and barking." There's no end in sight... until the rain stops, the sun comes out, the air smells fresh and sweet, and a rainbow appears. Before they know it, the bickerers are helping each other clean up the mess caused by the ruckus, and everyone's smiling again.
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Just Because They Are Fun!
Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast will be great for teaching rhyme scheme and vocabulary! It could also be used for character development and writing about the theme! It reminds me of my 10 year olds!
The race is ON! Who will win the tastiest food fight ever?
A thoroughly delicious picture book about the funniest "food fight" ever! Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast have a beautiful friendship—until they discover that there's ONLY ONE DROP of maple syrup left. Off they go, racing past the Orange Juice Fountain, skiing through Sauerkraut Peak, and reeling down the linguini. But who will enjoy the sweet taste of victory? And could working together be better than tearing each other apart?
this Tex-Mex retelling of “The Gingerbread Man,” Señorita Gordita—a little corn cake—escapes from the frying pan and leads a merry chase. She runs through the desert boasting, “You’ll never catch me!” while fleeing from a spider, a rattler, and other hungry creatures “with a flip, and a skip, and a zip-zoom-zip.”
Mischief! Mishaps! Dragons! Here's the story of an intrepid knight, only our narrator can't quite remember the details. Did that knight carry a sandwich, or a sword? Was he supposed to fight a cat, or a dragon? A hilarious and unpredictable adventure ensues, building through laugh-out-loud rhymes until, at last, the narrator remembers his own role at the center of all the marvelous madness.
Egg loves Bacon.
Lettuce loves Bacon.
Waffle loves Bacon.
Bacon is sizzling with popularity.
And pretty much everyone thinks he is the best.
That is-until Bacon's fame goes to his head. He's so busy soaking up the attention, that he soon forgets the important things in life, like friendship and family. How will it all pan out for our dashing, delicious hero?
Everyone Loves Bacon is a hilarious story that could be used to teach the theme “Pride comes before the fall” Or, it could be used to teach character trait, pride! Great twist at the end!!!!
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Who’s the picky eater? Not Matilda! A little girl with adventurous tastes turns the tables on her food-fussy parents and teaches them that dinner can be more than chicken nuggets.
Matilda Macaroni loves to try new foods, whether it’s her grandma’s jambalaya or sushi at a sleepover. But, in this fun, twisted picture book, it’s finicky mom and dad—not the child—who eat only pizza with pepperoni (delivered), burgers from a bag, or noodles from a box. Eager to experience new flavors, Matilda secretly sets out to learn how to cook, satisfy her hunger for something more . . . and expand her parents’ palates, too. There's also a Macaroni family recipe for quiche that young cooks can try!
Big, brave Captain Crave can check off most items on the handy Be Your Best Buccaneer checklist. He has a pirate ship, an eye patch, courage and daring, and more. Only one thing is missing: Captain Crave doesn’t have a pet. Arrr! Shuck me an oyster and set sail for land! The captain and his crew race and chase critters of every size and shape, from the beach to a farm to the zoo to a pet shop, causing a commotion wherever they go. But just when all seems lost, the search party stumbles on the most perfectly perfect pet for Captain Crave. Has he finally met his match? Aye-aye!
Meet the Pirasaurs, a ragtag team of seasoned pirate dinosaurs looking for adventure and treasure! There's fearsome Captain Rex, golden-toothed Velocimate, one-eyed Bronto Beard, and more fearsome, buccaneering beasts....as well as one new recruit who may be small, but who's eager to prove he can learn the ropes and find his place on the team.
But when a trap is set upon the Pirasaurs while looking for buried treasure, it's up to the littlest recruit to show the team that there's more to a Pirasaur than meets the eye patch!
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Growing
As A Person
As A Person
Someday
I am going to be
a great artist.
Today
I am off to help my dad
paint the shed.
Its hard to be content with the present moment when you are little. The future has infinitely more possibilities!
Here, the prolific and poetic Eileen Spinelli offers us the opportunity to truly enter the mind and heart of a little girl whose dreams reach well beyond today.
The school on Elephant Island is holding a talent show, and all the children are excited -- all the children, that is, except for Ella. Belinda's going to do ballet, Tiki's planned a magic act, but Ella doesn't have a single idea. She can't sing, dance, or play an instrument -- doesn't Ella have any talent at all?
Then comes the night of the big show, and Ella discovers her own special talent that shines very bright -- even when she's not in the limelight. Carmela and Steve D'Amico put friendship center stage in this third charming elephant adventure.
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Roads give you chances to seek and explore. Want an adventure? Just open your door.
Join an adventurous rabbit and his animal friends as they journey over steep mountain peaks, through bustling cityscapes, and down long, winding roads to discover the magical worlds that await them just outside their doors
One eye was bigger than the other. That was a mistake.
The weird frog-cat-cow thing? It made an excellent bush.
And the inky smudges… they look as if they were always meant to be leaves floating gently across the sky.
As one artist incorporates accidental splotches, spots, and misshapen things into her art, she transforms her piece in quirky and unexpected ways, taking readers on a journey through her process. Told in minimal, playful text, this story shows readers that even the biggest “mistakes” can be the source of the brightest ideas—and that, at the end of the day, we are all works in progress, too.
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Picture Book Biographies
Iconic pop artist Keith Haring comes to life for young readers in this picture book biography lovingly written by his sister
This one-of-a-kind book explores the life and art of Keith Haring from his childhood through his meteoric rise to fame. It sheds light on this important artist’s great humanity, his concern for children, and his disregard for the establishment art world. Reproductions of Keith's signature artwork appear in scenes boldly rendered by Robert Neubecker. This is a story to inspire, and a book for Keith Haring fans of all ages to treasure.
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Nadia Comaneci was a feisty and fearless little girl who went from climbing trees in the forests of Romania to swinging into history at the 1976 Olympic Games, where she received an unprecedented seven perfect scores in gymnastics. But as readers will see in this first-ever illustrated picture book about Nadia’s journey to Olympic gold, the road from small-town girl to world-class athlete was full of many imperfect moments.
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Preschool and the Younger Crowd
Ballet Cat and Sparkles the Pony are trying to decide what to play today. Nothing that Sparkles suggests--making crafts, playing checkers, and selling lemonade--goes well with the leaping, spinning, and twirling that Ballet Cat likes to do. When Sparkles's leaps, spins, and twirls seem halfhearted, Ballet Cat asks him what's wrong. Sparkles doesn't want to say. He has a secret that Ballet Cat won't want to hear. What Sparkles doesn't know is that Ballet Cat has a secret of her own, a totally secret secret. Once their secrets are shared, will their friendship end, or be stronger than ever?
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Four friends creep through the woods, and what do they spot? An exquisite bird high in a tree! “Hello birdie,” waves one. “Shh! We have a plan,” hush the others. They stealthily make their advance, nets in the air. Ready one, ready two, ready three, and go! But as one comically foiled plan follows another, it soon becomes clear that their quiet, observant companion, hand outstretched, has a far better idea.
Zebra thinks the alphabet should be simple. A is for Apple. B is for Ball. Easy! But his friend Moose is too excited to wait his turn, and when M isn't for Moose (Mouse gets the honor), the rest of the letters better run for cover. Exuberant and zany storytelling brings to life two friends and one laugh-out-loud comedy of errors that's about friendship, sharing, and compromise.
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Manners and Tantrums
Express Your Feelings
Sometimes my heart feels like a big yellow star, shiny and bright.
I smile from ear to ear and twirl around so fast,
I feel as if I could take off into the sky.
This is when my heart is happy.
Happiness, sadness, bravery, anger, shyness . . . our hearts can feel so many feelings! Some make us feel as light as a balloon, others as heavy as an elephant .
Persuade Me!
This young frog will have you rolling as his father reasons with him about why he can’t be other animals! In the end, the little frog learns a spectacular reason why he should like himself for who he is!!!!
Use this to teach accepting who you are, persuasive writing, and adjectives!
Use this to teach accepting who you are, persuasive writing, and adjectives!
Science Lessons
This cautionary tale maintains that "in the bare bones beginning, Armadillo's ears were as tall as a jackrabbit's." Any time one prairie animal confides in another, Armadillo's burro-like listening devices can be seen protruding from a bush or desert rock, vibrating as they collect secret information. With an evident gleam in his squinty eyes, Armadillo then passes the hurtful news along. He doesn't desist until he tattles on Alligator, who "nipped and snipped and clipped at Armadillo's ears until there was nothing left but tiny, teeny, itsy, weenie little ears."
Discover some of nature's most unlikely--but valuable--friendships!
Sometimes two are better than one--that's a matter of fact, even when the pairing seems very odd! From sharks and cleaner fish, to zebras and birds, to plants and their pollinators, strange friendships in nature exist everywhere. With bite-sized text and quirky illustrations, this fascinating book introduces children to the weird and wonderful symbiotic relationships between animal species.
“Armadillo Tattletale” could be a great discussion starter for animal adaptions.
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It's a pleasant day for Furley the monkey until someone flings dung at him! Nobody is around to confess, so Furley goes on an investigation. "Who flung dung?!" Furley demands of Elephant and Rhinoceros. They deny everything, offended that Furley would think them capable of dung-flinging. Python and Crocodile didn't fling the dung, and neither did Lion or Vulture! So who was it? As Furley becomes more and more frustrated, readers will giggle more and more loudly. But even though he's frustrated, Furley's not going to give up. He's on a mission to find that dung-flinging culprit!
It's monsoon season in Bangladesh, which means Iqbal's mother must cook the family's meals indoors, over an open fire. The smoke from the fire makes breathing difficult for his mother and baby sister, and it's even making them sick. Hearing them coughing at night worries Iqbal. So when he learns that his school's upcoming science fair has the theme of sustainability, Iqbal comes up with the perfect idea for his entry: he'll design a stove that doesn't produce smoke! With help from his teacher, Iqbal learns all about solar energy cooking, which uses heat from the sun to cook --- ingenious! Has Iqbal found a way to win first prize in the science fair while providing cleaner air and better health for his family at the same time?
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One small boy has a special gift—he can weave cloth from the clouds: gold in the early morning with the rising sun, white in the afternoon, and crimson in the evening. He spins just enough cloth for a warm scarf. But when the king sees the boy's magnificent cloth, he demands cloaks and gowns galore. "It would not be wise," the boy protests. "Your majesty does not need them!" But spin he must—and soon the world around him begins to change....
Who's lurking in the foggy forest? Look through the trees and guess the shapes to find out! What can that be in the foggy, foggy forest? Whether it's a fairy queen on a trampoline, three brown bears on picnic chairs, or an ogre doing yoga, children will love trying to guess what each foggy silhouette will be. Take a trip through the mysterious misty landscape - hilarious fairytale fun lies around every corner.
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Foggy Foggy Forest is excellent for teaching about shadows and rhyme.