Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life

Graphic Novel


This first book in the widely popular Dork Diaries series brings humor and fun to its reader.  Eighth grader Nikki Maxwell is starting this school year at her new private school, Westchester Country Day.  Nikki tells ALL in her diary filled with stories about her new school, new crush, new friends, and of course the new mean girl, Mackenzie Hollister.  Anyone who loves the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series will fall in love with this very similar series, as told from the girl perspective.


Title: Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
Author: Rachel Renée Russell
Publisher/Date: Aladdin/2009
ISBN: 1416980067
Rating: 5 out of 5

Bone: Out From Boneville

Graphic Novel


Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone are three cousins who just got themselves throw into one great adventure.  Once they are separated and lost in a desert, these Bone cousins find themselves each stumbling across a forested valley with interesting new inhabitants.  Bone takes its reader to an unexplored outside world filled with new wonders and excitement!  This first book in a great quality graphic novel series captures the attention of all its readers and opens their mind up to so much imagination.

Title: Bone: Out From Boneville
Author: Jeff Smith
Publisher/Date: Scholastic, Inc./1993
ISBN: 0439706408
Rating: 5 out of 5

Smile

Graphic Novel

Smile is a great graphic novel that tells the story of a sixth grader who has an awfully embarrassing fall, which turns into an even more embarrassing journey with braces.  Author Raina Telgemeier writes about her own experiences with braces, boys, headgear, and "friends" in those awkward middle school years.  Smile is very popular with children in grades four and up, because of its highly relatable content and the humorous twist Telgemeier puts on her own childhood.

Title: Smile
Author: Raina Telgemeier
Publisher/Date: GRAPHIX/2010
ISBN: 0545132053
Rating: 5 out of 5

Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: A Collection of Family Poems

Poetry


Mary Ann Hoberman writes this collection of poems to celebrate family, no matter how big or how small!  This book is great for children's poetry, but also for talking to young children about brothers, sisters, adopted children, grandparents, only children, and so many others.  These poems are great for in the classroom, as well as at home with a parent or other member of your family.  Children love to hear stories they can relate to, which is exactly what these collections of poems are.  Whether the child is an only or one of ten, they can relate to these great family-centered poems.


Title: Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: A Collection of Family Poems
Author: Mary Ann Hoberman
Illustrator: Marylin Hafner
Publisher/Date: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/1991
ISBN: 0316362514
Rating: 5 out of 5

The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems

Poetry

The Llama Who Had No Pajama is a hilarious and fun book of poems for children of all ages.  This collection of poems focuses on childhood experiences such as birthdays and ice skating, and also includes stories of many different animals!  Mary Ann Hoberman also includes poems that relate to many content areas such as time, comparisons, and opposites.  This great book can be used to talk about poetry, as well as introduce and incorporate different content areas into the everyday reading of children.

Title: The Llama Who Had No Pajama
Author: Mary Ann Hoberman
Illustrator: Betty Fraser
Publisher/Date: HMH Books for Young Readers/1998
ISBN: 0152055711
Rating: 5 out of 5

Love That Dog

Poetry

Love That Dog is a book written through the perspective of a boy, Jack, who writes this book to tell about his dog, Sky.  Love That Dog comes to life through the short verses of collective poems written by Jack as he goes through his school year.  While the book also incorporates poems from famous poets, it is a great combination of Sharon Creech's story and famous poems that can spark a child's mind.

Title: Love That Dog
Author: Sharon Creech
Publisher/Date: HarperCollins Publishers/2003
ISBN: 9780064409599
Rating: 5 out of 5

Smoky Night

 
Historical Fiction

The Los Angeles riots are depicted in this children's book by Eve Bunting.  Smoky Night is told from the perspective of a young boy living with his mother during these riots.  One night, their apartment building catches on fire and they are all forced out of their homes and into a shelter.  Eve Bunting captures what riots may be like for children, while bringing very serious, yet inspiring, historical accounts to readers of all ages.



Title: Smoky Night
Author/Illustrator: Eve Bunting/David Diaz
Publisher/Date: Harcourt Brace & Company/1994
ISBN: 0-15-269954-6
Rating: 5 out of 5

Train to Somewhere

Historical Fiction


This book by Eve Bunting follows 14 orphans traveling to the West by train in 1878.  During this time, thousands of orphans were sent from New York to small towns and farms in the Midwest.  Train to Somewhere brings the reader many different emotions while reading this incredibly sad, yet hopeful account of what being an orphan on one of these trains may have been like.



Title: Train to Somewhere
Author/Illustrator: Eve Bunting/Ronald Himler
Publisher/Date: Clarion Books/1996
ISBN: 0-395-71325-0
Rating: 5 out of 5

The Blessing Cup

Historical Fiction

The Blessing Cup follows a Jewish family in Russia during the war.  When the family is forced out of their own country, they rely on the help of others, specifically Uncle Genya.  This beautiful story of author Patricia Polacco's ancestors gives the reader an idea of what it was like for Jews in Russia as the war was starting.  I rated this book a 5 out of 5 because of its unique illustrations, touching story, and the amount of historic and cultural information it shares with its reader.



Title: The Blessing Cup
Author: Patricia Polacco
Publisher/Date: Simon & Schuster/2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-5047-9
Rating: 5 out of 5

Cars and How They Go

Informational Texts

This book describes, for children, how cars work and their different parts.  Using child-friendly language, Joanna Cole writes a very informative and engaging book about cars.  Although the illustrations are very bright and appealing, I do believe it may have been beneficial to students to include real-life pictures of parts of cars.  

Title: Cars and How They Go
Author: Joanna Cole
Publisher/Date: Trophy Pr/1986
ISBN: 0064460525
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Vegetables We Eat

Informational Texts

Gail Gibbons writes a great book to teach children about vegetables and how we get them from the farms.  In this book students will learn what types of vegetables we eat, where they come from, how we get them, and how to grow your own vegetables at home!  The book features very nicely drawn, life-like illustrations that compliment the text.

Title: The Vegetables We Eat
Author: Gail Gibbons
Publisher/Date: Holiday House/2007
ISBN: 0-8234-2001-9
Rating: 5 out of 5

Danger! Volcanoes

Informational Texts

Danger! Volcanoes informs students of what volcanoes are, why they erupt, different types, and some effects of their eruptions.  This informational text by Seymour Simon gives students a fun and exciting way to learn about volcanoes while reading.  The pictures in this book are very realistic and informative for students.

Title: Danger! Volcanoes
Author: Seymour Simon
Publisher/Date: Scholastic Inc./2002
ISBN: 0439467829
Rating: 5 out of 5