Three pigs

Wiesner, D. (2001). The three pigs. New York, NY: Clarion.

This story of The Three Pigs adds an unexpected twist to the traditional story we all know.  The little pigs escape the wolf and find some new friends along the way.  At the end of the story, they all return to the brick house. The illustrator’s interesting artistic style gives the characters a sort of 3D look, as they appear to come out of the pages.  There was also a change in the color of the illustrations as they turn from color to pencil sketch to color again.

Watch the book trailer for The Three Pigs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U41VWexL6gE&feature=player_embedded

It's a book

Smith, L. (2011).  It's a book.  NY: Roaring Brook.


Here we have a cute story that reflects in a funny way the common use of technology.  While the monkey in the story is reading a book, the jackass who is used to his computer does not understand what thebook is and its simple use. When he finally takes a look at the book, he is hooked and won't return it to the monkey.  The whole composition of the book is clean and simple.  The illustrator uses a light color pallette for his simple but enjoyable art. 
This is a great book to discuss with students the importance of integrating both technology and books into learning!

As an extension activity, allow students to illustrate a bookcover for their favorite story book.

Spiders

Bishop,N. (2007). Spiders. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Spiders is an informational book that brings us up close to the world of spiders. We learn about their body composition, its food, its ability to make webs, amongst many other things.  In his book, Bishop brings us close up photos of a variety of spiders that will appeal to both children and adults.  In the bottom corners of each page he offers a short description of what we see in the photos.  In addition, an index is included for quick reference to key words. Last, but not least, he offers a glossary of important words!

As a follow up activity, students can create a poster where they list interesting facts about what they learned.  They'll enjoy adding their own illustrations!

Good Masters, Sweet Ladies

Schlitz, L.A. (2007). Good masters, sweet ladies. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Good Masters, Sweet Ladies is a collection of short plays. Each play tells the story of a person's life in the Middle Ages. Through each character, the reader learns about the many different traits that existed during this period of time. We learn of the difficulties of the poor, pilgrimages, and even the life of the wealthy. In her book, Schiltz also includes side notes to help readers better understand each play. Robert Byrd, uses ink and bright watercolors in his illustrations to enhance every story. The book includes a Table of Contents and a Bibliographical Reference.
If you enjoyed reading this book by Laura Amy Schlitz, you might also like her book, A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama.

A Big Man Took My Ball

Willems, M. (2013). A big guy took my ball>. New York, NY:Hyperion Books for Children.

Piggie is devastated because a big guy took a ball away from him. He comes to Gerald, the elephant, to tell him what had happened. Immediately Gerald goes to try to get Piggie's ball back, but realizes that the one who took the ball is a giant whale. It turns out that the ball actually belonged to the lonely whale. In the end, the three find a way for all of them to have fun. Young readers will love to see the talking elephant, pig, and a whale in this story. In his book, Willems uses simple illustrations for early readers to enjoy. He uses shades of blue and pink to color his pencil drawn characters. The large font make the text easy to read.

If you liked A Big Guy took my Ball, you're sure to enjoy Mo Willem's collection of early readers.  Here is a short list of more Gerald and Piggie books. Today I will Fly! I am Invited to a Party! I Love my New toy! Pigs Make me Sneeze!

We are the Ship

Aaron, H. (2008). We are the ship the story of Negro League Basebal. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.


This story is told by the point of view of members of the Negro League of Baseball. It tells about the struggles African Americans faced for doing what they loved in a time of segregation and racial discrimination. Through their hard work and perseverance these baseball players were able to overcome the limits that had been set before them. After the signing of Jackie Robinson, the doors were opened to African Americans in the major leagues bringing an end to the Negro Leagues.  The book is organized in sections referred to as "Innings" instead of chapters.   An index is also provided to make the finding of certain topics fast and easy. Through his book, Kadir Nelson, uses oil painting based on actual photographs during these historical events. These help the reader by giving faces to some of the players as they learn about them in the story.

  As an extension to the reading of this book, students can do a research project on a player that they learned about in this story. Students can do their research and present their work on a poster board or even a PowerPoint presentation.

Magic windows

Garza, C. L. (1999). Magic windows. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press.

In Magic window, the author Carmen Lomas Garza, gives us insight to her culture and traditions.  She uses a collection of paper cutouts as the illustrations, and gives a brief description of each.  We learn of her family, foods, and celebrations from Mexico and the ancient Aztecs.  Even more, the book is English and Spanish!

Learn how to make your own cut-paper art with:  Making Magic Windows: Creating Papel Picado/Cut-Paper Art with Carmen Lomas Garza