Sharing the Seasons: A Book of Poems Written by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Illustrated by David Diaz

Sharing the Seasons: A Book of Poems 

Written by: Lee Bennett Hopkins, Illustrated by: David Diaz

Grades: 3-7

Awards: California Collections

Young Hoosier Book Award Master List (IN)

This book of poems has 12 for each of the four seasons. The colors are bright and very beautiful. The poems are a mix of different varieties and styles. Other authors have also contributed to this book. It would be great to own and keep in the classroom. It can be used not only for the seasons, but compare and contrast. The poems could also be read to the students while they draw pictures of what the poem is saying about the season. 

Children Make Terrible Pets (Starring Lucille Beatrice Bear) Written and Illustrated by Peter Brown

Children Make Terrible Pets
Written and Illustrated by: Peter Brown
Grades: PreK-3
Awards:
Irma Black Award Nominee (2011), 
NAIBA Book of the Year for Picture Book (2011), 
Cybils Award Nominee (2010), 
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Picture Book (2010)

Lucy the bear finds a boy in the forest one day. She thinks he is the cutest thing in the world and must keep him for a pet. The boy makes a squeak sound, so she names him squeaker. Lucy's mom warns her that the boy will make a terrible pet, but she lets Lucy keep him anyway. It was a really cute story and the pictures are funny. The boy eventually returns to his "habitat" and Lucy finds that he is happy there. 

This is a great book for the classroom. It can be used for any child who has wanted pets that are not your average dog or cat. It shows there is a lot more to taking care of a pet than you think. 

Shiloh written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Shiloh
Written by: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Grades: 3-7
Awards:
Newbery Medal (1992),
Texas Bluebonnet Award (1994),
Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award (1994), 
Grand Canyon Reader Award for Intermediate Book (1994), 
Nene Award (1994)
Massachusetts Children's Book Award (1994), 
Flicker Tale Children's Book Award (1994), 
Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award for Grades 6-8 (1993), 
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (1993), 
Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award for Youth (1994), 
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (1993), 
Children's Choice Book Award (1994), 
New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award (1994), 
IRA-CBC Young Adult Choice, 
IRA-CBC Teacher's Choice, 
Bluestem Book Award Nominee (2015), 
Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for Children (1994)

Marty is an 11 year old boy who finds a beagle puppy alone in the woods by his home in West Virginia. The beagle pup has been abused by Marty's rough neighbor, Judd. Marty does not want to give the puppy back to Judd, but has to do the right thing. The beagle escapes again but, this time Marty secretly keeps the puppy so Judd cannot abuse him. He names the puppy Shiloh and they quickly become best friends. 

Marty's secret is revealed when Shiloh is attacked by another dog and he needs to seek help. Judd is very upset that Marty lied about having his dog and demands that the puppy be returned to him. Marty makes a deal with Judd to exchange work for the dog. Judd agrees but, does not hold up his end of the deal. Marty is upset, but continues to work for Shiloh. Eventually, Marty does soften Judd up and gets Shiloh. 

This book can be used in the classroom to show students that lying is not a good thing even if it is for a good reason. It also shows them that perseverance does pay off in the long run. 

Gossie, Wrtten and Illustratedby Olivier Dunrea

Gossie, Written and Illustrated by Olivier Dunrea
Grades: PreK - 1st



Gossie features a little goose who loves wearing her bright red boots everywhere. One morning, they are missing. Searching everywhere, Gossie becomes increasingly distressed until she finds her boots on the feet of another, slightly smaller gosling. The last page shows the duo walking together, each wearing one red boot.

This little book shows sharing and friendship.

Amelia Bedelia and The Surprise Shower, Written by Peggy Parish Illustrated by Fritz Siebel

Amelia Bedelia and The Surprise Shower
Written by Peggy Parrish
Illustrated by Barbara Siebel Thomas 
Grades: K-3 


Amelia Bedelia will have everyone laughing out loud, until the last page.This is because Amelia takes everything literally. In this story, Miss Alma, Amelia's boss is going to have a shower at the House. So Amelia Bedelia almost crashes the party with her cousin, Alcou. She helps Alcou "prune" the hedges, ices raw fish with chocolate frosting, runs with the iron on Mrs Rogers's favorite tablecloth, and sprays all the party guests with the hose. Amelia Bedelia knows how to do one thing the right way, and that is to make chocolate cupcakes. 


This can be used in the classroom when going over idioms. Idioms are figures of speech or common expressions that can easily be misunderstood by someone who has not heard them before. Generate a list of idioms that students find in the Amelia Bedelia books. Then assign each student the task of learning a new idiom by asking a family member for a favorite idiom and what it means. 

Where the Wild Things Are, Written and Illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are
Written and Illustrated by Maurice Sendack
Grades: Pre-K to 3rd
Awards:

• Winner, 1964 Caldecott Medal
• Notable Children's Books of 1940-1970 (ALA)
• 1981 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Illustration
• 1963, 1982 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
• Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1963, 1982 (NYT)
• A Reading Rainbow Selection
• 1964 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
• Children's Books of 1981 (Library of Congress)
• 1981 Children's Books (NY Public Library)
• 100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1988 (NY Public Library)

Max is in his wolf suit and runnning around his house. His mother calls him a wild thing and sends Max to his room. Max is very mad about having to go to his room. He imagines his room turning into a fantasy world full of other wild things like himself. Max is the greatest wild thing so the monsters make him thier king. Max eventually feels lonely and wants to go back home. When he is home again he finds that everything is the same and his mom still loves him. 

In the classroom this would be a good book to read to show students that your imagination can take you anywhere. It will also show them that no matter how you act your mom still loves you. 

The illustrations in the book are great. The pictures grow as Max's imagination grows big. The pictures also go down as Max realizes he misses home.  

When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry... Written and Illustrated by Molly Bang

When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry...
Written and Illustrated by Molly Bang
Genre: Fiction, Picture Book
Grade Level: Pre-K - 3
Awards:
Caldecott Honor Book 2000
Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner 2000

Sophie is a little girl who is told to let her sister have a turn playing with a truck and a gorilla. Sophie does not want to give up her turn, so when her sister grabs her gorilla, she gets very angry. Her emotions inside are compared to a volcano about to explode. Sophie leaves her house and goes for a walk. She finds a large tree and climbs up high. While Sophie is in the tree her emotions calm down by the views around her and the quiet. After sitting awhile she climbs down and walks home. At home everything is normal.

The pictures are bold and bright in this book. It shows children that there are ways to calm down. They can go for a walk, climb a tree,  or just sit and take in the air and views around them. Thier parents will still be there when they come home. 

In the classroom this is a good book to open discussions about emotions ways to deal with them. 

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