Chapter Book # 11

Title:  Who Was Abraham Lincoln?

Author:  Janet Pascal

Illustrator:  Nancy Harrison, John O'Brien

Readability Scores:  Interest Level-3, Grade Level Equivalent-3.9, Lexile-720L

Genre:  Nonfiction

Subgenre:  Biography

Theme:  Civil War, presidency

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Abraham Lincoln and his family, political adversaries

Awards:

Date of Publication:  2008

Publishing Company:  Grosset & Dunlap

ISBN Number:  9780448448862

Summary:  This is a nonfiction book describing Lincoln's life from the beginning as a farmer's son through his presidency. The book contains multiple illustrations and maps along with quality text.

Applications for teaching:  Wonderful nonfiction book to use when teaching about the presidents or the Civil War. The maps and illustrations will enable struggling readers to get a better mental image of the text being taught.

Chapter Book # 10

Title:  The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Author:  Clayborne Carson

Illustrator:

Readability Scores:  Interest Level-9, Grade Level Equivalent-8.3, Lexile-1300

Genre:  Nonfiction

Subgenre:  Biography

Theme:  Civil Rights

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Martin Luther King, Jr., other King family members, Civil Rights activists

Awards:

Date of Publication:  2001

Publishing Company:  Grand Central Publishing

ISBN Number:  0446676500

Summary:  This is a biography focusing on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. The author uses material from his books, essays, articles, personal letters, and speeches to provide information about King's beliefs and convictions.

Applications for teaching:  This is an excellent nonfiction book to use when teaching about the Civil Rights movement and especially the impact Martin Luther King, Jr. had on this movement.

Chapter Book # 9

Title:  Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Author:  Russell Freedman

Illustrator: 

Readability Scores:  Interest Level-6, Grade Level Equivalent-8.6, Lexile-1110, DRA-70, Guided Reading-Z

Genre:  Nonfiction

Subgenre:  Informational

Theme:  Civil Rights

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Rosa Parks, various Civil Rights activists

Awards:

Date of Publication:  2008

Publishing Company:  Holiday House

ISBN Number:  9780823421954

Summary:  The nonfiction books tells the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that was set into motion when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in 1955. The bus boycott lasted for a year. This book tells stories of everyday citizens and how they participated in the boycott or how they were affected by the boycott.

Applications for teaching:  This is a wonderful book to use when teaching about the Civil Rights movement. Excellent nonfiction, expository text.

Chapter Book # 8

Title:  Sounder

Author:  William H. Armstrong

Illustrator:

Readability Scores:  Interest Level-6, Grade Level Equivalent-4.9, Lexile-900L, DRA-50, Guided Reading-T

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Subgenre:  Animal stories

Theme:  Adolescence, poverty

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Sounder the dog, a boy and his father

Awards:  Newbery Medal winner

Date of Publication:  1969

Publishing Company:  Harper Trophy

ISBN Number:  9780064400206

Summary:  This is the story of a poor black sharecropper and his dog Sounder. They coon hunt each night, but they are unsuccessful. The family is living on biscuits and gravy. The father brings home some meat, but the next morning he is arrested for stealing it and Sounder gets shot. The dog runs off. The boy finds his ear and keeps it hoping the dog will return. The boy searches for his father on inmate work groups and befriends a teacher who offers to take him in and teach him how to read. He accepts and learns to read. Later the father is released from jail, but he has been injured. He is reunited with Sounder because the dog did return and they go hunting together. The dog returns without the father and the boy finds him dead. The dog then dies under the front porch.

Applications for teaching:  This is a wonderful story about growing up and enduring hardships. The boy learns to read and becomes a better stronger person. I would use this book during read aloud time with my class.

Chapter Book # 7

Title:  Where the Sidewalk Ends

Author:  Shel Silverstein

Illustrator:  Shel Silverstein

Readability Scores:  Interest Level-3, Grade Level Equivalent-3.9

Genre:  Poetry

Subgenre:  Comedy, humor

Theme:  Cleverness, creativity

Primary and Secondary Characters:  No named characters, several characters drawn and described within poetry

Awards: 

Date of Publication:  1974

Publishing Company:  Harper Collins

ISBN Number:  9780060586539

Summary:  This is a collection of poems written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. The poems are targeted for children and are humorous in nature.

Applications for teaching:  Good book to use when teaching poetry. This book will provide students with multiple examples of poetry as well as entertain them.

Chapter Book # 6

Title:  Redwall

Author:  Brian Jacques

Illustrator:  Troy Howell

Readability Scores:  Interest Level-6, Grade Level Equivalent-7.8, Lexile-800L, DRA-30-34

Genre:  Fantasy

Subgenre:  Adventure

Theme:  war, conflict, courage

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Matthias, Cluny

Awards:

Date of Publication:  1986

Publishing Company:  Penguin Group

ISBN Number:  9780441005482

Summary:  This is a story about courage and heroism. The hero of the story is a young mouse named Matthias. He is searching for the sword of Martin the Warrior. This is a legendary sword that he believes will help him fight off the evil rat named Cluny and his companions. The story is set in a place called Mossflower and there is an abbey named Redwall Abbey where the mice live. The mice are celebrating a peaceful year full of good tidings until they hear the rumor that Cluny is coming and he plans to conquer Redwall Abbey. Matthias vows to find the sword and save the abbey. This is the first book in a series.

Applications for teaching:  This would be a good book to plan a themed unit around. Younger students would be interested in a story where the animals talk. This is a good fantasy that would entertain students and pull reluctant readers into the story.

Chapter Book # 5

Title:  Little Women

Author:  Louisa May Alcott

Illustrator:

Readability Scores:  Interest Level-9, Grade Level Equivalent-7.9, Lexile-1300, DRA-70, Guided Reading-Z

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Subgenre:  Classics

Theme:  Civil War

Primary and Secondary Characters:  March family- sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, Marmee March

Awards: 

Date of Publication:  This edition was published in 2010

Publishing Company:  Harper Press

ISBN Number:  9780007350995

Summary:  This book is set in New England during the Civil War. The story surrounds the March family. Mr. March is away at the war serving as a Union chaplain. The March sisters are Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. Marmee is their mother. The book is divided into two parts. During the first part, the character of Laurie is introduced when Jo meets him at a New Year's party. Marmee has to go tend to a sick Mr. March and the girls are left alone. They have many adventures. Beth almost dies after contracting Scarlett Fever from the neighbor's child. Three years pass between the two parts. In the second part Jo has a novel published. Meg has twins. Beth dies. Amy and Laurie are married, and Jo inherits Plumfield where she opens a boarding school. This is a wonderful story about family.

Applications for teaching:  This is a good book to read when studying the Civil War. This book depicts the bonds of family facing adversity, and how the family changes over time.

Chapter Book # 4

Title:  The Book Thief

Author:  Markus Zusak

Illustrator: 

Readability Scores:  Interest Level-9, Lexile-730L

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Subgenre:  Young adult

Theme:  Holocaust

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary-Liesel Meminger, Secondary-Mr. and Mrs. Hubermann, Max, Death

Awards:

Date of Publication:  2007

Publishing Company:  Knopf Publishing

ISBN Number:  9780375842207

Summary:  Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside Munich, Germany during the years leading up to World War II and during the war. She lives with her foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hubermann. She begins stealing books at her brother's funeral. She does not know how to read until Hans Hubermann teaches her a little each night when she wakes from nightmares. She steals more books and reads them with her foster dad as well. Max comes to live in her basement during the height of the war, and they begin to read the books together as well. This story is told by death as he observes the events unfolding in Liesel's life. He travels along with her as he collects the souls of the departed.

Applications for teaching:  This book could be used as an excellent resource when teaching the Holocaust. It provides students with a unique view of the events surrounding this time in history since it is told by death.

Picture Book # 11

Title:  The Polar Express

Author:  Chris Van Allsburg

Illustrator:  Chris Van Allsburg

Readability Scores:  Interest Level=K-2, Grade Level Equivalent=4.9, Lexile=520L, DRA=30, Guided Reading=N

Genre:  Fiction

Subgenre:  Classics, adventure

Theme:  Winter, Christmas, imagination

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=the little boy who boards the train, Secondary=other children, conductor, Santa Claus, Sarah

Awards:  Caldecott Medal winner

Date of Publication:  1985

Publishing Company:  Houghton Mifflin Company

ISBN Number:  0395389496

Summary:  The little boy wanted to hear the bells on Santa's sleigh, but instead what he heard one Christmas Eve night was a train. He looked out his window and saw a train in his front yard. He went out and the conductor told him it was the Polar Express going to the North Pole. The little boy joined the other children on the train as they traveled to the North Pole. Once they arrived, they saw elves and Santa's sleigh and reindeer. Then Santa appeared and he picked the little boy to give him the first gift of Christmas. The boy wanted one of the silver bells from the reindeer harness. He was given it and then Santa was gone to deliver toys to the rest of the world. Once he was back on the train, the little boy realized that the bell had fallen through a hole in his pocket. He thought it was lost, but then Christmas morning it was wrapped and under the tree from Mr. C. He was always able to hear the bell even though his friends and his sister stopped hearing the bell when they stopped believing.

Applications for Teaching:  This book is filled with excellent examples of figurative language. Students could read this book and be instructed to write down the different parts of speech they find. There are also several vocabulary words that could be introduced and defined before reading this story.

Picture Book # 10

Title:  Officer Buckle and Gloria

Author:  Peggy Rathmann

Illustrator:  Peggy Rathmann

Readability Scores:  Interest Level=K-2, Grade Level Equivalent=2.5, Lexile=510L, DRA=16, Guided Reading=J

Genre:  Fiction

Subgenre:  Comedy, humor

Theme:  Jobs, careers, companionship

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=Officer Buckle and Gloria, Secondary=Mrs. Toppel, Claire

Awards:  Caldecott Medal winner

Date of Publication:  1995

Publishing Company:  G.P. Putnam's Sons

ISBN Number:  9780399226168

Summary:  Officer Buckle is always writing down safety tips and sharing them with the students at Napville school. His speeches are usually very boring, and the students don't pay attention. Then one day he gets a police dog named Gloria. He takes Gloria with him to the school. This time when he gives his speech, Gloria does tricks and the students pay attention and cheer. Officer Buckle starts getting more requests for his speech. One day he sees his speech broadcast on the news and realizes that the students are cheering for Gloria. He decides to not do anymore speeches. Gloria goes to the school alone, but she does not do any tricks without Officer Buckle. They realize that they are much better as partners instead of being alone. They start doing speeches together again.

Applications for Teaching:  This is a good book to use when discussing jobs, friendship, companionship, and safety. The students could write down some safety tips they know and share them with the class or the whole school. They could also write a short story about their favorite pet describing what made them special.

Picture Book # 9

Title:  Before John Was a Jazz Giant

Author:  Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator:  Sean Qualls

Readability Scores:  Interest Level=K-2, (other scores not available)

Genre:  Biography

Subgenre:  Autobiography

Theme:  Music

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=John Coltrane, Secondary=John's family members

Awards:  Coretta Scott King Honor Book

Date of Publication:  2008

Publishing Company:  Henry Holt & Company

ISBN Number:  9780805079949

Summary:  This book portrays John Coltrane as a young child. It talks about all the things John hears and how he turns those sounds into music when he starts playing his saxophone. The book repeats the title several times, reiterating that this was all the sounds he was exposed to as a child that had a musical rhythm to them for him.

Applications for Teaching:  This is a simple book that can be used to introduce the genre of biography. It could also be read and discussed in terms of how every sound around us could be thought of as music.

Picture Book # 8

Title:  The Little House

Author:  Virginia Lee Burton

Illustrator:  Virginia Lee Burton

Readability Scores:  Interest Level=K-2, Grade Level Equivalent=3.8, Lexile=890L, DRA=28, Guided Reading=L

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Subgenre:  Classics

Theme:  Communities, way of life, changes

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=little house, Secondary=family members who built the house, great-great granddaughter

Awards:  1943 Caldecott Medal winner

Date of Publication:  1942

Publishing Company:  Houghton Mifflin Company

ISBN Number:  9780395259382

Summary:  The story is being told by a narrator through the perspective of the house. It begins in the past when the house is built. The house watches as the seasons pass and the surroundings around the house change with time. The community goes from being a very rural community to being a busy city. The house suffers from neglect until the great-great granddaughter of the builder sees it and moves it back out to the country to live in.

Applications for Teaching:  This is an excellent book to demonstrate to students how communities can change over time. After reading this book, the teacher could show students pictures of their own community from the past and talk about how things have changed.

Picture Book # 7

Title:  Tops & Bottoms

Author:  Janet Stevens

Illustrator:  Janet Stevens

Readability Scores:  Interest Level=K-2, Grade Level Equivalent=3.8, Lexile=580L, DRA=20, Guided Reading=L

Genre:  Fables

Subgenre:  Fiction, folk tales

Theme:  Conflict resolution

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=Hare and Bear, Secondary=Hare's family

Awards:  Caldecott Medal Honor Book

Date of Publication:  1995

Publishing Company:  Harcourt Books

ISBN Number:  9780152928513

Summary:  Hare had a large family to feed and he was out of money. Bear was very lazy, but he had a large farm that he would not plant and tend to. Hare decides to work with Bear. First he offers to do all the work and they will split the crops. Hare will get bottoms and Bear will get tops. Hare plants carrots, radishes, etc. Bear decides he wants tops next time, and Hare plants cabbage, broccoli, etc. Bear decides that he wants tops and bottoms, and Hare plants corn and takes the middle. Bear decides he has had enough and he is no longer lazy. He plants his own crops from then on, and Hare has successfully fed his family.

Applications for Teaching:  This book contains bright vivid illustrations that would engage younger readers. The rabbit is very clever and outsmarts the bear three different times. Students could work in pairs or groups to come up with different crops or ways the rabbit could continue to trick the bear or ways the bear could outsmart the rabbit. How could the two animals work together without anyone being tricked?

Picture Book # 6

Title:  Where The Wild Things Are

Author:  Maurice Sendak

Illustrator:  Maurice Sendak

Readability Scores:  Interest Level=PreK-3, Grade Level Equivalent=4.4, Lexile=740L, DRA=16, Guided Reading=J

Genre:  Fiction, classics

Subgenre:  Fantasy, bedtime stories

Theme:  Cleverness, creativity and imagination

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=Max, Secondary=the wild things

Awards:  Caldecott Medal winner

Date of Publication:  1963

Publishing Company:  Harper Collins

ISBN Number:  9780064431781

Summary:  Max was acting wild one night while wearing his wolf suit. He was sent to bed without supper. Once inside his room, it began to transform into a forest. Max walked through the forest and sailed the ocean. He landed on the place where the wild things lived. He showed them a magic trick and became the king of all the wild things. Together they had a wild time, but Max crossed the ocean and walked through the forest to go back to his room. When he arrived, his supper was waiting on him.

Applications for Teaching:  This book shows children how to use their imagination. Teachers could read it to students and then have students write their own stories of what they would turn their bedrooms into and who they would meet in this new environment.

Chapter Book # 3

Title:  Into The Volcano

Author:  Don Wood

Illustrator:  Don Wood

Readability Scores:  Interest Level=3-5, Grade Level Equivalent=2.6, Lexile=240L

Genre:  Adventure fiction

Subgenre:  Graphic novel, fantasy

Theme:  Courage, siblings, growing up

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=Sumo and Duffy, Secondary=Mister Come-And-Go, Auntie, Paulina

Awards:

Date of Publication:  2008

Publishing Company:  Blue Sky Press

ISBN Number:  9780439726740

Summary:  Sumo and Duffy are two very different brothers. Duffy is adventurous and Sumo is not. They are sent to a remote island nation to stay with an aunt they have never met while their father is away on business and their mother is working on research. She studies volcanoes. Once they get to the island, they begin to think that something unusual is going on. They are not allowed to call their dad, and they learn that they are leaving on an expedition into an erupting volcano. Once inside the volcano, Duffy and Sumo make a run for it and find themselves alone and injured inside an erupting volcano. They find their mother also in the volcano, and she explains that she has been looking for a treasure produced by the lava of the volcano. Together they make it out of the volcano, and they boys learn that their aunt was only trying to help their mother.

Applications for Teaching:  This is a graphic novel so it may appeal to students who do not enjoy reading regular print texts. The illustrations make the story come alive. This is a very adventurous novel that will engage readers. There are several scientific terms related to volcanoes used within the text. This could be an easy read to accompany a science unit on volcanoes.

Chapter Book # 2

Title:  Bud, Not Buddy

Author:  Christopher Paul Curtis

Illustrator:  Cover by Barry David Marcus

Readability Score:  Interest level=5, Grade Level Equivalent=5.2, Lexile=950L, DRA=50, Guided Reading=T

Genre:  Fiction

Subgenre:  Historical Fiction

Theme:  Music, runaways, the Great Depression

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=Bud, Secondary=Herman E. Calloway, members of the jazz band, people Bud meets on the road

Awards:  Newbery Medal winner, Coretta Scott King winner

Date of Publication:  1999

Publishing Company:  Random House Publishing

ISBN Number:  0553494104

Summary:  Bud has been without his mom for four years when he decides he has had enough. He leaves the limited security offered at the Home for orphaned boys and decides it is time to find his father. His mother died when he was six years old, and she left behind clues. These clues include rocks with writing on them and several ads  for a musician named Herman E. Calloway and his band. Bud decides that this man must be his father and he travels to Grand Rapids, Michigan in order to find him. Along the way, Bud meets several people and finally ends up with Herman E. Calloway and his band. They take him in even though Herman does not believe that he is his father. All the pieces of the puzzle slowly come together when Bud sees rocks that have writing on them in Herman's car. After questioning Bud about the rocks that he has been carrying with him that are similar to Herman's, they realize that Bud is Herman's grandson. The band presents Bud with his own band name as well as a saxophone, and he finally feels like he is home.

Applications for Teaching:  This would be a good book to accompany lessons on the Great Depression as well as the history of jazz music in the early nineteen hundreds. Once Bud starts living with the band, the author introduces elements such as figurative language and onimonipea to his writing. Mature themes such as running away, foster care, and death are addressed within this story.

Chapter Book # 1

Title:  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Author:  Mildred D. Taylor

Illustrator:  Cover by Jerry Pinkney

Readability Scores:  Interest level=4-6, Grade Level Equivalent=6.9, DRA=60, Lexile=920L, Guided Reading=W

Genre:  Fiction

Subgenre:  Historical fiction, classics

Theme:  Equality, civil rights

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=Cassie, Stacey, Little Man, Christopher John, Secondary=T.J., Papa, Mama, Big Ma, Jeremy

Awards:  1977 Newbery Medal winner, winner of the Pacific Norwest Young Readers Award

Date of Publication:  1976

Publishing Company:  Novel Units Inc.

ISBN Number:  9781561375257

Summary:  This book is set in rural Mississippi in the early 1930s. The central characters are all members of the Logan family. They are lucky because they own farming land instead of sharecropping like their neighbors. This also leads to several struggles as the family tries to pay the mortgage and taxes each year. The Granger family wants the land back since it originally belonged to them prior to the Civil War. Mr. Granger tries to buy the land, but the Logan family knows its all they have. Cassie and Stacey are the two oldest of the Logan children, and they are faced with struggles as they learn that civil rights does not exist in rural Mississippi. This is a dramatic coming of age story, in which the primary characters struggle with the unfairness of racial inequality. They are faced with the cruelty of the time when they see neighbors burned and friends beaten. Through each struggle, they are taught the importance of family and what it means to own their own land. A fire threatens to destroy the cotton crop, and the Logan children finally understand what Papa, Mama, and Big Ma have been trying to teach them about life and equality.

Applications for Teaching:  This is a wonderful book to accompany lessons on the events leading up to the Civil Rights Movement as well as lessons discussing the inequalities faced by African American families living in the South following the Reconstruction. This book would be best suited for middle school students due to the violence and mature themes it contains.

Picture Book #5

Title:  Beyond The Great Mountains

Author:  Ed Young

Illustrator:  Ed Young

Readability Score:  Interest level=k-2, Grade Level Equivalent=2.6

Genre:  Poetry

Subgenre: General Fiction

Theme:  China's landscape

Primary and Secondary Characters:  No characters only narrator's description of China

Awards:

Date of Publication:  August 25, 2005

Publishing Company:  Chronicle Books

ISBN Number:  0811843432

Summary:  This book contains a single line of prose on each page accompanied by a striking visual image of the artist's interpretation of what China looks like to him. The pages also contain different Chinese symbols for some of the words that are contained within the prose.

Applications for Teaching:  This would be a great book to show students an example of a different type of poetry. This would also be a wonderful multicultural book to use to introduce students to the Chinese culture, especially since it contains some of the Chinese symbols for words contained within the prose.

Picture Book # 4

Title:  The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Author:  Eric Carle

Illustrator:  Eric Carle

Readability Score:  Interest level=k-2, Grade level equivalent=2.6, DRA=16, Lexile=460L, Guided reading=J

Genre:  Fiction

Subgenre:  Classics, animals

Theme:  Days of the week, counting, metamorphosis

Primary and Secondary Characters:  The little hungry caterpillar is the only character

Awards:

Date of Publication:  First published in 1969, latest edition Sept. 18, 2008

Publishing Company:  Philomel

ISBN Number:  9780399250453

Summary:  This books goes through a week in the life of a very hungry caterpillar. It starts with the egg hatching, and describes what the caterpillar is eating each day of the week. At the end of the week, the caterpillar makes a cocoon and emerges as a beautiful butterfly.

Applications for Teaching:  This book could be used to discuss several educational items. The days of the week are listed, counting and numbers could be discussed, and of course a discussion regarding the life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly could be a key point. This book uses vivid drawings that will grab the attention of younger students.

Picture Book #3

Title:  Into the Forest

Author:  Anthony Browne

Illustrator:  Anthony Browne

Readability Scores:  Grade level equivalent=2.1, Lexile=430L, DRA=28, Guided reading=L, Interest level=k-2

Genre:  Fiction

Subgenre:  Fairy tale

Theme:  Animals, character and value

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=young boy, Secondary=mother, father, grandmother, fairy tale characters

Awards:

Date of Publication:  September 5, 2005

Publishing Company:  Walker Children's Books

ISBN Number:  9781844285594

Summary:  This book is based on the tale of "Little Red Riding Hood". A young boy has to take his sick grandmother a cake, and he decides to take a shortcut through the woods even though his mother warned him against it. He wants to hurry home in case his dad returns because he did not come home last night. Once in the woods, he meets several fairy tale characters. He gets to grandma's house safely and discovers his father stayed the night here.

Application for Teaching:  This book could be used to illustrate how authors can take original stories and make them their own. The different fairy tale characters could be discussed in relation to the story in which they belong. The illustrations are very unique in that they are mostly gray and the color that has been added is strategic. Excellent book to discuss emotions such as fear, worry, and anticipation.

Picture Book #2

Title:  Spiders

Author:  Nic Bishop

Illustrator:  Nic Bishop (photographer)

Readability Scores:  Interest level= k-3, Grade level equivalent=4.7, Lexile=1050L

Genre:  Nonfiction

Subgenre:  Informational

Theme:  Early Science, spiders

Primary and Secondary Characters:  No characters, information about different types of spiders

Awards:  2008 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

Date of Publication:  September 1, 2007

Publishing Company:  Scholastic Nonfiction

ISBN Number:  9780439877565

Summary:  This book is a nonfiction informational book. It contains several high-quality photographs of various species of spiders along with basic information about each type of spider. Facts given are short and concise, and the photographs of the spiders provide readers with an up close and personal view.

Applications for Teaching:  This book is an excellent nonfiction book that could be used to enhance student learning in the science classroom. It could also be used as a paired reading with Charlotte's Web. This would provide students with factual background information regarding  spiders as they read about Charlottte.

Picture Book #1

Title:  Interrupting Chicken

Author:  David Ezra Stein

Illustrator:  David Ezra Stein

Readability Scores:  Interest Level=k-2, Grade level equivalent=2.2, Lexile=300L, DRA=20, Guided reading=L

Genre:  Fiction

Subgenre:  Bedtime story

Theme:  Storytelling, bedtime, fairy tales

Primary and Secondary Characters:  Primary=Little red chicken, papa, Secondary=fairy tale characters

Awards:  2011 Caldecott Honor Book

Publication Date:  2010

Publishing Compancy:  Candlewick Press

ISBN number:  9780763641689

Summary:  It is bedtime for Little red chicken, and as Papa starts reading a story he encounters a problem. Little red chicken keeps interrupting each fairy tale story by putting herself into the story and finishing with the Little red chicken saving the day. After a few attempts, Papa runs out of stories. He asks Little red chicken to write him a story, and when she starts reading her story to Papa, she puts him to sleep. The story ends with both chickens asleep.

Applications for teaching:  This book could be used to introduce fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel, Chicken Little, and Little Red Riding Hood because they are the stories Papa is trying to read. This book could also be used as a pre-writing activity. The story Little red chicken writes is shown within the book. This would be a wonderful book to read prior to having students write their own bedtime story.