I Love That Book! Mrs. Gibbs' Awesome Book Blog for Children

  14. Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander Alexander, K. (2017). Out of wonder: poems celebrating poets. Summerville, MA: Candlewick Press This is a collection of original poems by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth that celebrate 20 different famous poets. The book is split up into three different sections, Got Style, In Your Shoes, and Thank You, and each section begins with brief explanation about the theme of section that ties all the poems within it together. Each individual poem honors a well-known poet, sometimes with references to their work and sometimes emulating their style. The book also contains quick biographies at the back of the book for each famous poet. The chosen poets are a variety of poets from the past and present day, they have different styles, backgrounds, and cultures. I have been advised against calling a book beautiful, but there is no other way to describe this one.   The front and back cover...

  13. Comics Squad: Recess! edited by Jennifer and Matthew Holm & Jarrett Krosoczka Holm, J., Holm, M., Krosoczka, J., (eds). (2014). Comics Squad: Recess! NY: Random House. This graphic-novel anthology is a tribute to classic Sunday comics. It includes eight stories about every kid’s favorite subject—RECESS!  First is The Super-Secret Ninja Club , by Gene Luen Yang. Next is Book ‘Em Dog Man!   by Dav Pilkey.   Then there is Betty and the Perilous Pizza Day , by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.     Next is The Magic Acorn , by Ursula Vernon, Babymouse: The Quest for Recess , by Jennifer Holm & Matthew Holm, Jiminy Sprinkles in “Freeze Tag” , by Eric Wight and 300 Words by Dan Santat.   Finally, The Rainy Day Monitor , by Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman. These are fun, silly stories with lots of artwork and not as many words, good for older struggling readers. Graphic novels can be used to catch the interest of students in any classroom.   They ...

  12. Rosa by Nikki Giovanni Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa . NY: Holt. Rosa Parks was one of the most important figures in the civil rights movement. Her courage and strength were evident as she took a stand against the injustice of the separate but equal ideas that the Supreme Court had already ruled unconstitutional. The book takes a personal look at Rosa and what led to her December 1, 1955 nonviolent protest.  Rosa,  and others like Martin Luther King Jr. then takes the reader through subsequent civil rights events that helped change American History. This book is an easy to understand version of the story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.   It reads more like a story, and less like historical facts, which will attract a younger audience. The illustrations made up of paintings and collages with geometric shapes are visually pleasing. The theme of racism and segregation during the Civil Rights Movement are featured all through the book. Rosa stands up ...

  11. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw . NY: Morrow. Dear Mr. Henshaw begins with Leigh Botts writing a letter to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, as a class assignment. The author writes back and asks Leigh some questions that his mother insists he answer. As Leigh answers Mr. Henshaw, we learn about his struggles with his parents' divorce, his relationship with his father, his loneliness because of being the new kid in town, and his feelings of being just medium. Mr. Henshaw encourages Leigh to keep a diary, and the book is written in that format. Through his writing, Leigh works through some of his feeling about his parents, his dog, and his life in a new school. One of the many themes of this book is how kids deal with divorce.  In today’s world, living in a single parent family is common, but this book was written almost 40 years ago when it was still a taboo. Leigh feels isolated, being raised by a single mother and having absen...

10. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De LaPena De LaPena, M. (2015) Last stop on Market Street . NY: Putnam. This is a story about CJ.  CJ and his Nana are finished church.  They walk to the bus stop and CJ ask why they do not have a car. And why is it raining?   His Nana always has a positive reply, which sets the mood for the story.  Apparently, they are economically disadvantaged.   They board a bus to take a ride.  On the bus ride, CJ chats to Nana bout the people on the bus.  He wishes he had a devise that plays music after seeing two boys with one, and Nana replies that there is a man with a guitar sitting close.  She suggests to CJ to ask him to play a song instead.  Their bus ride ends at a Soup Kitchen in an unpleasant part of town.  At the beginning of the bus ride, CJ did not want to go help at the soup kitchen, but when he arrives, he is happy to be there.  This book has several good themes.  One theme i...

  9. Coral Reefs by Jason Chin Chin, J. (2011). Coral Reefs. NY: Roaring Brook Press. A young girl makes a trip to the library, but it is no ordinary visit!  She chooses a book about coral reefs.  As she begins to read about the ecosystem of a coral reef, the library, then the city around her, transform into an underwater coral city.  She swims through the coral city observing the plants and animals that call it home.  She learns about the many food chains that make up the food web of a coral reef. At the end of the story, the author includes a section that talks about the threat to coral reefs, the remarkable partnership between corals and algae, and other coral reef facts. This book has a dust jacket.  I was curious what was underneath it.  It is an exact copy of the front and back of the dust jacket. When I opened this book, I notices the end covers.  They look like a scientist’s drawing of sea creatures labeled with their names an...

  8. El Deafo by Cece Bell Bell, C. (2014). El Deafo. NY: Abrams This is a graphic novel memoir in which author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age.   When she begins kindergarten, she goes to a school for the deaf where everyone was like her.   The next school year she began first grade in a regular school where she is introduced to the Phonic Ear, a powerful and very awkward hearing aid. The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear her teacher better in school (including some things she was not intended to hear), but it also makes her feel awkward and isolated from her classmates. As Cece moves from grade to grade, she wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her as she is. Through her younger elementary grades, she becomes friends with several girls, but the fit is never quite right. Everything comes together for Cece in her 5 th grade year. After she opens to her classmates and one special boy, her classmates...

  7. Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, by Carmen Agra Deedy Deedy, C.A. (2007). Martina the beautiful cockroach. Peachtree Publishers This is a re-telling on a Cuban folk tale. In this story, we meet Martina, a beautiful cockroach. It was Martina’s time to begin looking for a husband.   Her family began giving her gifts.   Her grandmother gave her advice.   She told her granddaughter to spill coffee on her suitor's shoes.   How he reacts will tell her how they will react when they become angry.   She had a rooster suitor, a pig suitor, a lizard suitor, but they all became terribly angry when she spilled coffee on their shoes.   Her final suitor, a mouse named Perez, passed the coffee test.   She did not need to spill coffee on him, because he was going to spill coffee on her. I would use this story the teach about folktales.   In the definition of a folktale, it is a traditional story passed down from generation to generation.   M...

                                               6.   Crown, an Ode to the Fresh Cut, by Derrick Barnes Barnes, D. (2017). Crown: an ode to the fresh cut. Denene Millner Books, Agate Publishing. Crown is a poem describing a boy's feelings and experience while getting a haircut. He describes his experience in the barber shop and how getting a haircut will impact his life.  The illustrations are eye-catching paintings, done in oils.  It won several awards including the Newberry Honor, Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Honor, and the Ezra Jack Keats Award.  This book tells true the feelings of a young African American boy and his views on getting a haircut.  I work in a culturally diverse elementary school.  I have heard my students talk about what a big event it is to get a “fresh cut.” This book is a window in...

 The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaola DePaola, T. (1983). The legend of the bluebonnet. New York: Scholastic Inc. This is an old Comanche legend about a young girl, She-Who-Is-Alone.   She lost her family to famine and the village is raising her.   Her most prize possession is a doll.   Her parents made it for her before they died.   The shaman hears the Great Spirits say the people have been selfish.   They must make a sacrifice before the drought and famine ends.   She-Who-Is-Alone sacrifices her doll for the wellbeing of the village.   After burning it and scattering the ashes, she wakes to find bluebonnets growing where the ashes landed as a sign of forgiveness. Then the rains came to the village. The story is a legend. To be considered a legend, the story must have something important to the people of the region (rain and food).   It must have happened in the past (long ago in Texas). It must have a hero or heroine (She-Who-...

  4. We are the Ship: the story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship: the story of negro league baseball. New York: Jump at the  Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.   This is a nonfiction book about the rise of African American players in the world of baseball.   It begins in the late 1800’s and tells the stories of how African-Americans started out playing professional ball with white players.   After 1887, they were forced out of the league.   They began forming their own professional leagues in the early 1900’s.   The story continues with the development of the Negro League in the 1920’s and goes through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. These players were gifted athletes and they worked for determined owners.   They faced racial discrimination in their own country.   They experienced international sportsmanship when playing in Cuba and Mexico. It shares the...

  3. Front Desk by Kelly Yang Yang, K. (2018). Front desk. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic Inc.   This is a story about 10-year-old Mia Tang.   She and her parents immigrated from China, and America is nothing like she thought.   She dreamed of living in a nice house with a dog and eat hamburgers all the time. Instead, they end up managing a motel in Anaheim, California. The owner is Mr. Yao, and he is unfair to the Tangs, giving them a hard time about everything.   Through the story, Mia works hard to get them “off the rollercoaster”, by entering an essay contest to win a motel in Vermont.   Her life does change, not by winning an essay contest, but by being a kind and fair person to everyone she meets.   She comes face to face with prejudice, violence, and bullying, but she overcomes these with a positive attitude. This story is filled with conflict, both internal and external.   Mia is in conflict with herself.   Her ...

  Sendak, M. (1984). Where the  wild things are . New York: Harper & Row.   This is a story about Max.   Max is causing mischief and his mother sends him to bed without supper.   Max’s imagination kicks in and his room transforms into a forest.   He sails on the ocean in a boat to where the wild things are.   The wild things try to scare Max, but he tames them and becomes their king. Then the “wild rumpus” begins. They dance and play.   Max sends them to bed, and he begins to miss his home.   He waves goodbye to the wild things and sails back across the ocean to his room.   He finds supper waiting for him.  One possible theme of the book is the strong idea of imagination and the places it can take you. Max creates a new world in which he can control his own destiny and escape from the reality of being sent to his room without supper.   He conquers the “Wild things” and has no one to answer to: he can do what he...

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle   Carle, E. (1997). From  head to toe . New York: HarperCollins. This is a beautiful book (as all of Eric Carle’s are).  It is about children mimicking the movements of animals.  Each animal has a different movement and the children are asked “can you do it?”, by the different animals.  Then the child says, “I can do it!”  The animals featured in the book are a penguin, giraffe, buffalo, monkey, seal, gorilla, cat, crocodile, camel, donkey, and an elephant. The last page things are reversed.  The child does the movement and asks the parrot if he can do it. I can see a Pre-Kindergarten class mimicking the movements of the animals as the story is read to them, what fun!  This book would be good to use for little ones to learn the major systems of the human body, the five senses, and how they all interrelate. You could incorporate this book into an animal or an art unit.   This is a good book for a stru...