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Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day |
Viorst |
E VAN |
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Alexander knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up with gum in his hair. And it got worse.
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Black and White |
Macaulay |
E MAC |
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This book appears to contain a number of stories that do not necessarily occur at the same time. But it may contain only one story. David Macaulay invites readers to puzzle out the organization and therefore the story of this book.
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Butterfly House |
Bunting |
Bookroom |
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With the help of her grandfather, a little girl makes a house for a larva and watches it develop before setting it free, and every summer after that butterflies come to visit her.
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Chair for My Mother |
Williams |
FP M |
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Among the simplest organizational structures of a story is to set up a problem and solve it. This story does just that. A loving family has lost their home to a fire. Mom is a waitress, on her feet all day long, exhausted when she returns to their tiny, barren apartment.
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Charlie Anderson |
Abercrombie |
E ABE |
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A cat story and more. The author carefully foreshadows the ending, leaving it to the reader to pick up the clues.
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City By Numbers |
Johnson |
513.2 JOH |
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This book challenges students to look closely at their surroundings for numbers.
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Click, Clack, Moo |
Cronin |
E CRO |
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Stories need problems to be solved. Farmer Brown has a problem. He has cows that type, sending him messages about ways to make them more comfortable.
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Composition |
Skarmeta |
SKA |
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Pedro takes some big steps toward fighting the dictatorship that controls his country. The government uses writing as a tool to control its citizens as schoolchildren unwittingly reveal information about their parents and their activities that would get them into trouble.
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D is for Drinking Gourd |
Sanders |
E SAN |
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The tapestry of American history is made up of countless threads marking the contributions of people from many different backgrounds and cultures. This book uses the alphabet to showcase the achievements of and contributions from African Americans throughout our history.
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The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish |
Gaiman |
Bookroom |
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After trading his father for two goldfish, a boy and his little sister go on a rollicking adventure around town to get him back.
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Dear Mrs. LaRue |
Teague |
E TEA |
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Poor Ike, a dog sent to obedience school to learn some manners, anguishes over all the rules and tricks he must learn. As he becomes more and more impatient, it shows in his letters. Students may want to write follow-up letters that take up where the story ends off.
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Drop of Water |
Wick |
546 WIC |
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Wick breaks down all the components of water into a page by page explanation. Elegant in design, yet comprehensive.
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The End |
LaRochelle |
Bookroom |
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When a princess makes some lemonade, she starts a chain of events involving a fire-breathing dragon, one hundred rabbits, a hungry giant, and a handsome knight.Also works for Ideas.
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Enemy Pie |
Munson |
E MUN |
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Hoping that the enemy pie which his father makes willhelp him get rid of his enemy, a little boy finds that instead it helps make a new friend.
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Flag We Love |
Ryan |
929.9 RYA |
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Written in verse, each page also contains several starred facts that enhance our understanding and appreciation of the American flag.
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G is for Googol |
Schwartz |
510 SCH |
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A math alphabet book
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Good-Luck Cat |
Harjo |
Bookroom |
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Because her good luck cat Woogie has already used up eight of his nine lives in narrow escapes from disaster, a Native American girl worries when he disappears.
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Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher |
Bang |
E BAN |
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This wordless allegory relies heavily on little visual details as it leads you through the fantastic and improbable.
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The Great Kapok Tree |
Cherry |
Bookroom |
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The many different animals that live in a great kapok tree in the Brazilian rainforest try to convince a man with an ax of the importance of not cutting down their home.
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How to Think Like a Scientist |
Kramer |
502.8 KRA |
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Using a posing and answering question format this picture book leads students through the process of setting up hypotheses, working with control and experimental groups, making observations and interpreting results.
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It Could Always be Worse |
Zemach |
398.2 ZEM |
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A poor man thinks his life is in terrible shape because his home is overcrowded and everyone fights all the time. His rabbi instructs him to bring a succession of animals into his house – making each day worse and worse – until finally the man gets rid of all the animals and thinks life is once again peaceful and good.
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The Journey |
Stewart |
Bookroom |
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A young Amish girl tells her "silent friend," her diary, about all the wonderous experiences she has on her first trip to the city.
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June 29, 1999 |
Wiesner |
E WIE |
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Holly had great expectations for her science project when she sends her seedlings aloft, but she never imagined results that would be unprecedented in scale.
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The Just-Right Perfect Present |
Kennedy |
Bookroom |
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To commemorate her grandparents' fiftieth wedding anniversay, Donna Delle memorizes and recites a poem that has very special meaning for them and for her.
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Legend of the Blueberry |
DePaola |
398.2 DEP |
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According to legend, She-who-is-alone sacrifices what is most precious to her to free her people from the torment of a long drought. When the rains come again, the plains are covered with beautiful blue flowers, a sign that the Great Spirit will once again care for and protect the plains people.
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Meanwhile |
Feiffer |
E FEI |
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Emphasizes the importance of good transitions. In this story, Raymond learns the power of the term “meanwhile” as he lives from adventure to adventure.
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Meanwhile Back at the Ranch |
Noble |
E NOB |
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As Rancher Hick’s day in town becomes progressively more and more boring, his wife’s day back at the ranch becomes wilder and wilder.
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My Friend Rabbit |
Rohmann |
E ROH |
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When Mouse’s new airplane becomes stuck in a tree, his friend rabbit has the solution. But the solution creates a bigger problem than they had in the first place.
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My Life in Dog Years |
Paulsen |
Bookroom |
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The author describes some of the dogs he has owned, including Cookie, who saved his life.
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Mysteries of Harris Burdick |
Van Allsburg |
E VAN |
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Each picture and one line caption serves to spark imagination and prompt writing.
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Old Dog |
Zolotow |
E ZOL |
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When a young boy finds his old dog dead one morning, hespends the rest of the day thinking about all the good times they had together
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Old Henry |
Blos |
E BLO |
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Poor Henry. His neighbors want him to clean, paint, and tidy up. Henry would rather smell the flowers, chat over coffee and enjoy his birds. Finally, tired of being pestered, Henry moves away. But Henry and his neighbors miss each other. He writes a note to the mayor. Can he come back on his own terms? This story invites a student response – perhaps a letter from the mayor to Henry?
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Paperboy |
Pilkey |
E PIL |
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Describes the early morning routine of a boy and his dog as they prepare for his paper route. Play close attention to how Pilkey moves from dark to dawn without hitting the reader over the head with sequence words.
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People |
Spier |
155.2 SPI |
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Illustrates the way people are the same, despite different cultural backgrounds
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Rimshots |
Smith |
Bookroom |
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Stories and poems about playing basketball.
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Rocks in his Head |
Hurst |
E HUR |
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Using the line, “you’ve got rocks in your head” this piece documents how a man’s love for rocks leads him to the job of his dreams during the Depression.
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Seasons Sewn: A Year in Patchwork |
Paul |
746.46 PAU |
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Shows how the names of patchwork quilt patterns tell us something about life in our country during the 19th century.
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Secret Shortcut |
Teague |
E TEA |
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This book shows how the writer uses sequence words to move the reader through the story.
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Sector 7 |
Wiesner |
E WIE |
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Wordless book that takes us to the places of our dreams. Without text, the pictures must do all the work. Ask students to retell the story. Make note of the transitional words they use to link the illustrations.
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Sky Sweeper |
Gershater |
Bookroom |
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Despite criticism for his lack of "accomplishments," Takiboki finds contentment sweeping flower blossoms and raking the sand and gravel in the monks' temple garden.
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Three Years for Catherine the Great |
Hess |
Bookroom |
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Sara's Russian grandmother has requested that there be no presents at her seventy-eighth birthday party so Sara must think of a gift from her heart
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Through My Eyes |
Bridges |
921 BRI |
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By using stories, poems, time lines, quotations, observations, photographs and other source materials, Bridges organizes the material so we understand the historical impact of the six year old black child who breaks the color barrier of her time.
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Tortilla Factory |
Paulsen |
Bookroom |
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In a lyrical tribute to the Mexican farm worker, award-winning author Gary Paulsen pays homage to a cycle of life--from seed to plant to tortilla
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Tuesday |
Wiesner |
E WIE |
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Wiesner uses the organizational structure of one day to create a series of bizarre and improbable incidents.
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Twilight Comes Twice |
Fletcher |
Bookroom |
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Poetic prose describes dusk and dawn and some of the activities that take place at those special times.
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Two Bad Ants |
Van Allsburg |
E VAN |
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The queen of the ant colony declares a marvelous crystal to be the most delicious substance she has ever eaten. The other ants set out to bring it back to the queen, but not without a few twists and turns in between.
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Under the Sea From A to Z |
Doubilet |
591.92 DOU |
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Alphabet books create a useful structure for organizing information. This A-Z book on sea animals is a good starting point.
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Up North at the Cabin |
Chall |
Bookroom |
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A girl's summer vacation at a northern Minnesota cabin provides memorable experiences with the water, animals, and other faces of nature.
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What Do Authors Do? |
Christelow |
808.06 CHR |
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Follow two parallel stories from beginning to end. This book shows students where ideas come from, how to fine tune them and how to share them with others. Every step from finding a topic through publishing is documented and set forth in a systematic and believable way.
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When Lightning Comes in a Jar |
Polacco |
Bookroom |
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A young girl describes the family reunion at her grandmother's house, from the food and baseball and photos to the flickering fireflies on the lawn.
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When the Shadbush Blooms |
Messinger |
Bookroom |
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A young Lenni Lenape Indian child describes her family's life through the seasons. Includes facts about the Lenni Lenape Indians. Also may be used with Ideas.
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Wolf Who Cried Boy |
Bloom |
E BLO |
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Little Wolf is tired of eating lamburgers and sloppydoes, but when he tricks his parents into thinking there is a boy in the woods, they could all miss a chance for a real feast. |
