Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Author: Judith Viorst

Illustrator: Ray Cruz

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 6 and up

Themes: Friendship, Family, School

Summary: Alexander wakes up one morning and everything that can go wrong, does. He is having an awful day and with each thing he does, Alexander's day gets worse. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Talk about what makes a good day or a bad day. Make a T chart to list characteristics of each.

Post-Reading Activity: Write the different events from the story on sentences strips. Let students work together to put the sentence strips in the order that they happened in the story. Discuss how all of these events happened over the span of one day. 

Reflection: Students will love the humor in this book and will be able to relate to some of the events that happen to Alexander in this story. 

About the Author

Judith Viorst

Judith Viorst has written many books for children. One of the books she has written is Just in Case, illustrated by Diana Cain Bluthenthal. She lives with her husband in Washington, D.C.

(www.barnesandnoble.com)

The Rainbow Fish

The Rainbow Fish

Author: Marcus Pfister

Translator: J. Alison James

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 3-5 years

Themes: Sharing, Friendship

Summary: The Rainbow Fish is one of the most beautiful creatures in the sea. All the other fish and animals love to watch him swim with his shimmery scales. The Rainbow Fish is unhappy until he learns to share and realizes what true friendship is all about. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Ask students to list something they like about the person sitting next to them. Make a list on the board and talk about how each student has something special about them.

Post-Reading Activity: Discuss what was so special about the Rainbow Fish and why all the other fish liked him. Give students each a construction paper "scale" and let them write something great about themselves on there. Add each scale to a large class fish to show that each student is an important part of the class. 

Reflection: This is a great resource to use for many different character aspects that should be taught in elementary school. This book could easily be used to teach about sharing, being a good friend or believing in yourself. 

About the Author

 

Marcus Pfister

Marcus Pfister is the author of many children's books. He has worked as a graphic artist, sculptor, painter and photographer. He lives with his family in Berne, Switzerland. 

(www.barnesandnoble.com)

Leo the Late Bloomer

Leo the Late Bloomer

Author: Robert Kraus

Illustrator: Jose Aruego

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 3-5 years

Themes: Learning, Family, Friendship

Summary: Leo the lion is not developing at the same rate as many of his friends. He is not able to read, write, draw or speak yet. Leo's father is concerned about this, but his mother assures him that Leo will bloom in his own time. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Have students think about something that they are really good at. Discuss how they learned to do the different things and how it makes them feel to be able to do it. Let students illustrate their activity that they chose on a class poster board. 

Post-Reading Activity: After seeing that sometimes people learn to do things at different times, students may be more comfortable sharing something they are not good at yet. Allow students to discuss something they haven't quite figured out yet and then illustrate those activities on a second class poster board. Make a display using the 2 poster boards titled "We Can Do It" and "We're Still Learning" to demonstrate that it is okay for students to learn things at different rates and that everybody is good at different things. 

Reflection: This is one of my all time favorite children's books. It is a great way to expose students to the idea that sometimes you may not be able to do everything that your friends can do and that's okay. It is a great way to build students' confidence in themselves. 

About the Author:

Robert Kraus

Robert Kraus is the author of Leo the Late Bloomer and Little Louie the Baby Boomer. He lives in New York City.

(www.barnesandnoble.com)

The Kissing Hand

The Kissing Hand 

Author: Audrey Penn

Illustrators: Ruth Harper and Nancy Leak

Genre: Fiction

Ages: Grades K-1

Themes: School, Family, Love

Summary: This is a story about a little raccoon ready to start school. He talks about his fears to his mother, fears that most children have before beginning school. His mother comes up with a wonderful idea to help him remember that she loves him and is thinking about him, even when she isn't with him.

Pre-Reading Activity: Discuss the children's fears and hopes about coming to school. We also discuss how moms and dads might feel when their children are away from them.

Post-Reading Activity: On a large piece of construction paper each child makes a red handprint with paint and then clue a small red heart in the middle. They can draw their family portrait if time allows and then give this as a first day gift to their parents.

Reflection: This is a great book to share with students on the first day of school. Many students are shy or even a little afraid of leaving their parents to come to school. This would also be a good book to use with students who are completely comfortable coming to school to allow them to understand and have compassion for how some of their classmates may be feeling.

About the Author

Audrey Penn

Before beginning writing Audrey Penn was actually a ballerina and choreographer. She has always enjoyed children's literature and decided to begin writing as a creative outlet. As a young girl she would keep silly journals of things that happened to her and eventually she was writing everything that she did. Her youngest daughter inspired her to write The Kissing Hand.

(www.audreypenn.com)

The Snowy Day

The Snowy Day

Author and Illustrator: Ezra Jack Keats

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 3-5 years

Theme: Winter, Snow, Friendship

Summary: The story of a first snowfall of the season, and a little boy's adventures in the city. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Show students a picture of a big snowy hill and ask them to make guesses about what it is. Encourage them to share why they made their guesses. Record the answers on a chart paper. 

Post-Reading Activity: Give students a piece of blue construction paper and a big ball of cotton. Let them make their own snowy creations on the paper. Depending on the grade level, students can write a word or sentence to go with their creation. 

Reflection: This is a fantastic  story to use with primary grades since many times these students don't remember snow from the previous year, or have never experienced a big snowstorm. Students are often very creative with their ideas about what the snowy hill is a picture of and also what they create with their cotton. 

About the Author:

Ezra Jack Keats

Ezra Jack Keats was one of the first authors to create multiethnic picture books for young kids. He began creating children's books in the 1960's and realized there was a lack of books written with African American children as the main character. He has written many best-selling children's books including Whistle for Willie, Peter's Chair and Goggles! Mr. Keats died in 1983. 

(www.barnesandnoble.com)

Wemberly Worried

Wemberly Worried

Author & Illustrator: Kevin Henkes

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 4-8 years

Theme: Mouse, Friendship, School

Summary: A mouse named Wemberly worried about everything. Once nursery school is about to start, Wemberly had a whole new list of things to worry about. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Ask students what they remember about their first day of school. What were they worried about? What did they do to feel better about it? 

Post-Reading Activity: Discuss all the things Wemberly worried about in the book. Then encourage students to notice what letter/sound "Wemberly Worried" starts with and come up with a new list of worries that Wemberly could have that start with the "w" sound. 

Reflection: This is a great book to use at the beginning of the school year, especially in primary grades. Many students will be able to relate to how Wemberly was feeling about school. It also is a great segue to discuss feelings in the classroom. 

About the Author: 

Kevin Henkes

He is the author and illustrator of many books for children of all ages. He was awarded the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon, a Caldecott Honor for Owen, and a Newbery Honor for Olive's Ocean. He lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

(www.barnesandnoble.com)

Miss Nelson is Missing!

Miss Nelson is Missing! 

Author: Harry G. Allard, Jr.

Illustrator: James Marshall

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 5-8 years old

Theme: School, Friendship

Summary: The kids in Miss Nelson's class don't realize how good they have it. Miss Nelson is a kindm easy going teacher and the students take advantage of her. Once they have a "substitute" who is the opposite of Miss Nelson, they realize how lucky they were to have her as a teacher. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Talk about different ways that Miss Nelson could be missing. Allow students to predict what happened to Miss Nelson and where she could be. 

Post-Reading Activity: Create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting Miss Nelson with Viola Swamp.

Reflection: This is a great book to read to your class at the beginning of the school year and also in preparation for leaving them with a substitute teacher. It is a good reminder that students should follow the rules and appreciate their teachers. 

About the Author:

Henry Allard

He is the author of several hilarious books for children. He currently lives in Oaxaca, Mexico.

(www.barnesandnoble.com)

Do You Want to Be My Friend?

Do You Want to Be My Friend?

Author & Illustrator: Eric Carle

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 3-4 years

Theme: Friendship, Animals

Summary: This book follows a mouse on his quest to find a friend. There is only text on the first page which allows for teachers and students to improvise what happens throughout the book. The mouse follows tail after tail in hopes of finding a friend. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Ask students what it means to be a friend. Brainstorm lists and make a T chart with traits of a good friend and traits of a bad friend. 

Post- Reading Activity: As a class, complete the "Whose Tail Is It? activity. Use the print out and allow students to guess which animal each tail belongs to. This is a good activity to teach students about making reasonable predictions. 

(The print out can be found at : http://www.scribd.com/doc/97752064/Who%E2%80%99s-Tail-Is-It )

Reflection: Eric Carle books are always favorites to use in the classroom. They always teach at least one skill that can be expanded on and have fantastic illustrations. This book is a great starting point for lessons on social emotional skills or character education. 

About the Author:

Eric Carle is the creator of more than seventy picture books for young readers. He was born in Syracuse, NY. When he was six years old he moved with his family to Germany. In 1952 after graduating from the prestigious Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Stuttgart, he fulfilled his dream of returning to New York. 

(www.barnesandnoble.com)