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)

Llama Llama Misses Mama

Llama Llama Misses Mama

Author and Illustrator: Anna Dewdney

Genre: Fiction

Ages: 3-5 years

Themes: School, Family

Summary: Llama llama has to go to school for the first time and is very sad without her mama there with her. Once little llama learns to have fun and makes friends at school, she is very excited to go back again. 

Pre-Reading Activity: Ask students what is something that makes them sad or that they are scared about. Let them draw a picture about it.

Post-Reading Activity: Ask students to discuss what Llama Llama was so worried about in this story. Then discuss what happened that made llama feel better. Let students illustrate on a paper with 2 boxes what they were sad about and what they can do to feel better.

Reflection: This is a great book to use to help students feel more at ease about coming to school or just about any issues that worry them in general. It is a very easy to read story with a lot of rhyming text. 

About the Author

Anna Dewdney

Anna Dewdney is the author/illustrator of many books in the Llama Llama series. She lives in an old hold in Central Vermont and is the mother of two daughter and two dogs. 

(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)

Russell's World

Russell's World

Author: Charles A. Amenta

Genre: Non Fiction

Ages: 5-8 years

Themes: Special Needs, Autism

Summary: This is the true story of a nine year old boy named Russell. He is the younger brother of two boys and the story explores how Russell navigates through the world of autism. It demonstrates how he learns from his brothers and how they learn from him.

Pre-Reading Activity: Pair students up and give them the task to make a list of what they know about each other and what they learn from each other. Talk about as a class how everyone is different and each person has something to teach others. 

Post-Reading Activity: Have a brief discussion about what students learned about autism from the book. Engage students in an activity to create posters to raise awareness about autism. 

Reflection: This is a phenomenal book to use with young students to introduce them to autism or expand any previous discussions about differences in people. The language is simple enough to understand and use in primary grades. 

About the Author: 

Charles A. Amenta

Charles A. Amenta III, MD, is in private practice of ear, nose, and throat medicine. He lives with his family in Chicago, Illinois, and is the father of three boys, one of whom has autism.

(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)