Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Graphic Novel

This book is basically the story of a boy's first year in middle school. The book is all about Greg trying to navigate his way through his first year, including dealing with bullies and bonding with friends. The book is written in journal form by Greg, and includes cartoon-like pictures and captions on each page.

To be completely honest, I did not enjoy this book at all. I didn't like the graphic novel/cartoon format and I didn't really enjoy the story. This is the only book I read for this project that I felt this way about. However, I can see how useful it would be in a classroom to reach reluctant readers. The format is fun and the reading is easy and funny, and the content is probably very easy for young boys to relate to. Providing different genres such as graphic novels is a good way to help students learn to enjoy reading. However, I don't think I would use this book for instruction, unless I couldn't find a better graphic novel to use, since graphic novels are required under the Common Core Standards. This book is part of a series as well, making it work well with RL.3.9, the standard about comparing/contrasting books in a series.

Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a Wimpy Kid. New York, NY: Amulet Books. 

Cendrillon

Cendrillon - A Caribbean Cinderella

by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

Multicultural

 Voice Thread: https://voicethread.com/share/4117862/

San Souci, R. D. (1998). Cendrillon, A Caribbean Cinderella. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. 

Whatever After

Whatever After: Fairest of them All

by Sarah Mlynowski

Modern Fantasy/Chapter Book

This book is about a young girl, Abby, and her brother, Jonah. While in the basement, they find an old mirror and are transported into Snow White's fairy tale. They think they've saved the day when they stop Snow from eating the poisonous apple, but then they find themselves stuck in a fairy tale that isn't playing out the way it should. The brother-sister pair work together to eventually successfully escape the fairy tale world and come back to their own. Abby is the narrator, making it easy to read and very entertaining.

This book is great because of the story line and female main character. Personally, I never really enjoyed science fiction or fantasy books growing up, but I think I would have if I had found some with relatable female characters. This is a good book for introducing fantasy-type literature to students who don't think they like it. Like many of the books I read for this project, this is one that I think I'd likely have in a class library, rather than use specifically for instruction. However, since it is a modern variation of a classic fairy tale, this could be a book to use during a unit on fairy tales.

Mlynowski, S. (2012). Whatever After. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. 

Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs!

Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! 

by Kathleen V. Kudlinski, illustrated by S.D. Schindler

Non-fiction

This is another non-fiction book told in the form of a story, with a timeline in the back of the book. The story is about the different scientific discoveries about dinosaurs that have been disproved. The last line of the book reads, "When you grow up, you may be the scientist who makes us all say, "Boy, were we wrong about dinosaurs!"

Unlike the other dinosaur book I read (My Teacher is a Dinosaur), this is written in story form and doesn't have as many non-fiction constructs. While I would likely use the other book in my class library, this is one that I would consider using for instruction. This book is great for teaching students about the nature of science, specifically the fact that scientific knowledge is tentative. This book would also help to introduce the fourth grade science unit on fossils (4.E.2), since it stresses the importance of fossils for learning about prehistoric life.

Kudlinski, K.V. (2005). Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books.

My Teacher is a Dinosaur

My Teacher is a Dinosaur and other Prehistoric Poems, Jokes, Riddles, and Amazing Facts

by Loreen Leedy

Non-fiction

This is a non-fiction book about dinosaurs. The book is in chronological order, and in the back is a prehistoric time periods timeline. Despite its silly name, the book is very factual. Each page has years written across the top to determine the time period. There are pictures of dinosaurs with their names and facts about them, pictures of plants and facts about the earth's climate at the time. Along with all of the factual information, there are jokes dispersed throughout and funny poems on many of the pages.

This would be a great book to have in a class library. Many kids are interested in dinosaurs, and this book provides a fun way to learn about them  The reader can easily become engaged with this book, while learning a lot of interesting and important facts about prehistoric life. Because of its format, readers don't have to read straight through, although they could to understand everything chronologically. Students can skip from page to page, reading what they find interesting or entertaining. This book would be perfect for reluctant readers.

Leedy, L. (2010). My Teacher is a Dinosaur. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Cooperation.

The Name Jar

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

Multicultural/International

When Unhei moves from Korea to America, she feels insecure about her hard-to-pronounce Korean name. She decides she might want to change her name, so the students in her class help her think of new names. In the end, Unhei realizes that she likes her own name best, and even though she thought everyone would make fun of it, they all like it too.

This book has a theme of acceptance, making it a good story to use to teach acceptance and the importance of being kind. The multicultural element would help to make students in a diverse classroom feel at ease. This book would be great for a read aloud and would provide great discussion about these topics. There is also a point in the book where Unhei is unsure about how to introduce herself to her classmates since she is embarrassed about her name. This would be a good point to stop and practice making predictions.

Choi, Y. (2001). The Name Jar. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knoff.

Would YOU Join the Fight?

The Revolutionary War Begins - Would YOU Join the Fight?

By Elaine Landau

Non-fiction

VOKI: http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=7518067&height=267&width=200

Landau, E. (2009). Would YOU Join the Fight? Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Elementary.