The Last Stop on Market Street

Genre: Realistic fiction
Author: Matt de la Pena
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Awards: Coretta Scott King, Newberry, Caldecott
Grade level: 1st-3rd

This is an amazing book about a young boy named CJ and his grandmother. On Sunday's after church, he and his grandmother ride the bus home. On this Sunday, CJ questions a lot of things and asks his grandmother questions about his life comparing it to his friends. He wonders why he doesn't have a car or other nice things like his other friends. His grandmother never scolds him for asking these questions, but instead responds in a way that shows the beauty of the things they see and do on their Sunday's after church.

I love this book and will definitely have it in my classroom! It is an amazing multicultural book and shows that students are different. A good age range is 1st-3rd because the text is great for a read aloud or students to read on their own. I would use this book in my classroom to show that even though we all do different things and have different routines, we should still be kind to one another and find the beauty in the things we have.

Refugee

Genre: Historical Fiction
Author: Alan Gratz
Illustrator: Alan Gratz
Awards: Bluebonnet
Grade level: 4th-6th

This is an amazing novel split into three different perspectives from three different time periods. The three perspectives are Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud. The story starts with Josef when his family's home is invaded in Berlin in Germany. His father is sent to a concentration camp, and they are allowed to leave if they leave Germany immediately, so they go on a ship heading to Cuba. Isabel is currently in Cuba (different time period) and watches as a riot unfolds during which her father is badly beaten. Mahmoud is the last to be introduced and one day while he is doing his homework, a missile explodes and tears the walls of his family's apartment. Throughout the book, it continues to switch perspectives and describes the struggles they all go through while seeking refugee. In the end, the stories actually connect in a crazy way. When Mahmoud finally reaches Germany, he stays at the home of a Jewish couple, and the wife actually ends up being Josef's sister. She describes to Mahmoud what Josef went through and did for her, and it makes Mahmoud feel at home.

This book is amazing! Definitely needed the tissues but it is an amazing read for older students and if I teach upper elementary or middle school I will definitely have this book in my classroom. It is definitely meant for older students between 4th and 6th because it is a huge book with large vocabulary for older students. I would use this book during a history unit describing one of the time periods in the story.

Hello, Universe

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Author: Erin Entrada Kelly
Illustrator: Isabel Roxas
Awards: Newberry
Grade level: 2nd-5th

This book is a great chapter book for students! It is a story told from multiple viewpoints and explains how 4 children become friends. It all begins when the neighborhood bully pulls a prank and throws on a young boy named Virgil by throwing his backpack down a well. Little did the bully know that Virgil's guinea pig was in the backpack as well. Virgil goes down the well to try and save his guinea pig and ends up getting trapped at the bottom of the well with his guinea pig. Virgil had previously talked to a psychic named Kaori about how he liked a deaf girl named Valencia, who also happened to visit Kaori. Kaori begins to worry when Virgil doesn't make his appointment, and she remembers she had told him to bring 5 stones to their next visit. Valencia has an appointment scheduled with Kaori, and Kaori discusses that she is worried about Virgil. Valencia agrees to help Kaori and Gen (Kaori's sister), but when she passes the well, she didn't realize that Virgil was supposed to collect 5 stones and when she sees them on the side of the well she tosses them back in and covers the well. After lots of searching, Valencia learns about the stones and realizes Virgil was in the well, and Kaori and Gen realize Valencia is the girl Virgil likes. In the end, the girl's rescue Virgil and all have a new found friendship. 

I love this novel and will definitely have it in my classroom. It is a thick chapter book, but the font is large and the vocabulary is simple for younger students like 2nd graders to understand, but 5th graders will enjoy this book as well. I would use this book with older students and have them read it and discuss it in the class in a book club setting and give the students sheets of paper with ideas about what to discuss from the book. 

Bridge toTerabithia

Genre: Fantasy
Author: Katherine Patterson
Illustrator: N/A
Awards: Newberry
Grade level: 2nd-5th

This story is about a young boy named Jess who grows up with 5 different sisters in a low-income home. Jess is determined to be the fastest boy in his grade and practices every morning before the race during recess. When the day of the race came, a new girl named Leslie Burke who just recently moved near Jess decided to race with the boys and ended up beating all of them. This sparks a new found friendship with Jess and Leslie and they create their own fantasy land called Terabithia where they can escape and let their imagination grow. The time they spend in Terabithia creates more courage in both of them and the trials they face in their daily life. One day, the music teacher invites Jess to spend a day at the galleries in Washington, and when he returns as the end of the day he discovers that Leslie had drowned in the creek trying to get to Terabithia. Jess is heartbroken at the loss of his best friend and has a difficult time coping with her death. He soon realizes that he will still have Leslie in memory and allows his little sister to visit Terabithia with him and become the new queen.

I love this book! I read it when I was younger and still to this day love it and will definitely have it in my classroom. It is a great chapter book for students in 2nd-5th grade because some vocabulary might be challenging but overall students will definitely enjoy this book. I would have this book in my classroom library and encourage students to create their own fantasy land similar to Terabithia.

Prehistorica Dinosaurs

Genre: Nonfiction
Author: Robert Sabuda
Illustrator: Matthew Reinhart
Awards: none
Grade level: 1st-4th

This is an amazing pop-up book that gives a lot of factual information about dinosaurs. This book shows the information in an extremely creative way that children will definitely love. The pop-ups throughout the story will capture any students attention and make them want to read and learn more about the dinosaurs. Throughout the book, there is one main dinosaur on the page and this is the largest pop-up of the page. While reading more facts about dinosaurs, the students can pull back tabs on the page with even more pop-ups and more facts for the student to learn.

This book is amazing and I definitely want this book in my classroom. I probably won't keep it in the classroom library since it is a pretty fragile book, but I want it to be available to students when they would like. I chose the age range to be 1st-4th because younger students might tear the pages and pop-ups, and they wouldn't be able to read the small print throughout the pages. I would use this book in my classroom at the beginning of a unit with dinosaurs to grasp the student's attention and get them excited to learn about dinosaurs.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Genre: Fiction
Author: Crockett Johnson
Narrator: Owen Jordan
Awards: none
Grade level: PK-1st 

I listened to this as an audiobook on Audible. It is about a young boy named Harold who begins the story coloring on a few pages, then lets his creativity take control. Harold and his purple crayon go through many things, such as a forest, a beach, and even a dragon! Each time he goes somewhere new, it reminds him of something else, so he draws that and it comes to life. After lots and lots of drawing, Harold realizes that he wants to go home, so he searches for his home in the big city he has drawn. Eventually, he makes it back to his home and draws himself a blanket and slowly falls asleep. 

I read this book in my childhood, and it was interesting hearing it as an audiobook! I'm not sure if I would have the audiobook in my classroom, but I definitely want the hard copy in my classroom. It encourages children's creativity in a fun and unique way. An appropriate grade level is PK-1st, it is definitely for younger children with simple vocabulary and they can easily relate to Harold. I would use this book in my class to encourage students to be creative and use their imagination. 

Too Many Tamales

Genre: Realistic fiction
Author: Gary Soto
Illustrator: Ed Martinez
Awards: none
Grade level: 1st-3rd

This is a story about a Hispanic family on Christmas cooking Tamales for their Christmas meal. A young girl named Maria offers to help her mom in the Tamale making process, and while doing so, tries on her mother's wedding ring that her mom had taken off while making the Tamales. After many hours of making Tamales, Maria realizes her mother's wedding ring is missing from the counter. Maria's cousins arrive and she panics, and they all eat the Tamales together to try and find the mothers missing wedding ring. After no luck, Maria realizes she must confess to her mom, who turns out was wearing the wedding ring the entire time.

This is a great story that I will definitely have in my classroom. It teaches about Hispanic culture as well as giving a moral lesson that sometimes it's better, to tell the truth instead of lying. A good grade level for this is 1st-3rd because it is easy to read and they would easily be able to comprehend the story. I would use this book in my class around Christmas to show that some cultures celebrate the same holidays but have different traditions.

Sky Color

Genre: Realistic fiction
Author: Peter H. Reynolds
Illustrator: Peter H. Reynolds
Awards: none
Grade level: K-3rd

This book is about a young girl named Marisol who loves to paint! One day, her teacher asks the class to make a mural for the library, and Marisol says she will paint the sky! She runs over to the paint bucket only to discover there is no blue color for the sky. As she's heading home on the bus, she looks at the sky and notices all different colors. All throughout the night and morning, she is looking at the sky and embracing all the beautiful colors. She rushes to the mural and begins painting all of the beautiful colors she saw, and in the end, she says that the color she used is called "sky color".

I love this book and will definitely have it in my classroom! It shows how all of the different students in a class come together and create a mural for the library. A good grade for this is K-3rd because it would be a good read-aloud for young students, and older students can definitely read the text on their own. In my class, I would read this book and encourage students to think outside the box and come together and create an in-class mural. 

All I Am

Genre: Realistic fiction
Author: Eileen Roe
Illustrator: Hellen Cogancherry
Awards: none
Grade level: PK-1st

This is a book about a young boy and all that he can be, alongside many of his friends and family. Throughout the story, the little boy states many different things he can be, such as an artist, thinker, listener, etc. The story shows a lot of diversity throughout the story and showing that we can all be what we want to be as long as we put our hearts and determination into it. At the end of the story, the little boy says that sometimes he just wonders about all the different things he could be.

This is a great story that I will definitely have in my classroom. This book shows children that they can be what they set their minds to and that even though we are all different, we all are wonderful and can achieve many things. It is definitely more appropriate for younger children, especially early childhood. The vocabulary is simple and students can easily comprehend the message in the story. I would read this to my children to inspire them and let them know that we are all different but can each achieve amazing things.

Jamaica's Find

Genre: Realistic fiction
Author: Juanita Havill
Illustrator: Anne O'Brien
Awards: none
Grade level: K-2nd 

This book is about a young girl named Jamaica who goes to play at a park before dinner and discovers a stuffed toy dog and a red hat while playing. She is very excited about the toy dog, but the hat doesn't fit her so she decides to turn it into the park lost and found. When she gets home, her mom questions where she got the dog and even though she praises her for returning the hat, she states that she should have returned the dog as well. Jamaica feels guilty, and the next day she goes to the park to return the dog. As she's leaving from the lost and found she meets a little girl named Kristen who wants to play but is looking for her lost dog. It ends up being the dog that Jamaica found, and they become friends and continue to play at the park. 

This book is great for teaching a lesson and I will definitely have it in my class. An appropriate grade level is K-2nd because the book has simple vocabulary that the students can read. I would use this book to teach students about morals and what doing the right thing can do for us.

Families are Different

Genre: Realistic fiction
Author: Nina Pellegrini
Illustrator: Nina Pellegrini 
Awards: none
Grade level: K-2nd 

This is a beautiful story about two young Korean girls who are adopted by two Caucasian parents. Nico, one of the daughters, expresses her concern to her parents about feeling different. Most of her frustration is coming from the fact that her two best friends look like their parents but Nico doesn't look like hers. The story is the parents comforting Nico and telling her about all the different types of families out there, and reassuring her that no two families are alike. Nico realizes that it's okay to be different and knows that she is loved by her parents.

This is a great book to teach children about diversity and I would definitely have this book in my classroom. I chose the grade level to be K-2nd because it's a great simple book for younger children to explore on their own and learn more about how each family is different. I would use this book to teach children that each of us our different and we each come from different families.

The Magic Friend-Maker

Genre: Fiction
Author: Gladys Bond
Illustrator: Stina Nagel
Awards: none
Grade level: K-1st

This is an amazing book about a young girl who doesn't have any friends yet, but makes a friend by bonding with another girl (who is also her neighbor) over a beautiful pebble. They become the best of friends, but one day her friend that she made sadly has to move away. The little girl feels alone and sad, but she then notices a new family moving into the house her friend used to live in. She watches and realizes that another little girl has moved into the house, and wonders if they'll become friends. She goes to her house and decides to show her the same pebble she showed the other girl, and sure enough, the two girls became best friends.

This is an adorable book and I would love to have it in my classroom for the younger children. An appropriate grade level is K-1st because the vocabulary and sentence structure isn't complicated so a younger student could understand it. I would have this in my classroom library so students are able to access the book and read it whenever they would like. 

Olivia

Genre: Fiction
Author: Ian Falconer
Illustrator: Ian Falconer
Awards: Caldecott
Grade level: K-2nd 

This book is about a young piglet girl who is very energetic just like any other little girl! She has a huge imagination, and the book is about the day to day life of Olivia. She goes on many adventures such as the beach and loves to use her creativity. Even though Olivia does drive her mom a bit wild sometimes, the reader in the story can tell that Olivia is very loved, and can let her creativity flourish.

I love this book and will definitely have it in my classroom for younger children! This book is something all children can relate to, especially Olivia's excitement and imagination. This book is definitely for younger children, I would say K-2nd. In my class, I would definitely have this book in my library so children can access it and read it when they would please.

El Deafo

Genre: Nonfiction (autobiography)
Author: Cece Bell
Illustrator: Cece Bell
Awards: Newberry award
Grade level: 2nd-6th

This is a touching autobiography book by Cece Bell about her life when she was a child and how she lost her hearing due to an illness. This book is formatted as a graphic novel, and the characters are all bunnies. The book talks about the many challenges Cece had to go through, as well as what she felt throughout her childhood. The story also shows the relationships with her friends and family, and how she had to adjust her whole life when she lost her hearing. She creates a superhero, El Deafo, who is brave and doesn't care what people think about her. The reader is able to go through the life of Cece and see her navigate through many obstacles.

This is a great book to teach children about differences! I would definitely have this in my classroom because it allows students to see that everyone is different and we need to embrace these differences. I chose the grade level as 2nd-6th because younger children might not quite comprehend the story and I think the older children will appreciate the comic book style the story portrays. An idea on how to use this in my classroom would to have it read as a class and discuss that we are all different and how being different affected Cece.

26 Fairmount Avenue

Genre: Nonfiction (autobiography)
Author: Tomie Depaola
Illustrator: Tomie Depaola

Awards: Newberry honor book
Grade level: 2nd-4th

This is about the author's childhood in Connecticut. During this time, the family has just started construction on their new house while a hurricane is about to make landfall. The Depaoloa's are very close and live in a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone. After the hurricane lands, Tomie measures how long it will be until he is in their new home by major events that happen throughout his life and holidays. Memories that Tomie enjoys the most are with his great-grandma and grandpa. Tomie begins to realize the value of family and understanding the importance of a community and being with people who support you. Tomie and his family eventually move into their new home, but not before one last humorous story about the muddy roads and Tomie's kindergarten experience. 

This book is great for children and I will definitely have it in my classroom! It is easily relatable for students and is a fun book for them to read! I chose the grade level for 2nd-4th because the vocabulary can be a bit challenging but most students will understand it. A good unit for this book would be to have students read the book and write/draw a memory that they have about their family.

The Graduation of Jake Moon

Genre: Fiction 
Author: Barbara Park
Illustrator: None
Awards: Bluebonnet award
Grade level: 5th-6th

This book is about a young boy who grows up with his grandpa, Skelly, who has alzheimers. The book starts with a flashback of Jake and Skelly and how they came to live together with Jake's single mother. Jake describes how it has been having a grandpa with Alzheimer's, and how he has grown to resent his grandpa. He always has to take care of him, and how he has been struggling outside of the home and at school. As Jake is preparing for his 8th-grade graduation, his grandpa goes on an outgoing and goes missing. After a stressful 48 hours, the family becomes terrified when a cap is found next to a lake that looks like their grandpas. Thankfully after searching the lake, their grandpa wasn't there. Skelly comes home later that night with a friendly cab driver and Jake realizes that he could've almost lost his grandpa. He decides to invite his grandpa to his 8th-grade graduation, but while there he gets separated from the rest of the family and wonders on stage. Jake goes up to help his grandpa, and he stays with the rest of the family until Jake finishes his graduation.

I love this book so much and will definitely have it in my class! It gives an amazing view of how Alzheimer's can affect many people, not just the person who has Alzheimer's. It is a bigger chapter book and has a vocabulary that can be complicated for younger children, so I definitely think an appropriate grade level is upper elementary like 5th-6th grade. In my class, I would use this book to introduce students to Alzheimer's and how it can affect people. 

Where the Wild Things Are

Genre: Fantasy
Author: Maurice Sendak
Illustrator: Maurice Sendak
Awards: Caldecott
Grade level: K-3rd

This is an amazing book about a young imaginative boy named Max, who had lots of energy and was misbehaving so got sent to bed without dinner. He falls asleep and dreams of an amazing adventure where he travels to the land where the wild things are. The island has many fierce monsters, but Max isn't scared of them at all, and that's when the monsters realize he is the wildest of them all and the monsters decide to make him their king. They then begin the rumpus, which consists of many wild things such as dancing and swinging from trees. Max eventually decides he must go home, and when he arrives home, he found his dinner waiting for him.

I love love love this book! I will definitely have this book in my classroom. It allows students to be creative and enjoy a story about a young child they can relate to! I chose the grade range to be K-3rd because even though the younger children can't read the story, they are able to get an idea of what is happening in the story because of the detailed pictures. I would use this story in my class by reading it to the students and having them create their own "wild things".

Nine Days To Christmas

Genre: Nonfiction
Author: Marie Hall ETS, Aurora Labastida
Illustrator: Marie Hall ETS
Awards: Caldecott award
Grade level: 1st-3rd

This book is about a young girl named Ceci who lives in Mexico and is looking forward to the Posada celebration, which are parties leading up to Christmas. Ceci is so excited because this year she gets to hold her own party and even pick out the pinata that will be at her party. She decides on a beautiful Pinata that represents the Christmas star but becomes sad when the time comes to break the star just because of how beautiful the star is. Ceci discovers that even though the pinata is destroyed, it meant so much to her and the Posada. 

This book is amazing and really explains the culture of Mexico! Even though the little girl telling the story isn't real, the culture and Posada's described really represent the Mexican culture. I would definitely have this book in my classroom because of the diverse culture displayed! I chose the grade level for 1st-3rd because it is perfect for younger children! Even if they are unable to read the story, the pictures are amazing! I would use this story around Christmas time to show how Christmas is different throughout cultures. 

The Giver

Genre: Science fiction
Author: Lois Lowry
Illustrator: Lois Lowry
Awards: Newberry
Grade level: 3rd-6th

This book is about a dystopian society who has an elderly man known as the giver, this man stores all the memories of the past, including the good and bad. In their current society, there is no color, hunger, war, or even love. Everything in their society is controlled by the elders. They control who they marry, who they receive children from, as well as what jobs they get assigned at the age of 12. Jonah is given the job of the receiver, he will be with the giver every day and receive the memories of how the world used to be. Jonah realizes that their current society is awful and whats to give everyone the freedom that used to be.

This is one of the first novels my elementary school assigned as a class reading and I still love it! It is a very interesting book, and I will definitely have this book in my classroom. I chose the grade level between 3rd and 6th because there is some difficult vocabulary for younger children and younger children might not comprehend the story. An idea on how to use this book in my class would be to have students read this and have weekly discussions about what they have read and discovered.

Not So Different

Genre: Nonfiction
Author: Shane Burcaw
Illustrator: Matt Carr
Awards: none
Grade level: K-4th

This is a great book that teaches children that all people are different! It is an autobiography written by Shane Burcaw about having a disability and how it affects his daily life. He also answers many questions people have about others with disabilities. Shane wants to inform people as much as possible about what it's like to have a disability so they understand what it means. One of the main points Shane wants to make is that even though he has his disability, that he's not much different than people without disabilities.

I will definitely have this book in my classroom! It informs students that we are all different and should accept others differences. I chose the grade level to be between K-4th because it is a great book to teach about having a disability at a wide variety of ages. I would use this in my classroom to show students that we are all different and we should accept each other's differences.

The Icky Bug Alphabet Book

Genre: Nonfiction
Author: Jerry Pallotta
Illustrator: Ralph Masiello
Awards: none
Grade level: K-2nd 

This is an alphabet book that gives many facts and pictures about different bugs students may encounter. This book is extremely colorful, and the layout is simple and easy for younger students to understand what the different bugs are and which letter of the alphabet that bug correlates with. This book is great because students can learn the letters of the alphabet while learning about many different interesting types of bugs.

I would definitely have this book in my classroom! It is an informative book that allows students to learn about bugs and the alphabet. I chose the age range to be between K-2nd because it allows younger students to learn about the different bugs as well as the alphabet, and for older students who already know the alphabet they can learn more interesting facts about these bugs. I would use this book to have students think about the alphabet and create their own alphabet book similar to this one.

Amazing animal groups

Genre: Nonfiction
Author: Suzanne Venino
Illustrator: Suzanne Venino
Awards: none
Grade level: 1st-4th Grade

This is a book with amazing descriptive pictures about how animals group together as well as how different animals work together to survive. This book gives extremely detailed pictures, and list many different animal groups. The book talks about the different ways animals rely on each other to survive and how some animals even rely on each other to build their homes.

I love this book! The pictures are absolutely amazing and the text is so detailed and descriptive. I would definitely have this book in my classroom so children can explore the different animal groups. I chose the grade level to be between 1st-4th because younger children could easily learn information from the pictures while older students can read and gather a deeper understanding from the text. I would use this book during an animal unit and teaching about how animals are different but many rely on each other to live.

Digging Up Dinosaurs

Genre: Nonfiction
Author: Aliki
Illustrator: Aliki
Awards: none
Grade level: 1st-3rd grade

This is a creative book that gives a lot of facts about dinosaurs in a unique way. It talks about many different dinosaur fossils at the museums and surrounding those dinosaurs are many people talking and giving speech bubble facts about the different dinosaurs. After discussing 5-6 dinosaurs, the book then talks about how dinosaurs are found and how difficult it is to be able to complete a whole dinosaur fossil.

This book gives a lot of information about dinosaurs in a fun way for students to stay entertained while reading. I would definitely use this book in my class because it allows students to learn about dinosaurs in a fun way. The appropriate grade level is 1st-3rd grade because the vocabulary is simple enough for younger students to understand, but also gives a variety of detailed information about dinosaurs and fossils. I would use this book during the dinosaur unit and pair it with a dinosaur fossil discovery activity. 

Hurricanes

Genre: Nonfiction
Author: Patricia Lauber
Illustrator: None (real pictures)
Awards: none
Grade level: 2nd-5th

This is an amazing book that gives a lot of information about hurricanes! It starts off with a table of contents and goes into information about how hurricanes form, the many different parts of hurricanes, and how hurricanes have affected people over the span of many years. This book offers real images from many years ago in the early 80's to recent hurricanes with more detailed pictures. This book also gives information on what to do if you ever come in contact with a hurricane and the best way to stay safe in a hurricane.

I would definitely use this book in my classroom! It is a great book that teaches students how severe hurricanes can be as well as how hurricanes form and the properties of a hurricane. I said the appropriate grade range is 2nd-5th because there is a lot of information in the books that might make it difficult for younger students to comprehend, but they could also look at the informative pictures and get ideas from those. I would use this book during a unit talking about the weather and use it to introduce hurricanes,