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.