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.

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 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.