Annotated Bibliography for books used in lesson plan

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Lovell, Patty. Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2001.
print.
A very small girl named Molly Lou Mellon moves into a new school where she must
contend with the bully, Ronald Durkin. Molly has extremely peculiar characteristics
which she truly likes. Donald tries repeatedly to poke fun at Mollys tiny size, huge
bucked teeth and bullfrog voice to no avail. Molly always responds in such a way to
beautifully display her differences which unintentionally make Donald look foolish.
Her kind attitude and unique qualities win Donald admiration and friendship in the
end. This is an extremely amusing story that reads aloud very well. Children are
immediately drawn to Mollys joyous attitude and like watching her put Donald in his
place without being mean in return.
New vocabulary: proud, glee and foolish. Discuss hyperbole- glued to your seat.

Reynolds, Peter H. the dot. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2003. print.

Vashti believes she has no artistic talent until her art teacher inspires her by making
a beautiful compliment about a simple dot that Vashti made on her paper while
sulking. Vashti becomes determined to make the best dots she can and begins to
like making art. Vashti inspires a younger boy to begin artwork by using the same
type compliment.
This story helps illustrate that sometimes a persons attitude is all that stands in
there way, and you might just like something new if you give it a chance.
New vocabulary: empty, experiment

Weil, Lisl. Walt and Pepper. New York: Parents Magazine Press, 1974. print.
Walt, a dog, and Pepper, a cat, live in apartments across the street from each other.
Every day they growl, hiss and make fun of each other thinking they are enemies.
But one day Walt doesnt show up at his window to squabble with Pepper. Pepper
thinks this is great at first, but then begins to miss her friend/enemy (frenemy).
When Walt shows up again after his trip away it is apparent that he missed Pepper
too. Although they are saying the same sort of things to each other their faces and
attitudes have changed towards playfulness.

This book displays overtly mean behavior in the beginning and the children are
shocked when the characters threaten to bite and scratch each other. I like how this
book displays conflict resolution by showing that there was never really a conflict
there, just the attitudes of Walt and Pepper.
New vocabulary: snooze, listless, taxicab

Fantasy
Litwin, Eric. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. New York:
HarperCollins, 2012. print.
Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book
Pete the Cat loves the buttons on his shirt. He also likes singing about his buttons.
One by one his buttons pop off of his shirt but he is undaunted and keeps singing
about them. Even when they are all gone he keeps singing about buttons, except
now its about his belly button. The book asks the reader if Pete cries about his
buttons and then answers that he doesnt cry because he knows that stuff comes
and goes; just keep singing.
This book is very useful for counting and learning subtraction. I give each of my
students four buttons at the beginning of the story and we count them every time
we take one away until we get to zero. We also get up and sing and dance together
every time Pete sings his button song.

New vocabulary: groovy, minus

Sendak, Maurice. Where The Wild Things Are. New York:
HarperCollinsPublishers, 1991. print.
1964 Caldecott Medal winner
A young boy named Max is misbehaving one evening and when his mother calls him
wild thing he angrily talks back at her so is sent to his room before supper. There
in his room a new world grows around him and he sails off in a boat to another land.
This land is inhabited by the Wild Things; strange and fantastical creatures. Max
has a grand, rowdy adventure with his new friends until he begins to feel lonely and
miss home. He sails back into his bedroom where supper has been place on his
nightstand. It somewhat appears through the drawing that Max had been asleep,
but it is left up to the reader to wonder about it.
A useful book to spur conversation about the time and place of activities. It may be
ok to run, jump, scream and holler on a playground but not in the living room. I also

use this book to talk about how the Mom in the beginning of the book felt when Max
growled at her. And that it is ok for our mommies and daddies to be upset with us
when we have broken a rule or treated them badly. We then talk about how his
supper may have gotten into his bedroom and how his mommy forgives and will
love him no matter what and will always take good care of him.
New vocabulary: mischief, vines, gnash, lonely, rumpus
Folklore

Backstein, Karen. The Blind Men and the Elephant. New York: Scholastic Inc.,
1992. print.
In this traditional story six blind men travel to a palace to find out what an elephant
is like. Without the use of their eyes they are left to use there other senses;
primarily the sense of touch to learn about an elephant. Each man experiences a
different part of the animal, a leg, the trunk, its side, its tail etc. Each man then has
a different understanding of what an elephant is like and begin to argue about what
an elephant is like. The prince of the palace hears them arguing and helps them to
understand that they must examine each part before they can truly know what an
elephant is like. He gives them this opportunity by letting them ride the elephant
back to their home.
In the classroom this story helps foster empathy towards those with disabilities. We
explore what it would be like to not have the use of our eyes, ears and other senses.
We also talk about how we need to listen carefully to what others are saying and
see if we need more information before we make up our mind about something.
New vocabulary: tusk, spear, realize, silk

Historical Fiction

Yashima, Taro. Umbrella. New York: Penguin Group, 1986. print.

A Caldecott Honor Book
A little Japanese girl named Momo is given new boots and an umbrella for
her third birthday. She is very excited about getting to use them, particularly
her umbrella. Everyday she hopes that it is raining so she can use them on
her walk to nursery school in New York where she lives. She invents reasons
why she needs them even if its not raining; to block the wind or shade
herself from the sun. But her parents encourage her to wait until it is raining
before she uses them. When it does rain and she walks to school under her

umbrella she loves the music the rain makes on her umbrella. She also
walks without holding her parents hand for the first time on her way to
school and feels that this is a big deal.
When I read this book in the classroom I point out how the city of New York is
different from our smaller city or rural community. We also try to pronounce
the Japanese words the book provides for Spring, Summer, Rain and Peach.
Momo means the peach in Japanese. This book also lends to discussing
patients and how sometimes it is better to wait.
New vocabulary: unfortunetly, impatient

Nonfiction
Arnosky, Jim. Every Autumn Comes the Bear. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons,
1993. print.
A beautifully illustrated story about a black bear as he preambles through the
woods before his winter sleep. Through the pictures we meet pigeons, a porcupine,
ravens, a bobcat, a raccoon, magpies, deer, rabbits, a fox, and a grouse.
This factually written and painted story depicting wildlife in the autumn is very
intriguing to children. As I read this story aloud they often settle into a quiet gaze.
We talk about the names of the animals and how they do not think and feel like we
do. We ask questions about why the bear claws the trees, or growls and the bobcat.
A grouse is a bird that children around here have never heard of and we talk about
how it is sort of the chicken of the forest and you can eat it just like a chicken. It is
a gentle way to introduce them to the reality of eating animals.
New vocabulary: raven, grouse, searching, boulders

Canizares, Susan. Feelings. New York: Scholastic, 1998. print.

A picture book of childrens faces depicting different emotions.
In the classroom we discuss why these children might be feeling this way and if we
have ever felt these feelings. We talk about how we know when someone is feeling

sad, happy or angry. This helps children to recognize others feelings and builds
empathy.
New vocabulary: proud, frustrated, curious

Moncure, Jane Belk. Kindness. Chicago: Childrens Press, 1981. print.

This book tells of simple, everyday acts of kindness that a little boy does for his
friends and family. Most all of the things he does are things that preschool age
children can do. I think making a cake or tying a shoe might be out of reach for
most four year olds.
I read this book frequently for short time spans; a couple weeks on, a month off and
so on. In January I send home some construction paper hearts in a baggie and ask
parents to secretly write down the simple acts of kindness they see their child
demonstrate for one month and send them back to school at the end of the month. I
read the hearts aloud to the class and we display them on a bulletin board devoted
to kindness. This is one of my favorite activities of any school year. I also write
kindness hearts for them from what I see in the classroom. Great healthy self
esteem builder.
New vocabulary: gentle, shivery

Picture Book

Canizares, Susan. Feelings. New York: Scholastic, 1998. print.

A picture book of childrens faces depicting different emotions.
In the classroom we discuss why these children might be feeling this way and if we
have ever felt these feelings. We talk about how we know when someone is feeling
sad, happy or angry. This helps children to recognize others feelings and builds
empathy.
New vocabulary: proud, frustrated, curious