Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Published (1998). 32 unnumbered pages. 830 L AD.  R.L.4.4 Level K-3.  This wonderfully illustrated biography of Wilson Bentley is a great introduction to his life and accomplishments.

Booklist starred (Vol. 95, No. 3 (October 1, 1998))

Ages 5-8. From the time he was a little boy, Wilson Bentley loved snow. Yet snow was frustrating to him. He could pick flowers for his mother or net butterflies, but he couldn't hold on to snowflakes. First, Bentley tried drawing snow crystals, but they would melt too quickly. Then, as a teenager in the 1870s, he read about a camera with a microscope. His family were Vermont farming folk, but they scraped together the money to buy him the camera. From then on, there was no stopping Bentley, who was nicknamed Snowflake. He spent winters photographing the intricate flakes. At first no one cared ("Snow in Vermont is as common as dirt"); but Bentley found fame as a nature photographer, and even today his photo book of snowflakes is considered a primary source. Martin has chosen her subject well; Bentley's determined life will have innate inspiration for children. Just as important, all parts of the book work together beautifully. The text is crisp and engaging, using word imagery to good advantage: "[his new camera] was taller than a newborn calf and cost as much as father's herd of ten cows." Azarian's woodcuts are strong and sure, just like Bentley himself, and also, like him, show a love of nuance and detail. The book's design allows for snowflake-touched sidebars that offer more specific details about camera technique or Bentley's experiments with snow. There will be so many uses for this book--not the least of which is simply handing it to children and letting their imaginations soar like Bentley's


Snowflake Bentley gives a unique opportunity to share a non-fiction book as a read-a-loud that still has a great story to tell.  Students become interested in how and why he desired to record something like snowflakes.  After we have finished the story, I have the students log on to a web site:  http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/   The students have lots of fun trying to design original snowflakes that are very intricate and of course unique.

Posted by Margo Irving

The Little Red Pen by Janet Stevens

The Little Red Pen written by Janet Stevens. (Published 2011). 48 pgs. L 300. RL 2. Int Lvl k-3. This picture book tells the funny, pun-filled story of how many school supplies team up to correct all the ungraded papers left on a teacher's desk at night.

Kirkus Reviews (March 15, 2011)

Obviously inspired by "The Little Red Hen," this goes beyond the foundation tale's basic moral about work ethic to explore problem solving, teamwork and doing one's best. Nighttime at school brings the Little Red Pen out of the drawer to correct papers, usually aided by other common school supplies. But not this time. Too afraid of being broken, worn out, dull, lost or, worst of all, put in the "Pit of No Return" (aka trash), they hide in the drawer despite the Little Red Pen's insistence that the world will end if the papers do not get corrected. But even with her drive she cannot do it all herself-her efforts send her to the Pit. It takes the ingenuity and cooperation of every desk supply to accomplish her rescue and to get all the papers graded, thereby saving the world. The authors work in lots of clever wordplay that will appeal to adult readers, as will the spicy character of Chincheta, the Mexican pushpin. Stevens' delightfully expressive desk supplies were created with paint, ink and plenty of real school supplies. Without a doubt, she has captured their true personalities: the buck-toothed stapler, bespectacled scissors and rather empty-headed eraser. Teachers will certainly find themselves wishing for their own arsenal of supplies to help them with their grading, and students may take a second glance at that innocuous-looking red pen on the teacher's desk. (Picture book. 5-8)

Don't let the idea of "just a picture book" keep you from reading this hilarious, creative book to your older students. Beyond the entertaining story itself, this read aloud is a gold mine for teaching all sorts of figurative language, poetic elements, dialogue, theme, connections, cause/effect, and problem/solution to any class. It is a mentor text that every teacher should have to make learning fun. After reading it to my class, my students created a whole bulletin board of personification inspired by The Little Red Pen.

Posted by Liz Stafford

Sam & Dave Dig A Hole by Mac Barnett

Sam & Dave Dig A Hole by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Published (2014) 40 unnumbered pages. L.310 R.L. 1.9 Level K-3. Looking for something spectacular to read to your students? This story demands the reader's complete attention, but it pays off in the end.

Kirkus Reviews starred (August 1, 2014)

When Sam and Dave dig a hole, readers get "something spectacular." The boys, on the other hand, do not. Their quest to find the spectacular brings them painfully and humorously close to buried jewels as they spade their way into the ground, accompanied by an intrepid canine companion. Readers occupy a superior position as cross-section illustrations reveal those jewels buried just out of the shovels' reach. Each time they near one, the increasingly grubby boys maddeningly change course. On they dig, tunneling in different directions, and each effort reveals (to readers) yet larger jewels evading them. Exhausted, they fall asleep, but the dog digs after a bone it senses below. In an unexpected turn, the ground gives way to nothingness, and the trio falls through empty space "until they landed in the soft dirt." At first glance, it seems they've ended up where they began: A small tree stands on the recto, and a house with a porch is on the verso, as before. But careful readers will notice that the tree here bears pears, while the tree at the story's start had apples. Other differing details (a weathervane duck instead of a chicken; a blue flower instead of a red one; a blue cat collar instead of a red) suggest that they've unwittingly fallen into another dimension. Poor Sam and Dave. Lucky readers. (Picture book. 4-8)

You'll spend more time discussing this book than you will actually reading it. Then your students will demand that you read it again.  When I read this to my fifth graders, I started by asking them to take notice of the cover and wonder why Sam and Dave would want to dig a hole. After each page, I just asked the kids to share what they noticed.  At the end of the story, the students enjoyed explaining what they thought happened at the end of the book.

Posted by Kellie Hale

Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T. Smith

Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion by Alex T. Smith  published (2015). 28 unnumbered pages. AD 620 L. R.L. 3.7 Grades K-3. Well, this could be a very traditional fairy-tale story except there is no Granny, no big bad wolf, no forest and no basket of goodies.   Yet the story rings true, and the outcome is predictable.  

Booklist starred (July 2016 (Vol. 112, No. 21))

Grades K-2. Little Red is off to take some medicine to her Auntie Rosie, who has come down with a case of spots. Trailed by her tiny pet goat, she passes the sleepy crocodiles, the chattering monkeys, and the leaping gazelles. Everyone says hi to Little Red, but uh oh! Who’s that peeping out from behind the baobab? It’s no surprise when the lion takes a shortcut to Rosie’s house, puts on a nightgown, and prepares to ambush Little Red. It is a surprise, however, when Little Red flips around “What big teeth you have” to teach Lion a few lessons. First up, “what tangled hair you have!”—a lovely set of beribboned braids will do the trick. Next up, that nasty maw—“brush, brush, brush.” Finally, that old nightgown has got to go. Startled Lion is not only still hungry (but much prettier); he’s tired of being fussed over, and in exchange for a promise to behave, he gets to share a box of doughnuts with Little Red and her aunt. Spectacular, zingy, warm colors, an African setting, fantastic comic timing, and cartoonish, acrobatic lines infuse this updated take on a classic tale with maximum humor and energy. This hilarious retelling is destined for repeat reads

I have read this book to first graders and added the opportunity for the students to predict and make text-to-text associations.  They are very aware that this book is a different version of a very familiar story, yet they really seem to enjoy the opportunity to guess what will happen next.  They relish the animals in the jungle as well as Little Red's actions toward the Very Hungry Lion. When the book is finished, I break the students into groups of three and have them create their own version of Little Red.

Posted by Margo Irving

Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan

Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan. Published (2010.) 125 pgs. 450 L. R.L. 3.5 Level 3-6. This wonderfully easy-to-read novel flows like a melodic river as it tells the story of how a teacher changes her 4th grade students' minds about words and their ability to affect life in a positive way EVEN when life is challenging.

Booklist starred (March 15, 2010 (Vol. 106, No. 14))

Grades 2-5. Ms. Mirabel, a visiting poet, works with a fourth-grade class over several weeks as they first discuss why people write poetry and then attempt to express themselves in verse. “I, myself, write to change my life, to make it come out the way I want it to,” states Ms. Mirabel and thus, she becomes a catalyst for the students’ growing awareness in writing and gives them a means to cope with changes in their lives. Narrator Lucy, whose mother is recovering from cancer treatments, often meets her friends to talk about their hopes, their fears, their families, and their charismatic poetry mentor. Children reading the book may long for such friends, who talk so openly about serious matters, support each other in direct and indirect ways, and find plenty to laugh about, too. As the story draws to a close, even the adults in their lives are drawn into the magical power of words. Showing great respect for both her readers and her craft, Newbery Award winner MacLachlan makes every word count in Lucy’s smooth-flowing, economical narrative. Though a number of characters cry along the way, the story is anything but sad, and even poignant is too soppy an adjective for the swift, subtle depiction of characters’ realizations, revelations, and connections. A memorable chapter book.

If you have felt the magic that Love That Dog by Sharon Creech casts over young audiences, then Word After Word After Word is a great book for you to experience with your class. This book is a unique depiction of how most children don't consider themselves "writers" and then find, through the mentoring of a special teacher, that they can use the magic of words to express happiness, sorrow, fear, anger and many more emotions that perplex children in their journey of growing up. It is a treat for you and your students to share.

Posted by Liz Stafford

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.  Published (2016) 277 pgs. L.740 R.L. 5.8 Level 3-6. What would happen if a robot awoke for the first time on an island inhabited by only wild animals? In this delightful read aloud, students explore some interesting questions.

Kirkus Reviews starred (February 1, 2016)

A sophisticated robot--with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell--is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500. When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment--not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different "accent"). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz's growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell's The Animal Family. At every moment Roz's actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz's benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions--and readers--with hope. Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)

With it's short but action packed chapters, The Wild Robot is a fast-paced read aloud.  Unlike other books I have read aloud, I found myself stopping and asking my students to imagine what might happen next and then discussing the event.  My students loved discussing how they imagined a robot might react to the way Roz reacted.  

Posted by Kellie Hale

Night Tree by Eve Bunting

Night Tree by Eve Bunting (Published 1991)  28 unnumbered pages.  AD 620. R.L. 3.3 Grades 1 - 2.  Not every gift worth giving is wrapped with colored paper and purchased at the store.

Booklist (Vol. 88, No. 2 (September 15, 1991))

Ages 4-8. A warm family story extends the spirit of Christmas to the dark, quiet woods and the creatures that live there. On the night before Christmas, a boy, his little sister, and their parents always drive in their father's pickup from their house with its tree and bright holiday lights to the "nice forgotten place where our town ends." Then they walk in the moonlight to their special tree. They find that it's grown, just as they have. They decorate it with all kinds of natural foods and sing carols as they huddle in the cold. Then they pack up and drive home squashed together in the front of the truck. Rand's double-spread watercolor paintings capture the family intimacy in the shadowy, secret wilderness. Together they glimpse a deer, then they hear an owl (a dramatic painting shifts perspective to show a huge owl looking down from a branch at the small family far below). There is mystery all around, and they are part of it. The next day in the midst of the boisterous human festivities, the boy imagines the wilderness animals at the tree, and the final picture shows bears and raccoons, doves and deer, feasting together.

Night Tree is a wonderful way to pause for just a moment during this hectic time of year to consider all the many different ways there are to spread kindness and joy through family traditions.  When I read this book to second graders, I always try to add a little humor by telling them about myown family traditions from when I was a child. This opens up an avalanche of text to self comments.  After we have finished sharing I like to encourage the children to imagine themselves out in the middle of Luke's forest and then we try to think of all the different senses you might use. I use a graphic organizer found at TPT on the smart board as we look for different sense experiences in the book. I am often surprised at how many different things they can pull from the text.

by Margo Irving