Historical Fiction

The Gardener

Written by Sarah Stewart

Illustrated by David Small

Historical Fiction

This story shows the optimism of a young girl living through the Great Depression. Her parents are out of work so the child is sent to live with her uncle in the city. The story is told entirely through letter written by the young girl. The letters show her sunny personality and her love for gardening. The girl is a bright light and she is determined to stay positive and make others around her happy, especially her uncle. In such a time of gloom and despair though, how much impact can one little girl have? 

The illustrations seem to be done with watercolor and ink. The shades are mostly dull yellows and browns. As the story progresses you can see pops of beautiful colors in the flowers that represent the positivity and happiness that the child spreads. The illustrator does a great job of giving you a feel for the Great Depression and what it may have looked like in the city.

This book would be great to teach kids about the Great Depression and how it effected families in different ways. This story gives an oppurtunity to think about the past compared to the present. This story would fit in very well with a social studies lesson. 

For an ELL student, you could maybe show a video about the Great Depression to build background knowledge before reading. You could also focus on the pictures and the story they are trying to tell. 

Realistic Fiction

The Dot

Written and illustrated  by Peter H. Reynolds

Realistic Fiction

This is a cute little story about being confident in what you can do. A young child, Vashti, hates art class because he can't draw or paint or anything. The art teacher finds a way to activate Vashti's artistic abilities. This story shows a beautiful self discovery within Vashti. The child soon learns to love what he does and be proud of what he creates. If you are looking for a heart warming story, then this is definitely the book for you! If you enjoy this book, check out others from the same author!

The art in this book is just as great as the story itself. The illustrator uses beautiful, bright watercolors mixed with drawings in ink. The drawings are very fresh and have the ability to really evoke feeling within the reader. They are simple, open drawings but they are still very meaningful. 

You could use this in literally any class to motivate your students. Vashti has low confidence, but soon finds a passion for the very thing he didn't enjoy. The best lesson this book teaches is to carry on the encouragement. Just like Vashti's art teacher encouraged him to try, Vashti encourages another student to just try their best and be proud of whatever the outcome. This could definitely be used to teach kindness in a lower level social studies class. 

For a gifted learner you could discuss things that they may not have been good at before, but then they ended up liking. Maybe students had misconceptions about school, but they actually enjoyed it afterwards. 

This One's for the GIRLS

In honor of International Women's Day this past week I chose this book that celebrates daring women that had dreams to change the world.

"Shaking Things Up"

Written by Susan Hood

Illustrated by Sophie Blackall, Emily Winfield Martin, Shadra Strickland, Melissa Sweet, LeUyen Pham, Oge Mora, Julie Morstad, Lisa Brown, Selina Alko, Isabel Roxas, Sara Palacios

Nonfiction

In this stunning book you will be introduced to 14 revolutionary young women that paved the way for future females. In this book you will hear the stories of brave young women such as Ruby Bridges, Molly Lin, Frida Kahol, and many more trailblazer that will inspire you to pursue any dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem. This is a beautiful story that celebrates strong women in our history. If you are looking for a story to make your heart smile, this is definitely the one for you!

The illustrations were drawn by multiple women, which I thought was really unique. Each biography about the women is paired with an illustration that is diverse as the women in the book. Some feature warm, curvy drawings while others are more muted and realistic. Each drawing is beautifully different, but it seems to flow with ease from each biography. 

This needs to be read in every class, at any age. This is such an empowering book that can inspire any students to pursue their dreams and live their life to the fullest. It could also be used to teach about the Women's Rights Movement. I think the main goal of this book is to educate, empower, and celebrate women of the past and inspire women of the future. 

For a Gifted Learner you could give them a chance to research a revolutionary person in history that inspires them. They could put together a visual presentation telling about their person and how they impacted America. 

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

                                                                    

  -Eleanor Roosevelt

Robots Make the Best Friends

Boy + Bot

Written by Ame Dyckman

Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Science Fiction

What would you do if you were playing in the woods and came across a robot? The boy in this book meets an unlikely, caring friend. The robot is turned off and the boy wants to cure him of his "sickness". He goes home and tries all the best known remedies, such as applesauce and a story, but nothing seems to work. The boy goes to bed with no answers about his bot. The bot is powered on by  accident and awakes to see the boy sleeping. Has the boy malfunctioned? Read this cute story about friendship to see how caring a robot really can be. 

The illustrations in this book are rather simple, but sleek at the same time. The colors used are basic primary colors and some green and orange. Most of the lines in this book are just straight with some curves every now and then. I really liked how the illustrator put expression in the robot's face to let the robot show emotion throughout the story. 

This book would be great while teaching a first grade class about the diversity of different groups. This book shows how one thing a certain group does may seem odd or different to another, by showing the boy sleeping and the robot thinking he has malfunctioned. You could use this to teach a Social Studies lesson about different viewpoints of a variety of cultures. 

This book would be great for an ELL learner because the pictures describe what happens perfectly and they could definitely hav that support from the pictures. ELL learners may be able to think of their culture and how it differs from others. 

Feeling Lucky

Modern Fantasy

How to Catch a Leprechaun

Written by Adam Wallace, Illustrated by Andy Elkerton

Modern Fantasy

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up so what do you have to do?

Catch a leprechaun of course. This book tells you what to do!

You plan and plan then set the trap

Wait and wait, don’t take a nap!

“How to Catch a Leprechaun” is just your guide

But he may be sneaky and try to hide

If the trap doesn’t work then try another time

To catch that little man that is green as a lime

If you’re wondering how to catch him now

Read this book and find out how!

The illustrations in this book are very vibrant and bright. They make the pictures just pop off the pages. They pictures are amazing with detail and color rich illustrations. I love how the pictures capture the mischief of the sneaky little leprechaun.

I think this book would support a STEAM lesson really well in 2^nd-3^rd grades. It would be fun to have students plan, design, and construct a trap to catch a leprechaun. They could experiment to see if it actually works.

 For a Gifted Learner you could have them write their own plan to catch a leprechaun with rhyming words, since this book is written in rhyme. They could also write a letter as the leprechaun giving hints on how to catch him.