The Green Book by Jill Patton Walsh

Imagine taking a trip that is four years long, one way, and has the potential to change your life forever. If all the essentials were already decided and you were given the choice of one book and one book only. What book would it be and why?

In the story, "The Green Book," this is how the main family is introduced. Earth is now a dying planet and a select few of the population are to be transported in an aircraft that allows very few personal items that is traveling to an unexplored region of space. Once they arrive on their new planet, the story begins with the exploration of thier uncharted planet and learning how to adapt.

This would be a great chapter book for fourth and fifth graders for many reasons. One reason being that you can link this book to studies on the immigrants and their journey to the Americas. The trips from their homeland were full of extreme hardships for they the vessels they were transported in had very little extra storage so everyone was allowed very few personal things. Many immigrants also had one set of expectations for the new country, but experienced something completely different.

The book also broaches the topic of data collection for in the beginning several members of the new colony go in search of signs of life by using their observation skills. You could take your students on a field trip to somewhere that they have never visited and have them do the same by using their sense.

This book is also a circular book, which means that the book wraps back around on itself. To tie this into language arts you could have the students write a very short story where their first sentence is the very same as the last sentence.

This is the Teacher by Rhonda Gowler Greene

"This is the Teacher" is a hilarious book for children probably up to second or third grade. In the classroom, I would use this book as something I would read on the first day of school, to help lighten up the tense situation. This book is about all the crazy and unexpecting things that happen in an elementary school. The way the book is written and organized is so different and fun for everyone to read. It's written in sort of a rhythm, and it flows from one page to the next. It's hard to explain without an example, so for example the first page simply says, "This is the teacher all ready for school." Then on the second page it says, "These are the students who rush through the door, who drop sacks of lunches that smash! on the floor and topple the teacher all ready for school." So the book continues by building the story from page to page, but keeping the sentence from the page before. By the very last page, there is a long poem to describe the day at school. I just thought it was a fun book to read that was unlike anything I had really seen before. I also can't forget about the illustrations, by Mike Lester, which were all very detailed and showed the hilarity that the book was trying to portray.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" was one of my favorite books as a child, and is probably written toward the younger age range up to about age 7. It probably had to do with the repetition of phrases and the way you could always guess what the next page was going to say, and I loved to be able to figure out the next lines. The book is about the series and consequences that take place if you happen to give a mouse a cookie, and the repetition that occurs. Laura Joffe Numeroff did a great job of making the book flow as if it were a rhyming book, when there was none at all. The other thing that I loved about this book were the illustrations. The illustrator was Felicia Bond and she was able to give the characters so much life and humor throughout her drawings. As a child, the pictures of a big were probably the most important thing for me, and these pictures were able to keep me entertained throughout the whole book. In the classroom, you might be able to use this book when introducing various rules and consequences, because it demonstrates what happens from one event to another. Although it doesn't show strict consequences, it would still be a fun and useful book to choose for younger students to understand the concept of consequences of their actions.

The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble

I remember having this book read to me both in school and out. Stephen Kellogg illustrated the book and his pictures are always fun and full of vivid imagery that helps kids picture what is going on, as often the books he illustrates for are full of wild and crazy events! I have an autographed book of his somewhere at home. One day in elementary school he came to a book fair and met all of his fans. Anyways, on to the book! It is a crazy recount of a field trip to a farm told by a girl to her mom. The mom starts off by saying, "How was your class trip to the farm?" and the girl replies, "Oh...boring...kind of dull... until the cow started crying." I can just picture the giggles and bewilderment in my class as they see the picture of a cow crying in the speech bubble above the girl's head. They'll be wondering, "Why would the cow be crying?" This is how every two pages of the book play out. A strange occurrence is mentioned and you're left wondering how it could have happened then a following explanation is given of what actually went down. This is basically the worst field trip ever from the teacher's standpoint. The students throw corn and eggs at each other, a farmer runs into haystacks with his tractor, a boa constrictor (that Jimmy sneaked in his bag) ate the farmer's wife's dirty laundry, and all the students just make a general mess of things. The teacher is often shown in the background laying on the ground covered in eggs with her mouth open in absolute terror. As the kids are finally shuffled on the bus by the teacher the kids realize Jimmy's boa was left on the farm, but that was OK with Jimmy since he had himself a new pet pig! At the conclusion of the book you see the girl and Jimmy taking the pig on a soap box derby race and the farmer and his wife sitting in the living room with their new pet, the boa, it curled up at their feet and the wife knitting a large "sock" outfit for it.

Needless to say, this book is a lot of fun to read to a group of kids. Perhaps the author was venting some of her frustration through writing, as this class truly is the most rambunctious group of kids you've ever seen. I would probably read this all the way up to 2nd or 3rd grade. It stimulates the mind with vivid imagery and exciting events. If any kids grew up in a farming community or have relatives that own a large plot of land this book would be particularly funny. It shows that even the dullest of situations can be livened up with a little humor and excitement! This would probably be a good book for the first day of class, maybe after an introduction since I'm a big animal fan. There are many subject applications that this could incorporated in. I could have the kids count the number of eggs being thrown, or have them practice their consonant sounds by mimicking the snake's hissssssssssssssssssss. Students could talk about any pets they might have or had, read the book as a group, then draw a picture about their favorite animal. Since this is a good example of what not to do on a field trip, I would be sure to stress the importance of listening to me just in case the book gives them any smart ideas!

Cinderhazel, The Cinderella of Halloween by Deborah Nourse Lattimore

Hazel is a delightful young witch who earns the name Cinderhazel because she loves to be filthy. She is constantly teased by her very clean stepmother and stepsisters who think she is disgusting. One night, her stepmother and stepsisters go to the Witches Halloween Ball but tell Cinderhazel she cannot go because she is so messy she would make them look bad. Cinderhazel attends the ball with the help of her witchy godmother and wins the heart of yucky Prince Alarming who loves to be dirty almost as much as Hazel does. This is a wonderful book to read to your fourth grade class for Halloween. It is also a great read-aloud for comparing with the traditional folklore versions of Cinderella. The lively paintings truly enhance the humor and give the story a magical touch. This book also teaches a lesson in appreciating those who may be different from ourselves or who "go against the flow". It is so important that we teach our students to respect people from all different backgrounds and cultures.

Old Hat New Hat by Stan and Jan Berenstain

The authors send us a clear message, be satisfied with what you have for the latest and greatest may not be any better than what you have in front of you already. When a young bear goes into a hat shop to find a new hat he is met by a sophisticated, but snobby, sales clerk. The clerk immediately goes to work to find a suitable hat to replace the bear's old, tattered, and unattractive hat. He presents the bear with a large selection of many new hats, bringing them in one after another. The hats are quite varied while some are fancy, some are practical, and most are very imaginative. Kids can marvel at the selection of new hats, comment on them, pick a favorite, and laugh at their absurdity. The bear rejects each of the hats one by one, unable to find anything that suits him. Finally he discovers the perfect hat, but it is not a new hat. Instead he leaves with his old hat, nestling it perfectly on his head while a look of satisfaction comes over his face.

I think kids love this book because in its simplicity it delivers creativity with a surprise ending. Who would have guessed that the bear would pass up all the new hats just to walk back out of the store with his old hat? He possessed all along a hat that could not be so easily replaced, even with its floppy brim and raggedy patches. Teachers can lead their students in a query as they think of old favorites that are irreplaceable. Students can write and illustrate their own books showing how they would reject the new and keep their old, comfortable favorite. Perhaps kids can learn to appreciate the things they have without looking for the new stuff.

"Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

"Where the Wild Things Are" is a book about complete imagination. Max is a little boy with a big imagination. He isn't very behaved and got into some trouble before dinner. Due to his bad behavior he is sent to bed without dinner, mom's orders. While in his room the walls begin to turn into the forest and trees begin to grow all around him. Before you know it your right in the middle of Where the Wild Things Are. Of course Max becomes king hear because the monsters that live there do not scare him, even with their terrible claws, and gnashing teeth. He frightens them with his magical tricks and they call him the most wild thing of all. Several pages in the book are of Max and the monsters doing a "wild rumpus" because Max, the king, orders them to dance. The illustrations are is fun and imaginative. They are silly and entertaining and perfect for younger students. I think that between the grades of kindergarten and second grade this book would be most appropriate. It is not very long, and there are many pictures to hold students attention. The wording is very simply and for second graders, they could read it on their own. There are so many fun activities that can follow this book for the whole class.