12. Wayside School is Falling Down [chapter]

By: Louis Sachar
Illustration by: Adam Mccauley
Genre: Children's Chapter Book
Subgenre: Child's fiction
Theme: Entertainment
Primary characters: Teacher and many students in the classroom
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 1989
Publishing Company: HarperCollins
Summary: This book is part of a series of three. They are all little strange and entertaining chapters. Each book contains 30 (technically 29) chapter because that is how many floors are in the building. All of the stories involves the teacher and students in a certain weird incident. This book makes me want to read more of the series. I would definitely recommend this books to students with an active imagination.

11. Muggie Maggie [chapter]

By: Beverly Cleary
Illustration by: Tracy Dockray
Genre: Children's Chapter book
Subgenre: Child's realistic fiction
Theme: Learning cursive
Primary characters: Maggie
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 1990
Publishing Company: HarperCollins
Summary: Maggie expresses her new hatred towards learning cursive when her teacher says her cursive "Maggie" looks like "Muggie". She is not excited at all to learn this new form of writing. The teacher soon makes her deliver mail that is written in cursive and Maggie thinks it's notes written about her that she can't read. She soon learns to write cursive. Very cute book. Beverly Cleary is an all time classic. Kids can really relate to these books and I would love for the class to read this.

10. Holes (Newbery Medal) [Chapter]

By: Louis Sachar

Illustration by: Vladimir Radunsky

Genre: Children's chapter book
Subgenre: Child's fiction

Theme: Fate and family curse

Primary characters: Stanley Yelnats

Awards: Newbery Medal

Date of Publication: 1998

Publishing Company: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Summary: Stanley Yelnats is sentenced to Camp Green Lake where he is forced to dig a hole as punishment ten feet deep and ten feet wide. Little does he or any of the other boys know that they are digging holes for a real reason. He makes friendships and ends up trying to escape while dealing with his family's past. This was a very good book with a few twists that will keep students at an older age intrigued.

9. Stinky Stern Forever [Chapter]

By: Michelle Edwards
Illustration by: Michelle Edwards
Genre: Children's chapter book
Subgenre: Child's realistic fiction
Theme: Dealing with death
Primary characters: Stinky Stern and Pa Lia
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 2007
Publishing Company: Harcourt
Summary: This is an interesting book. It is about a bully that ends up getting hit by a car after getting off of the school bus. The student's deal with '"Stinky Stern's" death differently. They each get to speak out in front of the classroom and express their feelings. This story is mainly about a young girl Pa Lia who saw Stinky Stern get hit by the bus. She has a hard time understanding her feelings. This book is one of a series of different books. I think this book could be good for some kids who are dealing with a similar situation. But then again, the book started out abrupt and I was in shock when I read that a child died and how it happened. I think it was a little harsh for young children.

8. I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! [Picture]

By: Karen Beaumont
Illustration by: David Catrow
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Child's fiction
Theme: Painting
Primary characters: Little boy
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 2005
Publishing Company: Harcourt Children
Summary: The words in this book go along with a familiar folk song. It is about a child to insists on painting all over the house until Mama comes and takes his paint away. The persistent little boy sneaks the paint back and uses himself as a human canvas and paints all over his body. Young children would love this book! It would be great for entertainment purposes. The illustrations are wonderful and extremely colorful to grab a child's attention.

7. A Visitor for Bear [picture]

By: Bonny Becker
Illustration by: Kathy Macdonald Denton
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Child fiction
Theme: Friendship
Primary characters: Bear and mouse
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 2008
Publishing Company: Candlewick
Summary: I loved this book. The illustrations complimented the story so well. This book was about a bear who never wants any guests. This mouse keeps sneaking in his house after bear kicks him out. The mouse insists on staying for tea but the bear does not want his company. Finally, the bear gives in and when the mouse wants to politely excuse himself Bear does not want him to leave. This could teach my students a certain moral, I would ask them what they thought of the book and lead into a class discussion.

6. Yoko Writes Her Name [picture]

By: Rosemary Wells
Illustration by: Rosemary Wells
Genre: Children's picture book
Theme: To accept people from different cultures.
Primary characters: Yoko
Awards: none
Date of Publication: 2008
Publishing Company: Hyperion
Summary: This book is about a Japanese cat who is not accepted by her fellow classmates. Everything she does is incorrect to them, including writing her name. I love this story because it teaches children to be aware of other people's cultures. Everyone is different and special. I would read this to my younger students in class. I believe that accepting other people is very important.

5. Joseph Had A Little Overcoat (Caldecott Winner) [picture]

By: Simms Taback
Illustration by: Simms Taback
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Child fiction
Theme: You can make something out of nothing
Primary characters: Joseph
Awards: Caldecott Winner
Date of Publication: 1999
Publishing Company: The Penguin Group
Summary: This book is about Joseph's overcoat that gets ruined and he turns it into a jacket then to a vest etc. This book's main message is that "you can always make something out of nothing." Taback does an amazing job on the illustrations and the book as a whole is adorable. It is the second version of the original made in 1977. There is even a song in the back. I would read this to entertain my classroom.

4. That's Why We Don't Eat Animals [picture]

By: Ruby Roth
Illustration by: Ruby Roth
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Animals
Theme: Explaining to children why we shouldn't eat animals
Primary characters: No primary characters
Awards: None
Date of Publication: 2009
Publishing Company: North Atlantic Books
Summary: I absolutely adore this book. It was written by an art teacher in Los Angeles. This book explains to a child why we do not eat pets, farm animals, and sea animals. It also shows the child how eating animals effects our environment. This book really brings light to what we choose to consume really isn't a personal choice, our choice effects many aspect of life. The end of the book gives the reader many other ideas on how to be more socially conscious. Here is a website devoted to this book!
http://wedonteatanimals.com/

3. Tuesday (Caldecott Medal) [picture]

By: David Wiesner
Illustration by: David Wiesner
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Children's fiction
Theme: Imagination
Primary characters: Frogs
Awards: Caldecott Winner
Date of Publication: 1991
Publishing Company: Clarion Books
Summary: This is strictly a picture book with few captions. I love this books and I remember it from when I was in school. This helps stimulate student's imagination. I believe this book could be used almost at any level. This books is basically about frogs floating on lily pads during a Tuesday night.

2. The Three R's: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle [picture]

By: Nuria Roca
Illustration by: Rosa M. Curto
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Children's realistic fiction
Theme: Informative/Teaches children how to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste
Primary characters: Paul
Awards: None
Date of Publication: 2007
Publishing Company: Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
Summary: This book teaches children and families how they can help reduce waste. I love how this book asks questions to the reader. It is very interactive and challenges the young mind. I would use this for children in 3rd-5th grade. At the end of the book it teaches the reader how to  build a bird house, make a notebook, and many others experiments. It is important for students to become more socially conscious at a young age.

1. My Friend Rabbit (Caldecott Medal) [picture]

By: Eric Rohmann
Illustration by: Eric Rohmann
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Juvenile Fiction
Theme: Friendship/Teamwork can solve problems
Primary characters: Rabbit and Mouse
Awards: Caldecott Winner
Date of Publication: 2002
Publishing Company: Roaring Book Press
Summary: This book is great. I love all of the detailed and colorful pictures. Since this book does not have many words in it, I would ask my students to describe the pictures. This book teaches children about working together. Mouse still accepts his friend even though Rabbit always makes situations worse. Great for a younger age group.