28. Hip Hop Speaks to Children (picture/poetry)

By: Nikki Giovanni
Illustration by: Alicia Vergel de Dios,  Damian Ward, Kristen Balouch,  Jeremy Tugeau,  Michele Noiset
Genre: Poetry book
Subgenre: Hip Hop
Theme: Importance with beat poetry
Primary characters:Children
Awards:N/A
Date of Publication: 2008
Publishing Company: Source Books
Summary: This book comes with a CD so children can hear the beats and rhythm of the words. This poetry book has rhythm. This book is diverse from the words to the illustrations. The vernacular is extremely important. Every poem is different in its own way.

27. The Thief Lord (chapter book) [Mildred L. Batchelder Award]

Original Title:  Herr der Diebe
By: Cornelia Funke
Illustration by: Christian Burmingham
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre: Adventure
Theme: Adventurous
Primary characters: Prosper and Bo
Awards: Mildred L. Batchelder Award
Date of Publication: 2002
Publishing Company: The Chicken House/Scholastic Publishing Company
Summary: This book is about Prosper and Bo who are brothers that run away to Venice, Italy. Orphans that live in a movie theater take the brothers in. In the beginning you learn that the main orphan, Scipio, steels money from the rich and sells them to a shopkeeper.  Scipio calls himself the Thief Lord. The brother's aunt and uncle eventually finds out where they have been staying and sends a detective after the two boys. This story is about the encounters with the detective and the secret Scipio is trying to keep from the other orphans. Great adventurous story that will keep students on their toes. This would be a great independent read for the classroom.

26. Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring (picture) [Orbis Pictus Winner]

By: Jane Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
Illustration by: Brian Floca
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Nonfiction
Theme: Working together
Primary characters:
Awards: Orbis Pictus Winner
Date of Publication: 2010
Publishing Company: Roaring Book
Summary: This book is about Martha Graham's dance "Appalachian Spring" and how many dancers, choreographers, and other people come together to make this beautiful dance come alive. Many artists are solo artists. Painters, singers, and photographers can work alone but this book shows that a ballet dance must have multiple people involved and working together. This a good book for a classroom to show how working together can help make master pieces.

25. Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past (picture) [Robert F. Sibert Winner]

By: James M. Deem
Illustration by: Photographer
Genre: Children's nonfiction
Subgenre: Informative
Theme: Historical Glaciers
Primary characters: Husband, Wife, Otzi
Awards: Robert F. Sibert Winner
Date of Publication: 2009
Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin Company
Summary: It's a story a husband and a wife that climb a mountain in northern Italy in 1991. The couple come across a human corpse left beside a melting glacier. They later discover that this corpse was Otzi. This was one of the most important archeological discoveries. There have been discoveries of human bodies from the Andes Mountains, Himalayas, and the European Alps because of the melting glaciers. In this story the couple discovers many stories behind the melting glaciers. This would be very informative for a classroom while drawing attention from the interesting stories.

24. Star of the Week [picture]

By: Darlene Friedman
Illustration by: Roger Roth
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Realistic Fiction
Theme: Adoption and loving families
Primary characters: Cassidy-Li
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 2009
Publishing Company: The Bowen Press
Summary: Cassidy-Li is chosen for the start of the week at school. She is excited about presenting a poster for her classroom. As she begins her project she realizes that she does not have a picture of her birth parents. Her adopted parents love her very much and give her the idea to draw a picture of her birth parents. She is excited and draws the photos. This is a touching story about an adoptive family relationship. I have two cousins adopted from China and this book would be great for them. This book would be useful in class to show other children that all families are not alike. Children need to be aware of diversity in the home and this book is great for that topic.

23. Mommy Mine [picture]

By: Tim Warnes
Illustration by: Jane Chapman
Genre: Chidlren's fitcion
Subgenre: Realistic fiction
Theme: Mother and baby relationships
Primary characters: Animals and their babies
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 2005
Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.
Summary: This book is about mommies and their babies. It is easy to read and children can really relate to this book. Every child believes they have the best mom in the world and this book shows that. It says that mommies come in all shapes and sizes and everyone cares for their mommy. The illustrations are nice and inviting and will attract a child's attention. This book will warm the heart of mommies and babies all year around.

22. A Sick Day for Amos Mcgee [picture] (Caldecott Winner)

Author:  Philip C. Stead
Illustration by: Erin E. Stead
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Children's fiction
Theme: Investing in friendships
Primary characters: Amos Mcgee and the animals
Awards: Caldecott Medal
Date of Publication: 2011
Publishing Company: Roaring Brook Press
Summary: Amos Mcgee is an old man that works at a zoo. Everyday no matter how busy he is, he takes time and visits all the animals. He plays chess with the elephant, runs races with the tortoise, and sits with the penguin. He even spends time with the rhinoceros and owl. One day he does not show up to work because he is feeling sick. All of the animals sit in boredom and worry about the nice old man. Eventually they escape from the zoo and arrive at Amos's home. They spend time with him as he would with them. They keep him company while he is sick. This is a very touching story with nice warm illustrations. The classroom would really enjoy this book for it teaches about the importance of friendship and that it should be cherished.

21. The Gruffalo [picture]

By: Julia Donaldson
Illustration by: Axel Scheffler
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Children's fantasy
Theme: Courage
Primary characters: Mouse, Gruffalo
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 1999
Publishing Company: Macmillan
Summary: The mouse uses his cunning ways to get him out of danger. The mouse gets invinted back to a fox, owl, and a snake's house. Those animals eventually want to eat him but he tricks them and says that he has dinner plans with his friend a gruffalo, who eats the animal he is dining with at the time. Later the mouse runs into an actual gruffalo. He thought he was making up this animal the whole time. The gruffalo wants to eat him, but the mouse once again thinks of an idea. The mouse tells him that he is the scariest animal in the forest. The gruffalo, intrigued, walked with him into the forest. They encounter the snake, owl, and fox the mouse was with earlier. They all flee in fear of the gruffalo that might eat them. The mouse then threatens to eat the gruffalo, then he flees. This story would be great to enterain a classroom of early elementary children. The plot will hold their attention and the illustrations are colorful.

20. Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock [picture]

By: Eric A. Kimmel
Illustration by: Janet Stevens
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Children's fiction
Theme: Trickery
Primary characters: Anansi, Elephant, Lion, Little Bush Deer
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 1988
Publishing Company: Holiday House
Summary: Anansi is a spider that likes to trick animals. He uses a moss-covered rock to trick other animals in the forest. This book is part of a series. This book would be good in a classroom because Anansi is later taught a lesson because of his trickery.

19. Keeping the Night Watch [picture] (Corette Scott King Honor)

By: Hope Anita Smith
Illustration by: E.B. Lewis
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Poem book
Theme: Family
Primary characters: C.J, Mother, and Father
Awards: Coretta Scott King
Date of Publication: 2008
Publishing Company: Henry Holt and Company
Summary: C.J's father walked out on his family when he was young. Now his father is wanting to come back into his house and be a whole family again. The other brother's and sister's do not have a problem with this as much as C.J. does. His dad left many responsibilities on C.J.'s shoulders when he abandoned the family. The family is slowly trying to come back together and Peter describes his anger and frustration through the many poems in this book. There are many broken homes these days and many children might be able to relate to this book. it would be great for children that are going through a similar situation.

18. Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? [picture]

By: Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Illustration by: Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Children's fiction
Theme: Informing what do animals sounds like
Primary characters: Polar bear
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 1991
Publishing Company: Henry Holt and Company
Summary: This books goes through many animals asking what do they hear. This book helps children identify animals and the sounds that each animal makes. This would be great anticipatory set for a class project. Children can draw their own animals and put what they sound like. You can easily print out worksheets and coloring sheets for this famous book. There are many books that these authors do that are also similar to this one.

17. The Rough Faced Girl [picture]

By: Rafe Martin
Illustration by: David Shannon
Genre: Children's picture book
Subgenre: Children's fiction
Theme: Cinderella Story
Primary characters: The invisible being, father, and three daughters
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 1992
Publishing Company: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Summary: This story is about a young girl in a village that gets tortured by her two older sisters. They call her the rough faced girl because they make her tend to the fire in which flames leaves scars on her face. There is the invisible being in the village who every woman wants to marry. He is said to be handsome and very kind. The invisible being lives with his sister and in order to marry him the woman must prove that she has seen him before. One day the two older daughters turn to their father and ask for the finest clothes he can afford. They get all dressed up and head towards the invisible beings wigwam to marry him. They arrive at the great wigwam and ask to marry the invisible being. The sister stands there and asks them questions to prove if they have seen her brother. Of course the girls lied and did not answer the questions correctly, so they were sent home. The rough faced girl then goes to her father and asks for nice clothing and new moccasins. The father looks at her sadly, and says that the other two daughters took all he had. He gave her some worn moccasins and broken shells to make a necklace. She does her best to look presentable as she hesitantly walks through the village towards the great wigwam. She encounters the sister, who looks at her and smiles. She can tell the rough faced girl is sincere. The girl answers the questions correctly and gets dipped into a pool where her inner beauty is now shown on the outside. Her and the invisible being live happily ever after. This story would be great to show a class another Cinderella story from another culture. This book takes on a popular folk tale and places it within another culture. Learning about other cultures is important.

16. Two Times the Fun [chapter]

By: Beverly Cleary
Illustration by: Carol Thompson
Genre: Children's chapter book
Subgenre: Children's fiction
Theme: Twins/playing
Primary characters: Jimmy and Janet
Awards: N/A
Date of Publication: 2005
Publishing Company: HarperCollins
Summary: This is a chapter book for really young children. This would be great in a preschool setting. It is involved in a series that shows two twins, Jimmy and Janet, and how they act. Both of the twins love to have fun and play outside. In this book Jimmy prefers to play with an adult shovel while his sister wants to use her imagination and be a bird. This is a really cute book with attractive pictures. Very short but would hold a young child's attention!

15. The Giver [chapter] (Newbery Medal)

By: Lois Lowry
Illustration by: Lois Lowry
Genre: Soft science fiction
Subgenre: Dystopian society
Theme: Rules and choices
Primary characters: Jonas
Awards: Newbery Medal
Date of Publication: 1993
Publishing Company: Bantam Books
Summary: Jonas lives in a harmonious society where jobs are assigned individually based on their skill. Husbands and wives are also picked for them as well. There are birth mothers and families have to apply to get their children. The society also consumes pills to suppress their emotions and feelings of love and desire. Jonas is assigns to be the Receiver of memories when he reached twelve. He then gets trained the Giver. His mind is then open to true feelings of sadness and things like true love. He isolates himself because he feels separate from everyone in his society. With this book's ambiguous ending, this can cause for a class discussion. This book should be read as a class because there are many ideas and interesting plots in this book.

14. Bud, Not Buddy [chapter] (Corette Scott King Award/Newbery Medal)

By: Christopher Paul Curtis
Illustration by:Christopher Paul Curtis
Genre: Young Adult Novel
Subgenre: Multicultural novel
Theme: Importance of family and trying to find your purpose
Primary characters: Bud Caldwell and Herman E. Calloway
Awards: Coretta Scott King and Newbery Medal
Date of Publication: 1999
Publishing Company: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Summary: During the Great Depression, Bud Caldwell experiences the death of his mother. He becomes an orphan and lives in several foster homes. He ends up leaving a home because he does not get along with the abusive older son. He wants to find Herman E. Calloway so he leaves. Bud meet Lefty Lewis and stays with him one night. The next day he runs into Calloway's band. After getting wrongfully accused for stealing something of Calloways, he later finds out that Calloway is Bud's grandfather. His mother ran away about eleven years before this time. It was a very touching book. Classes would enjoy reading this independently to learn about importantance of the family relationship. Students can show what they think of this book means to them.

13. Because of Winn-Dixie [Chapter] (Newbery Honor)

By: Kate DiCamillo
Illustration by: Cherry Jones
Genre: Children's fiction book
Subgenre: Realistic fiction
Theme: Lonliness and relationships
Primary characters: India Opal Buloni
Awards: Josette Frank Award, Mark Twain Award, Newbery Award
Date of Publication: 2002
Publishing Company: Candlewick Press
Summary: India Opal, 10 year old girl moved to Florida. She stumbled upon a dog in the Winn-Dixie causing problems. She wants to convince her dad to keep the dog because she saved it from getting put into the pound. It's a very cute story that concentrates on India's past and relationships with others. I would love to recommend this book to students in my classroom to read independently. Reading aloud is important, but it is also important for a child to read independently. Everyone remembers the books they got lost in.