Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

Title: Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus    

Author: Barbara Park

Illustrator: Denise Brunkus

Date of publication: 1992

Publishing Company: Random House Books for Young Readers

Awards: n/a

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Realistic Fiction

Theme: Getting over your fears.

Primary Characters: Junie B. Jones

Secondary characters:

Classroom Use: Another funny book from the Junie B. Jones collection and a great chapter book to read as a whole class.

Summary: Junie B. Jones is starting kindergarten and her mother is making her ride the school bus. Junie doesn’t like the school bus. She thinks the bus is stupid and smelly. On the first day of school she decides that she is not going to ride the bus home!!! So, instead she hides in her classroom closet. The teachers try to find her but couldn’t. When she finally comes out from hiding, there is no one at the school—except the janitor!! She runs all over the school having fun till she realizes that she needs to use the bathroom. All the doors are locked; she tries to find a bathroom, call 911 for the emergency, and causes a whole big mess! Eventually the janitor finds her and opens the bathroom for her. In the end, her mom picks her up and she didn’t have to ride the school bus!! But, once they get home, her mother tells her that she needs to overcome her fear of the bus and helps her find a friend so the bus ride won’t be too bad.

The Rough-Face Girl

Title: The Rough-Face Girl    

Author: Rafe Martin

Illustrator: David Shannon

Date of publication: 1992

Publishing Company: The Putnam Berkley Group, Inc.

Awards: Teacher's Choice Book,

IRA Children's Booksellers' Choice, 

Georgia Children's Picture Storybook Award Winner

Nebraska's Golden Sower Award

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Folktales

Theme: An Algonquin Indian Cinderella tale

Primary Characters: Rough-Face Girl

Secondary characters: her 2 mean sisters

Classroom Use: A great Indian folktale that gives a version of the traditional and widely known Cinderella tale. Good book to read about other cultures versions of folktales. It can incorporate other cultures into the classroom.

Summary: An Algonquin Indian folktale version of Cinderella. It’s a story about a girl that is named, Rough-Face girl. She lives with her poor father and her 2 mean sisters that make her sit and feed the flames of the fire. Her sitting and feeding the flames causes her hair to burn and many burn scars all over her face and body. Her and her sisters compete to marry the Invisible being, who in this case portrays the prince as in Cinderella. In the end, it is the Rough-Face Girl that sees the true beauty of the world—no matter what and is the one that marries the Invisible Being. She turns out to become very beautiful in the end. The Indian tale has the same storyline as Cinderella. 

Once a mouse...

Title: Once a Mouse…    

       A Fable cut in wood.

Author: Marcia Brown

Illustrator: Marcia Brown

Date of publication: 1961

Publishing Company: Charles Scribner’s Sons-- Macmillan Publishing Company

Awards: Caldecott Honor Book (1962)

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Fables

Theme: Being grateful and appreciating what another person does for you.

Primary Characters: The mouse

Secondary characters: The Hermit

Classroom Use: Good fable about appreciation and being grateful. Best to read to older students that will comprehend the fable a bit more than the little children.  Could use to lead a discussion about the fable and etc.

Summary: The fable is about a hermit (man) who is thinking about big and small when he sees a little mouse in trouble. He turns the mouse into a cat to save him from being eaten/killed. He changes him into bigger animals each time to protect the little mouse from being attacked. But, the mouse, as a mighty tiger, becomes full of pride. He sees himself as the biggest and strongest beast in the jungle and strides around making sure that all the animals know. So, the hermit tells the tiger that he is ungrateful and that if it weren’t for him he would still be a mouse and perhaps even dead. The tiger gets angry and plots to kill him. However, the Hermit could read his thoughts, turns him back into a tiny mouse and sends him away into the jungle. The mouse didn’t appreciate the Hermit’s help in the correct manner and was ungrateful to him.   

The Red Book

Title: The Red Book               

Author: Barbara Lehman

Illustrator: Barbara Lehman

Date of publication: 2004      

Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin Books

Awards: Caldecott Honor Book

Genre: Fantasy

Subgenre: Picture Book

Theme: Using your imagination in creating a story to go with the illustrations and finding friends in a book.

Primary Characters: a little girl

Secondary characters: a little boy

Classroom Use: Good picture book to use and lead discussion in creating different stories from the illustrations in the book.

Summary: A picture book with no words about a little girl that finds a red book in the snow. The book allows her to use her imagination in creating a story about the illustrations she sees and makes friends along the way by doing so.

Red sings from Treetops.... A year in Colors

Title: Red sings from Treetops… A year in colors     

Author: Joyce Sidman

Illustrator: Pamela Zagarenski

Date of publication: 2009

Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Awards: A Lee Bennett Hopkins Honor Book, 2007 Cybils Award, A School Library Journal Best Book, & Bank Street Claudia Lewis Award

Genre: Poetry

Subgenre: Lyric Poetry

Theme: Colors & Seasons

Primary Characters: n/a

Secondary characters: n/a

Classroom Use: Great poetry book to read about the seasons of the years and the different colors.  

Summary: A poetry book that invigorates and captures the colors throughout each of the seasons!! The book goes through each season (Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter) giving lyrical details of occurring seasonal visions through the colors that can be seen all around. 

Junie B. Jones is (almost) a Flower Girl

Title: Junie B. Jones is (almost) a flower girl       

Author: Barbara Park

Illustrator: Denise Brunkus

Date of publication: 1999

Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.

Awards: n/a

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Realistic Fiction

Theme: Don’t rush into growing up – Enjoy being a child.

Primary Characters: Junie B. Jones

Secondary characters: Bo (the flower girl)

Classroom Use: Funny, short chapter books that I could use to introduce and read aloud with the classroom. The Junie B. Series are fun and easy to read!!

Summary: Junie B. Jones decides that she is going to prove to her mother that she is a grown-up lady. Amazingly enough she finds out that her Aunt Flo is getting married!! It’ll be her first wedding and is very excited about it. Automatically, she declares herself as the flower girl and a part of the wedding party without even asking anyone. The only thing Junie B. can think of is that this is the perfect opportunity to prove her mature nature. However, she is taken by surprise when her Aunt Flo tells her that they already picked out a flower girl, Bo. She is sad & disappointed. Aunt Flo decides to make Junie B. the “alternate” flower girl, which makes Junie B., excited again. She ultimately schemes and wishes for Bo to get sick or something so that she will not be in attendance for the wedding and then she can be the flower girl. The wedding day comes around and to her surprise Bo is walking down the isle as the flower girl. She still tries to prove that she is a grown-up lady, but its Bo that teaches her that sometimes being a child is way more fun than being a grown up!! Junie B. and Bo end up having childish fun at the wedding and become friends in the end. 

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Title: Ramona Quimby, Age 8    

Author: Beverly Cleary

Illustrator: Alan Tiegreen

Date of publication: 1981

Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.

Awards: Newberry Honor Award winner (1982)

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Realistic Fiction

Theme: The theme of the book is family and school life.

Primary Characters: Ramona Quimby

Secondary characters: The Quimby family (Mr. & Mrs. Quimby & Beezus)

Classroom Use: I had heard of the Ramona Quimby books throughout school but never really read them. I learned that Beverly Cleary wrote a series of Ramona Quimby books. Ramona Quimby is quite hilarious. The stories are based on the adventures & mischief that Ramona seems to get into and also include her funny family. The book could be used to read as a whole group and use with discussions of some sort. One can choose to read one book or even the whole series of stories.

Summary: The story is based on Ramona Quimby and her beginning the third grade. It all surrounds the adventures, mischief and the changes that occur during her new school year. For example, she learns in the beginning that her dad is also going to school (college) to become an art teacher, then she has a mishap with an egg that she gets all over her hair, she throws up in front of everybody due to her stomach flu, and she has to learn to be nice to Willa Jean. She grows through the story into being a young adult, as she seems to think, but at the same time all kinds of funny things/mishaps that she seems to get into. 

I like Myself

Title: I like myself      

Author: Karen Beaumont

Illustrator: David Catrow

Date of publication: 2004

Publishing Company: Scholastic Inc.

Awards: n/a

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Realistic

Theme: Having a good self-esteem.

Primary Characters: little girl

Secondary characters: n/a

Classroom Use: Cute book to read and lead discussion about having a good self esteem and liking yourself, just the way you are!!

Summary: A little girl is happy and likes who she is. No matter how she looks or acts- she keeps up a great self esteem about herself. She is content with who she is and everything about herself! 

Happy Endings: A Story about Suffixes

Title: Happy Endings    

Author: Robin Pulver

Illustrator: Lynn Rowe Reed

Date of publication: 2011

Publishing Company: Holiday House

Awards: n/a

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre:

Theme: Suffixes (language arts)

Primary Characters: students

Secondary characters: the suffixes

Classroom Use: I would read this book while teaching the students language arts on suffixes.

Summary: A story about suffixes. On the last day of school, Mr. Wright tells the students that they have one more assignment--- Suffixes!!! The kid’s protest and the suffixes runaway. So, then the kids decide that they need to find the missing suffixes and that they are important to learn. In the end, the kids take on the suffix lesson and school ends happily.  

Our Library

Title: Our Library     

Author: Eve Bunting      

Illustrator: Maggie Smith

Date of publication: 2008

Publishing Company: Clarion Books

Awards: n/a

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Animal Fantasy

Theme: The importance of a library and reading. Putting your mind into something and with dedication anything can be accomplished.

Primary Characters: little animals

Secondary characters: n/a

Classroom Use: I would use this children’s as an emphasis about how important it is too read and how libraries play an important role.

Summary: The story is about a community library that is in the risk of being closed for good. However, the community kids come together to try and save it. They use teamwork, hard work, and manage to save the library from closing. 

Sylvester & the Magic Pebble

Title: Sylvester & the Magic Pebble     

Author: William Steig

Illustrator: William Steig

Date of publication: 1969

Publishing Company: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Awards: Caldecott Medal Winner (1970)

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Animal Fantasy

Theme: Watch what you wish for – not all wishes are for the best. 

Primary Characters: Sylvester, the donkey

Secondary characters: Sylvester’s Mom & Dad

Classroom Use: Good story about wishes and unfortunate events. The story can bring about a discussion about how Sylvester ends up in an unfortunate event. I could lead a discussion about wishes and what else the students could think of for helping Sylvester & his situation. I could use the book to have students possibly make a project, write a paper, or some kind of hands on activity with their proposed way of handling Sylvester’s situation.

Summary: A story about a donkey that finds a magic pebble that grants wishes. However, on his way home he encounters a hungry lion & wishes to be a rock!! When he’s turned into a rock he realizes he’s stuck as a rock & can’t wish himself back to normal. Many months go by and the parents live saddened by his disappearance, their loveable son. One day, the parents decide to go on a picnic to try to have a happy day. By some amazing luck they end up on the rock that is Sylvester. Dad finds the magic pebble & places it on top of the rock (Sylvester). Just as the parents get sad in the memories of their son, Sylvester wishes himself back to normal. He’s reunited with his parents in the end after being away for so long and having been stuck as a rock!! They embrace with happiness and lock the magic pebble away! 

Frog & Toad Together

Title: Frog & Toad together                

Author: Arnold Lobel

Illustrator: Arnold Lobel

Date of publication: 1972

Publishing Company: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Awards: Newberry Honor award winner (1973)

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Animal Fantasy

Theme: Friendship. A loving friendship between Frog & Toad.

Primary Characters: Frog & Toad

Secondary characters: n/a

Classroom Use: Cute book that introduces us to two best friends, Frog & Toad, that are always together. This book could be read during a friendship discussion or just for fun. Arnold Lobel’s Frog & Toad books are quite famous among young readers & are easy reader, short-chapter books too.

Summary: The book is about the friendship between Frog & Toad who are best friends. They are always together. The book consists of five short chapters where Frog & Toad are on some kind of adventure. In example, they are together as they try to get everything accomplished on their list, in Frog’s garden, eating Toad’s cookies, being brave together, and even in one of Toad’s dreams…. No matter what they are two inseparable best friends. 

When Sophie gets angry--Really, Really Angry...

Title: When Sophie gets angry--- Really, really angry…    

Author: Molly Bang

Illustrator: Molly Bang  

Date of publication: 1999

Publishing Company: Blue Sky Press

Awards: Caldecott Honor award winner (2000)

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre: Realism

Theme: Anger Management. Many people control their anger in different ways.

Primary Characters: Sophie

Secondary characters: her sister

Classroom Use: I would use this book when talking about the emotion, anger, and the different ways that one can control/handle their anger.

Summary: The book is about a little girl named Sophie who gets really, really angry when she has too share with her sister. In this case, Sophie controls her anger by climbing into a tree to calm down. Everyone gets angry about different things and everyone controls and handles their anger in different ways also.