Peter's Chair

Author & Illustrator:   Ezra Jack Keats
Publisher:  Viking
Publication Year:  1967
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Kirkus starred review,

Summary:  Peter, of The Snowy Day fame, has a new sister named Susie, and he is not happy about it. He has to be quiet around here, and she's getting all of his things. He decides that he and his dog Willie will take his blue chair and run away! They go in front of the house, but when Peter tries to sit down his blue chair is too small. Then rejoins the family, in a grown-up chair, and suggests that they paint his little chair pink for his sister.

Classroom Ideas: This would be an excellent story for characterization, as Peter changes during the process. A teacher, librarian, or counselor could also use this story to talk to kids about jealousy and sibling rivalry.

The Hat

Author & Illustrator:   Jan Brett
Publisher:  Putnam
Publication Year:   1997
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Abby Award, Publisher's Weekly Best Book,

Summary: This book is a companion book to The Mitten. In it, Lisa decides to hang up her woolen clothes to get ready for the upcoming winter when one of her stockings (socks) blows off the line. Hedgie the hedgehog gets it stuck on his head, but rather than admit that he's stuck he tells all the other animals that it's his new hat. When they make fun of him, he assures them of that his hat will keep him dry, warm, and cozy in the snow. Finally, the girl chases him down and takes back her sock. But wait- all of the other animals are now wearing her other woolens as hats. Brett's amazingly framed illustrations are full of Scandinavian details. 

Amazing author's note on her website tells about the trip she took to Denmark to research for this book: http://janbrett.com/newsnotes/the_hat_newsnotes_page_1.htm

Classroom Ideas: A great example of a circular story- kids could easily write about what happens next as Lisa tries to chase down all of the other animals. Brett's books are set in wintery climates that would be fun to research, starting with the story in the illustrated author's note.

Book! Book! Book!

Author: Deborah Bruss
Illustrator:   Tiphanie Beeke
Publisher:  Levine/ Scholastic
Publication Year:   2001
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   IRA Best Books,

Summary:  When the kids go back to school, the animals get bored and want to get some books from the library. Unfortunately, the human librarian can't understand what the animals want until they send the hen in ("Book! Book! Book!" clucked the hen.) Everyone was happy enjoying their books except the bullfrog because he had already "read it..." Clever word play and charming watercolors.

Classroom Ideas: This book is brimming with alliteration ("the horse hung his head", "the pig pouted") and onomatopeia. There are also GREAT verbs in this book (ambled, grumbled, trotted, plodded, flapped)

The Mightiest Heart

Author: Lynn Cullen
Illustrator:   Laurel Long
Publisher:  Dial
Publication Year: 1998  
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Society of Illustrators gold medal, Marion Vannett Ridgway Award

Summary:  The Welch legend of a faithful dog who would give his life for his master. Prince Llywelyn and his dog Gelert grew up always together and Gelert protected his master from danger. But as Llywelyn grows, he doesn't have time to spend with Gelert. When the prince marries, his new wife doesn't much care for the dog (as shown by an amazing two page spread where Gelert has been banished to the outdoors). When Gelert's son is attacked by a wolf, the dog tries to defend the infant. However, he is first thought to be the attacker and runs away. The prince searches for Gelert for years, but his final encounters with the dog are mysterious. At the end, he allows his son to have a dog with the admonition to remember that "the mightiest heart can come in the humblest vessel." The rich oil paintings bring to mind medieval tapestries with deep colors and incredible details.   

Classroom Ideas: This book has a strong theme and is an example of a traditional folk tale.

Lilly's Big Day

Author & Illustrator:   Kevin Henkes
Publisher:  Greenwillow
Publication Year:   2006
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   School Library Journal best book, Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor, ALA Notable, Booklist Editors' Choice, Kirkus starred review

Summary:  When Lilly's beloved teacher announces his engagement, she is positive that she will be his flower girl. When she realizes that she will only be an assistant to Mr. Slinger's niece, she is devastated. But when Ginger gets stage fright, Lilly saves the day and helps her down the aisle. Henkes's illustrations are perfection, especially when Lilly (in her red cowboy boots, of course) is practicing for the big day.

Classroom Ideas: Lilly is an incredible character that many elementary girls can identify with. Students can use clues to infer what Lilly's parents are trying to say to her, what Mr. Slinger is thinking, and what Ginger is thinking while realizing that the story is only told from Lilly's perspective (perhaps a companion to This is Not My Hat to discuss unreliable narrators?).

Olivia

Author & Illustrator:   Ian Falconer
Publisher:  Atheneum
Publication Year:   2000
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Caldecott honor, Parent's Choice, ALA Notable, Publisher's Weekly Best Books, Kirkus starred review

Summary:  Olivia is a pig like no other- she is very good at wearing people out. The story follows Olivia and her family through a typical day at the beach, art museum (where Falconer includes reproductions of actual art pieces from Degas & Pollock), and home. The amazing illustrations bring Olivia and her sass to life, as she picks out clothes (from 17 pictured choices), imagines herself as a ballerina, and imitates Pollock on her bedroom wall (Time Out). The simple black, white, and always red color scheme makes Olivia pop off the page, and readers will quickly see themselves in her personality and spunk.

Classroom Ideas: Olivia would make for an excellent character study for younger children. It also could introduce Degas and Pollock for an art teacher.

Mrs. Katz and Tush

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1992
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Jane Adams Peace Assoc. and Women's Intl. League for Peace and Freedom Honor,

Summary:  Larnel and his mother go to visit the recently widowed Mrs. Katz. The next day he brings her a kitten (Tush) and agrees to come back and help her with him. A friendship grows between the two of them, and many parallels are drawn between the Jewish people and African-Americans. Larnel shares Passover with Mrs. Katz and celebrates the birth of Tush's kittens. "at last I am a bubee" At the end, Mrs. Katz stays a member of Larnel's family and becomes bubee to his children.

Classroom Ideas: The theme of friendship between generations, races, and love between different people is so very lovely here.

The Junkyard Wonders

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2010
Location: Personal Collection

Awards: Publisher's Weekley starred review, Volunteer State Book Award
 Summary:  In another autobiographical story, Trisha begs to stay at her dad's house in Michigan and start a new school where no one knows she was in special ed. But she gets put in a special ed class called the "junkyard" at her new school and the other kids make fun of her and her classmates. When  Miss Peterson hears that, she takes them on a junkyard field trip where they realize that the "junk" there can be used in exciting ways. Trisha and her group find a plane and the class raises money to buy a motor for it. Tragedy strikes when a member of the class passes away but the whole group comes together to launch the plane in Jody's memory. There's a wonderful update on the grown-up classmates at the conclusion of the book.

Classroom Ideas: This is a great example of personal narrative and a story with the theme of realizing that everyone has their own unique talents and nobody is "junk".

Mr. Lincoln's Way

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  2001
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Jean B. BellavanceYoung Reader's Choice, California Young Reader Medal, 

Summary: The principal Mr. Lincoln is beloved by everyone in the school except the bully "Mean Gene." Gene calls everyone names, including using a racial slur for Mr. Lincoln; but Mr. Lincoln keeps trying to find a way to reach Gene. One day he notices Eugene watching the birds outside the atrium window and gets the idea to get his help in attracting more birds . Gene has learned a lot about birds from his Grampa and he & Mr. Lincoln work together. Fighting against Eugene's father's bigotry, Mr. Lincoln tries to teach the him about accepting  and respecting of all his “little birds,” both feathered and human. When the ducklings hatch, Eugene and Mr. Lincoln lead them safely to the pond where their parents wait.

Classroom Ideas: The themes of tolerance and respect in this book are strong and would lend themselves well to being used by a guidance counselor. It also has strong characters in Mr. Lincoln and Eugene, and it would even be interesting to see what inferences kids could make about Eugene's family from the text clues.

Ginger and Petunia

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  2007
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee Branch

Awards:  Author/illustrator study Patricia Polacco

Summary: The elegant, flamboyant piano player Virginia Vincent Folsum, Ginger, has a pet pig named Petunia. Petunia lives under the staircase in Ginger's house. When Ginger has to travel to London, she calls a Housesitter to come take care of Petunia. But when the housesitter doesn't show, Petunia pretends to be Ginger. She cooks dinner, listens to opera, dresses in Ginger's clothes, teaches Ginger's piano students, and even takes Ginger's convertible to the grocery store! Then she heads to an art museum opening and heads off to dance with the governor. Petunia is tired of being in charge and wants someone to take care of her, but luckily when she returns home, Ginger is there to greet her! The illustrations are vibrant and gorgeous and all I can think is Auntie Mame.

Classroom Ideas: There is a great deal of alliteration here with Petunia the Pig. It would be interesting to discuss fantasy versus reality with kids and ask if a pig could really do the things that Petunia did.

Pink and Say

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  1994
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:  Publisher's Weekly, School Library Journal, & Kirkus starred reviews; Irma S. and James H. Black Award, ALA Notable, National Council for Social Studies Notable, Horn Book Fanfare

Summary: In this true story from Polacco's family history, a white soldier Sheldon Russell Curtis (Say) is wounded and is rescued by a black soldier Pinkus Aylee (Pink). Pink takes Say back to his home where Pink and his mother Moe Moe Bay tend to him while he recovers. While Pink is anxious to return to the fighting, Say is scared and doesn't want to go. But when Moe Moe Bay is killed by marauders, the devastated boys set off. They are captured by Confederate troops and taken to Andersonville prison. Say is released months later, but Pink is hanged immediately because he is back. Say was Patricia's great-great-grandfather and in a touching epilogue she pledges that her book stands as memory of the life of Pinkus Aylee. This is my all-time favorite Polacco book and definitely on the list of my all-time favorite books ever. I dare you to read it without getting at least a little teary-eyed!

Classroom Ideas: Obviously this book can be shared during a study of the Civil War. The themes of loyalty and friendship here are strong and the book brings home the heartbreak of war.

I Can Hear the Sun

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  1996
Location: Personal Collection

Awards: Author/illustrator study Patricia Polacco

Summary: This is a story of homeless people who gather at a nature preserve in Oakland, California, and Stephanie Michele who is the keeper of the animals there. An orphan named Fondo meets her and helps her take care of the a blind goose. He is happy coming there each day until he finds out that he's being send to a special-needs placement. And then the story takes it's mythic turn: With the blind goose leading them, Fondo flies off with the wild geese. Patricia Polacco blurs the lines between reality and fantasy in this self-named "modern myth."

Classroom Ideas: It would be interesting to discuss theme with this story, along with homelessness.

The Lemonade Club

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  2007
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:  Publisher's Weekly starred review, Volunteer State Book Award

Summary:In this true story, Patricia Polacco tells about her daughter's friend and her fifth-grade teacher. Traci's friend Marilyn has leukemia and has to have chemotherapy. Everyone is supportive and even shave their heads in solidarity with their friend. However, Miss Wichelman ends up getting her own bad news and has to battle cancer too. Through it all, the three support each other and remember to make lemonade out of life's sour lemons. This is a hopful, heart-warming story, made all the better by the positive updates on each character in the endnotes.

Classroom Ideas: This is another personal narrative from Polacco's life which could be used as a mentor text. The themes of friendship and the topical subject are important ones, and this book could easily be used by a guidance counselor.

The Bee Tree

Author & Illustrator: Patricia Polacco  
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1993
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   School Library Journal starred review

Summary:  When Mary Ellen gets tired of reading, she and Grampa go off to follow a bee to a bee tree. Along the way lots of members of the community join them. When they finally reach the tree they work together to smoke the bees, collect the honeycomb, and then go back to the house for biscuits, tea, and honey! But at the end, Grampa uses the honey to show Mary Ellen that the joys of reading have to be pursued just like they ran after the bees to find the honey.

Classroom Ideas: There some great examples of onomatopoeia as they all chase after the be (slap, bump, honk, tweddle-tweddle-squeak fump!) The theme is well-explained at the end. ("There is such sweetness inside of that book too!")

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Dam Creek Affair

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1996
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   School Library Journal starred review

Summary:  In Triple Creek they love TV so much that they've forgotten what books are for. They use them to hold up roofs, mend fences, stuff potholes, and even fix the dam. Aunt Chip is appalled by these changes and tells her nephew Eli about books and the library.  She teaches him to read and he starts reading to the other kids. The kids start grabbing up all the books and then moving them makes the dam explode. When books rain from the sky, kids start teaching their parents to read again and the town rebuilds the school and library.

Classroom Ideas: This would be a good book to teach problem and solution. There is also good vocabulary (vowed, consequences, eiderdown) and dialect ("Now Eli took to reading like a beaver takes to gnawing wood, or a flea takes to a dirty little yella dog.")

My Rotten Red-Headed Older Brother

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Publication Year:   1994
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   ALA Notable, School Library Journal Best Book, American Bookseller Pick, Publisher's Weekly & School Library Journal starred reviews

Summary:  Tired of always losing to her brother, Patricia makes a wish upon a star that she can be better than him at something. The next day the carnival comes to town and Tricia rides the merry-go-round longer than her brother. But when she goes to get off, she falls, hurts herself, and he has to carry her home! From then on, her relationship with her brother gets a bit easier as she realizes what he will do for her.

Classroom Ideas: Another memoir from Patricia Polacco's life that kids could use as a mentor text and write a story about their own siblings. Polacco also draws strong characters. There's a stated theme: "Be very careful what you wish for....It just may come true!" but there are also strong themes of love, family, and competition.

Chicken Sunday

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1992
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Booklist starred reviews; Golden Kite Award for Illustration; ALA Notable, Booklist Editor's Choice, IRA Children's Choice Book

Summary:  After her beloved babushka's death, Patricia adopts her neighbors as new brothers and takes on their gramma as her own. The kids want to buy a special Easter hat for Gramma but they don't have enough money. The owner of the store where the hat is thinks that they vandalize his shop by throwing eggs at it, so to pay him back (even though they didn't do it) they make him Russian psysanky (painted) eggs. He offers to sell some in his shop to make money for the hat. In the end, he gives the hat to the children who are so proud to give it to Gramma.

Classroom Ideas:This is another book based on Patricia Polacco's life and an example of personal narrative. There are strong characters of different ethnicities. There's also some strong figurative language here- "a voice like slow thunder and sweet rain" "You'll be as flat as a hen's tongue")

Thank you, Mr. Falker

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1998
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Parent's Choice Award

Summary:  This is the autobiographical story of Patricia Polacco's fifth grade teacher. Tricia was unable to read because of dyslexia and was teased by the other kids. Her teacher, Mr. Falker, recognizes her challenges and her strengths and helps her learn to read.

Classroom Ideas:This could be a mentor text for a personal narrative about a student's own challenges or about someone who's made a difference in their life. Both Patricia and Mr. Falker are strong characters.

Swirl by Swirl

Author: Joyce Sidman
Illustrator:  Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature
Publisher: 
Publication Year:  
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   featured on "Calling Caldecott" blog, Horn Book Fanfare, ALA Notable, School Library Journal Best Book, Booklist Editor's Choice, Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended

Summary:  This poem celebrates the swirl pattern in nature. Its simple words take back stage to the intricate scratchboard illustrations that entice the reader to stare at all of details. It has large font for the youngest readers, along with smaller text for adult's eyes that labels the animals and plants that are pictured. The drawings make you want to explore the book over and over again. According to Kirkus: "Two pages of notes at the end offer a definition (“Spiral: a shape that curls around a center point”), details that elaborate on the poem and explain some of the individual manifestations of spirals and a brief nod to the Fibonacci sequence."

Classroom Ideas: This book could introduce the geometrical shapes found in nature and many different animal & plant species. Students could choose their own shape to illustrate ("What circles are found in nature?")

Saint George and the Dragon

Author: Margaret Hodges
Illustrator:   Trina Schart Hyman
Publisher:  Little, Brown, and Company
Publication Year:   1984
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Caldecott, Booklist starred review

Summary:  This is a retelling of the class story from Spencer's The Faerie Queen. In this story, George, the Red Cross Dragon, kills the dragon that has been attacking the countryside for years and bring peace to the land. But the real star here is the amazing illustrations by Hyman. She frames all of her drawings and the text so that the book looks like beautiful stained glass windows.

Classroom Ideas: This book is full of excellent vocabulary (foe, veiled, hermit, hideous) and beautiful imagery  ("her shoulder were covered with a black cloak as if she had a hidden sorrow in her heart.") There is plenty of figurative language as well.

Nobody Asked the Pea

Author & Illustrator:   John Warren Stewig
Publisher:  Holiday House
Publication Year:   2013
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Common Core Writing connection

Summary:  This is the traditional story of the princess and the pea told from different perspectives: the pea, the queen, the prince, a mouse in the castle, a maid, the head housekeeper, the king, the doorman, a page, and the princess.  The characters are incredibly well-described through their individual voices.

Classroom Ideas: This book is perfect for the 5th grade common core standard of perspective where students are expected to be able to retell the story in a different point of view.

The Favorite Daughter

Author & Illustrator:   Allen Say
Publisher:  Arthur Levine
Publication Year:   2013
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Christian Science Monitor Best Book

Summary:  Yuriko has to deal with some teasing at school about being bi-racial and her untraditional name. Her father takes her to a Japanese garden and reminds her of the gifts of her heritage. After a lot of special talk, Yuriko creates a unique art project and reclaims her pride in her name and herself. Allen Say wrote this book for his own daughter and it contains actual drawings of her as a child and then again as an adult. This autobiographical story shows a different side of Allen Say.

Classroom Ideas:  The theme of this story is a very important one, especially for biracial children, but really for any child as they learn to appreciate the things that make them unique. It would be wonderful for a guidance counselor too.

Blackout

Author & Illustrator:   John Rocco
Publisher:  Hyperion
Publication Year:   2011
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Caldecott honor, NYT Best Book, Kirkus Best Book, Publisher's Weekly Best Book, School Library Journal Best Book
 
Summary: One summer night, the city is going about its normal routine and everyone is too busy to spend time together. Until there's a city-wide blackout. When the family gets hot inside, they up to the roof and there are lots of people there star-watching. They soon discover that there's a flashlight and candle-lit party going on in the street too. When the lights come back on, the family decides to keep the candles lit and spend time together anyway. The dramatic dark illustrations really bring this story to life.

Classroom Ideas: The theme of technology and time are an important one in the story. This book would be a great companion to Cordell's Hello! Hello!

Rapunzel

Author & Illustrator:   Paul O. Zelinsky
Publisher:  Dutton Children's Books
Publication Year:   1997
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Caldecott Medal

Summary:  When a man steals some rapunzel from a witch for his pregnant wife, the witch catches him and steals the baby away. The story follows the familiar plot line as a prince discovers the secret tower and falls in love with Rapunzel. They get married and Rapunzel gets pregnant. In a rage, the sorceress cuts her hair off and sends her off into the wilderness where she gives birth to twins. The sorceress tries to blind the prince but Rapunzel's tears heal him and the family lives happily ever after. Zelinsky's gorgeous paintings in the Italian Renaissance style are framed in traditional fairy tale style.

Classroom Ideas: Zelinsky is a very versatile artist and it would be interesting to compare this book to his others and talk about artistic style. This book could also be part of a fairy tale unit, to compare with other versions or even with the Disney movie Tangled.

Hey, Al

Author: Arthur Yorinks
Illustrator:   Richar Egielski
Publisher:  Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Publication Year:   1986
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Caldecott, ALA Notable, Booklist Editor's Choice

Summary:  A NY City janitor and his dog live in a small room depicted with small framed illustrations in muted colors. Once day a large colorful bird sticks his head in the window and offers to transport Al & Eddie to an island in the sky. The illustrations become deeply saturated in color and begin to burst out of the frames into gorgeous, full page spreads. At first, they're deeply happy but soon they begin to transform into birds and realize that the price is too high for living on the island. The two friends barely make it back to their muted apartment where they start to appreciate what they have.

Classroom Ideas: There's an interesting metaphor here with "a ripe fruit soon spoils" which depicts one of the themes of the tale. Another is listed on the last page: Paradise lost is sometimes Heaven found (or maybe there's no place like home.)