No, David!

TITLE:  No, David!

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: David Shannon

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Inc.                      

PUBLICATION DATE:  September 1, 1998

AWARDS:  Caldecott award

GENRE: Fiction picture book                                  

READING LEVEL: 1st grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: David continuously gets in trouble for his actions, but still has the unconditional love from his mother

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will create a class big book that depicts a time of when they did something wrong, their parents would tell them “no”.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Laura Cerone Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS: Caldecott medal, manners, mischief

Stellaluna

TITLE:  Stellaluna

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Janell Cannon

PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt              

PUBLICATION DATE:  August 1, 2007

AWARDS:  American Booksellers Book of the Year, 1994; ABBY Award; California Young Reader Medal; Keystone to Reading Book Award; Reading Rainbow Feature Book; Southern California Council on Literature for Young People Award

GENRE: Fiction                   

READING LEVEL:  2^nd grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: A baby bat is raised by birds in their nest until she is reunited with her mother again.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will create a t-chart and identify the differences and similarities between birds and bats.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Laura Cerone Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS: bats, fiction, family

Laura's Star

TITLE:  Laura’s Star

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Klaus Baumgart

PUBLISHER: Tiger Tales               

PUBLICATION DATE:  September 2002

GENRE: Fiction picture book                  

READING LEVEL:  6 years old

BRIEF OVERVIEW: A young girl learns the value of friendship from a shooting star

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will make their own falling star and share a story about how they became friends with it.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Laura Cerone Valdosta State University ECSE)

LABELS: friendship, childrens book, stars

I Still Hate to Read

TITLE:  I Still Hate to Read

AUTHOR: Rita Marshall      ILLUSTRATOR: Etienne Delessert

PUBLISHER: Creative Company              PUBLICATION DATE:  September 1, 2008

GENRE: Fiction Picture Book                READING LEVEL:  3^rd grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Victor really hates reading—so everyone thinks. But when he is all alone with his faithful dog, Page, books come alive and all imagination is explored.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students write a “diary” entry with a secret of their own.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Faith Summers,Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS: reading, picture book, children’s book

Exclamation Mark

TITLE: Exclamation Mark

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Amy Krouse Rosenthal /Tom Litchenheld

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Press              PUBLICATION DATE: March 2013

GENRE: Nonfiction Informational PB                      

READING LEVEL:  2nd grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Punctuation marks help the exclamation point understand where he goes in sentences.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students get into groups and work on sentence structures by acting out the punctuation marks that belong at the ends of each sentence. The group that finishes last does 5 jumping jacks all together. 

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Jasmine Rozier, Valdosta State University ECSE)

The Bathing Costume or the Worst Vacation of My Life

AUTHOR: Charlotte Moundic ILLUSTRATOR: Oliver Tallec PUBLISHER:Enchanted Lion Books PUBLICATION DATE: 2013 GENRE: Realistic Fiction READING LEVEL: 2nd grade ACTIVITY GRADE LEVEL: 1st grade BRIEF OVERVIEW: This story tells about Ronnie, an eight year old who has never been away from his mom, and his vacation to visit his grandparents in England. INTERGRATED IDEA: Have students write a short story about a vacation they have been on, whether it been good or bad, or a vacation they would like to go on. Have students draw a picture of the story and take turn sharing. REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Jasmine Rozier, Valdosta State University ,ECSE

Phineas L. MacGuire Gets Cooking

AUTHOR: Frances O’Roark Dowell

ILLUSTRATOR: Preston McDaniels

PUBLISHER: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

PUBLICATION DATE: 2014

GENRE: Transitional

READING LEVEL: Ages 8-12

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Phineas enters a bake-off that the school bully is also participating in. Phineas must teach himself to cook and has help from his friends.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Assign a one page journal entry for students to write about their favorite meal served at home.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Courtney Taylor, Valdosta State University ECSE

Solar System

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Gregory Vogt

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Paperbacks

PUBLICATION DATE: 2003

GENRE: Nonfictional/Informational Picture Book

READING LEVEL: Ages 6-8

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Tells about the sun, moon, and planets. Shows readers pictures of each planet and shows comparison between the sun and moon.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Give students foam balls and have them create their favorite planet using provided decorations.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Courtney Taylor, Valdosta State University ECSE

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems

AUTHOR: Paul B. Janeckzo

ILLUSTRATOR: Melissa Sweet

PUBLISHER: Candlewick

PUBLICATION DATE: 2014

GENRE: Poetry: Anothology

READING LEVEL: Ages 6-9

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Firefly July is a collection of short poems that entertain readers by drawing attention to all four seasons.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have each student stand in front of the class and read their favorite poem in the book and then tell why.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Courtney Taylor, Valdosta State University ECSE

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past

AUTHOR: Jacqueline Woodson

ILLUSTRATOR: Diane Greenseid

PUBLISHER: Hyperion Book CH

PUBLICATION DATE: 2007

GENRE: Fiction

READING LEVEL: Ages 5-8

BRIEF OVERVIEW: This book tells about an African American girl, Teeka’s, family picnic. It is told from her point of view and tells all about each family member that comes and about the different types of foods everyone brings.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students sit in a circle and share something that their family does together every year.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Courtney Taylor, Valdosta State University ECSE

Fred and Finn

AUTHOR: Madeline Goodey

ILLUSTRATOR: Mike Gordon

PUBLISHER: Evans Brothers PUBLICATION DATE: 2007

GENRE: Nonfiction

READING LEVEL: Ages 0-4

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Fred and Finn are best friends and they go on an adventure together. Finn is too fat and Fred is too thin. Finn always beats Fred to the food.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students draw a picture of their best friend.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Courtney Taylor, Valdosta State University ECSE

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me

AUTHOR: Maya Angelou                          
ILLUSTRATOR: Margaret Courtney-Clarke PUBLISHER: Crown Books for Young Readers            PUBLICATION DATE: 1994                                 
 GENRE: Non-Fiction                                            
READING LEVEL: Age 4-7                                      
BRIEF OVERVIEW: The story of a girl as she describes what life is like in her country, with her best friend and beautifully painted house.                                
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY:Students will paint their own house with vibrant colors.                                                                                                   REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Jennifer Davis, Valdosta State University ECSE)LABELS: Non-Fiction, Humor, Picture Book