My First Day

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company  

PUBLICATION DATE:  2013

GENRE: Non-Fiction, Picture Book                   READING LEVEL: 2nd grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: My First Day reveals how 22 different animals spend their first day of life- explaining if that animal has or does not have parental help.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Write a paragraph describing how you think you spent your first day of life. Tell if you have younger siblings that you may have witnessed what happened on their first day of life.

 REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Ashley January, Valdosta State University ECSE

Aliens are Coming!: The True Account of the 1938 War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast

Author/Illustrator: Meghan McCarthy
Publisher: Knopf
Publication Date: 2009
Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Brief Overview: Meghan McCarthy retells the true account of the War of the Worlds radio broadcast of 1938 that had everyone in 1938 in a panic in a fun and kid-friendly way.
Activity Level: 4th Grade
Integrated Activity: Students will partner up and "broadcast" two different events each. One will be an actual historical event while the other will be an event from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (i.e. the Gettysburg Address vs. a mysterious aircraft landing on a farm). The students must figure out which is the real event; however, the real event will have a few mistakes (i.e. the Gettysburg Address being said by George Washington instead of Abraham Lincoln). After they figure out which event is the real one, students will work together to figure out the mistakes in each of the "real broadcasts".

-Publisher: Shakela Primrose (Valdosta State University ECSE)-

Long Ago and Today

TITLE:  Long Ago and Today

AUTHOR: Rozanne Lanczak Williams

ILLUSTRATOR: Meryl Treatner

PUBLISHER: Creative Teaching Press, Incorporated   

PUBLICATION DATE: 1996

GENRE: Nonfiction                 

READING LEVEL:  Ages 6+

BRIEF OVERVIEW: This book provides examples of activities that people did historically and still do now. It illustrates how people did these activities long ago compared to how we do them today. 

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students interview a grandparent or older family member about his or her life as a child and compare and contrast five things about his or her life with their own life. Grade 1.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Kelsey Rice, Valdosta State University ECSE)

Just A Few Words, Mr. Lincoln

TITLE:  Just A Few Words, Mr. Lincoln

AUTHOR: Jean Fritz

ILLUSTRATOR: Charles Robinson

PUBLISHER: Grosset and Dunlap

PUBLICATION DATE: 1993

GENRE: Nonfiction  

READING LEVEL: Ages 9+

BRIEF OVERVIEW: This book covers the many various jobs that President Lincoln was responsible for. This book also gives the historical background of the Civil War and describes what was happening in America at the time. This book relives the Gettysburg Address and includes the actual text of the speech. 

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Divide the Gettysburg Address among students and have them recite the speech. Then ask students to write a paragraph summarizing the speech using their own words.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Kelsey Rice, Valdosta State University ECSE)

The Beetle Book

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Steve Jenkins
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
PUBLICATION DATE: 2012
AWARDS:School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, American Library Association Notable Books for Children
GENRE: Non-Fiction
READING LEVEL: Kindergarten-3rd grade
BRIEF OVERVIEW:This book describes many different types of beetles and how they adapt to their surroundings. Jenkins provides beautiful illustrations that bring the beetles to life
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will identify different types of live beetles from the pictures in the book.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Kacy Flesher; VSU