The Lion and the Mouse

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Jerry Pinkney
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
PUBLICATION DATE: 9/1/2009
AWARDS: 2010 Caldecott Medal winner 2009 Parents' Choice Gold Award winner  

GENRE:  fiction, fable    
READING LEVEL:  first grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Classic tale of the mouse rescuing a lion from a trap. Wordless picture book  INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Ask students to add dialogue to the pages of the story as a writing assignment.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Ashley Copelan, VSU

The Rough- Face Girl

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Rafe Martin, David Shannon
PUBLISHER: Puffin Books           PUBLICATION DATE: 1998
AWARDS: Pick of the List Book; Bookseller' Choice Award; Georgia Children's Picture Storybook Award; Golden Sower Award;IRA Teacher's Choice Award; Texas Bluebonnet Award; Virginia State Reading Association Young Readers Award
GENRE: Traditional Non- European
READING LEVEL: 3rd Grade
BRIEF OVERVIEW: In the Indian version of the Cinderlla story, The rough- faced girl and her two beautiful but cruel sisters compete for affection from the powerful Invisible bring.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: The students will do a think pair share with each other. They will have to answer the following questions.
How is the story similar/different to the traditional Cinderella story?; What choice do you think is better? Why?;How did the Invisible being and his sister treat the rough-face girl? Why?
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION:Shellena Palmer: VSU

Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR:Gerald McDermott

PUBLISHER: Puffin        PUBLICATION DATE:1990

GENRE: Fable                 READING LEVEL: 3.5

BRIEF OVERVIEW:Tim O’Toole has bad luck. He knows his luck is about to change when he finds lucky leprechauns. However, he must learn an important lesson first about not being greedy.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY:The students can color pictures of the goose’s egg and play a game associated with greed. When he or she brags about how much he or she has, another student can take it away.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Kaity Ward, Valdosta State University

Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes

TITLE: Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes
AUTHOR: Eleanor Coerr ILLUSTRATOR: Ronald Himler
PUBLISHER: Puffin Books     
PUBLICATION DATE: 1999
GENRE: Historical Fiction READING LEVEL: 8 years and older
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Sadako lived during the WWII nuclear bombing of Japan. She eventually developed leukemia. If she can make 1,000 origami cranes her wish can come true and she can get well. Family and friends enlist to help her on her journey.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students create origami animals and cranes. After reading the book write about the significance of the crane in Asian culture.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Robert Emond, Valdosta State University

The Tortoise and The Hare

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Janet Stevens

PUBLISHER: Holiday House        PUBLICATION DATE: 1984

AWARDS:  Reading Rainbow Selection

GENRE:  Traditional Folktale                     
READING LEVEL: Ages 5-7

BRIEF OVERVIEW: A classic folk tale of the tortoise and the hare racing.  It teaches that overconfidence can often get the best of you. The book also has a series of events that take place between the two animals racing.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Using the smart board, the teacher can have the students order the sequence of events that happened during the race of the tortoise and hare. They will understand the sequence of events and duration of events that’s took place during the story. And at the end, they can tell me what the meaning of the story was and what they learned from the story, also.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Tayler M. Graves; VSU