Arthur's Christmas Cookies

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Lilian Hoban/ Lilian Hoban

PUBLISHER:    Harper and Row     PUBLICATION DATE:  1972

GENRE: Fiction Picture Book           READING LEVEL: 2nd - 3rd 

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Arthur wants to make Christmas cookies for Mother and Father. His sister, Violet, lets him use her Bake-E-Z oven. Wilma and Norman come over to watch -- and talk, and fight and push! The dough falls on the floor, and, finally, when the cookies are done, there is something very wrong with them.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Use this book to reinforce the importance of sharing and working together. Use play dough to make play dough cookies, requiring that the children share the supplies.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (James Carnegie,  Valdosta State University ECSE)

LABELS: Sharing, Classic, Art

A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka

A Ball For Daisy author and illustrator: Chris Raschka
Copyright: 2011 Reading Level: Ages 3-7 
Book Description: Daisy is a playful puppy who loves her ball. She and her owner make a trip to the park to play where she finds another dog to play with her and her ball. The ball pops and Daisy is sad. The good news is that the other dog brought a new ball for them to play with and Daisy gets to take it home.

Integrated Ideas: Students will revise the book and the story line and then explain the main idea and plot to the teacher through sign. The students will gather their reasoning for the feelings of the book’s character, Daisy the dog, based off of their visual interpretations from the author’s illustrations. After the students describe the story, they will then play an outside game with a red balloon. If the students pop the red balloon, then another student must be willing to share their blue balloon with the class. 

Reviewer's name and affiliation: Bethany A. Loggins, Valdosta State University

That Toad is Mine

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Barbara Shook Hazen (Author)
PUBLISHER: HarperFestival; illustrated edition edition PUBLICATION DATE: 1998
GENRE: Realistic Fiction READING LEVEL: Pre-K and up
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Two best friends love to share everything--their toys, bikes, even candy bars. Until one day a little toad hops into their lives and they discover that not everything can be shared.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will write about the importance of sharing using complete sentences and ending punctuation.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Rachel Hill Valdosta State University

Too Many Toys

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR:  David Shannon

PUBLISHER:  The Blue Sky Press                   PUBLICATION DATE:  October 1, 2008GENRE:  Realistic Fiction                              READING LEVEL:  PreK-3

BRIEF OVERVIEW:

This book is about a boy who has too much and has a hard time letting go of things.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will make a list of five things that they would be willing to let go of.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION:  Lashundra Coad, VSU

The Runaway Wok

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Ying Yang Compestine/ Sebastia Serra

PUBLISHER: Dutton Juvenile PUBLICATION DATE: 2011

GENRE: Fable READING LEVEL: Ages 5-7

BRIEF OVERVIEW: A magic wok helps a generous but poor family share a fabulous feast with their friends.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students write about a time they showed generosity towards others (language arts)

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Chris Poppell

Iris and Isaac

TITLE: Iris and Isaac
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Catherine Rayner
PUBLICATION DATE: 2010
GENRE: Nonfiction Informational Picture Book          READING LEVEL: 1st-2nd Grade
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Iris and Isaac are not friends. Throughout their journey, they experience so many interesting things that would be so much more fun if they were experiencing it all together. This story teaches the importance of sharing. 
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students can pair up and recall the story together. They can then draw and color the events. During the activity, students will be required to share space, paper, and crayons just how the story reflected sharing. 
REVIEWER'S NAME & AFFILIATIONS: Megan Powell, Valdosta State University 

LABELS: Sharing, Friendship