The Big Fuzzy

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Caroline Castle/Daniel Howarth
PUBLISHER: QEB Publishing, Inc. PUBLICATION DATE: 2007
GENRE: Fiction PB READING LEVEL: 3rd Grade
BRIEF OVERVIEW: A little Inuit girls goes fishing with her brother strapped on her back. She gives the fish she catches to her brother who feeds them to a grizzly bear. The grizzly bear saves the children in the end of the story.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Give each student a sheet of wax paper and a lot of mini-marshmallows. Then let the students build an igloo. After they show their igloos, they can eat their marshmallows.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Hayley Morris, Valdosta State University ECSE
LABELS: Animals, Fiction, Weather

The Village Garage

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Brian G. Karas

PUBLISHER: Christy Ottaviano Books          

PUBLICATION DATE:  2010

AWARDS: 2011 Bank Street, Best Children's Book of the Year; Horn Book Fanfare, Best Books of 2010, Picture Books; Children's Book Committee Bank Street College of Education Children's Choices, Best Books of 2011

GENRE: Fiction   

READING LEVEL: 2^nd - 3^rd Grade 

BRIEF OVERVIEW: As the weather changes the worker’s at the Villiage Garage do different cleanup activites to help clean up the town!

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students write what cleanup activity they like the best or least and why.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Megan Bassford, Valdosta State University ECSE

Freddy the Frogcaster

TITLE: Freddy the Frogcaster

AUTHOR: Janice Dean             ILLUSTRATOR: Russ Cox

PUBLISHER: Regnery Kids     PUBLICATION DATE: August 26, 2013

GENRE: Realistic Fiction          READING LEVEL: 3^rd grade  

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Freddy loves weather and everything that it entails. When the regular weather forecaster is out on maternity leave, Freddy predicts the weather and helps save the town picnic.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students make replicas of Freddy’s weather instruments. Start learning about different types of clouds and weather patterns. Have them make and label different clouds and explain what they mean.  

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

LABELS: science, weather, realistic fiction

Tornadoes!

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR:  Gail Gibbons

PUBLISHER:  Holiday House                     PUBLICATION DATE:  January 4, 2010

GENRE:   Nonfiction                        READING LEVEL:  PreK-5
BRIEF OVERVIEW:

This book illustrates and describes what tornadoes are, how they form, and what to do in case of a tornado. It has very good before and after illustrations.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY:

Students will retell what to do in case of a tornado.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION:  Lashundra Coad, VSU

Rain Rain Rivers

Author and Illustrator:  Uri Shulevitz

Copyright:  1969

Genre: Weather

Reading Level: - Kindergarten

Book Description: The rain is falling in different places (city, mountains, streams).

Integrated Idea: Use this book to discuss what weather is and answer the following question: What are other forms of weather and what is the weather like today?

Reviewed by Emily Brannon

Come On, Rain!

AUTHOR:  Karen Hesse

ILLUSTRATOR: John J. Muth

PUBLISHER:  Scholastic Press

PUBLICATION DATE:  1999

GENRE: Realistic Fiction

READING LEVEL: 3.9

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Tessie hopes for rain after a three-week drought. She finally sees storms clouds rolling in and asks her mother if she can get on her bathing suit and meet with her friends to play in the rain. Once the rain comes, the whole neighborhood joins the girls outside to enjoy the cool rain.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY:  Students will research a drought somewhere else in the world and share it with the class.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Lauren Harrold, Valdosta State University

How Artists See the Weather

TITLE:  How Artists See the Weather

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Collen Carroll

PUBLISHER: Abbeville Kids

PUBLICATION DATE: August 1, 1996 

GENRE: Nonfiction book

READING LEVEL: ages 9 and above

BRIEF OVERVIEW: This book is designed to help children learn about art by looking at the world.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Make the cardboard cameras, and have them put in their “film” and take outside pictures.  You leave the camera and one place and have it exposed to the light for a few seconds to capture a picture.  Do it through out the year in different seasons.

REVIEWER’S NAME AND AFFILIATION: Laura Orf Valdosta State University 

Monsoon Afternoon

Author: Kashmira Sheth           Illustrator: Yoshiko Jaeggi 
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers     Publication Date: 2008 
Genre: Juvenile Fiction    Reading Level: Ages 8-9 years old           
Awards: 

• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Honor award for picture book) —Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) 2009, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People —NCSS/CBC 2009, CCBC Choices: 2009, Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2008, Burr/Worzalla Outstanding Books — Wisconsin Library Association 2009, Read On Wisconsin! (Selected for preschool group) 2010
• Brief Overview: It is monsoon weather in India, and the little boy wants one of his family members to play with him in the rain. They all say no until his Dadaji (grandfather) says he will play with him. The little boy asks if this happened when his Dadaji was little and collects memories from that monsoon afternoon.

Integrated Activity: On a rainy day when students have to stay inside for recess, read this book. After reading it, allow students to use the computer program Paint, actual paint, and other forms of art mediums to create a visual representation on what they do on rainy days at their houses.
Reviewer's Name and Affiliation: Kristen "Taylor" Sims - Valdosta State University