Phoebe the Spy

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Judith Berry Griffin/ Margot Tomes

PUBLISHER: Puffin             PUBLICATION DATE: 2002

GENRE: Historical Fiction                  READING LEVEL: 4th Grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Phoebe is a spy who pretends to be George Washington's maid.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: The students could write fictional stories that take place during historical times.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Lindsey Taylor, Valdosta State University ECSE)

LABELS: History, fiction, chapter book

Frankly, Frannie

PUBLISHER: Grosset & Dunlap PUBLICATION DATE: 2010
GENRE: Early chapter book READING LEVEL: 3th
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Third grader, Frannie Miller cannot wait to grow up and get a job. She causes problems on a school field trip to the local radio station.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Write a story from Frannie's point of view about your dream job.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Rebekah Swilley, Valdosta State University ECSE)
LABELS: Chapter book, Fiction, Humor

Because of Winn-Dixie

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Kate DiCamillo/Kevin Hawkes PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press

PUBLICATION DATE:  2/10/2009
AWARDS:  Newbery Honor winner
GENRE: Children's Novel (Book turned into movie) 
READING LEVEL: 4th
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Opal Buloni talks about her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of the big, ugly dog Winn-Dixie, she finds in a grocery store.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Create scrapbook pages of their favorite characters from book to share with the class.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Rebekah Swilley, Valdosta State University ECSE)
LABELS: Fiction, Chapter Book, Newberry Honor Winner

Why Pick On Me?

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Louis Sachar/ Barbara Sullivan

PUBLISHER: Random House Children's Books PUBLICATION DATE:  2011
GENRE: Comedy/ Humor Series (Transitional)  READING LEVEL:  3rd
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Marvin is shunned by everyone because of being labeled a "nose picker" by the class bully and now has to prove his innocence.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will complete daily journal describing what they have read so far to show progress.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Rebekah Swilley, Valdosta State University ECSE)
LABELS: Comedy, Chapter Book, Fiction

Island of the Blue Dolphins

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Scott O’Dell
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
PUBLICATION DATE: 2/8/2010
GENRE:   historical fiction        READING LEVEL:  fourth grade
BRIEF OVERVIEW:. A story about a little girl named Karana who was left behind on an island when the rest of her people decided to leave.     
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Write a book report on the book , tell what your first reaction would be to finding out you were all alone on an island
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Ashley Copelan, VSU

Black Beauty

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Anna Sewell/  John Groth
PUBLISHER: The Macmillan Company

PUBLICATION DATE: 1962

GENRE:  classic  READING LEVEL:  fifth grade
BRIEF OVERVIEW:.   This is a story of the life of a horse, told from the perspective of the horse, about all of the people and situations he comes into contact with in his life.     
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Make a concept web of different aspects of the story, including main characters, plot, settings, sequence of events, conflict, and short description of your favorite part.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Ashley Copelan, VSU

Maniac Magee

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Jerry Spinelli

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

 PUBLICATION DATE: 11/28/1999

AWARDS:  Newbery Medal

GENRE:  realistic fiction                  READING LEVEL:  fifth  grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW:   Story of a kid named Jeffrey Lionel Magee, how his life changed after his parents died, and how he truly made a lasting impression on the kids he came into contact with.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Make a concept web of the story, including main ideas, characters, underlying lessons, an illustration, and how the book affected the individual student that read it.

 REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Ashley Copelan, VSU

LABELS: realistic fiction, chapter book, classic

The Wednesday Wars

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Gary Schmidt

PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt   PUBLICATION DATE: 2007

AWARDS:  Newbery Honor, 2008

GENRE: Realistic fiction         READING LEVEL: 9+ years

BRIEF OVERVIEW: This book is about a teenage boys in 7^th grade and his many mishaps and problems over the course of a school year. Set in Long Island, New York in 1967-1968. This book is relatable to other teenage boys since it is about real life problems

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: I would have my class read one of the Shakespearean plays that Holling reads during the course of the novel. Write a brief journal about what they learned and compare their own thoughts on it to what Holling had to say. They would then, choose a few lines that mean the most to them and commit them to memory. Then, they’d discuss why you chose these lines and the process of memorizing them in your journal as well.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Chelsea Brown, Valdosta State University

Prairie School

AUTHOR: Avi

ILLUSTRATOR: Bill Farnsworth

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins 

PUBLICATION DATE: 2013

GENRE: Transitional    READING LEVEL: 3rd-4th grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Noah and his family move to the Prairie from Maine. His Aunt Dora came to teach him how to read. At first he was very rebellious but Aunt Dora figured out how to reach him. She started to teach him about the prairie he lived on and that excited him. That is when he learned how to read and write.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have the class learn the constellations like Noah did in the story.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Kenyah Wolfe Valdosta State University

The Doll in the Garden

AUTHOR:  Mary Downing Hahn             PUBLISHER:  HarperCollins

PUBLICATION DATE:  1989                GENRE: Mystery

READING LEVEL: 4.5

AWARDS: Georgia Children's Book Award, Mark Twain Award (Missouri), Virginia Readers' Choice Award

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Ashley discovers an antique doll in her landlord’s overgrown garden that belongs to a young girl that died years earlier. She makes it her responsibility to get the doll back to the little girl through the hedge that takes her back in time.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: After reading each chapter, the students can keep a journal to explain what they think will happen next.

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

You're Stuck with Each Other, So Stick Together

Author/Illustrator: James J. Crist, Elizabeth Verdict
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing Inc.         Publication Date: 2010
Genre: Nonfiction Informational            Reading Level: Ages 9 and up
Overview: This book helps children develop and improve their sibling relationships. It gives useful tips on how to handle conflict, privacy issues, jealousy, and fairness, with the end result hopefully being friendship.
Activity: I will ask students to write down ten things they learned to help improve their sibling relationships. I would also ask if they would refer this book to a friend, why/why not?
Reviewed By: Jamie Shea

Because of Winn-Dixie

Author: Kate DiCamilla
Publisher: Candlewick Press             Publication Date: 2000
Awards: Newbery Honor Book for excellence and Josette Frank Award
Genre: Fiction                     Reading Level: 3rd to 5th grade
Brief Overview: A little girl finds a dog in Winn-Dixie and decides to keep it. She has to take care of it to prove to her dad she is mature enough to take care of the dog herself. The dog ends up helping the little girl, Opal, make new friends and bring the entire community together.
Integrated Activity: Write a short story about your pet and if you don’t have one write a story about the pet you wish you had.
Reviewer's Name and Affiliation: Cassandra Wright- Valdosta State University

The Doll People

AUTHOR: Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin

ILLUSTRATOR: Brian Selznick

PUBLISHER: Hyperion   PUBLICATION DATE: 2000

GENRE: Fantasy              READING LEVEL: 9+years

BRIEF OVERVIEW: This book is about a doll named Annabelle. Annabelle and her family belong to Kate Palmer. Kate's sister Nora receives a doll house and plastic doll family, the Funcrafts. The Funcrafts' daughter, Tiffany becomes Annabelle's best friend. In the book Annabelle and her friend Tiffany form a group called Society for Exploration and Location of Missing People, when Annabelle finds her Auntie Sarah's Journal. Annabelle and Tiffany become determined to find her missing Auntie Sarah, so they go on a journey and successfully locate her. The doll family is happily reunited once again.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: The classroom can be transformed into a “hot chocolate” house, and students will participate in a fun creative activities where they get to “grow up” and act like are at a book club at a coffee house.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Jennifer Bacon – Valdosta State University

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

TITLE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Roald Dahl/Quentin Blake

PUBLISHER: Puffin PUBLICATION DATE: 2007 (Reprint Edition)

AWARDS: New England Round Table of Children's Librarians Award (USA 1972), Surrey School award (UK 1973,

Millennium Children's Book Award (UK 2000), Blue Peter Book Award (UK 2000)

GENRE: Fiction; Book turned into a Film READING LEVEL: 2-5

BRIEF OVERVIEW: A contest is in place for people to find five golden tickets that will allow them to journey through the mysterious Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students can identify character and physical traits of the main characters. They can also make a tally chart of their favorite chocolate bars and relate the taste test back to the book.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Shaina Galvin - Valdosta State University

LABELS: Fiction, book to film, chapter book,

The BFG

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Roald Dahl
PUBLISHER: Puffin Books PUBLICATION DATE: 1984
AWARDS: Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis prize in 1985, National Education Association "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" based on a poll in 2007, School Library Journal "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time based on poll in 2012
GENRE: Fiction        READING LEVEL: 2-5
BRIEF OVERVIEW: A young girl is swept away in the middle of the night by the BFG (Big, Friendly Giant), and they go on a journey and build an extraordinary friendship.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students write down characteristics of the BFG and then define them as either physical traits or character traits.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Shaina Galvin - Valdosta State University