Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Barack Obama/ Loren Long 

PUBLISHER: Knopf Books for Young Readers        PUBLICATION DATE: 2010  

GENRE: Non-Fiction           READING LEVEL: Age 6

BRIEF OVERVIEW: The qualities and characteristics of Americans in the past and future are celebrated. 

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will write down qualities that they like about themselves and find an influential figure that is similar to them. Each student will make a poster displaying the connection and present it to the class. 

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Quiana Nicole Childs,Valdosta State University ECSE)

LABELS: creative, diversity, culture, Individuality 

Cut from the same cloth : American women of myth, legend, and tall tale

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Robert D. San Souci (Author) and Jane Yolen (Introduction) Brian Pickney (Illustrator)
PUBLISHER:Puffin PUBLICATION DATE: 2000 reprint
AWARDS: 1993 Aesop Award (The Children's Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society)
GENRE: Folk Tales/ Tall Tales READING LEVEL: age 8-12
BRIEF OVERVIEW: Women of all regions and cultures exemplify courage, vitality, and wit.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will complete a graphic organizer identifying the similarities and differences of the good and bad characters in the book.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Tavia Hundley  VSU

Spring is Here!

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Mary Packard/ Claudine Gevry
PUBLISHER: Scholastic Trade PUBLICATION DATE: March 30, 2005
GENRE: Realistic Fiction READING LEVEL: k-3rd
BRIEF OVERVIEW: A girl enjoys the sights, sounds, and activities of springtime. 
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: The students will make an imitation of the perfect Spring day. This picture will have to include flowers and trees. Within the petals of the flowers and leaves from the trees, the student will write in adjectives describing this marvelous Spring day!
REVIEWER'S NAME AND AFFILIATION: Jasmine Johnson, Valdosta State University
                                                      

Hey, Little Ant

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR:Phillip M. Hoose, Hannah Hoose/ Debbie Tilley

AWARDS:  Honor Book, Jane Addams Peace Association

GENRE: Picture Fiction                        READING LEVEL: 9+

BRIEF OVERVIEW:

·      This is a comical book about a boy who is about to step on an ant but is caught off guard when the ant starts talking to him. The boy in the story then starts asking himself important questions about life.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY:List the things that ants and children have in common. The story mentions some, but are there others? Does an ant have a heart? A brain? Research for more and make a list. Explore ways in which we are similar to one another. Again, make a list. Examples: how we look, how we move, what we do, what we want, what we love, what we dislike, and what we fear.

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

Paul Bunyan

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Steven Kellogg/Steven Kellogg

PUBLISHER: HarperVollins

PUBLICATION DATE: February 3, 2004

AWARDS: Reading RainbowGENRE: Folktale
  READING LEVEL: 2nd  Grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Paul Bunyan was the biggest man ever born. He carved the Grand Canyon and dug all of the rivers. 

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students can "carve" the Grand Canyon out of play-dough or clay.

REVIEWER'S NAME & AFFILIATION: Megan Powell. Valdosta State University

The Sandwich Swap

Author: Queen Rania & Kelly DiPucchio    Illustrator: Tricia Tusa
Copyright: 2010
Genre: Realistic fiction
Reading Level: 3-7yrs
Book Description: I think many of us can relate to the two best friends in this book. I know as a little girl my best friend and I always wanted to do everything alike. We even dressed alike. It is a good book for children to see how the characters resolved their differences and found a way to be different and remain best friends.
  Integrated Activity: (2nd grade) Students will learn vocabulary words that were modeled in the story such as, acceptance. In groups students will define a word, tell the class how it was modeled in the book, and write at least one way we could practice the behavior in our everyday lives. For example, the word acceptance. Ask the students why is it important to accept our classmates? Are we all the same or different? Is it okay to be different?
 Reviewers name/affiliation: Emma McGee-VSU