Poem #3 A Pizza the Size of the Sun

Title: A Pizza the Size of the Sun
Author: Jack Prelutsky
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Date: September 16, 1996
IBSN: 0688132359

Summary: This book is poetry poetry, and more poetry. Jack Prelutsky writes a bunch of poems that include beloved characters Like Miss Misinformation that children will adore. This book is funny, clever, and it is one that will be enjoyed by all ages.


Evaluation: This book is one of many Jack Prelusky books that I feel most children will come to enjoy. The stories are very funny, and these are great if you want to have students read a bunch of poems during free time that will interest them in poetry. I think it is important to expose  young students to poetry, and do it in a fun way so that it will give them the opportunity to embrace the concept of poetry. This, and many other poetry books for children are perfect for giving students a fun read.

Poem #2 A Child's Garden of Verses

Title: A Child's Garden of Verses
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Date: February 1, 1999
IBSN: 0689823827


Summary: This book is a book filled with the emotions of a child. The feeling of joy, sorrow, fantasies, and even fears are all represented in this book of poems, and is a book of happiness. 

Evaluation: I never heard of this book until I discovered it recently, and it is a very good book. It gives so many emotions that are set into poems but these emotions are in the perspective of a young child. Children will be able to relate to this book because it is meant for children, and I think it is a good book to read to students and children at home because it will give different feelings, and allow children to connect, and relate to it.

Poem #1 Where the Sidewalk Ends

Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends
Author: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Date: November 20, 1974
IBSN: 0060513039 


Summary: Where the sidewalk ends is classic, and gives a bunch poems that every kid will enjoy. There are tons of ridiculous poems of a boy for example who turns into a Television. There is even a poem where a girl eats a whale. This book has tons of poems that have many different topics. 


Evaluation: The Sidewalk Ends was a favorite of mine, and it really made me love poetry even more because it brought out the humorous side to poetry. I always loved poetry, and this book personally helped me love it more. I think this is a perfect book to help students, and young children see the fun side of poetry, and it would be great to read it to them as a fun story during a circle read, or at night. 

Historical Fiction 3: (my favorite ) Number the Stars

Title: Number the Stars
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher:Mass Market Paperback
Date: February 9th, 1998
IBSN: 0440227534

Summary: The story follows ten year old Annmarie Johansen, and friend Ellen Rosen in 1943. They live in Copenhagan and the Nazi soldiers are marching everywhere, the food is growing scarce, and school is starting to become the least of there worries. The war is a huge impact on all there lives, and soon there is to be a bigger issue on Annmarie and Ellen's hands. Annmarie must help her friend on the most dangerous mission ever. 


Evaluation: This book once I read it in 4th grade stuck to me, and impacted me greatly. I knew about the holocaust. I knew about it vaguely, and to a 4th grader, the details were not yet fully explained about the true horror of the event. This book however, gave such a great perspective, and feel for how it was life in Denmark, and Germany at the time when the Nazi's were invading. I remember later in 5th grade seeing a play for school about the Holocaust,  and hearing a actual survivor, and hearing that while thinking of this book really opened my eyes, and I think this book is a great read. I recommend reading this, and having it in your library. 

Historical Fiction 2: Magic Treehouse

Title: Twister on Tuesday
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Publisher:Random House Books
Date: March 1st, 2001
IBSN: 0679890696

Summary: The Magic Tree house series does it again with another story of Jack and Annie going back in time. This time the time period where Jack and Annie land is in the 1870's. They land near a one room school house which is really cool, and all but something big, scary, and destructive may hinder there fun journey. Can you guess what?


Evaluation: I love this book. This was my go to read when I read this series, and I personally loved the tornado aspect of the book. This series although it has the magic aspect of the time machine tree house, it does give a sense of what time period, and what it was potentially like back in the time period when the story takes place. I enjoy these books, and I think future students will too. 

Historical Fiction: Samantha: An American Girl

Title: Samantha: An American Girl
Author: Susan S. Adler
Publisher: American Girl
Date: January 1st, 1986
IBSN: 0937295809 

Summary: Samantha Parkington is from the Victorian time period. She has a wonderful life living with her Grandmother in the year 1904. She has everything she every wanted with happiness, and care. She soon comes to learn though, that everyone else may not have the same luxuries, and things she may have. Her soon to be best friend Nellie who moves in next door, and she makes it her mission to help her best friend in the hardest of times.


Evaluation: I really enjoyed these books as a child, and I have the Samantha doll myself from when I was little. This series does give an idea the time period to which the story was set, and even though the characters are not real, it gives an idea the clothing, the morals, the society and how people were viewed back then. The series has many different eras, and it is very popular among young girls. 

Informational 3: Eyewitness: Cat

Title: Cat
Author: Juliet Clutton
Publisher: Knopf Books
Date:January 1st, 1960
IBSN: 0679814582 

Summary: The Cat book from the eyewitness series is great to show the anatomy and the timeline to which felines have evolved into. I loved reading this book for the pictures, and the facts they gave about the history, and they really planned each page with solid information about cats. The cats book is really cool because it also talks about the history back during the Egyptian time when supposedly cats were popular among the Egyptians. 

Evaluation: This series has so many books on so many various topics, its amazing how many topics they have done since the series first came out. They even have a book on "monsters" aka gross animals and weird animals that in the TV series it aired around Halloween so it created the somewhat scary effect. I remember watching that episode in my class. Even though the book series gives sometimes silly concepts like monsters, it gives serious interesting information that really opens your eyes to the different topics, and things in the world, but at the same time giving really cool topics like Cats, and planets.