CHildrens books

Electronic Children's
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Caldecott Medal Winners

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	The Man Who Walked Between Two Towers	Caldecott Medal Winner 2004	Mordicai Gerstein	Higher Elementary School Ages	Ages 5-8	Go outside to the playground and walk across things low to the ground like the man.	Philippe Petit takes a short walk in a high place.He walks between the twin towers. One hundred and forty feet across to the other tower, a quarter of a mile into the sky, he walked, danced, ran, knelt and even lay down for a rest above New York City. It was an incredible, inspiring, poetic and illegal act.
	Olivia	Caldecott Honor Medal 2001	Ian Falconer	Elementary School Ages	Ages 3-7	Write a story about something fun you do on a Saturday.	A day in the life of Olivia, a pig. This story is about her day, from morning until bedtime.
	There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly	Caldecott Honor Medal 1998	Simms Taback	All Ages	Ages 5-8	Draw pictures of what is in your stomach today. Draw something that would be to big for you to eat too.	Everyone knows the song about the old lady who swallowed a fly, a spider, a bird, and even worse, but who's ever seen what's going on inside the old lady's stomach? This story shows what happens in her stomach with really coll cut out pictures.
	The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales	Caldecott Honor Medal 1993	Jon Scieszka/ Lane Smith	Pre-School and Elementary School Ages	Ages 4-8	Have the class write a story as a group using a fairytale. Put your own twist on it and even bind it into a classroom book.	Jon Sciezka puts a little twist on old fairy tales. With his weird tales, this book is sure to capture a young readers attention.
	The Polar Express	Caldecott Medal Winner 1986	Chris Van Allsburg	Elementary School Ages	Ages 4-8	Watch the movie in class. You could also have the class paint pictures of there favorite part of the book.	A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa.
	The Relatives Came	Caldecott Honor Medal 1986	Cynthia Rylant/ Stephen Gammell	Elementary School Ages	Ages 3-7	Write a story about a time when your relatives came to visit.	The family comes for the weekend. There are so many fun things they do with the family.
	When I was Young In The Mountains	Caldecott Honor Medal 1983	Cynthia Rylant/ Diane Goode	Elementary School Ages	Ages 4-8	Paint a picture of a mountain, or a fun vacation spot you like to go to.	Rylant writes about when she was younger and visited her grandparents in the mountains. She talks about all her adventures and things that happened when she would be in the mountains.
	Jumanji	Caldecott Medal Winner 1982	Chris Van Allsburg/ Rafael Segovia Alban	Elementary and Middle School Ages	Ages 4-8	Draw a picture of what your house would look like if you were to play jumanji and all of the problems happened to you.	Left on their own for an afternoon, two bored and restless children find more excitement than they bargained for in a mysterious and mystical jungle adventure board game where animals came out of the game into their living room.

Newbery Award Winners

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	Because of Winn Dixie	Newbery Honor Award 2001	Kate DiCamillo	Higher elementary grades and above	Ages 8-12	Act out parts of the book and take turns playing the different characters.	Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
	Ella Enchanted	Newbery Honor Award 1998	Gail Carson Levine	Higher Elementary and Middle School Ages	Ages 8-12	In small groups, write a list of the similarities between he original Cinderella and Ella Enchanted.	A newer version of Cinderella, Ella Enchanted is a Cinderella story for the older crowd. The classic childrens' fairytale is rewritten was a more modern twist on it.
	The Giver	Newbery Award Winner 1994	Lois Lowry	Higher Elementary and Middle School Ages	Ages 12-17	Write about what you would do to help others if you were like Jonas.	Lowry's unforgettable tale introduces 12-year-old Jonas, who is singled out by the Community to be trained by The Giver.
	Missing May	Newbery Award Winner 1993	Cynthia Rylant	Elementary and Middle School Ages	Ages 9-12	Talk about spirits and draw a picture of what a spirit might look like.	When May dies suddenly while gardening, Summer assumes she'll never see her beloved aunt again. But then Summer's Uncle Ob claims that May is on her way back because she has sent a sign from the spirit world.Summer isn't sure she believes in the spirit world, but her quirky classmate Cletus Underwood does.So at Cletus' suggestion, Ob and Summer set off in search of Miriam B. Young,, whom they hope will explain May's departure and confirm her possible return.
	Shiloh	Newbery Award Winner 1992	Phyllis Reynolds Naylor	Elementary and Middle School Ages	Ages 8-12	Talk about animal abuse, then draw posters to prevent animal abuse.	When Marty Preston comes across a young beagle in the hills behind his home, it's love at first sight and also big trouble. It turns out the dog, which Marty names Shiloh, belongs to Judd Travers, who drinks too much and has a gun and abuses his dogs. So when Shiloh runs away from Judd to Marty, Marty just has to hide him and protect him from Judd. But Marty's secret becomes too big for him to keep to himself, and it exposes his entire family to Judd's anger.
	Charlotte's Web	Newbery Honor Award 1953	E. B. White	All Ages	Ages 9-12	Draw your own spider web with a word that describes yourself written in the web.	Charlotte has a pig named Wilbur, so you could say. Charlotte the spider tries to save Wilburs' life. Every morning she designs a new web with a word that describes Wilbur. An instant classic!

Picture Books That Have Won Awards

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	Stanley's Party	Georgia Children's Book Award 2005	Linda Bailey/ Bill Slavin	Elementary School Ages	Ages 3-7	Write about what you think happens when you leave the house and your pet is home alone. If you don't have a pet, pretend you have a pet.	This book is about Stanley, a dog who decides to test the rules. At first his trials are unimportant, such as sitting on the couch. But when Stanley invites hundreds of strange dogs to his house, things get out of hand.
	Emily's Art	Georgia Children's Book Award 2005	Peter Catalanotto/ Peter Catalanotto	Elementary School Ages	Ages 4-8	Have your own art contest in the class, but let everyone be the winner.	A first-grader named Emily is nervous when her teacher announces that the class will be holding an art contest and that the winner will be selected by a judge. Emily wonders how the judge will know which entry is the best, but nevertheless creates a painting to enter in the contest. When the judge selects Emily's painting of her dog, Thor, as the winner, Emily is confused, the judge thinks Thor is a rabbit. When Emily informs the judge of her mistake, the judge takes away the prize because she likes rabbits but hates dogs. Emily is discouraged and says she'll never paint again.
	Painting The Wind	Georgia Children's Book Award 2005	Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan/ Katy Schneider	Elementary School Ages	Ages 5-9	Go outside to somehwere around the school and have everyone paint the same scene. Go inside and compare.	Several artists who paint different things, with different kinds of paint, and at different times of the day, all paint the same island that they visit each summer.
	Yoko's Paper Cranes	Georgia Children's Book Award 2005	Rosemary Wells/ Rosemary Wells	Elementary School Ages	Ages 4-8	Make origami cranes in class.	When Yoko moves from Japan to California, she decides to make and send origami cranes to her grandmother for her birthday.
	Dear Mrs. LaRue	Georgia Children's Book Award 2005	Mark Teague/ Mark Teague	Elementary School Ages	Ages 3-8	Write a letter back to Ike with a respone from Gertrude LaRue.	Gertrude LaRue receives funny typewritten and paw-written letters from her dog, Ike, entreating her to let him leave the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy and come back home.

ABC/Counting/Concept Books

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	Blue is My Name	Concept	Angela C.Santomero /Karen Craig	Pre-School	Ages 3-6	Have the class name things in the classroom that are blue. They can also name their favorite color and name things that are their favorite color.	Blue, the puppy, talks about things that are blue. She tells the reasons why she is so happy to be the color blue.Blue is the color of so many things! Preschoolers will delight in this romping story as they discover all the reasons Blue loves being blue!
	Dora's Picnic	Concept	Christine Ricci /Susan Hall	Pre-School	Ages 4-6	Ask the children what they would bring to a picnic. Go outside and have lunch like a picnic.	Dora and all her friends go and have a picnic in the park. Everyone brings different foods. This story uses picture int he sentences for children to help read the story.
	Double Trouble	Concept	Kirsten Hall /Bev Luedecke	Pre-School and Kindergarten	Ages 5-6	Have the children draw and paint a picture of themself and a friend.	Toggles wants to play outside with her friends, but it's raining so she paints pictures of her friends. It talks about mixing colors to get new colors.

Predictable Books

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	If You Give A Pig A Pancake	Predictable	Laure Joffe Numeroff/ Felicia Bond	Elementary School Ages	Ages 3-7	Read the other "I if you give a..." stories to the class, then let the class draw there favorite scene from any of the books.	If you give a pig a pancake, she'll want syrup to go with it. You'll give her some of your favorite maple syrup. This book goes through the day of this little pig.
	The Runaway Bunny	Predictable	Margaret Wise Brown/ Clement Hurd	Pre-School and Elementary School Ages	Ages 4-6	Write and draw a picture about what you would turn into if you were the little bunny, then write about what the mother would turn into and also draw a picture.	The Runaway Bunny begins with a young bunny who decides to run away: "'If you run away,' said his mother, 'I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.'" And so begins a delightful, imaginary game of chase. No matter how many forms the little bunny takes--a fish in a stream, a crocus in a hidden garden, a rock on a mountain--his steadfast, adoring, protective mother finds a way of retrieving him.

Traditional Literature Books

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	The Children's Homer The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy	Legends	Padraic Colum/ Willy Pogany	Middle and High School Ages	Ages 10-14	Draw a map of Home's journey. Use lots of color.	This book is a collection of myths and legends. This is a great book that is full of imagination.
	The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm All-New Third Edition	Myths and Fairy Tales	Johnny Gruelle/ Jack Zipes	All Ages	Ages 8-12	Pick your favorite story and draw or paint your favorite scene.	This book includes the famous original tales plus rare tales omitted from the final edition of the original book. The book is full of fascinating stories from the annotations of 1856.
	The Complete Tales of Uncle Remus	Myths, fables, and Fairy Tales	Joel Chandler Harris/ Richard Chase/ Arthur B. Frost	All Ages	Ages 8-12	Draw a picture of your favorite character fromt he stories.	This collection contains all eight of the Uncle Remus stories. These stories bring animals to life and they have wild adventures. A family favorite.
	The Little Red Hen	Fairy Tales and Folklore	J. P. Miller	Pre-School Ages	Ages 3-6	Write a letter to the other farm animals and tell them why they should have helped the little red hen.	None of the farm animals want to help plant the wheat, but they sure want to help eat the bread. This story teaches a valubal lesson about helping others.
	The Frog Prince, Continued	Fairy Tale	Jon Scieszka/ Steve Johnson	Elementary School Ages	Ages 8-12	Think of things that could have made life better for the Princess and the Prince. Write a letter to one of the characters, either the prince or the princess, and tell them your ideas.	After the frog turns into a prince, he and the Princess do not live happily ever after and the Prince decides to look for a witch to help him remedy the situation.

Fantasy/Science Fiction Books

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	Science Fiction	J. K. Rowling	Elementary, Middle, and High School Ages	Ages 9-12	As a class, invent a game and go outside and place it. Make a list of rules and an objective.	Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick. He's never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon. All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if Harry can survive the encounter.
	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	Science Fiction	J. K. Rowling	Elementary, Middle, and High School Ages	Ages 9-12	Write a note to Nick F. Pretend that you have the blank journal and write to him.	When the Chamber of Secrets is opened again at the Hogswart School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, second-year student Harry Potter finds himself in danger from a dark power that has once more been unleashed on the school.
	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Fantasy	Roald Dahl/ Quentin Blake	All Ages	Ages 8-12	Design a candy factory. Draw what your factory would look like and lable the things inside the factory. Share with the class.	The gates of Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory are opening at last--and only five children will be allowed inside for the adventure of a lifetime! Charlie gets lucky and finds a golden ticket, which allows him and a guest to go into the factory.
	The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	Fantasy	C. S. Lewis/ Pauline Baynes	All Ages	Ages 9-14	Write about an imagenary place in a wardrobe. Draw a picture of the setting.	Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy find their way through an old wardrobe into the world of Narnia. There, they unite with Aslan to fight the White Witch and save Narnia from perpetual Darkness.

Realistic Fiction Books

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	Dear Mr. Henshaw	Contemporary Realistic Fiction: Chapter Books	Beverly Cleary/ Paul O. Zelinsky	Upper Elementary and Middle School Ages	Ages 8-12	Write a letter to your favorite teacher.	In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.
	Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day	Contemporary Realistic Fiction: Picture Books & Easy Readers	Judith Viorst/ Ray Cruz	Elemantary School Ages	Ages 6-9	Draw a picture of what you would look like if you were having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.	Alexander knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up with gum in his hair. His best friend deserted him. There was no dessert in his lunch bag. And, on top of all that, there were lima beans for dinner and kissing on TV!
	Holes	Contemporary Realistic Fiction: Chapter Books	Louis Sachar	Upper Elementary and Middle School Ages	Ages 10-14	Write a letter to your parents pretending that you are at camp green lake.	Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something.
	Freckle Juice	Contemporary Realistic Fiction: Chapter Books	Judy Blume/ Sonia O. Lisker	Elemantary School Ages	Ages 6-9	Invent your own recipe for freckle juice.	Andrew wants freckles more than anything else, so Sharon offers to sell him her secret freckle recipe. When Andrew turns green from the recipe, and blue from his own freckle-making brew, it's doubtful he'll ever wish for freckles again.

Historical Fiction Books

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	Magic Tree House #17 Tonight on the Titanic	Historical Fiction	Mary Pope Osborne /Sal Murdocca	Elementary School Ages	Ages 5-8	Paint ice-burgs and use salt to give the picture texture.	The Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie away to the decks of that ill-fated ship, the Titanic. There they must help two children find their way to a lifeboat--all while they are in danger of becoming victims of that tragic night themselves.
	Magic Tree House #21 Civil War on Sunday	Historical Fiction	Mary Pope Osborne /Sal Murdocca	Elementary School Ages	Ages 5-8	Dress up in civil war costumes and have a reinactment on the playground with small groups.	In one of the newest Magic Tree House adventure, Jack and Annie are whisked back to the Civil War where they meet Clara Barton and save the life of their very own great-great-great-grand-father.
	Magic Tree House #16 Hour of the Olympics	Historical Fiction	Mary Pope Osborne /Sal Murdocca	Elementary School Ages	Ages 5-8	Have a field day with mini olympic events. Give awards!	Jack and Annie are off on another adventure! This time they are sent to ancient Greece, where a very important event is taking place. Join them as they race against time and witness the very first Olympic games!

Poetry Anthology

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	The Missing Piece	Poetry	Shel Silverstein	All ages	Ages 10-100	Draw shapes and cut them out. Then cut out a piece and write your own "missing piece" story.	What the circle finds on its search for the missing piece is simply and touchingly told in a fable that gently probes the nature of quest and fulfillment.
	The Giving Tree	Poetry	Shel Silverstein	All Ages	Ages 10-100	Collect sticks from outside and have the class glue the sticks and twigs on a large sheet of paper to make your own "giving tree".	This story of a boy who grows to manhood, and of a tree that gives him her bounty through the years, is a moving parable about the gift of giving and the capacity to love.

Multicultural Books

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	The Magical Monkey King	Chinese Multicultural	Elementary School Ages	Ages 7-10	Paint your faviorite scene from the book and write a sentence about your painting.	The mischievous Monkey King attempts to achieve immortality the easy way, gains god-like powers, and wreaks havoc in heaven.
	Willimena Rules! How to Lose Your Cookie Money	African American Multicultural	Elementary School Ages	Ages 7-13	Make a list of ways you could make money, or adopt a charity as a class.	Willimena has a dilemma. She has spent most of the Girl Scout cookie money she collected, and now it's time to turn it in. Surprisingly, her older sister tries to help her raise the cash.
	Count on Pablo	Spanish Multicultural	Elementary School Ages	Ages 5-7	Draw objects and number them by ten in spanish and in english.	Pablo demonstrates how good he is at counting while helping his grandmother, his "abuela, " prepare to sell vegetables at the market.
	Puffin Book of Classic Indian Tales	Indian Multicultural	Elementary School Ages	Ages 7-12	Draw a picture of your favorite story.	This compendium of Indian myths and folktales introduces a wonderful variety of characters, ranging from Gods, Kings, and Brahmin scholars to humble country folk, brave rabbits, sparrows and vain donkeys. Retold in a fresh, accessible manner and illustrated by a range of Indian artists, the anthology draws on classic sources such as the Mahabarata, the Ramayana and Panchatantra, to regale readers with a rich variety of tales.
	Erandi's Braids	Spanish Multicultural	Elementary School Ages	Ages 4-8	Would you cut your hair off? Write about whether you would do what Erandi did and why or why not.	This moving story is set in Mexico at a time when poor women were forced to sell their hair. It tells how Erandi sacrifices her long braids to enable her mother to replace a damaged fishing net. Many details of traditional Mexican architecture, pottery, clothing and festivals are included in dePaola's illustrations and the simple text includes some Spanish words for which a glossary is included.

Informational Books/Biography/Autobiography

Picture	Title	Genre /Awards	Author /Illustrator	Interest Level	Reading Level	Ideas for Classroom Use	Brief Description of Book
	When Dinosaurs Die - A Guide to Understanding Death	Informational	Laurie Krasny Brown /Marc Brown	Elementary School Ages	Ages 4-8	Write about someone you have lost or about someone you know who has lost someone or something.	Explains in simple language the feelings people may have regarding the death of a loved one and the ways to honor the memory of someone who has died.
	How I was Adopted	Informational	Joanna Cole /Maxie Chambliss	Elementary School Ages	Ages 3-8	Pretend you were adopted and write your own adoption story.	Sam has a story all her own, yet common to millions of families: the story of how she was adopted. It's about how babies are born and how children grow, about what makes people different and what makes them the same. Most of all, it's a story about love. And in the end, Sam's story comes full circle, inviting young readers to share stories of how they were adopted.
	The Lost Boy	Biography	Dave Pelzer	Upper Middle and High School Ages, as well as Adult Reading	Age 13+	Make small groups and act as lawyers. Have a mock trial and have each set of lawyers plead there case on Davids behalf.	This is an Auto-Biography about a little boy whose childhood is horrible. This boy will make you cry, but you are overjoyed in the end to see how David overcomes his past. Very hard to put down.
	Where was Patrick Henry On the 29th of May?	Biography	Jean Fritz/ Margot Tomes	Elementary School Ages	Ages 7-11	Make a time line of Patrick Henry's life.	Where was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? Languishing on a sack of salt in his country store? Speaking out against England's stamp tax on the floor of the House of Burgesses? Or being elected governor? Well, no matter where he was or what he was doing, the 29th of May was always a red-letter day for Patrick Henry!