Electronic Reading File
by Julie Smith

Chapter books- in blue font

Leo Lionni books- in red font

Eve Bunting books- in green font

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caldecott Medal Winners

Picture of Book

Genre

Title

Author/
Illustrator/
Copyright

Recommended Age/Grade 
Level

Ideas for Classroom Use 

Brief Description of the Book

Book Cover

Caldecott Medal Winner

Kitten’s First Full Moon

Kevin Henkes 2004

Ages 3-5

With construction paper, cotton balls, and markers, have the children create the kitten in the book.

This book is about a kitten who mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk. It follows the kitten on her journey as she tries to drink from the big milk bowl in the sky. 

Book Cover

 

Caldecott Medal Winner

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Mordicai Gerstein

2004

Ages 5-8

Have the children choreograph their own make believe tightrope performance. Can be done in groups or individually. Allow them to present the dance to the class. 

A French aerialist, Philippe Petit, who put a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade Center. He walks, dances, and does tricks high in the sky.

Book Cover

Caldecott Medal Winner

My Friend Rabbit

Eric Rohmann

2002

Ages 4-8

Have the children paint a picture of his or her best friend and present it to the class.

This book is about a mouse and a rabbit that are best friends. Rabbit gets into trouble no matter where he goes and what he does.

Book Cover

Caldecott Medal Winner

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Simms Taback

1999

Ages 4-8

Put the children in groups. Have the children as a group think of and discuss something that can be reused like the overcoat in the story.

Joseph has an old overcoat he doesn’t want to get rid of. He keeps making it smaller and smaller pieces of clothing, like a jacket and scarf.

Book Cover

Caldecott Medal Winner

Snowflake Bently

Jacqueline Briggs Martin/Mary Azarian 1998

Ages 5-8

Let the children design and create their own unique snowflake out of white computer paper.

Wilson Bentley, a self-taught scientist, who photographs individual snowflakes so he can study their unique shapes.

Book Cover

Caldecott Medal Winner

Officer Buckle and Gloria

Peggy Rathmann

1995

Ages 5-8

Divide the children into groups and have them create a larger poster board with different safety tips they should always follow on it. Allow them to decorate it any way they choose.

The children in an elementary school always ignore Officer Buckle's safety tips. He gets a police dog named Gloria to accompany him when he gives his safety speeches.

Book Cover

Caldecott Medal Winner

Smoky Night

Eve Bunting/David Diaz 1999

Ages 5-8

The children will create a self-portrait and write a narrative describing their features. This will illustrate that everyone is different in his or her own way.

Riots break out in the streets of a neighborhood. A young boy and his mother learn the values of getting along with others regardless of their background or nationality.



 Book Cover

Caldecott Medal Winner

The Polar Express

Chris Van Allsburg

 1985

Ages 5-8

The children will make sock snowmen.

http://preschoolrainbow. Org/preschool-winter.htm

One Christmas Eve after everyone was asleep, a boy boards the mysterious Polar Express bound for the North Pole. Santa offers the boy any gift he desires.

Newbery Award Winners

Picture of Book

Genre

Title

Author/
Illustrator/
Copyright

Recommended Age/Grade 
Level

Ideas for Classroom Use 

Brief Description of the Book

Book Cover

 

Newbery Award Winner

Holes

Louis Sachar

2000

Ages 9-12

Create literature circles. Assign different roles to different children. Make one person in charge of a summary, illustrator, word finder, etc. 

Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. He has been 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 that are five feet wide and five feet deep.

Book Cover

 

Newbery Award Winner

Number the Stars

Lois Lowry

1998

Ages 10-14

Create literature circles. Assign different roles to different children. Make one person in charge of a summary, illustrator, word finder, etc. 

In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, a ten-year-old girl learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis.

Product Cover

 

Newbery Award Winner

Maniac Magee

Jerry Spinelli/ 1991

Ages 8-11

Illustrate pages of their favorite parts of the book.

Follow a boy on his journey repair the relationships in the lives of people he meets.

Product Cover

Newbery Award Winner

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Mildred D. Taylor/ 1999

Ages 9-11

In small groups, the children will research different aspects of the Great Depression, including how it affected the lives of Americans. Then will present/ Discuss with the class what was learned.

SS5H5

This book is about a young African American girl growing up in the south during the Great Depression.

Product Cover

Newbery Award Winner

The Whipping Boy

Sid Fleischman/ Peter Sis

 2003

Ages 8-12

Have the children write a story about how they took the blame for a friend.

A young orphan boy is taken from the streets to become the whipping boy for the prince. It is forbidden to spank/whip the heir to the throne. Fine out why the prince and boy have to trade places.

Other Award Winning Books

Picture of Book

Genre

Title

Author/
Illustrator/
Copyright

Recommended Age/Grade 
Level

Ideas for Classroom Use 

Brief Description of the Book

Book Cover

Caldecott Honor Award

Swimmy

Leo Lionni 1973

Ages 4-8

Create an ocean scene using tissue paper and watercolor. Paint the tissue paper, cut out ocean creatures and paste it on a construction paper.

A little black fish lives in a school of red fish until they are all eaten. He finds another school of red fish and they work together to save themselves.


Book Cover
 

Newbery Honor Award

Stargirl

Jerry Spinelli

2000

Young Adult

Divide the children into groups and have them perform their favorite scene from the book. Write a narrative that goes along with the scene.

After fifteen years of home schooling, a girl by the name Stargirl Caraway goes to high school. She is bold and out spoken unlike all of the other students.

Book Cover

Caldecott Honor Award

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

Simms Taback/

Pam Adams

1997

Ages 4-8

Let the children make puppets to go along with the old lady and animals in the book and then perform a puppet show to read along with the book.

The old lady swallows a fly, spider, bird, and more. This book has die-cut outs; the children can actually see the animals inside her stomach.

Product Cover

Caldecott Honor Award

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse

Leo Lionni 1974

Ages 4-8

 Discuss items that are living and non-living with the classroom. Have the children go around the classroom and sort items that are living/non-living.

SKL1.

Alexander is a real mouse; however, he wants to be a toy mouse like his friend. Read to find out why Alexander realizes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Product Cover

Caldecott Honor Award

Frederick

Leo Lionni

1973

Ages 4-8

Using black construction paper and colored chalk, have the children draw a picture of a daydream.

Instead of helping the other mice gather food for winter, Frederick does nothing but daydream all summer. When winter comes, he entertains the other mice. 

Multicultural

Picture of Book

Genre

Title

Author/
Illustrator/
Copyright

Recommended Age/Grade 
Level

Ideas for Classroom Use 

Brief Description of the Book

Book Cover

Multicultural

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

Maurice Sendak 1963

Ages 4-8

Have the children write their own version of a Cinderella Story and share with the class.

Mufaro has two beautiful daughters- one good, one bad. They are sent to go before the King, so he can choose a wife.

Book Cover

Multicultural

Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

Tomie de Paola 1996

Ages 4-8

Children will paint a story on a leather bag (brown paper bag).This activity is for a little older children, but young children could do it just as easily. http://www.eduref.org/

Virtua/Lessons/Social_

Studies/US_History/ USH0048.html

Little Gopher dreams to become a great artist to paint the stories and legends of his tribe.

Product Cover

Multicultural

Amazing Grace

Mary Hoffman/ Caroline Binch

1991

Ages 4-8

The illustrations in the book are done with watercolor. Have the children paint, with watercolor, their favorite part of the book.

Grace loves stories of all sorts. There is a Peter Pan Play at her school and she wants to be the main star.

Product Cover

Multicultural

How Many Days to America?

Eve Bunting/ Beth Peck

 1988

Ages 4-8

 Discuss Thanksgiving with the children. Let the children create turkeys by painting their hands and stamping them. Add face of turkey to thumb print.

This is a Thanksgiving story. A family and other refugees are forced to leave their home on a Caribbean Island and go to America on a small fishing boat. When they arrive, it’s Thanksgiving.

Product Cover

Multicultural

The Fortune Tellers

Lloyd Alexander/Trina Schart Hyman 1997

Ages 3-8

Half way through reading the book, have the children draw their predictions of what fortunes the carpenter will have.

ELA2R4

A young man goes to a fortuneteller to get predictions.

 

 

ABC/Counting/Concept Books

Picture of Book

Genre

Title

Author/
Illustrator/
Copyright

Recommended Age/Grade 
Level

Ideas for Classroom Use 

Brief Description of the Book

Book Cover

Concept Book

Color Zoo

Lois Ehlert

1997

Preschool

Using colorful construction paper, have the children tear

or cut out different shapes

and paste them together to create their favorite ZOO animal..

This book has die-cut pages and puts together different colors and shapes to make different faces of zoo animals.

Book Cover

Counting book

Chicka Chicka

1 2 3

Bill Martin/ Michael Sampson/

Michael R. Sampson/ Lois Ehlert

2004

Ages 3-7

Divide the children into groups. Each group will have 10 numbers they will think of a jingle-rhyme song for. 1-10, 10-20 and so forth. Go around the classroom and let each group sing their jingle.

The numbers one to one hundred climb to the top of an apple tree. The book is written in a cute rhyme.

Product Cover

Counting book

Spot counts from 1 to 10

Eric Hill 1989

Preschool

Have the students count out loud with you as you read the book.

Spot the dog counts to ten.

Predictable Books

Picture of Book

Genre

Title

Author/
Illustrator/
Copyright

Recommended Age/Grade 
Level

Ideas for Classroom Use 

Brief Description of the Book

Book Cover

Predictable

Love You Forever

Robert N. Munsch/ Sheila McGraw 2000

Ages 5-6

After reading the book with the class, Read the book a second time and have the children read the book aloud with you, since it’s a predictable book.

A woman sings to her son: “I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be."

Busy Spider

Predictable

Very Busy Spider

Eric Carle
1984

Ages 2-5

Using black construction paper and white yarn, have the children glue their own spider web.

A spider got so busy working on her web that she did not have time to play with her friends. However, she spun a beautiful surprise in the end.

Realistic Fiction

Picture of Book

Genre

Title

Author/
Illustrator/
Copyright

Recommended Age/Grade 
Level

Ideas for Classroom Use 

Brief Description of the Book

Book Cover

Realistic Fiction

Flower Garden

Eve Bunting/ Kathryn Hewitt

1994

Ages 3-7

Let the children paint their own flowerpot and plant their own flower garden.

A little girl puts together a flower garden as a surprise for her mother’s birthday. Follow her and the flower gardens journey from the store to the windowpane.

Book Cover

Realistic Fiction

My Ol’ Man

Patricia Polacco

1995

Ages 5-8

Read the book aloud to the children. Have the children orally discuss to the class about their favorite summer memory.

ELA1R6

A girl tells about her memories of the summer she spent in Michigan with her father and a magic rock.

Product Cover

Realistic Fiction

Knuffle Bunny

Mo Willems 2004

Ages 4-8

Bring in a puppet to use while reading the book. Have the children bring in a favorite stuffed animal.

Daddy and baby spend the day together running errands. Daddy makes a mistake by not noticing when baby leaves her stuffed animal. 

Product Cover

Realistic Fiction

Shiloh

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor 2000

Ages 8-12

Have the children draw a picture of their pet. If they do not have a pet, create one.

A little boy comes across a beagle and takes it in as his own. The real owner of the dog is abusive to the dog. The boy hides and protects the dog.

Poetry Anthologies

Picture of Book

Genre

Title

Author/
Illustrator/
Copyright

Recommended Age/Grade 
Level

Ideas for Classroom Use 

Brief Description of the Book

Book Cover

 

Poetry

Lilies on the Moon

Robert W. Kurkela/Cassidy S. Kurkela 2005

Ages 5-8

Have the children write their own poems about what it’s like to be a child and have them decorate around it with finger paints.

A collection of poetry written by an adult; however, from a child’s perspective. The poems are about the trials and tribulations of being a child. The illustrations in the book are by the author’s daughter. 

Book Cover

Poetry

Awful Ogre’s Awful Day

Jack Prelutsky/Paul O. Zelinsky 2001

Ages 6-9

Let the children write their own poem about their daily routine in chronological order. Have the children pick their favorite part of their routine and draw a picture with a lot of details.

ELA4W1

There are eighteen poems in this book. Awful Ogre describes his awful daily routines with gruesome detail.

 </