Picture

Title

Author/

Illustrator

Genre

Interest

Level

Grade

Level

Description

Ideas for

Classroom Use

Caldecott Books

The Ox-Cart Man

Barbara Cooney

Picture Book: Historical Fiction

5-10

K-4

Set in the 1800’s, a man takes all things from the family’s home and trades them for new things in the city.

Students could make various things such as candles, baskets, or brooms.

The Little House

Virginia Lee Burton

Picture Book: Modern Fantasy

5-10

K-4

A house was built in the country and as the years went by the city moved in around her. Finally she was moved back to the country.

Research how your town might have looked 100 years ago and draw maps/pictures from the past and from the present.

Tuesday

David Wiesner

Picture Book: Modern Fantasy

5-8

K-2

Frogs fly through the air on lily pads during the night leaving a mystery for the humans when daybreak comes.

Write own words for the story.

The Snowy Day

Ezra Jack Keats

Picture Book:

Realistic Fiction

4-8

PreK-2

Peter has a great adventure on a snowy day in the city.

Make snowman sculptures out of homemade play dough and other materials. Class could create a whole winter scene.

Song of the Swallows

Leo Politi

Picture Book: Realistic Fiction

4-8

K-2

Juan misses the birds and makes awaits their arrival in the spring.

Find out which birds come to your area in the spring. Make bird masks. (directions at crayola.com)

Where the Wild Things Are

Maurice Sendak

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

Max goes on a “wild” adventure when his mother sends him to his room for being naughty.

Children can draw monsters on construction paper using chalk.

Madeline’s Rescue

Ludwig Bemelmans

Picture Book: Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

Madeline is rescued by a dog when she falls in the river and all the girls wish to keep him.

Using construction paper, toothpicks and glue, make a replication of the Eiffel Tower or other monument in Paris.

May I Bring a Friend?

Beatrice Schenk de Regniers/Beni Montresor

Picture Book: Modern Fantasy

4-8

PreK-2

A boy is invited to visit the king and queen and he asks permission to bring his animal friends.

Children can draw with crayons or markers an animal in the story and write on their picture what the animal was thinking in the book.

Newbery Books

Bridge to Terabithia

Katherine Paterson

Realistic Fiction

10-12

5-6

A young boy becomes best friend with a girl who moves in next door. They create a private kingdom in the woods.

Write a different ending to the book, what would things be like in a year or two if things had turned out differently?

GPS:ELA5W1

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Patricia MacLachlan

Historical Fiction

8-10

3-4

A father finds a new wife after his first wife passes away.

Using clam shells and glitter glue, decorate the inside of the shell. (www.crayola.com)

Holes

Louis Sachar

Realistic Fiction

11 - adult

5 +

A boy is sent to boot camp for a crime he did not commit.

Students can divide into groups and pick a part of the book and put on a play of characters interacting with one another.

The Whipping Boy

Sid Fleischman

Modern Fantasy

8-12

3-6

A bratty prince who has a “whipping boy” gets into a lot of trouble. They become friends.

Using cardboard and paint children can work in groups to make a castle. Make finger or stick puppets and then have students act out scenes.

Caddie Woodlawn

Carol Ryrie Brink

Historical Fiction

10-12

5-6

Caddie is an 11-year-old tomboy growing up on the Wisconsin frontier in the mid-nineteenth century.

Children can make their own “scalp” belts and display in a box like the Woodlawn Children did.

Other Award-Winning Books

Tomas and the Library Lady

Pat Mora/Raul Colon

Texas Bluebonnet Award

2000

Multicultural

Realistic

Fiction

4-10

K-4

A librarian encourages a child of migrant workers to come to the library often.

Make a poster using collage from magazines of children entering a library. Have children list their favorite books on the poster. They can tell the class about the books and why they like them.

The Friendship

Mildred D. Taylor/

Max Ginsburg

Coretta

Scott-King

Award

1988

Multicultural

Realistic Fiction

8-12

3-6

A group of children witness an argument between a black man and a white merchant in rural Mississippi in the 1930s. They were supposed to be friends.

Great for a discussion about racism. Students could write what they thought would happen after the book ends then combine work together to make a short play.

Knuffle Bunny

Mo Willems

Award:

Caldecott Honor,

2005

Picture Book:

Realistic Fiction

3-8

PreK- 2

Trixie takes her stuffed rabbit with her on an errand and temporarily loses it.

Do a pantomime. Children can act out the process of washing clothes.

Owen

Kevin Henkes

Award:

Caldecott Honor,

1994

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

Owen has a security blanket and does not want to get rid of it. His mother finds a way that he can still take it everywhere.

Using heavy weight paper and yard, children can make a blanket or quilt. Decorate and then sew squares together.

Leo the Magnificat

Ann Martin/

Emily McCully

Georgia Children’s picture story book award

1998-1999

Picture Book:

Realistic Fiction

4-8

K-2

A homeless cat is adopted by a small church. He is much loved. Based on a true story.

Make a memory book with illustrations. Write about a pet, an event, etc. Write about what is happening in the pictures.

GPS: ELA2W1a

ABC/Counting/Concept Books

Big and Little

Samantha Berger/

Pamela Chanko

Picture Book

Concept Book:

Size, big and little

3-7

Prek-2

Wonderful photographs introduce the concept of big and little.

Make a picture using pictures from magazines of things that are big and little.

GPS: ELAIR5c

Farm ABCs

B.A. Hoena

Picture Book

ABC Book

3-7

PreK-2

Life on a farm depicts the ABCs with brilliant photographs.

Children can make their own farm animal book and write what letter each animal starts with.

GPS: ELAKW1c

Cat Count

Betsy Lewin

Picture Book

Counting Book

3-7

PreK-2

Cats that are owned by ten different people are added together and it was found that that makes too many cats.

Talk about pets and how many each child has. Make a book and then add up how many animals (pets) the entire class has if they put them all together.

GPS: MKP5

Predictable Books

A Frog in the Bog

Karma Wilson/

Joan Rankin

Modern Fantasy

3-7

PreK-2

A frog in the bog grows bigger as he eats bugs, until he realizes he is not on a log!

It would be fun to act out this book! Assign bug parts to children. Class could make a huge frog out of cardboard (with teacher assistance) with a hole in the middle to step through as they were eaten.

Ten Cats Have Hats

Jean Marzollo/

David McPhail

Modern Fantasy

4-7

K-2

A counting book with cats and hats.

Teacher can purchase plain white fabric or plastic hats for students to paint.

Traditional Literature Books

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

Retold by

Verna Aarderna

Picture Book:

Traditional Fantasy

4-8

K-2nd

An African folktale that tells the reason why mosquitoes buzz in peoples’ ears.

Make African masks using homemade dough. Decorate by painting. (Directions at www.crayola.com under “mask art of Africa”.)

Cinderella

Retold by Marcia Brown

Picture Book:

Traditional Fantasy

5-10

K-4th

A retelling of Cinderella: With the help of her Fairy Godmother, a girl gets to go to a ball.

Make a diorama from a scene in the story.

Why the Sky is Far Away, A Nigerian Folktale

Retold by Mary-John Gerson/

Carla Golembe

Picture Book:

Traditional Literature,

Folktale

5-10

K-4th

The sky used to be so close people could break off pieces and eat it, but because of their waste and greed it moved further away.

A class could make a mural of the sky that tells the story.

GPS: ELA4R1h

Beauty and the Beast

Retold by Marianna Mayer

Picture Book:

Traditional Fantasy

4-8

Pre-K- 3rd

A kind girl agrees to exchange places with her father as a prisoner of a “beast”. With her love she breaks the spell that was put upon the beast.

Rewrite part of the story from other another character’s point of view.

GPS: ELAKR6h

The Legend of the Poinsettia

Retold by

Tomie dePaola

Picture Book:

Traditional Literature,

Folktale

5-8

K-4th

A Mexican legend of how the poinsettia came to be. A girl had nothing to offer baby Jesus except some weeds she picked. The weeds miraculously bloomed into red flowers.

Make Poinsettias out of red construction paper.

Fantasy/Science Fiction Books

First Graders From Mars, The Problem with Pelly

Shana Corey/Mark Teague

Modern Fantasy

4-7

K-2nd

Pelly hates that she looks different from her classmates, but a famous singer makes her feel special.

Write an invitation for Pelly’s class to visit Earth.  Give directions as well as some of the things they might see and do when they get here.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Mo Willems

Picture Book: Modern Fantasy

Infant to 4

Through Pre-K

A pigeon begs to drive a bus.

Make a class book: Don’t let the Pigeon Drive the Truck! Use finger paint.

Hedgie’s Surprise

Jan Brett

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

Henny is tired of the boy taking her eggs when she longs to have a family. Hedgie helps her by hiding her eggs.

Write a “Beasty Book” (www.crayola.com). Find out facts about an animal and make a book with facts about the animal in the shape of that animal.

Wemberly Worried

Kevin Henkes

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

3-8

PreK-2

Wemberly worried about everything until she finally finds a friend.

Children can make an animal with paper plates.

Realistic Fiction Books

Ramona’s World

Beverly Cleary

Realistic Fiction

8-12

3-6

Ramona is excited about the 4^th grade. She has a new baby sister and a new best friend.

Write the next chapter in the book.

Ruby the Copycat

Peggy Rathmann

Realistic Fiction

5-7

K-2

Ruby is new in school and copies everything Angela does

Students can pair up and use paint to paint a picture, trade with a partner and the partner copies the picture.

Heaven

Angela Johnson

Realistic Fiction

13-adult

7+

A young girl’s life is disrupted when she learns that her mom and dad are not her biological parents.

In this book Marley read letters from her father. Students could also write letters to Marley to help her deal with her emotions.

Thunder Cake

Patricia Polacco

Realistic Fiction

4-8

Pre-k-2

A young girl is afraid of thunderstorms and her grandmother helps her to overcome her fears.

Great for math and measurement. Measure out the ingredients to make a real cake. The adult could make it and everyone would eat it!

GPS: M5M3a

Historical Fiction Books

Hope’s Revolutionary War Diary

Kristiana Gregory

Historical Fiction

8-10

3-4

A young girl writes about her life and the events during the American Revolution in Philadelphia in 1776.

Have children make up a fictional character from the past, or another from the book other than Hope and write a diary for that character.

GPS: SSH4Ha

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt

Deborah Hopkinson/

James Ransome

Historical Fiction

5-8

K-2

Clara learns to sew and makes a quilt “map” that helps slaves, including her, get to freedom.

There is a wonderful activity called “Freedom train” at www.crayola.com. Children construct slave quarters with cardboard boxes and slaves out of clay. They secretly try to free the slaves by moving them to hiding places and then to freedom.

Freedom Summer

Deborah Wiles

Historical Fiction

4-8

Pre-K- 2

This book depicts how two friends deal with racism in the 1960’s.

Pretend to write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper in the 1960’s. Tell why everyone should be allowed to swim in the public pool.

Poetry Anthologies

Poetry for Young People

Robert Frost

Edited by Gary D. Schmidt/

Henri Sorensen

Poetry

Anthology

8-12

2-7

A Collection of poems by Robert Frost. The poems describe the seasons.

Have students write a poem that relates to the seasons. Put the poem on large paper and make an illustration to go with it.

I’m Nobody! Who Are You? Poems by Emily Dickenson for young People

Edited by Barbara Holdridge/

Rex Schnieder

Poetry

Anthology

12+

7+

A Collection of poems by Emily Dickenson

Compose a set of original lyrics to the tune of a favorite song. Click here for more information.

Multicultural Books

The Magic Fan

Keith Baker

Modern Fantasy

4-7

K-2

Despite being made fun of, Yoshi uses his skills to impress the villagers.

Illustrate a fan by using paper and folding it into a fan or by painting/drawing on a plain store bought folding fan.

Dancing With the Indians

Angela Shelf Medearis/

Samuel Byrd

Modern Fantasy

4-7

K-2

A family watches and joins in several exciting dances while attending an annual Seminole Indian celebration.

Make Indian costumes complete with headdress and dance.

How My Parents Learned to Eat

Ina R. Friedman/

Allen Say

Historical Fiction

4-8

K-2

An American sailor and a Japanese girl each try to learn, in secret, how to eat like the other.

At lunchtime try eating with chopsticks!

Make a collage out of things from different cultures.

Too Many Tamales

Gary Soto, Ed Martinez

Realistic Fiction

5-10

K-4

A girl tries on her mother’s ring and “loses” it when she makes Tamales.

Make a fiesta mat by “weaving” pieces of construction paper and then decorating it. Bring in a special treat: Tamales!

El Chino

Allen Say

Biography

7-10

2-5

This is a true story about Billy Wong who was the first Chinese bullfighter.

Using watercolors students could paint a picture of Billy fighting a bull.

Informational Books

A Picture Book of Benjamin Franklin

David A. Adler/

John and Alexandria Wallner

Biography

5-10

K-4

A book about Benjamin Franklin, telling of his work as an inventor and statesman.

Children can make real kites from paper.

Helen Keller Courage in the Dark

Johanna Hurwitz/

Neverne Covington

Biography

7-9

2-4

Tells of Helen Keller’s life from birth until death including all her accomplishments

Put different objects into a bag and have each child try to guess what it is by touching it. Also could blindfold children and put on ear muffs so they might get an idea of what it might be like to be deaf or blind.

The Flag We Love

Pam Munoz Ryan

Picture Book

5-10

K-4

This book gives the history of the flag as well as some aspects of patriotism.

Using poster paper, construction paper, glitter, and more…

Make own version of our American flag.

GPS: SSKK2a

Titanic

Victoria Sherrow

Picture Book

7-8

3-5

The history of the Titanic with real photographs of the ship and the people who were aboard.

Write postcards you would send to friends and loved ones if you were on the Titanic. Include a picture of the titanic or scenery of thing that might be seen on the way. Write a short message on the other side of the card.

More Books By Jan Brett

Berlioz The Bear

Jan Brett

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

Berlioz and other musicians are on their way to play for the town ball when the mule pulling their bandwagon refuses to move. Many suggestions are made before a bee gets the mule moving.

Children can act out the story and play in a band of their own.

The Mitten

Jan Brett

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

A boy loses his mitten and many animals make a new home in it.

Make animals out of clay. Using old socks or mittens see how many animals will fit into the mitten.

On Noah’s Ark

Jan Brett

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

Noah's granddaughter helps bring the animals into the ark and tries to keep them comfortable while they wait for the rain to stop.

Make a rainbow mobile with clouds and/or animals. Students make a rainbow and draw pictures to attach to it to make a mobile.

Gingerbread Baby

Jan Brett

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

A different version of the traditional gingerbread boy story with a surprise ending.

Build a gingerbread house. (Then eat it.)

The Umbrella

Jan Brett

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

A boy leaves his umbrella while he goes for a walk and unbeknown to him animals begin to gather in the umbrella.

Find some big leaves or make leaves from paper and construct an umbrella.

The Hat

Jan Brett

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-8

K-2

As a girl hangs clothes on the line the wind blows a hat away and it gets stuck on a hedgehog’s head.

Make a hedgehog using a Styrofoam ball and pine straw needles. Use an old sock for a hat.

More Books By Kevin Henkes

Kitten’s First Full Moon

Kevin Henkes

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

3-6

Pre-K-1

A kitten thinks the moon is a bowl of milk and tries to get it.

Draw a picture of yourself or others using colored pencils, glue the picture to a “pond” made of aluminum foil.

Julius: The Baby of the World

Kevin Henkes

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

3-8

Pre-K-2

Lily is a little bit jealous of her new baby brother but learns he is not so bad after all.

Make paper mache disguises, glasses, hats, etc.

Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse

Kevin Henkes

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-7

Pre-K - 2

Lily gets mad at her beloved teacher when he takes her purse away from her.

Make disguises: use paper plates for masks and make hats out of construction paper or newspaper.

Sheila Rae the Brave

Kevin Henkes

Picture Book:

Modern Fantasy

4-7

Pre-K - 2

Sheila is always very brave but she gets lost one day.

Make finger puppets and act out the story.