A Light in the Attic

A Light in the Attic is a classic book of poems by Shel Silverstein. There are tons of silly poems in this book to read. Some are about strange people, animals, or objects. Some of them rhyme, and some not so much. Children will be amused and at the same time learn many different styles of poem writing. Poems are also a great way to work with students on fluency in reading.

The illustrations are in black and white, but that doesn't take away from their humor, such as the drawing of the little girl holding a cow over her head and shaking it, or the walrus that just got braces around his two big tusks.

The Hare and the Tortoise

The Hare and the Tortoise is a classic folktale from Aesop's fables. The hare and the tortoise agree to have a race to see who will make it to town first. Common sense might say that of course the hare will easily beat the slow moving tortoise. On the contrary, the hare is so cocky and arrogant that his over confidence causes him to lose the race, and allows the tortoise to win the prize of a big, yummy cabbage. In folktale style, the story teaches readers a lesson about not being conceited and obnoxious. This story is a great introduction to folktales. Children can read many other classic folktales also and decide what lesson of morals or respect the stories are teaching. They can also write their own.

The unique characteristic about this version of The Hare and the Tortoise is that it is one of a series of bilingual books. The story is written in both English and Spanish, and therefore great for ESL students or even English speaking students that are beginning to learn Spanish.

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are retold and illustrated in this book by Marcia Williams. The original stories have been rewritten by Williams in a more simple way so that children can enjoy them. The illustrations are shown like a comic strip. They depict hilarious pictures of the story's character's and events. For those that are not familiar, the story is about a group of pilgrims in the middle ages that are going on a trip to Canterbury to visit the shrine of a martyr. On the way the men and women tell each other tales to pass the time. The tales give us a glimpse into what life was like for some in the middle ages and what people found entertaining and amusing. The stories include the knight's tale about two men in Athens fighting over one woman, the miller's tale about a man married to a much younger, beautiful girl, and how his jealousy and obsession with her brings him troubles, and the pardoner's tale of greed and murder, among other classics.

This book is great for introducing children to one of history's classic pieces of literature. It could be fun for students to write their own tales about something in their lives that can be embellished and made to be humorous. Then the stories can be bound together as The

Class's Tales.

Arthur and the Sword

Arthur and the Sword retold and illustrated by Robert Sabuda is the classic story of how Arthur pulled the sword from the stone to become king. The story of the least likely boy achieving greatness is inspiring. The illustrations by Sabuda are so incredible. The pictures are made to look like stained glass, and it is amazing how much they really do look like real stained glass. So much so that I used this book for a stained glass art lesson with third graders. It is also a good story to read during a unit that focuses on the middle ages, or when concentrating on fairy tales in literature. It is also a good resource for teaching readers how to use illustrations in a book to help them envision the text in the story. The pictures on each page of Arthur and the Sword depict the scene that the author is describing, just as the French used stained glass pictures in cathedrals to tell stories to the illiterate community about the Bible.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox is another of Roald Dahl's classics. The clever and handsome Mr. Fox goes out every evening to fetch chickens, or ducks, or turkeys for dinner for him, his wife Mrs. Fox, and there children. He gets their dinner from the farms of three mean, rich farmers. But those farmers have had enough of Fox stealing their animals, and they get together to catch and kill Mr. Fox. Unfortunately for those mean farmers Fox is too clever for them. After days and days of being trapped under ground, Fox comes up with a plan to find food for his starving wife and children. His plan is more successful than anyone could of predicted. Not only did he save his family, but also the badgers family, the rabbit family, and the weasel family. All the animals celebrate with a great feast and decide they never have to come out from under ground again. The mean farmers are still sitting outside the hole waiting for Mr. Fox to come out looking for food.

This is a great chapter book for third and fourth graders. It is also a good resource for teaching, questioning the author. At the end there is an interview with Rohld Dahl that asks questions such as, "what is like to write a book?", "How do you get the ideas for your stories?", in which Dahl talks about seed ideas, and "how did you get the idea for James and the Giant Peach?". Readers can read other Roald Dahl books to explore similarities in the author's writing.

This Time, Tempe Wick?

This Time, Tempe Wick? by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Margot Tomes, is a heroic story of a young girl. Tempe lives in New Jersey in the 1700's during the Revolutionary War. Her and her family feed and help George Washington's soldiers, but there is not enough food and clothing for all of them in that town and the soldiers react with a mutiny. With her father dead, and mother ill, Tempe has to be brave and protect their little home and all they have. She even hides her horse in her bedroom so that the soldiers that want to take it to ride to Pennsylvania won't be able to find it. In the end, Tempe's courage and wit save her home, her mother, and their horse Bon.

This book is a great addition to a fourth grade social studies unit on the colonists battle for freedom in America from the English. The story of Tempe helps readers understand what life was like for young people in those hard times. Better yet, the author's note at the end explains that the story is based on a real event and a real girl. Her house still stands near Morristown, New Jersey, complete with hoof prints on the bedroom floor. That would be a great field trip!

Monet

Monet by Mike Venezia is a book from a series titled Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists. As the title suggests, this is a non-fiction biography all about the artist Claude Monet. The pictures include some of Monet's works, and some illustrations by the author. Readers will learn about Monet's life, his inspirations, and his impressionist style of painting. This book is a great introduction to history's fine artists and/or the impressionist style. It could be used for an art lesson, a language arts lesson that includes biographies, or even a social studies unit that is focusing on France. For an art activity, students can use the images of Monet's work as a reference to create their own impressionist painting using water colors. To give the students a choice of different artists, gather the other books from the series on Van Gogh, Picasso, Andy Warhol, and others.