Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang

1. Author: Mordecai Richler
2. Title: Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
3. Illustrator: Alfred A. Knopf
4. Genre: Fiction
5. Subgenre: Chapter Book
6. Theme: The power of imagination
7. Primary Characters: Jacob Two-two, Hooded Fang, Shapiro, O'Toole, Louis Loser
8. Secondary Characters: Emma, Marfa, Daniel, Noah, Jacob's parents, Justice Rough, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Fox
9. Award/Date: None/1975
10. Publisher: Random House, Inc.
11. Summary: Jacob Two-two is the youngest child of five siblings. He often has to say things twice just to be heard. After his father finally sends him on an errand, he goes to the store and asks Mr. Cooper something, but he says it twice. After Mr. Cooper asks police facetiously to arrest him, Jacob runs off. All of a sudden, he is in a prison. The rest of the book follows Jacob and his adventures on trying to escape from the Hooded Fang.
12. How used: The book has a mysterious element to it. It uses a lot of clues to help children figure out what is going to happen. When in the end you find out he had been asleep the whole time, you remember that it talks about Jacob rubbing his eyes after he had ran out of the store and sat down. Children can put their reading skills to the test and see if they can catch all of the clues in this story.

The Boy Who Saved Baseball

1. Author: John H. Ritter
2. Title: The Boy Who Saved Baseball
3. Illustrator: John H. Ritter
4. Genre: Fiction
5. Subgenre: Baseball
6. Theme: Through hard work and inspiration, anything is possible.
7. Primary Characters: Tom Gallagher, Cruz de la Cruz, Maria, Dante Del Gato, Doc
8. Secondary Characters: Clifford, Mr. Gallagher, Mrs. Gallagher, Rachel, Ramon, Cody, Wil, Frankie, Graydog, Mr. LaRue, the Mayor
9. Award/Year: None/2005
10. Publisher: Puffin Books
11. Summary: The story begins with a man named Doc agreeing to enter into a land deal with the developers. Unfortunately, this happens to be the very land with the baseball field that Tom Gallagher and the whole community love so much. The deal is that if Tom's team wins, then the town keeps the baseball field and land. However, if the town loses, then the developers will be allowed to take over the land, which means there will be no more baseball field. The story follows the struggles of the team, which is not very good in the beginning, and their journey to trying to get better by getting a famous baseball player to coach them.
12. How used: First of all, this story would be a great book to get boys more interested in literature because it involves sports. Secondly, this story uses a lot of foreshadowing, which is an element of reading that helps to build a person's analytical skills. This story would be great to analyze for elements of literature as well as to analyze for entertainment.

The Courage Seed

1. Author: Jean Richardson
2. Title: The Courage Seed
3. Illustrator: Pat Finney
4. Genre: Realistic Fiction
5. Subgenre: Cultures
6. Theme: We all have courage within us if we simply believe in ourselves.
7. Primary Characters: Mary, Aunt Betsy, Night Singer
8. Secondary Characters: Mary's parents, Mrs. Lasater
9. Award/Date: None/1993
10. Publisher: Eakin Press
11. Summary: A young girl, Mary, loses her parents because of a car accident. She is forced to move in with her Aunt Betsy. While struggling with losing her parents, she also struggles with the idea of going to school with people who probably wouldn't accept her. With her grandfather's previous advice and finally giving things a shot, she discovers the children there are from other places around the world and are from different cultures.
12. How used: This story can teach children to give things a chance. We all have a little courage in us if we just simply try to find it. Mary not only discovers it is ok to be herself, but she opens herself up to other cultures, like what our students will need to learn as well.

An Innocent Soldier

1. Author: Josef Holub
2. Title: An Innocent Soldier
3. Illustrator: None
4. Genre: Fiction
5. Subgenre: War
6. Theme: Friendship can pull you through anything.
7. Primary Characters: Adam, Konrad
8. Secondary Characters: The farmer, the farmer's wife, French marshal, Sergeant
9. Award/Date: Batchelder/2002
10. Publisher: Scholastic
11. Summary: Adam is a sixteen-year old boy who was working on a farm. One day, the farmer wakes him up and takes him downtown with him. To Adam's surprise, the farmer has passed Adam off to take Georg's, the farmer's son, place. Despite a terrible start with a sergeant that mistreats him, Lieutenant Konrad, 17, takes Adam as his assistant. Despite their class/rank differences, the story follows their growth into friends and their struggles and triumphs of the french/russian war.
12. How used: This story can teach children the disadvantages of war and the need for friendship. The story is necessarily about a happy topic, but the author uses humor to lighten the mood. Since this is for an older age group, it can teach the children about different styles of authors' writings.

Kira, Kira

1. Author: Cynthia Kodohata
2. Title:Kira-Kira
3. Illustrator: None
4. Genre: Fiction/Family
5. Subgenre: Japanese-American culture
6. Theme: There is always hope in every tragedy.
7. Primary Characters: Katie, Lynn, Sammy, Mr and Mrs. Takeshima (parents)
8. Secondary Characters: Uncle Katsuhisa
9. Award/Date: Newbery/2004
10. Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
11. Summary: Katie is a young japanese-american child who idolizes her sister Lynn. The story follows her through the moving from Iowa to Georgia, through losing her best friend/her sister Lynn, and through her finding a way to help her family see that their is still a light despite losing Lynn.
12. How Used: The story is a terrific book to teach children about other cultures and loss. The mother is often irritated at Katie because she doesn't use the word Kira-Kira correctly, which is Japanese for glittery/shiny. It shows the cultural problems between the parents who have strong japanese values and their children who seem to show more american culture than japanese. As for the loss, loss is a terrible part of life. This can be an inspirational story to children who lose someone close to them.

Keeping the Night Watch

1. Author: Hope Anita Smith
2. Title: Keeping the Night Watch
3. Illustrator: E.B. Lewis Holt
4. Genre: Family/Chapter Book
5. Subgenre: Abandonment/ Poetry
6. Theme: With time, things will get better.
7. Primary Characters: C.J., Byron, Father, the little sister, mother, grandmother
8. Secondary Characters: Maya, Preacher
9. Award/Year: Coretta Scott King/ 2008
10. Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
11. Summary: C.J. is a teenager who is struggling to deal with the return of his father who had left his family. This chapter book is actually made up of several poems that tells the struggles of the three children to cope with the father returning. Although the younger children act more happy to have their father home, you see signs of their concern that the father may leave again.
12. How used: Today, so many children are experiencing broken homes. One parent homes are extremely common. This book can help children to see that it's ok to be upset when a parent leaves or even returns, but you just have to make sure that you learn to mature with the situation. It also shows children how poetry can express a story and feelings.

Stranger in the Woods

1. Author: Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
2. Title: Stranger in the Woods
3. Illustrator: Not stated
4. Genre: Fiction
5. Subgenre: Children/Snowmen
6. Theme: Love of animals
7. Primary Characters: The animals
8. Secondary Characters: The children
9. Award/Date: None/2000
10. Publisher: Carl R. Sams II Photography
11. Summary: Many animals in the forest are coming together trying to discover who is the stranger in the forest. After finally getting the courage to check out the stranger, they find a snowman with seeds and vegetables to feed the animals. It turns out to be a snowman that some children built to help feed the animals during the cold winter months.
12. How Used: So many children love to read about animals! Children also tend to love playing in the snow. This story takes elements that are often entertaining to children and puts them together. This story also personifies the animals, which could help the children see an example of personification. It also uses onomatopeia and alliteration when the animals speak.

The Keeping Quilt

1. Author: Patricia Polacco
2. Title: The Keeping Quilt
3. Illustrator: Not Stated
4. Genre: Fiction
5. Subgenre: Family history
6. Theme: One thing can glue generations together.
7. Primary Characters: Anna, Patricia
8. Secondary Characters: Carle, Sasha, George, Mary Ellen
9. Award/Date: None/1988
10. Publisher: Simon and Schuster
11. Summary: A Russian girl, Anna, decides to move to the United States in New York City. While here as a young girl, she decides to take a dress and her babushka and create a quilt with the other women from her family and neighbors. This quilt passes from Anna, to Carle, to Mary Ellen, and finally to the author, Patricia. The story follows how this quilt helped bring comfort to each family member and follows the changes that are seen as time passes.
12. How Used: This story can help children to see the importance of family heirlooms, especially to people from other countries. It can reveal how some of the simplest things can help people cope with no longer being in their home countries. This is a great book to expose children to other cultures.

The Pumpkin Runner

1. Author: Marsha Diane Arnold
2. Title: The Pumpkin Runner
3. Illustrator: Brad Sneed
4. Genre: Realistic Fiction
5. Subgenre: Individuality
6. Theme: You can do anything you set your mind to.
7. Primary Characters: Joshua Summerhayes, Yellow Dog, Aunt Millie
8. Secondary Characters: Rancher Waudley, Damien Dodgerelle
9. Award/Date: None/1998
10. Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
11. Summary: Joshua is a farmer who owns tons of acres with these amazing pumpkins. He runs everywhere he goes. When he heards the sheep, he doesn't use a jeep or a horse. He runs with his dog, Yellow Dog. Later, he discovers that there is a race in town. He decides to join it, despite people thinking there is no way he could run that long. With his perseverance and support from Aunt Millie, Rancher Waudley, Yellow Dog, and the pumpkins, he is able to win and beat Damien Dodgerelle.
12. How Used: This story can be used to teach children that if you believe you can do something, then do it. So many people in life will tell you that you can't do it. You'll just simply have to prove them wrong. This story was actually based on a true story, so it can also expose children to non-fiction/realistic fiction writing that is entertaining.

Firefly Fred

1. Author: Todd Porter
2. Title: Firefly Fred
3. Illustrator: Brian Patenaude
4. Genre: Fiction
5. Subgenre: Friendship
6. Theme: We have to meet in the middle to have a good friendship.
7. Primary characters: Fred and the fireflies
8. Secondary Characters: None
9. Award/Date: None/2004
10. Publisher: Mayhaven
11. Summary: I love this book! It tells a story about an older man named Fred. He sits on his porch watching the fireflies dancing in the sky. One day, they invite him to join them in their secret place, but he cannot fly. He cries at first, but then he decides to build wings to fly with them. Then, when he gets there, he realizes that he cannot fit. The fireflies work together to create a bigger door so he can join them.
12. How Used: First of all, this story can show the importance of give and take in a friendship. If you are always giving, or if you are always taking, the friendships cannot work. Secondly, it shows personification. Fireflies cannot talk, but the story creates a fantasy world where they can.

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring

1. Author: Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
2. Title: Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring
3. Illustrator: Brian Floca
4. Genre: Non-fiction; picture book
5. Subgenre: Ballet/Play
6. Theme: Every artform can work together against all odds and create something beautiful.
7. Primary Characters: Martha Graham, Isamu Noguchi, Aaron Copeland
8. Secondary Characters: Other dancers and instrumentalists.
9. Award/Date: Orbis Pictus/2010
10. Publisher: Roaring Book Press
11. Summary: This story simply follows the journey of Graham, Noguchi, and Copeland in creating the play/musical "Making Appalachian Spring." It discusses how they meet, how they decide to create the musical, and how the fall and rise to success.
12. How Used: This story shows the importance of art. Sadly, artistic programs are being eliminated more and more because of lack of funds. Many schools consider it less important than others, which I believe is false. For students a teacher may have that feel like they want to pursue the arts, this book could help serve as inspiration.

The City of Dragons

1. Author: Laurence Yep
2. Title: The City of Dragons
3. Illustrator: Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng
4. Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
5. Subgenre: Prejudices
6. Theme: You shouldn't judge someone by how they look.
7. Primary Characters: Boy, giants, dragons
8. Secondary Characters: Parents, villagers, elders
9. Award/Date: None/1995
10. Publisher: Scholastic
11. Summary: A young boy is shunned by his village and even his family because of the way his face looks. The story follows him as he decides to run away from home so his family doesn't have to miss out on festivals because of his face. He meets giants that accept him as brave and take him to the land of dragons. He manages to find friends, save all kinds of people, and even teach his village that you shouldn't judge a person by the way he looks.
12. How Used: Technically, you could use this story to teach children that they shouldn't shun people because they do not look what many would call pretty or handsome. I didn't really care for this book very much, however, because it seemed to go a little overboard. I didn't like how they presented the story of a boy who was considered ugly. The ending, despite being "a happy ending" still seemed somewhat negative. The vibe of this book was just strange.

The Invisible Princess

1. Author: Faith Ringgold
2. Title: The Invisible Princess
3. Illustrator: Not stated
4. Genre: Fiction/Fantasy Picture
5. Subgenre: Slavery
6. Theme: Over time, love conquers all and changes the heart.
7. Primary Characters: Mama and Papa Love, Captain Pepper, Patience, Invisible Princess
8. Secondary Characters: Great Lady of Peace, Prince of Night, Terrible the Storm King
9. Award/Date: None/1999
10. Publisher: Crown Publishers
11. Summary: The story starts off talking about a beloved slave couple named Mama and Papa Love. They both worked for a man named Captain Pepper. Although they were safe from being split from one another, they were terrified to have a child because they knew he or she could be sold. Still, they discovered that Mama Love was pregnant. After discovering that Captain Pepper had plans to sell the baby, Mama Love asked the Great Lady of Peace and Prince of Night to please protect her baby. This baby became the invisible Princess. The story will follow the slaves' journies on this farm, Patience's (the daughter of Captain Pepper) friendship with the Invisible Princess, and the change of Heart of Captain Pepper.
12. How Used: This story helps to expose young children to the truths of slavery without overloading them with the harsh details. It is important for children to understand history, but this story helps to add a fantasy twist to historical truths that occurred many years ago. I would use this to reveal a few facts of slavery without completely overloading them with harsh facts at such a young age.

Where Is Grandpa?

1. Author: T. A. Barron
2. Title: Where is Grandpa?
3. Illustrator: Chris K. Soentpiet
4. Genre: Fiction/Picture
5. Subgenre: Death
6. Theme: Learning to cope with death.
7. Primary Characters: Grandpa, little boy
8. Secondary Characters: Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother
9. Award/Date: None/2000
10. Publisher: Philomel Books
11. Summary: This story is somewhat a depressing book. It begins where the little boy talks about all of the great things that he and his grandfather do together. They even have a special treehouse that they would sit in together and look out into the mountains. The story then reveals that his grandfather has just passed away. The story, though brief, takes the reader through his, as well as his family's, journey to coping with the loss of the grandfather.
12. How Used: Although this may be a difficult topic to discuss for many, a teacher could use this book to show children that this happens to many people throughout life. This book could be used to help them see how another family copes with such a difficult thing. It could also teach children how literature can be a way to tell of your own personal experiences to help you talk about it and heal better.

The Princess Knight

1. Author: Cornelia Funke
2. Title: The Princess Knight
3. Illustrator: Kerstin Meyer
4. Genre: Fiction/Picture Book
5. Subgenre: Spirited Triumph
6. Theme: With determination, you can do anything.
7. Primary Characters: King Wilfred, Violetta, three brothers
8. Secondary Characters: Queen Violetta, Emma
9. Award/Date: None/2001
10. Publisher: The Chicken House
11. Summary: The story begins with the mother's death while giving birth to Princess Violetta. Since she doesn't have a mother to raise her like a lady, her father raises her the exact same way as he did the three older brothers. The story follows Violetta's struggles and triumphs while trying to not only follow her brothers' footsteps, but excel past them.
12. How Used: This story could be used to show children that things are not always simply just for boys or just for girls. The story shows how Violetta, despite being a girl, is able to excel as a knight. This story could teach children that every person may have to learn differently and at their own pace, but that doesn't make them less of a person than others.

Tommy's Treasure

1. Author: R. Grey Armstrong
2. Title: Tommys Treasure
3. Illustrator: Liz Dodson
4. Genre: Fiction/Picture Book
5. Subgenre: Children's Mystery
6. Theme: A child wants to be noticed
7. Primary Character: Tommy
8. Secondary Character: friend, girl, firefighter, painter, police officer, mom, dad
9. Award/Date: None/1990
10. Publisher: Shortland Publications Limited
11. Summary: The young boy, Tommy, walks around town with his treasure closed up in his hands. After many people asking him what it is he reveals to his mom that it is a "magic spell" that makes people noticed him. I found this book to be absolutely adorable! So many kids will do silly small things to get themselves noticed. I thought this little boy was very clever.
12. How Used: I could see this story being used purely for entertainment. It is short, but charming. It could, however, be used as an early mystery book. A teacher could keep the children involved by asking them after he meets every person what they think is in Tommy's hand. It could help to promote analytical skills at an early age.