Strega Nona

Strega Nona 

Author: Tomie dePaola
Illustrator: Tomie dePaola
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: Caldecott Honor
Grade Level: Kindergarten- 3rd Grade

In this book, Strega Nona is well known by fellow villagers as the one who cures them, finds women husbands, and rids people of their warts. Due to her getting older she hires a young man to help her out at home. He secretly sees her using a magical pot to make large amounts of pasta but does not continue to watch all of the steps in the spell to end the production of pasta. When Strega Nona goes out of town, the young man decides to use the pot regardless of being told not to touch it. He tries to use the spell to end pasta production but does not blow three kisses to the pot, which is the most important part of the spell. Soon there is pasta flooding the whole village. When Strega Nona returns, she forces him to eat all of the pasta that he caused the pot to make.

In my classroom, I would probably use this book as a read aloud. I would use Strega Nona to teach my students about the dangers of not following rules.

My Grandfather's Coat

My Grandfather's Coat 

Author: Jim Aylesworth 

Illustrator: Barbara McClintock

Genre: Traditional Literature

Awards: None

Grade Level: Pre-K- 2nd Grade

This book begins with a man planning to get married. He wanted to make his future wife proud to marry him, so even though he did not have much he made a jacket to wear on his wedding day. After the wedding, he continued to wear the jacket and it eventually got worn out. He then made it into another jacket and continued to wear it until it was worn out. The man then decided to make it into a vest, then a tie, and then a small stuffed animal for his grandchild. When the child's toy is worn out a family of mice use the scraps to help set up their home under the floorboards.

My Grandfather's Coat can be used to teach students about repetition and rhyming. One could also use this book as a tool to teach students how to hypothesize what is going to happen next as the Grandfather continues to make his jacket into different things. Another way that this book can be used in a classroom is as a tool to teach students how to reuse things.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Author: Paul Galdone

Illustrator: Paul Galdone

Genre: Traditional Literature

Awards: None 

Grade Level: Kindergarten-1st grade

This book is about three billy goats and one extremely greedy troll. While the goats are trying to cross the bridge in order to get to their food the troll comes out and threatens to gobble up the first billy goat. The first billy goat tells the troll to wait for his brother because he would make a more satisfying meal. When the second billy goat arrives, the troll once again threatens to gobble him up and is once again convinced to wait for the final billy goat so that he could have a bigger feast. When the third and final billy goat arrives the troll once again threatens to eat him. The billy goat fights the troll and causes the troll to fall off of the bridge and into a river where he is carried away. After the troll is carried away the billy goats are able to cross freely and go to their field to eat. 

I would most likely use this book as a tool to teach repetition. This book would be a good example of repetition because the troll repeats the same thing and so do the three billy goats. The book could also be used as a crossover tool between math and reading. I say this because one could use the billy goats to teach young students about size. 

The Lion and the Mouse

The Lion and the Mouse

Author/Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney

Genre: Traditional Literature

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Grade Level: Kindergarten- 4th Grade

The Lion and the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney, is a wordless version of an Aesop Fable. In this book, a lion is about to eat a mouse. The lion decides to spare the mouse out of kindness. Shortly after the lion spares the mouse he is caught in a poachers trap. The mouse finds the lion and remembers when the lion spared him. Wanting to show to same kindness, the mouse decides to free the lion.

I would most likely use this book to teach about illustrations, due to it being a Caldecott Medal winner and the large amount of detail put into each illustration. Another way that this could be used in a classroom is to teach students about kindness. 

Wonder

Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio 

Genre: Realistic Fiction 

Awards: Bluebonnet Award, #1 New York Times Bestseller, Maine Student Book Award, Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, Mark Twain Award, Junior Young Reader's Choice Award

Grades: 3-6

Wonder is written by R.J. Palacio and is about a ten year old boy named Auggie Pullman. Auggie was born with several birth defects that caused a rare facial deformity. Due to numerous surgeries that Auggie had to endure, it caused him to be homeschooled until the start of fifth grade. When he entered the fifth grade, his mom enrolled him in Beecher Prep. He had two friends that helped him get through his first year in school, Jack and Summer. On Halloween, Auggie overhears Jack talking about him to his other friends and decides to end their friendship. After a few months Jack and Auggie become friends again and eventually Jack starts to be bullied due to him being Auggie's friend. Even when Auggie wanted to quit school, his sister Via, convinced him to continue going to Beecher Prep. At the schools retreat, students from another school are discovered bullying Auggie and Jack. The other students from Beecher Prep protected Jack and Auggie. When the retreat ended and everyone was back at school, the other students began to be more accepting and friendly towards Auggie. 

I would use Wonder to teach my students about respect, acceptance and the importance of no bullying. This book can also be used to teach students about diversity and overcoming challenges. I would most likely use this in small groups so the students can discuss with each other about what they are learning. 

Stone Soup

Stone Soup 

Author: Marcia Brown
Illustrator: Marcia Brown
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: Caldecott Honor
Grade: 1-3

In Stone Soup written by Marcia Brown, there are three soldiers that arrive at a village to find it filled with peasants. The peasants have already hidden their food because they did not believe that they had enough to spare. The soldiers then put a few stones in a pot of boiling water and slowly convince each of the peasants to spare a few carrots, potatoes, and other things to flavor the soup. The soldiers finish the soup and share with the whole village.

In my class, I would most likely use this book as a read aloud. I could use this while teaching my students about the importance of sharing and how when everyone shares what they have, they can make a product that can benefit everyone.

Introduction

Hi there! My name is Darby Isereau and I will be graduating in May 2020 with a degree in  Elementary Education from Houston Baptist University. I have a fraternal twin sister and two dogs at home (I have had them since kindergarten). When I am not busy with school work I enjoy reading and shopping for books at my favorite store, Lifeway, leading Bible studies and going on mission trips. I have a huge heart for people, especially children and I love serving them in many ways. My main focus right now is serving those in the beautiful country of Haiti.

I will be using this blog to introduce new children's books from several genres. I will be posting after I finish each one and I encourage you to read what I have to say about them all. You might even fall in love with a new book!

Thanks for reading!