Changes for Addy, by Connie Porter, Illustrated by Dahl Taylor
           This book is a continuation of Meet Addy and is the last book in the series. Addy's family is in Philidelphia living with more freedom than they ever had on the plantation. However, the family is not completely reunited because Esther, Addy's baby sister, is not with them. However, Esther's caregivers are bringing her to meet the family in Philadelphia. These caregivers are older and the husband dies right before reaching Addy's family, and the wife dies shortly after giving Esther to her mother. This deeply grieves Addy especially since this couple did not get to enjoy freedom for long after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. The book ends with Addy grieving the loss of this couple, but still carrying on with her reading of the Emancipation Proclamation for her church around Christmas time. After her reading, the entire congregation breaks into a joyful celebration.
         
This book is most appropriate for third and fourth graders. It would also be a great book for them to transition from picture storybooks to chapter books. It is a short chapter book that has a few illustrations throughout it. This book also focuses on the importance of freedom and how to grieve the loss of loved ones. I would love to use this book to allow students to see how Addy dealt with the loss of her adopted grandparents because many of them may experience a similar loss at their age. This book also has nonfiction details in the back that explains the real history of slaves claiming their freedom in nineteenth-century America. Therefore, this book would be useful to show a first-person view of the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation and the struggle that slaves had to gain their freedom even after this was signed.

Meet Addy, by Connie Porter, Illustrated by Dahl Taylor
This American Girl book is set in the mid-1800s during the Civil War. Addy is a young girl who is a slave on a tobacco plantation with her mother, father, older brother, and baby sister. Addy overhears her parents wanting to run away from the plantation to freedom before Master Stevens can split the family up by selling them. However, shortly after this conversion Master Stevens sells her brother and father. So, her mother decides to run away to Philidelphia with Addy. The mother has to leave Addy's baby sister, Esther, behind at the plantation because she would give them away by crying loudly, and they would be captured again. Her baby sister, Esther, remains with two other slaves on the plantation who acted like grandparents for Addy. Addy and her mother face many dangers as they journey through the woods. They are bruised and scratched from the rocks and thorns around them. They hide during the day and travel at night. Additionally, they almost drowned while crossing a rushing river in the night. In the end, they arrive at the safe house and from there travel to Philadelphia to reach freedom. Addy and her mother hold on to the dream of their whole family reuniting in Philadelphia one day.
This book is most appropriate for third and fourth graders to read. I would love to use this book when teaching about the Civil War because of the point of view it offers. The reader has the opportunity to develop empathy by reading about the way that Addy and her family are treated and how they react to situations. This book has the potential to start great conversations about this time period and allows the Civil War to come to life. Additionally, this book is great for transitioning students from picture storybooks to chapter books. This book is divided into chapters and does not have an overwhelming amount of words on each page. There are also a few illustrations scattered throughout the book. Overall, this book is beneficial in developing a deep connection to history and for introducing students to chapter books.

Merci Suárez Changes Gears, by Meg Medina

            This book follows a young girl named Merci Suárez as she begins sixth grade. Merci lives in Florida with her father, mother, brother, grandparents, aunt, cousins, and her cat, Tuerto. She is not the most popular girl in school like her classmate Edna, and she wishes that she could fit in with the rest of the sixth-grade girls. However, she feels self-conscious about her appearance and about her family not being as wealthy as everyone else at her private school. Throughout the book, Merci’s strong, determined personality leads her into trouble like when she injures a classmate after trying to prove to him that she can hit any type of pitch he throws. In addition to the stress at school, Merci experiences stress at home from her family. She is upset at having to babysit her cousins instead of having fun with her friends. Additionally, she wishes that her family would not treat her like a child. She also notices that her grandfather, Lolo, acts differently than before. Normally, Lolo is the one person in the world who seems to truly understand Merci, but he starts forgetting people and events, has a bad fall even though he has ridden a bike all his life, and he wanders away when he should know to stay. Merci does not know at first what is happening to him, and she misses the way he used to be. However, Merci discovers that her whole family, Lolo included, knew that he has Alzheimer’s disease and decided not to tell her. This temporarily breaks Merci’s trust in her family and her heart. After Lolo has an angry outburst at Abuela, Merci begins to feel embarrassed at what her friends may think of him when they come over to her house. However, Merci soon realizes that her friends love spending time with her and her family. She realizes that all her friends think their own family is odd in some way. At the end of the book, Merci experiences change as Edna no longer is the most liked girl at school, her brother is going away to college the next year, and Lolo’s condition continues to worsen. Merci decides to embrace both positive and negative change because she is capable of adapting to any new situation. This book won the Newberry Medal, and Meg Medina has won the Pura Belpré Award.

            This book is most appropriate for fifth and sixth graders. It would be a fantastic book for the whole class to read and to have in my classroom library for students to read freely. Because this book deals with a variety of difficult yet common topics for students this age, it would be a great way to start conversation in the classroom. For example, students could discuss the pressures of fitting in socially, the importance of family and friends, and the difficulty of change. Additionally, students could present projects that deeply analyze these topics and allow students to connect their experiences with Merci’s. They could create dioramas or other artistic representations of their favorite parts of the book. Then, they could present to the class why they chose that scene and why it stood out to them. I would love for students to analyze and discuss Merci’s conclusion about change. She concludes that since change brings good along with sadness, she should welcome it. This conclusion would also be a great writing prompt for students to agree or disagree with Merci and then add their own thoughts about the nature of change. This topic is incredibly relevant for students at this age because sixth grade is a time of change and transition out of childhood. Students could also write about ways they relate and do not relate with Merci and her experiences. This gives students the opportunity to discuss what they read in a more private way and allows them to discover more about themselves by using this book to spark introspection. This book invites readers to think about their personal connections to the text because it is realistic fiction and Merci is about the same age as the sixth-grade students reading the book.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. By Judy Blume

            This story follows an incoming sixth-grader named Margaret Simon. Margaret and her family move from New York to New Jersey before school starts. As she begins sixth grade, she faces a lot of peer pressure and changes that come with turning twelve. She joins a group of friends that have a secret club called the PTS’s (the Preteen Sensations). The PTS’s come together once a week to discuss bras, periods, their crushes, and drama from room 18 at school. For her year-long project for Mr. Benedict, she decides to learn about different religions to try to choose one by the end of the year. Margaret’s dad has a Jewish background and her mom has a Christian background. However, her parents do not practice any religion and want Margaret to choose her own religion when she is old enough. Margaret feels pressure from her classmates and her grandparents to pick either Christianity or Judaism. Margaret talks to God often, especially when she is worried that she will develop slower than the other PTS’s or when she feels confused about religion. At the end of the book, she feels hopeful that she is developing like a normal twelve-year-old girl because she finally gets her period. She also discovers that gossip is not always true and comes to feel more comfortable in her search for religion even though she has not yet chosen one. In 1970, this book was chosen for Time Magazine’s Outstanding Book of the Year and was on its All-Time 100 Novels List in 2005. Additionally, in 2012, this book was chosen for Scholastic Magazine's Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books For Kids.

            This book would be best suited for sixth and seventh-grade girls. Because of the content, I would not use it for the whole class and I could not have it in my classroom library. However, it would be a great book to use for girls who are struggling through the transition into sixth grade. This book was helpful for me when I was in middle school. Due to the content, I would get the parents’ permission for their child to read it. I could also recommend this book to parents as a resource for their middle school daughters. I would explain the controversial topics in this book, especially that of religion and physical development. However, I imagine that many students could relate with Margaret in the book since students in middle school may feel socially awkward, have to make decisions for themselves, and feel torn between wanting to be children and wanting to grow up. Overall, I would have to be careful about using this book, but with the parents’ permission, this book could help other sixth grade girls like Margaret know that they are not alone.

Ramona Quimby, Age 8, By Beverly Clearly

            This book follows the life of Ramona Quimby as she begins third grade with high expectations. However, stress quickly builds at school and at home. She accidentally embarrasses herself a few times at school with squeaky shoes and an egg incident. Afterward, she overhears a conversation in which her teacher seems to express how annoying Ramona is. This makes Ramona incredibly self-conscious and hurt as she tries to navigate third grade and resolve this conflict. At home, Ramona’s family goes through a transition as her dad begins school to become an art teacher. Because of this, her dad must work a job while going to school, and her mom must keep working to have sufficient income. Ramona grows worried when she notices her parents feel worried about money for car repairs and other items. However, she grows closer to her sister Beezus when they band together after their parents discipline them. At the end of the book, Ramona and her teacher reconcile and resolve their conflict and the Quimby family grows even closer in the face of adversity when they remember they are a loving family. This book won the Newberry Honor in 1982.

            This book would be ideal in a third-grade classroom. This book can help students continue their transition from picture storybooks to chapter books. This book includes a few illustrations and there are a limited amount of words on each page, so the students do not feel overwhelmed. Ramona deals with a variety of issues like worrying about finances, trying to please the teacher, trying to fit in with the rest of the class, and discovering more of who she is. Because of the wide array of relatable themes, this book could appeal to most students. I would love to use this book to read aloud to the students each day. Then, I would have a discussion question or questions about what they heard. As we read more of the book, a few students could think of a question or observation for the class to discuss. The issues in this book would also inspire creative prompts for students’ daily journals. They could write answers to questions such as, “Have you ever felt like Ramona when she splattered egg on her head? If not, how do you think she felt?” This helps the students make connections to the text and learn to put themselves in the character’s point of view. Because this book is realistic fiction, it is incredibly relatable and versatile in the classroom.

Where’s Whitney? By Debbie and Michael W. Smith, Illustrated by Bridget Starr Taylor

            This book begins by introducing Whitney, a little girl who easily gets lost in daydreams without paying attention to her surroundings. Whitney’s family and extended family, the Smiths, go vacationing at a beach house where they all enjoy the ocean and the sun. Towards the end of their vacation, Whitney’s dad invites the whole family to go to a theme park. After spending the day at the theme park, the kids get the last of their energy out by playing on giant plastic dragons. Whitney, deep in her world of pretend, gets left behind since she was quietly hiding in the dragon. She locates a mom with children as her parents have instructed her to do when they are lost. After the rest of the Smiths realize that Whitney is missing, the leave the beach house and return to the amusement park, praying for her safety on the way. They find Whitney at the Ticket Booth at the closing time of the park. After the family reunites at the beach house, they exchange stories and eagerly greet Whitney while the great grandfather prays a prayer of thanks.

            This book would be most appropriate for first and second graders. Because of the theme of prayer to God in this book, I would only use this particular when teaching in a Christian school. However, I could use another book that also teaches students what to do when they are lost that is secular. This book and similar books teach the importance of staying alert to what a child’s parents and siblings are doing and where they are going. It also demonstrates to students that they should stay calm and find a woman with children when they are lost. I would use this book to teach students these life skills. The illustrations are vibrant to capture their attention and help them remember what they should do when they are lost. In a Christian school, this book also demonstrates relying on God by praying for safety and giving thanks. Overall, this book is incredibly useful and fun to show children in a visual, narrative way to teach kids how to deal with being lost in a public place.

Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch, Illustrated by Sheila McGraw

            This book spans from babyhood to adulthood of a little boy whose mother loved him greatly. The book shows that at every stage of life, the boy does mischievous antics that greatly irritate his mother. But each night, the mother would sneak into his room while he was sound asleep and sing a song about how much she loves him. Eventually, the little boy grew to a man with his own house and child. The mother would still sing to him, but when she was too frail to sing the song to him, he sang the song to her. At the end of the book, he picks up his baby girl and sings his mother’s song to him. This book has won the Parents Choice Gold Award.

            This story picture book is most appropriate for kindergarten and first graders. I would most likely use this book when teaching the students about family or about love. This book portrays a healthy family relationship. After reading this book aloud to students, the students could discuss other ways that they can show love to their family and how their family shows love to them. Additionally, this book incorporates repetition since the song repeated on nearly every other page. The students could join in singing the song. This teaches rhythm and prediction.

Maverick and Me, By Katherine Schwarzenegger, Illustrated by Phyllis Harris

            In this book, a little dog named Maverick is rescued by a kind stranger and taken to a pet store. On the store’s Adoption Day, Maverick is the only dog left that has not been adopted. Then, a young girl named Scarlett and her mother come into the pet store and asks about Maverick. The manager says that the dog really needs a home, so Scarlett and her mom adopt him. Scarlett and Maverick have a lot of fun together. They have so much fun that Scarlett tells her friends about how she adopted the rescue puppy, and all her friends meet Maverick. At the end of the book, Scarlett expresses her hope that Maverick’s story will inspire her friends to adopt puppies of their own that need a home.

            This book would be ideal for first and second graders. I would love to have this book in my classroom library for the students to read freely. If a student is disinterested in reading but really loves dogs, the book could motivate the student to read this story. This book would also be ideal for teacher read alouds in class because it introduces new vocabulary. The students could learn words and terms such as “manager,” “adoption,”  “forever-home,” and “kennel.” The story also demonstrates how to treat animals with kindness. Additionally, the illustrations are vivid and detailed enough to capture the students’ attention and allow them to ‘read’ the pictures even if they do not know how to read the words. Because this book has so many uses, it would be a great addition to my future classroom.

June 29, 1999, by David Wiesner

            This picture storybook tells about what happens when grade school student Holly Evans begins a science experiment. Holly launches her experiment on May 11, 1999 when she uses weather balloons to float cups of seedlings in the air. She wants to know what will happen to the growing plants in high altitudes. Later, reports come in about building-sized vegetables floating to earth in various places. Holly thought it might be her experiment, but some of the reported vegetables are not ones that she planted. She does not know from whom the vegetables came, but she does know that they are not hers. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the giant vegetables came from aliens called the Arcturians when their chef accidentally dumped their vegetables out of the spaceship. The Arcturians worry if they will have nothing to eat. However, the last picture reveals that Holly’s experimental vegetables have grown and float towards the Arcturian spaceship. This book is one of  the ALA Notable Children’s Book, New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, New York Times’ Notable Books of the Year, Parents Choice Book Award for Illustration, Publishers Weekly’s 50 Best Picture Books, School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year, and Horn Book’s Outstanding Books of the Year.

            This book is appropriate for second grade through fourth grade. The illustrations are vivid and capture attention, and the plot of the story is not too complicated. I would use this book when introducing the scientific method or before the students do their first science experiment for the year. Holly Evans is a good example of a grade school scientist because she researched and carefully prepared for her experiment. Students could discuss what could have gone wrong if she did not do either of these steps to reiterate the importance of preparation. Additionally, Holly documented data throughout her experiment. This is how she knew what vegetables she planted and that the ones falling to Earth were not hers. As a class, we could discuss different methods and scenarios for tracking data that we will use throughout the year. The book also shows that Holly presented her experiment before her class, and my students will do presentations as well throughout the year. Furthermore, the end of the book does not expressly say that the Arcturians ate Holly’s vegetables, but this is what the illustration implies. As a class, the students could discuss how to draw inferences from pictures. This is a good example to show students that pictures should contribute to the story as much as words.

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle

            This science fiction book tells the story of the possibility of multiple planets with beings, the fifth dimension, and a darkness that slowly tries to overtake them all. The main characters of the story are Meg and Charles Wallace Murry who are the daughter and son of two scientists. Their father has been missing after working on a secret project involving the possibility of a tesseract which allows immediate travel through space. Charles Wallace is a young boy but is slightly different than everyone else because is incredibly empathic and intelligent. Meg is in middle school, but she has fallen behind in school and does not fit in with everyone else since her father’s disappearance. At the beginning of the story, three magical beings whom they call Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which find Meg and Charles Wallace along with Calvin, an older boy who goes to school with Meg, and tell them about the possibility of finding Mr. Murry, the ever-approaching darkness, and the true nature of time. These beings are able to “tesser” which means they can take a “shortcut” through space almost like teleporting. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which tesser the Murry children and Calvin onto a planet called Camazots where Mr. Murry is a prisoner. The population of the planet is controlled by a huge hive mind called IT that thrives on hatred and order. Charles Wallace gives his mind over to IT thinking that he can exit IT’s control on his own. They are unable to escape with Charles Wallace because removing him from proximity to IT would kill the little boy because IT is so strong. Then, Meg finds where her dad has been kept and releases him. She then expects her father to be able to fix Charles Wallace and get them all home to safety, but her father is only human. At the end of the book, Meg learns that she has the power to save Charles Wallace herself by showing love to her brother. IT had to leave Charles Wallace because IT thrives on hatred and could not handle the amount of love coming from Meg. As soon as this happens, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which tesser everyone back to the Murry’s backyard where the whole family reunites with Mr. Murry. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which tell them that they have to go do something but disappear before they could say what that was. This book won the Newberry Medal in 1963.

            This book would be most appropriate for fifth or sixth graders because of its content, complexity, and length. This would be a fantastic book to read as a class and then do small group or whole-class discussions. This book could also spark inspiration for students to pursue the field of science. The concept of time and space being flexible could also create amazing and imaginative discussions within the classroom. The students could then write their own stories about the possibility and implications of time and space being so malleable, or they could write about another scientific wonder that could hypothetically be real but undiscovered, such as complete mind control. This book could also start the conversation about themes such as love versus hate, good versus evil, and the nature of intelligence. Additionally, students could compare how controlling forces or ideas in real life are similar to the control of IT in the story. The story shows how dangerous the loss of freedom of behavior and thought is. This is a fantastic concept to study with upper-elementary/lower middle school grade students who are beginning to foster their own identity and independence.

You Are Special, by Max Lucado, Illustrated by Sergio Martinez

            This book takes place in the village of Wemmicks, autonomous wooden people who care greatly for what others think of them. The Wemmicks award each other with star stickers for good deeds or looks and criticize each other with gray dots for not looking pretty or for lack of talent. Punchinello is one of the most criticized Wemmicks with a large collection of dots stuck all over him. He felt so bad about himself until he meets a strange Wemmick named Lucia. Lucia was strange because neither kind of sticker would stay on her. Punchinello asked her how she did this. She said that she sees the Wemmick-maker, Eli, every day in his woodshop. Punchinello gets the courage to visit Eli one day hoping to rid himself of dots. Surprisingly, Eli knows Punchinello’s name and warmly welcomes him inside. Eli tells Punchinello not to worry about the opinions of other Wemmicks because Eli’s opinion is the only one that matters since Eli made Punchinello. Eli tells Punchinello how special he is just because he belongs to Eli. Eli then tells his visitor that the only reason that the star and dot stickers stay on him is that he allows them too. When Eli’s love is more valuable than the stickers to Punchinello, the stickers will come off eventually. This is what happens at the end of the story. Punchinello begins to believe Eli’s words and one of his dots falls off. The book in which this story originated, Tell Me the Secrets: Treasures for Eternity, won the Gold Medallion Book Award in 1994.

            I would only use this book in a Christian school because of its strong Christian themes that could be controversial or uncomfortable in a public school. This book would be best suited for first through third grade because it is a picture storybook that is too detailed for kindergarteners and preschoolers to follow. I would love to use this book as a read-aloud to the whole class. This story connects really easily to God’s love for his children. Eli represents God and the Wemmicks represent humans. Because the concept of God can be difficult and too abstract for children to grasp, this story would be a fantastic way to make God’s love more concrete to young students. Additionally, since it is in a narrative format, the students will most likely remember the story better than just telling the students that God loves them. I could also engage the students in a conversation about what the star and dot stickers represent in real life. This helps the students think critically about symbolic ideas that they see in literature and how these ideas translate into their lives.

The Silver Boat II, by Ann Adams, Illustrated by Jeff Pace

            This story continues from where the first book ended. It begins with a seagull son asking his dad to tell him the story about the little girl and the silver boat again, so the dad seagull decides to show him what happens next. As the dad seagull tells the story, the gulls are placed in the story by magic while the events occur around them. The dad gull takes his son back in time to show what happened to the dragon. After the children make fun of and scare the dragon back into the forest, the dragon takes out his anger about being continually ostracized on the trees around him. He comes to the conclusion that he wants to change his ways to become friendlier. Then, he is enveloped in blue light and decides to fly towards the sea to find the warm and friendly land where the little girl wants to go. As he flies, he transforms into the swan that pulled the boat in the first book. He is shocked at his new appearance but follows the ethereal woman’s instructions to pull the silver boat for the little girl. On their journey, they meet dolphins who teach them how to play. However, a storm finds them at sea and nearly drowns them. In order to save the girl, the swan transforms back into the dragon and this scares the little girl who feels that she was tricked. After the storm, the dragon and the girl come to an understanding about themselves and about each other. They bond over their differences and create a strong friendship.

            Similarly to the first book, this continuation is appropriate for third through fifth grade and is a transitional book. Unlike the first book, this book is divided into two parts that resemble chapters in a chapter book. I would love to use this book with students who have issues with controlling anger. This book shows that anger can be appropriate and beneficial. It was the dragon’s anger at the storm that saved the girl and the dragon. However, it also demonstrates that unfocused and uncontrolled anger can cause loneliness. This book would also be helpful for students who are afraid of their own anger or someone else’s anger. The little girl felt tricked by the dragon and felt scared, but the dragon was able to control his anger and the little girl was safe. In an ELA lesson, this book would be good to use to compare and contrast. Students could compare and contrast their expectations of the book’s events and what actually happens in the book. Additionally, students could compare and contrast themes, characters, and events in the first and second books. This helps students build their critical thinking and trains them to think in this way automatically when they read. Throughout the story, the son seagull inundates his dad with questions about events he told in the story. This is a good model for students to see to form questions while reading and making predictions. Students could write down and share the questions and predictions that they have while the class reads the book.

The Silver Boat, by Ann Adams, Illustrated by Max Elbo

            This story is about a little girl who decides to leave her glum and abusive home to go across the sea to a welcoming place. Along her journey, she is visited by a mysterious, ethereal woman whose blue light helps the little girl along the way. To get to the sea, the girl must face the dangers within the forest. However, the ethereal woman instructs the girl to always remember, “You must think about what you want rather than what you fear.” This saying helps the little girl through her adversity within the forest. Additionally, the blue light is able to grant the little girl wishes. At the beginning of her journey, the girl thinks she will not be as afraid if she has other children to share in her journey, so she wishes for a group of companions. With her new group of friends, they face adversity. Some of the adversity comes from the creatures in the forest and some come from each other. The group reconciles when they have to fight a dragon together. At the end of the book, the group reaches the sea. When the boat pulled by a large swan appears close to shore, the group has to figure out who should ride in it since there is only enough room for one child. Eventually, everyone remembers that they originate from the little girl. Then, the little girl gets into the boat after her friends re-join inside her from where they came. The book specified that she did not live “happily ever after” because that is not true to real life. Instead, she faced more challenges in life, but each challenge gave her more wisdom and made her stronger.

            This book is most appropriate for third grade through fifth grade. It is a transitional book for students to begin reading chapter books. There are not too many words on each page but there are more words than a picture storybook. Additionally, not all of the pages incorporate illustrations. Furthermore, this book would be fantastic for a student who deals with anxiety, has suffered trauma, or has a low self-esteem because the book teaches coping strategies and has the theme of self-empowerment. Since the story is fantastical, it allows the students to learn to cope through a story that is not too near to reality to be frightening or overwhelming for sensitive students. In an ELA lesson, this book would be a great example to use when students learn about story arcs. This book has an easily identified beginning, middle, end, conflict, climax, and resolution. Since this book is slightly longer than a picture storybook, it has a more complex plotline that scaffolds students’ reading comprehension towards chapter books. Students could complete a plotline “rise and fall” graphic organizer shaped like a mountain where the peak is the climax or a “cause and effect” graphic organizer to analyze the chain of events throughout the story. Students could also predict what they think will happen in the second book based upon the events in this book.

A Bad Case of the Giggles: Kids’ Favorite Funny Poems, Selected by Bruce Lansky, Illustrated by Stephen Carpenter

            This anthology includes fun poems that are highly engaging for students to read. Most of the poems rhyme and are no longer than a page. Each of the poems is illustrated with detailed black and white drawings that add humor to every page. My favorite poem is “Smart” by Shel Silverstein (page 7). This poem is told from a child’s point of view as she is given a dollar bill but eventually trades it for five pennies thinking it is worth more. When she shows her dad, she thinks her dad is so proud of her that he has no words, but in reality, her dad cannot believe she traded a dollar for five cents. This type of fun humor permeates the book with each carefully-selected passage.

            I would have this book in my second, third, or fourth-grade classroom so that the students are free to read the poems that they choose. I believe that these poems would be useful to intrigue students to read poetry. Every poem has a fun and simple rhyme pattern and rhythm that would be easy and engaging for students this age to read. Often, students grow to dislike poems since some poems have deep, hidden meanings, and the content is usually serious. However, this book can instill a love of poetry and show students that poetry can be fun and silly. Additionally, the poems in this book invite children to make inferences because not all detail is given. For example, in “Smart,” the students could infer that her dad’s reaction is actually from disbelief or disappointment and not pride like the speaker thinks. Inference-making builds students’ critical thinking skills, so I would definitely use poems in this book to have students practice this skill.

The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book,  Assembled by Iona and Peter Opie, Illustrated by Joan Hassall

            This anthology incorporates many different wordplays and poems. It includes baby games, lullabies, songs, educational poems, riddles, and tongue-twisters. Most of the poems are fairly short and only a few lines in length. Other poems are a few pages long but are separated into several parts. There are many familiar nursery rhymes and songs, and some that are lesser-known but still useful, fun, and educational. There are multiple poems on each page and some black and white illustrations for most of the poems. Since this is a classic collection of nursery rhymes, there are concepts in a few of the poems that are not politically correct or appropriate for children anymore. Some of my favorite selections from the collection are the nursery rhymes that I grew up singing like “Hickory, Dickory, Dock,” “Jack be Nimble,” and “Humpty Dumpty” (pages 24-25). The book classifies these short rhymes as “Jingles.”

            Preschoolers, kindergartners, and first graders would benefit from selections of this anthology. As previously mentioned, not all of the poems are appropriate at present, so I would not keep it in the classroom library. However, I would love to refer to this book when selecting poems, especially nursery rhymes, to include in class time. Many teachers and parents have neglected nursery rhymes, but nursery rhymes can provide such valuable training with young children for hearing rhyme and rhythm. Additionally, these poems are ideal for young children since most of them are simple, engaging, and short. Possibly for third or fourth graders, the riddle poems would be fun for them to find the answer while being exposed to new vocabulary, rhyme, and problem-solving. For social studies, this book incorporates poems about history that help students remember events or order of monarchs.

Children’s Classic Poetry, Arranged by Michael O’Mara Books Limited

This anthology incorporates several children’s poems about different topics including animals, weather, magic, love, emotions, and people. Each of the poems varies in length since some are a few lines and others span pages. Since this book is classic literature, some of the words or concepts in the poems are archaic, and this may cause confusion for some students. For example, in “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” John Keats uses words such as “grot,” “sedge,” and “thrall” (pages 44-46). However, most grade school children have had no exposure to these words, so the teacher would need to go over this new vocabulary with them or have them decipher the words using context clues. One of my favorite poems from the anthology is “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman (pages 76-77). This poem describes the captain of a ship that has died after battle. The speaker in the poem is the son of the Captain who has sailed with his father and the crew but now grieves his father while their enemies celebrate their victory. Furthermore, this anthology is beautifully illustrated by Robin Lawrie. Each illustration adds to the poem by demonstrating inferences and going deeper into the meaning of the text.

            Due to the nature of classic poetry, this anthology would best suit fourth or fifth-grade students. This book would be fantastic to use when studying poetry in these grades. Some of the poems rhyme and some do not. Some have an obvious rhythm, and others are more free verse. Additionally, some of the poems would be useful when studying different cultures in social studies. For example, “The Lion and the Unicorn” is about a power struggle within the United Kingdom, as demonstrated by the crest in the illustration. “A Cornish Charm” reflects the fear and superstition accompanied by a plea to the Lord that these people had at the time. It would be interesting to have the students examine various poems to derive the values and emotions of the culture and its people. Then, the students could write a poem about another part of history they have studied. As mentioned earlier, the book incorporates many antiquated words. This would allow the students to practice using context clues to figure out the meaning of the unknown words. After they make their guesses about the word, I would tell them what the word means so they will know the accuracy of their guess. I would most likely keep this book in the class library and then use specific poems as needed in the lessons. This way, the students are free to explore this collection of classic poetry.

Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child’s Book of Poems, Selected by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, Eva Moore, Mary Michaels White, Jan Carr

            This book has poetry that covers a wide variety of topics including rhyme, weather, silliness, and feelings. The poems come from a variety of sources and cover a wide range of grade levels. For example, the poems from the “In a Few Words” section are short with simple vocabulary that a kindergartener or first-grader could read independently. However, some of the poems like Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” are longer and require students to make more inferences based upon prior knowledge, so it would be more suitable for third grade or older. The illustrations for the poems are created by these Caldecott Medal artists: Marcia Brown, Leo and Diane Dillon, Richard Egielski, Trina Schart Hyman, Arnold Lobel, Maurice Sendak, Marc Simont, and Margot Zemach. Each of these talented artists illustrated all of the poems for a different section in the book. Because of this, each of the illustration styles are different in each section, and all of the illustrations add value and understanding to the poems.

            As previously mentioned, different poems in this book are appropriate for different grade levels. Therefore, this book would be a great addition to any elementary classroom library. Because different students within a grade are on varying reading levels, this book could easily accommodate nearly all of the students in a classroom when studying poems. If I had this book at a reading center in first grade, I would have a sticky note or a bookmark on the poems that I would recommend the first graders read. However, I would make sure the students know that they are free to explore the other poems and challenge themselves. If I were teaching an older grade about poems and figurative language, I would select a more advance poem like Robert Frost’s or “Windy Nights” by Robert Louis Stevenson to do a whole class lesson or small group study. From an artistic perspective, the students could compare and contrast the media and styles of the nine different illustrators because none of the artists create the same style of art.

Odes to Common Things, by Pablo Neruda, Ken Krabbenhoft, and Illustrated by Ferris Cook

            This anthology of odes is the bilingual edition in English and Spanish. The odes teach the reader to view even mundane and ordinary objects in a new light. There are odes about a bar of soap, bread, a chair, and more objects that people pass without giving a second thought. Every two-page spread, starting with the table of contents, has the ode in Spanish on the left page and the English ode on the right. My favorite poem from the anthology is “Ode to a pair of socks.” This ode adds a surprising amount of figurative language that compares the speaker’s feet in the socks to “navy-blue sharks” and “two cannons,” and this depth of figurative language is evident throughout the anthology (75, 77). Each of the odes connects the object to a greater purpose or depth of meaning that is truly surprising upon first reading it. For example, the “Ode to the spoon” connects the spoon to the problem of world hunger and hope for eliminating this global issue. Additionally, the illustrations add a simplistic but strikingly beautiful touch to each ode that helps the reader visualize the object while reading.

            This book would be most suited for a fourth, fifth, or sixth-grade classroom. The odes utilize a higher vocabulary, figurative language, and some intense themes, so it would not be appropriate for younger grades. Furthermore, I would love to use this book for upper-elementary EL’s because the book is printed in Spanish and English side by side. This way, the students could go back and forth between the languages as they feel comfortable and learn new vocabulary or help them understand the theme and figurative language of the poem by reading it in their native language. I could either have this book in my classroom library or use one or two of the poems as a whole-class lesson. After studying some of these odes, the students could write their own ode to an everyday object. However, I would challenge the students to incorporate figurative language and to give their object a deeper meaning than what is at face value. This way,

students can express their creativity and write about what is important in their lives. Then, to add an artistic layer, the students could draw their object using a variety of media and share their poems with the class if they choose.