Book Fiesta: Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day

Bibliographic Information: Mora, Pat. (2009). Book Fiesta: Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day. New York: Rayo.

Plot Description: Children are all special and so are books. This bilingual book in English and Spanish celebrates both. It depicts children from diverse backgrounds reading and enjoying books alone or together and at the library. The children are shown listening to stories with their families and reading in various modes of transportation: cars, planes and trains. Children are also shown reading with pets. Then things get fantastical as children are shown reading where books can take their imaginations, such as riding an elephant, sitting in a whale’s mouth, riding in a submarine or in a hot air balloon with a giraffe. Then children are shown in bed reading to the moon and finally flying away with books.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: AD520L Interest Level: Lower Grades

Qualitative Reading Analysis: The book is bilingual Spanish and English, with the Spanish and English next to each other on the same page. The English section includes a few words that are left in Spanish and not translated. Students who do not speak Spanish will be unfamiliar with these words, but most will be able to determine meaning through context clues. The sentence structure is simple and compound. Register is casual and mostly familiar. Illustrations help readers imagine the events of the text, but are not necessary for comprehension. Figurative language is used to emphasize the power of books to transport readers. Metaphors are used to show some of the places readers can go with their imagination and a book. For example, there is an illustration of children reading in a hot-air balloon with a giraffe. The text says, ‘we read in a hot-air balloon,’ which is a metaphor for the children being transported on a hot-air balloon ride by reading a book.

Content Area: Reading, Literature

Content Area Standard:

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Foundational Skills: Fluency: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.4 Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Craft and Structure: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

Curriculum Suggestions: Have students find the places children read, according to the book. Ask them to share their favorite places to read. Have students look for unfamiliar vocabulary and then use context clues to work together to discover the meaning of the vocabulary. Have a classroom (or schoolwide) celebration of Children’s day/Book Day. Decorate the classroom for the event. Have students dress as their favorite storybook characters.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.rif.org/documents/us/Book-Fiesta-ALL.pdf

http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DIA_brochure_WEB.pdf

Día Song

Awards: ALA Notable Children’s Book, Américas Commended List, Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts, Pura Belpré Illustrator Medal Book

Character names/descriptions: There are no characters in the book. Different children are depicted enjoying books in the story, but no one child is featured throughout.

Personal Thoughts: Lovely illustrations showing some of the countless adventures a book can take you on.

High interest annotation: Use this book to get started celebrating Children’s Day and Book Day.

The Library Doors

Bibliographic Information: Buzzeo, Toni. (2008). The Library Doors. Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin: Upstart Books.

Plot Description: The library doors wing open and shut to allow the children of the school to come and go. The students remind each other to be quiet and they talk quietly with the library teacher. The children sit on the rug to hear a story read aloud and use the online library catalogue to search for book locations and then go to find them in the stacks. Students enjoy reading the books they have found or using the computers to search for information on a variety of topics. The librarian checks the books out and when the children’s library time is up they wave goodbye to the librarian, who tells them to come again. To which the students reply, ‘we’ll be back.’

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: AD450L Interest Level: Lower Grades ATOS Book Level: 1.9

Qualitative Reading Analysis: The story is written to go along with the classic children’s song, ‘The wheels on the bus’ and could be sung to the tune instead of read. Repetition is used, following the format of the song. Text features organize information and guide the reader. The repeated phrases of the story are in all capital letters, while the rest of the story follows conventional capitalization rules. Illustrations are present but not necessary for understanding text. The text contains content that hopefully matches readers life experiences, since we hope that children have a friendly librarian and a welcoming library environment, like the one in the story. Prior knowledge of the song, ‘The wheels on the bus’ will add to students enjoyment of the book, but is not necessary for comprehension. The reader uses familiar cultural knowledge about the school library (what you can do there, that you should be quiet, etc) and possible the children’s song to make connections to the text. Vocabulary is controlled and uses most common meaning.

Content Area: Reading, Literature

Content Area Standard:

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Foundational Skills: Fluency: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.4.a Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Foundational Skills: Fluency: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.4.b Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

Curriculum Suggestions: Teach students the song, ‘The wheels on the bus’ so they can sing/read the story to the tune of the song. If students already know the song, teach them hand gestures to go along with each verse in the story. Teach students about action words and have them find examples in the book. Discuss figurative language and in particular onomatopoeia and have students find examples in the text.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.tonibuzzeo.com/THE_LIBRARY_DOORS_files/librarydoorscurriculumguide.pdf

http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=134bf801-ec90-4ebe-ae80-e88cd8f6151a

Series information: Mrs. Skorupski, librarian, series

Character names/descriptions: The librarian and various children are seen throughout the story, but the main character is the library. The book is about the library and all the things students can do there.

Personal Thoughts: This is a nice book for getting students interested in the library and reminding them of things they can do there. The song is a great hook for getting kids involved in the story.

High interest annotation: What can students do in the library? Find out while reading this story to the tune of ‘The wheels on the bus.’

The Snowy Day

Bibliographic Information: Keats, Ezra Jack. (1962). The Snowy Day. New York: Viking Press.

Plot Description: Young Peter wakes up to see a blanket of snow covering everything outside his window. After breakfast he puts on his snowsuit and heads out to explore. He makes different patterns in the snow with his feet and a stick, which he also uses to smack the snow from a tree. The snow falls on his head. He also pretends to be a mountain climber and slides down a big hill of snow. As well as making snow angels, a snowman and snowballs. He saves a snowball in his pocket before going inside for the day. His mother helps him get out of his wet clothes and take a bath. When Peter looks for his snowball later that night, it is gone. He goes to bed hoping that the snow outside will not disappear like the snowball. When he awakens in the morning he sees he didn’t need to worry: the world outside is still blanketed in snow.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: AD500L Interest Level: Lower Grades ATOS Book Level: 2.5

Qualitative Reading Analysis: Figurative language is used to explain sounds. For example, the author uses onomatopoeia ‘crunch, crunch, crunch’ to convey the sound of Peter walking in the snow. Graphics used for understanding. For example, in the story is says, “he walked with his toes pointed out, like this:” and then there is an illustration of what the snow looked like when he walked that way. The illustration, though not necessary, will help readers, especially children, understand what the author means when he says “like this” about the way Peter walked. It also shows the tracks he makes dragging his feet in the snow and then what it looks like when he drags a stick along too. Language closely adheres to readers linguistic base and register is casual and familiar. The text content will closely match life experiences of readers who live in places where it snows, but will be new to those who live in hot climates and may have never seen snow.

Content Area: Reading, Literature

Content Area Standard: English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

English Language Arts Standards: Speaking and Listening: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

Curriculum Suggestions: Have students retell the story using simple sentence strips provided by the teacher. Students can draw a picture of the action on the strip and then organize the strips in chronological order. Have students imagine what happens after the story ends with Peter and his friend going out into the snow.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.penguin.com/static/images/yr/pdf/PictureBook_brochure_13.pdf

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/snowy-day-discussion-guide

http://www.liveoakmedia.com/client/guides/27459.pdf

Awards: SLJ Best Book; NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts; ABA Children’s Book Council; Caldecott Medal

Character names/descriptions: Peter, a little African American boy who lives in the city and goes exploring on a snow day.

Personal Thoughts: I really enjoyed the pictures and how they were used to enhance the meaning of the story.

High interest annotation: The city is covered in snow and young Peter is ready to explore the winter wonderland.

Clink clank clunk!

Bibliographic Information: Aroner, Miriam. (2006). Clink clank clunk!. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mills Press.

Plot Description: As Rabbit drives to town one day, he sees many friends along the way. First there is Mole, who pops up from his hole to ask for a ride. Then they see Squirrel who trades a berry for a ride. Next it is Porcupine who is going into town for a quill trim. As each animal joins the car pool, Rabbit’s old car makes different noises that show there may be trouble. Next they pick up Possum as the car hisses and fizzles. Followed by Beaver, Crow and Skunk, who is warned he will be kicked out if he sprays. The car countinues to make more noises: tucka, tucka, thunk! The final two passengers are Fox and Cow. Clankity, clunk, boom! The car breaks down and the friends must work together to get it to town. Rabbit’s car is a wreck. How will they get home?

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: N/A Interest Level: Lower Grades ATOS Book Level: 2

Qualitative Reading Analysis: The story features figurative language. Each time a new animal gets in for a ride, the car makes new noises, which are onomatopoeia. Organization is chronological, sequential and conventional. Transitions lead the reader through the story. There is a pattern young readers will be able to follow and use to predict the sequence of events. The majority of the pages start with an animal being spotted along the road to town and asking for a ride. The opposite page features figurative language (onomatopoeia) of the sounds the car is making as it slowly breaks down. Text features organize the information and guide the reader. For example, all the sounds the car makes are in a different font than the rest of the text, as well as being a larger font size and bolded. The last sound on each page is in a different color than the rest of the story, with the exception of the first letter of the text on the opposite page, which is also large and the same color. So the first letter and the last word of the two page layout are matching in color. Counting is also reinforced in the story each time a new animal gets in the car the number of passengers is stated.

Content Area: Reading, Literature

Content Area Standard:

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Craft and Structure: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Craft and Structure: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.4 Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Foundational Skills: Fluency: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.4.b Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.

Curriculum Suggestions: After the teacher has read the story aloud have students take turns reading the lines of the different animals using expression, tone and rhythm. Teach students about figurative language and in particular onomatopoeia and have them find as many examples as they can from the text. Ask students how the author uses rhythm and figurative language to convey meaning. Have students write their own short story or sentences using onomatopoeia.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://childrensliteratureproject.wmwikis.net/Poetry+Books+and+Anthology

Character names/descriptions: Rabbit is a friendly animal, whose old car is a means of transport for all the animals he meets on his way to town.

Personal Thoughts: I think kids will enjoy the onomatopoeia sounds and there is a message of generosity, as Rabbit gives everyone a ride and working together as the animals team up to get Rabbit’s car to town.

High interest annotation: Rabbit drives his clunker car to town and picks up all his animal friends along the way, but as they drive along the car makes mysterious noises: clink, clank, clunk!

Miss Rumphius

Bibliographic Information: Cooney, Barbara. (1982). Miss Rumphius. New York: Viking.

Plot Description: As a child Alice tells her Grandfather she will travel and live by the sea when she is old, just like him. He makes her promise to do one more thing: make the world more beautiful. Before long Alice is grown up and called Miss Rumphius. She moves away from the sea and works in a library where there are books about far away places. Miss Rumphius visits many of these places, but when she hurts her back on one of her adventures, she decides it is time to move to the sea side. She is almost happy, but she still needs to make the world more beautiful as she promised her Grandfather. The problem is that she doesn’t know how…yet.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: 680L Interest Level: Lower Grades ATOS Book Level: 3.8

Qualitative Reading Analysis: The story is told by a third person narrator. Miss Rumphius is supposedly the great Aunt of the narrator, so the story is limited to what Miss Rumphius has passed on about her life. The story begins with a paragraph talking about the little old Lupin Lady and then from there goes back in time to when the Lupin Lady was a little girl. The story progresses in chronological order from then on. Language closely adheres to readers linguistic base. Miss Rumphius’ story does not contain events that will be familiar to readers, but they may relate to hearing oral histories from their elders like Alice and the narrator do in the story. The conventionality is largely explicit and easy to understand. The author uses primarily simple and compound sentences with some complex constructions. There is a little bit of figurative language, such as alliteration for the ‘Lupin Lady’.

Content Area: Reading, Literature

Content Area Standard:

English Language Arts Standards: Language: Conventions of Standard English: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

English Language Arts Standards » Anchor Standards » College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.

Curriculum Suggestions: Have students think of things they could do to make the world (or their community, school, etc) more beautiful. Alice tells her Grandfather two things she wants to do when she grows up and then he makes her promise to do a third thing as well. Have students write a paragraph about the things they will do when they grow up. On her travels Miss Rumphius makes friends she says she will never forget. Have students write about a friends that they will never forget.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.homeschool.com/printables/pdfs/project_based_2nd_grade.pdf

http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit38/lesson6.html

http://integratedrama.wikifoundry.com/page/Miss+Rumphius

Awards: National Book Award; American Book Award

Character names/descriptions: Miss Rumphius, who has three goals in life: to travel, to live by the sea when she is old and to make the world more beautiful.

Personal Thoughts: I love the illustrations in this book. As well as, the ideas of broadening your horizons through travel and of trying to make the world more beautiful.

High interest annotation: Miss Rumphius has adventures traveling the world and then lives by the sea, but how will she fulfill her promise to her Grandfather to make the world more beautiful

Madeline

Bibliographic Information: Bemelmans, Ludwig. (1993). Madeline. New York: Scholastic.

Plot Description: Miss Clavel watches over her charges (twelve little girls) with care. The twelve little girls do everything together: walk, eat, smile, frown, brush their teeth, sleep, etc. The smallest and bravest of the girls is Madeline. She isn’t afraid of mice or tigers and frequently makes Miss Clavel nervous. One night Miss Clavel wakes with the feeling something is not right. She rushes to the big room where all the little girls sleep and finds Madeline crying in pain. The doctor is sent for and soon calls for the ambulance to take Madeline to the hospital for appendicitis. The twelve little girls and Miss Clavel come to visit Madeline in the hospital, where she has received many gifts from her Papa. That night Miss Clavel again awakens with the fear that something is wrong and finds all the little girls crying because they want their appendix out too so they can go to the hospital and receive gifts like Madeline.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: AD480L Interest Level: Lower Grades ATOS Book Level: 3.1

Qualitative Reading Analysis: The story features verse, rhythm and rhyme. Organization is clear and chronological. Graphics directly support the story and add to understanding, but are not necessary for understanding. Language is explicit and straightforward. Text features organize information explicitly to guide the reader. Italics are used to show surprise when the little girls visit Madeline at the hospital. At the end of the book the last three lines of the story get gradually smaller as if the reader were getting further and further away from the story, as it comes to an end. The story is told by a third-person omniscient narrator who is a credible voice and gives details, leaving little hidden from the reader’s view. The narrator follows Miss Clavel and the girls and then also shows Madeline when she leaves them for the hospital, as well as what is happening back at the house with the 11 other little girls and Miss Clavel.

Content Area: Reading, Literature

Content Area Standard: English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Key Ideas and Details: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Craft and Structure: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.4 Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

Curriculum Suggestions: Identify rhyming words in text. Discuss the effect of rhyming on the way the story sounds when read and how this influences the meaning of the story. Have students create their own rhyming phrases based on provided pictures. Have students identify the who, what, where and when of the story, including characters and the difference between major and minor characters, landmarks that tell us where the story takes place and details that hint at the time period.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.penguin.com/static/images/yr/pdf/PictureBook_brochure_13.pdf

http://wesamuels.org/accreditation/exhibits/s1_chd_1a_3.pdf

Awards: Caldecott Honor; ALA Notable/Best Books

Series information: 1^st book in the Madeline Series

Character names/descriptions: Madeline, Miss Clavel

Personal Thoughts: I remember reading the Madeline books as a child and enjoying the way they sounded when read aloud. I have always loved hearing about far off places, so the setting of Paris also intrigued me.

High interest annotation: Meet Madeline, the bravest of the Miss Clavel’s charges, in the first of her many adventures through Paris

The shipwrecked sailor : an Egyptian tale with hieroglyphs

Bibliographic Information: Bower, Tamara (2000). The shipwrecked sailor : an Egyptian tale with hieroglyphs. New York: Laurel-Leaf.

Plot Description: This story is based on one written in hieroglyphics on a scroll from the 19^th century B.C. The story tells of a sailor who is the lone-survivor of a shipwreck. The sailor is washed onto the shore of a beautiful island where he finds plenty to eat and drink. He eats his fill and makes an offering to the gods to thank them for his safety. Then suddenly a giant serpent appears and threatens to turn the sailor into ashes with his breath of fire. However, instead the serpent tells the sailor his own story of loss and the two become close friends. The serpent tells the sailor he will stay on the island four months and then he will be picked up by his countrymen and return to his home. The serpent also says the sailor was brought to the island of the Soul by God and whenever he is in danger he can take courage from its memory, which lives within him. Everything happens as the Serpent predicted and he asks only that the sailor speak well of him upon his return. The Serpent gives the sailor many precious things to bring back to Pharaoh, who rewards him with a promotion and a new house.

Quantitative Reading Level: Interest Level: Lower Grades, ATOS Book Level: 4.5

Qualitative Reading Analysis: There are unfamiliar words, such as ‘cubit’ (a unit of measurement) which are explained at the end of the book. Throughout the book sentences from the text are written in hieroglyphics at the top or bottom of the page. There is a note about hieroglyphics in the back of the book which explains when they were used and some basic characteristics of how the system worked. The experiences are not familiar to students. The illustrations and hieroglyphics are not necessary to understanding the story, but they are helpful and enrich the experience. There is also a note about the story and the present day names of the locations mentioned, as well as a map.

Content Area: Reading, Language Arts, History

Content Area Standard: English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Key Ideas and Details: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Craft and Structure: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

Curriculum Suggestions: Have students use the hieroglyph alphabet to draw a sentence of their own about the story. Find the central meaning of the story and use details from the text to support your answer. Summarize the story in your own words. Write definitions for unfamiliar vocabulary and then create your own sentence using your vocabulary word.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.ldonline.org/article/Reading_Adventure_Pack%3A_Archaeology?theme=print

http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/home-hieroglyphics-lesson-plan/

http://mag.rochester.edu/plugins/acrobat/teachers/AncientEgyptForYoungChildren.pdf

Character names/descriptions: A Lieutenant who tells the story of his ship going down and a giant Serpent he meets when shipwrecked on an island.

Personal Thoughts: I enjoyed seeing the hieroglyphic translations throughout the book. The background information on the origins of the story was also interesting.

High interest annotation: This Egyptian tale of a sailor’s experience of being shipwrecked on a mysterious island and befriending a giant Serpent, includes excerpts of the tale written in hieroglyphics.

My Name is Yoon

Bibliographic Information: Recorvits, Helen (2003). My Name is Yoon. New York: Frances Foster Books.

Plot Description: Yoon is a young girl who has just moved to the United States from Korea. In preparation for going to school she must learn to write her name in English. She does not like the way the lines and circles of her name look standing alone, instead of ‘dancing together’ as they do in Korean. On the first day of school the teacher shows pictures and sings a song about a cat. Yoon does not know what the word CAT means, but she knows what the picture says. The teacher gives her a paper to practice writing her name, but instead of Yoon, she writes CAT over and over. The teacher says, “so you are Cat?” and the girl behind her giggles. Each day she imagines herself as something else and writes that instead of her name. One day she makes friends with a girl who gives her a cupcake and she writes Cupcake on her paper instead of her name. The teacher smiles when she reads it. When Yoon gets home she sings a song she learned in English for her parents and tells them about her new friend. They are very proud. The next day at school she could hardly wait to write. This time she wrote Yoon.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: 320L Interest Level: Lower Grades ATOS Book Level: 2.3

Qualitative Reading Analysis: The text consists of simple sentences. The reader sees Yoon’s name written in Korean, but it is explained what the symbol means. The story is told through the eyes of a young girl. Sentences are not complex. They are simple, as if a child were talking. The pictures help to illustrate the meaning of the text. For example, when Yoon wishes she were something else, like a cat, a bird or a cupcake, she is drawn as those things to show what she is imagining. The pictures are not necessary for comprehension, but they help the story come to life. Poetic language is used as Yoon makes her wishes, using metaphors to say she is different things. Organization is sequential and chronological. Explores themes of adjustment, as Yoon begins her life in the US. Experiences may be familiar to immigrant students and show other readers what the immigrant experience is like for children.

Content Area: Reading, Language Arts

Content Area Standard:

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: College and Career Readiness: Anchor Standards for Writing:CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

Curriculum Suggestions: Ask students what their names mean. Have them research their names and write about whether or not they think their name fits them. Then have students create acrostic poems with their names.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-us/Resources/Item/39634/my-name-is-yoon-vocabulary#.VH1e6oeJadg

http://schooltalkdev.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/groups/digitalhub/wiki/1cd1d/

Awards: ALA Notable/Best Books; SLJ Best Book; Publishers Weekly Best Book; Booklist Editors’ Choice; Ezra Jack Keats Award

Character names/descriptions: Yoon, a young Korean girl who has just moved to the US and at first experiences some trouble adjusting to her new home.

Personal Thoughts: This would be a great book to share with ELL, for them to connect with Yoon’s character and her initial discomfort in her new country, but also for other students to better understand how immigrant students feel and perhaps make them more accepting.

High interest annotation: Yoon doesn’t like the way her name looks in English. When her new teacher asks her to write her name, Yoon imagines all types of creative things to be instead of Yoon.

Ruby’s Wish

Bibliographic Information: Bridges, Shirin Yim (2002). Ruby’s Wish. New York: Scholastic.

Plot Description: Ruby’s wish is the story of a young girl in China, who grows up in a large wealth family. Ruby’s Grandfather hires teachers to come to their home to teach all the children (her brothers, sisters, cousins, etc) who want to learn. At this time, girls were not normally allowed to attend school, so this was a special arrangement. However, as the children got older the girls often stopped attend classes with the boys. Instead they studied embroidery and how to take care of a home in order to prepare for marriage. Ruby is not interested in marriage. She is one of the best students and wants to learn and go to university. As she gets older, she gets sad about the idea of marrying and leaving her family. She wishes she could go to university like the boys instead. When winter comes she realizes it will probably be the last one she has with her family. At Chinese New Year, all the children receive red envelopes filled with good luck money. When Ruby receives her red envelope from her Grandfather, she is overjoyed to find that instead of being filled with money, it is filled with something much better: an acceptance letter to be one of the first women students at a university.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: 600L Interest Level: Lower Grades ATOS Book Level: 4.3

Qualitative Reading Analysis: The story is told by Ruby’s grand daughter, so the reader gets a third person account, but knows Ruby’s thoughts and feelings. The language closely adheres to readers linguistic base, but the author uses complex sentences and higher level sentence structure, including compound sentences, subordinate clauses and transition words. The text has obvious meaning that is not difficult for the reader to distinguish. Organization is sequential and chronological with clear transitions leading the reader through the text. Illustrations are used to enhance readers understand of the story, but are not necessary for comprehension. There is distance between the reader’s experiences and those in the text, but there is acknowledgement of these divergent experiences and sufficient explanation to bridge these gaps. The author explains how things were in the time the story takes place so readers can understand cultural and time period differences relevant to the story.

Content Area: Reading, Language Arts

Content Area Standard: English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Key Ideas and Details:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.6 Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

English Language Arts Standards for Reading: College and Career Readiness: Anchor Standards for Writing:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Curriculum Suggestions: Use context clues to understand unfamiliar vocabulary, then add newly comprehended words to flashcards or vocabulary list. Have students write an organized essay about the differences between the 19^th c. Chinese culture in the story and their own culture using what they can tell about Chinese society at that time from the story.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.chroniclebooks.com/landing-pages/pdfs/Ruby_wish.pdf

http://www.readworks.org/sites/default/files/bundles/lessons-grade3-plot-lesson-1.pdf

http://teachshannon.tumblr.com/post/21543060000/literacy-poetry-lesson-rubys-wish-wishes-for

Awards: Publishers Weekly Best Book, Ezra Jack Keats Award

Character names/descriptions: Ruby is an intelligent girl who loves to learn, her Grandfather who believes in her and provides her with the education she longs for at a time when women were left out of academia.

Personal Thoughts: Ruby’s story can serve as a reminder for students not to take their education for granted. Throughout much of history education has only been for the elite, men or certain ethnic groups and in some places this is still the case today.

High interest annotation: Ruby loves to go to school and as the other girls drop out to learn how to take care of a home, Ruby holds tight to her dreams of a college education

Umbrella

Bibliographic Information: Yashima, Taro (1958). Umbrella. New York: Viking.

Plot Description: Momo is given two gifts on her third birthday: a pair of rubber boots and an umbrella. She is so excited that she wakes up in the middle of the night to look at them, but the next day it does not rain. Nor the next day, nor the next. Momo wants to use her umbrella, but the rain does not come. She thinks of other reasons besides rain, for using her umbrella, like to shield her eyes from the bright sun. Her mother tells her to save the umbrella for a rainy day, so she keeps waiting and waiting. Finally, after many days it rains. In her excitement to get out in the rain, Momo pulls on her boots without socks and rushes outside to experience the sound of rain on her very own umbrella for the first time.

Quantitative Reading Level: Lexile Measure: AD480L Interest Level: Lower Grades ATOS Book Level: 4

Qualitative Reading Analysis: Organization of the text structure is clear, chronological and easy to predict. Illustrations directly support and assist in the understanding of the story, but are not necessary for comprehension. The language is largely explicit and easy to understand, with some occasions for more complex meaning. For example, Momo thinks it is a very special day because she uses her umbrella for the first time. Her mother shares that even though Momo does not remember the events of the story, it is an important day in her life because it is the first time she walked alone, without holding one of her parent’s hands. The vocabulary is familiar, though some of the wording is a little strange, such as Momo asking, “Why the rain doesn’t fall?” because the character is a small child, who is still learning language. Sentences are mostly simple and compound, with some complex phrases. There are no references to other texts. Experiences of being excited about something will be common to readers and many will also know the frustrations of not being able to use something they are excited about having.

Content Area: Reading, Language Arts

Content Area Standard: English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Literature: Key Ideas and Details: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.English Language Arts Standards for Reading: Speaking and Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration:

English Language Arts Standards for Speaking & Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.2 Recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Curriculum Suggestions: Have students identify characters and discuss their actions. Have students compare characters lives to their own using Venn diagrams or semantic maps. Students retell the story in their own words.

Supporting Digital Content:

http://www.liveoakmedia.com/client/guides/90996.pdf

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/5/98.05.02.x.html

Awards: Caldecott Honor

Character names/descriptions: Momo is a three year old Japanese American girl living in New York City who loves the umbrella she got for her birthday and longs for the rain to come so she can finally use it.

Personal Thoughts: This is a sweet story that will be enjoyed by children and parents, as both will be able to relate to characters in the book.

High interest annotation: Momo can’t wait for it to rain so she can use her new birthday boots and umbrella