The Polar Express

Genre: Fantasy

Title: The Polar Express

Author & Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Age Range: 5-8 Years Old

Summary: On Christmas Eve, a young boy went outside when he saw a train in front of his house. The conductor invited him on board, which he accepted the invitation because they were going to the North Pole. When they arrive at the North Pole, the train took the children to see Santa. Santa gave out the first gift to a young boy. After that, Santa took off on his sleigh to deliver presents. When the children got on the train the boy noticed that he lost his gift. However, on Christmas morning Santa left his gift under his tree.

Evaluation: I would use this book with grades 1st through 5th. The Polar Express is one of my favorite stories and it would be a great book to read during December. For younger students, I would have them write a letter to Santa asking for one thing they want for Christmas and have them include a picture. For older students, I would let them watch the movie, then they would write an essay to compare and contrast the movie and the book.

Comments

The Name Jar

Genre: Fiction/Multicultural Title: The Name Jar Author/Illustrator: Yangsook Choi Awards: Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Master List, Arizona Younger Readers Award Nominee Age Range: 3-7 Years Old Summary: Unhei is new to America and is attending school for her first day. She is nervous, and some of the kids make fun of her name. She tells her mom that she wants an American name because she does not want to be different. She tests out different names by introducing herself in the mirror, but nothing seems to sound right. The next day at school Unhei found a jar on her desk, which was filled with name suggestions from her classmates. It keeps getting filled up, but one day when she went to class the name jar was gone. Only one name was on her desk and it was her own. She decided to introduce herself to the class and keep her original name. Johnny showed up at her house that evening with the name jar. He told Unhei that he wanted her to keep her own name which is why he took the ja...

Little Rabbit Foo Foo

Genre: Poetry Title: Little Rabbit Foo Foo Author: Michael Rosen Illustrator: Arthur Robins Awards: N/A Age group: 3-6 years old Summary: A fairy visits Little Rabbit Foo Foo because he is being mean to others. The fairy gives him three chances to change, but he does not listen. Therefore, she turns Little Rabbit Foo Foo into a goon. Evaluation: This would be a fun book to not only read but to sing chorally as a class. I would create some hand motions for the students to do as we read and sang the song. I think this book could be a good brain break especially if I incorporated some movements with the song. Also, I can use the book to teach students that we should be kind to others and the importance of listening when told to do something the first time.

The Wheels on the Bus

Title: The Wheels on the Bus Genre: Poetry Author & Illustrato r : Annie Kubler Awards: N/A Age Group: 1-4 years old Summary: The author shows us the life of being a bus driver. We get to see different people get on and off the bus. In addition, we get to learn about the different parts of the bus and how the people on the bus act. At the very end, everyone gets off the bus because they arrived at their destination where they are having a party. Evaluation: I would use this book when doing a lesson on transportation. The students will learn parts of cars by reading this book and singing along. I would also use the illustrations to get students to predict where they think the people on the bus are going.

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