Ms. Sevon's Booktique

  Genre: Science Fiction Title: The Return of Zita the Spacegirl Author: Ben Hatke Awards: N/A Age Range: 8-12 Years Old Summary: Zita is found guilty of actions she has committed, so she is thrown into the dungeon. She tries to escape but fails. Then, she is sent to work in the mines as further punishment. There she finds out that the Dungeon Lord is using prisoners to look for a crystal that will help him take over Earth. Zita tries a second time to escape and this time she manages to escape with the help of a stranger who she discovers is Joseph. Somehow  Zita ends up with the crystal in her pocket and she wants to use it as bait against the Dungeon Lord, so she can try to save her friends. Joseph does not like this idea because he just wants to save Earth. Therefore, he betrays Zita and gives the crystal to the Dungeon Lord who he thought would bargain with him. Unfortunately, the Dungeon Lord did not listen to Joseph's request instead he chose to invade earth immediately....

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, ...

Title: Where the Wild Things Are Genre: Fantasy Author: Maurice Sendak Awards: Caldecott Medal Age Group: 3-7 Years Old Summary: Max is sent to his room because he is misbehaving. When he goes to his room he begins to use his imagination to take him on a journey. Max eventually makes it to an island where the wild things are and he is the only one that can tame them. He becomes king of the wild things and enjoys his time with them. Eventually Max gets homesick, so he sails for home. When he arrives homes he finds his mom left his dinner in his room.  Evaluation:  I think this book would work best with students in pre-k through 2nd grade.   I really like the book especially how it ends. I think a great lesson we can all learn from this book is that even when we mess up our family or even friends will still love us. Another activity I would do after reading the book is have students create their own mini book. I would have them write a short story about an adventure they wo...

Genre: Fantasy Title: 12 Little Elves Visit Texas  Author: Jess Smart Smiley Illustrator: Sadie Han Awards: N/A Age Range: 4-6 years old Summary: There are 12 elves that were sent to see who was sleeping in Texas. They went city to city and house to house just to check on everyone. The elves stopped by some of the most popular places like the state fair and Big Bend. In addition, they also went to see some of Texas' landmarks like the Alamo in San Antonio and the capitol building in Austin. The 12 elves have visited all the houses, but the last place they need to visit is the reader's house. Evaluation: I would use this book because I love how I could talk about the different landmarks that the elves visit in Texas. I would use this book as a read-aloud the last day before Christmas break, so students will be excited about Christmas. This book is best for pre-k, Kindergarten, and first grade. I think those students would love this story. Another activity I would do to incorpora...

Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pic is written by Eugene Trivizas and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. It has won the Booklist Editors' Choice, School Library Journal Best Book, and Parents' Choice Honor Book.  The three little wolves are brothers who leave home to build a house of their own. However, a big bad pig always comes along and destroys the house the wolves built. It took the pigs 4 tries until they built the perfect house. The sweet smell of the fourth house the wolves built turned the big bad pig into a good pig! The wolves and the pig became friends and ended up living together.  This book would be good for ages 7-10 years old or grade levels 4th through 5th grade. I would use this book to study the elements of a story such as characters, setting, and plot as well as character development. As an activity, I would put students into small groups and have them build a miniature house out of items that I brought to class. Then, once every...