There was an Old Lady who Swallowed Some Books!

There was an Old Lady who Swallowed Some Books!

Author: Lucille Colorado
Illustrator: Jared Lee
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: None
Grades: PK-2

There was an old lady who swallowed so many things that were correlated with each other. She swallowed chalk to decorate a folder, she swallowed the folder to hold the ruler, she swallowed the ruler to measure the pencil case, she swallowed the pencil case to hold the pen that she swallowed to write in a book. At the end she cheered so hard that a backpack came out of her mouth filled with school supplies!

I would read this book to children during the first week or so of school. It is a book appropriate for children in grades PK-2 because of the repetition and language of the book. I would have this book in my classroom library as well and would purchase the other sequels of this book to start of units just to continue the tradition if students enjoy them.

The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen 

Author: A Little Golden Book series by Margot Zemach
Illustrator: J.P. Miller
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: Notable Children's Books
Grades: PK-3


The Little Red Hen has a grain of wheat that she wants to plant but no one wants to help her. She asks the duck, goose, cat and pig, and they all decline. Through the process of planting it, taking it out, and making it into flour, she would constantly ask them for help and they all said no. Once she baked the bread, she asked if they wanted to eat it and they all said yes but the Little Red Hen said no and ate it herself.

I would use this in my classroom to teach sequencing and as a fun read. It is an appropriate book for children in grades PK through 3rd grade because it isana easy, repetitive read that will encourage children to read more of the Little Golden Books Series. I would have this book in my classroom library for students to always look at and read or to teach a simple repetition lesson or sequencing lesson.

Chicken Little

Chicken Little

Author/Illustrator: Laura Rader
Genre: Fantasy and Science Fiction
Awards: None
Grade: PK-2

In this book, an acorn falls on Chicken Little's back making him think the word is falling. On his way to tell the king, he tells different animals that the sky is falling making the animals all follow him to the king. Once they arrive and tell the king, the king looks at Chicken Little's back and shows him the acorn to prove that the sky is not falling.

I would use this book in my classroom because it is a very repetitive book meaning the students will pick up on the text fast. It is appropriate for grades second grade and below since it is fun and an easy read. I would use this book to teach sequence or repetition. I would also use it to start an animal lesson to teach students the difference between a fictional animal and a real one.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Author/Illustrator: James Marshall
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: Caldecott Medal
Grade Level: PK-2


Goldilocks was sent by her mother to go to the next village to buy muffins. On her way, Goldilocks decided to stop at the bear's house where she ate their porridge, sat in their chairs, and slept on their beds. As she slept, the bears came in and saw the disaster she had made. Goldilocks woke up as they looked at her while she slept and ran out of their house before they could say anything to her.

I would use this in my class to teach many morals such as right from wrong, disobedience, and respect. I would teach these morals to students starting in Pre-K so that they begin to understand what happens when you do something wrong. You not only hurt others, but you also hurt yourself. I would use this book in a sequencing unit, social studies unit on respecting others and in a math unit on similarities and differences.

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast


Author: Retold by Catherine Samuel
Illustrator: Walter Velez
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: None
Grade Level: PK-5

Beauty and her family had to move to a smaller house because they lost everything in a storm. When her father heard he might have a ship left, he decided to head out to retrieve it and bring it back home. On his way back, he faced a snowstorm that caused him to stay at a castle he saw nearby. Before he left, he remembered Beauty had asked for a rose and decided to pick the rose from a bush in the castle. A beast came out who was the owner of the castle and frightened Beauty's dad. When he explained how he picked the rose for his daughter, the beast demanded to have Beauty at his castle Months passed by and they both feel in love. When Beauty did not return from seeing her family in time, the beast started to die in grief. A dream caused Beauty to return to him and broke the spell of the ugly appearance when she kissed the beast as he laid on the floor dying.

I would use this book in the classroom as a way to broaden my student's imaginations. This book would help teach them what a fairy tale is and how to use their creative mind to picture the magical events that happen within the story. I would personally use this book in a second to fifth-grade classroom so that they fully grasp what events are going on in the story without feeling lost.  A unit to use this book would be for sorting or sequencing events in a story. This story can also help them understand the different components of a story such as characters, plot, setting, etc.

The Gingerbread Man

The Ginger Bread Man

Author/Illustrator: Karen Schmidt

Genre: Traditional Literature

Awards: None

Grade Level: PK-2

When a young boy opened the oven door after the old woman told him not to, a gingerbread man jumped out and began to run away as fast as he could. He surpassed the old man and woman as well as the young boy and began to encounter many others along the way. He outran three farmers, a bear, and a wolf but after encountering the fox, he outsmarted him and ate him all up.

As a teacher, I would definitely use this book because it is a fun, easy read that students will enjoy to chant along to once they realize the repetition in the book. It would be a great book to use for kindergartners in many different units. For reading, I would use this book to teach sequential events in a story. Students can easily go back to the book to see what happened next in the story. Another unit I can use this for is building a community in social studies. Students can create their own gingerbread man house and explain why they added different parts to their house. Once they are all done, students can create a community of all their houses to display.