Love you Forever

Love you Forever

Author: Robert Munsch
Illustrator: Sheila McGraw
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Awards: None
Grade: PK and Kindergarten

This sad book is about a mother who would sing to her boy as he grew up. No matter how old he got, she would hold him in her arms and would sing and rock him while he slept. When the mother got old, the son did the same to his mother until she passed away. At the end of the book, it shows he son holding his new daughter as she slept, singing her the same song.

I would recommend parents to read this book to their children but would not use it in my classroom because it is a sad book. The appropriate grade level for this book is Kindergarten so that students understand the feelings behind the story, but can be used for students younger. If I needed to use this book for a unit I would use it to show repetition. 

The Night before Preschool

The Night before Preschool


Author: Natasha Wing
Illustrator: Amy Wummer
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Awards: None
Grade: PK 

It was the night before preschool and every child was getting ready for bed and falling fast asleep. All but one little boy named Billy. The next day at preschool, Billy was really shy and did not play with the rest of the children. During nap time, he started to cry because he had forgotten  his bear at home. A girl offered her bunny and Billy fell fast asleep. Once he woke up, he was not so shy anymore and played with the rest of his classmates. At the end, he enjoyed preschool. 

I would not use this in my classroom, but would instead suggest parents to read this book with their child. The appropriate grade level for this book is PK because the characters are going through the same thing as them. If I were to use this in a unit, I would use it to evaluate the differences in Billy's feelings. 

Hannah Sparkles: A Friend through Rain or Shine

Hannah Sparkles: A Friend though Rain or Shine




Author: Robin Mellom
Illustrator: Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Awards: None
Grade: PK-2

This book is about a little girl named Hannah who was out going and friendly. She was always happy and always had a smile on her face. One day she found out she had a new neighbor, Sunny Everbright, and went over to introduce herself. She showed her everything she liked but noticed her new neighbor was not into glitter and rainbows like herself. She started to get upset until one day it started to rain and noticed Sunny loved it and had a smile on her face. She realized her new friend may not like the same things she does but still enjoys different things that make her happy. 

I would use this book in the classroom to show students how being different from one another is not always bad. An appropriate grade level for this book is Kindergarten where they are just starting to get to know other classmates their age. A good unit to use this for can be for a social studies lesson where they learn about social relationships. I can also plainly read this book during a read aloud as a small lesson about how to get along with each other. 

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.