Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport

Non-fiction

http://voicethread.com/#u277452.b417527.i2208076

Creepy Crawlies by Hans Post and Irene Goede

Non-fiction

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/698331/Creepy_Crawlies_by_Hans_Post_and_Irene_Goede

Music: An A-Z Guide by Nicola Barber

Non-fiction

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/691090/Music%3A_An_A-Z_Guide_by_Nicola_Barber

Coral Reefs: Fact, Stories, and Activities by Jenny Wood

Non-fiction

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/691107/Coral_Reefs%3A_Fact%2C_Stories%2C_and_Activities_by_Jenny_Wood

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

This non-fiction book details the story of an extraordinary girl! Ruby Bridges was born in Tylertown, Mississippi. Her father worked on a farm picking cotton. However, when the farmer invested in machines to pick the cotton, Ruby’s father lost his job. Her family relocated to New Orleans. There, white children and black children went to separate schools. But one day, a judge selected several black children to attend some of the white schools in the community. Ruby Bridges was one of the children the judge selected to take place in this historical event. Everyday, Ruby Bridges faced discrimination and prejudice. However, she found it in her heart to forgive people for the mean things they said and prayed that God would forgive them one day as well. I believe this book could be used in a lesson to integrate Social Studies and Reading instruction. This book would help give students an understanding of communities and schools in the past. I also believe that this book could be used to share with students the importance of forgiveness.

The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids: Aliens Don’t Wear Braces by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

In this modern fantasy chapter book, Mrs. Jeeper’s students at Bailey Elementary School are interrupted during their science test by a flickering of the lights accompanied by a strange humming noise. They soon discover that their art teacher has mysteriously disappeared. However, about this same time, a woman with white hair and shiny braces walks into the office and offers to fill in for the missing art teacher. After Mrs. Zora was hired as the new art teacher, the students at Bailey Elementary started to notice that the school was beginning to lose its color, from the paintings in the hallway to the flowers outside. It seemed that Mrs. Zora was even taking the color off of student’s shirts and hair! The students began to wonder whether or not Mrs. Zora was an alien that came there to steal all of their colors. Some of the students decided that they were going to follow Mrs. Zora home one evening to see for themselves if she was indeed an alien or not. Much to their surprise, the students found what looked like an alien space craft hidden in her garage! A couple of students went back to Mrs. Zora’s house later on to try and get the colors back that she had been stealing from Bailey Elementary. But when Mrs. Zora suddenly appears, the students panic and hit a button that made what looked like a space craft explode. When they returned to school the following day, the students were informed that Mrs. Zora would no longer be teaching at Bailey Elementary, because she had so much damage to her house from the explosion of her kiln (her heater that she used to make pottery). Like the other Bailey School Kids book, I believe students can relate to this book, in that they probably have all had a teacher that they believed seemed a little strange. In addition, I found this book to be very interesting. The story line kept me engaged and wanting to read more!

The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids: Zombies Don’t Play Soccer by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones

In this modern fantasy chapter book, the Bailey Boomers soccer team receives a new coach after one player, named Eddie, drove their last coach away. Their new soccer coach is a woman that knows her soccer! She makes them practice hard for hours until they are completely worn-out. One day, during soccer practice a mysterious old woman appears and begins yelling at their new soccer coach. The old lady warns the coach that she “will be sorry” if she stays in Bailey City to coach. After that day, the kids on the soccer team started to notice that their coach was acting funny. She did not seem interested in the game of soccer anymore; she simply stared off into space during practice. Trying to understand what was going on with their coach, several players started naming possible issues. One player suggested that the old lady turned her into a zombie. Convinced that their coach was indeed a zombie, the players try numerous things, including tickling their coach and getting her to eat salt, which they thought would help her get out of this zombie state. Despite their effort, none of these things seemed to work. But on the night the Bailey Boomers were playing their rival team, the players remembered that their new coach always instilled the importance of teamwork among them. Although they were losing the game at the first half, the Bailey Boomers pulled it together and won the game. It was at that moment that their coach came out of her zombie state and was back to her normal self. I believe this book would be fun for students to read, because I feel that they could relate to playing soccer or some other sport. In my opinion, being able to relate themselves to the story would help increase their comprehension. Finally, I love that this book instills the value of teamwork. This is such an important concept for students to learn and I could not think of a better way to incorporate it than through a book!