Star Seeker: A Journey to Outer Space (2006) by Theresa Heine and illustrated by Victor Tavares is a delightful, most imaginative romp through the solar system that I have ever read. Written by German Heine, this poetic journey through the solar system touches on myths and legends behind the planets names, as well as facts about each of the planets.

Heine dedicates a single quatrain to each feature (whether constellation or planet) that rhymes the second and fourth line. Her fresh, clean style makes Star Seeker an incredibly fun read, though it includes facts about each feature as well. The poem is written in first person narrative, with the author telling us what she'd do to that planet or constellation.

The illustrator deserves kudos as well. All of the illustrations from cover to cover grab the readers imagination as much as the text does. One of my favorite images is that of a young boy using a giant spoon to stir Venus' volcanoes until they start to boil. He portrays Mercury as a planet being hurtled through space by the Greek god of the same name. None of the pictures are framed, which is fast becoming one of my favorite types of illustrating style. Some easily stretch from the edge of one page to the edge of the other!

What makes this book even better is the information at the end of the story. The author explains a little history of astronomy and includes a solar system picture glossary. Then the author tells you the planets in order from the closest to the sun to the furthest, giving a brief explanation of each one.

Instead of using this text for a lesson, I would actually use it to launch a week long unit on outer space. The information in the back of Star Seeker makes a great reference for the students to refer back to as we make our own play dough planets, marshmallow constellations and moon phase moonpies.

If you don't have Star Seeker: A Journey to Outer Space, I strongly suggest you get it. In fact, get more than one! You'll want one in your classroom, one in your personal library, one for your own kids and...

Tony Baloney

Tony Baloney (2011) by Pam Munoz Ryan (illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham) is a fun picturebook that tells a story about a macaroni penguin. Throughout the book, Ryan peppers the story with words one wouldn't expect in a picturebook. Bothersome, parmesan, exasperating and duffel are some of the words included. Some are explained by the pictures, but some are not.

One can't help but almost feel sorry for Tony, who is the middle penguin in his family. Tony suffers the wrath of Big Sister Baloney and has to tolerate the Bothersome Babies Baloney. Tony Baloney tells us about a day in the life of Tony who seems to fall into as much trouble as he causes. In the story, Tony deals with his feelings by confiding in Dandelion, his stuffed animal buddy. Through Dandelion, Tony finally makes a good choice, only to fall in trouble with Big Sister Baloney
yet again!

The illustrations for the story are quite unique. Every page in the Tony Baloney is decorated with either circles, squares or both. Many pages use colorful circles as frames for the illustrations themselves. As for the characters, the illustrator uses offer for each, having them looking at one another. Except for Dandelion, who is drawn almost always using demand. It's as if Dandelion is keeping tabs on your reaction to the story, asking you what you think about what is happening.

The alliteration that Ryan uses throughout the book, stressing the letter B, gives the text a cadence and makes it easy to read. In places, that rhythm almost overwhelms the text, but Ryan always manages to pull it back in time.

My kindergartners and I would first take a picture walk through the book with me asking them what's happening on each page. I would note their comments on sticky notes to see how close they are when we read the story. Then, we would take a word walk, so to speak. I would ask them about certain words and have them guess the meaning. After we get the correct definitions, we would reread once again, noting the words, where and how they are used.

While not phenomenal, and certainly not what I expected from Pam Munoz Ryan, Tony Baloney is definitely worth a read. Should it go in your own classroom library? I'll let you be the judge of that one...

14 Cows for America

14 Cows for America (2009) by Carman Agra Deedy (illustrated by Thomas Gonzales) is a most inspirational and incredible story. Based on actual events, the story depicts how people sometimes come together over tragic events to help each other out.

In the story, the Maasai people of Kenya, Africa, have a person who has gone to the United States in order to become a doctor. While Kimeli was in New York, he witnessed the tragic terrorist attack on the World Trade Center buildings. The attack, he says, "...burned a hole in his heart." Kimeli was moved to give his greatest possession, a cow, to the US, since cows are nearly sacred to the Maasai people.

He tells the elders of his people his intentions. The elders agree and bless the cow and 13 others to offer as a comfort to the American people. These 14 cows are now considered to be "sacred, healing cows," which can never be slaughtered. They are well cared for and "continue to be a symbol of hope from the Maasai to their brothers and sisters in America."

While the story is factual and straightforward, the unframed, colorful images that span from edge to edge draw the reader into the story. Kimeli is often illustrated surrounded by his people, who welcome and embrace him warmly. The illustrator uses demand to show the Maasai people's welcoming caring nature. The illustrator uses demand yet again to show the darkened reaction of the Maasai people learning of the tragedy that took place across the ocean. The use of demand on the last page with the close up of Kimeli's eye somehow shows what he's seen and gets across the depth of his feeling for the atrocity and suffering that he had to witness.

Though 14 Cows for America is a picturebook, I don't feel it is intended for kindergartners. The story is deep and deals with the tragedy of the attack on the World Trade Center. Also, kindergartners may not understand the meaning of offering of the cows and what they symbolize.

However, I would have third through fifth-graders research different uses of symbolism in different cultures. 14 Cows for America would be a great sticky note book, placing questions on each page about which students have questions. Then, we could either individually, or in small groups, pick a note to research and write about and then give a brief report on that aspect of the book to the rest of the class.

I would definitely recommend 14 Cows for America for any teacher's classroom library.

Esperanza Rising

Esperanza Rising (2000) by Pam Munoz Ryan is an exquisitely written story about a young girl's immigration from Mexico to the United States. Ryan is an excellent story teller, using details and facts to spin an intricate web of relationships around a central story line. This multicultural story is a Pura Belpre Award winning book.

I personally questioned the title, until I found out that the word esperanza (also the main character's name) means hope in Spanish. Upon learning this, I looked back on the story, gaining a deeper appreciation and understanding of the text.

Esperanza Rising is about a young girl, Esperanza Ortega, and her family immigrating from  Mexico to the United States. In Mexico, the Ortegas live on a large wine growing ranch and live well. However, tragedy comes to Esperanza's family by other corrupt family members bent on taking the family farm. Esperanza and her family are forced to flee across the border to the US, where they live a poor existence, The family and it's servants work side by side in food camps, picking and sorting seasonal crops and scraping together what money they can from the minimal pay they receive.

In the author interview in the back of the book, we find out that Esperanza Rising is an actual tale recounting Ryan's grandmother's life story. Ryan says her grandmother, whose name was Esperanza, had told her the story many times.

The story Esperanza Rising could easily be tied with other subjects. It deals with immigration, the Great Depression and the farm labor camps in the California agriculture fields in the early 1930's. I would have my fifth-graders take one aspect of the book (immigration, Mexican Repatriation, labor camps, the Great Depression, dust storms, to name some) and do more research on it. They would be writing more information on their individual  subjects and giving a visual display, which they would present to the class as a whole.

This engaging historical fiction should be on any teacher's must read list. I would also suggest keeping within your classroom library.

Love That Dog

If you're looking for a poignant, intoxicating read, Love That Dog (2001) by Sharon Creech should be high on your list of definite reads!

     September 13
     I don't want to
     because boys
     don't write poetry.

     Girls do.

Creech's first page and lines, as shown above, engages the reader immediately. A simple first page. Simple lines. And yet, it conjures up so many questions for the reader and makes you want to read more.

Love That Dog is about Jack, a young boy in Miss Stretchberry's English class, who is struggling with the loss of his beloved dog. Throughout the book, Jack also struggles with personal issues, as well as classroom issues. He is unsure of himself and, especially, his writing. The teacher has assigned the class to keep a journal throughout the school year. Jack struggles to understand the poetry they learn in class. He doesn't feel confident in his own writing and has trouble sharing his work with the rest of the class.

This funny, yet powerful story might scare some readers simply because it looks as though it's written as a series of poems. Many students treat poetry like an enigmatic puzzle that is incomprehensible by mere mortals. However, Jack says it best when he writes "...any words/can be a poem./You've just got to/make/short/lines." Creech's style makes us wonder why poetry should be so hard. The entire book is from Jack's journal, hence from his point of view.

Cross referencing this book with another class I'm currently taking, I would absolutely love to use Love That Dog to kick of my own personal Writer's Workshop class of my own with upper grades, like fourth and fifth-graders and up. It shows the main character's fear of writing, as well as his fear of not writing "correctly." This story is a great example of how there is simply no right or wrong to writing.

As for lessons, I would also enjoy using this book to jump start some poetry projects. There are different types of poetry styles used in the book. There are also some well-known poems utilized, and "explained"  by Jack in the book. It would be ideal to discuss the different types of poetry used in Love That Dog, as well as attempting some poems on our own.

Should this be in your own classroom library? I'll let you be the judge of that. However, I already have two copies -- one for my classroom library and one in my personal library!

Balloons Over Broadway

Who, exactly, is Tony Sarg? And what did this person do? If you've ever watched the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade in person or on TV, then you've seen the effect of Sarg's handiwork!
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade (2011) by Melissa Sweet is an informational picturebook of the life work of Tony Sarg.

This award winning biography gives an amazing visual and textual story of the life of Tony Sarg, the marionette creator who invented the giant balloons you see in New York's most famous parade each year. Sweet, the author, utilizes pictures that seem as if they were taken in Sarg's own workshop. The author even went so far as to study his style and create toys and items the way Sarg would have and include them in the book. The illustrations relay just as much information, showing how Sarg was dedicated to his work, as well as how exciting and colorful his work was to him.

I read Balloons Ovcer Broadway several times, and not because I didn't understand it. The story is very involving and I caught something different each time I read the book. I feel like this picturebook would appeal to my kindergartners, as well as first and second-graders. I would go so far as to say upper grades could use it as well, simply because there was information within the book that I didn't know myself!

For my kindergarten class, we would begin by taking a picture walk through the book. There would be many questions along the way, such as "What do you notice?" "What do you think this says about Tony Sarg?" "How does this make you feel?" Because the book is a straightforward timeline of his life, we could easily do a bubble timeline, placing information about Sarg in the appropriate places on our classroom timeline.

Balloons Over Broadway is a well written picturebook that conveys information on every aspect of each page. It's a must read that should be in every teacher's classroom library!

Once I Was a Cardboard Box... But Now I'm a Book About Polar Bears!

Looking for an interesting informational text in a picture book about polar bears? How about one about recycling? If you're looking for both in one book, you might want to take a peek at Once I Was a Cardboard Box... But Now I'm a Book About Polar Bears! (2009) by Anton Poitier and illustrated by Melvyn Evans.

While it may sound ridiculous, Once I Was a Cardboard Box... is a fun read that is loaded with a lot of information. While the book is mainly about polar bears, the right side of each right page has a vertical story that reads from the top to the bottom. The story is about the book. It tells us about how it used to be a cardboard box and how it became the book that now sits in your hands.

This would definitely be a multiple read book with my kindergartners. The first read through would be to learn about the polar bears. The second would be for the story of the box that became a book. I think the first read through could be coupled with a sticky note activity where we put notes on pages that we either don't understand, or want to learn more about. The cardboard box story lends itself well towards a timeline activity, where the kids will determine what will happen next to the box before it becomes a book.

Whether you're working with kindergarten, first or second, there are plenty of facts and fun in this book to keep their attention and keep students engaged!

A Little Peace

You won't find a more simply written or illustrated informational text than A Little Peace (2007) by Barbara Kerley. Yet, for all its simplicity, the message behind A Little Peace is profound and, quite possibly, put a shiver in your soul and a smile in your heart.

Barbara Kerley pulled off an amazing feat with the book A Little Peace. She coupled the most amazing National Geographic photographs with a single sentence, broken up over 26 pages, telling the reader (as well as showing) how they can spread peace throughout the world.The book ends with a brief description of each photograph and where it was taken, as well as letter, titled "A note on Peace," by Richard H. Solomon, president of the United States Institute of Peace.

What makes this book so intriguing is that none of the pictures are framed. Some take up a double page and seem to go on past the page edges, and some are simply inset photos on a stark, white page. But each photograph tells its own story. Each one shows a moment in time with a person, or people, doing something to make life a little easier, a little better.

A Little Peace is an informational text that I would read to students of any age or grade. The meaning is as simple as the message it gets across. I will most assuredly be reading this with my kindergartners this year. After we finish the book, we will talk about peace and what it means. I will then challenge them to draw, or write, if they can, what they can do to spread a little peace, joy or happiness to family, to friends, to community members and to the world.

If you haven't read it, I highly advise getting and reading A Little Peace. This is sure to be one of the best loved and most read books in your school library!

Sloop John B, A Pirate's Tale

If you're looking for a fantasy picture book, then Sloop John B, A Pirate's Tale (2005) by Alan Jardine (illustrated by Jimmy Pickering) may be just what you're looking for! It's got pirates. It's got sharks. It's got prisoners walking the plank and a brave young boy...

This fantasy picture book is about a young boy and his grandfather who love to sail upon their ship, the Sloop John B. In the story, on their latest trip, they come upon pirates who board their ship. The boy and his grandfather try to hide, but that doesn't work out so well for them. As they battle the pirates, help is on the way, but will it get there in time?

I found the illustrations to be fabulously colorful and exciting. Many span both pages, practically dripping from the page edges! While I enjoyed the actual story itself, the cadence and rhyme scheme tended to throw me off. It doesn't follow any strict pattern, which I expected it to as I read the first two pages of Sloop John B, A Pirate's Tale.

A picture walk and story telling would be a fun, but enriching activity you could do with kindergartners with this story. Prior to reading the text, simply cover the words on each page and have the students "read" the illustrations, telling you the specifics, as they see them. That would be characters they see, where they are, and what's happening. Then go back and read the text with them,
noting what they got right.

While this has not been my favorite text, I feel like some activities would make it a good read for students in your class.

Mr. Wayne's Masterpiece

Patricia Polacco's story, Mr. Wayne's Masterpiece (2014), paints a vivid picture of a brief moment in time for the author herself.

This realistic fiction picture book, it turns out, is an autobiographical account. It tells the story of how young Miss Polacco was painfully shy and unable to read her own writing in front of her class. In order to help her with her fear of public speaking, her English teacher gets her involved with the drama teacher, who, in turn, helps her overcome her fear and perform on stage.

Polacco, who has written and illustrated numerous picture books, is masterful with her full bleed illustrations -- those illustrations that stretch from page edge to page edge. Many of the illustrations that include adults often put the adults in a position of respect or power, meaning the upper half of the picture. Her use of demand to show her absolute shock of having to read in front of people makes you almost nervous for her.

I feel certain that my kindergartners would be able to follow the story line, but I would be doing a story chart with them to help them understand the text more deeply. We do story "windows" on a large white sheet folded in half twice. The students draw out who the characters in one square, the setting in another, the problem in the third and the solution in the fourth.

While the story may be a little more suitable for first-graders, the concept of speaking in front of others, I feel, would be understood by kindergartners.