Atwater, Florance and Atwater, Richard
Lawson, Robert (illustrator)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1992 (reissue)
Description: Poor Mr. Popper isn't exactly unhappy; he just wishes he had seen something of the world before meeting Mrs. Popper and settling down. Most of all, he wishes he had seen the Poles, and spends his spare time between house-painting jobs reading all about polar explorations. Admiral Drake, in response to Mr. Popper's fan letter, sends him a penguin; life at 432 Proudfoot Avenue is never the same again. From one penguin living in the icebox, the Popper family grows to include 12 penguins, all of whom must be fed. Thus is born "Popper's Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole." Their adventures while on tour are hilarious, with numerous slapstick moments as the penguins disrupt other acts and invade hotels.
Recommended Audience: Kindergarten-5th grade
Illustrations: The illustrations consist of pencil drawings.
Activities: This would be a great book to use when learning about penguins. Have students imitate the penguins and think about what it must be like to travel to Mr. Popper's house. Have students create a commercial introducing "Popper's Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole."
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Poppers-Penguins-Richard-Atwater/dp/0316058432/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354222877&sr=1-1&keywords=mr.+popper%27s+penguins+first+ed
Lawson, Robert (illustrator)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1992 (reissue)
Description: Poor Mr. Popper isn't exactly unhappy; he just wishes he had seen something of the world before meeting Mrs. Popper and settling down. Most of all, he wishes he had seen the Poles, and spends his spare time between house-painting jobs reading all about polar explorations. Admiral Drake, in response to Mr. Popper's fan letter, sends him a penguin; life at 432 Proudfoot Avenue is never the same again. From one penguin living in the icebox, the Popper family grows to include 12 penguins, all of whom must be fed. Thus is born "Popper's Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole." Their adventures while on tour are hilarious, with numerous slapstick moments as the penguins disrupt other acts and invade hotels.
Recommended Audience: Kindergarten-5th grade
Illustrations: The illustrations consist of pencil drawings.
Activities: This would be a great book to use when learning about penguins. Have students imitate the penguins and think about what it must be like to travel to Mr. Popper's house. Have students create a commercial introducing "Popper's Performing Penguins, First Time on Any Stage, Direct from the South Pole."
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Poppers-Penguins-Richard-Atwater/dp/0316058432/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354222877&sr=1-1&keywords=mr.+popper%27s+penguins+first+ed
Babbitt, Natalie
Tuck Everlasting
(no illustrator)
Square Fish, 2007 (reissue)
Description: Doomed to—or blessed with—eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.
Recommended Audience: 4th grade & up
Illustrations: n/a
Activities: Pose the question, "What if you could live forever?" Have students journal their thoughts about the idea and determine whether they would like to or not. Have students write an alternate ending to the book in which Winnie drinks from the spring.
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Tuck-Everlasting-Natalie-Babbitt/dp/0312369816/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354223596&sr=1-1&keywords=tuck+everlasting
Tuck Everlasting
(no illustrator)
Square Fish, 2007 (reissue)
Description: Doomed to—or blessed with—eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.
Recommended Audience: 4th grade & up
Illustrations: n/a
Activities: Pose the question, "What if you could live forever?" Have students journal their thoughts about the idea and determine whether they would like to or not. Have students write an alternate ending to the book in which Winnie drinks from the spring.
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Tuck-Everlasting-Natalie-Babbitt/dp/0312369816/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354223596&sr=1-1&keywords=tuck+everlasting
Burnett, Frances Hodgson
The Secret Garden
(no illustrator)
Simon & Brown, 2012 (reissue)
Description: The Secret Garden is a charming book about a girl named Mary Lennox. She is a spoiled and sickly child who lives in India. When her parents die because of a cholera epidemic, she moves to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her rich uncle in England. Things are a definite change for her. Slowly she becomes stronger and starts to take an interest in the outdoors. She meets all sorts of people like Martha, Dickon, and Colin. Martha is a maid on the grounds who has taken a fancy to Mary, and Dickon is her brother. Dickon is quite an unusual fellow. He possesses the ability to talk to animals and is able to grow anything with a little bit of soil. Colin, who you will meet later in the story, is a child who has basically given up the will to live, believing he is doomed to be a hunchback like his father. Strong-willed Mary reprimands him and takes matters into her own hands. Mary has all kinds of adventures with strange sounds at night, funny accents, and a locked garden. The Secret Garden is a wonderful book about friendship, determination, and perseverance.
Recommended Audience: 3rd-6th grades
Illustrations: n/a
Activities: Have students analyze Mary's character and assess how she changed throughout the story. Begin a nature journal by allowing students to notice what they see around them in nature and how it makes them feel.
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Garden-Frances-Hodgson-Burnett/dp/161382307X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354223984&sr=1-1&keywords=the+secret+garden
The Secret Garden
(no illustrator)
Simon & Brown, 2012 (reissue)
Description: The Secret Garden is a charming book about a girl named Mary Lennox. She is a spoiled and sickly child who lives in India. When her parents die because of a cholera epidemic, she moves to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her rich uncle in England. Things are a definite change for her. Slowly she becomes stronger and starts to take an interest in the outdoors. She meets all sorts of people like Martha, Dickon, and Colin. Martha is a maid on the grounds who has taken a fancy to Mary, and Dickon is her brother. Dickon is quite an unusual fellow. He possesses the ability to talk to animals and is able to grow anything with a little bit of soil. Colin, who you will meet later in the story, is a child who has basically given up the will to live, believing he is doomed to be a hunchback like his father. Strong-willed Mary reprimands him and takes matters into her own hands. Mary has all kinds of adventures with strange sounds at night, funny accents, and a locked garden. The Secret Garden is a wonderful book about friendship, determination, and perseverance.
Recommended Audience: 3rd-6th grades
Illustrations: n/a
Activities: Have students analyze Mary's character and assess how she changed throughout the story. Begin a nature journal by allowing students to notice what they see around them in nature and how it makes them feel.
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Garden-Frances-Hodgson-Burnett/dp/161382307X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354223984&sr=1-1&keywords=the+secret+garden
Lewis, C.S.
The Cronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
(no illustrator)
Collier, 1970
Description: Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia -- a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change ... and a great sacrifice.
Recommended Audience: 3rd-6th grades
Illustrations: n/a
Activities: Have students imagine Narnia and draw a picture based on the description in the book. More activities can be found at the following link: http://www.cslewis.org/resources/coned.html
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Lion-Witch-Wardrobe-C-Lewis/dp/0020442203/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354224877&sr=1-2&keywords=the+lion+the+witch+and+the+wardrobe+first+edition
The Cronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
(no illustrator)
Collier, 1970
Description: Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia -- a land enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change ... and a great sacrifice.
Recommended Audience: 3rd-6th grades
Illustrations: n/a
Activities: Have students imagine Narnia and draw a picture based on the description in the book. More activities can be found at the following link: http://www.cslewis.org/resources/coned.html
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Lion-Witch-Wardrobe-C-Lewis/dp/0020442203/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354224877&sr=1-2&keywords=the+lion+the+witch+and+the+wardrobe+first+edition
Piper, Watty
The Little Engine That Could
Hauman, George and Hauman, Doris (illustrators)
Grosset & Dunlap (miniature edition), 1990
Description: Watty Piper brought us this inspiring story of a little train engine many years ago and it is still inspiring and encouraging millions of people, children and adults alike. When the little train gets stuck at the bottom of a hill, the little engine keeps his focus, and keeps telling himself “I think I can, I think I can” until eventually he makes it to the top of the hill. The message this leaves the reader with is one of how important it is to be determined, persevere, and never stop trying. One of the most inspirational children’s books ever, this one is a classic.
Recommended Audience: Preschool-2nd grade
Illustrations: The illustrations were created using watercolors.
Activities: This is a great story to use when teaching children about perserverance. Have the students create their own trains and write down, "I think I can..." followed by their goals.
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Engine-That-Could-mini/dp/0448400715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354243027&sr=1-1&keywords=the+little+engine+that+could
The Little Engine That Could
Hauman, George and Hauman, Doris (illustrators)
Grosset & Dunlap (miniature edition), 1990
Description: Watty Piper brought us this inspiring story of a little train engine many years ago and it is still inspiring and encouraging millions of people, children and adults alike. When the little train gets stuck at the bottom of a hill, the little engine keeps his focus, and keeps telling himself “I think I can, I think I can” until eventually he makes it to the top of the hill. The message this leaves the reader with is one of how important it is to be determined, persevere, and never stop trying. One of the most inspirational children’s books ever, this one is a classic.
Recommended Audience: Preschool-2nd grade
Illustrations: The illustrations were created using watercolors.
Activities: This is a great story to use when teaching children about perserverance. Have the students create their own trains and write down, "I think I can..." followed by their goals.
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Engine-That-Could-mini/dp/0448400715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354243027&sr=1-1&keywords=the+little+engine+that+could
Dr. Seuss (author & illustrator)
The Lorax
Random House Books for Young Readers, 1971
Description: The now remorseful Once-ler--our faceless, bodiless narrator--tells the story himself. Long ago this enterprising villain chances upon a place filled with wondrous Truffula Trees, Swomee-Swans, Brown Bar-ba- loots, and Humming-Fishes. Bewitched by the beauty of the Truffula Tree tufts, he greedily chops them down to produce and mass-market Thneeds. ("It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat.") As the trees swiftly disappear and the denizens leave for greener pastures, the fuzzy yellow Lorax (who speaks for the trees "for the trees have no tongues") repeatedly warns the Once-ler, but his words of wisdom are for naught. Finally the Lorax extricates himself from the scorched earth (by the seat of his own furry pants), leaving only a rock engraved "UNLESS." Thus, with his own colorful version of a compelling morality play, Dr. Seuss teaches readers not to fool with Mother Nature. But as you might expect from Seuss, all hope is not lost--the Once-ler has saved a single Truffula Tree seed! Our fate now rests in the hands of a caring child, who becomes our last chance for a clean, green future.
Recommended Audience: Preschool-3rd grade
Illustrations: The illustrations were done using pencil and pen and ink.
Activities: Have students discuss how the environment was being destroyed in the book and what that looks like in real life. Discuss some ways that we could do our part to preserve the environment. The following link provides additional resources and ideas for using The Lorax in the classroom: http://www.seussville.com/Educators/lorax_classroom/educatorlorax_discuss.php
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/The-Lorax-Classic-Seuss-Dr/dp/0394823370/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354242285&sr=8-1&keywords=the+lorax+book
The Lorax
Random House Books for Young Readers, 1971
Description: The now remorseful Once-ler--our faceless, bodiless narrator--tells the story himself. Long ago this enterprising villain chances upon a place filled with wondrous Truffula Trees, Swomee-Swans, Brown Bar-ba- loots, and Humming-Fishes. Bewitched by the beauty of the Truffula Tree tufts, he greedily chops them down to produce and mass-market Thneeds. ("It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat.") As the trees swiftly disappear and the denizens leave for greener pastures, the fuzzy yellow Lorax (who speaks for the trees "for the trees have no tongues") repeatedly warns the Once-ler, but his words of wisdom are for naught. Finally the Lorax extricates himself from the scorched earth (by the seat of his own furry pants), leaving only a rock engraved "UNLESS." Thus, with his own colorful version of a compelling morality play, Dr. Seuss teaches readers not to fool with Mother Nature. But as you might expect from Seuss, all hope is not lost--the Once-ler has saved a single Truffula Tree seed! Our fate now rests in the hands of a caring child, who becomes our last chance for a clean, green future.
Recommended Audience: Preschool-3rd grade
Illustrations: The illustrations were done using pencil and pen and ink.
Activities: Have students discuss how the environment was being destroyed in the book and what that looks like in real life. Discuss some ways that we could do our part to preserve the environment. The following link provides additional resources and ideas for using The Lorax in the classroom: http://www.seussville.com/Educators/lorax_classroom/educatorlorax_discuss.php
Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/The-Lorax-Classic-Seuss-Dr/dp/0394823370/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354242285&sr=8-1&keywords=the+lorax+book