Zara's Blog

The Dog Ate My Homework by Sara Holbrook  Poetry Grade: 3rd - 5th Awards: None Summary:      The Dog Ate My Homework is a collection of poems surrounding the common theme of school. The poems vary from being late to school, to the dog eating the homework, to learning to spell, to bad words, to the last few days of school. Each poem reflects the poet’s mood about that specific event. The first poem entitled, “No Time” expresses the poet’s frustration at having to brush her teeth when she’s already late to school and her breath smells fine. She gives in and ends up brushing her teeth if the person who’s pressuring her agrees to get out of her face. In another poem called “Bad Words”, the author's mood is confused. She discusses Sammy’s use of bad words and how he uses them in a fight, but she finds herself puzzled because she does not know where Sammy learned those hurtful words. The poem labeled “You Promised” is about the poet putting trust in a friend by telling her...

  Monster Goose by Judy Sierra & illustrated by Jack E. Davis Poetry Grade: Pre-K - K, 1st - 2nd Awards: None Summary:      Monster Goose is a collection full of nursery rhymes with a twist. Each nursery rhyme features a monster, ghouls, vampires, or other scary factors. Each of the poems has different rhyming patterns. One of the poems is called Mary Had a Vampire Bat . This poem is about how Mary brought her vampire bat to school, scared the teacher, and got school canceled for a week. Another poem is titled, Jill and Jacques . This poem tells the story of how Jill and Jacques went to the loch to get a pail of water, but Jill took a swim and got eaten by the famous loch ness monster.  Evaluation:      I would use Monster Goose in my classroom because it contains many great aspects of poetry including sound patterns, meaning, and figurative language. Furthermore, in the Mary Had a Vampire Bat poem , the visual illustrations do a great job o...

  Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost & illustrated by Susan Jeffers Poetry  Grade: 1st - 3rd  Awards: None Summary:      Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is an example of narrative poetry because it has a series of events. This poem begins with a man in the woods. This man knows the owner of the woods lives in the village and won’t see him stopped there. The illustrations depict all the animals, the squirrels, owl, rabbits, and deer scattering. The man observes that his horse must find it strange to be stopping in the woods on the darkest night of the year. The man appreciated that the woods are the dark and snowy and only sound of the easy wind, but he knows he must return home because he cannot stay there. The man travels miles and miles and finally makes it home to his wife and family.  Evaluation:      Personally, I would not read this book in my classroom. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening does not tell ...

  Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert  Poetry  Grades: Pre-K - K, 1st - 2nd  Awards: A Horn Book Fanfare List Selection, An IRA-CBC Teacher’s Choice, and A Redbook Children’s Picturebook Award Winner Summary:     Feathers for Lunch is an example of narrative poetry. This poem tells the story of a mischievous cat that escapes his house. He goes on the hunt for a wild lunch. The cat prowls the streets for different birds like the American Robin, Blue Jay, House Wren, and many more. The birds whistle a warning to each other and escape the cat’s clutches by flying away. All the cat catches are feathers for lunch. Evaluation:      I would use Feathers for Lunch in my classroom because this book meets the criteria for a good poem. The illustrations reflect the content of the piece which can be seen through the depictions of the birds flying high in the trees and communicating with one another through whistles and chirping as they narrowly escap...

  Time For Bed by Mem Fox & illustrated by Jane Dyer Poetry  Grade: Pre-K - K, 1st - 2nd  Awards: None Summary: Time For Bed by Mem Fox is an example of Lyric Poetry. This book captures the scene of different parents putting their young ones to sleep at night. This poem begins with a mouse and her baby as she tells the baby mouse that it’s time for bed while darkness falls. Next, the poem goes to other creatures in nature such as the bee who tells its baby that it’s time to sleep and that they love each other. Finally, the poem ends with a mom tucking her child in as the stars are high in the sky, she says goodnight. Time For Bed depicts many different animals throughout the story and ends with a mom putting her baby boy to sleep under the stars.  Evaluation: I would use this poem in my classroom because it would get students interested in poetry and it meets the criteria for good poetry. This book presents the world from a child’s perspective because they can ...

  Hansel and Gretel by James Marshall  Traditional Literature Grade: Kindergarten - 1st Grade  Awards: None Summary: A poor woodcutter lived with his wife and two children, Hansel and Gretel. There was a famine in the land and the wife told the woodcutter to feed her and leave the children in the woods. Hansel gathered small pebbles and tossed them on the ground inconspicuously on the way into the woods so their children would be able to find their way back. The parents left Hansel and Gretel in the woods and told them that they would return. Hansel and Gretel realized their father and his wife would not return so they followed the trail of pebbles back. The woodcutter’s wife was furious and insisted that her husband take the children back to the woods. This time, Hansel and Gretel left a trail of breadcrumbs, but the next day the birds had eaten them all up. The two children made their way out of the woods and stumbled upon a small house made of sugar. The lady inside fe...

  The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone Traditional Literature Grade: Pre-K - Kindergarten  Awards: None Summary: The Three Billy Goats Gruff is a story about three billy goats named Gruff who wanted to get to a nice meadow across the river where they could eat and get fat. In order to reach the meadow, the three billy goats had to cross a bridge with an ugly, mean troll living under it. The first billy goat convinced the troll to not eat him because he was the tiniest. The second billy goat persuaded the troll not to gobble him because his third brother was much bigger. The third billy goat named Gruff crossed the bridge and ran into the troll. When the troll climbed on the bridge to eat him up, the billy goat used his hooves and his horns to knock him into the river. The three billy goat brothers made it to the hillside meadow and got so fat that they couldn't make it home.   Evaluations: This book is at a Kindergarten level so I would most likely not use it ...

  Grandfather’s Dream by Holly Keller Traditional Literature Grade: 1st & 2nd Grade Awards: None Summary: Grandfather’s Dream by Holler Keller takes place in the Mekong delta in Vietnam and tells the story of the wetlands and the Sarus Crane. Nam lives with his grandfather, papa, and mama. Nam’s grandfather speaks about building new dikes for the cranes; however, Nam’s mama feels that the cranes are a waste of time. Nam expresses curiosity about the cranes and questions if they will return. His grandfather tells him that if the cranes do not return, the farmers will use the land to plant rice. At bedtime, Nam’s grandfather recounts that the cranes brought good fortune and should return home to Vietnam. Then he puts Nam to bed with a story about training otters to catch fish alive. The grandfather remains confident that the cranes will come, but mama thinks he is living in the past. Eventually, the dry season comes to an end and the villagers decide that if the cranes do not sho...

  Jack and the Beanstalk / Juan y Los frijoles mágicos by Carol Ottolenghi & illustrated by  Guy Porfirio  Traditional Literature  Grade: Kinder - 2nd Grade Awards: Brighter Child Keepsake Story Collection  Summary: This book is about a poor boy, Jack, and his mom who sends him to town to sell their cow for food. Before Jack reaches the town, he trades his cow for five magic beans. Jack’s mom is very angry and throws the beans out the window. To his surprise, the beans were magic and a giant beanstalk grew. Jack climbs to the top of the beanstalk where a giant woman tells him to hide so her giant husband doesn’t eat him. Jack steals the giant’s gold and returns home. His mother is very pleased so Jack climbs the beanstalk twice more and steals a golden egg laying goose and a golden harp. The giant awakes as Jack tries to escape and chases him down the beanstalk. Jack chops the beanstalk down just in time and the giant falls to his death. Jack and his mother ...

  The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall Traditional Literature  Grade: 1st & 2nd Grade  Awards: None Summary: The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall is a retold tale. This story is about three little pigs who leave their mother to explore the world. Two of the pigs build houses in a hurry with weak materials. The big bad wolf blows both of their houses down and eats both brothers. The third pig builds a house of brick and narrowly outsmarts and escapes the wolf on three separate occasions. The wolf can't blow the little pig’s house down. In the wolf’s final attempt to eat the last little pig, he jumps down the chimney and gets cooked by the pig instead! Evaluation: I would use this book in my classroom because it is a great example of traditional literature. The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall is an exciting, suspenseful story that would capture the attention of my students. In addition, I would use this book because it has a great fusion of illustrations and t...

Wonder by R.J. Palacio  - Realistic Fiction - Bluebonnet Novel - #1 New York Times Bestseller  - Ages 8-12 Summary: Wonder is the story of a young boy named August Pullman. August Pullman has a medical condition called mandibulofacial dysostosis, which means he has multiple surgeries to restructure his face. The novel tells the story of August's first year in public school at Beecher Prep. Auggie Pullman is entering the fifth grade and the principal, Mr. Tushman asks some students, Jack Will, Julian, and Charlotte, to help welcome him into the school. August was hesitant about going to school. He meets Jack Will and the teachers sit them together in each class; they spend the majority of time together. The students of Beecher Prep stare constantly as they struggle to accept August because of the way he looks; however, a young girl named Summer reaches out and sits with August at lunch. As the story progresses, it is evident that August's family loves him very much, but his old...

 I thought the book, The Dot by Peter Reynolds, was very inspirational. It reminded me that the hardest step is the first one. It also showed me the impact that teachers can have without even knowing it by believing in someone. This book was very relatable because I am terrible at art, but it showed me that something beautiful can come from something as simple as a dot. Personally, I enjoyed making my dot. I have not painted for enjoyment for a long time, and I was pleasantly surprised by the result.  My Dot: