Arrow to the Sun

Title: Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale

Author/Illustrator: Gerald McDermott

Genre/theme of the book: myth/legend

Summary of the book: This is a Pueblo Indian tale about the Lord of the Sun who sent a spark of life to earth. This spark is known as the Boy, who must journey on the Trail of Life to find his father and prove he is his son. He has various encounters until meeting Arrow Maker. This man creates a special arrow - the Boy, himself. By doing this, the Boy is able to visit the sun, where he must pass through the four chambers of ceremony to prove who he is. The Boy endures these trials, thus, being transformed. The story ends when the Boy returns to earth and he and his people celebrate in the Dance of Life.

Characters: The Lord of the Sun, the Boy, the maiden, and the villagers

Reader's comments: The story has very minimal text. However, the choice of words and phrasing along with the vibrant pictures truely capture the spirit of this story. This book really shows how a picture is worth a thousand words. I think this is a great book that can be appreciated by all ages. Non-readers, and young readers can still understand the storyline by just looking at the pictures. I think this is a great story to have in any classroom.

Grade level appropriateness: preschool to third grade (and up through adults!)

LITTLE QUACK

Title: Little Quack
Author: Ruth Woods
Illustrated: Mel Pekarsky
Genre: traditional literature
Summary: This story was about three little ducks: Blacky, Jacky, and little Quack who lived in a barn yard. One day they decided to go on an excursion to the nearest pond for a swim. Little Quack however was always thought to have been affraid of everything. Upon reaching the pond, Little Quack proved to be the bravest friend, and became the head of the line instead of the back.
Characters: Blacky, Jacky, and Little Quack
Comments: I really enjoyed reading this story with my preschool children. We learned a lot from this story. We were able to count in sequential order and it went along very well with our feelings theme. This is also a great book for beginning readers.
Grade level: preschool-1st grade.

ONE LITTLE, TWO LITTLE, THREE LITTLE PILGRIMS

Title: One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims
Author: B.G. Hennessy
Illustrator: Lynne Cravath
Genre: historical fiction
Summary: This story gives a general picture of Pilgrim and Wampanoag life. It depicts how the Pilgrims met the Wampanoag and all the work they went through to get to their final feast. This is also a counting book.
Comments: Children will really enjoy reading this book. We were able to read the story together, and make a finger-play using what we knew from the story. The children were also able to make up their own version of the story, with a little background knowledge of the Pilgrim's and Wampanoag struggles to survive no food and the long winter.
Grade level: Preschool-1st grade.

THE STORY OF COLUMBUS

Title: The Story of Columbus
Author: Gladys M. Imlach
Genre: Biography
Summary: This story is about Christopher Columbus from his early days in Genoa, Italy. He dreamed of a life at sea, his daring plan, and his acceptance by the King and Queen, Ferdinand and Isabella. He wanted very much to explore and discover the New World.
Comments: This book describes the many difficulties that Columbus faced on his endeavors. This is a great historical book that relates to the holiday or Columbus day.
Grade level: Second-Third grade

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

Title: Jack and the Beanstalk
Author: Steven Kellogg
Genre: Myths/Legend
Summary: There once was a widow and her son Jack. The widow and her son had a cow that they needed to sell in order to get money. So Jack took the cow to town and met a butcher. The butcher asked Jack what he was doing? Jack told him that he was going to market to sell the cow. The butcher was very happy to greet Jack and told him that it was his lucky day. The butcher pulled out 5 beans from his pocket. The butcher said that he would be happy to exchange the beans for Jack's cow. The butcher told Jack that they were special beans, and if he planted them over night, in the morning he would find something very special. So Jack agreed and took the beans and went home and showed his mom. She was not very happy. She threw the beans right out the window. The next day when Jack awoke, he saw a huge plant that reached all the way to the sky. Jack was in for a real treat when he goes to the top of the beanstalk.
Characters: Jack, the widow(mom), the giant, the cow, the butcher, the harp.
Comments: This was a fun book that was read during our "Plant" theme. The children enjoyed thinking about what was going to happen. It's a very magical story with a great moral at the end.
Grade level: Kindergarten-3rd grade.

FOX IN SOX

Title: Fox in Sox
Author: Dr. Seuss
Genre: Poetry
Summary: Fox has one sock, two socks!!! Whose socks? Sue's Socks!! And many more tongue twisting fun.
Comments: This book is really fun to read!!! The sentences in the book start out easy, and then become harder. Children of all ages who understand being read to, love how quickly the story moves, and they even try to interject during the story. This is great for children who are beginning reading and illiteration, and even practice for children who already know how to read but enjoy a great rhyming book.
Characters: Fox; too many more to mention!
Grade level: Preschool-Adult

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY!

Title: Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!
Author: Judith Viorst
Illustrator: Ray Cruz
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Summary: Alexander could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. He went to bed with gum in his mouth and when he woke up, he had gum in his hair. When he got out of bed, he tripped on his skateboard and by mistake, dropped his sweater in the sink while the water was running. Every thing that could go wrong, went wrong! Right down to having lima beans for dinner, and watching someone kissing on T.V.
Characters: Alexander, his family, friends
Comments: I read this story with my Kindergarten students and they loved saying, "It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"! We were able to talk about the kind of day they have when they get out of bed in the morning. It was a great way to talk about our feelings and understand that we all feel like that some days. I recommend this for any age level, even Preschool.
Grade level: Preschool-3rd grade.