Tito Puente Mambo King

Title: Tito Puente Mambo King

Author: Monica Brown
# of Pages: 32

Published by: Rayo; Bilingual edition (March 5, 2013)
Age Range: 4-8
Grade level: preschool-3rd

This is a bilingual picture book that is also a biography of Tito Puente a famous musician. Tito Puente loved hitting pots and pans as a child, but what he really wanted was to have his own band one day. He grew up in SPanish Harlem and ended up at the Grammy Awards. This book is the true story of his life. He was a young boy with a passion of music that turned him into the "King of Mambo." This is the story of his legend!

This book is great to use to teach multiculturalism or during a music unit. There is so much you can do with this book! The pictures are beautiful and it is a short easy read. The facts are true and it is an informative read. The character can be relatable because there are many young students who want to become famous musicians.

Classroom Activities and Lesson Ideas:

• Curriculum guide
• Teach about latino culture 

Here's the book trailer: 

Z is for Moose

Title: Z is for Moose 

Author: Kelly Bingham
# of Pages: 32

Published by: Greenwillow Books
Age Range: 4-8 years
Grade Level: preschool-2nd grade

This book is an absolutely amazing picture book and alphabet story. Zebra thinks that the alphabet should be simple, each letter is represented by a word. When his friend Moose joins the story, he cannot wait for "M" to pop up because M is for moose. Zebra was so busy working that when the letter "M" came up on the page, she used the word "mouse" instead of "moose." Therefore Moose is very upset. He comes in on every page to make sure his presence is known. These bright and colorful pictures greatly enhance the text. Paul O. Zielinski is a highly recognized and award winning author. This book is a quick and easy read. It is a great book to use for teaching the alphabet or letter sounds.

Classroom activities or lesson plans:

• Use to teach about the alphabet
• Make a classroom book and have students make a page with a specific letter
• Print off coloring pages for a center activity or free time work
• So many lesson ideas! 
• Of course Pinterest has so many class activities, lesson ideas and crafts!

Here is a video clip of the book! 

Art & Max

Title: Art & Max
Author and Illustrator: David Wiesner
Published by: Clarion Books 1st edition
# of Pages: 40 pages
Awards Won: Caldecott Medal

This is a story about two friends Max and Arthur who are both interested in painting. Arthur is an experienced painter, and Max is a beginning painter. When Max makes his first attempt to paint the two friends go on a journey through a variety of artistic media. Max's energy and excitement bring excitement to the conclusion of this book. Throughout the book there are hidden jokes and details that will be caught by the most careful readers. David Wiesner adds a sense of accurate details to both his writing and his images. 

The illustrations in this book are absolutely amazing! I have posted some of the pictures below so you can see them. David Wiesner uses vibrant colors and a unique style in his illustrations. The characters are very detailed. The media used by the author almost seems digitalized because of the clarity of the images. The pictures add life to this very well written and illustrated story! 

I would recommend this book to any student who likes lizards or art, or would just enjoy a fun and unique story! 

Classroom Activities Could Include: 

• Lessons on colors
• Painting activities
• Lessons on self-epression

Jimmy the Greatest!

Title: Jimmy the Greatest!
Author: Jairo Buitrago
Illustrator: Rafael Yockenteng
Translated By Elisa Amado
Published By: Groundwood Books/ House of Anasi Press
# of Pages: 48
Theme: Persistence, Boxing, Reading

This Colombian author and illustrator together created a very inspiring story. Young Jimmy lives in a small Caribbean village where there is little to do. There is one small gym, and Jimmy decides to start hanging out there. The owner of the gym Don Apolinear gives Jimmy books and newspaper articles about Muhammed Ali, and inspires Jimmy to become an avid reader and wants to train to become a boxer. Jimmy realized that many people in his town inspire to leave that town and move on to bigger and better things, however, Jimmy wants to change this. However, Jimmy realizes that he wants to stay in the town and even open a library. This book stresses taking pride in your culture and home town. It also stress the lack of materialism. There is a spanish version of this book that was written in 2010 titled Jimmy el más grande and it was nominated for the Best Books of the Year by Venezuela's Banco del Libro.

The pictures throughout this book use a distinct style an help readers visualize the culture and environment of Jimmy's home village. The illustrator used texture and lines to create images specific to this book. The pictures add great detail to the story and enhance the reader's experience while reading theThe bright colors increase the visual appeal and assist readers in picturing this very specific culture and village.

Some Classroom Activities Include:

• Researching the Colombian and Caribbean cultures 
• Learning basic spanish language
• Allowing students to create a plan to open and design their own library

The Giving Tree

Title: The Giving Tree 

Author and Illustrator: Shel Silverstein

Published By: HarperCollins, USA 1964 

# of Pages: 64

This book was both written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. This book is a story about a boy who would visit this tree every day and play on it or take something from it. As the boy grows older into adolescence, the boy wants money, which is more than the tree can give to him. The tree offers the boy her apples in which he can sell. Then, as the boy becomes an adult, he wants a house. The tree offers the boy her wood so he could build a house. Even later in life, the boy wants a boat, and so the tree suggests that he takes her trunk and turns it into a boat. In the end, all that remains is the tree's stump and the boy is now an elderly man. In his old age, the man wants a quiet place to sit, and so he goes to visit the stump and just sits. The tree is now able to supply him with a quiet and happy place to sit and relax. And finally both the man and the tree are happy again with each other.

The art throughout the book adds in Shel Silverstein's unique style. The pictures are in black and white. Silverstein uses distinct line and shape to create the pictures throughout the story. The pictures show the boy progressing in age and the gradual changes of the tree. The visuals add dusting meaning to the story because it allows readers to visualize the aging and sacrifice taking place.

I would recommend this book to any readers. It has a simple storyline, however, as you grow older, the meaning increases.

Possible Classroom Activities:

• make applesauce
• study trees
• discuss family 
• have students draw their own images 

The Hello Goodbye Window

Title: The Hello, Goodbye Window
Author: Norton Juster
Illustrator: Chris Raschka
Published By: Michael Di Capua Books 2005
# of Pages: 29
Winner of the 2006 Caldecott Medal

Juster, N., & Raschka, C. (2005) The Hello, Goodbye Window. New York: Michael di Capua Books

Theme: Grandparents and Grandchildren

Synopsis: For this little girl, the window in Nanna and Poppy's kitchen is a view into another magic world. This window is where everything special happens. She can peek in from the outside when she arrives at her grandparent's house, and she can even play peekaboo through the window. The window open's the girl's mind to allow her imagination to run free. Nanna and Poppy spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so the window is conveniently located. When the girl stays over at her Nanna and Poppy's house, her favorite thing to do is look out the window. At night, before bed, the last thing she does with her grandparents is look out the window. In the morning, the first thing she does with her grandparents is to look out the window. Through the window she can see all of her visions and dreams come to life. The window provides a special bonding experience between the young girl and her grandparents, they call it the hello, goodbye window. When the girl grows up, she hopes to have a special hello, goodbye window of her own. To see how this story ends, you have to read it! 

This story progresses through a young girl's relationship with her grandparents. Author Norton Juster tells the story through the voice of the young girl. There is a simple plot to the story. It uses well written language that helps readers place their self in the story. There is not much dialogue in this book, however, there rare interactions between the young girl and her grandparents that bring life into the storyline. 

What truly makes this an incredible picture book are the amazing illustrations. Chris Raschka uses a unique line pattern, hand drawn style, and materials such as crayons and water colors to give the images a unique style that is appealing to the eye. This book's illustrations won the 2006 Caldecott Medal for its amazing images. The art adds character to the story and elaborates the text. Although the pictures aren't exactly crisp, their incredible amount of detail adds a special feel to this book. The pictures draw readers into the story and make this book a must read for children of any age. 

I would recommend this book as a read aloud or silent reading book for students in grades kindergarten through second grade. However, I feel that this book could be used in grades 3-5 as a fun short read aloud and incorporating other lessons. 

Classroom Activities Could Include: 

• Creating a window and using crayons and water color have students use their imagination to create an image that they would see throughout he window
• Do a writing project, about the student's relationship with their grandparents
• Have students tell their favorite memory with their grandparents
• Have students write about their favorite place in their house or their grandparent's house
• Have students create a window and a self portrait of their self peeking through the window
• Teach a mini lesson on grandparents and/or aging 
• Have students draw and write about what they envision their self being like when they are a grandparent

Here's a video talking about this book's artwork! 

The Reces Queen

Title: The Recess Queen

Author: Alexis O'Neill 

Illustrated by:  Laura Huliska-Beith

Published By: Scholastic Press, New York 2002

# of Pages: 29

Theme: Bullying

Synopsis: This book tells a story about bullying that is applicable to many students. Queen Jean is the recess queen. She's very bossy always has to do everything first on the playground. All of the children on the playground and in her class are scared of her. Then one day a new student joins the class, Katie Sue. Katie Sue was too new to know that Queen Jean was a bully, so she went out to recess and played at her own pace. Queen Jean did not like this, and she bossed Katie Sue around and bullied her. That week Katie Sue brought a new jump rope to recess, and she asked Jean to play. No one had ever asked Jean to play before. You'll have to read the book to see how it ends!

This book would mostly appeal to girl readers, however, boys would enjoy reading it as well. Author  Alexis O'Neill uses goofy, fun, and creative language to pull readers into the text, and incorporates the unique voices of main characters Queen Jean and Katie Sue to spotlight their personalities. The text is written in a quirky font and the keys words are bold and larger in size, creating a unique style to O'Neill's writing.She incorporates rhyming and rhythm into the story making it a fun story for a read aloud or to read during silent reading time.

The images throughout the book assist readers in picturing mean Jean, Katie Sue, the classroom and recess; they visually enhance the written story! The Recess Queen is filled with bright and colorful pictures that are very appealing to the eye. Illustrator Laura Huliska-Beith has a unique style that adds an animated feel to the images throughout the book. The images show a class filled with students of all cultures creating non-culture biased pictures.

Classroom Activities Could Include: 

• Doing a graphic organizer with character traits of Mean Jean and Katie Sue
• Discuss problem and solution
• Mini lesson on bullying, then do a writing assignment on why students are not/should not bully
• Write about favorite recess activity
• Lesson on feelings 

Check out the book trailer below!