Historial NonFiction

Me and Uncle Romie
48 pages
published in 2002 by New York: Dial books for young Readers
Author Claire Hartfield
Illustrator Jerome Lagarrigue

Grade 3-5

This book is about a young boy who is going to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle due to his mom having a baby.  He is nervous about going because he thinks his uncle looks scary and because he will spend his birthday there.  He does not think it will be as great as when he is at home.  When he arrives in New York he is greeted by his aunt.  She makes his whole trip wonderful and he does not feel so scared about being there.  His Uncle Romie is always working in his studio making paintings so they do not see much of him.  His aunt takes him to different places and shows him Harlem and he loves everything about it.  The aunt has to go out of town for a funeral and the boy is left with his Uncle Romie and get sad because he thinks his birthday will be ruined.  He goes into his uncle's studio one day to look at his work.  He sees a picture and ask his uncle about him.  He tells him that it is his version of Carolina (Home) and how he remembers it.  Uncle Romie makes the boy's birthday special and he feels so much better about getting to spend time with him.  When he returns home he paints Uncle Romie a picture and uses things that remind him of his visit to New York. 

This book can be used to help students understand that visiting new places can be fun.  Sometimes visiting family and going to new places can be scary.  This book helps them see that new things are good. 

NonFiction

Disaster Zone Droughts
By Cari Meister
Published by Pogo Books 2015
24 pages

Grades 2-5

A drought is where an area gets little water for too long.  Australia's worst drought was from 1997 to 2009.  Rivers and lakes dry up.  The grounds get hard and cracks.  This can cause fires and flooding.  When it finally does rain because the ground is so hard it can not absorb the water causing flooding.  Droughts are hard to predict.  They can happen all over the world.  We must take care of our water supply and help conserve water in case something like this was to happen in our area. 

 The pictures in this book are very interesting.  It shows us real examples of things that is addresses in the book.  This book would be great to teach in History or Science.  You could ask questions on certain areas and when they had a drought.  At the back of the book it has an experiment that you can do with your class to show how a drought can effect the soil in the ground.   

Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Diary of a Wimpy Kid  
217 average pages
Author and Illustrator Jeff Kinney
Published 2008 by Amulet Books 

Grade 3-7

Diary of a wimpy kid is a series of book based on a middle school boys life and his interactions at school and home.  Greg has an older brother Rodrick and they are constantly fighting.  His mother is always trying to get them to get along.  Greg encounters a series of problems in middle school.  He has to deal with homework, his dad forcing him to join the swim team, and bullies.   The pictures in the books are usually black and white and resemble comics.  

Kids love reading these types of books because they can relate to Greg.  He has to deal with many issues that most kids deal with.  They also love the books for the comic part even if they are not that interested in reading them.  

Science Fiction 
Title: Denstiy
Written and Illustrated by  Kay Manolis
Published by Childrens Press 2008
24 pages
Grade K-3rd

Density is a book about Density and how we measure it.  It tells children that density is measured by the amount of objects in a space.  The book talks about different types of density and how everything is made up of molecules such as people, liquids, and solids.  It talks about how each type of molecule is arranged differently.  It explains air density and that objects can rise in the air if their density is lower than that of air.  This book contains several science words with their definitions located in the back of the book. 

The pictures in this book are very colorful.  With each page its picture goes along with what part of density it is talking about.  This is helpful so that younger students can put a picture with some of the harder things the book refers to. 

This will be great for a Science lesson.  You could ask the students if you place a marble in water will it sink or float and why did you think that.  Then you could read the book and it will give them the explanation of why it sinks.   

Modern Fantasy Book Blog

Title: Green Wilma Frog in Space 

Written and Illustrated by Tedd Arnold.

Published by Dial Books 2009

Genre: Modern Fantasy

32 pages

One day Wilma the frog was trying to catch breakfast when an Alien spaceship landed to get some water.  Their son came out to take a swim.  When his mother called for him and told him it was time to go the spaceship accidentally grabbed Wilma the frog instead.  When in space and the family discovered it was not their son they took him to the doctor thinking the pond water changed his color.  Wilma saw the bug on the ship she was trying to catch earlier and started to chase it.  She was jumping on the controls and the spaceship began to tip over.  They finally knew that this was not their son.  Once they were able to get control of the ship again they headed back to earth to find their son.  Wilma was in disbelief that this had happened and felt like it was a dream.   

The illustrations in this book fit the theme.  This book has more darker colors and the pictures go along great with the story.  If you have a child that is interested in space this book along with its pictures would be great for them. 

This book would be great for 1st through 3rd grade.  You could use it as a Science lesson.  Read the book with your students then you could have them make their own spaceship out of materials you have provided them. 

Book Talk #1