I Hate English!

Author: Ellen Levine

Illustrator: Steve Bjorkman

Title: I Hate English!

Genre: Children’s picture book, realistic fiction

Sub genre: Asian culture

Theme: learning English, appreciating culture, immigration

Primary and secondary characters: Mei Mei, Nancy

Date: 1989 Blue Ribbon Book Award winner

Publisher Company: Scholastic Inc.

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book can give a child a better understanding of a student who moves here from another country.

Summary: Mei Mei is a young girl who is an immigrant from Hong Kong that moves to New York’s Chinatown. She is upset about moving to America and only wants to speak and think in Chinese. With the help of her teacher Nancy, Mei Mei learns that she can have the better of two worlds by learning to communicate in both English and Chinese.

Terrific

Author: Jon Agee

Illustrator: Jon Agee

Title: Terrific

Genre: Children’s picture book

Sub genre: adventure

Theme: friendship, adventure, sarcasm

Primary and secondary characters: Eugene, Parrot

Date: 2005

Publisher Company: Scholastic Inc.

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book can be used with older students who are learning about sarcasm. You can also use this book for younger children in learning about adventure.

Summary: Eugene is a grumpy old man who wins an all expense trip to Bermuda. Nothing seems to go right for Eugene as he gets shipwrecked and meets a parrot on the island. Being discouraged about everything, the parrot saves him by explaining how to build a boat. Making it out alive, Parrot bonds with Eugene and everything is terrific now that parrot is with him.

Roly Poly Pangolin

Author: Anna Dewdney

Illustrator:

Title: Roly Poly Pangolin

Genre: Children’s picture book

Sub genre: fiction

Theme: Pangolins, Timidity

Primary and secondary characters: Roly Poly

Date: 2010

Publisher Company: Penguin Group

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book can be used in order to show shy and timid students that it is okay to experience new things.

Summary: Roly Poly is a pangolin who is very shy and afraid of a lot of things in the world, especially new things. He discovers though that some new experiences are not bad at all, especially with friends.

Suki's Kimono

Author: Chieri Uegaki

Illustrator: Stephane Jorisch

Title: Suki’s Kimono

Genre: Children’s picture book

Sub genre: Realistic fiction

Theme: culture, individual expression

Primary and secondary characters: Suki, obachan

Date: 2003

Publisher Company: Kids Can Press Ltd.

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book can be used by showing how students can be proud of their culture.

Summary: Suki is going to her first day of first grade and wants to wear her favorite blue kimono. With kids laughing and snickering, she explains to her class what she did this summer. Her obachan came to visit her and took her to a festival. Suki begins to dance in front of the classroom and afterwards, her teacher and classmates begin to clap. She danced happily all the way home.

A Mud Pie for Mother

Author: Scott Beck

Illustrator:

Title: A Mud Pie for Mother

Genre: Children’s picture book

Sub genre: sharing

Theme: listening, gifts

Primary and secondary characters: Little Pig, Mother Pig, Chicken, Bee

Date: 2003

Publisher Company: Dutton Children’s Books

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book can be used by showing how listening to others will be rewarding. Not stealing from others is also explained in this book.

Summary: Little Pig wanted to find Mother Pig the perfect gift for her birthday. As he goes to grab the items such as a flower or seeds, the bee and chicken say to please not take it because it is theirs. On his way home after getting discouraged of not being able to find anything, every animal decided to reward him for not taking their things. In the end, the gifts were just what Mother Pig wanted.