Rosa

Author: Nikki Giovanni

Illustrator: Bryan Collier

Title: Rosa

Genre: juvenile literature

Sub genre: civil rights, segregation,

Theme: biography

Primary and secondary characters: Rosa Parks, Raymond Parks,

Date: 2005

Award: Coretta Scott King winner

Publisher Company: Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book can be used in order to learn about the life of Rosa Parks and the civil rights act. The students can learn that through determination and strength, everyone is equal.

Summary: Rosa Parks lived in Alabama and rode the bus and decided to not get up for a white person. During that time period, she was sent to jail. People in the community decided to take a stand against the segregation and they wanted to make a point by walking in Montgomery Alabama in order to fight for the nonviolent movement. On November 13^th, 1956, the Supreme Court rules that segregation is illegal and that everyone has equal rights.

A Place to Grow

Author: Soyung Pak

Illustrator: Marcelino Truong

Title: A Place to Grow

Genre: Children’s picture book

Sub genre: immigration

Theme: fiction

Primary and secondary characters: Father, Daughter

Date: 2002

Award:

Publisher Company: Scholastic Press Inc.

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book can be used in order to show immigration. Students will be able to read this and relate if any of their parents have immigrated to the United States or also if they have immigrated from another country.

Summary: A daughter is helping her father garden their yard and he explains that a family is like a seed. The seed needs a good and safe place to grow and live. He also explains that the seed is able to travel anywhere they desire whether it be a hop away or long and hard journey.

Panda and Polar Bear

Author: Matthew J Baek

Illustrator: Matthew J Baek

Title: Panda and Polar Bear

Genre: Children’s picture book

Sub genre: bears, friendship

Theme: fiction

Primary and secondary characters: Panda bear, Polar bear

Date: 2009

Award:

Publisher Company: The Penguin Group

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book can be used in order to show diversity of friendships. Everyone can be different and similar in the same way.

Summary: Panda and Polar bear lived different lives that were separated by a very big cliff. Panda lived in a grassy area while Polar bear lived in the snow. One day Polar bear became very curious as to what was down the cliff and fell off of it. Luckily he landed in the mud at the bottom. Panda bear comes up to Polar bear and they began to play and after talking about where Polar bear was from and playing in the snow, he became homesick. With the help of the two bears, they build a very long ladder and Polar bear is able to make it home. The bears are able to still play together.

A Wheel Life Lesson

Author: Noel Gyro Potter

Illustrator: Joseph Cannon

Title: A Wheel Life Lesson

Genre: Children’s picture book

Sub genre: wheelchairs, friendship

Theme: fiction

Primary and secondary characters: Marshall, Tate, Mom, Dad, Art

Date: 2009

Award:

Publisher Company: Magic Wagon

Brief summary on how to use for students:  This book is made specifically to show awareness on “daring to be different”. This book lets students know that they should not be dared into anything by anyone including friends because any situation can turn into something dangerous.

Summary: Marshall and his family are at the park and he decides to practice his martial arts. While practicing, he notices that at the top of the hill there is a girl that is sitting in a wheelchair by herself. He asks for her name and she says it is Tate. Tate was in a wheelchair because when she was nine, her friends dared her to dive off a dock and she did not see the no diving sign and she became paralyzed. He decides to introduce her to his family and includes her in a basketball game with his brother and friends. He helps her become more confident about herself and they become friends.

The Monster Who Did My Math

Author: Danny Schnitzlein

Illustrator: Bill Mayer

Title: The Monster Who Did My Math

Genre: Children’s picture book

Sub genre: math, monsters

Theme: fiction

Primary and secondary characters: boy, monster

Date: 2007

Award:

Publisher Company: Peachtree Publishers

Brief summary on how to use for students:  The students will be able to use this book to see that they cannot get ahead if they do not try and do their own work. There is no way that you can get by if someone else does all of your work,

Summary: There is a young boy who does not want to do any of his math homework and he cries out “if only all of this homework were done!”. Suddenly a monster appears and the boy signs a contract with the monster to do his homework. With an A+ paper, the teacher asks him to do a problem at school and he cannot solve it. Going home he angrily calls to the monster and tells him to leave but the monster needs to get paid first. While having to find the rest of the money to pay the monster, he learns how to do math and realizes that math is not that bad. With the boy actually doing his homework, the monster gets smaller and smaller until he disappears.