The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Title: The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Author:  Beverly Clearly

Illustrator: Tracy Dockray

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre:  Adventure Book

Theme:  Animals

Primary Characters: Ralph, the mouse

Secondary Characters: Kevin, and his mother, Ralph

Awards: None

Date of Publication: 1990

Publishing Company:  HarperCollins

Summary of the book: The Mouse and the Motorcycle is a book about a mouse named Ralph who lives in a hotel in California with his family. Ralph is a very adventurous little mouse who to go out and see the world. He is afraid to leave his home because the housekeepers want to keep the hotel free of mice. Then a family arrives and there is a boy name Keith with them. He becomes friends with the mouse and he helps him find away to see the world by giving him a toy motorcycle.

How can the book be used with student in the classroom: This would be a great book to read to elementary students. The book could be used for alternative activities in the classroom.

Arthur and the World Record

Title: Arthur and the World Record

Author:  Marc Brown

Illustrator: Not mentioned

Genre: Children’s picture book

Subgenre:  Juvenile fiction

Theme: World’s Record

Primary Characters: Arthur

Secondary Characters: Arthur’s friends

Awards: None

Date of Publication: 2005

Publishing Company:  Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary of the book: This is a book about Arthur and his friends trying to set a world’s record. Arthur and his friends try and make a large pizza that will be a world’s record. Does Arthur trust his friends and family to help him create this pizza to be the biggest and best, or will this pizza be a gigantic disaster in the history of Elwood city?

How can the book be used with student in the classroom: This would be a good book for the students that are learning to read chapter books. It is easy to read and is a funny and children will love it.  This book could be a used in your classroom library so that the younger readers can read on their own.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?

Title: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?

Author:  Bill Martin Jr.

Illustrator: Eric Carle

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre:  Animals

Theme: Colors

Primary Characters: None

Secondary Characters: None

Awards: None

Date of Publication: 2008

Publishing Company:  Henry Holt and Company

Summary of the book: This is a book about different animals and the different colors. It is a very bright and delightful book for children. Children can interact with the book as the teacher reads the book to them.

How can the book be used with student in the classroom: This is a great book to have in you classroom library. The teacher can read this to the class and have the class tell what comes next. It is great to teach colors to preschoolers.

Beetle Bop

Title: Beetle Bop

Author: Denise Fleming

Illustrator: not mentioned

Genre: Picture Book

Subgenre:  Fiction

Theme: Different types of beetles

Primary Characters: None

Secondary Characters: None

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Date of Publication: 2007

Publishing Company: Harcourt, Inc

Summary of the book: There are all types of beetles, spotted ones, all-over-dotted beetles, and there are also loud gnawing beetles! If you like bugs or not you will love this book and children will really be interested in all the types of beetles. At the end of the book it gives facts about beetles.

How can the book be used with student in the classroom: This would be a good book to use in a Science center in your classroom. You could also have little toy beetles to use during the reading of this story. The book is very informational on types of beetles.

Luke Goes to Bat

Title: Luke Goes to Bat

Author: Rachel Isadora

Illustrator: Rachel Isadora

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre:  Children’s picture book

Theme: Baseball

Primary Characters: Luke

Secondary Characters: Luke’s grandmother, Luke’s brother Nicky, Mr. Robinson

Awards: None

Date of Publication: 2005

Publishing Company: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Summary of the book: This book is about a young boy named Luke, who wants to play baseball and feels he is not very good. His grandmother and a famous sports star named Jackie Robinson encourage Luke to keep trying.

How can the book are used with student in the classroom: This book could be a part of a classroom library. It could be encouragement for children to play sports.

Thank You, World

Title: Thank You, World

Author: Alice B. McGinty

Illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin

Genre: Picture book

Subgenre:  Fictional

Theme: Important things in life

Primary Characters: Little girl

Secondary Characters: None

Awards:  None

Date of Publication: 2007

Publishing Company: The Penguin Group

Summary of the book: This book is about a child who is thankful for things in the world.  She is thankful for the sun that colors the sky, clouds that paint cotton pictures and stars that shine like mommy’s eyes.

How can the book are used with student in the classroom: This book could be read to children, and used to discuss the importance of being thankful everyday.

Groundhog Gets a Say

Title: Groundhog Gets a Say

Author:  Pamela Curtis Swallow

Illustrator: Denise Brunkus

Genre: Fiction

Subgenre:  Holiday Book

Theme: Groundhog Day

Primary Characters: Groundhog

Secondary Characters: Groundhog’s friends

Awards: None

Date of Publication: 2005

Publishing Company:  Putman Juvenile

Summary of the book: This book is about a groundhog who is fed up, and wants to tell his friends about how important he really is. Groundhog was feeling sad, because after his big day of seeing his shadow, he did not feel important the next day.

How can the book be used with student in the classroom: This book could be used to teach a lesson on Groundhog Day. This book gives lots of facts about groundhogs and is a great book for a classroom Library.