"The Day the Crayons Came Home" is a funny story about Duncan's crayons and how he has mistreated them. The crayons have written letters to Duncan asking him to come find them and put them back where they belong. I would use this in any grade at the beginning of the school year to talk about taking care of the classroom community supplies and making sure that if the students use classroom supplies they put them back in the proper place.
"The Day the Crayons Quit" is a funny story about a little boy named Duncan's crayons. Duncan's crayons wrote him letters explaining why they no longer wanted to be in his crayon box. I would use this in kindergarten to talk about using different colors in their art. And to talk about using their colors realistically.
"Mind Your Manners B.B. Wolf" is a funny story that follows B.B. Wolf as he prepares for a tea party at the Library. I would use this in kindergarten through second grade to talk about using their manners while eating and interacting with their classmates and teachers. I would use this in third trough fifth grade to talk about how different authors use perspective to create our opinion of that character.
"The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" is the traditional story of "The Three Little Pigs" told from the perspective of the big bad wolf. I would use this in third through fifth grade as a part of a book study on "The Three Little Pigs". I would also use it to introduce perspective and how a story can change when it is told from a different point of view.
"Bridge to Terabithia" is a good coming of age story that introduces students to different types of families and lifestyles. It also discusses the death of someone close to you which many students if they have not already faced will face as they get older. I would use this in fourth or fifth grade to talk about how everyone has a different background and home life and that it is important to accept how others live.
"Coraline" is a fantasy book about a girl named Coraline who does not like her new flat and does not like her parents because they work all the time. She discovers a door that leads her to a parallel world that is everything Coraline wants. However the other mother wants to change Coraline and keep her with her forever. That is when Coraline realizes that she likes her life as it is and does not want to change. I would use this in fifth or sixth grade to discus with my students the importance of appreciating what they have and who they are and not to change for anyone.
"Harriet the Spy" is about a girl named Harriet who writes down her observations about everyone she comes in contact with in her spy notebook. When her friends find her notebook they are angry because she had written mean things about them. I would use this in a fourth or fifth grade classroom to discuss bullying and the effects it can have on others. I would also discuss with my students that if you would not say it to the person you should not write it down anywhere due to the rise in cyber bullying.
"Pete The Cat Rocking in My School Shoes" follows Pete around as he rocks in his school shoes through his first day of school. It introduces all the different places students will visit throughout their school day in a fun and interactive way. I would use this in kindergarten and first grade on the first day of school to help the students feel more comfortable with the layout of the school. After reading the story I will take my students around to all of the places Pete visited on his first day.
"Pete The Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons" is a cute story about how Pete keeps loosing his buttons. I would use this for Kindergarten and first grade to introduce subtraction and writing number sentences. This book puts math in a real life setting and shows how to set up subtraction problems as Pete looses his buttons.
"The Three Little Wolves and The Big Bad Pig" is a parody of "The Three Little Pigs" told from the perspective of three little wolves trying to keep from being eaten by the big bad pig. I would use this in a third through fifth grade class as a part of a book study. I would have the students read "The Three Little Pigs" along with other variations of the story and compare and contrast the original with the other variations that they read over the course of the book study
"Amazing Grace" is about a young girl named Grace who wants to play Peter in her classes production of Peter Pan. She is faced with the prejudice of her classmates because she is a girl and she is black. However Grace overcomes these prejudices and stars in the production as Peter Pan. I would use this for any grade to introduce doing a readers theater in my classroom or to talk about diversity and how it does not mater who you are or what you look like that if you truly want something nothing should stand in your way of achieving your goal.
