Dusty Locks and the Three Bears

Title: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears
Author: Susan Lowell
Genre: Traditional/Folk Literature

This spin on the traditional Goldilocks and the Three Bears tale takes a turn as a comical western version. Dusty Locks runs away from home to come across the home of the three bears. She tries out their accomodations and food, which include bowls full of chili beans and beds of big strong pine branches. Dusty Locks is a real spitfire with a lack of personal hygiene, who lets her opinion on the bears belongings be known. When the bears return and see Dusty Locks in the mama bears bed, Dusty Locks wakes up and hightails it out of their cabin so fast that she creates a tornado of dust.
I think that this unique twist on the original tale would be interesting for children to read after reading the original. After reading this book, the students can compare and contrast it to the original through the use of a Venn diagram or other planning tool.

Animal Families

Title: Animal Families
Author: Gene S. Stuart
Genre: Non-Fiction

This book details the structures of many different kinds of animal families from regions across the world, from Canadian geese to wildebeests. Simple narratives are used to describe the basic structures of twenty two different kinds of animals. Primarily this book focuses on family structure, such as which parent takes primary care of the young, or if the animal pack is led by a matriarch or a patriarch. The back of the book gives more specific detail to the kind of life each kind of animal leads, and has a index where you can refer to pages of animal families by specific criteria, such as which animal families are lead by patriarchs. I like this book because it is informational, but does not confuse children with too much extraneous knowledge about each kind of animal. Also, the images are unique in that they are actual pictures of animals in the wild, provided by National Geographic.

Strega Nona

Title: Strega Nona
Author: Tomie de Paola
Genre: Traditional/Folk Literature

Strega Nona is the tale of a magical woman in a town called Calabria. Strega Nona had many talents, and the townspeople often went to her for favors. When a man called Big Anthony comes to take care of Strega Nona's house, he see's and hears her charm her enchanted pasta pot to magically make pasta. However, he does not see how Strega Nona "turns off" the pasta making charm to get the pot to stop making pasta by blowing three kisses. Anthony decides to impress the townspeople by making pasta with Strega Nona's magic pasta pot. When Strega Nona was gone, Anthony charmed the pasta pot and had people come from all around to be amazed by his "talent". When he was done, he thought he knew how to charm it to turn it off, but did not realize that he needed to blow three kisses to turn the pasta pot off, and the pasta starts cooking and spilling out out of control. The pasta soon enveloped the town and the townspeople panicked as to how to stop the uncontrollable pasta. Soon, Strega Nona returned to see what had happened to the town, and immediately figured out what had happened. She blew three kisses to the pot to make it stop, and it did. The townspeople were furious with Anthony, and wanted to string him up, but Strega Nona had a better idea. She told Big Anthony that since he wanted pasta so badly, he could eat up the pasta that filled the town to clean it up, and that's just what he did.
This book was a recipient of the Caldecott Award, and is an enjoyable tale that teaches readers a moral of "don't bite off more than you can chew".

I Wonder...How Do Submarines Dive? Questions and Answers about Technology

Title: I Wonder...How Do Submarines Dive? Questions and Answers about Technology
Author: Andrew Langley
Genre: Non-Fiction

This is a unique non-fiction book that poses and answers twenty four technology and science based questions. Some questions addressed and answered are "Why do houses creak at night?" and "Where does a TV picture come from?" The explanations to these questions are thorough, but yet simple and easy for children to understand. There is also a glossary of terms in the back of the book to clarify any unfamiliar vocabulary that reader's may encounter. This is a great book for children to peruse to find answers to questions concerning important and everyday science that they may not have even considered.

Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon

Title: Moonwalk; The First Trip to the Moon
Author: Judy Donnelly
Genre: Non-fiction

This non-fiction book details the information and events surrounding the first moon landing, from the names of the astronauts to the way that their rocket worked. The history of NASA and space travel is also explained in this book in terms that are easy for children to understand and question.

I believe that a non-fiction book such as this is a great format for children to approach important and factual information. The book is broken down into a short chapter format that makes accessing specific information from the book easier. As the study of the solar system is a third grade standard course of study course objective, this book would connect with planetary and space studies dealt with during that unit.

Who Do You Think You Are, Charlie Brown?

Title: Who Do You Think You Are, Charlie Brown?
Author: Charles M. Schulz
Genre: Realistic Fiction (Graphic Novel)

Who Do You Think You Are, Charlie Brown? details the life and times of Charlie Brown and his friends with illustrations and text. This graphic novel details the comical yet thoughtful interactions between Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Sally, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy, and Woodstock. Though Lucy tends to give Charlie Brown a hard time, his friend Linus always manages to stick up for him while his dog snoopy comforts him in times of need.

I think that a graphic novel is an interesting format for students to be exposed to as it differs from the traditional style of children's picture books. Who Do You Think You Are, Charlie Brown? Looks more like a comic strip, though it reads like a novel. Introducing children to graphic novels would provide a unique opportunity to have students convey or retell stories in a different format by constructing a "comic strip" type of story line. There is a website called makebeliefscomix.com where students can do just that. Below is a link to my very own short comic to tell my own story!

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/?comix_id=48357049C234726

Rumpelstitskin

Title: Rumpelstiltskin
Author: Paul O. Zelinsky
Genre: Traditional Literature

This version of Rumpelstiltskin details the story of a young woman who is told to spin a whole room of straw into gold. If she completes the task, she will be permitted to marry the king, but if she does not, she is sentenced to death. Frantic about how to complete this task, the young woman encounters a small man who says he will complete the task if she gives him her firstborn child. The young woman agrees, and when the straw is spun to gold, she marries the king. When they have their first child, the small man returns to collect his part of the bargain. The woman convinces the man to reconsider, and the man says that if the woman can guess his name by his third visit, he will let her keep her first born. The king and queen make many guesses as to what the mans name could be, but struggle to find his real name. They hatch a plan, and the queen eventually figures out the small mans name upon hearing him squeal with delight in the woods over the fact that they cannot guess his name. When the queen reveals to him that she figured out his name- Rumpelstiltskin- he is dumbfounded, and begrudgingly lets them keep their child.

This classic tale of trickery and cleverness is a story that is excellent for making predictions. The unpredictable nature of the story leaves readers who are unfamiliar with the story guessing as to what will happen next. As a recipient of the Caldecott Medal, this version of Rumpelstiltskin is an enchanting tale that not only will expose children to a famous traditional tale, but will entertain and delight them as well.