Author:  Natasha Wing
Illustrator:  Tammie Lyon

Published: 2001

ISBN:  0448425297

reading Level:  Ages 4-8

Summary:  This is similar to the night before Christmas that the students will probably be familiar with.  It talks about the night before Thanksgiving and the families getting ready for a big celebration on the next day.  The feast is prepared, they meet the family, thanks are giving, and then the eating begins.

Teaching:  This is a story that I would read with them before Thanksgiving.  I would have them write their version of Thanksgiving that they celebrate with their family.  In the paragraph it will include what they do to help set the table, the family that they see, the things they do, as well as the food they eat!

Author:  Tony Johnston
Illustrator:  Richard F. Deas

Published:  2004

ISBN:  0439459486

Summary:  There are 10 turkeys on a fence and each one leaves in a funny way.  One swings on a vine, struts on a boar, does a dance and many more.  It is a very silly and fun book that children will love to hear and read by themselves.

Teaching:  This is a hilarious book that children will love to read.  I would have them read this during math and integrate subtraction with reading.  Each time a turkey falls off then there is one less than before.  The students will have to figure out how to subtract one from all of these numbers and write their own math problem.

Author:  Anna Dewdney

Published:  2005

ISBN:  0670059838

Reading Level:  baby-preschool

Summary:  After mama Llama has read the goodnight story to the baby, he gets lonely and calls his mama for a drink.  He freaks out and starts whining and crying because he thinks that she isn’t coming.  She finally arrives with the drink and explains to baby that she was on the phone and she is always there for him.

Teaching:  I would have the students write about a time when they felt like their parents or someone they loved was not going to be there for them. How did they feel?  What did they do?  I will have them reflect on those two questions and write a short paragraph about it.

Author:  Peter Brown

Published:  2009

ISBN:  0316015474

Summary:  Liam goes out one day and sees a garden that is struggling.  He decides to take it upon himself to take care of this garden.  It is dark at first but eventually turns into a green and beautiful garden.

Teaching:  This book has some great lessons in it that go deeper than gardening.  The students will learn that they can make a difference in the world by themselves if they believe that they can and they put work into it.  The boy in the book started working on this garden by himself and it was dirty and nobody wanted to look at it.  After he was finished it was beautiful and green, and it was all done by one little boy.  This is a great lesson for children and will give them the confidence to do it themselves.

Author:  Bill Martin Jr.
Illustrator:  Eric Carle

Published:  2008

ISBN:  0805087184

Reading Level:  Ages 4-8

Summary:  This is a great book that rhymes and is an interesting book especially for the younger kids.  It introduces colors and animals to them such as green frog and blue horse.  These different animals see the other animals looking at them and the pictures and paintings are really amazing.

Teaching:  This is for a younger group such as kindergartners or even pre-schoolers.  As a teacher, you can introduce different animals and colors to the students.

Author:  Chris Van Allsburg

published:  1985

ISBN:  0395389496

Reading level:  Ages 4-8

Summary:  A boy was told that Santa is not real so on one night he lays in bed trying to hear his sleigh bells.  He looks outside and sees a steam engine that is headed to the North Pole to see Santa Claus leave for Christmas.  The boy is chosen to receieve the first gift and chooses a silver bell off of Santa’s sleigh.  The bell falls out of his pocket and he is upset.  He wakes up Christmas morning to see the bell under the tree and it makes a beautiful sound that only him and his sister can hear.

Teaching:  This is a good story to tell around Christmastime.  There is also a movie out that the students could watch and compare/contrast the differences in the book and the movie.  I would have them read the book first, so they can see the differences throughout the movie.

Author:  Jerry Pinkney

Published:  2009

ISBN:  0316013560

Reading Level:  Ages 4-8

Summary:  A lion is getting ready to eat a mouse but decides to spare his life and not eat him.  Later, the mouse saves the Lion’s life from poachers.  It is a really interesting book about the most unusual friends someone could think of.  A tiny scared mouse is friends and helps save a ferocious lion.

Teaching:  This is a good opportunity for a teacher to bring up friendship and how important it is.  No matter if you think you are better than them or not cool enough for someone, you still should give everyone a shot because they may end up saving your life or on a smaller note become a really good friend.  This is a good lesson for kids to learn because they always hang out with people who are like them and they need to learn how to embrace and encourage diversity.

Author:  Ezra Jack Keats

Published:  1976

ISBN:  0140501827

Reading Level:  ages 4-8

Summary:  A boy wakes up one day to find out that it has snowed during the night.  The boy does neat things such as knocks snow from the tree,  and creating a snow angel.  It is a great read for children who are experiencing their first snow of the year, or perhaps their lives, and want to find fun things to do in the snow.

Teaching:  This is a great book for a teacher to do during the winter when it is predicted to snow soon.  The teacher can give the students some ideas on what to do and have the students brainstorm ideas on how to enjoy a snow day if it actually snows.

Author:  Jim Arnosky

published:  2009

ISBN:  0439903645

Reading Level:  ages 4-8

Summary:  This book is a song that is fun for children to sing.  It has facts about Turkeys and Thanksgiving that is made into a song.  It has fun facts and interesting things about turkeys such as the turkey in the book’s name is “Tom” and he has parents and brothers and sisters.  The author does a good job relating to children and allowing them to compare themselves with the turkeys.

Teaching:  This will be a nice refreshing break from school work.  It gets the children reading as well as a fun activity.  I would just have the children learn the songs in the book and talk about turkeys and their Thanksgiving traditions that they do with their family.