Book OD Title Author How it can be used. Summary Information X The Night Gardner Terry Fan What one person can do for a community. Start of an authentic problem-based learning project. Writing prompts One day William discovers that his tree outside his window has been sculpted into a wise owl. In the following days, more topiaries appear. Soon, William's little gray town is full of color and life. Even though the night gardener disappears as suddenly as he appeared William and his town are changed forever. X Jacob's New Dress Sarah Hoffman Transgender Issues What it means to fit the mold society gives us. Examine gender stereotypes Paired with nonfiction articles on the Let Books Be Books movements checklists. Bullying Jacob wants to wear dresses. This affects his parents, his peers, and his teacher. X The New Way Things Work David McCauley Getting students excited about Science. Visualization of concepts and how things work. X Mr. Tiger Goes Wild Peter Brown Universal themes Tries to fit society and loses identity. Peer pressure Transgender issues Sexuality issues Writing prompt Introduction to problem solving and authentic learning unit. What lessons does the scientist learn? This an okay to be different story. Mr. Tiger lives in a world with prim and proper ladies and gentlemen. He then decides to go wild. He goes and live in the wilderness and he starts to miss his friends, so he goes back and finds that things are beginning to changes and now he feels free to be himself.
another person's point of view. ourselves is the topic of this book. X The Bear and the Piano David Litchfield Bear finds piano and learns to play the piano over time. Wants to explore, but is afraid. Beginning of a challenge or challenging unit. Problem-based learning. X Pink and Say Patricia Polacco Introduction to the Civil War Irony and dramatic irony. Also great to pair with Frazier's Cold Mountain Introduction to the Civil War Based on a true story in the author's family, the book is set during the Civil War. Sheldon Curtis, a 15 year old white boy, lies badly wounded in a field in George when Pinkus, a black soldier from the opposite side, finds him and carries him home to his mother. X X The Dot Patridge Extended metaphor and allegory Growth mindset Metacognition X The Butterfly Rose Blanche Patricia Polacco Christopher Gallez Holocaust introduction The Butterfly takes place in France during the Holocaust. Monique encounters a ghostly little girl about her own age looking out the window and sitting at the foot of her bed. The little girl turns out to be a Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis in Monique's basement. X X A is for Africa The Distant Talking Drum Here Comes our Bride How the Leopard Got His Claws Ifeoma Onyefulu Onyefulu Quick way to build a background knowledge before reading a more complex text. Use these for introduction Things Fall Apart. How the Leopard Got His Claws is an African fable.
X Last Bus to Market Street Matt De le Pena Cultures X X Freedom in Congo Square Carole Weatherford Cultures Slavery Slave count down the days until Sunday which is a day for slaves in New Orleans to gather together and remember their African heritage. X X Seen Art Radiant Child John Scieszka Javaka Steptoe Teach students about various art styles. Dreams of being artist. The main character is looking for his friend, Art. When he asks someone they refer him to the museum down the street. As he goes around the museum looking for art, he is referred to different areas of the museum focusing on different art. X The Man Who Walked Between the Towers Mordicai Gerstein Teaching students about Color point of view Framing Line Perspective Typography Conventions Characterization Visual literacy Multimodal literacy In 1974, French aerialist Philippe Petit, threw a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade Center and spent an hour walking, dancing and performing high-wire tricks a quarter mile in the sky. X In Our Mother's House Patricia Polacco Read with nonfiction articles on censorship before writing an argumentative essay on censorship. Urban life Volunteerism-soup kitchen Discussions on attitudes, values, beauty, gratitude and materialism.
a victim of the Math Curse. X Science Verse John Schiezka Excited about science Background Introduce concepts Cross-curricular because all done in verse Science Verse is a companion to the Math Curse. A boy sits in science class listening to his teacher drone on about "the poetry of science," when he is stricken with a curse of science verse. Every thought comes to him in rhyme. X The Mysteries of Harris Burdick Van Allsburg Writing prompts Each picture in this book begs to be elaborated into a story. This book has 14 pictures like pieces of a puzzle or clues to a larger picture. The answers are in the reader's imagination. X The Chronicles of Harris Burdick 14 Different Authors Each author took a page from The History of Harris Burdick and wrote a story. Extension examples of writing prompts Follow up to The Mysteries of Harris Burdick with writing for each picture. X Ada Twist, Scientist and Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty and Iggy Peck, Architect (though I haven’t read it yet) I love these texts that focus on going for your dreams, overcoming obstacles, and finding your passion. Beaty’s writing is rhythmic and imaginative, and Roberts’s illustrations are so detailed and beautiful. Science concepts Background Self expression Prose College and Career Flotsam Tan Writing prompts X Rose Blanche Christopher Gallez Holocaust introduction Compassion Ethics Honesty Hardship A young German school girl, Rose Blanche, follows the soldiers when they arrest a boy and discovers a
wrong with him. Then his father game him a compass and he began to ask question after question. X The Iridescence of Birds Patricia McLachlan Biographical-Matisse Springboard to the work of Henry Matisse Art Growing up in France The main characters, Matisse, had a mother who painted on plates. This helped him understand art and color. He was able to see the colors on birds and this is where the title comes from. X Jars of Hope Jennifer Roy Nonfiction picture book Holocaust Biographical Heroes Symbolism Historical background Irena, a Polish nurse and social worker, helped to save 2,500 children during the Holocaust. She smuggled food and medicine to the Polish Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. She helped get Jewish children out of the ghetto and kept meticulous records so the children could be reunited with their parents at the end of the war. She was arrested and tortured, but never gave up the names and locations of the children. X Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives Gene Barretta Historical background Inventions Introduction to Science concepts Whole series of these. Failure as a necessary part of inventing A book comparing present day to original inventions. X Island: The Story of Galapagos Jason Chin Science-Darwin's Theory of Evolution Historical story of the islands