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You have accessed the blog site for Choosing and Using Books for Children. Throughout the term we'll use our blog to record the books we read and the ideas we have for using them when we're teachers. By the end of March, our class will have read at least 280 books. Happy reading!

Two important protocol actions for EVERY post:
1. Underline or italicize all book titles (choose one formatting style and stick with it--underline OR italicize for all book titles)
2. Add your name in the "label" box before you post each documentation.

One important recommendation:
Create your documentations in a separate Word document, then cut and paste in a blog post.

Basic Documentation

Book Title:

Author(s):

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist:

Publisher:

Copyright Date:

Genre:

Brief Annotation:

Your Rating (1-5) and why:

Readers who will like this book:

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp (you'll link a strategy to at least 10 of your 40 books) :

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud:

Optional, but noted as extra effort:

1. Interest Level (age):

2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade):
Use book wizard to help with the previous 2 areas


3. List awards

4. Does this book have a book trailer? If so, cut and paste the web address here.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Polar Express

Book Title: The Polar Express


Author & Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg


Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company


Copyright Date: 1985


Genre: Picturebook – Fantasy


Brief Annotation: His friends tell him there is no Santa, but he still believes. In this imaginative story about Santa, Christmas, and believers, a young boy awakens in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve to find a train outside his window. He soon discovers that this is no ordinary train – this is the Polar Express. All aboard to the North Pole! There is everything you might expect to find at the North Pole, including Santa, elves, reindeer, and lots of toys. Where other Christmas stories might linger at the North Pole, this story is about the journey.


Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5 – This is another book that I knew of, but it somehow never found itself in my hands. I’ve also never seen the movie (although I want to now). Van Allsburg’s language is descriptive in a way that is different from many of the picturebooks I’ve been reading – he takes it to another level. For example… “We drank hot cocoa as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars” or “We traveled through cold, dark forests, where lean wolves roamed and white-tailed rabbits hid from our train as it thundered through the quiet wilderness.” The words could stand on their own, as could the illustrations. Each page could be a single painting on a wall, telling its own story. So just imagine the result of marrying these words and artwork.


Readers who will like this book: I think a wide age range of children (and adults) who have an interest in Christmas-related stories will enjoy this book. This is a book best suited for a child to read individually or an adult to snuggle in and read to one or two children at a time. This is a book to be held – the images are dark and their detail and depth would be lost if not experienced up close.


Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Do you believe in Santa? What if you believe and someone else doesn’t believe?


Interest Level (age): 4-8

Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 4.9

List awards: Caldecott Medal
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