Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is a children's picture book published by Mo Williams in 2003.  This classic picture book appeals to younger readers and I was able to find this story in a online book portrayed through the means of a video for students to watch.  Through accessing this text in a different manner rather than simply reading the words, readers are able to associate the different voices with various characters and in turn take in a deeper meaning from the text. Specifically within this text, readers are able to both read and hear the dialogue
and though bubbles present between the two characters which helps aid in site word recognition as the students are encouraged to read and follow along with the story while it is being read out loud through the video. This version of an e book would be extremely beneficial to use in a lower grade classroom as it truly serves as a strong resource for students throughout the reading process.

Goodnight iPad

Goodnight iPad is a parody of the classic children's book story entitled Goodnight Moon. Goodnight iPad was written by Ann Droyd and published in 2011.  I read this story online as an e book which was very ironic due to the fact that the book uses the exact structure of Goodnight Moon but changes the words in the text to revolve around technology.  Reading this book as an e book allowed me to understand the text from a different perspective while also using technology which is what the story i centered around.  Within a classroom, this book would be a great resource to use in order to introduce parallel structure to students. Through using technology, and the availability of Goodnight iPad on the internet, students could compare both texts in order to compare and contrast the text features and structures with one another.

Princess Rose and the Golden Bird

Princess Rose and the Golden Bird is a children's picture book written by Sergey Nikolav in 2010.  This particular children's book is composed in the form of an e book for readers as students can read this story on their iPad, computer, or even on a SmartBoard as a class activity.  Different from reading a paper text, e book's take some getting use to as the format is different for readers to view, however in the 21st century these versions of books are becoming more and more popular for readers. This story is unique as Sergey Nikolav both wrote and illustrated the book and the illustrations are extremely digital which varies from how most other children's picture books as they are printed.  Being my first e book, this modern fairy tale was rather hard for me to follow as I think I was simply adjusting to being exposed to text in a new manner, however the author bubbled the words so that readers could more easily identify the text on each page.  Particularly within my second grade class, this story would serve as an excellent integration into an ELA lesson as my students have been exploring the differences in fairy tales and fables. Another excellent resource present within this particular e book, is that it shows reader a ratio in regards to what page they are on and how close they are to completing the text. This story can either be read online or downloaded to more easily be read in a PDF file.

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie is a verse novel by Julie Sternberg published in 2011.  Having never read a verse novel before, this novel was interesting to read as it took a few chapters for me to truly get into the swing of how to read a verse novel.  Once I got through the first few chapters, I was able to read the story extremely quick as it is a quick read for students about an engaging topic.  The story centers around Eleanor, a little girl who has a new babysitter that she does not love as much as her past babysitter. For this reason, this story would most appeal to girls and when using this book in my classroom I think it would be a great choice to give students to complete a book study about verse novels in order to allow students to have the availability to read a new kind of text centered around a topic that is easy for them to understand.  An interesting characteristic about this novel is that it contains illustrations in every chapter that aids readers in comprehension.  Many of the pictures are simply cartoons that touch on an aspect of the chapter. For example, one chapter is a letter from Mr. Campanelli, Eleanor's teacher, and the image associated with the chapter is a sketch of a postcard.  This story is one that engages readers from the start while offering them a new take on a novel through being written in a verse format
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We Are in a Book!

We Are in a Book!, is a children's picture book written by Mo Williams.  As an elephant and piggie book, this story is part of Mo Williams larger collections of books targeted towards younger children that introduces them to the topic of dialogue between characters.  The words in this story are very basic an each character's dialogue usually only consists of a few words.  For this reason, elephant and piggie books are great texts to use in Kindergarten classrooms to help students recognize site words and begin early reading skills.  The images within the text are very simple as every page contains a picture of elephant and piggie themselves exchanging dialogue with on another.  The main focus of each picture is in regards to the characters facial expressions and such emotions allow early readers to use context clues from the pictures in order to determine words they may be unsure about. One drawback to this text is that it is rather lengthy as it is 57 pages, however the text reads very smoothly and is an easy read for students.  The length allows students to pick up on repetition throughout the story and in turn recognize words more smoothly by the end.  If you are a teacher working with students who are learning to read, I strongly recommend that you use Mo William's texts to help them extend their knowledge.

Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin

Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin was written by Chieri Uegaki and Qin Leng in 2014.  This modern story tells the tale of a little girl who strives to play the violin in a talent show but faces much opposition from her brother.  A unique aspect about this story is that it is centered around Javanese history and introduces readers to basic Japanese as Hana refers to grandfather throughout the text as her ojiichan.  Infusing Japanese culture throughout the text, the author uses dialogue to help the readers truly connect with Hana's emotions as she strives to overcome the fear and lack of self confidence she has for performing in public. This text is geared towards upper elementary school students as the author uses rather lengthy paragraphs on each page and it would serve as a great read aloud.  Another aspect in which to incorporate this text into the curriculum would be through teaching an integrated lesson combining the arts, ELA, and social studies as the story is based around the Japanese culture while incorporating a young girls love through music.

All the World

Comprised as a simple poetry book for students, All the World is a Caldecott Honor Book written by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee in 2009.  Interestingly enough, when reading through this story I realized that the author does not use periods to end sentences.  The text is one continuous phrase that designates the end of sentences by using rhyming words to complete each phrase.  The poem discusses items that make the world complete and each rhyming phrase is varies from one another.  For example, the text discusses the world being old and new and relates it through a rhyme to young children and their grandparents.  This story would best be used in a lower grades elementary classroom as it serves as an introduction to poetry through its basic text structure.  Students could even be encouraged to create rhymes of their own depicting things that make the world special to them.  As a Caldecott Honor Book, the pictures within this story supplement the text as one could analyze the pictures in order to better understand the story. Take a look at one of the picture spreadsheets below!