of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters - Barack Obama

 
of Thee I Sing is a beautifully written book by Barack Obama.  This book pays tribute to thirteen famous Americans who had a profound impact on our nation. Some of the people he writes about include Neil Armstrong, Helen Keller, and Jackie Robinson. He also includes many famous Americans who are not very well known. He writes about Maya Lin, an architect who is best known for her design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Jane Adams, a woman who dedicated her life to helping children and promoting peace.

The message behind the book is what I hope strikes a chord with all children. The message of the book is about the potential that everyone has. We can forge our own path and pursue our dreams. He let's all readers know that it takes all kinds of people to shape our world.

The video below was done by the illustrator of the book, Loren Long. He talks about the book and the journey he went on while illustrating for our President.

If you enjoy Loren Long's illustrations in this book, then check out his illustrations in The Little Engine that Could and Mr. Peabody's Apples.

Raining Cats & Dogs

Raining Cats and Dogs is a fun book all about idioms. Will Moses writes a fun book with a collection of over 40 idioms. Some of the idioms are commonly used like "In a pickle" or "Hook, line and sinker." Others are ones that were fun to read because I had never heard of them or how they were used in a sentence ever. Some of those idioms included "Red herring" or "Wolf at the door."

One of the best parts about this book was that the author not only gives the idiom, but he also writes in a sentence what the idiom means. Lastly, he puts the word into a paragraph with a detailed picture to explain the meaning even further. Some of my favorites included:

Make a beeline
Means: Head straight for something - as quick as you can
"Buzz was tired of the city and intended to make a beeline for the country."

Bookworm
Means: A person who loves reading so much, he or she always has a book in their hands.
"Hector Vector was a real bookworm; he always had his nose in a book."

These are just a few examples of the fun idioms that he writes. I am going to use this book when I teach writing. I am going to have my students try and use some of these idioms in personal narratives, poetry, or any type of writing we do.

If you liked this book by Will Moses try reading his version of Mother Goose.

The Lion and the Mouse

The only thing I can say about The Lion and the Mouse is WOW!!! There is no doubt in my mind why this book won The Caldecott Medal in 2010. Jerry Pinkney is the author of this incredible wordless picture book. He took the very famous Aesop's fable and designed incredible illustrations to tell the entire story. The illustrations are unbelievably gorgeous. It is so hard for me to believe that someone was able to create such a masterpiece. 

The message in this book is simple. It is about the importance of family and helping others. I think this would be a wonderful book to read at any elementary school grade. I believe a kindergartner would get the message of helping others just as well as a 6th grader would. 

If you like this amazing book by Jerry Pinkney, then also read Little Red Riding Hood. His take on the classic is an ALA Notable Book.

If you want to see an insider peek on Pinkney's process during this book, then take a look at the video below.

Dying to Meet You

Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise is one of the most creative and clever books that I have read in a long time. Klise pays so much attention to detail throughout the entire book. She makes sure there is really good character development as well as a thoughtful plot. From the moment you open this book, you will also realize how different it is than any other. Once you open the inside cover, you immediately see the blueprint of the house. The blueprint gives amazing detail. As you turn the next pages the reader is shown portraits of the characters. Some of the names include I.B. Grumply, Anita Sale, Seymour Hope, and Paige Turner. I love how Klise played on words with the characters names. One of my favorites characters name was E. Gadds. Before you even get to the story, the reader also experiences a warning page. The creativity before the story even begins is awesome.

The story just gets better from here. The story is about an old writer who is experiencing writer's block. He moves to a rental home in Ghastly, Illinois. He soon realizes he is not living alone. His roommates consist of an 11 year old boy named Seymour and a 190 year old ghost named Olive C. Spence! Olive won't stop haunting the house until one of her own books gets published.

This book is so funny and I know kids over 3rd grade would love it. The book is written almost entirely of letters going back and forth from one character to the next. Within the book there are also newspaper articles and short clips from Grumply's next book. I do believe that students would really enjoy this format. It's fun and different than a lot of other books out there.

If you like this book by Klise then continue reading the series. The next book is called Over My Dead Body. Check out the YouTube clip below. This clip was actually done by Kate Klise herself along with her sister who illustrates the book. I found out from this clip that the house on the cover of the book is actually real!

The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle

The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle is such a great non-fiction book written by Don L. Wulffson. This book has over 100 stories of inventions and how they came to be. It truly was amazing to read how some of the simplest things came into existence. For example, some of the inventions include chewing gum, the bikini, windshield wipers, Twinkies, and Sundae's. My personal favorite story happens to be after my favorite soda pop - Dr. Pepper. Here is a clue: Dr. Pepper was invented after a broken heart and a person who caused it! Read how Dr. Pepper was invented and so many other great inventions in this fantastic book.

Each story of invention is only one page long. I think this will be a great book to have in a classroom for any grades higher than 3rd grade. It is really interesting and with the very short stories, I think it has great potential to keep students attention. This book, I believe, will really draw in your boy readers. Non-fiction tends to do this more, but with the idea of inventions and short stories, they are bound to love it!

If you like this book by Wulffson then also try his other book about inventions called Toys!: Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society is the first book in a series of three by Trenton Lee Stewart. I wish I could have counted how many times I actually laughed out loud during this book. Stewart does an amazing job developing the characters and each of their own unique personalities. Throughout the book, you are constantly waiting to see what your favorite character will do next. Half way through the book, there is no question in my mind that you will have your favorite character already picked out. Mine happens to be Kate Wetherall...aka...The Great Kate Wether Machine!

This is a very unique book where the characters are all gifted and orphans. They come together throughout the book in a very interesting way. It all starts out when certain children answer a very unusual ad in a newspaper, "ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?" From here, there is a secret mission that only these children are able to complete. At times, it is very difficult to put the book down because you are constantly wanting to see what Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance will all do next. If you are looking for a book for the intermediate grades, definitely take a look at this one!

If you like this book by Trenton Lee Stewart, try completing the series with The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma.

It's A Book

It's a Book by Lane Smith is a perfect book for this day in age. The book is based around animal characters and the discussion they are having around a book. The donkey keeps asking what he is holding. Obviously, it is a book. The donkey keeps asking if he can download it, blog with it, plug it in, and so much more.

Check out the video below to get a better idea...




Considering how technologically driven we are in today's world, it is quite funny to see this conversation go on. This would be a great book to show kids just to let them know about the simplicities that a book has. It does not blog, text, nor need to be downloaded. You just pick it up and read! A simple message.

Warning: Be cautious of this book. The book refers to the donkey by its other name...if you catch my drift! It is already proving to be a bit controversial. If you use it in your classroom, be wary of your audience. If anything, just replace the name with donkey and you will be good to go!

If you like this book by Lane Smith, also try John, Paul, George & Ben. This is a great book about historical figures with fun illustrations.