The Reading Corner

Where the Wild Things Are has been called one of the best children's picture books of all time because of the way that the book is formatted, and personally, I would have to agree. With the pictures growing and shrinking with the plot of the story and Max's imagination, a story about a little boy being sent to bed without supper becomes a story where the reader can become fully emersed in the land where the Wild Things are. I would use this book in my classroom as a read aloud piece or as an independent reading option as this book is truly a classic and has made quite a name for itself in the world of children's literature. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 3.4.

Stellaluna is a wonderful story about a young bat who falls from her mother's arms and lands right in a bird's nest among other baby birds. Stellaluna teaches the birds some of her tricks, and they teach Stellaluna some of theirs in return. At the end of the book, there are facts about bats which could be used in making an animal studies book or research paper. I would use this book in my classroom as an opening to a discussion about bats or as an opening to a discussion about celebrating differences. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 4.9.

Disney created a whole series of books entitled Winnie the Pooh: Lessons From the Hundered Acre Wood. This book is one of those books, and focuses on a celebration called Friendship Day. In this story, everyone is contributing something to the celebration, but Eeyore the donkey does not have anything to contribute. Because of this, Eeyore becomes very gloomy and feels like burden on his friends because he cannot bring something to the celebration. He is then reminded that as long as he is there, he is contributing the best and most important part of a Friendshp Day celebration, a friend! I would use this book in my classroom to discuss friendship and how material things do not define someone. This could also be used as a read aloud in the beginning of the year and open into a class-wide Friendship Day celebration where students introduce one another and learn about one another as an introduction to the year as well as to build a safe and accepting environment. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 1.9.

The Sneetches is a Dr. Seuss book that I had not read until I was in college, but even as an adult, this book really spoke to me about the differences between people and how they should be celebrated. In the story The Sneetches, animals called Sneetches bully one another about being better because they either do or do not have stars on their bellies. I would use this story in my classroom as part of an author study on Dr. Seuss, or as an opening to a discussion about bullying, teasing, equality, and celebrated diversity. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 3.5.

Green Eggs and Ham is an immensely popular book by the immensely popular author, Dr. Seuss. This book follows the pattern of other Dr. Seuss books where there are silly characters with silly names which use mesmerizing rhymes and playful tones in order to captivate an audience and teach moral thought. This book in particular features a character named Sam-I-Am who tries to convince another character to try a new food, green eggs and ham. I would use this book in my classroom during an author study on Dr. Seuss, or during a unit on rhymes. This book wold also be great to use to teach children about the necessity of trying new things and being open minded. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2.2.

Jubal's Wish is a story of a young bullfrog who notices that his friends are all having a bad day and are either grumpy or sad. Because of this, Jubal Bullfrog makes a wish that all of his friends can be happy. It isn't until a flood occurs where Jubal's friends band together to help save Jubal that everyone realizes that they can all be happy because they have each other. I would use this as a read aloud or as an independent reading book for a discussion of friendship and helping one another. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2.8.

Green Eggs and Ham is an immensely popular book by the immensely popular author, Dr. Seuss. This book follows the pattern of other Dr. Seuss books where there are silly characters with silly names which use mesmerizing rhymes and playful tones in order to captivate an audience and teach moral thought. This book in particular features a character named Sam-I-Am who tries to convince another character to try a new food, green eggs and ham. I would use this book in my classroom during an author study on Dr. Seuss, or during a unit on rhymes. This book wold also be great to use to teach children about the necessity of trying new things and being open minded. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2.2. 

The Missing Piece is another fantastic work by the author Shel Silverstein. This book is about a circle who was missing a piece, so he slowly rolled about the land looking for a piece to complete him. In this text, there is discussion of independence and belongingness. I would use this book in my classroom to begin a discussion of friendship, feelings, or even as a way to discuss finding "just-right books" for independent reading. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2.5.

Corduroy is an adorable and heart warming tale of a stuffed teddy bear who lives at a department store. This bear is looked over by most shoppers because he is "imperfect," he is missing one of the buttons to his overalls. One night, Corduroy sneaks out of the toy department and finds himself trying to take a button off of a mattress to use as his second button. Though even without it, a young girl sees Corduroy on the shelf and falls in love with him and takes him home with her. There, the girl gives Corduroy a new button all his own. I would use this book in my classroom to lead a discussion of celebrating differences, and how material or visual differences do not make someone imperfect or unworthy of time, love, or respect. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 3.5.

Chrysanthemum is a lovely story about a lovely mouse named Chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemum absolutely loved her name, until one day she didn't. She was in school and the other students there teased Chrysanthemum about her name and it really hurt Chrysanthemum's feelings. It wasn't until everyone's favorite teacher revealed that she, too, was named after a flower and had a long name, that the other students stopped teasing Chrysanthemum. I would use this book in my classroom as a read aloud for a discussion of feelings, bullying, teasing, and celebrating differences. This could also be extended to be used for a science integration where students then pick their own "flower name" and have to gather information about that flower to share with the class. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2.

Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type is a story about a group of cows who get a hold of a typewriter and start leaving notes for their farmer. This book is hilarious and usesa lot of great repetition which is wonderful for getting students involved in the reading. I would use this book in a classroom as a read aloud where all of the students can chime in when the book says, "Click Clack Moo. Click Clack Moo. Clickety Clack Moo." This book would also be a great choice for independent reading as it would also introduce a difference in fonts to the children as they read between the regular story line and the typed letters. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 1.3. 

Love Monster is an adorable and endearing tale of a monster living in Cutesville. But because this monster is actually the only monster in Cutesville, he has a very hard time fitting in. However, at the end of this story, the young monster is able to find a companion, another monster. I would use this book in my classroom as a read aloud during Valentine's Day or during a discussion of love, feelings, and accepting others. This book has a Lexle measure of AD270L which corresponds to a Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2. 

Where the Sidewalk Ends is a collection of poems by Shel Silverstein. I love the morals found within Silverstein's work and Where the Sidewalk Ends is no exception. His poems and books are full of wisdom, humor, and some might even say magic. I have used this text with a student to provide a laid back way to do partner reading where one person reads a poem and then the partner reads the next poem. I would also use this book as a read aloud or for a "Quote of the Day" or "Poem of the Day" resource. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 3.9.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the first books that I can recall reading. This book was always a favorite in my household and in my mind, it is one of the classics in children's literature. This is a story about a caterpillar's journey into becoming a butterfly and all of the food that he eats along the way. I love how interactive this book is by use of page size and holes actually being punched through the pages where the caterpillar had eaten his way through. I would use this book in my classroom during a unit on counting and this book could help link a health integration discussion. This book has a Scholastic Reasing Grade Level Equivalent of 2.9.

This is a very cute story about a hen names Rosie who goes for a walk around her farm. However, within the folky pictures, a character who is never mentioned in the text appears. While Rosie walks around, a sly fox follows her without ever being noticed by Rosie. I would use this book in my classroom with students who were not the strongest readers of text but who could gain a lot by reading the pictures. This would make an excellent book to use during independent reading as each child could take as much time as they wanted to read each picture thoroughly to ensure that they gain as much from the book as possible. This book would be entertaining to anyone at any age, but I would definitely start this book in a kindergarten classroom at the end of the year and definitely in a first grade classroom. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 1.5.

One Grain of Rice is a visually amazing book which tells the story of a young girl who, by way of some brilliant math, solves the famine in her village one grain of rice at a time. I would use this book in my classroom during a discussion about doubling, multiplication, or to strike interest in my students for the importance of math in everyday situations. This book would, in most cases, be best used as a read aloud as it does have a higher reading level than interest level. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 4.2.