White, E.B. (1952). Charlotte’s web. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc.

Charlotte's Web has been one of my favorite books ever since I was in 3rd grade. I enjoy the personification in the book and enjoy how the animals communicate with one another similar to humans. The book is the story of a pig named Wilbur who becomes a new member to the farm.  Wilbur becomes the most popular pig in town after his spider friend Charlotte creates interesting web designs.  One of the phrases that Charlotte spins in her web is "Some Pig."  Charlotte helps Wilbur become a famous pig and persuades farmers to let him live.  Charlotte is considered to be the protagonist in the story and Templeton the rat is the antagonist. Charlotte respects life and makes the most out of every day.  She is very positive and takes action in order to save a friend.  Templeton is very selfish, negative, and treats things and others with disrespect.  This book helps children realize how to treat others with respect and to do kind things for them. Questions that I had while reading were the following..."Did the farmer ever question where the famous spider (Charlotte) could be hiding?  I imagine that he would want to meet this magnificent creature that spun the interesting webs.  Another question would be..."Why did Charlotte like Wilbur so much?"  A BIG question that I would ask students would be...."Charlotte was such a good friend to Wilbur.  What do you think makes someone a good friend?"  

The Tiny Seed

 Carle, E. (2009). The tiny seed. New York: Little Simon.
 
The story of The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle,  tells a story of the exciting adventure of a "tiny" seed during its life cycle. The "tiny" seed (main character) doesn't fly in the air as high as the other seeds that are pushed by the wind.  In fact, the tiny seed is so small that it is not eaten by a bird. During the winter, the tiny seed is not eaten by the mouse because he is too small to be seen.  During the spring time seeds begin to sprout and grow roots into the dirt.  The "tiny" seed takes a long time to sprout (germinate) and turn into a flower. The other seeds are turning into flowers much quicker and are being picked by humans. The tiny seed slowly turns into a flower and keeps growing, growing, growing!! It becomes a giant flower! Children will enjoy and applaud for the happy ending of the "tiny" seed.  It went on a long journey without being eaten, stepped on, or picked when turning into a flower.  This book has beautiful illustrations that captivate young audiences because of the bright colors, shapes and textures used by author and illustrator Eric Carle.  Eric Carle combines cut paper of different shapes and uses sponges and spatter paints for textures. As a child, I remember thinking that the pictures looked as though they jumped out at you because of the different textures.  The different textures he uses in his art makes his illustrations look 3d. This book is excellent to use for grades K-4.  It is a great read aloud book for younger children in grades K-2.  All grades can use the book to learn more about how seeds travel by wind, water, and animals. 4th grade can also understand how flowers inherit traits from their parent plant. Students can also learn morals from the book.  It brings the idea that even if you are small, you can still do wonderful things! The "tiny" seed was so small but it grew into the most beautiful and big flower. This book could motivate students to try their hardest in order to succeed. A BIG question that I would ask students is...."If you were a seed where would you want to travel to in the world and why." 

The Mixed Up Chameleon

Carle, E. (1984). The mixed up chameleon. New York:  Crowell.

The chameleon in the story The Mixed Up Chameleon experiences many changes! He blends in (camouflages) with his background.  Blending in with his background allows the chameleon to hide from predators and prey. At the beginning of the story it shows how he turns red when on a red flower.  The chameleon turned green when on a leaf and turned yellow in order to blend in with the sand. The chameleon felt as though he didn't have an interesting life and wished he was interesting like the animals in the zoo.  The Chameleon begins to get really "mixed up!" He wishes to have certain abilities and body features like some of the zoo animals.  His wishes begin to come true! He grows fish fins, deer antlers, a turtle shell, and a long giraffe shell! There are so many different traits on the chameleon that he no longer looks like himself.  Will he miss being who he is meant to be? The Mixed Up Chameleon by Eric Carle is a wonderful book for ages K-2 because of the simplicity of the words. The illustrations by Eric Carle are very beautiful and are made with watercolor paints and scraps of paper that are collaged together. It is very interesting how he uses many shades of one color.  For instance at the beginning of the book the chameleon is many different shades of green.  He used different scraps of green paper and collages it with glue. His pictures are always very interesting and very unique. This is a wonderful book to use for science in order to teach students how animals "camouflage" and blend in with their background for protection. As a child I remember this book also taught me to "love yourself and to be happy with who you are."  Children should understand that they are each unique and are very special. The world would not be an interesting place if all people animals looked and acted the same. Many times people try to be something that they are not and then they tend to feel sadness because they have lost their identity.  This book is very important to show children so that they can grow up with confidence and self assurance in who they are. A question I had while reading was..."Did the chameleon realize at the end that he was very unique and just as special as the other animals at the zoo?" (I think he did realize just how special he is.)  A BIG question I would ask my students is...."Why is it important to be yourself?"

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf

Scieszka, J. (1989). The true story of the 3 little pigs by A. Wolf. New York: Scholastic.

This book is somewhat different than the original story because it is told by A. Wolf. Wolf goes on a journey in order to borrow a cup of sugar so that he can make a birthday cake for his granny. The first two pigs do not answer the door and the wolf begins to feel a great big sneeze coming. Wolf is shocked to discover that these two pigs both die because of his powerful sneeze. Was it an accident? According to Wolf this was definately an accident! The third pig is very rude to A. Wolf and doesn't let him enter. The third pig yells something rude to Wolf about his granny and this creates fury inside of the Wolf. Wolf wrote this story in order to let people know that "he was framed." This is a wonderful and funny story that will make kids giggle and understand the point of view of the protagonist in a story. Students will realize that it is always good to understand both point of views and sides to any story. In the real world, everyone must listen to both sides to a story in order to understand a situation and how to solve the problem. As a child I really enjoyed the story because I enjoyed the funny story and the interesting illustrations. The illustrations were interesting to me because of the media that was used. Lane Smith, illustrator of The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, used oil paints and textured with newspaper clippings. The newspaper on the front of the cover made it look as though it were an actual story told from the wolf in jail. Since I loved to read newspapers and watch the news as a child, I was drawn to the cover of the book. Some questions I had while reading were..."Was the wolf lying and trying to plead innocent so that he could be released from jail?" "Were the pigs the actual bad guys in the story?" This story helps readers understand that there are always two sides of the story. It may even give some a different outlook on life. A BIG question that I would ask my students is..."Why do you think you should always hear more than one side of a story?"

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Carle, E.  (1969). The very hungry caterpillar. New York:  Philomel Books.

This beautifully illustrated book has caught my eye ever since I was a young child.  The pictures are very bright and captivating.  Eric Carle uses a collage technique were he cuts out small hand painted pieces of paper.  His illustrations are one of a kind and take a long amount of time to create.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a book that tells the story of a caterpillar hatching from an egg.  Throughout the story the caterpillar eats more and more food each day. The caterpillar eats leaves and lots and lots of junk food! As a child I thought it was funny when I read that the caterpillar ate cake. Children find humor and interest while reading about the journey that the caterpillar goes through. This is an excellent book for children who are learning about number patterns and the life cycle of a butterfly.  The reading level of this book would be good for preschool to first grade because of the simple words, predictions on every page, and the number patterns.  Although the reading level of the book would be good for much younger students, the life cycle concept would be great to teach upper elementary students.  I have used this book in my science classroom while teaching 3rd grade students about the life cycles of animals. It helped them understand the four stages in a butterfly life cycle. I would recommend this book to everyone because of the words and the pictures. My 2 1/2 year old nephew loves this book because of the pictures and the number patterns. My BIG question to students would be "What are the different stages that the butterfly went through?  Why did the caterpillar have to eat a lot of food?"

Blueberries for Sal

 McCloskey, R. (1948). Blueberries for sal. New York: Penguin Book Group.

This classic story tells the story of a child named Sal who goes on an adventure of collecting blueberries with her mother. Sal sits down and stuffs herself full with yummy blueberries.  While Sal is eating many tasty berries, a baby bear nearby is also collecting blueberries with his mother. Oh no! Both Sal and the baby bear end up getting separated from their mothers.  Both the baby bear and Sal hear noises in the bushes and follow thinking it is their mother. Talk about confusion and conflict developing! Sal accidentally follows baby bears mother and baby bear accidentally follows Sal's mother. This beautifully illustrated book has always been one of my favorite books as a child.  I remember laughing at how the child and baby bear cub get into mischief and accidentally follow each others mother.  Also, the illustrations are very interesting and detailed with black ink. There is not a lot of color used in the illustrations but the pictures are still engaging. Preschool children would be able to grasp the concept and meaning of this story but the book would be too wordy for them.  This book would be most appropriate for K-1 students because the book is very predictable and the writing style is at that level. Questions that I asked myself while reading are "Will the baby bear eventually find his mother? Will Sal eventually find his mother? Will the baby bear and Sal meet face to face and become friends?" I would use this book in class by teaching students about nature and how animals and humans react with their environment.This is a book that I would recommend to every child to read at the K-1 level.  A BIG question I would ask students would be...."What action would you take if you ever accidentally got lost from your parents?"

Meredith Cook's Introduction

Hello! My name is Meredith Cook and I'm a 3rd/4th grade science and writing teacher at Eminence Independent School. I absolutely love my job because I enjoy doing hands on science activities with my students. I teach writing to my homeroom students and we are currently working on editing our personal narratives. Although I am not a reading teacher, I still enjoy reading fiction and non fiction science books to my students. I also place my students in leveled reading groups at the end of every chapter so that they can review what we learned.  I feel that it's very important for students to read daily in order to build their vocabulary and understanding of concepts. 
I LOVE to read books!!! I have a variety of authors that I enjoy.  I have read every book by Nicholas Sparks! I also enjoy mystery books by James Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark.  I love to read many different genres and types of books.  I recently just read the books "Cage of Stars" by  Jacquelyn Mitchard and  "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls. Both of these books were beautifully written and were tearjerkers. 
When I am not teaching I enjoy reading, working out at the gym, making crafts, walking my miniature pinscher named Rex, hanging out with my boyfriend, family, and friends. My boyfriend and I are getting married this summer on June 30th.  I'm so very excited and can't wait! :-)