Katie Miller

Nov 13, 2014

Professor Burke
Eng 414

Annotated Bibliography

Picture Books
Criteria for selecting literature: imaginative, words match the illustration,
characterization, comprehendible, expands the readers world
Caldecott Medal Winner
1. Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Title: The Polar Express
Publisher and year: Houghton Mifflin, 1989
Type of book: Picture
Reading Level: 4th or 5th grade
Summary: This Caldecott Award winning book is about a magically train during the
winter and Christmas season that takes children to the North Pole to see Santa
before he takes off. The reader is focused on the journey of the main character
whether he actually believes in in Santa or not. It is a fabulous journey to the North
Pole on the magically train with wonderful pictures. This book could be used to
inspire imagination and creativity.
Noteworthy Features: The pictures are phenomenal and make the text better than
it is written. It expands the readers imagination.
2. Author: Don Freeman
Title: Corduroy
Publisher and year: Penguin Young Readers Group, 1976
Type of book: Picture
Reading Level: K 2nd grade
Summary: This story is about the adventures of a teddy bear in a department store
when all of the shoppers are gone. He is looking for his missing button. He
encounters new things like an elevator and different furniture. But Corduroy is
found by the nightman when Corduroy causes a crashing sound. He ends up being
bought by a little girl and has a new friend.
Noteworthy Features: It has an interesting store line that students could relate to
other stories the have heard or read. It also has very detailed pictures that enhance
the story.

3. Author: Dorris Fisher and Danny Sneed

Title: My Even Day
Publisher and year: Arbordale Publishing, 2007
Type of book: Picture
Reading Level: 1st grade
Summary: This story involves a young boy who wakes up and everything is even.
His mother has two heads and everything at the zoo is even. While the reader
experiences his trip to the zoo, they are learning what even numbers means.
Noteworthy Features: This book has a sequel called One Odd Day. There are hidden
objects in the art that children can look for and this book comes with activities that
deal with even numbers.
4. Author: Judi Barrett
Title: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Publisher and year: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1978
Type of book: Picture
Reading Level: K 3rd grade
Summary: This is the story of when food begins to fall from the sky. A town
experiences food falling from the sky and they have to figure out what to do; what to
do when the food falls and then what to do with the food.
Noteworthy Features: This book has a unique story line and good pictures that
help involve the reader with the story more. This could be an interesting and
comical way to introduce a weather lesson.
5. Author: Raymond Briggs
Title: The Snowman
Publisher and year: Random House, 1978
Type of book: Picture
Reading Level: K 2nd grade
Summary: This wordless picture book is about a boy who builds a snowman, which
comes alive in his dreams at night. The reader gets to go through the experiences
the boy and the snowman have. The pictures have a soft haziness of snow.
Noteworthy Features: This would be great for students to tell the story. The
pictures are noteworthy because of how the illustrator made it seem like it was
snowing and winter.

Nonfiction Books
Criteria for selecting literature: Includes accurate and useful information, has
photos that correspond with the text, readers can learn something new
Caldecott Medal Winner
1. Author: Brian Floca
Title: Locomotive
Publisher and year: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2013
Type of book: Nonfiction
Reading Level: K-5th grade
Summary: The Caldecott Award winning book and Sibert Honor Book is detailed
with sensory exploration of the Early American railroads. It takes place in the year
1869 and it includes the details of trips, speed, sound, and strength of the
locomotive. It explains how the train keeps moving as well.
Noteworthy Features: This book could be utilized in a lesson on trains or the
development of technology. The sensory details are what will really draw the
readers in.
2. Author: Don Brown
Title: America Is Under Attack: September 11, 2001: The Day the Towers Fell
Publisher and year: Flash Point, 2011
Type of book: Nonfiction
Reading Level: 2nd 5th grade
Summary: This book was written for young readers to learn and remember the
tragic day. It tells the chronological events of the day, in an honest way. It includes
all of the affected areas and includes the rescue operations.
Noteworthy Features: This book takes a sensitive subject and is written in a way
that children and understand and they can access. The pictures capture the emotion
and help inform students.
3. Author: Jason Chin
Title: Island: A Story of the Galapagos
Publisher and year: Roaring Brook Press, 2012
Type of book: Nonfiction
Reading Level: K-3rd grade
Summary: This book written by an Award-winning author and illustrator tells a
story spanning six million years about the life of an island. It is filled with research
and wonderful paintings of the island; its birth from a volcano, its rise, its fall, and
the emergence of new life.
Noteworthy Features: This book could be used for lessons on land formations and
with lessons about Darwin. It is interestingly filled with research along with
beautiful paintings.

4. Author: Melissa Sweet

Title: Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macys Parade
Publisher and year: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2011
Type of book: Nonfiction
Reading Level: K-3rd grade
Summary: A Caldecott Honor artist writes a Robert F. Sibert Medal book about the
Thanksgiving Day Macys Parade and the upside down puppets. This book
introduces the puppeteer, Tony Sarg and his journey through the creation of the
helium balloons.
Noteworthy Features: This book could be used for a Thanksgiving unit. It includes
great pictures and gives interesting information on a new and slightly random topic.
5. Author: Jennifer Berne
Title: On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein
Publisher and year: chronicle Books, 2013
Type of book: Nonfiction
Reading Level: 4th 6th grade
Summary: This book tells the story of Albert Einstein from his youth to the genius
man we all learn about. It explains what he thought about and his journey of
discovery. It allows the reader to become involved with his life.
Noteworthy Features: It gives a lot of information about Einsteins childhood that
people might not have known before. This book could be a great resource for a
lesson on Einstein himself or some of his inventions.

Poetry Books
Criteria for selecting literature: organization, poems that relate to the theme or
selection for the anthology, a variety of quality poems
National Parenting Publications Awards, NAPPA
1. Author: Mary Ann Hoberman
Title: The Llama Who Had No Pajama
Publisher and year: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2006
Type of book: Poetry Anthology
Reading Level: 1st 5th grade
Summary: This poetry anthology includes poems about various types of animals
doing odd and unique things. The poems convey childhood in a fun and interesting
way. The poems are fresh and timeless for children.
Noteworthy Features: These poems could be used to help students write poems
that are slightly silly and comical. They can learn something about different animals
as well.
2. Author: Various Authors picked by Bill Martin Jr.
Title: The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry
Publisher and year: Simon and Schuster Books for Younger Readers, 2008
Type of book: Poetry Anthology
Reading Level: K 3rd grade
Summary: This anthology contains two hundred that were hand picked by Bill
Martin Jr. There are traditional and contemporary pieces. The illustrators were
award-winning artists that created beautiful artwork that correspond with the
poems.
Noteworthy Features: The variety of poems is unique and is paired well with
artwork. This could absolutely be used in a poetry unit for students to use as a
reference or inspiration.
3. Author: Shel Silverstein
Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends
Publisher and year: HMH Books for Young Readers, 1998
Type of book: Poetry Anthology
Reading Level: 1st 3rd grade
Summary: This anthology of poems is humorous and comical. The reader will meet
various characters that may do unusual things. The poems also have wonderful
drawing to compliment the text. This is an interesting and funny adventure.
Noteworthy Features: The poems are written in a way that may be unlike others.
These can be read for pure entertainment.

4. Author: A.A Milne

Title: The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie the Pooh
Publisher and year: Quality Paperback Book Club, 1997
Type of book: Poetry Anthology
Reading Level: 1st 5th grade
Summary: Winnie the Pooh first appeared in 1926. This volume of poems and tales
brings together the stories of Winnie the Pooh is a cohesive and colorful book.
Included are the more popular stories of Pooh and his adventures. The pictures are
enhanced versions of the original sketches.
Noteworthy Features: The original sketches make the book extra special since
Pooh is relatively old. The stories written in poems will be different for students.
5. Author: Jude Brigley
Title: The Poets House
Publisher and year: Pont Books, 1998
Type of book: Poetry Anthology
Reading Level: 4th 6th grade
Summary: This pen-and-ink illustrated poetry anthology contains 77 diverse
poems by over 50 poets. The poems span 15 centuries and they contain various
themes ranging from school and sports to nature and personalities.
Noteworthy Features: The various styles of poetry are great for any reader
because they can find the kind they like or the theme they like. This would be a great
resource for a classroom.

Childrens Novels
Criteria for selecting literature: expand the readers world, provide
entertainment, written well and age appropriate, relatable
Classic
1. Author: Natalie Babbitt
Title: Tuck Ever Lasting
Publisher and year: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1974
Type of book: Fantasy
Reading Level: 5th 8th grade
Summary: The Tuck family has eternal life after drinking from the magic spring.
They wander around trying to live comfortable and inconspicuously. Winnie Foster
stumbles upon their secret and the Tucks take her home and explain why living life
at one age is less that wonderful. Problems arise when a strange man follows Winnie
to the spring and he wants to market it.
Noteworthy Features: Readers could make connections to this story to others they
have read. The character develop helps make the story even better.
Classic
2. Author: E.B. White
Title: Charlottes Web
Publisher and year: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1952
Type of book: Fantasy
Reading Level: 3rd 6th grade
Summary: This is a story of a girl named Fern and a spider friend of a pig named
Wilbur that help Wilbur from the common fate of pigs. There is friendship and
hardship throughout the story along with miracles found in simple things.
Noteworthy Features: The characters are very likable in the story, which helps the
reader to be engaged more with the novel.
Newbery Medal Winner
3. Author: Betsy Byars
Title: The Summer of the Swans
Publisher and year: Viking Press, 1970
Type of book: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 4th - 6th grade
Summary: This Newbery Award winning book is for advanced readers. It tells the
story of a girls who discovery much about herself when her mentally handicapped
brother gets lost. She finds compassion and awareness about herself that she had
not realized. This book could be used as a self-discovery lesson. The students can
recall a time when they found themselves or an event that make them realize
something new about themselves that they did not realize before.
Noteworthy Features: Interesting plot for a picture book that would be a good
start for a lesson. It is a powerful narrative.

Newbery Medal Winner

4. Author: Karen Hesse
Title: Out of the Dust
Publisher and year: Great Source, 2009
Type of book: Historical Fiction
Reading Level: 3rd 5th grade
Summary: This story is written in first person and free-verse poems. It is about a
girls struggle to survive through the Depression and those dust bowl years. She
learns how to cope with the loss of her mother and grieving father. She endures
many struggles through the book that she has to conqueror.
Noteworthy Features: This book would be good for students who are going
through a hard time or have lost a parent. The free-verse poems are interesting for a
childrens novel.
5. Author: Lewis Sachar
Title: Holes
Publisher and year: Scholastic, 1998
Type of book: Fiction
Reading Level: 3rd 6th grade
Summary: The family of Stanley Yelnats has history of bad luck, which leads Stanley
to attend Camp Green Lake Juvenile Detention Centre. He labor is to dig a hole all
day, every day and to report if he finds anything. They dig the hole because it builds
character according to the warden. Throughout this novel, Stanley discovers many
things about the camp and himself, along with making many friends.
Noteworthy Features: This novel contains an interesting and time changing story
line that students could learn from when learning how to write stories. It
incorporates a lot of features that the reader does not expect to connect to one
another.
6. Author: Barbara Park
Title: Junie B. Jones Collection
Publisher and year: Listening Library, 2003
Type of book: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 2nd 4th grade
Summary: This is a collection of books about a girl named Junie B. Jones and the
many adventures she endures. There are situations pertaining to the Stupid Smelly
Bus, Little Monkey Business, and Her Big Fat Mouth. The character, her life, and
family are well developed through the series so the reader an easily connect.
Noteworthy Features: This book makes for an interesting read aloud when the
main character is given her unique personality. The text is written how the main
character would actually speak at her age.

7. Author: Louis Sachar

Title: Sideway Stories from Wayside School
Publisher and year: Bloomsbury Childrens Books, 1978
Type of book: Fantasy
Reading Level: 2nd 4th grade
Summary: Wayside School was build poorly because the classrooms were on top of
one another, thirty stories high and at this school funny things always happened,
especially on floor thirteen. The students who attend this school tend to have
something odd about them or something odd happen to them. Either way, Wayside
School is just strange.
Noteworthy Features: The chapters do not flow together like a normal chapter
book. Each one tells its own story, but because the setting and characters are the
same the reader develops a sense of what the school is like.
8. Author: C.S. Lewis
Title: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Publisher and year: HarperCollins, 1994
Type of book: Fantasy
Reading Level: 3rd 6th grade
Summary: This is the second book in the fantasy series of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Four siblings step through a wardrobe and into the new land of Narnia, stuck in an
eternal winter by the evil White Witch. But hope is returned with the return of the
Great Lion and a big sacrifice.
Noteworthy Features: This story is intriguing because of the other world that is
created. It draws the reader in and allows them to use their imagination.
9. Author: Judy Blume
Title: Are You There God? Its Me Margaret
Publisher and year: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2012
Type of book: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 4th 7th grade
Summary: Margaret Simon just moved from New York City to the suburbs and she
is worried about fitting in. She gets excited when she is asked to join a secret club.
But the club talks about boys and things girls experience when growing up, that
Margaret is just not ready or comfortable talking about. Luckily, she has someone to
confide in and always listens.
Noteworthy Features: This book could be used with young girls because it is so
relatable. It is interesting how at times, there are two different dialogues.

10. Author: Polly Horvath

Title: Everything On a Waffle
Publisher and year: Square Fish, 2008
Type of book: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: 5th 8th grade
Summary: This Newbery Honor book tells the story of Primrose Squarp, an orphan,
who gets sent to a new discovered uncle. She gets used to living with her uncle, but
everything is better when she is at The Girl in the Swing, restaurant, where
everything is served on a waffle. She talks to Miss Bowzer who offers advice and
Primrose tries to find peace.
Noteworthy Features: This novel takes a more serious topic and puts a humorous
spin to it. This book would be good for students who are going through some kind of
change in their life.