Mrs. McKee's Library

The Juice Box Bully

The Juice Box Bully: Empowering Kids to Stand Up For Others - Bob Sornson, Maria Dismondy, Kim Shaw

The book has the class come together and stop the bully and show him that he doesn't have to be a bully. It would be great to read at the beginning of the school year for all elementary grades when you are setting up the class rules. You could have the class then create a promise as a group to use in the classroom.

Five Little Pumpkins

Five Little Pumpkins (Harper Growing Tree) - Dan Yaccarino

A great little poem that has the students counting. I would use it for grades k-2. The story could be cut into strips and used with a pocket charts for students to read again and again.

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig: A Pop-Up Storybook with a Twist in the Tale! - Eugene Trivizas, Helen Oxenbury

Reading this book allows for the students to experience different versions of folktale stories. The book could be used in a 4th-6th grade classroom. You could have the students compare and contrast two different versions of the story. You could also have the students create a story that follows the same outline of the story. The Three Little _________ and the Big Bad ____________. 

A Mink, A Fink, A Skating Rink: What is a Noun?

A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun? - Brian P. Cleary, Jenya Prosmitsky

A book that teaches students about nouns and how to identify them through pictures. The book would be great for a k-2 class. For an assignment you could have the students look through a magazine and cut out nouns that they find and categorize the nouns.

Duck! Rabbit!

Duck! Rabbit! - Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Tom Lichtenheld

Depending on how you look at the book, you may see the duck or a rabbit. It is a great book to use to show that people may see the world in a different way. I would use this book in K-2nd grade. Have students write an opinion piece about whether it is a duck or a rabbit.  Have them include supporting details in their writing.

Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson

This book has two main characters who use their imagination to go on an adventure and build a land that they rule over. The book comes to a close with a tragic death of one of the main characters. I would use this book in grades 4-6.  For an activity, I would have the students make a venn diagram to compare the two main characters.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone  - Mary GrandPré, J.K. Rowling

This book follows a boy and his friends as they navigate life as wizards. I would use this book in 6th grade. I would encourage the students to continue to read the rest of the series. The book would be great to have group discussions. The students could write an add for Harry Potter's Flying Nimbus. 

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace - Mary Hoffman, Caroline Binch

This book is about a child who loves to pretend she is the characters from the books she reads. I would use this book in a 4th grade class. For an assignment I would have my students write a newspaper article on Grace.

Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls

I would use this book in a 6th grade class. It would be a good book to practice foreshadowing.

Hatchet

Hatchet - Gary Paulsen

Hatchet is a very descriptive story that uses the senses to draw you in. I would use this book in 5th or 6th grade. I would have the students write about what they would include in a backpack and why.

Rainbow Fish

The Rainbow Fish - Marcus Pfister, J. Alison James

This book teaches children to share. It would be a great story to use in Kindergarten and first grade. For an activity, the students could work on filling in a writing prompt, "I can share my _______, it makes me feel ________."

Stargirl

Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli

This book teaches students that it is okay to be yourself and you don't have to try and fit in. This book would be great for a 4th grade class. I would have the students fill out a graphic organizer as they read the book. They could also pull out vocabulary words from the text.

Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web - E.B. White, Garth Williams, Rosemary Wells

This is a story about a spider named Charlotte who does all she can to help save her friend Wilbur, a pig. An activity to go along with the book would be to write a newspaper article about Wilbur at the fair. I would use it this book in 3rd-5th grade.

Stuart Little

Stuart Little - E.B. White, Garth Williams

A book about an adventurous little mouse. I would use it in a 3rd-5th grade class. I would have the students write a missing person report for the missing bird, Margalo, from the story.

Miss Spider's New Car

Miss Spider's New Car - David Kirk

In this story MIss Spider goes shopping for a new car. She likes the first car she tries, but decided to keep looking, just in case she finds a different one she likes. By the end of the day she wanted the first car still, but it was not there when she went back because a friend secretly bought it and surprises her with it. This book has a lot of big words that would be great for a vocabulary lesson. I would use it in kindergarten.

Miss Spider's ABC

Miss Spider's ABC - David Kirk

In this book Miss Spider has a surprise party thrown for her. Each insect who helps throw the party is incorporated with one of the letters of the alphabet. I would use this book in  kindergarten and have the students take a letter of the alphabet and color/design it to look like an object or animal that starts with their letter.