Peyton Manning

Title: Peyton Manning
Author: Jeff Savage
Genre: Biography
Summary:
This biography tells the story of professional football player, Peyton Manning. Peyton was born March 24, 1976. From a young age Peyton and his two brothers were encouraged to play football because is was their father's sport of choice. Peyton always loved playing football and also possessed a lot of natural talent. His football career really took of when we was selected as a started for his high school's varsity team. From his impeccable high school career, Peyton received many offers to play in college. He eventually decided to play for the University of Tennessee. Originally Peyton was chosen to play third string, however due to injuries he quickly turned into Tennessee's starting quarter back. He went on to have a great college career that lead to him being the first draft pick in the NFL. Peyton Manning signed with the Colts after college and has been with them ever since. With the Colts Peyton has been able to win numerous games including a Super Bowl Title. Peyton Manning is a huge philanthropist and gives back in many ways. He personally started the PeyBack Foundation that gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to organizations like Toys for Tots ans the Boys and Girls Club every year. Peyton Manning is defiantly still a player to watch and is a very interesting person to read about.

Making the Connection:
As I mentioned before, this book is a biography and it would be a great way to introduce biographies to your class. It is another book from the Amazing Athletes collection and it is a great read for any of your students who are interested in sports. This biography is full of energy and vivid pictures that will capture your students from start to finish.

Alex Rodriguez

Title: Alex Rodriguez
Author: Jeffery Zuehlke
Genre: Biography

Summary:
This short biography tells the story of famous baseball player, Alex Rodriguez. The book describes Rodriguez's life from childhood to his life in the major league. Alex Rodriguez was born in New York City on July 27, 1975. Growing up he always had a passion for baseball. He learned to play at a very young age because his father had once played professionally. Rodriguez discovered early on that he not only had a passion for the sport but also a lot of natural talent. He worked hard to achieve his dream of going pro and he played in his first major league game at only eighteen. Since then his career has only gone up. In 2000, Alex Rodriguez signed a contract to play for the Rangers for ten years. His contract was worth $252 million dollars and was the largest contract in sports history. After playing with the Rangers for a few years, Rodriguez was traded to the New York Yankees. It was with the Yankees that Rodriguez finally accomplished his dream of going to the World Series.
This book is written in a way that would captivate any child's attention. The whole book is written in such a way that you feel excited every time you turn a page. This biography is just one from a collection called Amazing Athletes. I recommend any of the titles from this collection because they are all very informative and present facts in a fun, clear, and concise manner.

Making the Connection:
This book is a perfect example of a biography to use in the classroom. I think that most children assume biographies must be written about a person who is either very old or deceased, and this book shows them otherwise.

A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe

Title: A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Author: David A. Adler
Illustrator: Colin Bootman
Genre: Biography

Summary:
This book tells the story of Harriet Beecher Stowe who is best known as the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriet was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on June 14, 1811. She was born and raised during a time when slavery was prominent in America. She was always an avid learner and found early in life that she had a true passion for writing. Harriot Beecher Stowe published many works during her lifetime, but the one that she is best remembered for is Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriot was very much against the idea of slavery and she voiced her opinions on the matter through her writing. Uncle Tom's Cabin tells the story of a slave named Tom who was being tortured by his master because he would not reveal the hiding place of two run away slaves. The book was originally released as installments in an antislavery newspaper and was then published as a book once the installments were completed. It was a book that changed history because it showed the masses the injustices of slavery. Those who hated slavery now hated it more, and those who once had no opinion on the matter quickly formed one. It is said that in 1862 Harriot met President Abraham Lincoln who upon shaking her hand said, " So this is the little lady who made this big war." Many give Harriet Beecher Stowe credit for really beginning the Civil War.

Making the Connection:
This biography is a great book to use in the classroom for a number of reasons. It is a good example to show students when initially introducing the concepts of biographies and it is great to use when talking about the Civil War. This book also shows students that everyone has the power to make a difference. It teaches children that if you stay strong in your convictions and you fight for what you believe, you can change the world.

John Phillip Duck

Title: John Phillip Duck
Author and Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary:
This book tells the story of a young African American boy named Edward. Edward lives on a farm with his family during the time of the Great Depression. To make money young Edward works with his father at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. During the week both he and his father stay at the hotel but on the weekends they get to come home to their farm. One weekend while working in the field with his dad, Edward finds an abandoned baby duck. Edward takes the duck in and nurses it back to health. Since the young duck requires constant care Edward decides to bring him to the hotel with him during the week. The duck quickly becomes loved by the hotel's staff. With the staff's help Edward manages to keep his pet a secret from the hotel's manager, Mr. Schutt. One day however Mr. Schutt discovers Edwards secret. Read this story to find out how Edward convinces Mr. Schutt to let him keep his pet.

Making the Connection:
Though this book is fiction parts of it are actually based on history. In 1933 the Peabody Hotel did become home to a group of ducks. These ducks, along with a bellman named Edward Pembroke started a tradition at the hotel that still occurs today. I think that students would love reading this book and researching the books historical roots. This book would be a great choice to read to your class when introducing the Great Depression. You could also use this book to teach a lesson on making predictions. Before reading the book with your class you could have your students write down three predictions about the story based on the pictures. After reading the story you caould have your students compare and contrast their predictions to what actually happened in the book.

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

Title: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
Author and Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Genre: Modern Fantasy

Summary:
This book tells the story of a quirky little mouse named Lilly. Lilly loves to go to school and most of all she loves her hip teacher Mr. Slinger. Because of Mr. Slinger Lilly wants to grow up to be a teacher. One Monday Lilly comes back to school "especially happy." Over the weekend her Grammy had taken her shopping and given her a new pair of sunglasses, three shiny quarters, and a brand new purple purse that played music every time it was opened. In class Lilly is unable to concentrate on anything but her new things. Lilly refuses to pay attention to the lesson and continuously distracts her classmates by trying to show off her new possessions. Eventually Mr. Slinger asks Lilly to give him her sunglasses, quarters, and purse till the end of the day. This makes Lilly extremely mad and angry. She then decides to act out in a way that will hurt Mr. Slinger the way he hurt her. Read this book to find out how Lilly acts out and how it affects her relationship with her favorite teacher.

Making the Connection:
This book is a good way to talk to your students about handling their emotions. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse teaches children that it is important to think before you act and that your actions can have a negative affect on others. This book would also be an easy way to introduce a writing lesson. For example this book is all about Lilly's most prized possessions, so you could have your students write about their most prized possessions. This would also allow you to get to know your students a little better.

Because of Winn-Dixie

Title: Because of Winn-Dixie
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Genre: Fiction

Summary:
This Newberry winner tells the story of a little girl named Opal. The story takes place the summer that Opal and her father, who is a preacher, move to Naomi, Florida. One day while running an errand at the local Winn-Dixie, Opal meets someone who will change her life. That day Opal meets a big ugly, dog who is clearly a stray. Not wanting anything bad to happen to the dog, Opal decides to take him home with her and name him Winn-Dixie in honor of the place of their first meeting. This story goes on to tell how Opal's friendship with Winn-Dixie changes her life for the better. Because of Winn-Dixie Opal learns about her mother, how to make friends, and how to forgive. This book portrays a colorful cast of characters and a heart warming story that will touch every reader.

Making the Connection:
Using this book in the classroom is an excellent way to build student's knowledge of literary elements. Because of Winn-Dixie is the perfect book to further discuss the concepts of plot, setting, characters, and themes in your class. A cool activity to utilize in your classroom upon the completion of this book would be making a character scrap book. First you would have to pick four or five characters for your students to concentrate on. Next students would go back through the text and pick out passages that described each of the specified characters. Students would look for not only each character's physical description, but also descriptions of their personality and behavior. Once students had collected enough information to list at least five traits for each character, they would then begin compiling their scrape books. The students would be expected to list each character's traits and provide a picture of what the character looks like based on their physical descriptions (which is great because the book has no pictures). The students would then share their completed scrapbooks with their peers.

The Rainbow Fish

Title: The Rainbow Fish
Author and Illustrator: Marcus Pfister
Genre: Modern Fantasy

Summary:
This popular children's book tells the story about the Rainbow Fish, who is the most beautiful fish in the sea. The Rainbow Fish is very proud of his beauty and refuses to play with all of the other "ordinary" fish. One day a small fish asks the Rainbow Fish for one of his beautiful scales. The Rainbow fish is dismayed by the request and rudely refuses to give the small fish anything. The small fish is so taken aback by the Rainbow Fish's rudeness, that he tells all the other fish and they decide to completely ignore the Rainbow Fish. The Rainbow Fish then becomes lonely and sad that no one is paying attention to his beauty anymore. Since he was now both the most beautiful and the loneliest fish in the sea, the Rainbow Fish went to his only friend, the Starfish, for advice. The Starfish listened to his friend's problems and told him the only one who could help solve his predicament was the wise Octopus. The Rainbow Fish then decides to seek out the Octopus for his wisdom. Read this book to find out the advice the Rainbow Fish receives and whether or not he takes it.

Making the Connection:
This book is a great way to facilitate discussion in your class about the importance of sharing and the down falls of being vain/proud. After reading this book with your class a really fun activity would be to make a class rainbow fish. You would start by giving each student a scale. On their scale student's would be asked to write one thing that makes them special. They would then decorate their scale and attach it to a large fish that you had pre-made. The end result would be a fish that was made up of all the little things that your student's think make them special. This story could also be great to use when beginning to teach a science unit on oceans/ocean life. It is important to try to make connections over all the disciplines that you teach, and The Rainbow Fish would be a great way to achieve that.