Required Author #1-5, Required Books 21-40

Surf's Up by Kwame Alexander

Alexander, K. (2015). Surf's up. NorthSouth. New York.

The endpaper of this book is a wave pattern and follows the theme of surfing throughout the book. One friend invites the other to the beach, but the invited friend is too busy reading. The reading friend is so involved he gets his friend super excited about reading. The friends arrive at the beach and when one friend finishes the book, the other friend starts to read his book. This has a wonderful message about friendship and a love of books.

Side note: The copy of this book from my local library had green marker "drawings" all through out the text. I was really disturbed and saddened by all the markings.

Kwame Alexander is also known for his works The Crossover and How to Read a Book.

Big Cats by Nic Bishop

Bishop, N. (2019). Big cats. Scholastic.

This book showcases outstanding photography of big cats. There are captions to the pictures to describe and detail information. There is a cute cat paw print oneach page. This gives very detailed information on hunting, prides, following mothers, and fur patterns. Nic Bishop wrote in very kid friendly language. He even discusses how to capture photos. The organization of the book has an index, suggestions for further readings, and a glossary. You can tell this author does extensive work for his books and has a whole collection of other nonfiction works.

Spiders, Snakes, and Frogs are more titles from Nic Bishop. Be sure to catch more of his amazing photography and outstanding information.

Grand Canyon by Jason Chin
Chin, J. (2017). Grand Canyon. Roaring Book Press. New York.

Grand Canyon is filled with breathtaking illustrations and descriptive text providing the reader with facts and information about one of the Earth's most famous sights. The book has numerous pictures per page and each one different and special. This text cold be used for a science lesson; specifically rivers, canyons, plants, animals, weathering, erosion, and excavating.

Awards: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

Jason Chin has some more amazing notable non-fiction works like; Redwoods, Gravity, and Your Place in the Universe. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Carle, E. (1969). The very hungry caterpillar. Scholastic Inc.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar follows a caterpillar who eats its way through different foods until it transforms into a butterfly. This has wonderful painted illustrations and some flip pages in the middle of the book. This would be a wonderful mentor text for teaching days of the week or even the life cycle of a butterfly.

Eric Carle is the very popular children's author of; Little Cloud, Hello, Red Fox, and Pancakes, Pancakes!

Mr. Chickee's Funny Money by Christopher Paul Curtis

Curtis, C.P. (2005). Mr. Chickee's funny money. Yearling.

This book reminded me of the student in Kindergarten or first grade who could tell a non-stop story and after every "and then" the next event would be even more unbelievable than the one before it. This title would be great for kids who enjoy spiraling stories and kids out-smarting adults. In an interesting twist when the story is getting tied up by a all-knowing character Brad, you see the writing on his office door says, "Brad, Deus ex machina". In literary terms deus ex machina is a character or force that swoops in at the end of the story to tie everything all together. A teacher could use the first chapter for a lesson on word choice or onomatopoeia, with phrases like; "not just splishy-splashy tears", "churning and boiling and splashing water", and "gooshy waterfalls coming out of my eyes".

Christopher Paul Curtis is an American author born in Flint, Michigan. He is best known for Bud, Not Buddy which won the Newbery Award. If you liked Mr. Chickee's Funny Money then you should look for The Big One-Oh and The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower.

Blended by Sharon M. Draper

Draper, S. (2018). Blended. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books.

Sharon Draper shares the story of a young girl whose parents have divorced and pursuing new relationships. Her mother is white and her father is black, so while she is navigating having different homes she is also navigating which race she thinks she belongs to most. One of Isabella's friends at school is threatened with a noose because of her race. While on her way to her piano recital, Isabella and her older soon to be step-brother are pulled over by the police and accused of robbing a bank.

At the end of the book the author's note tells about the musical piece Isabella was practicing for her recital and offers a link to watch the piece being played.

Out of My Mind, Stella by Starlight, and The Battle of Jericho are additional titles by Sharon Draper. Sharon Draper was the 1997 National Teacher of the Year and has been honored by receiving the Coretta Scott King Award five separate times.

Enchanted Air by Margarita A. Engle

Engle, M. A. (2015). Enchanted air. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

This story is written in prose. Each page has a title. The table of contents says it has 6 chapters. Interesting tidbit here, the first page says, "Love at First Sight, Valentine's Day 1947" and I started reading this book on Valentine's Day. This story tells of a girl whose father had Russian heritage and her mother a Cuban heritage. Her life is filled with lots of travel and she feels the most connected and herself when she is in Cuba. She gets cut off from her Cuban family due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. There is a timeline of events at the end of the book to give clarity to real life events depicted in the story.

Margarita Engle is a Cuban-American author known for her other novels; Your Heart, My Sky With a Star in My Hand, and The Poet Slave of Cuba.

In My Family/En Mi Familia by Carmen Lomas Garza

Garza, C.L. (1996). In my family/en mi familia. Children’s Book Press.

The book is written in the English and Spanish language. The paintings and stories are written by the author. It tells of her growing up in Kingsville, Texas near the border with Mexico. She was punished for speaking Spanish and she used art to heal her heart. Contained throughout the book are pieces of information about items close to her heart and culture, like horned toads, fireants, nopalitos, empanadas, cascarones, and cactus. It shares the cultural and family events that were important to her family. An unexpected find was the dedication and copyright information found at the back of the book.

Carmen Lomas Garza is an American artist and illustrator whose writing includes; Magic Windows/Ventanas Magicas, Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia, and Making Magic Windows:Creating Papel Picado/cut-paper art.

Under the Christmas Tree by N. Grimes

Grimes, N. (2002). Under the Christmas tree. HarperCollins Publishers.

Author Nikki Grimes shares a collection of Christmas poems. The poems flow from one to the next to tell the story of the memories of Christmas and family times. The illustrations are beautiful in this book. This could be used for mentor text in poetry writing or even small moment writing.

Nikki Grimes is an American author, poet, and journalist. She has written over 55 books, among them are; The Road to Paris, Bronx Masquerade, and Worth Wings.

Cousins by V. Hamilton

Hamilton, V. (1990). Cousins. Scholastic Paperbacks.

Cousins is the story of young Cammy and her family relationships. Cammy is very close to her Gran and finds herself listening to Gram and finding comfort in her words after a terrible incident happens with Cammy and her two cousins. Cammy does a lot of soul searching about how she is treated and how treats others. Cammy finds she has a solid family foundation who care for her immensily.

Virginia Hamilton was an African-American children's author who wrote 41 books. Some of her other titles are The People Could Fly and Bluish.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Keats, E.J. (1976). The snowy day. Puffin Books.

A young boy discovers all the fun he can have playing with snow. He saves a snowball in his pockets and discovers it is gone. I think that is an experience every young child has had when playing with snow for the first time. It is a heartwarming story of a young pure child and the joy of snow. This is a great mentor text for teaching small moment writing or even introducing onomatopoeia with the text, "Crunch, crunch, crunch."

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Ezra Jack Keats was an American author and illustrator. Some of his other titles are The Trip and Apt. 3.

Dim Sum for Everyone! by G. Lin

Lin, G. (2001). Dim sum for everyone! Dragonfly Books.

This story is written in very simple text and explains dim sum. A girl and her family visit a dim sum restaurant and everyone chooses their favorite dim sum. The color red is a major theme throughout the book. The last page is lengthy and gives the history and information about dim sum. The endpapers are decorated with Chinese food like bok choy, sesame oil, shrimp, taro, and many others.

Grace Lin is a Taiwanese-American children's writer and illustrator. She has author titles like Year of the Rat and Dumpling Days.

Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers

Myers, W.D. (2009). Looking like me. Egmont USA.

This story takes a poetic style with rhymes. The story grows and adds another piece as it continues. The child makes a list of his "I Am Jam" where he says he give fist bumps, his name Jeremy, he is a brother, he is a son, he is a writer, a city child, an artist, a dancer, a runner, a dreamer, and that he is super proud of himself. The end of the book encourages the readers to make their own "I Am Jam". The illustrations are drawn solid shapes over layered photographs. In the about the author and illustrator on the last page with pictures that compare and contrast the author Walter Dean Myers and his illustrator brother Christopher Myers.

Walter Dean Myers was an American writer of children's books. Some other titles are Hoops and Slam.

Tar Beach by F. Ringgold

Ringgold, F. (1991). Tar beach. Dragonfly Books.

Tar Beach is written from a story quilt made by Faith Rinngold. It tells the story of a little girl who goes to the roof of her building with her family and lays down and looks up at the stars. She dreams of flying to places she is unable to go to, but she can reach them by flying in her dreams. The originial story was written on fabric strips around the border of Ringgold's quilt. The end of the book provides a photograph of the story quilt and also provides background information on the author and of social issues in that time period.

Faith Ringgold is an American painter, writer, mixed media sculptor, and performance artist. She has more titles, including Cassie's Word Quilt and My dream of Martin Luther King.

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds

Reynolds, J. (2019). Look both ways: a tale told in ten blocks. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books.

This story is beautifully written by Jason Reynolds. Each chapter is a separate story that concentrates on a specific character or group from the same neighborhood. Reynolds writes with such description and grace that at the end of the chapter the reader feels like they know the character personally. There are a plethora of social issues in this book. This could be used as a mentor text for character analysis, descriptive writing, and even setting. After the first chapter I was not too sure I'd enjoy this book, but the more I read the better the story got.

Jason Reynolds is an American author of novels and poetry. Other titles by Jason Reynolds are Ghost and All American Boys.

Are We There Yet? by D. Santat

Santat, D. (2016). Are we there yet? Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

The story of a family traveling to visit a relative turns into quite the adventure. The endpapers of the book are like film strips with image only and the colors and positions of the car changes. The story starts with a film strip/graphic novel style until one pages turns upside down. The story grows as the imagination of the child grows with pirates, trains, horses, knights, Egypt, and dinosaurs. All themes join together on one page and then off to the future. The author includes a humorous biography paragraph and picture.

Dan Santat is an American author and illustrator with other popular titles like No More Poems! and The Great Santa Stakeout.

Smash! Crash! by Jon Scieszka

Scieszka, J. (2008). Smash! Crash! Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

The endpapers of this book showcases pictures of the characters and their names. The illustrations are large and colorful. The story is simple and rhyming while the telling the story of the automobiles that are friends. This would be a wonderful mentor text for onomatopoeia or use of speech in writing. There is a fold out page to make the story jump out.

Jon Scieszka is an American children's author best known for his picture books. If you enjoy this title you can check out Race From A to Z and The Time Warp Trio.

Balloons over Broadway: The true Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by M. Sweet

Sweet, M. (2011). Balloons over Broadway: the true story of the puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

The endpapers of this titles has it's own story about Tony Sarg who is responsible for the balloons of the Macy's Parade. There is mixed media throughout with drawings and clay figures. It tells about Tony Sarg who was a creative little boy who grew up and started making marionettes and performing. As an adult he made mechanical marionettes for Macy's store windows based upon story book characters. He was then chosen to help construct the very first Macy's parade in 1928, a tradition that happens every year. Sarg had apprentices like Bil Baird and Jim Henson. The end of the books has thank you's, bibliography, and sources noted for the making of the book. The back endpaper is an original advert from The New York Times in 1933.

Melissa Sweet is an American author and illustrator, whose other titles include Shaking Things Up and Firefly July.

Awards: Caldecott Honor and Sibert Medal

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

Willems, M. (2005). Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale. Walker Books Ltd.

Trixie helps her daddy do laundry at the laundromat, but her beloved Knuffle Bunny has disappeared. It is hard to tell whether Trixie or her parents are more upset about the missing stuffed animal. The illustrations are real photographs with drawings. My favorite turn of phrase in the book is when Trixie "went boneless". This would be great mentor text for writing a story about a missing item or maybe an adventure a missing item takes. The endpapers in the book have patterned picture of Knuffle Bunny.

Mo Willems is one of my favorite authors for his creative use of humor and illustrations. He is a New York Times Best Selling Author. He is a great author for beginning readers. Some of his most popular titles include; Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, We Are in a Book!, and Waiting is Not Easy!

Awards: Caldecott Honor

Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Yang, K. (2018). Front desk. Arthur A. Levine Books.

This is the story of a young girl and her parents who immigrated from China and find America is more complicated than they thought. Even though they are considered poor and often face racism they do not regret their decision to come to America. The young girl, Mia, uses her strengths and stands tall for the people for whom she cares. Injustice, unfairness, and discrimination are just some of the outside demons Mia fights. The author's note discusses the growth of immigrants from China in the 1980's and 1990's and how it China has changed since then. The author gives heartwarming thanks in her acknowledgements.

Parachutes, Three Keys, and Room to Dream are more titles from Asian American author Kelly Yang.

Awards: Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Parents' Choice Gold Medal for fiction, and New York Times Best Selling Author