The Lacemaker and the Princess (Historical Fiction)

     In The Lacemaker and the Princess we learn of the incredible and unlikely friendship between a peasant and a princess. Isabelle is a simple seamstress with a simple task of delivering lace to the royal princess at Versailles, but what happens while she's there will change her life and friendships forever.

   I think this is a good book to read to a classroom because not only do you get a story about in incredible and unlikely friendship, but you also get some information within the story about the time period this story is set in, so you could include the history of Versailles into your lesson on this story.

The Amazing World of Stuart: Stuart's Cape

     In The Amazing World of Stuart: Stuart's Cape, we meet a young boy named Stuart who has just moved to a new town. Stuart is also very adventurous and in an attempt to create his own adventures he also creates his own cape made of ties. In The Amazing World of Stuart: Stuart's Cape, we learn of the many adventures Stuart embarks on after he creates his magical cape. 

     I would have this book as another example of realistic fiction in my class library because it describes the actual adventures that could happen to a young boy searching for adventure. 

Saving Danny (Realistic Fiction)

     In Saving Danny we learn of a young girl named Bree whose dog, Danny, goes missing. Throughout the book we learn of the things Bree learns about animals and animal shelters in her attempt to find her own missing dog.

    I think from reading this book students will learn about compassion and the need to help others, not only other human beings, but animals also. After reading this book I would challenge my students to help in their own community, such as working at an animal shelter, because sometimes kids are sheltered from the world around them and by doing this they would get to see what really goes on in the world first hand.

The Little Mermaid (Modern Fantasy)

ANIMOTO

      Although most of the pictures from the animoto video come from the Disney movie "The Little Mermaid" the actual version by Hans Christian Andersen is very different. By reading this version to my students it would be a good way to show that not all movies are accurate portrayals of the actual writing. 

The Three Little Pigs (Traditional Literature)

GLOGSTER

       This book is similar in style and context to my other Traditional Literature samples because it varies slightly from the original story. I would simply have this as another sample of this type of literature in my class library or maybe even have my students think of a traditional story they know and add an extra detail to it like Steven Kellogg did with the idea that the pigs and their mother sold waffles. 

The Wizard of Oz (Modern Fantasy)

           Dorothy is a small town girl from Kansas whose day gets interesting after a tornado picks her and her dog, Toto, up and deposits them in a town she is unfamiliar with, known as Munchkin Land. In her adventure she meets a talking scarecrow, a talking tin man, and a talking lion. In her attempt to get home from Munchkin Land, Dorothy and her new found friends must go to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz. The story describes all the adventures she endures and her finale adventure home.

            After reading this story I would have my students write a story similar to The Wizard of Oz. I would give them the prompt,  "Consider your at your house taking a nap when all of the sudden you hear it storming terribly outside. All of the sudden you feel your house lift from the ground and it beings spinning out of control! You can't figure out what is going on until...PLOP. You're house has finally sat back down, but when you look outside your window, you can not believe what you see..."

The Magic Tree House: Viking Ships at Sunrise (Modern Fantasy)

            In this Magic Tree House adventure, Jack and Annie must travel to Ireland to find a lost story, in a context similar to all the other Magic Tree House stories. The book describes the crazy hurdles and mishaps they must overcome to find this story.

             After reading this story or any story from the Magic Tree House series I would have my students write an adventurous tale similar to theirs. Also to connect this to history or geography I would have my students write their story and use elements of a certain time period, like in this story the author used elements from the time of the vikings in the story.