Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!

www.kdl.org

Title: Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!
Author: Geoffrey Hayes
Genre: Graphic Novels Series
Grade level(s) appropriateness: PreK-3
A brief synopsis/review: Benny and Penny are brother and sister who are in search for Benny's pail. They sneak in to their new neighbor's backyard to find the pail, but end up taking the new kid's pail by accident. They then go apologize to their neighbor for stealing her pail. Benny finds himself falling in mud and crying like a baby. The neighbor feels bad and offers her pail to Benny. She also invites both Benny and Penny to play over her house. They have fun playing with each other.  
Theme(s): Siblings, sharing, friendship
Noteworthy features or issues with text: The story is written in the style of a comic book which will appeal to young readers. Kids simply love comics! They are drawn to the pictures which makes them want to read. As Ian Chipman of Booklists states, "TOON Books are a literacy tool to teach kids to not only read, but also love to read." Moreover, teachers are implementing the TOON Books in their classrooms to teach the Common Core Standards. Comics are also used to develop a child's visual literacy skills to meet the Reading Informational Text standards.
Teaching ideas: Since Benny and Penny is about a brother and sister, students could discuss their relationship with their sibling(s)- How they get along? What conflicts have they faced? How did they resolve the conflict? Another activity could be on meeting new people, more appropriate at the beginning of the school year. Students would learn how to introduce themselves to each other- mannerisms such as a smile, handshake, and "Hi, how are you?" would be taught.
Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities: For art, students could create their own cartoons with their favorite TOON characters using Cartoon Maker on Toon-Books.com.
Read aloud suitability: This book may be difficult to read aloud because it's like reading a comic book.
Connections to other texts/content areas: Benny and Penny TOON Books are part of a series which includes books such as Benny and Penny in Just Pretned and Benny and Penny in the Toy Breaker.
Other additional comments: The book is a 2010 winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.   

Geoffrey Hayes and Leigh Stein read aloud Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24TlTHgKiME

Are You Ready to Play Outside?

www.finchfoundblog.com

Title: Are You Ready to Play Outside?
Author: Mo Willems
Genre: Fiction- humor and fantasy
Grade level(s) appropriateness: PreK-2
A brief synopsis/review: Elephant and Piggie are best friends. Piggy is really excited to go play outside. When it begins to rain, Piggie becomes upset that he cannot go outside. However, Elephant and Piggie soon realize that playing in the rain is fun.
Theme(s): Friendship, caring, problem-solving
Noteworthy features or issues with text: Large size font, all cap words: "I DO NOT LIKE RAIN!" (p. 18-19) and repetition of exclamation marks (Run! Run! Run!) shows significance/emphasis. The use of onomatopoeia's ("Splash," "Grrrrr") imitates the sounds of the characters' thoughts and motions.
Teaching ideas: Students could write about friendship by completing an acrostic poem using the letters in the word FRIEND. Reader's Theater could also be implemented to act out the story in class. To experiment with thought bubbles (as shown in the story), students could create their own Elephant and Piggie mini story.
Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities: For art, students could draw a picture of their favorite rainy day activity. For science, we could discuss weather and how rain affects our daily lives whether it's wearing rain jackets, rain boots, using an umbrella, or staying inside to avoid the rain and getting wet. This activity could be integrated when it's raining outside so that students make the connection between the storyline and the weather.
Read aloud suitability: Yes, is read aloud suitable.
Connections to other texts/content areas: Are You Ready to Play Outside? is part of the Elephant and Piggie series which includes such books as, We Are in a Book!, I Love My New Toy!, and My Friend is Sad. Along with Mo Willems, Dr. Seuss and P.D. Eastman are classics in the beginning-reader genre. 
Other additional comments: The book is a 2009 winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.   

Mo Willems talks about Elephant and Piggie here:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyUfnccxdnY

Tales for Very Picky Eaters

www.juniorlibraryguild.com

Title: Tales for Very Picky Eaters
Author: Josh Schneider
Genre: Fiction- comedy and humor
Grade level(s) appropriateness: K-4 
A brief synopsis/review: Each chapter is divided into a food that James does not like: broccoli, lasagna, milk, oatmeal, eggs. James is a picky eater and thinks food is disgusting. His father, however, eventually persuades James to try the food by telling him outrageous and imaginary stories that James believes. James finds that the foods that he once disliked are actually not that bad tasting.
Theme(s): Cooking and parents
Noteworthy features or issues with text: The humorous illustrations and fantasy-like storyline will bring laughter to every child.
Teaching ideas: I would use this book to teach children that it's okay to try something new. You might surprise yourself, just like James. As an activity, I would have students share something that they tried for the very first time and use their 5 senses to describe their experience: What did it taste like? What did it sound like? What did it feel like? What did it look like? What did it smell like?
Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities: This book would be great to use for a health lesson on the food pyramid or healthy/unhealthy eating habits.
Read aloud suitability: Yes, is read aloud suitable.
Connections to other texts/content areas: The following are books that discuss picky eaters: D.W. the Picky Eater by Marc Brown and Gregory, The Terrible Eater by Mitchell Sharmat, Picky Nicky by Cathy East Dubowsk
Other additional comments: The book is a 2012 winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.   

Check out Josh Schneider: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFk7F8rgMqo

Up, Tall and High!

www.amazon.com

Title: Up, Tall and High!
Author: Ethan Long
Genre: Fiction- comedy and humor
Grade level(s) appropriateness: PreK-1
A brief synopsis/review: Divided into three short "chapters," this book portrays three birds who either want to be up, tall, or high. In the first chapter, a short peacock proves that he isn't tall, but is not small either. In the second chapter, a bird helps his penguin friend to fly by attaching balloons to his body. In the third chapter, two birds want to live up in the same tree, but their weight causes the tree to fall down.
Theme(s): Friendship and teamwork
Noteworthy features or issues with text:
* Lift-the-flap book sparks reader interest! Makes reading interactive and humorous.
* Supports beginning readers to read independently
* Repetition of the words- "Up," "Tall" and "High" increases automaticity
* Large font size- easily readable
* High-frequency vocabulary (sight words) used
* Contains 3 short "chapters"- well-organized and structured story
* Colorful illustrations- appeal to the reader and portray the story being told
Teaching ideas: The book can be used for Reader's Theater, in which students take on the roles of each character within the 3 "short" chapters- reading with expression. The book could also be used for a quick lesson on sight words to increase word recognition. A vocabulary lesson on the words: up, tall, and high as well as their opposites: down, small, and low, could also be implemented.
Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities:
Read aloud suitability: Yes, this book can easily be read aloud to your students. The inside flaps serve as a great visual aid to make predictions about the story while also sparking excitement during the read aloud.
Connections to other texts/content areas: The illustrations resemble Dr. Seuss' stories- vibrant and friendly characters. 
Other additional comments: The book is a 2013 winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. 

Ethan Long shares the backstory for creating Up, Tall and High!:
http://www.teachingbooks.netbook_reading.cgi?id=8425&a=1