It's Christmas, David!

www.amazon.com

Title: It's Christmas, David!
Author: David Shannon

Genre: Fiction- comedy and humor
Grade level(s) appropriateness: PreK-2
A brief synopsis/review: The book is about a young boy named David who seems to do everything wrong- peeking at hidden gifts, misbehaving at Christmas dinner parties, giving Santa a lengthy wish list, etc. He is a naughty boy. However, David realizes that he was dreaming and wakes up on Christmas morning to find tons of gifts from Santa Claus.
Theme(s): Christmas, manners- bad/naughty vs. good/nice behavior.
Noteworthy features or issues with text: Vivid, child-like illustrations will appeal to younger children as they read along to this story. Students will be laughing out loud at the illustrations (David is butt-naked). 
Teaching ideas: A great story to be read during the Christmas time. Students could compare and contrast good and bad behaviors (making reference to David's behavior in the story). If you've read the other No, David! books, you could have students observe David's behavior in multiple stories. Students could create their own "No, David!" scene- writing a sentence and drawing a picture of David doing something naughty.

Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities: This book could be used for character education in regards to being respectful. As a class, you could discuss the opposites of David's behavior. For example, David starts eating before everyone sits down. The opposite behavior would be waiting until everyone sits down to begin eating. These good behaviors could be written on a "Nice Behavior" list to be hung up in the classroom.
Read aloud suitability: Yes, this book can be read aloud.
Connections to other texts/content areas: It's Christmas, David! is part of the No, David! series by David Shannon, featuring No, David!, David Goes to School, David Gets in Trouble, David Smells, and many more!
Other additional comments: David Shannon won the Caldecott Honor for his No, David!.

Take a sneak peek at this laugh-out-loud Christmas story here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMOV3K3ixLk

And Then It's Spring

us.macmillan.com

Title: And Then It's Spring

Author: Julie Fogliano
Genre: Realistic fiction
Grade level(s) appropriateness: PreK-2

A brief synopsis/review: A story of a boy and his dog who venture outside to see brown everywhere they go. The boy decides to plant a garden to put an end to all the brown. After many weeks go by, they finally notice a greenish hum which tells them that spring is on its way.

Theme(s): Seasons, gardening, plants and flowers, trees, spring themes
Noteworthy features or issues with text: Illustrations are created using woodblock printing techniques and pencil. The book is also a very gentle read with easy to understand text. I believe this book will encourage young children to plant their own seeds.
Teaching ideas: This book could be read as part of a lesson on teaching students about Earth Day. Students could share what their favorite season is and describe why. Students could also compare and contrast the seasons of winter and spring. Students could discuss what types of activities they like to do during the winter and spring time.
Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities: For science, students could go on a nature walk outside during the winter and spring times and talk about the changes using their senses- What do you hear, smell, feel, and see in the different seasons? Students could also create an acrostic poem about spring. Students could plant a classroom garden in which students take turns caring for.
Read aloud suitability: Yes, this book can easily be read aloud to your class.
Connections to other texts/content areas: If you liked And Then It's Spring, try: The Curious Garden by Peter Brown, City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems, Red Sled by Lita Judge, and The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. These books also reflect the changing of seasons.
Other additional comments: This is Julie Fogliano's first book. Erin Stead, illustrator of An Then It's Spring, is the winner of the Caldecott Medal for A Sick Day for Amos McGee.

Take a look at this wonderful story here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gQFVg9nmy0