Too Many Tamales

Author: Gary Soto 

Illustrator: Ed Martinez

Genre: Realistic Fiction 

Grade Level: K-2

Maria helps her family make the Tamales for Christmas dinner. She sees her mom putting her diamond ring aside to make the tamales. She just wants to try it on for a second because the ring is so beautiful. After having it on she realizes that it is gone from her finger! She thinks she may spy it in the tamale dough. When her cousins arrive Maria and them come up with a plan. They will eat all 24 tamales in hopes to find the ring. They eat all of the tamales and didn't end up finding the ring. When Maria goes to confess to her mother about it, she notices that the ring is right there on her finger! But now there are no more tamales for dinner. They decide to make more and all of them join in together to make more tamales joyfully. 

This book can be used to help illustrate what Christmas would be like in a multicultural home. It can also help illustrate family traditions.

The illustrations in this book are very dark and somber. They go with the feeling of winter time. Although the color scheme is dark and somber, the story and the expressions on the children's faces make it a joyful story full of fun. The illustrations are very realistic. 

The Adventures of Beetle: The Unimaginary Friend 
Author/Illustrator: Dan Stantat
Genre: Fantasy
Grade Level: K-3
Awards: Caldecott Medal

This is a magical story about a little imaginary friend who is born in a land far away. He is patiently waiting for his turn to be chosen by a real child someday. He is tired of waiting for his turn to be imagined. He sets off in an adventure to go find a little boy or girl to be his friend. He ends up in the bustling city where he searches and searches. After a long journey he finally find his special friend. 

This book can be used to talk and learn about friendships. It can also be used to expand children's imaginations and used as a prompt for them to create their own imaginary friend or story. 

The illustrations are simply amazing. They are so vivid and colorful and portray little Beekle's journey very well. 

Betsy Ross

Author: Pamela Chanko

Illustrator: Renee Graef

Genre: Biography

Grade Level: K-2

This book is a biography about Betsy Ross. It starts out by telling us where she was born and how many siblings she had as well as how she helped with chores, especially the sewing. She went to work in a shop and eventually got married to a guy and they opened their own shop together. Her husband joined the army to fight for freedom. One time George Washington came to her shop and asked for a flag to be made with a sketch he drew. She would tell the story to her grandchildren about how she made the first flag. Her grandchildren would tell the story to others. Not many people knew if it was true or not. 

This book can be used when we are talking about the flag in class or learning about the war for freedom. It can also be used when learning about the 4th of July. 

The illustrations are colorful realistic pictures. They accompany the story well and included on the pictures are random facts of information that are important but not directly tied into what the text is saying. 

I Am #11: Walt Disney

Author and Illustrator: Grace Norwich

Genre: Biography

Grade Level: 2-5

This book is a biography about Walt Disney. It mentions how his father is not a kind man and that he lost an early creation titled Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It talks about how he had a wild imagination as a child. He used those qualities as he grew older to become a cartoonist. Eventually he became a film maker and one of his characters Mikey Mouse become so famous and movie theaters sold out. He even won an academy award. He eventually created an amusement park called Disneyland and became very successful and well loved. Even to this day his work is still successful and widely appreciated and adored. 

I would use this in the classroom if students were interested in doing research on a famous person in history. We could do a wax museum project and this could be used for their research if they were to choose him as their wax museum subject. 

The cover art is a nice cartoonish drawing of Walt and disneyland. Throughout the story there are photographs used as well as realistic illustrations. There was also a timeline and lots of fun facts on the pictures and drawings. 

A Picture Book of Louis Braille

Author: David A. Adler

Illustrator: John & Alexandra Wallner

Genre: Biography

Grade Level: PreK-3

This book is a biography that tells the story of Louis Braille. He was born with normal vision like any other kid. One day he was playing with one of his father's work tools and it poked one of his eyes. Eventually he got an infection that spread to his other eyes. He lost eye site in both eyes as a result. He was a strong willed and a very strong minded person. He was determined to be like other kids and people and he eventually created the braille system for blind people to learn how to read. 

The illustrations are fun cartoon like characters that are more realistic. The color scheme is upbeat and warm. The pictures illustrate exactly whats going on in the story and follow along with the narrations. There are pictures on every page. 

I would use this in class as a subject for a research project. Students can use this as a tool for their research. I can also use this when we learn about disabilities and accommodations for people with disabilities in class. This can be read to introduce background knowledge. 

Thomas Jefferson 

A Picture Book Biography

Author: James Cross Giblin

Illustrator: Michael Dooling

Genre: Biography

Grade level: PreK-3

This book is a biography about Thomas Jefferson. It starts out talking about Thomas as a young boy going to school in Tuckahoe and how he did not want to go to school there anymore. He eventually goes to boarding school and then eventually college in Virginia. He marries Martha Wayles and has six children. It talks about how he wrote the Deceleration of Independence as governor of Virginia. He then becomes George Washington's secretary of state and then eventually becomes the President of the U.S. It talks about many other things that he did during his presidency until his eventual death. 

I would use this book in class when learning about Thomas Jefferson or about presidents. We could read this around presidents day and students could use this as a reference for their research. 

The illustrations were colorful and realistic. There were pictures on every page and the text were over the pictures. 

A Picture Book of Amelia Earhart 

Author: David A. Adler

Illustrator: Jeff Fisher

Genre: Biography

Grade Level: 3-5

This book is a complete biography of Amelia Earhart's life. We learn her birth place in this book along with many significant things that happened throughout her life. Such as how she studied medical research, taught English to immigrant children, worked as a social worker, paid for her own flying lessons, and was only interested in planes when she reached her 20's. It goes over her life all the way to the day of her disappearance and what people thought happened to her. 

The illustrations are very colorful and fun. It accompanies her journey and adds an image to the narration to make a complete story. The pictures are realistic since this is a biography. 

I would use this in my classroom for a book report on Amelia Earhart. They can use this as a reference for their research as well as learning about important people in history.