Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

I had never heard of Sarah Hale until I read this book, which is actually kind of sad. She is an important figure in American history. She was the women that pushed for the validation of Thanksgiving as an American holiday. This book has a light hearted feel and tone while still offering historical context for students. The illustrations are also highly detailed and intriguing. They are highly stylized. Even though much of the book has a fairly brown color palate, it is still very eye catching. I would use this book for elementary age students near thanksgiving.

How to Care for Your Monster

How to Care for Your Monster by Norman Bridwell is an older book.  It was written in 1970, and I believe my copy is just about that old.  The book is structured as a "how to" book for children describing all they need to know when caring for their monster.  It is similar to if it was describing how to care for a dog or other pet.  The first page of the book tells it all.

"So you want to own a monster? Many people do these days.

You can bring a monster into your home.  It's just a matter

of finding one you like.

This book will tell you how to get your monster, and how to

keep him healthy and happy."

This book would be good for 3rd grade readers or lower level 4th grade level readers.  It is broken up into small chapters describing each monster.  The language, as a whole, is not terribly difficult to grasp.  However, there is some touch vocabulary included.  For example, in the vampire section, it reads "Vampires are very dignified and polite.  But they have rather peculiar habits of eating and sleeping."

I would have this book in my classroom library for students to pick up and read for pleasure.  I would also encourage the students to read it during the Halloween season.  You could also make a project where students imagine their own monster and write a "how to" story about caring for their monster.  I would have the students type their story and then draw a picture of their monster by hand.

The Berenstain Bears' Nature Guide

The Berenstain Bears' Nature Guide by Stan and Jan Berenstain is a wonderful book. The cover of the book says "Everything small bears and kids need to know about the wonderful world of Nature." This is exactly what this book has to offer! It goes over ideas senses, how to identify is something is an animal, animal reproduction, birds, the life cycle of a frog, different kinds of plants, and caves! I would use this book in my class to introduce biology lessons to my class as an introduction. I would use certain sections here and there when they went with my lesson.