Katie Oller

Literary Tool Kit

Genre/Type

Title

Author

Diversity

Alphabet (1)

Antics!

Cathi
Hepworth

N/a.

Grade
Level
Grade
level: 1

Summary/Review/Respon
se
This book is an alphabet
book for younger children.
The words go through the
alphabet and continue all
the way through z. Each
word in the book not only
follows the alphabet, but
they all each have the word
ant included in the book.
Such as: mutant,
unpleasant. I really enjoyed
the pictures in this book, but
also thought it was very
practical because not only
will the readers learn the
alphabet and examples of it,
but will also start developing
a sense of pattern. I would
most likely use this book in
Kindergarten or first to talk
about the alphabet. This

Number (1)

One Red Rooster

Kathleen
Sullivan
Carroll

N/a.

Grade
level: 1

book could even be used in

upper grades to build
vocabulary. Many of the
words in this book are longer
and unfamiliar to students.
This book would be great to
introduce new descriptive
vocabulary to students.
This book is about counting
various animals and saying
what they are doing and
what sounds they make. I
thought it was a good book
for multiple reasons. It was
good for teaching children
how to count, but also
relating it back to what
sounds animals make. It
even touched on animals
that children typically do not
learn such as donkeys and
what sound they make. Very
practical book for teaching
young children a variety of
different things that are
appropriate for their age
group. I would use this book
in kindergarten to introduce
various animals to students.

Predictable (1)

Chicken Licken

Kenneth
McLeish

N/a

Grade
level: 3

I would then have them

select one animal and draw
a picture of them and what
they think they would eat,
and draw a sound bubble
with what kind of sound they
make. I would also ask them
to write one sentence about
something they learned
about this animal.
This book is about a chicken
that has an acorn fall on his
head, he thinks that the sky
is falling and is going to tell
the king. He runs into
various friends on his way to
tell the king and all of the
animals join him on his
adventure. This book is a
predictable pattern book
because all of the names
rhyme (chicken licken, Duck
Luck). Also, each animal
asks chicken licken the same
thing when he walks by
where are you going this
fine morning? I thought this
book was a good way to
represent pattern for older

Historical (3)

Henrys Freedom
Box

Ellen Levine

Yes, this
book can
be
categoriz
ed as
culturally
specific.

Grade
level: 2-5

children since it is not as

obvious as some pattern and
repetitive books can be.
Although this book is for 3rd
graders, it has a repetition
that is cool for them to learn.
I would most likely use this
book in readers theatre with
my students as a center.
They could assign different
parts to students and go
around reading. It would be
a great book for this
because it is fairly repetitive,
and so it will be easier for
students to read, therefore it
would work on fluency
through oral reading.
This book is based on a true
story about a young boy
named Henry that was a
slave. Every day he dreams
of what freedom would be
like, until he comes up with
an idea to set him free. This
would be a great book to
introduce children to slavery.
Many books that children
read about America are

Abes Honest
Words

Doreen
Rappaport
This book
can be
categoriz
ed as
culturally
neutral.

Grade
level: 1-5

sugar coated and do not

demonstrate the severity of
slavery. I would read this
book aloud before beginning
a unit on slavery in America.
After the read aloud, I would
have students reflect about
how this book made them
feel, and how they thought
Henry felt. I will also have
students fill out a graphic
organizer about the setting,
characters and theme in this
book. This book would be
best followed by a group
discussion, and followed up
by a history lesson.
This book would be a great
follow up to the previous
book about Henry. This book
is about Abe when he was a
young boy and his passion
for abolishing slavery. The
book follows from when Abe
was a young boy through his
life as a politician. As a pre
reading activity, I would do a
KWL chart. I would ask

Verla Kay
Whatever
Happened to the
Pony Express?

This book
can be
categoriz
ed as
culturally
neutral

Grade
level: K-3

students to tell me what

they already know about
Abe Lincoln and record it on
the graphic organizer for all
students to see. After, I will
ask students to tell me what
they want to learn about Abe
Lincoln and record this on
the chart as well. After filling
out both of these sections, I
will continue with the read
aloud. Once I am finished
with the book, I will continue
on with the chart, asking the
students to share with me
what they have learned
about Abe Lincoln from the
book I read aloud. This will
be a great visual for the
students to be able to
express everything about
Abe Lincoln that they either
had already known, or have
just learned from the book.
This is a great book to use to
teach students about
different forms of
communication in the past

and how it has changed over

the decades. Many students
are not very familiar with
writing letters or how the
post office system works
because of all of the
technology that has been
created for communication. I
would use this book as a
read aloud to introduce
students to the topic of
letters. After reading the
book aloud, I would ask
students to write a letter to
someone from that time
period and ask them any
questions they may want to
know about how they lived
their life during that era. I
would then assign every
student to go individually to
a different classroom across
the elementary school
(which I will previously talk
with other teachers about to
forewarn them) to deliver
their letter. This will teach
students about the process
of both writing a letter, and

Realistic (3)

One Green Apple

Even Bunting

Yes, this
book can
be
categoriz
ed as a
specific
multicultu
ral book.

Grade
level:
PreK-3

also some of the delivery

process. After the other
student receives a letter,
they will then respond and
deliver the mail back to the
original student. This would
be a great way for students
to make friends with other
students outside of the
class, learn about how to
write a letter, and also learn
about how letters are
delivered.
This book is about a young
Muslim girl who just moved
to America, and her
experience joining a new
culture. It starts on her first
day with her class, which
happens to be on a field trip
to an apple farm. During the
beginning half of the trip,
this new student, who goes
by the name of Farah, is very
shy and does not know any
of the other students. She
feels very misunderstood
because none of the other
students do not look like her.

Sam and the Lucky

Money

Karen Chinn
Yes, this
book can
be
categoriz
ed as a
specific
multicultu
ral book.

Grade
level: K-2

One specific example that is

used is that none of the
other students wear a
dupatta like she does
(dupatta is the scarf worn on
her head). Through the
course of the book, Farah
makes new friends and feels
more comfortable with the
other students in her class.
By the end of the trip, the
other students have made
an effort to welcome her into
their class, and she feels
more at home in America
because she feels more
understood. This would be a
great book to use when a
new student comes into the
class late and feels unsure
about what to do or what to
say!

This book is about a young

Asian boy that is given four
dollars (in this book called
leisees) to spend on New
Years. Normally, every year

Dancing in the
Wings

Debbie Allen
Grade
level: K-3
Yes, this
book is
culturally
neutral.

his parents use it to buy

notebooks and other
practical things, but this
year is special and they are
allowing him to buy anything
he wants! This would be a
great book to introduce the
concept of money, and the
diversity of money. To do
this, you could read the book
and introduce the idea that
money is different in every
countries (it would be cool to
bring in money from
different countries!) To do
the math aspect of the
lesson, you could tell the
students that they have four
dollars to spend, and give
them a list of items and
prices to look at. Their
assignment will be to not go
over the four dollars they
have been given. This would
be great for when students
are learning about coins, and
are learning about how to
add coins and dollars
together!

This is a story based on an

actress and choreographer
Debbie Allen when she was
a young dancer (this book is
also a great autobiography!)
In the book, the character
goes by the name Sassy,
and she aspires to be a
ballerina when she grows up.
One day at her dancing
class, a famous director
comes to observe. Sassy
does her best to impress,
but finds herself becoming
clumsy and not impressive.
However, because of her
persistence, Sassy may
stand a chance to become a
star. I would use this book as
a read aloud in third grade
as a book that students can
connect back to their own
life experiences. Making
these connections is an SOL
that is targeted in the third
grade. After reading this
book aloud, I would
introduce students to a new

Traditional (3)

Hey Diddle Diddle

and other Mother
Goose Rhymes

Tomie
dePaola

N/a.

Grade
level: 1-2

vocabulary word:
persistence. I would go over
what this word meant on the
board, and explain that what
Sassy demonstrated in this
book is a great example of
what persistence means. I
would then present a prompt
to my students and ask
them to write about a time
that they were persistent.
This book can be classified
as a traditional Rhyme book.
Many of the rhymes in these
books are well known
rhymes that almost any
student would be able to
recite without reading text. I
would use this book one on
one with another student
that is a beginning reader to
introduce them to concept of
word. To do this, I would ask
the student if they are
familiar with any one of the
rhymes that are in the book.
If they are familiar, I will turn
to the page of the rhyme
they are familiar of and ask

Cinderella and
Other Tales

N/a.
The Grimm
Brothers

Grade
level: 3-7

them to recite it for me

orally. After they do so, I will
then inform them that the
text in front of them is the
written version of what they
just recited. I then will then
chorally recite the rhyme
with the student while
pointing at each word to
show the student what each
word they are orally saying
looks like. After doing this
once, I will ask the student
to attempt to finger point at
the words on the second
round.
Although this particular book
contains many of the Grimm
Brothers stories, I will want
to focus my attention on
teaching the Cinderella tale
in the book. To ensure that
all of my students are
familiar with the typical
Cinderella story, I will select
a typical Cinderella story to
read aloud before reading
the Grimm version of a

Goldilocks and the

Three Bears

N/a.
James
Marshall

Grade
level: K-3

Cinderella story. After

reading both versions, I will
then prompt my students to
create a venn diagram
comparing the two stories.
Instead of using a typical
venn diagram, I will ask for
my students to create the
graphic organizer out of
shapes and props from the
stories that they feel play a
critical role in the story. After
drawing the picture, they will
then write out the
similarities and differences
in both stories and share
with the rest of the class
what they brain stormed.
Most children by third grade
have likely already heard or
read Goldilocks, which is
why I included this version
on the list. It is similar to the
traditional version, but has
different illustrations which
can give the story a different
feel. For an activity for this
book, I will only read 75% of

Science Fiction
(1)

Hunger Games

Suzanne
Collins

This is a
culturally
neutral
book.

Grade
level: 5-8

the book to the students,

and then ask for them to
create their own alternative
ending to the story,
complete with illustrations.
This activity will be similar to
having my students make
predictions about the
ending, but will give
students more freedom and
creativity to create any
ending they want for the end
of the book. After they are
finished creating their
ending and illustrations,
students will share with
others in the class what they
have drafted. The final
creations will be posted on a
bulletin board on the wall for
all students to admire while I
finish reading aloud the
remaining part of the book.
This book is about a young
girl named Katniss Everdeen
who lives in one of the
poorest districts (district 12)
in Panem, which is formerly
known as North America. In

Panem every year a boy and

girl candidate are drawn to
fight in the hunger games.
The hunger games were
created to show that the
districts have no power in
Panem, and are under the
control of the powerful
president Snow. At the
drawing, Katniss sister has
her name drawn, but Katniss
instead volunteers as
tribune to go fight in the
hunger games, as well as
Peeta, a boy the same age
as Katniss who went to her
school. Both are sent off to
the hunger games to fight
for their lives to represent
their district. This is a great
book to read, but may be too
advanced for fifth grade to
understand the character
development and
interaction. However, if I was
going to do an activity with
my students on this book, I
would ask them to create a
game that represents this

Fantasy (2)

Where the Wild

Things Are.

Maurice
Sendak.

N/a.

Grade
level: 4

book (since it is the hunger

GAMES!) If multiple students
read the book and created
multiple days, it would be
neat to incorporate them
into centers for all students
to play. Games that had
comprehension questions
would be neat to include as
well.
This book is about a young
boy named Max who has just
been sent to his room for
bad behavior. Upon arriving
in his room, it transforms
into a large jungle with
strange large animals. Max
ends up sailing on a boat
among the wild animals, and
soon becomes their king. I
would use this book in
multiple lessons for my
students. This would be a
great book for a read aloud
for the students to enjoy
hearing and doing a pre
reading activity on
predictions and connections
to their personal life.

Harry Potter (all

books)

J.K. Rowling

This book
is
culturally
neutral.

Grade
level: 4
and up.

Specifically, this would be a

great book to read to young
boys who are reluctant to
read or write stories. To
inspire my young male
students, I would read this
story to them and ask them
to come up with an
adventure of their own. This
story would set a great
example for how much fun
an adventure book can be to
read and write.
These series of books would
be a great way to motivate
and inspire students to read
because of how popular and
adventurous the Harry Potter
books are. If I used the Harry
Potter books in my
classroom, I would first send
home a letter to the parents
asking for permission to use
this book in class (some
parents are against using
this book because it is on
the banned book list in some
areas). If I had permission

from all parents, I would use

this book as a read aloud in
the class every day before
students went home. I would
also use the house system in
my classroom management
plan. To do this, I would have
4 clusters of tables in my
classroom, each assigned as
a different house in
Hogwarts. I would move
students around every few
weeks to ensure that every
student got to sit at each
house. While sitting in their
clusters, they would be
awarded house points for
good behavior, and be
docked points for negative
behavior. Using this house
point system would make
students accountable for not
only their own actions, but
also their peers actions.
Incorporating the book that
we are reading to the
students life also makes a
personal connection which
can cause students to be

Informational
(2)

Are Trees Alive?

Debbie S.
Miller

This is a
culturally
neutral
book.

Grade
level: 3

more invested in the story

than if they made no
connections.
This book is an informational
book about the different
parts of trees and their
function. But beyond just
describing the parts of trees,
it talks about different trees
around the world, and also
has pictures of the different
people around the world.
This book could even work
as a diversity book because
of all of the different people
in the pictures around the
world. If I were to use this as
an activity, I would use it
when teaching about living
and non-living. I say this
because the book talks
about the many functions of
tree parts and how it keeps
the tree alive. One page
discusses how trees breathe,
and compares it to how
humans breathe. After
reading this book, I would
also ask for my students to

You are Weird

Diane
Swanson

This is a
culturally
neutral
book.

Grade
level: 3-5

go outside and collect a leaf

and then compare the
veins on the leaf to the
veins in their hand. This
would be a cool activity so
the students can see that
trees are very similar to
them and are in fact alive!
This is a great book to teach
students about their body.
This book explains what
body parts look like, what
they do, and includes many
other silly facts that will
make students laugh. It
compares some body parts
to parts that animals have,
and what their function is. I
would probably not use this
for the whole class because
the book is so silly, but I
think I would recommend it
to students who may be
curious about their changing
body and may be dealing
with problems in their
changes. Once 4th-5th grade
hits, many students have

changing bodies and are

curious. This would be a
great way to answer their
questions and also make
them laugh.

Biography (1)

Joan of Arc

Diane
Stanley

This book
shows
diversity
through
various
socioeconomic
groups. It
can be
classified
as
culturally
neutral.

Grade
level: 3-5

This story takes place in

France during the Hundred
Years War. It follows one
character, Joan, on her
journey of becoming a hero.
She starts out very poor,
helping her family in any
way that she can. As she got
older, she began having
visions that would tell her
things about the future of
France. These visions lead
her to become a hero and
forever remembered in
Frances history. This would
be a great book to introduce
students to the history of
other countries. Although
this book is fairly long and a
little more complex, it would
be a great way to also
introduce students to

Autobiography
(1)

Five Pages a Day:

A Writers Journey

Peg Kehret

N/a.

Grade
level: 3
and up

creating stories with action

that are sequential. I would
most likely use this in a 5th
grade classroom and read
bits each day. As I read parts
of the story, I would have my
students individually create
their own action story along
with the read aloud. This
book would demonstrate
how an author tells a great
story in sequence.
This is an autobiography
about a famous writer who
fought a battle against polio
when she was younger. In
her book, she describes how
she began her career as a
writer. She first wrote a
newspaper article about
dogs, and from there moved
on to writing more pieces of
literature, and eventually
published her first book. I
think this would be a great
book to give to a student
who may be struggling with
writing for motivation, or
even a student who is

Poetry (2)

Mommy and
Daddy Are Soldiers

Yasmin
Morais

N/a.

Grade
level: K-3

passionate already about

writing who may become
more inspired by this story.
Because of the length, I
would not use this book as a
whole class read aloud, but
rather give to one student to
read on their own.
This book is a collection of
poems written by children
who have parents in the
military. These poems talk
about how they feel about
their parents leaving and
how they feel about moving
around. It is a great story to
give to a student that is
struggling with a military
family to help them feel
better (a great bibliotherapy
book!) I would use this book
even with students that are
not in military families to
encourage them to write
poems about what they are
feeling either at home or at
school. Writing poems about
their feelings is a healthy
way to express themselves

Frankenstein
Makes a Sandwich

N/a.
Adam Rex

Grade
level: 1-4

without hurting others or

themselves. After writing the
poems, I would have the
students make a personal
collection so they can look
through and read it on their
own time rather than
displaying their emotional
work on the wall for other
students to read.
This is a great book to read
to young boys that are
reluctant to write poems or
are having a hard time
understanding various kinds
of poems they can write or
read. This book touches on
many different kinds of
monsters from Frankenstein
to Bigfoot and tells the
reader about these
monsters lives. To use this
book in my class, I would
read it aloud to everyone
(girls and boys both would
love it!) After reading this
poem, I would ask for my
students to create their own

silly scary poem (doing this

around Halloween would
make it even spookier!)
Students can come up with a
poem about any monster
that they want and come up
with any kind of silly creative
poem they wish. After
writing it, I will ask for the
students to also draw a
picture of their silly scary
monster. I will make a
bulletin board out of all of
the pictures and poems for
all of the other students to
admire. Hanging these
poems up and publishing
them will give students a
sense of pride and
ownership over their work
that will motivate them for
all of the rest of their future
poems!

Caldecott (2)

Kittens First Full

Moon

Kevin Henkes N/a.

Grade
level: k-2

This book is about one kitten

that sees the moon in the
sky and thinks it is a bowl of
milk. The kitten is

No David!

David
Shannon

N/a.

Grade
level:
PreK-2

determined to find the milk

and drink it. This process
takes him on an adventure,
and each time he thinks he
is close enough to drink the
bowl of milk, he ends up
hurting himself by falling or
doing something dangerous.
By the end of the book, the
kitten has given up and goes
back home to find a bowl of
milk waiting at the door step
for him. I thought this was a
very sweet book, and I also
loved the pictures in it. It
can be a good book to teach
children about perseverance
and never giving up. I would
read this book as just a fun
read aloud, but also it would
be great to use when your
students have reached a
plateau and are tired. This
book will teach them to not
give up and keep pushing
forward.
No David! Is an
autobiography about David

Newberry (1)

Shiloh

Phyllis
Reynolds

N/a.

Grade
level: 3-5

Shannon when he was

young. Its about all of the
things that he did to get in
trouble at his house. I think
this would be a great book to
use to encourage students
(especially young boys) to
write! I think that I would
use this book to introduce a
writing prompt for my
students. I would read this
book aloud, and then after
give my students a prompt
to write about such as: Tell
me about a time when you
got in trouble with your
family. What did you do?
What happened once you
got in trouble? This book
would give students a great
intro to writing this kind of
autobiography. This prompt
can even turn into a longer
story, and you can introduce
students to the word
autobiography and what it
means.
This is a book about a young
boy named Marty that steals

Naylor

an abused beagle whom he

names Shiloh. Because the
dog is stolen, Marty has to
come up with lies to cover
up the new family member
to it will remain a secret.
This is a great book that
perfectly describes the
incredible relationship
between a human and an
animal. I would likely assign
this book for students to
read on their own simply
because of the length and
depth of this book. After
students have finished
reading the book, I would
assign a whole class
assignment for students to
create their own personal
story about a relationship
they had with their own
animal or another animal
that may have not been
theirs. This would be a great
prompt that would open
students up to writing about
something that many
students may have interest

BBOAT (1)

Scaredy Squirrel

Melanie Watt

N/a.

Grade
level: K-2.
Reading
Equivalen
cy: 2.9

in, and therefore are more

motivated to write.
I used this book already for
my read aloud assignment
for teacher prep. In my
lesson plan, I tried to relate
it to some things that my
students life. I asked them
before reading to tell me
about a time where they
were really scared to
introduce the book. Then, I
did a picture walk and had
my students write
predictions about what they
think will happen in the
book. I began reading, and
paused on the page where
Scaredy Squirrel jumps out
of the tree to save his
emergency tool kit. Once I
stopped, I asked my
students to now predict what
they think will happen next
in the book. Once I was
finished reading the book, I
had my students identify
what the problem was and
what the solution was in the

story. I had my students

share at the end if their
predictions came true, and
also had them share what
they thought the problem
and solution were in the
book. It was interesting to
see how differently my
students interpreted the
book!