Text Sets in Grade 2: Fables - 9 Read Aloud & 99 Guided & Independent Reading Books

from Jerry Pinkney's The Lion and the Mouse

Text Set: Topic - Fables

All of the read alouds are fables. Joseph Bruchac's Turtle's Race with Beaver is a Seneca tale based on the Aesop fable, Tortoise and the Hare (Jerry Pinkney text). So too is Pat Mora's The Race of Toad and Deer, a Mayan fable. The morals of each fable are different though. Arnold Lobel tells 20 original fables in his text, each with an accompanying illustration. Pinkney also retells and illustrates The Grasshopper and the Ants and The Lion & the Mouse.

  

Read Aloud

Bruchac, Joseph (Abenaki). (2003). Turtle’s Race with Beaver. Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. New York: Dial. (Lexile N/A)

Lobel, Arnold. (1983). Fables. New York: HarperCollins. (540 L)

Mora, Pat.  (2001). The Race of Toad and Deer. Illustrated by Domi. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books. (Lexile N/A)

Mora, Pat.  (2001). La Carrera del Sapo y el Venado. Illustrated by Domi. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books. (Lexile N/A)
Pinkney, Jerry. (2015). The Grasshopper & the Ants.  New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Pinkney, Jerry. (2013). The Tortoise & the Hare. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Pinkney, Jerry. (2009). The Lion & the Mouse. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (Caldecott Medal)

Pinkney, Jerry. (2000). Aesop’s Fables. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. (760L)

Pinkney, Jerry. (2000). Fabulas de Esopo. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. (760L)

Guided Reading and Independent/Buddy Reading (Levels D - X)


Levels D - H 

1. Dufresne, Michele. The Grasshopper and the Ant. Illustrated by Michael Chesworth. Pioneer Valley Books. (GR Level: D/6)
2. Mattison, Ruth. The Country Mouse and a Town Mouse. Illustrated by Max Stasiuk. Pioneer Valley Books. (GR Level: E/7)
3. Dufresne, Michele. The Tortoise and the Hare. Illustrated by Ann Caranci. Pioneer Valley Books. (GR Level: E/8)
4. Dufresne, Michele. The Lion and the Mouse. Illustrated by Max Stasiuk. Pioneer Valley Books. (GR Level: F/10)
5. Dufresne, Michele. The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Illustrated by Tracy La Rue Hohn. Pioneer Valley Books. (GR Level: G/11)
6. Dufresne, Michele. The Goose and the Golden Egg. Illustrated by Michelle Morse. Pioneer Valley Books. (GR Level: G/12)
7. Arnold, Tedd.  Green Wilma. New York: Scholastic. (600L, GR Level: H/14)
8. Dufresne, Michele. The Milkmaid and Her Pail. Illustrated by Farida Zaman. Pioneer Valley Books. (GR Level: H/13)
9. Helmer, Ingrid. The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Illustrated by Natalia Vasquez. New York: Scholastic. (GR Level H/14)

Level I

1. Blair, Eric. (2012). The Boy Who Cried Wolf: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (360L, GR Level I)
2. Blair, Eric. (2006). El Pastorcito Mentiroso: A Retelling  of Aesop’s Fable/Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (410L, GR Level I)
3. Blair, Eric. (2012). Belling the Cat: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (470L, GR Level I))
4. Blair, Eric. (2012). The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: : A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (400L, GR Level I))
5. Blair, Eric. (2006). El raton de campo y el raton de ciudad: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (490L, GR Level I))
6. Blair, Eric. (2012).  The Donkey in the Lion's Skin: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (370L, GR Level I))
7. Blair, Eric. (2006). El cuervo y la jarra: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Illustrated by Dianne Silverman. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (400L, GR Level: I)
8. Forest, Heather. (2013). The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind: An Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Susan Gaber. Atlanta, GA: August House.  (460L, GR Level I)
9. Guillain, Charlotte. (2013). The Kitten Who Cried Dog. Illustrated by Dawn Beacon. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (630L, GR Level: I)
10. Lionni, Leo. (1997). A Color of His Own. New York: Dragonfly Books. (640L, GR Level: I/16)
11. White, Mark. (2012). The Ant and the Grasshopper: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Sara Rojo Pérez. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (370L, GR Level I))
12. White, Mark. (2006). La cigarra y la hormiga: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Illustrated by Sara Rojo Pérez. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (380L, GR Level I)
13. White, Mark. (2012). The Lion and the Mouse: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable.  Illustrated by Sara Rojo Pérez. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (380L, GR Level I)






14. White, Mark. (2012). The Fox and the Grapes: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Sara Rojo Pérez. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (420L, GR Level I)
15. White, Mark. (2012). The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: A Retelling of Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Sara Rojo Pérez. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (460L, GR Level I)
16. Trussell- Cullen, Alan. (2012). The Crow and the Rain Barrel. Los Angeles, CA: Hameray Publishing Group. (GR Level I/16)

from You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together.

Level J

1. Charles, Faustin. (2010). The Greedy Crocodile. Illustrated by Michael Terry. Bloomsbury Publishing. (580L, GR Level: J)
2. Hoberman, Mary Ann. (2013). You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together. Illustrated by Michael Emberley.  New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. (GR Level: J)
3. Lionni, Leo. (1993). A Busy Year. New York: Scholastic. (370L, GR Level: J/16)
4. Ross, Tony. (1992). The Boy Who Cried Wolf. New York: Puffin Books. (GR Level: J)
5. Smith, Annette. (2006). The Greedy Dog and the Bone. Rigby. (400L, GR Level: J/17)
6. Wallner, John. City Mouse–Country Mouse and Two More Mouse Tales from Aesop. New York: Scholastic.  (500L, GR Level: J/17)

Level K

1. Andreae, Giles. (2004). Leo, the Lovable Lion. Illustrated by David Wojtowycz. New York: Scholastic. (GR Level: K)
2. Berendes, Mary. (2011). The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: K)
3. Berendes, Mary. (2011). The Fox and the Grapes. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: K)
4. Cleveland, Rob. (2006). The Little Red Hen: An Old Fable. Illustrated by Baird Hoffmire Atlanta, GA: August House.  (740L, GR Level K)
5. Forest, Heather. (2013). The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind: An Aesop's Fable. Illustrated by Susan Gaber. Atlanta, GA: August House.  (510L, GR Level I)
6. Giles, Jenny. (1998). The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Illustrated by Naomi C. Lewis. Rigby. (350L, GR Level: K)
7. Giles, Jenny. (1998). The Sly Fox and the Red Hen. Illustrated by Isabel Lowe. Rigby. (350L, GR Level: K)
8. Giles, Jenny. (1998). The Hare and the Tortoise. Illustrated by Naomi C. Lewis. Rigby. (350L, GR Level: K)
9. Giles, Jenny. (1998). Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Illustrated by Naomi C. Lewis. Rigby. (350L, GR Level K/19-20)
10. Lionni, Leo. (2010). Tille and the Wall. New York: Dragonfly Books. (490L, GR Level: K/18)
11. Piumini, Roberto. (2011). The Raven and the Fox. Illustrated by Raffaella Bolaffio. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.  (680L, GR Level: K)
12. Piumini, Roberto. (2011). The Tortoise and the Hare. Illustrated by Barbara Nascimbeni. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.  (610L. GR Level: K)
13. Trussell- Cullen, Alan. (2012). The Greedy Dog and the Very Big Bone. Illustrated by Steven Pileggi. Los Angeles, CA: Hameray Publishing Group. (GR Level: K)
14. Watts, Bernadette. (2007). The Lion and the Mouse. New York: North-South Books. (360L, GR Level: K 16-18)
15. White, Mark. (2006). El leon y el raton: Versión de la fábula de Esopo. Illustrated by Sara Rojo Pérez. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. (390L, GR Level: K)

Level L

1. Buckley, Richard. (2012). The Greedy Python. Illustrated by Eric Carle. New York: Simon Spotlight. (GR Level: L/20)
2. Giles, Jenny. (2000). The Wind and the Sun: An Aesop Fable. Illustrated by Pat Reynolds. Rigby. (GR Level L/27)
3. Lionni, Leo. (1994). Cornelius. New York: Dragonfly Books. (270L, GR Level: L/20 )
4. Lionni, Leo. (2000). Tico and the Golden Wings. New York: Dragonfly Books. (270L, GR Level: L/20
5. Lionni, Leo. (1973). Swimmy. New York: Dragonfly Books. (620L, GR Level: L/20)
6. Lionni, Leo. (1974). Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. New York: Dragonfly Books.  (490L, GR Level: L/20)
7. Lionni, Leo. (1974). Fish Is Fish. New York: Dragonfly Books. (690L, GR Level: L/20)
8. Lionni, Leo. (1977). A Flea Story. New York: Knopf Books. (310L, GR Level: L/20) Video of story. 
9. Lionni, Leo. (1992).  Mr. McMouse. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. (390L, GR Level: L/20)
10. Mattison, Ruth. The Pigeons and the Crow: An Indian Folk Tale. Illustrated by Max Stasiuk. Pioneer Valley Books. (L/22)
11. Paxton, Tom. (1997). The Ant and the Grasshopper. Celebration Press. (GR Level L/24)
12. Reynolds, Peter H. (2003). The Dot. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. (500L, GR Level: L/20)
13. Tang Greg. (2004). Math Fables: Lessons that Count. Illustrated by Heather Cahoon. New York: Scholastic. (GR Level: L/20)

from Graham Percy's The Tortoise and the Hare

Level M

1. Berendes, Mary. (2011). The Maid and the Milk Pail.  North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level, M)
2. Berendes, Mary. (2011). The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: M)
3. Brett, Jan. (2003). Town Mouse, Country Mouse. New York: Puffin. (530L, GR Level: M/24)
4. Buehner, Caorlyn. (2000). I Did It, I'm Sorry. Illustrated by Mark Buehner. New York: Puffin Books. (460L, GR Level: M/20-24)
5. Lionni, Leo. (1973). Frederick. New York: Dragonfly (500L  GR: Level M)
6. McElligott, Matthew. (2012).  The Lion's Share. New York: Walker Childrens. (550L, GR Level: M/20-24)
7. Muth, John J.  (2002). The Three Questions: Based on a Story by Leo Tolstoy. New York: Scholastic. (410L, GR Level: M/24)
8. Percy, Graham. (2010). The Ant and the Grasshopper. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: M)
9. Percy, Graham. (2010). The Fox and the Crow. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: M)
10. Percy, Graham. (2010). The Fox and the Stork. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: M)
11. Percy, Graham. (2010). The Lion and the Mouse. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: M)



Add caption

12. Percy, Graham. (2010). The Tortoise and the Hare. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level M)
13. Percy, Graham. (2010). The Mice in Council. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: M)
14. Reynolds, Peter H. (2004). Ish. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. (440L, GR Level: M)
15. Tingle, Tim. (2013). When Turtle Grew Feathers: A Tale from the Choctaw Nation. Illustrated by Stacey Schuett. Atlanta, GA: August House. (550L, GR Level: M) 
16. Trussell- Cullen, Alan. (2012). The Lion and the Mouse. Illustrated by Steven Pileggi. Los Angeles, CA: Hameray Publishing Group. (GR Level: M)

from The Foolish Tortoise

Level N

1. Buckley, Richard. (2015). The Foolish Tortoise. Illustrated by Eric Carle. New York: Simon Spotlight. (610L, GR Level: N/30)
2. Hamilton, Martha & Mitch Weiss. (2015). Forty Fun Fables: Tales that Trick, Tickle and Teach. Atlanta, GA: August House. (GR Level: N)
3. Lionni, Leo. (2010). Six Crows. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. (480L, GR Level: N/30)
4. Medearis, Angela Shelf. (2000). Seven Spools of Thread. Illustrated by Daniel Minter. New York: Scholastic. (430L, GR Level: N/30)
5. Percy, Graham. (2010). The City Mouse and the Country Mouse. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: N/30)
6. Percy, Graham. (2010). The Heron and the Fish. North Mankato, MN: Child's World. (GR Level: N/30)
7. Steig, William. (2010). Doctor De Soto. New York: Square Fish. (560L, GR Level: N)

Level O

1. MacDonald, Margaret Read. (2005). Five-Minute Tales. Atlanta, GA: August House. (600L, GR Level: O)
2. MacDonald, Margaret Read. (2005). Three-Minute Tales. Atlanta, GA: August House. (590L, GR Level: O)
3. Myers, Walter Dean. (1997). The Story of the Three Kingdoms. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. New York: HarperCollins. (570L, GR Level: O/34-38)

Level P

1. Lionni, Leo. (1996). It's Mine. New York: Dragonfly Books. (470L, GR: Level P)
2. Lionni, Leo. (1995). Matthew's Dream. New York: Dragonfly Books.  (560L, GR Level: P)

Levels Q -X

1. Osei, Leah. (2013).  The Boy Who Cried Wolf and Other Aesop Fables.  Teacher Created Materials. (750L, GR Level Q)
2. Hamilton, Martha. (2006). Through the Grapevine: World Tales Kids Can Read & Tell. Illustrated by Mitch Weiss.  Atlanta, GA: August House.  (880L, GR Level R)
3. McGovern. Ann. (2013). Aesop's Fables. Illustrated by Ricardo Tercio. New York: Scholastic. (780L, GR Level: T/50)
4. Sherman, Joseph. (2005). Rachel The Clever and Other Jewish Folktales. Illustrated by Jeanne Seagle. Atlanta, GA: August House. (690L, GR Level: W)
5. Stevens, Janet. (1985). The Tortoise and the Hare: An Aesop Fable. New York: Holiday House.  (540L, GR Level :X)

No Guided Reading Level

1. Carle, Eric. (2008). The Rabbit and the Turtle: Aesop's Fables Retold and Illustrated by Eric Carle. New York: Orchard Books. (650L)
2. Dan, Lari. (2013). The Hungry Wolf: A Story from North America. Illustrated by Melanie Williamson. Cambridge MA: Barefoot Books. (630L)
3. Dan, Lari. (2012). Never Trust a Tiger: A Story from Korea. Illustrated by Melanie Williamson. Cambridge MA: Barefoot Books. (510L)
4. Hartman, Bob. (2004). The Wolf Who Cried Boy. Illustrated by Tim Raglin. New York: Puffin Books. (640L)
5. Husain, Shahrukh. (2011).  The Wise Fool: Fables from the Islamic World. Illustrated by Micha Archer. Cambridge, MA: Barefoot Books. (780L)
6. Nunes, Shiho S. (2013). Chinese Fables: The Dragon Slayer and Other Timeless Tales of Wisdom. Illustrated by Lak-Khee Tay-Audouard.  Boston, MA: Tuttle Publishing. (Aesop Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature, 2014)
7. Scieszka, Jon. (2003). Squids Will be Squids : Fresh Morals, Beastly Fables.  Illustrated by Lane Smith. New York: Puffin Books. (650L)

The Role of Knowledge in Comprehension in Grade 2

  Books read in 2nd Grade

Books that students have heard and read. Tenzin's Deer, Himalaya, The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest, and The Chiru of High Tibet are all par of unit focusing on the Himalayan Mountains and people.  Joseph Bruchac's Turtle's Race with Beaver and Pat Mora's The Race of Toad and Deer are two of many books in a  unit about fables.

Student's thinking abut the text,  The Top of
the World: Climbing Mount Everest

2nd grader's thinking about the text Himalaya.

The importance of world knowledge and experience are underscored in the excerpts below written by Susan Neuman. This is one of the reasons when I designed the read aloud units of study for K-4 (e-book collection I am working on), I packed them with diverse texts that would provide learners with the occasion to learn about the world--some of it they might well know and other bits they might not have heard about before. In some second grade classrooms who have been using the full set of units (9), the teachers tell me that the children cheer when each day they participate in read aloud. Above all else I wanted the learning to be joyful, playful and oddly intellectual. The learning is in the play.

Watching these children learning and teaching some of them has altered how I see this work being accomplished in classrooms.  I have begun to rethink the read aloud as a stand alone form and now see it as part of a continuum where students choose to assume greater responsibility based on their interests.

2nd graders pose after readers theater (based on an Arnold Lobel fable.  So pleased to hear a recording of their voices.

from Susan B. Neuman from here  ("Lessons from My Mother: Reflections on the National Early Literacy Panel Report," Educational Researcher.).

For example, in one study (Recht & Leslie, 1988) we look at children's recall and comprehension of baseball. In this case, the researchers asked 7th grade students to read a grade-level passage that described a half inning of a baseball game. Half of these students are good readers, the other half poor
readers according to a standardized reading test. Using a task somewhat similar to a
think-aloud protocol, the researchers divide the passage into five parts, and after each part
students are asked to use a replica of a baseball field and players and to react and describe
what they read. It turns out that background knowledge of baseball trumps all the skills
measured on the standardized achievement test: Poor readers with high knowledge of baseball display better comprehension than good readers with low knowledge of baseball. (my emphasis) 

What is going on here? It must be the test. Or could knowledge actually aide working memory? And might memory aide comprehension of text? We continue our  search and come upon studies by Wolfgang Schneider (Schneider & Korkel, 1989), and Michelle Chi (Chi, Feltovich, & Glaser, 1981) and others (Ceci, 1990) who study expert performers--racetrack handicappers; baseball statisticians, bowling league scorers, you name it. They go one step further, looking at high and low aptitude children, some of whom have prior knowledge of the subject domain and some of whom do For example, here‟s what Schneider and his colleagues (Schneider, Korkel, & Weinert, 1990) decide to do. In one of their first experiments, they compare 576 young soccer experts and novices on their ability to memorize details, inferences, and to detect basic contradictions in a story that was contrived to include lots of misinformation. Not surprisingly, the experts wildly outperform the novices: experts remember more details, better apply what they read to new situations, and detect more contradictions than their better apply what they read to new situations, and detect more contradictions than their aptitude experts do not differ from one another. In other words, there is virtually no distinction between their performance on these tasks, and both are clearly superior to high-aptitude and low-aptitude novices. The high-aptitude, low-knowledge students do no better than their low-aptitude peers. 

So if we would have examined comprehension in other content domains, then the major headline in “Developing Early Literacy” might look like this: All students will learn more and comprehend better if they have greater background knowledge.

Worth reading the whole text.

Here is a bibliography of the books currently I am using in 2nd grade as read aloud/assisted reading/paired reading. You can see a sample of the e-book for grade 2 here. It contains two units. I am just editing the final version and will post it to iTunes when I am done. This completed e-book will contain all nine units.

Unit 1: Himalayan Mountains

Jenkins, Steve. (2002). The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest. New York: Sandpiper.

Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. (2010). The Chiru of High Tibet: A True Story. Illustrated by Linda Wingerter. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books.

Reynolds, Jan. (2007). Himalaya: Vanishing Cultures. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Soros, Barbara. (2007). Tenzin’s Deer. Illustrated by Danuta Mayer. Cambridge, MA: Barefoot Books.

Unit 2: Fables

Bruchac, Joseph (Abenaki). (2003). Turtle’s Race with Beaver. Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. New York: Dial.

Lobel, Arnold. (1983). Fables. New York: HarperCollins.

Mora, Pat.  (2001). The Race of Toad and Deer. Illustrated by Domi. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.

Mora, Pat.  (2001). La Carrera del Sapo y el Venado. Illustrated by Domi. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books

Pinkney, Jerry. (2000). Aesop’s Fables. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Pinkney, Jerry. (2000). Fabulas de Esopo. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Unit 3: Inspiring People

 Bruchac, Joseph. (2009). Rachel Carson: Preserving a Sense of Wonder. Illustrated by Thomas Locker. Golden, CO: Fulcrum.

Lawlor, Laurie. (2012). Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World. Illustrated by Laura Beingessner. New York: Holiday House.

McGinty, Alice B. (2013). Gandhi: A March to the Sea. Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. Las Vegas, NV: Amazon Children’s Publishing.

Nivola, Claire. (2012). Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Roth, Susan & Cindy Trumbore. (2011). The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families. Collages by Susan Roth. New York: Lee and Low Books.

Tonatiuh, Duncan. (2014). Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation.  New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Winter, Jeanette. (2011). The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps. New York: Schwartz & Wade/Random House.

Winter, Jonah. (2009). Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx: La juez que crecio en el Bronx. Illustrated by Edel Rodriguez. New York: Atheneum.

Unit 4: Soil Habitats

 Aston, Dianna Hutts. (2012). A Rock is Lively. Illustrated by Sylvia Long. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Bial, Raymond. (2000). A Handful of Dirt. New York: Walker Childrens.

BodhaGuru Videos. (2012). Science - Soil Formation and soil layers. Retrieved 5.12.13 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amt-sPIbgK0

Tomacek, Steve. (2007). Jump into Science: Dirt. Illustrated by Nancy Woodman. Washington DC: National Geographic.

from  If You Find a Rock.

Unit 5: Noticing an Author’s Language

 Christian, Peggy. (2008). If You Find a Rock.  Photos by Barbara Hirsch Lember. New York: Sandpiper.

Collins, Pat Lowery. (1994). I Am an Artist. Illustrated by Robin Brickman. Millbrook Press.

Davies, Nicola. (2004). Bat Loves the Night. Illustrated by Sarah Fox-Davies. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Hesse, Karen. (1999). Come On, Rain. Illustrated by Jon Muth. New York: Scholastic.

Lyon, George Ella. (2011). Who Came Down that Road? Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. La Jolla, CA: Kane Miller.

from John Henry. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.

Unit 6: American Tall Tales

Kellogg, Steve. (2004). Paul Bunyan.  New York: HarperCollins.

Lester, Julius. (1999). John Henry. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Puffin.

Mora, Pat. (2005). Dona Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart. Illustrated by Raul Colon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Nolen, Jerdine. (2003). Thunder Rose. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. San Diego, CA: Silver Whistle/Harcourt.

John Henry Video. Retrieved 7.11.13 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MuCLvu0CkU

S.E. Schlosser, S.E. Casey Jones: A Tennessee Legend.

from  Stichin’ and Pullin’: A Gee’s Bend Quilt.

Unit 7: The Power of Community

Bouler, Olivia. (2011). Olivia’s Birds: Saving the Gulf. New York: Sterling Children’s Books.

Cohn, Diana. (2002). ¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! Janitor Strike in L.A. Illustrated by Francisco

Delgado. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.

DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne. (1994). City Green. New York: HarperCollins.

McKissack, Patricia. (2008). Stichin’ and Pullin’: A Gee’s Bend Quilt. Illustrated by Cozbi A, Cabrera. New York: Random House.

Tate, Don. (2012). It Jes Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Lee and Low Books.

from The Bee Tree

Unit 8: All  About Trees

 Buchmann, Steven and Diana Cohn. (2012). The Bee Tree. Illustrated by Paul Mirocha. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press.

Chin, Jason. (2009). Redwoods. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

Guiberson, Brenda. (2009). Life in a Boreal Forest. Illustrated by Gennady Spirin. New York: Henry Holt.

Patton, Christopher. (2007). Jack Pine. Illustrations by  Cybèle Young. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books.

Unit 9: Wants and Needs

Elya, Susan Middleton. (2006). Home at Last. Illustrated by Felipe Davalos. New York: Lee & Low Books.

English, Karen. (2004). Hot Day on Abbott Avenue. Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Clarion Books.

Johnson, Angela. (2003). I Dream of Trains. Illustrated by Loren Long.  New York: Simon & Schuster.

Larson, Jennifer S. (2012). Do I Need It? Or Do I Want It? Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications.

Park, Linda Sue. (2004). The Firekeeper’s Son. Illustrated by Julie Downing. New York: Sandpiper.