Mel's Book Corner

Title:  In The Middle of the Night: Poems from a Wide-Awake House Genre: Poetry Author: Laura Purdie Salas Major Awards: None Age Group: Kindergarten-2nd grade The poems in this book are about items in the house coming out to play after the house has gone to sleep! From lunch boxes, to spaghetti, to spoons, to stuffed animals, to kleenex, there is a poem about it all! The poems are written from each object's point of view, which makes it interesting! There is a poem titled "Animals on the Go." This poem is about stuffed animals and toys having a talent show in a child's room while he sleeps. There is also a poem titled "Pencil Plunge", which is about a group of pencils sharpening themselves and having a party while the home is quiet. There is also a poem titled "Oh, My Aching Basketball!", which is about a basketball taking an ice bath in the kitchen sink after being bounced around all day. Finally, there is a poem titled "Vroom-Zoom-...

Title: Did You Hear What I Heard? Poems About School Genre: Poetry Author: Kay Winters Major Awards: None Age Group: Kindergarten-2nd grade The poems in this book are exactly what the reader would think that they are about: school! The book covers so many different aspects of school in a poetic form. There is one titled "The School Speaks." This poem is about a school building longing for the day that the students return to it. When the students arrive after a long summer, the school is ecstatic! Another poem is titled "The Teachers' Room." Here, a student is wondering what goes on in the room that no students are allowed in. Is there a sofa? Do the teachers sit in their on their cell phones? Do they eat yummy treats? The students may never know! There is also a poem titled "My Field Trip Permission Slip." This poem is relatable because it is about a student misplacing their permission slip and not realizing that it is missing until the day th...

Title: I Must Go Down to the Beach Again and Other Poems Genre: Poetry Author: Karen Jo Shapiro Major Awards: None Age Group: Kindergarten-3rd grade The poems in this book are classic poems that have been revised to make them appropriate for children. There are poems that relate to children and some problems they might encounter. There are some that are meant to be humorous and some that are more serious. There is one titled "About My Baby Sister." This poem is about a child complaining about their new baby sister. The child is obviously experiencing some jealousy and does not understand why everyone thinks that babies are so great. There is another one titled "The Sick Tummy." Here, a child is complaining about having a stomachache after eating an array of sweet treats. Another poem is titled "July Joy." This poem is about the Fourth of July and all of the fun activities that there is to do on this day. There is another poem titled "The Rott...

Title: The Popcorn Astronauts and Other Biteable Rhymes Genre: Poetry Author: Deborah Ruddell Major Awards: Notable Children's Books, 1995-2019 Age Group: Kindergarten-2nd grade This story features 5-6 poems that correspond to each of the four seasons. These poems are silly and the illustrations really make the poems come to life. For spring, one of the poems is titled "Lickety-Split Picnic." This poem is stating the ingredients needed to have a perfect picnic. There is figurative language used which makes it fun! For summer, there is a poem titled "Welcome to Watermelon Lake!" This poem is about a lake that looks like a watermelon and has pink water. For fall, there is a poem titled "21 Things to Do with an Apple." This poem is the exact way it sounds; it lists 21 different silly things to do with an apple! For winter, there is a poem titled "Gingerbread House Makeover." This poem is about a gingerbread house that is removed of cand...

Title: Fireflies at Midnight Genre: Poetry Author: Marilyn Singer Major Awards: School Library Journal's Best Books 0f 2003 Age Group: 5th-8th grade Fireflies at Midnight  is a compilation of poems about different animals and insects. There is a section of poems for Dawn, Early Morning, Noon, Early, Mid, and Late Afternoon, Dusk, Dark, Evening, Midnight, and Nighttime. For each section, there is a poem about an animal who is awake during that time period. The poems start at Dawn, and there is a poem called "Robin." Here, a robin is waking up for the day and assessing what she needs to do for the day. When Noon rolls around, there is a poem titled "Horse." Here, a horse is struggling to make it through the June and July heat and wants to stop wearing a saddle. When it gets to the Dark section, there is a poem titled "Bat." Here, a bat is flying above a house and a tree and describing what he encounters when flying. When it gets to be Nighttime,...

Title: Jack and the Beanstalk Genre: Traditional Literature Author: Emma Fucci Major Awards: None Age Group: Pre-K-1st Grade This story is about a young boy named Jack. He lives with his mother, and they do not have much money at all. All they have to their name is a cow, but one day the cow stopped producing milk. Jack's mother told Jack to go and give the cow to whoever could offer him the most money. Jack ran into a butcher who traded him the cow for five beans. Jack returns home to his mother who is furious for bringing home "worthless beans", and throws them out the window. The next morning, Jack awoke to find a large beanstalk had grown out his window. Curious, he climbs the beanstalk, which leads to a castle with a wealthy king and queen. Here, Jack steals coins from the king. At the end, the king tries to catch Jack on his way back to his home, but Jack's mother cuts the end of the beanstalk, killing the king. They end up keeping the coins and never h...

Title: The Three Little Pigs Genre: Traditional Literature Author: Barry Moser Major Awards: None Age Group: Pre-K-1st grade In this Three Little Pigs story, a group of three pigs is told by their mother that they need to learn how to live on their own. The three pigs venture out and along the way, each pig builds a home using materials gathered from townspeople. The first and second little pig build their homes out of straw and wood. A wolf asks them to let him inside, but as they decline his offer, he blows their houses in and eats them. When he goes to bother the third little pig, he runs into trouble, as this pig was smart enough to build his home with brick. The wolf tries to invite this third little pig to go out and do things with him, but the pig knows the intentions of the wolf and outsmarts him. At the end, the wolf comes looking for the pig, sliding down his chimney only to find that the pig has placed a pot of boiling water at the end of the chimney, so the wolf di...

Title: Goldilocks and the Three Bears Genre: Traditional Literature Author: Katherine Eaves Major Awards: None Age Group: Preschool-Kindergarten This is the traditional story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In this story, a family of three bears lives in a house and decides to take a walk one day. While they are gone, a girl named Goldilocks wanders through the woods and happens upon their home. While there, Goldilocks wrecks havoc on the home. At the end, the three bears return home to find their home a disaster. They find Goldilocks in the youngest bears' bed, and Goldilocks leaps out of it. This frightens her, and she promises to never snoop in a house again.  I definitely plan to use this book in my future classroom. It is a classic children's novel that children love to have read to them. Aside from that, it teaches children an important lesson on personal property and the importance of not taking what does not belong to them.  I would say this book is per...

Title: Gingerbread Baby Genre: Traditional Literature Author: Jan Brett Major Awards: 2000 Bookseller's Choice-Picture Book Age Group: Preschool-1st grade Gingerbread Baby is a story about a young boy named Mattie who decides to make a "Gingerbread Boy" on a cold, winter day. On the Gingerbread Boy recipe, it is made clear to NOT peek at the Gingerbread Boy baking in the oven until the full eight minutes are up. Mattie just cannot help himself, though, and decides to take a small peek after it had been in for five minutes. This turned out to be a huge mistake. The Gingerbread Boy runs away from Mattie, and terrorizes animals and people in the town. Mattie assumes that the Gingerbread Boy is still in his home, and decides to make a Gingerbread House for him. After giving the whole town a panic by thinking he has been eaten, the Gingerbread Boy returns home and lives happily ever after in the Gingerbread House.  I would use this book in the classroo...

                                      Title: The Little Red Hen Genre: Traditional Literature Major Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book, New York Times 10 Best Illustrated Books of the Year Age Group: Pre-K-2nd grade The Little Red Hen is a story about a hen who lives with a frog and a cat. The frog and cat are extremely lazy, and will not help the hen with any chores. The hen spent all day cleaning and cake a cake with no help from the frog and cat. Irritated by their actions, the hen leaves home. She encounters a fox who tries to make her his breakfast. The hen breaks away from the fox and decides to head home to her friends. Upon returning, she finds the frog and cat cleaning. They explain to her that they are sorry for their actions, and promise to never act lazy again.  I would use this in my classroom to teach students a lesson on how acti...