Cinderella by: Marcia Brown (Folktale)

This French version of Cinderella was about a young girl who's father just married a horrible woman, with two horrible daughters.  The two step sisters called Cinderella, Cinderseat, and made her do all of the chores around the house.  They treated her badly and always made fun of how ugly she was.  When the King's son was having a ball one night, the step sisters made Cinderella fix their dresses and do their hair for the ball.  Cinderella was so upset that she couldn't attend the ball, but her fairy Godmother came and turned a pumpkin into a carriage, mice into coachmen, and lizards into footmen.  Once the Godmother gave Cinderella her beautiful clothes to wear, she told her that she must be back by midnight!  Cinderella was a hit at the ball and the Prince stayed by her all night.  The next night, the Prince had another ball and once again the godmother got Cinderella all ready and warned her the same thing (to be home by midnight).  Cinderella was having such a great time with the Prince, that she heard the stroke of midnight and dashed out of the ball, losing one of her glass slippers.  The Prince tried to fit the slipper on every lady of the court, but came to find out that it belonged to Cinderella.  The step sisters fell to Cinderella's feet and begged for her forgiveness and promised to always love her.  Cinderella and the prince were married the next day and lived happily ever after.

I would use this is the classroom to compare with other stories of Cinderella.  Being that this is the French version, I would have the students  try to pick out parts of the story and vocabulary that are different from the regular version and portray the French culture.  Using a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast this story with the original Cinderella story would be a great idea to help the students get practice with the Venn Diagram and put it to use with folktales.   

The Little Mermaid by: Rachel Isadora (Modern Fantasy)

The Little Mermaid lived in a castle with her father, the sea king, her grandmother and her five sisters.  She would sit and dream of the day when she would turn 15, so she could take the trip above the waves to the land.  Finally when the little mermaid turned 15 she went straight to the land above the waves.  The first thing she saw was a ship with a handsome Prince aboard.  Suddenly, there was a terrible storm and the ship began to split into two because of the rough winds and rain.  The little mermaid immediately dove into the ocean so she could save the wonderful Prince.  When she brought him back to land she began to revive him until she noticed that there were people coming, so she had to quickly return to the sea.  One of the girls who was coming noticed the Prince and tried to help him, making the Prince believe she was the one who saved him.  When the little mermaid returned to the sea all she could think about was being with the Prince.  Her grandmother had told her that she had to forget about the Prince because mermaids live for 300 years and then turn into foam on the sea.  The only way she could have an everlasting soul like a human is if she marries one and he loves her forever.  The little mermaid knew that humans didn't like mermaid tails, so she went to the sea witch to get a potion for her to have legs.  The sea witch told her she could have a potion to get legs, but every time she walked it would feel like swords were going into her feet.  She also told her that if the Prince marries someone else, she will die and turn into foam the day after his wedding.  The little mermaid agreed and went to land to drink the potion.  The Prince found her laying by his house and they started to become close.  He would tell her that he almost died in a terrible storm but there was a wonderful girl who had saved him.  One day the Prince asked the little mermaid to be a bridesmaid in his wedding because he was marrying the girl who supposedly saved his life in that storm.  The sea witch decided to change her rules and allowed the little mermaid to kill the Prince so she could turn back into a mermaid. Last minute, the little mermaid wasn't able to kill the Prince and she ended up being taken by the children of the air who lived in the heavens.  The little mermaid never felt so free!

I would use this in my classroom by having them explain which parts of the story are realistic and which parts of the story are fantasy, and cannot happen in real life.  I would also have the students determine what the theme is of this story being that it is so prevalent.  They should understand that this story is telling them not to change yourself to make someone else happy.  I could also have the children read another version of the Little Mermaid and compare the two stories. 

Private and Confidential by: Marion Ripley (Realistic Fiction)

Brother and sister, Laura and Joe, were going through the mail one day and noticed a letter for their mother that said "private and confidential" on it.  Laura was sad because she was the only one in the family who didn't receive any mail.  Luckily, the next day at school Laura's teacher told the class that they had the opportunity to write a penpail in Australia.  There were only six boys to choose from, so Laura randomly chose Malcolm.  In her first letter to Malcolm she just described herself and told him how much she loved swimming and talking to her friends.  At the end of the letter she asked Malcolm to send a picture of himself along with his letter.  Malcolm was so excited and quickly wrote a letter back to Laura telling her how much he liked to swim as well.  Laura really enjoyed the letter and the picture that Malcolm sent of himself.  Laura immediately wrote him back, and waited three weeks for a letter back.  One day she checked the mail and she received a letter from Malcom's sister telling her that Malcolm was going to be in the hospital getting surgery for the next week because he is almost completely blind.  She also told her that Malcolm has to type his letters because he can't see to actually write them.  After receiving this terrible news, Laura knew a blind teacher at her school and asked to use her Brailling machine to type Malcom's next letter.  Ten days later Laura finally received a letter from Malcom, but it was also in braille!  When her dad asked her what the letter said she replied, "It's private and confidential!"

This is such a great book to use in the classroom because it can teach the student about what Braille is and how it is used.  This also teaches the children that just because someone is blind does not mean that they are a different person.  Laura thought Malcolm was perfectly normal the first letter she received and had no idea that he was blind.  Just because he told her he was blind does not mean that he is a different person.  In the book, they actually have the letter that Malcolm sent Laura in braille with an attached alphabet card to figure out what it says.  I would use that as an activity for the students to practice using braille so they can see what it is like for people who are blind.   

A Picture Book of Harriet Beecher Stowe by: David A. Adler (Non Fiction)

Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811 in Connecticut.  After her mother died, Harriet left home to attend the Hartford Female Seminary.  She was very smart and talented, which led her to become a teacher at the school by the age of 16.  In 1872 Harriet and her family moved to Ohio, where it was free of slavery.  However, kentucky, which is right across the river from Ohio, was not free of slavery.  Harriet constantly read newspaper articles about the slavery going on and advertisements posted for runaway slaves with a reward promised for their return.  She continued to put her writing skills to work and wrote geography textbooks, stories, and articles for newspapers and magazines.  In 1844, Harriet began to write her most amazing work, Uncle Tom's Cabin.  It was about Tom who was a slave that was mistreated by his owner, Simon Legree.  Her book showed everyone the horrors of slavery and was one of the main causes of the Civil War.

This book is a great way to introduce who Harriet Beecher Stowe is and how she affected the American people.  I think it would be a good idea to also teach more about Uncle Tom's Cabin after reading this biography of Stowe.  I would have the students make a bubble map titled: The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe.  They would fill in the bubble map with facts about Stowe and how she affected the American people.         

The Snowflake by: Neil Waldman (Non Fiction)

The Snowflake is a picture book that shows how the water cycle works.  It goes through the cycle of how water travels from earth to the clouds by showing the life of a single snowflake.  Each month of the year has it's own page, and explains the transformation of the snowflake (water) for that month.  The story discusses how one water droplet freezes, melts, evaporates, condenses, and then freezes again.  Instead of it being just an informational book, it tells a creative story of one single snowflake.

I would use this in the classroom to teach the students about the water cycle.  The fact that this book explains the water cycle through a narrative story will give the students a diifferent perspective instead of just a chart explaining the cycle.  It will peak their interest and keep them engaged throughout the story.  After reading the story, I would have the students make a flow chart of the places the snowflake went.  Then, after explaining what the symbolism of the story really means, they would make another flow chart of the actual stages of a water droplet with the correct terminology.  

Cinco De Mouse'o! by: Judy Cox (Multicultural)

This is a story about a mouse who attends a Mexican Fiesta for the holiday of Cinco de Mayo.  I used Wordle for this because they use a large amount of words that represent the Mexican culture and Cinco de Mayo.  I typed in the words that you could discuss with your students so that they could have a better understanding of what happens during that holiday. 

I would use this book in the classroom to teach the students about the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo.  It is a good book to teach about the holiday because it uses a lot of terminology connected to the Mexican culture.  Not only will this book discuss Cinco de Mayo, but it will also teach the students about the culture as well.

The Boy Who Lived With The Seals by: Rafe Martin (Multicultural)

This is a Native American story about a boy who lived with the seals. I used wallwisher to summarize this story. (link is posted right below)

I would use this book in the classroom to talk about Native Americans and the different tales and short stories that they tell within their tribes.  I would lead a discussion with the entire class to see how they feel about these tales that the Native Americans tell and believe in.  Do they believe in the tales themselves? Are they real or do the Native Americans make them up?

http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/melzie12