Dragonsdale

Dragonsdale was written by Salamanda Drake and illustrated by Gilly Marklew. It was published by The Chicken House in 2007. This book is a fantasy chapter book written for middle school to high school students. The main theme of this book is making difficult choices. the main character is Cara, the daughter of the Dragonmaster at the renowned Dragonsdale training farm. She works with dragons every day, mucking out their stalls, caring for their harnesses and tack, and tending the new hatchlings. But her father has forbidden her to do the one thing she wants to most in the world—fly on one—because her mother was killed in a fall. She has bonded with the most unruly dragon in the stables, Skydancer, who refuses to be trained, ridden, or cared for by anyone other than Cara. When a wealthy and cruel girl decides that Skydancer will be her next dragon, Cara is forced to choose whether to obey her father or save the creature she loves. This is a great story for young girls learning how to deal with puberty and hard choices.

Someday

Someday was written by Allison McGhee and illustrated by Peter Reynolds. It was published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2007. This book is a realistic fiction book written for children from kindergarten through second grade. The main theme of this book is love and family. The main character is the mother, as she describes her child's life and details the most important events. She narrates as though it were a letter she writes to her daughter. This is a great book for early readers. It is written with simple sentences.

The Three Grumpies

The Three Grumpies was written by Tamra Wight and illustrated by Ross Collins. It was published by Bloomsbury in 2003. The mian theme of this story is leaning how to deal with difficulties. The main character is a little girl who wakes up with the grumpies. They proceed to make her day miserable, from spilling her breakfast milk to dropping her homework in a puddle. Various well-meaning adults advise her on how to get rid of them, but it is the unnamed narrator who discovers the sure cure when she giggles, and then laughs, which sends them packing. This book is good for teaching students about feelings.

Dino Soccer

Dino Soccer was written by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Barry Gott. This book is a fantasy book depicting the personification of dinosaurs. It was written for children in elementary school. It was published by Carolrhoda Books in 2009. The main theme of this book is friendship and spirited competition. The main characters are the grazers and the biters. The Grazers are in gold, and they take on the blue-uniformed Biters in a  soccer match. The vegetarian and meat-eating dino players pass, steal, and trap the ball as they travel up and down the field.  As the game progresses, the competition is fierce and the score teeters back and forth. At the end of the day, the Biters win, but the defeated Grazers refuse to give up. At the end of the story, they hint that they will meet their opponents on the baseball field for a spirited game of Dino-ball. This book is great for teaching about herbivore and carnivore dinosaurs and their different names.

A Mother's Wish

A Mother's Wish was written by Kathy-Jo Wargin and illustrated by Irena Roman. It was published by Harper Collins in 2006. This is a realistic fiction picture book. The main theme of this book is a mother's love for her daughter. The main characters are Ella and her mother. One day Ella and her mother discover a bunch of butterflies. Ella's mother tells her she should make a wish on the butterfly and when it reaches the heavens it will come true. So Ella wishes never to be parted from her mother, writes it on a slip of paper, and stores it in a little box. When Ella grows up she shows it to her mother, and Ella's mother tells her that she also made a wish on the butterfly, that her daughter grow up strong enough to be able to be free. This story, while not necessarily educational, is still very sweet.

If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge

If Stones Could Speak was written by Marc Aronson with contributions by Mike Parker Pearson. This book was published by National Geographic Children's Books in 2010. This book was awarded the Orbis Pictus Honor in 2011. This book is an informational picture book intended for children from ten and up. The main theme of this book is exploring the mysteries of Stonehenge. The characters in this book are the narrator, Mike Pearson, and his archaeological team. They explore a different perspective about Stonehenge. Pearson, with the help of his team and other influential archaeologists, discover a link between Stonehenge and a circle of timbers, relating life and death. This is a great book for use in world history.

The Origin of Life on Earth

The Origin of life on Earth was written by David A. Anderson and illustrated by Kathleen Atkins Wilson. This book was published by Sights Production in 1996. It was  selected in 1996 by the Elementary School Library Collection and was the winner of the 1993 Multicultural Publishers Exchange Book Award of Excellence. It was also, the winner of the 1992 African Studies Association Outstanding Book Award, and the 1993 Benjamin Franklin Silver Medal Finalist. Lastly it was awarded the Coretta Scott King Award in 1993. The main theme of this book is creation. The main characters of this book are orishas, especially one named Obtala, who was not content with doing nothing. He wanted to use his powers in a meaningful way. So he prepares carefully and gathers materials from his fellow orishas in order to create the Earth. Then he fashions people out of the earth and has them brought to life. This is a great story for use when teaching about African culture.

Bodies from the Ice

Bodies from the Ice was written by James M. Deem. This book is an informational book written for fifth through seventh grade students. It was published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children in 2008. This book was awarded the Robert F. Siebert Honor Medal in 2008. The theme of this book is discovering remains in glaciers. The book discusses the different human remains that have been found in glaciers around the world. This is a great book for teaching children about glaciers and how they work.

Sun Mother Wakes The World

Sun Mother Wakes the World was written by Diane Wolkstein and illustrated by Bronwyn Bancroft. This book was published by Harper Collins in 2004. The main theme of this story is creation. The mian character in the book is Sun Mother, who came down from the heavens. With every step she took, plants and grasses started growing. She explored the caves, and in every cave she wakes different animals and insects. Then she goes back into the heavens. The animals miss her and cry to heavens for her to come back, so every day she slowly moves in the sky as she visits the Earth. Then she gave birth to the morning star and the moon to keep the animals company while she was away. From the dust of the ground she creates man and woman to watch over the animals for her. This is a great book for studying the culture of the Australian Aborigines.

Here Comes The Garbage Barge!

The Garbage Barge was written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by the Red Nose Studio. This is a historical fiction picture book intended for children from kindergarten through second grade. The book was published by Schwartz and Wade in 2010. The main theme of this book is to educate kids about the garbage barge. The main character of this book is Captain Duffy St. Pierre. He steers the garbage barge from the stinky town of Islip, which had over 3,000 tons of garbage and nowhere to put it, all over the world. No one wanted the garbage. As time went by, the garbage got stinkier and stinkier. Finally Islip was forced to take their garbage back. This brought new awareness to garbage and the need for recycling. This is a great book to use when teaching about environmental awareness.