Bibliography
The following is a brief bibliography of books that lend themselves to teaching literacy concepts. Many of the books are useful in illustrating more than one concept, and all of them have been well loved by the classes I've taught.
Barrett, Judi. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. New York, Aladdin, 1978
This is a funny story that can be used to teach problem and solution as well as point of view.
Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Philomel,1969
This story is especially good for sequencing.
Cowley, Joy and Hesler, June and Ross, Christine. In a Dark, Dark Wood. San Diego, Wright Group 1990
One of my favorite guided reading books that has a very identifiable mood.
DePaola, Tomie. Strega Nona. Aladdin, 1979
Children love to laugh at big Anthony. This story has a clear problem and solution as well as setting and characters that are unique.
Flack, Marjorie and Weise, Kurt. Story of Ping. Puffin, reissue 1977
A classic that has a clear problem and solution as well as an obvious main idea
Fox, Mem. Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge. New York, 1985
This book is incredibly touching and can be used for character study as well as problem and solution.
Havil, Juanita. Jamaica Tag Along. Houghton Mifflin, 1989
This book is one of my favorites for self to text connection.
Havil, Juanita. Jamaica's Find. Houghton Mifflin, 1986
This story is also great for students to make a personal connection to as well as talk about character traits.
Havil, Juanita. Jamaica and the Blue Marker. Houghton Mifflin, 1995
This book is useful for the same skills as mentioned above. Although it is a lesser known book in the Jamaica series, it is my personal favorite.
Henkes, Kevin. Chrysanthemum. Harpers, 1991
This story can be used for personal connection, characters and problem and solution.
Kellogg, Steven. Chicken Little. HarperTrophy, 1985
A clever twist on a classic tale that can be compared to the original as well as being a fine character study
Leaf, Munro. The Story of Ferdinand. Viking Press, 1936
This is a truly classic story. I use it for characterization, main idea and point of view.
Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad are Friends. New York, Harper Collins, 1970
This story can teach main idea as well theme very effectively.
Piper, Watty. The Little Engine That Could: Original Classic Edition. Platt and Munk Publishers,1930, 1976 This story could possibly be used for dramatization. It is a good story to teach beginning, middle and end, as well as character traits.
Scieska, Jon and Smith, Lane. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. New York, Penguin, 1989
This is a standby for many teachers when teaching point of view.
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. 25th edition Harper Trophy, 1988
This book is wonderful for dramatization. Also lends itself well to lessons about characters and settings.
Slobodkina, Esphyr. Caps For Sale. Re-issue edition, Harper Trophy, 1987
This book is also a good choice for dramatization. It has a very clear problem and solution.
Steig, William. Dr. DeSoto. Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1982
I use this book during my unit on dental health. It has a very clear problem and solution
Steig, William. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Simon Schuster,1969
This is an engaging story that can teach problem and solution as well as main idea and theme
Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the Terrible,Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Aladdin, 1972
A good book for teaching personal connection, point of view, and main idea.
Wells, Rosemary. Noisy Nora. Puffin,1997
This book is simple and useful for many concepts including personal connection, character traits, problem and solution, and main idea
Wood, Audrey and Wood, Don. The Napping House. Red Wagon Books, Harcourt, 1984
The Napping House lends itself to lessons about characters settings and mood as well as sequencing and cause and effect
Teacher Resources
Avery, Carol and Graves, Donald. …And With a Light Touch: Learning about Reading, Writing and Teaching with First Graders 2nd edition. Heinemann, 2002
This a book I refer to again and again for ideas and inspiration. A similar book for second grade is listed below.
Cooper, J. David. Literacy: Helping Children Construct Meaning 4th edition. Houghton Mifflin, 2000
All the basics about really creating literacy in the classroom. A textbook I continue to utilize.
Fraser, Jane and Skolnick, Donna. On Their Way: Celebrating Second Graders as They Read and Write. Heinemann, 1994
This is the second grade companion to the first grade resource listed above.
Lamme, Linda Leonard and Cox, Vivian and Matanazo, Jane and Olsen, Miken. Raising Readers: A guide to sharing Literature with Young Children. Walker and Company 1980
This is a useful resource for both parents and teachers.
Lipson, Eden Ross. New York Times: Parents Guide to the Best Books for Children. Three Rivers Press 2000, 3rd edition
This book was a wonderful resource for books, and conveniently organizes the books by difficulty.
Lunsford, Susan. Teaching with Favorite Read-Alouds in Second Grade. Scholastic, 2004
A practical book of lessons teaching basic literary concepts with some useful book lists
Reeves, Douglas B. The Leader's Guide to Standards: A Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Equity. Jossey-Bass,2002
This book explains the data team process that I mention in the curriculum
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