Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Modern Fantasy
4th Grade


Charlotte's Web is a classic that all children should read. This is a story of a wonderful friendship that all begins when a little girl (Fern) decides to save the runt of a liter of pigs (Wilbur). Fern enjoyed her pet Wilbur and his friendship, and in return Wilbur loved her back. The two did everything together until Wilbur was forced to go live with Fern's Uncle Zuckerman. This event devastated Wilbur and he found himself in a new barnyard with no friends, until he met Charlotte.

Charlotte was a beautiful spider who was kind to Wilbur and befriended him when he was lonely. Wilbur was happy in the barnyard until he heard the news of him being a part of the holiday meals the family would enjoy. This scared Wilbur but it was his friend Charlotte to the rescue.

With the help of the barnyard rat Templeton, Charlotte was able to create a miracle that would save Wilbur. Templeton started collecting words from trash that described Wilbur. Charlotte carefully crafted these words into her web and the Zuckerman farm saw this as nothing less than a miracle. In fact this miracle made Zuckerman decide to show Wilbur off at the fair.

So, Wilbur, Charlotte, and Templeton all headed to the fair together. This time Charlotte choose her word carefully to describe Wilbur, for this would be the last web she would ever weave. Once the fair officials saw the web they awarded Wilbur with a special award, one that would keep Zuckerman from killing the him.

Wilbur's joy quickly faded when he realized that Charlotte was too weak to return to the barnyard with him. He knew that she had created an egg sac full of her children and he was determined that if his friend Charlotte could not be with him that the baby spiders would be. With the help of Templeton, Wilbur was able to safely bring the egg sac to the barn and say goodbye to his wonderful friend Charlotte. Wilbur was able to see many more of Charlotte's descendants and he enjoyed them being his friend. Charlotte indeed saved Wilbur and gave him a wonderful life.


I will use this book as a connection between science and literature. In 4th grade science students learn about animals. They describe how they are alike and different, how their behaviors and body shapes help them survive, and how differences in animals can be a benefit. I will read this book with my students during the science unit on animals to help them see these things within literature.

Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco

Multicultural
5th Grade

This is a story of a friendship that developed between a young African American boy and an older Jewish lady. Their friendship began one day when Larnel (the young boy)decided to give Mrs. Katz (older lady) a kitten; he knew that she was a lonely lady that missed her husband. Mrs. Katz named her kitten Tush because the kitten was missing her tail. Larnel came over everyday to help Mrs. Katz take care of the kitten and because of this their friendship blossomed. When Mrs. Katz told Larnel about her heritage, he discovered that what her race went through was much like what his race went through. Larnel found himself having a lot of respect for Mrs. Katz and the two went through a lot together. They found Tush when she got lost, they visited Mr. Katz grave, and they enjoyed a Passover meal together. The two shared a lot of memories together. Their families stuck by each other and the story ends leaving readers with a picture of Larnel visiting Mrs. Katz's grave, showing how the two stayed close to each other through a lot.


This book discusses a lot about Jewish culture and the Passover. This is a culture that a lot of students probably do not know about but one that is important. I will read this story out loud to students and have them research more about Jewish and African American culture. And because Larnel compared his culture to Mrs. Katz's culture I will have students compare the events and traditions of the Jewish people to those of the African Americans using a Venn Diagram.

Top Secret by John Reynolds Gardiner

Science Fiction
3rd, 4th, or 5th Grade

Allen Brewster knew he was smart enough to be an inventor. When it came time for the science fair Ms. Green announced to her class that it was important that this year one of her students won the silver trophy and that she was named best science teacher. Allen knew he had the idea that would do this; he would create human photosynthesis. Of course, the idea did not go over well with Ms. Green and she was quick to assign Allen to do a project on lipstick. For any child this would be discouraging and especially when you tell your parents what happened and they to do not believe in your idea. However, one person did believe and that person happened to be Allen's Grandpop. He encouraged Allen to go through with his idea because any great inventor and scientist was once a child.

When Allen begin his research he discovered that it was possible for him to create human photosynthesis. He made many recipes of drinks he could drink until he found one that made him no longer hungry. Allen drank the recipe and became a human plant. His skin turned green, he found himself always thirsty, and the sunlight gave him energy. When he told his parents and teacher about his discovery they immediately thought he was crazy and referred him to a psychiatrist. Allen became frustrated with this and decided he would write a letter to the president about his discovery. The president was intrigued by his discovery and immediately started doing testing on Allen. Scientist and doctors discovered that Allen was a human plant and that he had in fact created human photosynthesis.

This idea made the president nervous so he decided to mark Allen's discovery as top secret. If everyone found out that there was a way to keep themselves from being hungry they would no longer need food and this would cause a problem for the economy. So, the president immediately ordered for Allen to take a pill to make him human again and made him promise never to reveal his secret.

Because of this top secret project Allen could not use his invention in the science fair, so he had to end up turning in a lipstick project made by the president. The lipstick project was magnificent and indeed won the silver trophy. But, Allen still wanted to prove to his teacher that his invention had worked. To do this he figured out how to put his recipe in a lipstick that he had his teacher sample. He immediately took his teacher outside, where they could be alone, to show her how her skin was turning green. He proved to her that human photosynthesis was possible. The book ends with Ms. Green being swept away by two men in suits. The author ends the book in a way that allows the reader to try to figure out for themselves what happened to Ms. Green.


I will read this book to my students before the science fair. I think it will be a fun way to introduce the fair to the students and get them excited about creating a project that is a new idea. So often students feel limited as to what type of project they can do and I want to encourage them to think outside of the box just like Allen did.

American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne

Folk Literature
3rd Grade

The author captures the stories that everyone has grown up hearing as a child in this book. This book is a collection of stories about famous legends from America. Before each story Osborne includes a note that helps readers gain background knowledge of how the tall tale came to be. The book includes stories about Davy Crockett, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, Johnny Appleseed, Stormalong, Mose, Febold Feboldson, Pecos Bill, John Henry, and Paul Bunyan. Each story includes illustrations that depict the story being told.

My favorite story in book was about John Henry. The story begins talking about the day John Henry was born and how he was born with a hammer in his hand. John Henry was strong and skillful when working with a hammer. Everyday John worked as a steel driver. One day a man came with a great new invention called a steam driller and this provided John Henry with a great challenge. He knew he could hammer faster than any steam driller and he wanted to prove it. So, John Henry and the man with steam driller competed to see who could hammer faster and of course John Henry proved to be the better man for the job. While still hammering John Henry's ribs begin to crack, he collapsed, and died that very day. This story along with the others would excite children!


While in 3rd grade students learn to assess the heroic deeds of folktale legends. I will use this book to help students with that. Everyday during this unit we will read one folktale and talk about the character. After finishing the unit I will have students create their own folktale and write it. I will also have them illustrate their story. Once all the stories are finished I will create a class book that will contain all the folktales the students have written.

Cherokee Summer by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith

Multicultural
3rd Grade

This book is about a young Cherokee Indian named Bridget. The book is divided into sections that talk about the Cherokee heritage. The first thing the book talks about is how the Cherokee nation ended up in Oklahoma because of the Trail of Tears. It gives a description of what the Trail of Tears was and why the Indians were forced to move. It then goes on to talk about Tahlequah which is where most Cherokee Indians live in Oklahoma. Bridget talks about the principal chief of the Cherokee and how she is a woman. In the Cherokee nation women play a huge part in the tribe. The book then goes on to talk about Cherokee traditions such as basket weaving, hunting, young Cherokee's learning the language, legends, and the summer stomp dance. Also, in the book there is a Cherokee story called the "Possum Learns a Lesson." The purpose of this is to give readers an example of the stories told to Cherokee children. The book also includes a glossary that can help readers look up words they may not know.


This picturebook really captures many traditions of the Cherokee Indians. In the NCSCOS one of the 3rd grade standards for social studies is for students to to be able to compare and contrast different communities from different times and places. I will use this book along with others about the Cherokee Indians and other Indian tribes. Students will read these books and then compare and contrast the traditions the Indians tribes have to the traditions their family and culture has.

My Wartime Summers by Jane Cutler

Historical Fiction
5th grade

This novel takes place during World War II. It is about a young girl, Ellen, who is at home growing through the summers of the war. The novel takes place during the summers of 1942 to 1945. When the war begins she is a little girl that enjoys playing and being curious with her friends, one of which is a Jew from Germany whose family was able to get out of the country. She also loves to play with her uncle, who lives with her family.

As the story continues things change for Ellen. Her uncle decides to join the military and she finds herself growing into a teenager that is no longer fascinated by playing outside but rather talking about boys. But one thing that stays the same, is her love for her uncle and hearing about his experience in war. At the end of the book readers are able to capture just how much Ellen's life has changed since the war first started. This is shown by the comparison of what her uncle is like now that he is home from war and her reaction to this change. Readers are able to capture what it was like for US families during the war.

The author has the book divided into the summer of each year. As you read you can see the difference in Ellen's lifestyle and personality, it serves almost like a timeline. This book also does an excellent job showing a different perspective of the war and how people's lives changed during the war.


So often when students learn about WWII they hear the prospective of a soldier or a Jew. Both of these prospectives are important for students to learn about but it is also important for them to hear different sides as well. I would use this book with a number of other books (maybe from the prospective of a nurse, parent of a soldier, Japanese-American, etc.) to teach students about the other sides of war. I would give students a list of books to choose from and have them pick one book to read. After reading the book I would have them present to their classmates the book they read and the perspective they read it from.

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

Modern Fantasy
3rd Grade

This is fun and exciting chapter book full of laughter, sneaky characters, and wonderful illustrations. Roald Dahl begins the book by painting a vivid picture of the main characters. There are three farmers in this story Boggis, Bunce, and Bean, who are all trying to protect their farms from a fox that steals their animals in the middle of the night. Night after night they sit and wait for the fox but always miss him, and one night they decide to sit outside of the fox's whole to make sure they catch him, but instead they just get his tail. This frightens the fox, the fox's wife, and their three children. They realize that the farmers will not stop at anything to catch Mr. Fox. The farmers come up with the bright idea that they will just dig the fox out of his hole. So as the farmers are digging with farm machinery, the foxes are digging their hole deeper and deeper.

After days of exhaustion and starvation Mr. Fox has a bright idea. Him and his children will dig their way to Boggis', Bunce's, and Bean's farms to get their food. So the four dig and dig and in the meantime run into other animals that can no longer gather food because of the farmers trying to catch Mr. Fox. Because of this Mr. Fox feels bad and invites all of these animals to a feast at his hole. Sneaky Mr. Fox was able to get the job done and gather enough food from the farms without the farmers ever even knowing.

Dahl leaves children at the end of the book with the picture that the fox is still getting food without the farmers knowing and the farmers are still waiting outside of the fox hole for him to come out.


This is a wonderful book to use to have children create an alternative ending. As a whole class we will read this novel; some of it will be read aloud and other parts students will read on their own. After we have finished reading the book students will write the last chapter over. They will write another ending to the story, other than the one Dahl used. This will allow them to use their imagination. After everyone is finished they will get into groups and share their ending to the story with their peers.