The Best New and Notable Books for K-3 Readers Compiled and Annotated by Dr. Megan Truax Judson University Literacy in Motion Conference June 2017 [email protected] Twitter: @MeganTruax Fiction Titles Beaty, A. (2016). Ada Twist, scientist. (D. Roberts, Illus.). New York, NY: Abrams. Young Ada Twist didn’t say a word until she turned three… but then she positively could not stop asking questions! When she discovers a mysterious smell one day, she stops at nothing to try to figure out its source… which, of course, leads to more questions! Teaching Ideas: Word choice; mentor text for question words; model for the scientific method (sometimes multiple hypotheses are needed); growth mindset/perseverance; making inferences from illustrations; analyzing character responses to challenges Becker, A. (2016). Return. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. In this stunning conclusion to the trilogy first introduced with Journey, a little girl escapes once again to the magical land she can access by using her colorful red chalk-- this time because she is fed up after trying to get the attention of her busy father. When her father realizes she’s gone, he follows her, only to be caught up in a continuing battle for power. Teaching Ideas: Predicting; making connections; making inferences from illustrations; ideas-- writing a story to go along with a wordless book Brosgol, V. (2016). Leave me alone! New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press. An old woman lives in a small house with a BIG family. When she tries to get her winter knitting done, she is continually distracted, ultimately leading her to become frustrated and leave. Each time she tries to get her work done, new distractions show up and get in her way. Teaching Ideas: Predicting; modeling what a “genre-breaker” is and what it does (big trend in children’s literature); mentor text for clear story structure Cordell, M. (2017). Wolf in the snow. New York, NY: Feiwel and Friends. A little girl and a wolf pup get lost in the snow and find each other in the storm. As the little girl carries the wolf pup to help him find his family, she realizes she may need more help than she thought to get home… and that help comes from a very unexpected place. Teaching Ideas: Making inferences based on illustrations (nearly wordless book); mentor text for onomatopoeia; predicting; theme Cuevas, M. (2016). The uncorker of ocean bottles. (E. Stead, Illus.). New York, NY: Dial. The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles has a very important job-- he delivers messages he finds in glass bottles at sea. One day, he finds a message with no recipient indicated. He asks around his village, but no one can identify the sender. When the Uncorker decides to try to return the letter based on a meeting point described in the note, he is met with a heartwarming surprise. Teaching Ideas: Community building-- treating others with kindness; figurative language Daywalt, D. (2017). The legend of rock, paper, scissors. (A. Rex, Illus.). New York, NY: HarperCollins. Rock, Paper, and Scissors were each undefeated warriors in their own right, searching for someone to give them a challenge. Several fights with other worthy foes are described in this instant classic, all leading to the epic battle that schoolchildren still imitate today. Teaching Ideas: Mentor text for creating an original legend; word choice Deedy, C. A. (2017). The rooster who would not be quiet. (E. Yelchin, Illus.). New York, NY: Scholastic. The village of La Paz was a noisy place-- too noisy for people to think! So, the town’s citizens elected a mayor who promised to make it quieter; however, he took his ideas too far until people were afraid to make any noise. When a brave gallito (rooster) moves into the mango tree directly under the mayor’s house and begins to sing loudly, the mayor decides to take matters into his own hands… but he soon discovers that some voices, no matter how much they are discouraged, will never be silenced. Teaching Ideas: Word choice; predicting (using patterned text); theme; mentor text for dialogue Dyckman, A. (2017). You don’t want a unicorn! (L. Climo, Illus.). New York, NY: Little, Brown. In this hilarious cautionary tale, a wise narrator tries to convince readers why they should never wish to have a unicorn as a pet. Teaching Ideas: Voice (second-person); mentor text for how to use hyphens and em dashes; mentor text for persuasive/opinion writing Ellis, C. (2016). Du iz tak? Somerville, MA: Candlewick. When two damselflies happen upon a young seedling, they ask, “Du iz tak?”-- what is that? This simple question leads to careful observation and creative engineering by other members of their insect community. Told in a completely made-up language, students will need to use their knowledge of syntax and observations from the illustrations to understand this unique recipient of the 2017 Caldecott Honor. Teaching Idea: Making inferences from illustrations to predict what the insects are saying Funk, J. (2016). Dear dragon. (R. Montalvo, Illus.). New York, NY: Viking. George and Blaise’s classes are each participating in a pen pal project. The two boys enjoy learning about each other, but they don’t anticipate the surprise that awaits them when they finally meet! Teaching Ideas: Mentor text for writing pen pal letters; mentor text for rhyming; making inferences from illustrations; theme Funk, J. (2017). The case of the stinky stench. (B. Kearney, Illus.). New York, NY: Sterling. Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast are back in this delightful sequel! This time, they are met by Sir French Toast’s nephew, Inspector Croissant, who is on a mission to find out the source of a nefarious smell in the refrigerator. The trio investigate the many regions of the refrigerator to try to identify this stinky stench. Teaching Ideas: Context clues; introduction into the meaning of “red herring” as a literary term; mentor text for word choice; predicting Goldsaito, K. (2016). The sound of silence. (J. Kuo, Illus.). New York, NY: Little, Brown. Yoshio loves going into downtown Tokyo to hear all the different sounds of the city. When he meets a sensei tuning an instrument on the street, he asks her what her favorite sound is. She replies that it is ma, the sound of silence. Yoshio goes many places during the day searching for the sound of silence, but he cannot find it. When he finally does discover the sound of silence, he realizes it has been there all along, in between the other sounds. Teaching Ideas: Mirrors & windows text to Japanese culture; figurative language-- similes and onomatopoeia Harper, C. M. (2017). The good for nothing button! New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion. Yellow Bird greets his friends, Red Bird and Blue Bird, with a new toy: a good for nothing button! However, when his friends press it, they realize that pressing the button makes them happy… and happy is something! So how can it be a good for nothing button?! The hilarious back-and-forth discussion between these friends will leave kids in stitches. Teaching Ideas: Readers’ theater; predicting; analyzing characters’ responses Henkes, K. (2017). Egg. New York, NY: Greenwillow. Four eggs star in this book-- but only three hatch! Simple, spare text and a graphic novel format are used to describe how three baby birds work together to hatch the fourth egg… but a surprise waits for them inside! Teaching Ideas: Mentor text for how to read graphic novel panels; predicting; inferring from illustrations; science connection-- baby animals being born in the spring Higgins, R. T. (2016). Hotel Bruce. New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion. In this sequel to Mother Bruce, Bruce has reluctantly embraced his role as a mother to four young geese. He even accompanies them when they migrate south each year, although he would much rather hibernate instead. When the group returns home in the spring, they find that three mice have opened Bruce’s home as a woodland hotel. Needless to say, Bruce is not happy! Teaching Ideas: Point of view; analyzing character traits and responses; predicting Higgins, R. T. (2017). Be quiet! New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion. Rupert the Mouse has a plan to make a wordless book-- one that will be “artistic” and “visually stimulating.” His two friends, Thistle and Nibbs, want to help, but they don’t quite understand that in order to create a wordless book, they need to stop talking. Laughter abounds as Rupert tries to convince them to just be quiet! Teaching Ideas: Stories that start before the title page (in this case, on the endpapers); voice; point of view; readers’ theater John, J. (2016). Penguin problems. (L. Smith, Illus.). New York, NY: Random House. A penguin’s life is rough. Your beak gets cold, you’re constantly being hunted, and all of the other penguins look just like you. Perhaps a heart-to-heart from a wise old walrus will change our complaining penguin’s perspective. Teaching Ideas: Point of view/perspective; mentor text for voice; analyzing character responses Keller, L. (2016). We are growing! New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion. Walt and his friends are blades of grass. Each one has something that makes him/her unique and special… except for Walt. When the lawn gets mowed, everything changes! Teaching Ideas: Voice; readers’ theater; celebrating differences within a community Laden, N. (2017). If I had a little dream. (M. Castillon, Illus.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. In this lyrical, rhyming text, a narrator describes her reasons for naming certain important things she may have in her life someday with a backdrop of stunning illustrations. Teaching Ideas: Introducing figurative language; generating ideas in a writer’s notebook LaReau, K.