Balloons over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade

 Written & Illustrated by: Melissa Sweet

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography

Awards: ALA Sibert Medal 2012

                NCTE Orbis Pictus Award 2012

                Bank Street College of Education Cook Prize 2012

                Bank Street College of Education Flora S. Straus                        Award 2012

Summary:

Tony Sarg is the mastermind behind the giant balloon animals that grace the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades. His love for puppets began at a very young age and, he dedicated many years to honing his craft. Macy's granted him an opportunity to take his puppeteering skills to a grand scale when they asked him to be in charge of the floats in the parade. This book encourages innovation and art appreciation for all ages. 

Teacher Evaluation:

Balloons Over Broadway is a high-interest book and is beneficial for students in early education classrooms through third grade. Classes could use this book to discuss their future careers or life plans. Early learners could draw pictures of what they'd like to be in adulthood. Older students could draw and write descriptions of their life expectations. All grade levels could create puppets and demonstrate what their future career would be. 

Locomotive

 

Written & Illustrated by: Brian Floca

Genre: Nonfiction, Informational Text

Awards: 2014 Caldecott Medal

               2014 Sibert Award Honor

Summary: 

In this book, readers follow a family as they ride on the newly built transcontinental railroad. The family boards in Omaha, Nebraska, heading West to meet up with family in San Francisco. We explore the novel sights, sounds, and landscapes as they travel across the country. This book also explains how the steam engine works and the material the railroad is made of. 

Teacher Evaluation:

Locomotive would be a fun book for second through fourth-grade classrooms. This book deals with history, geography, and engineering, making it useful for various lessons. Teachers could use this book to discuss The Great Plains landscape and how it contributed to the formation of the United States. Students could draw the environment, research animals that live there, and discuss its location in relation to their homes. Classes could work on projects where they have to create a steam-powered model using the information found in the book. 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul

 

Written by: Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrated by: Frank Morrison

Genre: Nonfiction, Biography

Awards: 2021 Coretta Scott King Illustration Award

                2020 Eureka! Nonfiction Award Honor

                2021 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List

Summary:

This book tells of Aretha Franklin's journey to becoming the Queen of Soul. It begins with a look at her childhood and her experiences with the church; she learned to sing gospel music from her mother and father, a pastor. The family then moves to Detroit, where Aretha records her first album at only 14 years old. She also got involved with the Civil Rights Movement, using her voice to protest injustice. The book goes on to share about Ms. Franklin's decade-spanning career, giving readers insight into her most memorable moments in the spotlight. The author's note at the end gives more information and includes a list of her greatest hits to enjoy.

Teacher Evaluation:

I would recommend this book for students in grades three through six. This biography explains the cultural significance of Aretha Franklin's career, so I would use it to discuss how popular media helps shape culture. We would do a culture research project where students explore their culture and find significant media that have molded it. This book is written in couplets so, it would be beneficial in a poetry unit. Classes could study poetic form and create their own biographical poems to share with the class. 

Sleep: How Nature gets its Rest

 

Written & Illustrated by: Kate Prendergast

Genre: Nonfiction, Informational Text

Awards: N/A

Summary: 

Have you ever wondered how animals sleep? Well here is where you can find out. This book explains the resting habits of all kinds of animals, from cats and dogs to tigers and bears. At the end of this tale, readers get some facts about the animals in the story. Information such as where they are native to and how often they rest can be found in the final pages of this book. 

Teacher Evaluation:

I would use this book for students in kindergarten and first grade. This is a high-interest, low-readability book, which will make it popular with young students. I would use this book to teach students about the importance of sleep to animals and humans. We would draw and color classroom posters that share the information we found in this book. Students would create a sentence using the sentence stem "Sleep is important for animals and humans because..." These would also be posted for visitors to see what students are working on. 

Tani's New Home: A Refugee finds Hope & Kindness in America

 

Written by: Tanitoluwa Adewumi

Illustrated by: Courtney Dawson

Genre: Nonfiction, Autobiography

Awards: N/A

Summary:

Tani Adewumi was a small child when his family fled Nigeria to be safe in America. The family is devoutly Christian and needed to escape persecution from the terrorist group, Boko Haram. Tani's brother Austin taught him a version of chess to help him feel more comfortable during the familiy's upheaval. When the Adewumi family got to New York, they lived in a shelter, and Tani was not very comfortable with living arrangements. At PS 116, Tani's new school, Coach Shawn teaches him how to play chess. He learns that hard work is the only way to win in chesss, a lesson he carries with him throughout life. A year after arriving in America, Tani advanced to the chess state championship, where he won the first place prize.

Teacher Evaluation:

This book would be best used in for third or fourth-grade classes. Students could learn about the history of refugees in America after reading about Tani's experiences. Teachers could also discuss cause and effect from the book and study some causes of refugeeism. For reading comprehension practice, students could do a gallery walk that asks them to retell events from the story. If I were an elementary educator, I would use this book to discuss cultural sensitivity. This book simplifies common issues other cultures face, which gives teachers an opportunity to teach students kindness and respect for all people.