“It was only in the fairy tales that people were called upon to be so brave, to die for one another. Not in real-life Denmark.”

This book highlights true character growth as the main character, Annemarie, faces the hardship of World War II and escaping her home country. The book would be very meaningful for young students to read as it shares great insight on the Holocaust. This book truly shares how at this time young children had to grow up fast and understand the difficulties of war.

The historical fiction book is about the escape of a family of Jews from Denmark. The story focuses on ten-year-old Annemarie and her family and their journey of escaping Denmark during World War II. This book gives great insight into the lives of people during this time and the hardships they faced. Overall, the book would be well suited for the grade levels of 4th-7th grade as it shares the difficulties of war.

“Tyrus saw an opportunity.“

This biography is very inspiring as it shares the challenges of being an immigrant as well as the journey to becoming an artist. This book shares the main accomplishments and achievements of Tyrus Wong. Overall, the book strengthens the idea of staying motivated and never letting go of your dreams.

This biography shares the inspiring story of Tyrus Wong. It discusses the challenges he faced as a young immigrant in the United States and how he overcame them. In addition, the biography focuses on Tyrus Wong's passion for art and his journey to becoming an influential artist on Bambi.

“Some artists paint pictures of flowers or people or landscapes. Not Jackson. He expresses his thoughts and feelings directly on the canvas, calling it “energy and motion made visible.”

This children's book is an example of a biography told from a third-person perspective. The biography is also a fast-moving narrative. Overall, it tells a beautiful story on the subject of art as it offers its readers additional knowledge on the subject and the various thoughts that go into the work of artists.

This children's biography is an authoritative account of the life of the pioneering abstract expressionist painter, Jackson Pollock. Throughout the book, it discusses the time, skill, and uniqueness that is displayed in all of his artwork. The book predominantly follows Pollock through the creation of his famous painting, “Lavender Mist“.

“Twenty-six years after Bill‘s arrival in Chattanooga, his plan was complete. He had worked, sweated, and prayed. Now he finally had his loving family around him, just like when he was a boy. Only now they were all free”.

This biography is a fast-moving narrative that follows the life of an enslaved boy named Bill. This book would offer student‘s knowledge about what being an enslaved person was like. The book displays accurate information about Bill‘s life in a story format with pictures that also help to tell the story.

This biography is about an enslaved boy, Bill, who learned to become a blacksmith. Eventually, Bill made a deal with Colonel Lewis to rent his freedom so he could open his own blacksmith workshop in Chattanooga. Bill earned enough money to buy the freedom of his wife, children, and himself. This powerful biography shares the journey of hard work and determination and how to persevere through challenging times.

“In February, as the Polar night begins to approach the Antarctic, the young will begin a long journey north, migrating, following the pack ice as the Southern Ocean begins to freeze.“

This book is wonderfully crafted as the watercolors depict the scenarios perfectly. I can use this book in my classroom to engage students in learning about penguins through the perspective of the author. Overall, the biography highlights how students can apply and expand their knowledge of penguins.

My Season with Penguins An Antarctic Journal by Sophie Webb shows a glimpse of the life of penguins during the two months of December - January. Sophie Webb is a biologist who shares her story through beautiful watercolor pictures that depict what she observed every day. Overall, her journal highlights her study of a breeding colony of Adélie penguins on Cape Royds, an island off the coast of Antarctica.

“People watched and said, 'BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL'“

This biography is a fast-moving narrative as it shares the overview of Josephine Baker's life. The biography highlights the extraordinary life of Josephine Baker and how she overcame many challenges. One main topic the book focuses on is segregation and how Josephine believed everybody, no matter their race, could live together in harmony. This was very important to include in this biography as Josephine was very motivated to speak out against it.

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, is a beautifully written and illustrated biography about Josephine Baker's life. The book highlights the joy of Josephine Baker and her life accomplishments as a dancer, actor, and performer. The book celebrates her life as it shares the barriers she broke to her rise to fame. Overall, Josephine Baker was a great inspiration to many and this book does an excellent job capturing it.

I really enjoyed this poem as it discussed the harsh realities of social injustices. In addition, the poem was beautifully illustrated and as it expressed the freedoms the boy would like to experience in his life.

That Is My Dream!: A Picture Book of Langston Hughes's Dream Variation, is a poem about the dream of a world free of discrimination and racial prejudice. It follows an African-American boy through the course of his day as the harsh reality of segregation and racial prejudice comes into vivid focus. But the boy dreams of a different life—one full of freedom, hope, and wild possibility, where he can fling his arms wide in the face of the sun.

This book is the perfect amount of spookiness for young children. The book is beautifully illustrated as it uses the colors of black, white, and orange to capture the Halloween spirit. Overall, the book is super funny and shares an importance message for young children.

Creepy Carrots!, is a fun-loving children's Halloween book. The book shares the story of Jasper Rabbit and his love for carrots. Through the spooky adventure you learn the mystery of the creepy carrots and how they began to follow Jasper. In addition, this book is a Caldecott Honor-winning picture book.

I really enjoyed this poetry collection book. I thought that it would be perfect for all ages as it is very expressive. The poems are very versatile as it shares the unique adventure of farmer's markets and the hidden joys that come with it.

The poetry book, Fresh-Picked Poetry: A Day at the Farmers' Market, is a collection of poems. These poems explore a day at an urban farmers‘ market. It dives deeper into the world of adventures that young readers experience at a farmer's market as it is very expressive. Overall, it highlights people you'll see, what to eat, and how produce is grown.

“They were one of the first predators to walk on land, starting more than 350 million years ago. And they are still one of the most successful predators. Today, there are more than 38,000 types of spiders.”

This book would be appropriate for all ages. This book would pique the interest of any study who is interested in learning more about animals, especially spiders. The book has an intriguing cover with a large image of a spider. In addition, the book is a Robert F. Sibert Honor book.

The book, Spiders, by Nic Bishop, discusses the topic of spiders. It states information about the way spiders live, how their body works, different statistics about spiders, and the different species of spiders. The book includes photographs of real spiders with captions describing what the spider may be doing in the photograph. In addition, the book also highlights facts about how spiders find a mate and acquire their food.

“Certain species of animals inflate themselves to appear bigger and more formidable to enemies. Some types of birds do this to show off during breeding season.”

This book would be perfect to use with upper elementary students. The book includes complex vocabulary and has a wide variety of structure. Overall, the book would engage children who are curious about animals as it explores each animal's unique characteristics and traits..

The book, Look at Me!: Wild Animal Show-Offs, highlight many interesting aspects and facts of animals. Through the chapters, it states what aspect that sets apart each animal from others. In addition, the book includes diagrams, captions, and illustrations depicting each animal‘s unique traits.

“When you face the wind, gazillions of moving air molecules collide with you. That's why you feel the push of the wind.“

This book is very engaging as it offers an interactive opportunity for its readers to tap into their personal experiences and previous knowledge about this scientific topic. Overall, the structure of words throughout this book is beneficial in explaining the movement of wind and air in various scenarios.

I Face the Wind, is a children's nonfiction picture book, that focuses on the science concept of wind. A young girl is faced with a strong wind when exploring the outdoors and through observations it teaches the properties of air to young children who are just beginning to explore various scientific concepts. The artwork in the story is digitally designed, and the words are portrayed in a creative and typographical manner.

“With writhing arms and ghostly, lidless eyes they glide; some large as buses, some weighing a ton. So big, yet rarely seen.“

This would be a great book to read to students to get them engaged in a lesson that talks about deep-sea animals. This book is about the mysterious giant squid and how it lives deep in the sea. Overall, the book discusses the challenges that come with living in the deep sea and how the squid survives.

Giant Squid is a nonfiction book that explores the mysterious animal in the deep sea. It uncovers the different body parts of the giant squid and why they are important to the squid. The book explains how the squid defends itself and the challenges of living in the deep dark sea.

“Finally, everyone---not just the wealthy---could afford something blue. But it was always about more than having a blue outfit, piece of jewelry, or work of art.“

I thought that this book did an excellent job discussing the significance of the color blue by understanding its cultural and historical presence. The illustrations throughout the book expressed much emotion and allowed the reader to capture the powerful message.

The book, Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky, highlights the significance of the color blue. The book dives deeper into understanding the significance of the color blue by examining its history and cultural presence over the years. Overall, through its creativity, the book traces the origin and allows students to view social justice issues.

“Sylivia's heart did a somersault. She never imagined the tree might write back.“

This book is beautifully written and illustrated as it offers insight on the power of words. The book shares the journey of celebrating nature and new friendships as it uses a variety of poetry styles.

This fun-loving book shares the journey of two poets writing poems to a tree and becoming friends in an unexpected place. Overall, it shares the journey of new friendships, nature, and the power of words and poetry.

This book provides very resourceful skills in order to help students gain a better understanding for poetry. Overall, it allows students to use their creative skills to create poems about their own interests with guided practice and examples.

This book of poetry shares insight on how to engage students to use poetry in the classroom. The book gives great detail on helping young students discover their voice and express their feelings through guided instructional plans.

“Undertaker Fritz
freely admits
to frequent fits of giggling
when a corpse burps
or a body starts wiggling.“

These poems incorporate many elements of poetry such as rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. These poems share insight on the spookiness of Halloween while still making it fun and engaging for young readers