The Principal from the Black Lagoon

Title: The Principal from the Black Lagoon

Author: Mike Thaler

Illustrator: Jared Lee

Publisher: Scholastic

Genre: Children, picture book

Age level: 4-8

Themes: Anxiety about unknown situations, accepting consequences, rumors
Synopsis: It's another scary day at the Black Lagoon... Hubie has been sent to the principal's office, and he's scared! Does Mrs. Green really feed kids to the alligator she keeps in her office? Does she really keep kids locked in cages under her desk? Will Hubie be able to hear kids screaming for help from down the hall? Anticipation turns a trip to the principal's office into a playfully frightening adventure!

About the author: Known as the Riddle King of America, Mike Thaler is the author of the popular Black Lagoon books and the Heaven and Mirth series. He was born in Los Angeles and started his professional career drawing cartoons for adults. A children's book editor saw one of his cartoons in a national magazine and encouraged him to try writing for children. Mike has had over 220 books published, and is considered one of the most creative forces in children's literature. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Patty, and travels nationally, speaking in schools, libraries, and churches.

Pre-reading activities: Asking the students what they think the book is about from looking at the pictures throughout the books. Predict if they think the principal is really as bad as the book claims she is.

Post-reading activities: The students can write about and discuss a time they have been nervous to face the principal, whether it was because they were in trouble or for another reason. They can also talk about how they felt and what the principal was going to say/do.

Reflection: I read this book while student teaching in 2nd grade as a read aloud to the students, and I loved watching their reactions to the pictures as I read to them. I was asking them questions throughout the book if they thought the principal of the school was like that and what he would say or do if they got in trouble.

Works Cited:

Barnes & Noble 

Mike Thaler 

Principal from the Black Lagoon picture 

The Class from the Black Lagoon

Title: The Class from the Black Lagoon

Author: Mike Thaler

Illustrator: Jared Lee

Publisher: Scholastic

Genre: Children

Age level: 4-8

Themes: Anxiety about unknown situations, the first day of school
Synopsis: It's another scary day at the Black Lagoon... for the new teacher, Mrs. Green. There's a new class coming for the first day of school and Mrs. Green is worried. Is it true that the class is really weird and that they put their last three teachers into early retirement? Will the students really turn into horrible ghouls as soon as they get to school? Will Mrs. Green really need her ultimate survival kit to teach the class or tame the class?

About the author: Known as the Riddle King of America, Mike Thaler is the author of the popular Black Lagoon books and the Heaven and Mirth series. He was born in Los Angeles and started his professional career drawing cartoons for adults. A children's book editor saw one of his cartoons in a national magazine and encouraged him to try writing for children. Mike has had over 220 books published, and is considered one of the most creative forces in children's literature. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Patty, and travels nationally, speaking in schools, libraries, and churches.

Pre-reading activities: Asking the students what they think the book is about from looking at the pictures throughout the books. Predict if they think the class is really full of children from a "black lagoon," and try to find out why it is called a black lagoon.

Post-reading activities: The students can write about and discuss what they thought their classmates were going to be like for the school year, since they probably didn't know who their classmates were going to be beforehand.

Reflection: I read this book while student teaching in 2nd grade on my last day of student teaching there as a read aloud to the students, and I loved the reactions my students had to the different things Mrs. Green thought the students were going to be like. 

Works cited:

Barnes & Noble 

Mike Thaler 

Class from the Black Lagoon picture 

Froggy Goes to School

Title: Froggy Goes to School

Author: Jonathan London

Illustrator: Frank Remkiewicz

Publisher: Penguin Group

Genre: Children

Age level: 3-6

Themes: The first day of school, anxiety about unknown situations, anxiety over meeting new classmates
Synopsis: It's Froggy's first day of school and he is so worried about missing the school bus that he doesn't realize he is only wearing underwear until he is on the bus. Of course he is mortified and tries to hide until his teacher spies him and shouts out his name. Suddenly, his teacher becomes his dad! It all turns out to be a nightmare and it is the voice of his dad calling his name that awakens him from this crazy dream. Froggy starts his day again. This time it really is the first day of school and he climbs aboard the school bus, fully clothed. He does all sorts of fun things at school, including teaching the principal to swim! When he returns home from school without his lunch box or his baseball cap, his mom wonders if he'll ever learn! A humorous look at the first day of school jitters. The illustrations are bright and colorful.

About the author: Jonathan London is the author of many children's books, though it's the "Froggy" series that is his main claim to fame... The Froggy books are inherently pretty dumb, but there's a goofy quality about them that's likely to endear it to small children of all stripes. You're likely to have the same experience with it as we did: the first book you try will be fun, but the series will wear thin pretty quickly when you realize that the same quirky affectations are repeated in every book. Froggy always "flop-flop-flops" inside and outside his house, he always puts his clothes on with the same --zip-zap-zup!-- sound effects, his parents always call out to him -- "FRRROOGGYY!!" and he always replies, "Wha-a-a-a-t?", and at some point he always gets so embarrassed that he looks "more red in the face than green." It's cute, but gets old quick. If your kid just loves these books, though, there are tricks that can help you keep your sanity: skip the sound effects, shorten the flop-flops to something livelier; in short, change the text to something that feels more natural. Also, pick the books you like best, because some are dumber than others

Pre-reading activities: Asking the students what they think the book is about, especially from the cover. List some words describing the first day of school, such as "exciting," "scary," "new friends," "fun."

Post-reading activities: The students can write about their own experiences from the first day of school, including if they have had dreams about the first day. As the teacher, I would say that it's ok for students to feel nervous on the first day of school; I have many times since you don't always know what to expect.

Reflection: I read this book while student teaching in 2nd grade on the first day of school, and I remember going to the assembly with the principal with the 2nd graders and just the excitement and jitters of the first day of school. I was even a little nervous when starting that first day with the 2nd graders, so I knew what Froggy was going through with his jitters.

Works cited:

Barnes & Noble 

Jonathan London 

Froggy Goes to School picture 

Crash

Title: Crash

Author: Jerry Spinelli

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Genre: Teen

Age level: 9-12

Themes: Bullying, tricksters, standing up for something you believe in
Synopsis: What's it like to be Crash Coogan? You might think you know him already- the big jock, star of the football team. Huge shoulders, smallish brain. Basically mows down everything in his patch, including kids like Penn Webb, the dweeby, puny, button-wearing vegetable-eater who moved onto Crash's block when they were little- and has been a prime target ever since. But there's more to Crash than the touchdown-scoring kid every seventh grader sees. And it's not the predictable sob story that's supposed to make you feel sorry for the poor bully. It's the story of a kid with overworked parents, an ecology-minded smart-aleck little sister, a crush on an activist cheerleader, and a best buddy named Mike Deluca, who helps Crash pull off hilarious pranks at Webb's expense. Until one day Mike goes too far, maybe even for Crash, and the football hero has to choose which side he's really on.

About the author: Growing up, Jerry Spinelli was really serious about baseball. He played for the Green Sox Little League team in his hometown of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and dreamed of one day playing for the major leagues, preferably as shortstop for the New York Yankees. In 11th grade he wrote a poem about a high school football game, which was published in his hometown of Norristown, PA's newspaper. After that he became a writer, and his is autobiography Knots in my Yo-Yo String highlights up until that point in his life. His wife, Eileen Spinelli, is also a writer, and the couple has 6 children. His kids triggered memories of his own childhood, and these memories became a "library" where he does much of his research. Jerry and Eileen have 16 grandchildren, and Jerry has 25 published books.

Pre-reading activities: Asking the students what they think the book is about, especially from the cover, which has a picture of a baby boy with a mustache drawn on it and a bubble cloud of a football player.

Post-reading activities: The students can form small groups and act our their favorite scene from the book from a selection of the main scenes. The students will add to the dialogue already in the book, almost creating their own "script." They may work with props if they wish, and will perform them in front of the class.

Reflection: I read this book while student teaching in 6th grade, and I had never heard of Jerry Spinelli or this book prior to my experiences. As I continued to read through the book, I loved it so much that I would read more than just a few chapters a night.

Works cited:

Barnes & Noble 

Amazon 

Jerry Spinelli 

Crash picture 

Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2009: Ostrich Boys

Title: Ostrich Boys

Author: Keith Gray

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Genre: Teen

Age level: 12+

Themes: Solving mysteries, getting revenge, adventure
Synopsis: Ross is dead, and Blake, Sim, and Kenny are furious. Sure, they're upset that their best friend was hit by a car at the age of fifteen. But they're even angrier at the hypocrisy of the kids and teachers who made Ross's life miserable, then behaved at the funeral as if they cared. The three boys are all set to vandalize the houses of the guilty when inspiration strikes. What's the best way to get revenge? Steal Ross's ashes and give him the funeral he deserves! The boys' plan for a quick two-day trip from the English coast to the tiny village of Ross in southern Scotland, a place Ross had always wanted to go, turns into an unforgettable journey with illegal train rides, bungee jumping, girls, and high-speed police chases- all with Ross's ashes along for the ride. As events spin wildly out of control, the three friends must take their heads out of the sand long enouh to answer the question: What really happened to Ross? Keith Gray is an award-winning author from the United Kingdom, making his U.S. debut with this action-packed and darkly humorous novel about friendship and loss.

About the author: Keith Gray grew up in Grimsby, England, and knew that he wanted to be a writer even though he never received top marks in English. Since then, Keith has gone on to write seven books. He won the Angus Book Award and the Smarties Prize Silver Award. Ostrich Boys was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the 2007 Costa Book Award.

Pre-reading activities: Ask the students to brainstorm what they think the cover of the book symbolizes, listing ideas such as "road," "motorcycle," etc. After reading the first chapter, list the characters and some character traits, and why they think the boys wrote "Haunted by Ross Fell" on Mr. Fowler's door.

Post-reading activities: Write a column of all the characters found in the book, and write a paragraph explaining each one's role in figuring out what happened to Ross. Also, the students can write about a time when they have banded together with friends to figure out a mystery or try to solve a problem, comparing themselves to the character they felt they had most in common with.

Reflection: This book seemed very interesting by the cover of the book, which looked like a black road from the cover. After reading the first chapter and the last line that said "But before I turned to run, I looked at what he'd sprayed in hasty, spiky, harsh black letters that bled down the history teacher's door 'HAUNTED BY ROSS FELL'," I knew that I wanted to continue on in the boy's quest to find out what really happened to Ross to cause his death.

Works cited:
Barnes & Noble 
Ostrich Boys picture 

Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2009: Creature of the Night

Title: Creature of the Night

Author: Kate Thompson

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Genre: Young Adult

Age level: 8+

Themes: Solving mysteries, adventure, engaging in risky behavior, danger 
Synopsis: Bobby isn't afraid of a little danger. He thrives on it. Smoking, drinking, racing stolen cars: All the cops in Dublin know him and his gang. But the real danger might not be in Dublin after all. Bobby's mother has just moved their family to a quaint house in an idyllic village where he's meant to reform. Only something's not right about that house. The previous tenant mysteriously disappeared. Stories of murder surround the family who lived there for years. And now even Bobby's little brother talks about a strange visitor who comes to the house at night. Bobby isn't afraid of a little danger. But this danger isn't like the rush of driving fast. It's not like the reckless thrill of getting high or the sudden strength of his mother's temper. This danger lurks and creeps and won't go away. This danger is more like the suffocating helplessness of his own future. Bobby isn't afraid, he just wants to know one thing: Who is the Creature of the Night?

About the author: Kate Thompson was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, in 1956. Her family moved to Leamington Spa when she was 8, then Worcester when she was 15. Though her house was always full of "interesting" people, but she spent most of her time at the riding stables and racing yard than being in conversations. Early on she loved writing stores, and in her teenage years she wrote poetry and songs, but she didn't start writing seriously until the late 1980's. She joined the North Clare Writers' Workshop, and produced poems and short stories on a regular basis. In 1992 Knute Skinner, one of the members of the writers' workshop, published a collection of her poems, called There Is Something. Since 1997, she has published at least one book per year.

Pre-reading activities: List the symbols represented on the front cover: dark house/cottage, blue door, trees, dead grass; list students' reactions to each symbol and the emotions sparked by the symbols (despair, fear, mystery, sadness/darkness, etc). Talk about the setting of the story and the students' reactions to the first 2 pages- the family seems poor, Bobby seems like a trouble maker and that is why his mother wanted to move out of Dublin, the mother seems to get into trouble herself and maybe that's where Bobby gets it from.

Post-reading activities: List the main characters and their personality traits, and explain why Bobby wanted to hurt Fluke. The students will also write about a time when they were mad at a family member or friend and thought about harming them or wishing something bad would happen to them. Instead of hurting them, the students could resolve their own problem without violence.

Reflection: This book seemed very dark and mysterious from the cover, but after I started reading it I found it wasn't very mysterious at the beginning. It had some dry parts to it, but each chapter was very short (only a few pages) so it did make me want to read on and find out what happened as the story progressed. I found that there was some obscene language in the book, but I think that it could be handled well in a classroom where the teacher presented it with maturity and let the students know that there would be inappropriate language. I also found some words that the students might be unfamiliar with because of where the story takes place, but it represents a lifestyle different from my own.

Works cited:

Creature of the Night picture 

Amazon 

Kate Thompson's page

Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2009: Cosmic

Title: Cosmic

Author: Frank Cottrell

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Fiction

Age level: 8-12

Themes: Exploring unknown situations, exploring childhood fantasies, finding your true self
Synopsis: Liam has always felt a bit like he's stuck between two worlds. This is primarily because he's a twelve-year-old kid who looks like he's about thirty. Sometimes it's not so bad, like when his new principal mistakes him for a teacher on the first day of school or when he convinces a car dealer to let him take a Porsche out on a test drive. But mostly it's just frustrating, being a kid trapped in an adult world. And so he decides to flip things around. Liam cons his way onto the first spaceship to take civilians into space, a special flight for a group of kids and an adult chaperone, and he is going as the adult chaperone. It's not long before Liam, along with his friends, is stuck between two worlds again--only this time he's 239,000 miles from home. Frank Cottrell Boyce, author of MILLIONS and FRAMED, brings us a funny and touching story of the many ways in which grown-upness is truly wasted on grown-ups.

About the author: Frank Cottrell Boyce was born in Liverpool and studied English at Oxford University. He first worked as a television critic for Living Marxism magazine, and wrote episodes for Coronation Street and Brookside. He then collaborated with director Michael Winterbottom on the film Forget About Me, in 1990, and this was followed by further screenplays written for the same director: Butterfly Kiss in 1995; Welcome to Sarajevo in 1997; The Claim in 2000, originally based on Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge; 24 Hour Party People in 2002; Code 46 in 2003; and A Cock and Bull Story in 2005. He also worked with other directors, including writing the screenplays for the films Revenger's Tragedy, in 2002, an adaptation of Thomas Middleton's 17th-century play; Hilary and Jackie; Millions; and Grow Your Own in 2007. In 2004, he wrote a book for children based on his own screenplay - Millions - and this book won the 2004 Carnegie Medal. His second children's novel, Framed, was shortlisted for both the 2005 Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award. He has won several awards for his screenplays, and lives in Liverpool with his family. His third novel, Cosmic, was published in 2008, and was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in the same year. His latest novel is Desirable (2008).

Pre-reading activities: Ask the students to brainstorm what some of their biggest dreams are, and where they would like to go, even if it was for a day. Write a list of their dream destinations on the board and some adjectives they would describe their dream destinations, such as exciting, scary (especially since they've never been there), adventurous.

Post-reading activities: Several scenes will be written on the board, and students will be able to choose which one they would like to recreate. They will be in groups of 3-4, add to the scene and perform their skit in front of the class.

Reflection: I thought this book had more of a futuristic sense, and I think it would be good for kids to actually think about what it'll be like in the future. It gives children a chance to imagine themselves in space and what they think it would be like.

Works cited:

Cosmic picture 

Barnes & Noble 

Frank Cottrell Boyce

Carnegie Award 2010: The Graveyard Book

Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Illustrator: Dave McKean

Publisher: HarperCollins

Genre: Young Adult- fiction

Age level: 9-12

Themes: Finding your true self, solving myseries
Synopsis: Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family.
Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.

About the author: Neil Gaiman was born November 10, 1960.  Though he originally thought he wrote comic books, a newspaper editor set him straight. In high school he wanted to have a career as a freelance journalist until his first graphic novel Violent Cases was published in England in 1987. In 1995, Gaiman brought The SandmanStardust, an adult fairy tale that has young Tristan Thorn searching for a fallen star to woo the lovely but cold Victoria Forester. to a close and began spending more time on his nongraphic fiction, including a couple of short-story collections. Gaiman need not worry about defining his artistic relevance, since so many other seem to do it for him. Stephen King, Roger Zelazny and Harlan Ellison are among those who have contributed introductions to his works.

Pre-reading activities: Have students flip through the book, looking at the pictures and make a master list on the board what immediately goes through the students' minds. Have them keep the pictures in mind since they will be doing another activity with the pictures.

Post-reading activities: Since there is a major emphasis on mood and dark vocabulary, have the students pick out vocabulary words that elicit the most emotion to the students. They will then turn to a picture they liked or were drawn to the most and using the vocabulary words, write sentences about the picture.

Reflection: This book has a big emphasis on ghouls and mystery, which is something I am really into. I think many students would like this book because of the mystery aspect and that it leaves them hanging on to find out more. The pictures throughout the book definitely added to the theme of the book of the mysterious and unknown and that there are missing pieces to be filled in.

Works cited:

The Graveyard Book picture 

Barnes & Noble 

Neil Gaiman 

Carnegie Award 2009: Bog Child

Title: Bog Child

Author: Siobhan Dowd

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Genre: Young Adult

Age level: 12+

Themes: Solving mysteries, discovering the unknown

Synopsis: Digging for peat in the mountain with his Uncle Tally, Fergus finds the body of a child, and it looks like she's been murdered. As Fergus tries to make sense of the mad world around him his brother on hunger-strike in prison, his growing feelings for Cora, his parents arguing over the Troubles, and him in it up to the neck, blackmailed into acting as courier to God knows what a little voice comes to him in his dreams, and the mystery of the bog child unfurls.

About the author: Siobhan Dowd was born in 1960. She was brought up in London, but spent much of her youth visiting the family homes in County Waterford, then Wicklow town. She attended a Catholic grammar school in south London, and went on to receive a BA in Classics from Oxford University and an MA with distinction in Gender and Ethnic Studies from Greenwich University. On her return to the UK, Dowd co-founded English PEN’s readers and writers program. The program takes authors into schools in socially deprived areas, as well as prisons, young offender institutions and community projects. Siobhan Dowd died in August 2007 age 47 from breast cancer.

Pre-reading activities: Since the book is set in Ireland and the Irish have their own words to represent people and other things, have the students write down the words that are confusing to them and go over the words at the end so the book will be much easier to translate.

Post-reading activities: While reading the book, have the students write down questions they would like answered by the text. If there are questions that need to be answered by making an educated guess or by using an outside source, those questions will be put aside.

Reflection: The first chapter of this book definitely lays out the structure of the text and the language on the first page indicates that it is going to have an eerie feel to it. When they find Mel's dead body, I imagine this might be a little disturbing for some students, so they would have to be warned beforehand that some parts may be a little disturbing for them. Overall, I thought the book was very mysterious and induced a lot of questions.

Works cited:
Bog Child picture 

Barnes & Noble 

Siobhan Dowd's page 

Carnegie Award 2008: Here Lies Arthur

Title: Here Lies Arthur

Author: Philip Reeve

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks

Genre: Young Adult- Historical Fiction

Age level: Grades 7-10 

Themes: Solving mysteries, exploring legends, adventure
Synopsis: Here Lies Arthur is an alternative take on the Arthurian legend, centering on the adventures of a young English girl named Gwynna. Made homeless when the Arthur of legend and his war band sack the homestead of her lord, she flees the battle and is later rescued in the woods by Myrddin, a bard who serves Arthur as an advisor and magician. Myrddin, a man who is agnostic by nature, uses Gwynna to masquerade as the lady of the lake and then raises her as a boy through the early part of her life. Gwynna watches the exploits of Arthur as she grows up, contrasting the rough, brutal man with the heroic stories Myrddin creates about him. The book ultimately follows her adventures and how they are intertwined with the legend of Arthur. 

About the author: Philip Reeve was born in Brighton in 1966.  He has one younger sister.  He wrote his first story at the tender age of five; it was about a spaceman called Spike and his dog Spook.  He went to St Luke’s School in Queens Park, Brighton. Philip and his wife Sarah moved from Brighton to Devon in 1998, and now live on Dartmoor, where their son Sam was born in 2002.

Pre-reading activities: Through looking at the cover of the book, have students write down their first reactions to the picture. Have them think about the symbol and what they think the sword means- power, authority, people should fear it. Also the students can brainstorm a list of heroes (Batman, Superman, The Hulk, etc) and why they are known to be heroic, like the things that they do.

Post-reading activities: After reading about the heroic stories, the students will write down qualities of what makes a good hero and who the hero was in this book.

Reflection: This book is more of the science fiction genre and had more of a mystical theme to it, which is what I don't usually read. Even though I don't usually read these kinds of books, I did think it was very interesting. The vocabulary was very simple, so even older children could read it without difficulty. Also, the chapters were only about 5-6 pages total, if even that, so the students could feel like they were reading effortlessly.

Works cited:
Here Lies Arthur picture 

Amazon

Philip Reeve's page