Connecting Storytelling to the Classroom: Books to Tell 2009

Tonight I am speaking at USD about using literature in your classroom. It's a storytelling class so I will talk about connecting stories with reading, writing and curriculum. You can look through the blog and see what I did last time, but this time, I will show them a family story I made on Spaghoake Night. Using Photo Story and pictures I took of my family, I created a story in just a few minutes. Here is the video I made.

Here are the books that I suggested that they use:

Picture Books to Tell
14 cows for America -- Deedy, Carmen Agra. {IL K-3, 327.676207} -- Peachtree, 2009., RL 3.7, 38p
Presents an illustrated tale of a gift of fourteen cows given by the Maasai people of Kenya to the U.S. as a gesture of comfort and friendship in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Auntie Tiger -- Yep, Laurence. {IL K-3, -E-} – HarperCollins Publishers, 2009., RL 2.7, 32p
A retelling of the classic fairy tale, "Little Red Riding Hood," in which Big Sister sets aside her differences with Little Sister to rescue her from a tiger in disguise.

The boy who invented TV : the story of Philo Farnsworth -- Krull, Kathleen. {IL K-3, 621.388} -- Alfred A. Knopf, 2009., RL 5.5, 34p
Presents a picture-book biography of Philo Farnsworth, who created the world's first television image in 1928.

Chicken and Cat clean up -- Varon, Sara. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Scholastic Press, 2009., 36p
A wordless story in which Chicken opens his own housekeeping business with Cat as his partner; but when Cat's clumsiness forces chicken to send him out, Cat listens to his inner-species and ends up saving the day.

Chicken Little -- Emberley, Rebecca. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Roaring Brook Press, 2009., RL 2.8, 32p An illustrated retelling of the story in which Chicken Little becomes convinced the sky is falling after being hit on the head by an acorn.

Crow call -- Lowry, Lois. {IL 3-6, -Fic-} -- Scholastic Press, 2009., RL 3.5, 32p
Nine-year-old Liz accompanies the stranger who is her father, just returned from the war, when he goes hunting for crows in Pennsylvania farmland.

Epossumondas plays possum -- Salley, Coleen. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Harcourt Children's Books, 2009., RL 2.2, 34p
Forgetting his mother's warnings, Epossumondas goes into the swamp alone then must pretend to be dead time and again as he hears frightening sounds and fears they are being made by the dreaded loup garou.

Foo, the flying frog of Washtub Pond -- Yang, Belle. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Candlewick Press, 2009., RL 2.9, 24p
When Foo Frog starts to outgrow his fellow web-footed creatures, Sue-Lin Salamander and Mao-Mao Mudpuppy, his new found attitude puts their friendship to the test.

Food for thought : the stories behind the things we eat -- Robbins, Ken. {IL 3-6, 641.3} -- Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press, 2009., RL 5.3, 45p
Photographs and text explain how commonly consumed foods were introduced to the human palate, and provides brief histories on apples, oranges, corn, bananas, tomatoes, potatoes, pomegranates, grapes, and mushrooms.

Goldilocks -- Sanderson, Ruth. {IL K-3, 398.22} -- Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers, 2009., RL 2.3, 32p
After finding the bears' cottage in the woods and making a mess inside, Goldilocks helps the family clean up and enjoys a nice meal.

Goldilocks and the three bears -- Spirin, Gennadii. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Marshall Cavendish Children, 2009., RL 1.5, 32p
A simplified retelling of the adventures of a little girl walking in the woods who finds the house of the three bears and helps herself to their belongings. Includes a note on the history of the tale.

Hansel and Gretel -- Isadora, Rachel. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Putnam's, 2009., RL 2.9, 32p
An illustrated retelling of Grimm's fairy tale that depicts two children who are left in the woods by their parents, but manage to find their way home after escaping from a wicked witch and her delicious cottage.

Homework -- Yorinks, Arthur. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Walker, 2009., RL 2.8, 32p
Tony's pens, along with his pencil and eraser, come to life and begin to squabble as they try to complete Tony's neglected homework.

How many donkeys? : an Arabic counting tale -- MacDonald, Margaret Read. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Albert Whitman, 2009., RL 1.5, 32p
When Jouha counts the ten donkeys carrying his dates to market, he repeatedly forgets to count the one he is riding on, causing him great consternation. Includes numbers written out in Arabic and in English transliteration, as well as the numerals one through ten, and a note on the origins and other versions of the story.

The king who barked : real animals who ruled -- Jones, Charlotte Foltz. {IL 3-6, 636} -- Holiday House, 2009., RL 6.7, 40p
Relates the stories of fifteen animals from throughout history who were appointed to or ran for government positions.

The lion & the mouse -- Pinkney, Jerry. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Little, Brown and Co. Books for Young Readers, 2009., 34p
In this wordless retelling of an Aesop fable, an adventuresome mouse proves that even small creatures are capable of great deeds when he rescues the King of the Jungle.

Lousy rotten stinkin' grapes -- Palatini, Margie. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009., RL 1.9, 31p
Retells the fable of a frustrated fox that, after many tries to reach a high bunch of grapes, decides they must be sour anyway.

The mitten -- Aylesworth, Jim. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Scholastic Press, 2009., RL 2.9, 32p
A retelling of the traditional tale of how a boy's lost mitten becomes a refuge from the cold for an increasing number of animals.

New Year at the pier : a Rosh Hashanah story -- Wayland, April Halprin. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Dial Books for Young Readers, 2009., RL 2.7, 32p
On Rosh Hashanah, Izzy and his family make lists of the wrongs they have committed over the past year, and after they have apologized, they throw pieces of bread into the water to "clean their hearts" in a ceremony called tashlich.

One fine trade -- Miller, Bobbi. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Holiday House, 2009., RL 2.3, 32p
Georgy Piney Woods, the best peddler who ever lived, makes several trades so his daughter can buy a wedding dress.

Otis -- Long, Loren. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Philomel Books, 2009., RL 3.4, 40p
When a big new yellow tractor arrives, Otis the friendly little tractor is cast away behind the barn, but when trouble occurs Otis is the only one who can help.

Pig-Boy : a trickster tale from Hawai'i -- McDermott, Gerald. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Hougton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009., RL 1.8, 32p
Pig-Boy, a dirty, hairy trickster, uses his shape-shifting talents to get out of all sorts of troublesome situations.

Pigling : a Cinderella story : a Korean tale -- Jolley, Dan. {IL 5-8, 398.2} -- Graphic Universe, 2009., RL 3.3, 48p
A Korean adaptation of the Cinderella story told in graphic novel format, featuring Pigling, a young girl whose stepmother and stepsister treat her badly.

Rapunzel : the graphic novel -- Peters, Stephanie True. {IL 5-8, 398.2} -- Stone Arch Books, 2009., RL 2.5, 33p
A graphic novel adaptation of the classic fairy tale of "Rapunzel."

The snow day -- Sakai, Komako. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009., RL 1.7, 32p
A little rabbit enjoys having a day off from kindergarten and spending time with his mother during a snowstorm, but his father's flight home is cancelled until the snow stops falling.

Sparrow girl -- Pennypacker, Sara. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Disney/Hyperion Books, 2009., RL 3.5
Ming-Li vows to save as many sparrows as she can after her village tries to kill them all.

Tsunami! -- Kajikawa, Kimiko. {IL K-3, 398.2} -- Philomel Books, 2009., RL 2.9, 32p
A wealthy man in a Japanese village, who everyone calls Ojiisan, which means grandfather, sets fire to his rice fields to warn the innocent people of an approaching tsunami.

The twelve dancing princesses -- Cech, John. {IL K-3, 398.22} -- Sterling, 20
09., RL 5.7, 22p
Every day twelve princesses mysteriously wear out their shoes, but neither the king nor their suitors can figure out why, until one simple soldier tries.

The underground gators -- Casey, Tina. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Dutton Children's Books, 2009., RL 3.3, 32p
Humorous illustrations and text describe what is really living in the New York City sewer system.

When I wore my sailor suit -- Shulevitz, Uri. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Farrar Straus Giroux, 2009., RL 1.7, 32p
A young child spends the day imagining himself to be a sailor on a grand adventure.

Word builder -- Paul, Ann Whitford. {IL K-3, -E-} -- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009., RL 1.6, 31p
Text explains how putting letters into words, words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into chapters ends up creating a book.

You never heard of Sandy Koufax?! -- Winter, Jonah. {IL K-3, 796.357} -- Schwartz & Wade Books, 2009., RL 3.7, 32p
Offers a brief overview of the life of Sandy Koufax, discussing the obstacles and physical challenges he faced, his successful career, his retirement, and other related topics.

Yours truly, Louisa -- Puttock, Simon. {IL K-3, -E-} – HarperCollins Publishers, 2009., RL 3.2, 32p
Louisa the pig, unhappy with conditions on the farm, starts an anonymous letter writing campaign to get Farmer Joe to fix things up, but when she goes too far she gets a letter of her own.

Yummy : eight favorite fairy tales -- Cousins, Lucy. {IL K-3, 398.21} -- Candlewick Press, 2009., RL 2.1, 121p
Simple text and bold illustrations tell eight classic fairy tales, including "The Three Little Pigs" and "Little Red Riding Hood."


Longer Works to Share
Also known as Harper -- Leal, Ann Haywood. {IL 5-8, -Fic-} -- Henry Holt, 2009., RL 4, 246p
Writing poetry helps fifth-grader Harper Lee Morgan cope with her father's absence, being evicted, and having to skip school to care for her brother while their mother works, and things look even brighter after she befriends a mute girl and a kindly disabled woman.

Born to write : the remarkable lives of six famous authors -- Cotter, Charis. {IL 5-8, 809} -- Annick Press, 2008., RL 5.7, 167p
Looks at the childhoods of six celebrated authors, including Madeleine L'Engle, E. B. White, L. M. Montgomery, Philip Pullman, Christopher Paul Curtis, and C. S. Lewis, and discusses how their youthful experiences influenced their writing.

Dying to meet you -- Klise, Kate. {IL 3-6, -Fic-} -- Harcourt, 2009., RL 4.4, 147p
In this story told mostly through letters, children's book author, I. B. Grumply, gets more than he bargained for when he rents a quiet place to write for the summer.

The giant-slayer -- Lawrence, Iain. {IL 3-6, -Fic-} -- Delacorte Press, 2009., RL 5.4, 292p
When her eight-year-old neighbor is stricken with polio in 1955, eleven-year-old Laurie discovers that there is power in her imagination as she weaves a story during her visits with him and other patients confined to iron lung machines.

Over my dead body -- Klise, Kate. {IL 3-6, -Fic-} -- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009., RL 5.1, 116p
A story told mostly through letters in which busybody Dick Tater tries to ban Halloween and ghost stories, as well as to break up the popular writing team of I. B. Grumply, ghost Olive C. Spence, and eleven-year-old illustrator Seymour Hope.

Serendipity Market -- Blubaugh, Penny. {IL YA, -Fic-} -- Laura Geringer Books/HarperTeen, 2009., 268p
When the world begins to seem unbalanced, Mama Inez calls ten storytellers to the Serendipity Market and, through the power of their magical tales, the balance of the world is corrected once again.

Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew : stories and essays from a writing life -- Morpurgo, Michael. {IL 5-8, 828} -- Candlewick Press, 2009, 2006., RL 5.7, 263p
Collects various stories by English author Michael Morpurgo, including "The Giant's Necklace," "My One and Only Great Escape," and "Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew," with essays in which the author discusses his inspiration for each and details of his craft.

The storm in the barn -- Phelan, Matt. {IL 5-8, 741.5} -- Candlewick, 2009., RL 3.3, 201p
Eleven-year-old Jack Clark struggles with everyday obstacles while his family and community contend with the challenges brought on by the Dust Bowl in 1937 Kansas.

Walking backward -- Austen, Catherine. {IL 3-6, -Fic-} -- Orca Book Publishers, 2009., RL 4.5, 167p
After twelve-year-old Josh's mother dies in a car crash he is prescribed to start writing in a journal, but he reaches a better understanding about loss when he chooses death as his research topic for school and begins to research and experiments with the mourning practices of various religions.

Professional Title
Literacy development in the storytelling classroom -- {IL PF, 372.67} -- Libraries Unlimited, 2009., 342p
Presents plans and activities for enchancing literacy development, with articles that focus on curriculum storytelling techniques and experiences in preschool, kindergarten, primary and elementary grades, middle school, and beyond.