The Talking Eggs

1. Robert D. San Souci
2. The Talking Eggs
3. Jerry Pinkney
4. Fables, Folk Tales, and Myths
5. no subgenre
6. Compassion/Honesty
7. Blanche, her mother, sister-Rose, talking eggs, and old woman "Aunty"
8. 1990 Caldecott Honor Award and 1990 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
9. Dial Books for Young Readers, 1989

10. This was a Creole folktale about a little girl name Blanche. She had a mother and sister name Rose that treated her mean and made her do all the work while they sat on the porch and talked about how they were going to be fancy women when they go to town. One day it was so hot, Blanche's mother sent her to the well to get water Blanche meets an old lady whom she called "Aunty." The lady ask Blanche for some water and she tells the lady how she is being mistreated and the woman takes her back home, but Blanche was not to make fun of any of the weird things she encountered there. The woman told her to take the eggs that said "take me" and leave the nice looking eggs that said "don't take me" and Blanche did just that and she was rewarded greatly. She went home to tell her mom and sister and the mom sent Rose to the lady to get more riches, but Rose did not follow the lady's directions and she got the eggs that were rotten and full of harm. I could read this story to my students and teach them about listening and following directions. This is how to be honest.

Officer Buckle and Gloria

1. Peggy Rathmann
2. Officer Buckle and Gloria
3. Peggy Rathmann
4. Comedy and Humor
5. no subgenre

6. Safety/ Teamwork
7. Officer Buckle, Gloria the dog, Mrs. Toppel, students of Napville School
8. 1996 Caldecott Medal Winner
9. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995
10. In this story, Officer Buckle was very big on safety. He goes to Napville school to inform students of all his safety tips. The students always seem to be extremely bored with his lectures so, he starts bringing his dog, Gloria with him to his sessions. This gets all the students attention and cooperative in Officer Buckle's lessons about safety. One day, Officer Buckle and Gloria was on the news for delivering these wonderful safety speeches, but all the attention was focused on Gloria and not Officer Buckle. So, when the Principal, Mrs. Toppel called about the next safety meeting, Officer Buckle denied the invite. He just sent Gloria to entertain the students, but the problem was that Gloria couldn't talk about safety rules. So, Officer Buckle came back, because together he and Gloria made a great team for spreading safety tips. I could use this book when discussing certain safety precautions students should be aware of at school or home.

Nathaniel Talking

1. Eloise Greenfield
2. Nathaniel Talking
3. Jan Spivey Gilchrist
4. Poetry
5. no subgenre
6. life lessons
7. Nathaniel, his mother, father, grandmother, friends
8. 1990 Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Award
9. Black Butterfly Children's Books, 1989

10. This story is about a nine year old little boy who tells his story through poetry. In this story of poetry, I discovered that Nathaniel lost and missed his mother and how much he adored his father. Nathaniel was a typical nine year old with a huge imagination. He thought about how he would be when he was older and his education. He spoke about friends and his grandmother. It was times throughout the story when Nathaniel was very emotional about the lost of his mother. Then, there were times where he just loved to hear his father play his guitar and sing songs. This is a great story to teach students about  life lessons and setting goals in life.

Ella's Big Chance: A Jazz-Age Cinderella

1. Shirley Hughes
2. Ella's Big Chance: A Jazz-Age Cinderella
3. Shirley Hughes
4. Fables, Folktales, and Myths
5. no subgenre
6. fairy tale
7. Ella, Mr. Cinders, Madame Renee, Ruby, Pearl, Buttons, Fairy Godmother, Duke, Duchess, gray cat/chauffeur
8. 2003 Kate Greenaway Medal Winner
9. Simon & Schuster, 2003

10. This story was Cinderella fairy tale with a small twist. It is about a character named Ella who works in a tailor shop owned by her father, Mr.Cinders, there is a errand boy name Buttons who also works there. Mr. Cinders remarries a woman name, Madame Renee and now Ella has a stepmother and two stepsisters, Ruby and Pearl. Ella's stepmother and stepsisters treat her like their slaves and there is a Grand Ball being given in the town by the Duchess for her son the Duke and everyone in town is invited. However, Ella is told by her stepmother and sisters that she cannot go. Ella's fairy godmother appears and helps Ella go to the Ball, she dances with the Duke all night and then loses her glass slipper. The Duke searches all over town looking for and when he finds Ella, he proposes. Ella denies the proposal and marries Buttons living happily ever after. This is a great love story that also have some bullying issues that I could incorporate in a lesson in my classroom.

Ellington was not a street

1. Ntozake Shange
2. Ellington was not a street
3. Kadir Nelson
4. Historical Fiction
5. no subgenre
6. informational, African American history
7. a little girl, her father, Mr. DuBois, men who worked with father
8. 2005 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
9. Simon & Schuster Books, 2004

10. This was a small picture book that was about a little girl talking about her father and some of his colleagues that are working together to try to make a better life for the African American community. These men get together and sometimes have gatherings with their neighborhhood folks on a plan to help blacks get their freedom. This is a very inspirational book for all African Americans to see how far we have came and what we have accomplished. This would be a very informational book to read to my students in the month of February for black history month.