Ms. Cadet's Captivating Children's Collection

Feast for Ten by Cathryn Falwell is a good book based on math. I think it does a good job of telling a story and also including math. It is very easy to follow and the illustrations are great. I feel this book would be great as a read aloud. I do however wish the book allowed for more complex thinking for readers so that they could advance their learning.

I would read this around thanksgiving to relate the book to the holiday and student's own family feasts. As I am reading this book to my class I would count the corresponding number of items on the page. I would follow this up with math centers or a math activity that supports counting up.

Guided Reading Level: E

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White is a classic book that teaches so many lessons that will be valuable to children. The story line grabs you in and the characters are easy to relate to and fall in love with. I like that this is a chapter book that isn't too difficult for learners.

I would use this book in my class to teach about central messages in a text. As a class I would use a class chart to write a major event in the book and what the central message of that event was.The students would help me find the central message and I would write them down as they shared ideas.

Accelerated Reader Level: 4.4 

Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel is another great Frog and Toad book. It is easy to read and follow, with simple language. This book also is relatable to students as they likely do the same activities in the book with their own friends.

With that being said, this book would be excellent for a Connections activity--specifically text to self. Many connections can be made for friendship, activities/hobbies, kindness, etc. The students can write about how they can make connections between Frog and Toad's friendship and their own friendship with their siblings, parents, or friends.

Accelerated Reader Level: 2.9

Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel. This is an excellent read for beginning readers to read independently. I enjoy the simple and relatable language used in the text as well as the short and easy to follow story lines. Children will be able to improve their reading skills considerably because they can do so on their own and use the images and other text for context clues on any words they may not understand.

I believe this book would be great to compare and contrast. Frog and Toad may be friends but they have very different characteristics that would be great to compare and contrast. This book could also be used to compare and contrast the plot and main events from story to story.

Accelerated Reader Level: 2.9