Pigs Will be Pigs

Title: Pigs Will be Pigs
Author: Amy Axelrod

Illustrator: Sharon McGinley-Nally
Type: Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 2-6
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date of Publication: 2014
ISBN: 978-0689812194

Synopsis: 

The Pigs are hungry, but there's no food in the house.  They want to go to a local restaurant, but don't have enough money.  They begin searching the house, finding money in some of the strangest places.  They finally find enough money, and go out for a nice relaxing dinner only to return home to their disaster of a house.  The book contains a page at the end detailing the money they found, and challenging readers to figure out how much they spent at the restaurant.

Lesson Plan Link

Possible Teaching Points: 1) money

The Most Magnificent Thing

Title: The Most Magnificent Thing
Author: Ashley Spires

Illustrator: Ashley Spires
Type: Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: K-12
Publisher: Kids Can Press

Date of Publication: 2014
ISBN: 978-1554537044

Synopsis: A girl has a wonderful
idea; she wants to make something magnificent.  She plans it out, gathers supplies, and gets to work.  Her finished product doesn't come out as expected.  She tries again.  She fails again.  This happens several more times until she begins to get mad.  The madder she gets, the worse things get.  Her assistant convinces her to take a walk.  After she has calmed down, she looks through her previous attempts.  She gets some new ideas, tries again, and is successful this time.

Lesson Plan Link

Possible Teaching Points: 1) perseverance, 2) dealing with frustration, 3) the benefits of failure, 4) growth mindset v. fixed mindset

Baseball Saved Us

Title: Baseball Saved Us
Author: Ken Mochizuki

Illustrator: Dom Lee
Type: Realistic Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: K-12th
Publisher: Lee & Low Books

Date of Publication: 1995
ISBN: 978-1880000199

Synopsis: The story of "Shorty" and his family and their experiences as Japanese Americans during World War II.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Shorty and his family are sent to an internment camp in the United States.  While there, Shorty learns to play baseball.  He ultimately channels his anger and frustration over his situation into playing baseball.  After being released from the internment camp, Shorty and his family continue to be subjected to racism and bigotry, and Shorty continues to use baseball as his outlet.

Lesson Plan Link

Possible Teaching Points: 1) racism, 2) war, 3) internment camps, 4) WWII, 5) Japanese Americans

Faithful Elephants

Title: Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War
Author: Yukio Tsuchiya

Illustrator: Ted Lewin
Type: Non-Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 4th-12th
Publisher: Houghton-Mifflin

Date of Publication: 1997
ISBN: 978-0395861370

Synopsis: The poignant story of John, Tonky, and Wanly; three elephants that lived at the Ueno Zoo in Japan during World War II.  During the bombing of Tokyo, the zookeepers are directed to euthanize the elephants so that they will not suffer or cause damage if the zoo is destroyed.  The zookeepers try various methods of putting the elephants down, but nothing works.  They ultimately decide that the only option is to starve the animals. Throughout their ordeal, the elephants continue to remain faithful to the zookeepers.  After their death, a memorial is built at the zoo to honor John, Tonky, and Wanly.  A great resource to begin a discussion about some of the unintended consequences of war.

Lesson Plan Link

How Big is a Foot?

Title: How Big is a Foot?
Author: Rolf Myller

Illustrator: Rolf Myller
Type: Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: K-6th
Publisher: Yearling

Date of Publication: 1991
ISBN: 978-044040958

Synopsis: The King wants to make a bed for his Queen.  He uses his feet to measure how long it should be, and calls for his carpenter.  The carpenter listens to the King, and then uses his feet (much smaller ones than the King's!) to measure out the bed.  The final product is much too small for the Queen.  So, the King makes a cast of his foot, gives it to the carpenter, and has the bed made a second time.  Perfect for introducing and discussing standard units of measurement.

Lesson Plan Link

Spaghetti and Meatballs for All: A Mathematical Story

Title: Spaghetti and Meatballs for All: A Mathematical Story
Author: Marilyn Burns

Illustrator: Debbie Tilley
Type: Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 2nd - 8th
Publisher: Scholastic

Date of Publication: 2008
ISBN: 978-0545044455

Synopsis: Mr. and Mrs. Comfort have decided to host a spaghetti dinner for their family and friends.  Mr. Comfort plans the menu while Mrs. Comfort handles the seating arrangements.  She carefully lays out a plan, order tables and chairs, and carefully arranges everything so that everyone who comes will have a place to sit.  Unfortunately, as family and friends arrive, they rearrange the tables and chairs.  Each time they are rearranged, there are fewer places to for everyone to sit.

This book is a great resource for sparking discussion about surface area, perimeter, standards units, spatial reasoning, and other geometry related topics.  The story is followed by an explanation (along with illustrations) of the mathematical concepts covered in the story.

Lesson Plan Link

The Rabbit Problem

Title: The Rabbit Problem
Author: Emily Gravett

Illustrator: Emily Gravett
Type: Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 3rd-adult
Publisher: Macmillan

Date of Publication: 2009
ISBN: 978-0230704237

Synopsis: If a pair of rabbits are put into a field, how many rabbits will there be after one month?  One year?  This story explores these questions in humorous detail, while covering multiple mathematical concepts (calendar, measurement, temperature, counting, patterns, and more).  However, the main focus of the book is on the Fibonacci series and Leonardo de Pisa's exploration of the rabbit problem.  Illustrations are complex and engaging, containing a great deal of information to explore.

Lesson Plan Link

Possible Teaching Points: 1) Fibonacci, 2) mathematical patterns