Haley Jackson

Title: When I Was Little  Genre: Realistic Fiction  Author: Jamie Lee Curtis  Major Awards: 3 - 7 Years old  Age group: None  Summary:  When I Was Little, is about a little girl’s life as she grows up from a baby to a pre-teen. The girl talks about her life when she was a baby and how it changes as she grows up. She talks about how her physical, emotional, social, and even mental aspects of life has changed as she has grown up. At the end of the book the young girl expresses how when she was little she didn't know who she was but now she does.  I would like to use this book in my classroom, especially if I were to teach younger children. This book has a cute message about how children change and the normalcy of change as a child ages. It is also very cute and has a sense of humor to go along with it which I feel children would enjoy.  I feel as if this book is best to use in a pre-k to 1st grade classroom. It ...

Title: What a Good Big Brother  Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction  Author: Diane Wright Landolf  Major Awards: None Age Group: 3 - 6 Year olds  Summary:  This sweet story is about a young boy named Cameron, who is a new big brother to a baby sister named Sadie. Cameron is so concerned with everything Sadie does and always wants to help his parents in any way possible. Things like, helping change her diapers, comforting her when she's crying, and playing with her as much as possible. Sadie cries a lot and it is puzzling to Cameron as he never seems to know why but luckily his parents can always find a solution that normally calms her down. One night Sadie begins to cry but this time no one can figure out why. Cameron starts to talk to Sadie and kisses her toes, and to everyone's surprise she stops and smiles for the very first time! Cameron is very proud of himself and loves being a big brother to such a sweet baby girl.  I ...

Title: Why? Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction  Author: Richard Torrey  Major Awards: None  Age Group: 3 - 6 year olds  Summary:  This book is about a six-year-old  boy, Jack who can't seem to stop asking the question, “Why?” Little Jack as any young child, has to question everything and is upset when he can't seem to get an answer to every question he has. As the book goes on Jack asks an immense amount of “ways” to everything from clothing, hair, to games, etc his parents try to answer the best that they can but don't have an answer to everything. The book ends with Jack falling asleep asking his mother, “why do I have to go to sleep”. This young boy is full of questions as any typical six year old is.  I would use this in my classroom because it has a lot of questions I'm sure my younger students have. At this young age children are curious and trying to figure out the world as well as themselves. This book would allo...

Title: A Letter to my Teacher  Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction  Author: Deborah Hopkins  Major Awards: None  Age Group: 4 - 10 year olds  Summary:  This book, A Letter to my Teacher, by Deborah Hopkins is about a young girl in second grade who was quite a troublemaker in school. She didn’t really like school to begin with due to “having to sit-still and listen all day” which clearly was not her thing. Despite all of her troubled ways and always interrupting her teacher always remained patient. No matter what her teacher always found creative ways to engage the little girl and understood her when she felt no one could. This young girls teacher always encouraged her to read, never stop learning, and be creative in every way she could which really impacted the girls education. At the end of the book we as readers find out that she is writing these letters way later in life as an adult to give to her second grade teacher who i...

Title: Alexander, Who’s Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction  Author: Judith Viorst  Major Awards: None Age Group: 4 - 8 Year olds  Summary:  When Alexander’s dad gets a new job and tells him they're going to be moving  1,000 miles away to a whole new city he is mad and refuses to move. He says that he will never find a better best friend than, Paul or a better sitter than Rachel. Alexander is sad that he will have to leave his neighbors, his soccer team, his carpool, and all of the kids who know him in school. He can't bear to leave his friends and the people he knows and loves so he decides that he just won't move. Maybe he can live in a tent or a tree house? He starts thinking of all of the different ways that he won't have to move such as, hiding from his parents and even barricading his room, but these don't work. His parents finally convince him that moving won't be so bad after all...