Khristina's Book Blog

I read Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts. This book hasn't received any major awards. This is one of my favorite books that I've found to do my blogs on. This book is about a boy name Jeremy who really wants a specific pair of black and white shoes, but his family can't afford them. Jeremy finds a pair of those shoes in the thrift shop, but they're too small for his feet. Jeremy doesn't care, and crams his feet inside those shoes and buys them. However, they're way too small and hurt too much to wear all day at school, so he wears the pair the guidance counselor gave him even though almost all the other kids make fun of him for them. There's a boy named Antonio whose shoes have to be taped up to keep them together. Jeremy notices that Antonio's feet are smaller than his, so he knows what he has to do. He gives his pair of black and white shoes to Antonio, and they become friends. This book is super sweet, and demonstrates what it really means to be humble. ...

I read This Is the Way We Go to School by Edith Baer. This book hasn't received any major awards, but is a great book to show diversity. This book is about children all over the world, and the different ways they get to school. I love that at the end it gives a list of where each of the children are from. I love the overall book, but it makes it even better because it rhymes. I think the appropriate grade level would be kindergarten to fourth grade. I would read this book in my future classroom. The way I would incorporate this book in the classroom would be to open up a graphing activity to see the different ways students in our class get to school. I would want to focus on diversity, and that there are differences even in the same classroom and celebrate it.

I read At The Crossroads  by Rachel Isadora. This book received the ALA Notable Children's Book Award. This is a super sweet, heartwarming book. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. This book is based in South Africa, and is about the day these kid's fathers are supposed to return home from working in the mines. These kids wait at the crossroads all night long, refusing to sleep or go home until their fathers come. In the end, their father's come, and they sing all the way home. The appropriate grade level for this book would be kindergarten to fourth grade. I would read this book in my future classroom. I would use this book to focus on writing, and have each student write about a time they had to wait. They would write about what it looked and felt like to wait, and compare it to how they think the kids in the book felt waiting for their fathers.

I read I Go with My Family to Grandma's by Riki Levinson. This book hasn't received any major awards. This is a very simple, but cute book. It's multicultural because it shows that even in the same state people come from different backgrounds, and use different ways to travel. This story is about everyone going to Grandma's whether it's by bicycle, trolley, white wagon, train, or ferry. This is a cute little story, and I think the appropriate grade level would be pre-k to first grade. I would read this book in my class. I would incorporate this book into my pre-k classroom over a lesson about the types of transportation.

I read First Day in Grapes  by L. King Pérez. This book hasn't received any major awards. This book is about a third grade boy named Chico whose life is about constantly moving to follow the harvest. Chico hates going to a new school every time because the kids are mean to him. However, he has a really great start to his first day in Grapes. He sits by a nice kid named John, his teacher really likes him, and he finds out about a math fair. A couple of kids start being mean to Chico at lunch, but Chico stands up to them, and they leave him alone. In the end, Chico decides that it's been a pretty good first day in Grapes. I really liked this book, and how it brought to light little things about hispanic culture. I would definitely read this book in my future classroom. I think the appropriate grade level would be second grade to sixth grade. The way I would incorporate this book in my classroom would be to address the concept of bullying or on the first day of school. This book i...

I read My Rows and Piles of Coins by Tololwa M. Mollel. This book received the Coretta Scott King Award in 2000. This book was absolutely adorable. It's a multicultural, and it's setting is in Tanzania. There are even words in the story that are in the Tanzanian languages of Swahili and Maasai. The story is about a young boy, Saruni, who gets money for helping his mother in the market. Saruni has been saving a long time to buy a bicycle to be able to help his mother even more. Saruni saves up what he feels like is enough to buy a bicycle, but when he goes to buy one that man selling them laughs at him and his little amount of money. In the end, Saruni's father buys a motorbike for Saruni. Saruni is so grateful for the motorbike and how it will be able to help his mother. Saruni decides to save his money for a cart to be able to help his mother even more. I love this story because even though Saruni could have saved his money for something he wanted, he decided to save it to...