Stranded

Stranded is an adventure fiction novel intended for grades 3rd-5th. It was written by Jeff Probst, the host of survivor and published in 2013. The illustrator is Chris Tebbetts, who uses bright colors and large print to catch readers attention.

Stranded is a book much like the TV show Survivor. The story is about four kids: Carter, Jane, Buzz, and Vanessa. The four kids are on a boat trip with their uncle Dexter and his boat hand Joe, while their parents are on their honeymoon. The kids have recently become a blended family and are on this trip to bond with each other. The trip was going fine, until all the sudden a storm came and Dexter couldn't beat it. The boat started to take on water, Dexter and Joe threw the lifeboat into the water and got in, but they drifted away before the kids could get in. The kids are stuck on the boat all alone and then the boat crashes on a deserted island. On the island, each kids unique set of skills come out, as they struggle to survive. Jane is smart, Carter is fearless, Buzz is caring, and Vanessa is a leader. The kids work together to make a signal fire, collect water, find their way around the island, and to contact the coast guard. In the end the kids loose the boat and are still struggling to survive. Your left wondering what will happen next? Will they survive? Will they be found?

Discussion Questions:

• What could have been done differently to put the kids in a better situation?
• How close do you think the coast guard is to finding the kids?
• Where do you think Dexter and Joe are?
• How long do you think the kids can survive?
• What should be their next move on the island?

Motivational Activity:

•  Have the students rewrite the story, to see what else could happen if a couple of little things were changed.

Probst, J., & Tebbetts, C. (2013). Stranded. New York: Scholastic. 

Where The Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are is a children's picture fantasy book written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak in 1963. Sendak's illustrations are large, detailed, simple, yet life like, which helps spark the imagination of readers.

The story starts off with a little boy named Max, who is disobeying his mother and causing havoc so she sends him to bed in his wolf costume. Max creates his own little world in his bedroom with creatures called the wild things. Max transforms himself into this world and becomes king of the wild things. He goes on crazy adventures, has fun , and feels free. However, Max soon becomes homesick and misses his mother's food.

This story is good for children because it teaches them how strong your imagination  can be. Imagination can help children get through painful situations and opens up their world to unless possibilities. Children also have an easy time relating to this story because all children have done something that caused their parents to get mad at them. This story can help them learn new ways to cope with situations like that and help avoid arguments with their parents.
Discussion Questions:

• If you were in Max's shoes, what type of world would you create?
• If you did what Max did would you be sent to your room too?
• What type of animal mixture do you think the wild things are?
• Do you ever create your own world?

Motivational Activities:

• Have the students create an illustrations of their own world, that they would want to go to in Max's situation. And have the students act out scenes that could happen in their own world. This activity helps activate a students imagination and show them what they can create.

 Sendak, M. (2015). Where the wild things are. London: Red Fox.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a children's picture book that is made for readers who are infants to two years old. The book was written and illustrated by Eric Carle in 1994. Carle uses big, bright, and textured illustrations throughout the story to catch the readers attention.

The story starts off with an egg hatching early in the morning and a hungry caterpillar pops out. The caterpillar goes on a search for the next week for food, eating it's way through many different foods, such as apples, pears, oranges, and cake. All the different food the caterpillar began eating gave him a bad stomach ache on Sunday, so he ended up eating a leaf and feels all better afterwards. After a long week of eating lots of food the caterpillar is fat and and no longer hungry. The caterpillar builds himself a cocoon and climbs inside for several weeks, and when he emerges from the cocoon he is a beautiful butterfly.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a great book for children because it is simple and eye catching for young readers. The young readers can also relate to this book because children eat a lot of different food some they like and some they don't. This book is also good for teaching children about numbers, shapes, foods, the caterpillars life cycles, and the days of the week.

Discussion Questions:

• Why do you think the caterpillar was so hungry?
• Why do you think the caterpillar got sick on Sunday?
• Why were there holes in the book?
• How big do you think the cocoon had to be to fit the caterpillar?

Motivational Activity:

•  You can have the students create their own caterpillar out of different art supplies and draw different foods inside the caterpillar showing what he ate. Then have the students write a short story about what the caterpillar ate to go along with it. 

 Carle, E. (1994). The very hungry caterpillar. London: Hamish Hamilton.

The Three Little Pigs

The Three Little Pigs is a folklore, intended for young and new readers.  It was written and illustrated by Paul Galdone in 1970. Galdone does a fantastic job of defining the conflict in the story and making the theme stand out. He also brings the story to life with his illustrations, which are colorful, realistic, and a play by play of what happens in the story.

The Three Little Pigs is a common story that everyone has heard as child, but this version has a little twist to it. The story starts off by the three little pigs leaving their mother's home and off to seek their own fortune. The first little pig built his house out of straw and the wolf came blew it down and ate him. The second little pig built his house out of sticks and the wolf came blew it down and ate him. And the third little pig built his house out of bricks and when the wolf came he couldn't blow it down. So the wolf decided to invite the pig out and try get him that way. Only the pig was smart and left the house early every time to beat the wolf there. Finally, the wolf had enough and climbed on top of the house and down the chimney. However, the pig was one step ahead of the wolf once again and once the wolf came down the chimney he fell into a blazing hot pot and the pig closed the lid. The pig ate the wolf and then lived happily ever after.

This book is great for children because it 's a traditional story that has been remade and passed down from generations. The story teaches children that no matter how small you may be good trumps all evil. The book is easy for children to read and enjoyable. Children was also be able to relate to the story because children are small and vulnerable like the pigs. However, this book will teach them that they are strong and smart, and if you set your mind to something you can achieve anything.

Discussion Questions:

• If you were the first or second little pig, what would you do if the wolf knocked on your door? 
• Why do you think the pig still went to the places the wolf asked him to go too?
• Do you think all the little pigs should have left home? Why or why not?
• Why do you think the wolf didn't climb down the chimney in the first place? 
• Why do you think the pigs chose to build their houses out of these materials?

Motivational Activity:

• You can have the students build houses out of different materials and take turns trying to blow down the houses, while acting out scenes from the story.  This shows the students the struggle of building a house, especially with those materials and what the pigs had to do in such a situation.

Galdone,P.(2012). The Three Little Pigs. Boston.HMN Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Too Many Tamales

Too Many Tamales is a contemporary realistic children's book, intended for children in grades K-2. The story was written by Gary Soto and illustrated by Ed Martinez in 1992. Soto does an superb job defining the conflict and characterization. He also helps children explore differences in culture and provides a positive contribution the Hispanic community. Martinez's illustrations are artistically excellent. The design and colors are very appropriate for the story. He also helps enhance characterization with his illustrations by showing us real reactions and conflict.

Too May Tamales is the story of a little girl named Maria and her family around Christmas time. Maria is helping her mother make Tamales for Christmas dinner and when her mother leaves the room, Maria decides to try on her mother's wedding ring. Soon after Maria's family arrives and while she's hanging out with her cousins, she realizes that she lost her mother's wedding ring. Maria panics and believes the ring is somewhere in the tamales, so her and her cousins begin eating the tamales looking for something crunchy. When they finally got to the last tamale and still could not find the ring, Maria confessed to her mother. But then she realized the ring was never lost at all, but on her mother's finger the entire time. Maria felt sad about the situation, but her family showed her mistakes happen and worked together to make some more tamales.

This book is great for children because it helps them learn about Hispanic traditions and that everyone celebrates Christmas differently. It also teaches children not to panic and try to cover up problems, but to tell the truth because that it so much easier. Children will have an easy time relating to this book because they all have lost something important or tried to cover up a mistake. And this book shows them that mistakes happen, but you have to be honest about your mistake and receive help to fix it.

Discussion Questions:

• If you were Maria, what would you have done once you first noticed the ring was missing?

• Why did the pearl necklace remind Maria of the ring?

• How do you think Maria's mother found the ring?

• What does the word "kneaded" mean?

• How was Maria acting grown up?

• What lesson did Maria learn?

Motivational Activity:

• Have students think of a time when they did something wrong and had to tell the truth. Then have the students either act out the situation or draw a picture illustrating the situation. Allow for the rest of the students to help that student try and figure out what other options they had and which one was the best. This teaches students that their not that different from Maria and that the best option is always the truth.

If you enjoyed this book, check out some other books by Gary Soto
Some Examples:

• Baseball in April
• Chato and the Party Animals
• A Summer Life
• Taking Sides
• The Skirt
• My Little Car

Soto, G., & Martinez, E. (1992). Too many tamales. New York: Putnam







 Harcourt Publishing Company.