Allison Leport

CIRG 653-231

Annotated Bibliography

Lam, T. (2020). The Paper Boat. Toronto, ON: Owlkids Books.

The origin setting of this book is in Vietnam, where a young girl saves a colony of ants from a sugar

water trap. When the girl's family has to flee their country due to war, the ants go on their own new

journey as well. The author shows the girl's migrant story vicariously through the ants displayed in

great collage visuals. This book can be used throughout elementary grades integrated into a social

studies lesson to deepen the understanding of a life of a refugee. This will shed light on the more

realistic occurrences on a migrant’s journey.

Martinez-Neal, J., & Sananes, A. (2020). Alma and How She Got Her Name. Solon, OH: Findaway World,

LLC.

Alma's name has a large meaning behind it, and the author describes each part of her name along

with who and where it came from. The character Alma discovers just why she is named what she is and

learns to embrace her uniqueness. This book can be used to teach students about reading

comprehension, social emotional learning, and also grammar lessons can be pulled. The students could

also write and research about the meaning of their own name.

Stinson, K. (2021). The lady with the books: A story inspired by the remarkable work of Jella Lepman.

Toronto: CELA.

A brother and sister duo living in the war ruined town of Munich in 1946 discover Jella Lepman's

exhibit. The exhibit was an impeccable collection of children's literature. These stories helped the

children escape their present and explore the stories. A way to use this book would be in conjunction

with teaching a social studies conceptual lesson, and along with book genres. Diving into the books in

the story may encourage children to increase their reading motivation!

Weightman, M. (2020). All along the river. New York: Clavis Publishing.
 Bunny and her two brothers set sail on the river and embark on a grand adventure to find her toy duck.

They sail through diverse land formations like mountains, forests, fields, and see so many new things

all downstream of Little Duck. This book would be amazing for sequencing and creating a story

timeline. Vivid pictures and illustrations fill the pages so that the reader can experience their adventure

as well.

Cotter, S., & Morgan, J. (2020). Cannonball. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.

A young boy has his heart set on performing the perfect cannonball. After so much stress he put on

himself from others' advice, he finally realizes where to turn. His Nan helps him work through his fears

and doubt and find his inner voice and confidence. This social emotional and multicultural book would

be a great vocabulary lesson focus. A celebration of native culture, a glossary including Maori words is

included in the book.

Yoshitake, S. (2020). There must be more than that. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

When her brother defines "future" as a terrifying term, her grandma reassures her of the possibilities of

what that term means. She goes on to explore many possibilities of futures. This can be used as

sequencing, and a good book to introduce a journal prompt based on the book.

Sanna, F. (2018). Me and my Fear. London: Flying Eye Books.

A book from fear speaking as to how it interacts with a girl moving to a new country. This book shows

the journey of overcoming emotional hardships. Point of view is an element that can be taught with this

book as well as social emotional lessons.

Wernicke, M. (2020). Some Days. Amazon Publishing.

This book emotes heavy emotions of grief and loss, which is depicted in the pale color pallet. A large,

red hat appears and the young girl is suddenly taken into a time with her lost loved one. This book

could be used for an emotional and social studies filled lesson.

Nilsson, U., & Eriksson, E. (2020). All the Dear Little Animals. Wellington, NZ: Gecko Press.
 A journey begins when a dead bumblebee was found by a group of friends. They begin creating

funerals for other animals they find adventuring outside. This book is filled with rhyming which would

be a great addition to a phonemic awareness lesson.

Pêgo, A., Martins, I. M., Carvalho, B. P., & Springer, J. (2021). Plasticus maritimus: An invasive

species. Vancouver: David Suzuki Institute.

This book is about the pollution and issues within our oceans due to the plastic and other materials. It

was written by a marine biologist to examine this. It would be a great lesson connection to science, and

when using charts and reading diagrams.

Romanyshyn, R., Chernetsky, V., & Lesiv, A. (2020). Sound shhh...bang...pop..boom! San

Francisco: Chronicle Books LLC.

This is a nonfiction book which focuses on sound. It has interesting and eye catching text features, and

is a diverse book that brings light to sound loss and deaf culture. This would be a great book for

teaching onomatopoeia.

David, G. (2020). Letters from Bear. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

When Bear and Bird separate due to hibernation and flying south, some letters are written. Bear

decides to start the journey to Bird and writes letters along the way. This book is a great example of

having students write unsent letters.

Júnior, O., Starkoff, V., Dias, B. C., & Lopez, A. M. (2020). From my window. Fairfax, VA:

Library Ideas, LLC.

The book written by the authors perspective on the life of Brazilian favela. The whole rounded ideas in

the book identify stereotypes, and promotes discussion. This would be a great book for critical thinking

and group conversations.

Hrab, N., & Viva, F. (2020). Weekend dad. Toronto: Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press.

A book about parental separation written about the situation so many do not know how to address with

children. This book does it with grace. It could be used based on student situations and to make some

feel better about things that may be happening in their life with a text to self connection.
Fagan, C., & Enzo. (2020). Maurice and his dictionary: A true story. Toronto, ON: OwlKids

Books.

Maurice is a young boy who has fled Nazi Germany. He acquired a dictionary for his new home

language as a refugee. This book can be used during social studies and immigrations and migrant

lessons.

Tullet, H. (2019). Press here. San Francisco: Handprint Books, an imprint of Chronicle Books.

This is a simplistic book of reading and following directions page for page. It is interactive for learners,

and would be great for students who have ADD and/or other unique learning circumstances. It would

also be a great book to sequence.

Sanna, F. (2018). Me and my Fear. London: Flying Eye Books.

A book from fear speaking as to how it interacts with a girl moving to a new country. This book shows

the journey of overcoming emotional hardships. Point of view is an element that can be taught with this

book as well as social emotional lessons.

Clarke, M. B., & Rudd, V. T. (2021). The patchwork bike. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

When a group of children are bored, they begin creating. They use old scraps to create a bike. This

could be used in addition to an engineering lesson and maybe an Earth day lesson.

Gomi, T. (2018). I really want to see you, Grandma. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

A series of mishaps and missed connections prevent Yumi and her grandmother from

visiting with one another until their determination eventually brings them together. This book

can be sequenced and talked about in deep discussion about comprehension.