Find great books for preschool, elementary, and middle school children and teens along with ideas of ways to teach with them in the classroom across the curriculum.
When Mrs. Jane Tabby's four kittens are born, she is surprised to see that they have wings. Life among the trash cans of the inner city is not good: the shoes and boots kick and the hands hurt. Soon, the mother realizes that the power to fly will allow her kittens to escape the slums in which they live to find a better life.
Roger, James, Harriet and Thelma soon discover that their city skills don't help much in the woods of the country and they must fight some fierce birds in order to secure their territory. Surviving near starvation they finally find some children who will love and care for them.
This is an easy to read novel. Great for kids just venturing into the world of reading novels. It's also a wonderful read aloud. The illustrations are pen and ink with soft washes of pastels and add some lightness to the story.
Wonderful Alexander and Catwings by Ursula Le Guin. Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. (1994, Scholastic. ISBN 9780531068519. Order Info.) Chapter Book. 48 pages. Gr 1-5.
This is the third book in the Catwings series. Wonderful Alexander is a kitten who gets himself stuck in a tree. When one of the flying cats, Jane, rescues him he wonders how he can repay her.
Jane On Her Own by Ursula Le Guin. Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. (2003, Scholastic. ISBN 9780439551922. Order Info.) Chapter Book. 48 pages. Gr 1-5.
Jane, the youngest of the winged kittens is bored with farm life and embarks on a dangerous adventure back to the city where she was born and where her flightless mother still lives.
Tuesday by David Wiesner. (1991, Clarion. ISBN 9781435208629. Order Info.) Picture Book. 32 pages. Gr PreK-3.
Even before the title page we are aware that frogs--one frog at least--is levitating in the marsh. By the first words in the book, "Tuesday Evening, around eight," frogs on their lily pads are zooming around, looping and diving. They're off to town where they startle a late night snacker, decimate a clothesline, invade the house where an old woman snoozes before her TV. Read more about this book including some activities.
The Silver Pony: A Story in Pictures by Lynd Ward. (1992, Turtleback. ISBN 9780833595188. Order Info.) Wordless. 174 pages. Gr 2-5.
Here is a wordless novel of a boy and a flying horse. Even the chapters are indicated wordlessly. This is a beautiful, mythic novel.
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In Times Past
by Carol Hurst and Rebecca Otis
Integrating US History with Literature in Grades 3-8.
Enliven your US History curriculum!
Teach US History using great kids books.
By Carol Otis Hurst!!