Alice the Fairy

Alice is a little girl, who wants to be a fairy. She describes all the things that she can do like a fairy and all of her fairy tools like her magic wand and her blanket. She says she uses her wand to disappear, but what she really does is flicks the light switch off. She also has a magic mirror and fairy dust for her spells. She thinks she’ll probably be a temporary fairy forever because to be a permanent fairy you have to go to advanced fairy school.

This is a good book to use when talking about perspective. The story is written through the eyes of a young girl. She fantasizes that her mom is an evil duchess because she makes her eat broccoli. I think this book would have a wide appeal for imaginative students, who like to pretend they have special powers.

Shannon, D. (2004) Alice the Fairy. Blue Sky Press: NY

Duck on a Bike

On the farm Duck found a bike. He rode past the cow, sheep, and the other farmyard animals, who all had something to say about Duck riding a bike. When a bunch of kids rode by on their bikes, all the animals got a chance to ride a bike. One way to use this book is to highlight dialogue. Another way to use this with children is to have them add a page of their words.

Shannon, D. (2002) Duck on a Bike. Blue Sky Press: New York

The Rain Came Down

The rain begins and sends a chain reaction of negative events through the community. Everything is turned upside down including the arguing of the beauty parlor owner, the barber, and the painter. When the sun breaks through the clouds, it works like magic to stop the fussing. This is a great book to teach cause and effect...when the rain stops all the people start being nice to each other. It would also be interesting to talk about stereotypes and look into the community people and ask why the grocer is Asian and so on.
Shannon,D. (2000) The Rain Came Down. Blue Sky Press: New York.