It's Christmas, David!

It's Christmas, David! 

by David Shannon

Scholastic, 2010 

Summary:  As usual, everyone's favorite bad boy, David, is up to his useful mischievous self.  As his curiosity lures him into trouble during the Christmas season, David learns what isn't socially acceptable.  

Lesson:  No one reinforces socially acceptable and unacceptable behaviors better than David.  Children love his books.  So I decided to read this one during December's storytime.  The kids laughed at David's antics and corrected his behavior.  Many of them made life connections between David and themselves.  This one stayed checked out for the rest of the school year. 

Level:  PreK-1st

McDuff's Christmas

McDuff's Christmas 

by Rosemary Wells , Susan Jeffers (Illustrator) 

Hyperion, 2005

Summary:  McDuff and his family are waiting for Christmas to come, despite the tremendous snowfall outside.  When McDuff hears something outside, he wakes up his owners to go out into the cold.

Lesson:  This was a great book to talk about snow.  The types of clothing, the necessity of shoveling, the problems with holes in your shoes.  Being in the South, our children rarely see more than an inch once every few years.  They were very amazed at all the trouble it caused for McDuff and his family.  After I read this book, I couldn't keep McDuff books on the shelf. 

Level:  1st-3rd

Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid

Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid

by Xavier Garza

Cinco Puntos, 2010

Summary:  When Santa Claus is overburdened, he calls upon his Mexican cousin to help deliver presents along the Rio Grande border.  His stow-a-way nephew joins in the spirit, creating a legendary team.  Funny, with illustrations by the author.  Book is written in English and Spanish. 

Lesson:  I read this story as the dual language and bilingual classes were preparing for La Posada celebrations.  The students enjoyed seeing their cultural identy on the page (as well as "helping" me to correctly pronounce the words.)  This was followed up by an author visit from Xavier Garza, who talked to them about becoming storytellers themselves. 

Label:  Kinder-4th grade