Skippyjon Jones

Skippyjon Jones

by Judy Schachner

Dutton Juvenile, 2003

Summary: Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese Kitten whose creative imagination is always leading him to exciting places and landing him in hot water.  In this story, he imagines he is the great chihuahua sword fighter El Skippito.  He joins a band of chihuahuas  and defeats the Bumblebeeto Bandito. 

Lesson:  I love to talk to kids about using their imagination.  Part of this lesson was to extend last week's lesson about Animals and the Dewey Decimal System.  Another part was to have them use context clues.  Based on the text and pictures, I asked them what they thought the truth was behind the Bumblebeeto Bandito's existence.  Some said a real bee was in the closet, some said a picture of a bee.  A few noticed the candy and guessed pinata. 

Level:  Pre-K - 3rd

Latino Legends: Hispanics in Major League Baseball

Latino Legends: Hispanics in Major League Baseball 

by Michael Silverstone , Timothy Rasinski , Doran Duke Goldman

Coughlin Publishing, 2003

Summary:  Short, Sports focused biographies of famous Hispanics in Major League Baseball.

Lesson:  I used this book twice.  First, when a grade level was doing biographical research, I showed them this as an example of how to find biographies based upon the topic's profile:  Female scientists, Presidents, Civil Rights Leaders, baseball players, etc.  Then later, when talking about searching for information, I was showing the students how to use the table of contents and the index pages. 

Level: 3rd - 6th

Cinco de Mouse-O!

Cinco de Mouse-O! 

by Judy Cox

Holiday House, 2010

Summary:  Following the smells, mouse visits a Cinco de Mayo celebration.  Danger ensues as he climbs onto a pinata above the stalking cat.  A great adventure, full of Mexican culture. 

Lesson:  I read this story on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) as a way to celebrate Mexican culture and part of our state's history (Texas).  We also talked about ways our community celebrated Cinco de Mayo.

Level:  Kinder-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