A great ELA supplement to Jerry Spinell’s classic book of fighting racism, fitting in, and finding family. Activities include working with similes and personification, comparison and contrast using a Venn Diagram, creating a character study, and conducting research. End-of-book tests included with answer key. Perfect for self-guided study. Grades: 4-7
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Guide-Maniac-Magee-by-Jerry-Spinelli-11348884
Dealing with patience is HARD!! It’s difficult waiting for something that you really, REALLY want! Here are 30 books to help your preschooler and early reader handle situations when they just want something NOW! It’s absolutely FREE so download your copy today!
The Hundred Penny Box
Sharon Bell Mathis (J Fiction)
Michael loves counting the pennies in his great-great Aunt Dew’s old wooden box. There’s one hundred in total—each one representing a year of her life and more importantly, a memory. Aunt Dew may forget a lot of things, but she remembers every milestone that each penny represents, and Michael enjoys hearing her tell these stories over and over again. But Michael’s mother wants to get rid of the box. She says it’s old and gets underfoot. Aunt Dew has lost so much already, Michael can’t allow her to lose her beloved box as well. How can he make his mother understand its importance when all she sees is an ugly old box?
Recipient of the Newbery Honor Book award in 1976, The Hundred Penny Box is a compassionate and heartfelt book that depicts aging and caring for the aged in a realistic and thoughtful manner. It’s a moving, multi-generational story of a young boy and his beloved great-great aunt and the simple pleasures they share while counting old coins and reliving cherished memories. While their relationship is sweet, Mathis also depicts the challenges of caring for the elderly as she places all of the stress and anxiety of daily care squarely on the shoulders of Michael’s mother, Ruth. Readers will most certainly view her as the story’s villain and who can blame them when even Michael apologizes to Aunt Dew for his mother’s mean behavior.
At 47 pages—including the beautiful watercolor illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon—this book is probably one of the shortest (if not the shortest) books to win a Newbery; however, its brevity should not be confused with simplicity for its complex themes of empathy, respect, compassion, and love make this a book that needs to be read slowly and savored. Author Tia Walker wrote, “To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” The pennies in Aunt Dew’s box may have only added up to a dollar, but Aunt Dew was a woman whose warmth and faith made her a priceless treasure that no box could contain and whose worth could never be measured.
Rating: 5/5
NEW!! Want to share this book with your homeschooler or classroom? Download our FREE study guide: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Guide-The-Hundred-Penny-Box-by-Sharon-Bell-Mathis-11285435
SAVE on study guides from these Newbery award-winning books! On My Honor is a coming-of-age book about loss and forgiving yourself. Sarah, Plain and Tall is set in the late 1800s and centers on home and family. Switch gears and travel to one of the Central Tuamotu atolls with Call It Courage, a story of survival and courage. Guides include vocabulary, content questions, topic discussions, activities, creative exercises, grammar and writing exercises, and tests. Answer key included! $4.50 in savings with this bundle deal!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Newbery-Study-Guide-Bundle-1-11300285
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Beverly Cleary (J Fiction)
Ralph is reckless. Ralph is impatient. Ralph is his mother’s greatest worry. Worst of all…RALPH IS BORED! He is a mouse yearning for excitement and danger, and he’s about to get it when young Keith Gridley and his family check into Room 215 at the Mountain View Inn—home to Ralph and his mouse family. When Ralph spies Keith’s beloved diecast motorcycle on the nightstand one day, Ralph HAS to ride it because that red beauty is his one-way ticket to adventure. It also starts a chain reaction that sees Ralph trapped in a wastebasket, narrowly escaping a vacuum cleaner, tangling with a pillowcase, inciting an excitable pooch, and braving the outdoors—all while trying to reclaim the lost motorcycle, win back the trust of a friend, and prove that he CAN be a responsible mouse.
Inspired by real-life events involving a spooky old hotel, a sick little boy, a set of miniature cars, and a little mouse caught in a garden bucket, Beverly Cleary gives young readers another timeless and unforgettable story—one full of heart and the importance of accountability, responsibility, selflessness, and friendship. At the story’s heart is an unlikely friendship between a young boy and a mouse who find commonality over their love of motorcycles. Through Keith, Ralph begins to understand that putting other’s needs first doesn’t mean sacrificing your own wants and in the long run, the benefits received are far richer and more rewarding than imagined.
This is an ideal classroom or read-aloud book as the lessons learned are worth discovering and discussing. For a young reader to watch Ralph’s evolution from being self-indulgent and reckless to thoughtful and considerate is satisfying to witness and teaches that the only thing more important than being responsible is accepting accountability and making sure that a wrong is made right and trust is restored. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility” and a young mouse with a thirst for speed shows us that greatness isn’t having a shiny red motorcycle, but having someone that believes in you and calls you friend.
Rating: 5/5
NEW!! Want to share this book with your homeschooler or classroom? Download our affordable study guide: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Guide-The-Mouse-and-the-Motorcycle-by-Beverly-Cleary-11217785
WHAT ARE THE KIDDOS READING?
As I’m filling my store with study guides to help our young learners tackle the tricky and often confusing subject of language arts, I’m wondering what are your kiddos reading in school? I can always do guides on MY favorite books, but that really doesn’t help those that need help on what they’re reading NOW!
Reply with some book titles that your young readers have read in the past or are planning to read! If I use your recommendation, I’ll give you the study guide for FREE!
This FREE study guide supplements Sharon Bell Mathis’s multi-generational story about family and compassion. Activities include vocabulary, content questions, and topic research. Perfect for self-guided study. Answer key included. Grades: 1-4
A great ELA supplement to Armstrong Sperry’s classic book of courage and survival. Activities include creative writing, identifying conflict, practicing similes, building tension in a story, and researching topics. End-of-book tests included with answer key. Perfect for self-guided study. Grades: 3-7
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Study-Guide-Call-It-Courage-by-Armstrong-Sperry-11280731
April is National Autism Acceptance Month. Promote acceptance and understanding of individuals with autism with your young learner with these books featuring neurodivergent characters. Different doesn’t mean less and these stories will inspire and educate about the importance of inclusion. Download your FREE copy today!
Start teaching KEY CONCEPTS and HIGHER ORDER THINKING to your young learners with these books on OPPOSITES. Opposites enable children to not only compare two things, but it also helps them describe the world around them. Download this FREE book list and get started today!
The Dusty Jacket 