​Category:  Special Education
Title: Giraffes Can’t Dance
Author: Giles Andreae
Illustrator: Guy Parker-Rees
Publisher: Cartwheel Books
Year: 2001
ISBN Number: 978-0545392556
Number of Pages: 32
Reading Level: Preschool-3
Genre: Children’s picture book
 
Summary: This is the story of a giraffe who is upset because they are having a jungle party and he is the only one who cannot dance. Then, cricket comes along and tells him that sometimes different people just need a different song for them to be able to dance. They change the song and then giraffe dances in his own way and everyone loves his dance moves.
 
Main Themes: The theme of the story is acceptance and being different from others. Friendship is portrayed in the story when cricket comes along and teaches giraffe how to dance. All the other animals are then jealous of giraffe’s dance moves and regret ever making fun of him for being unable to dance- which portrays the theme of not judging others by their appearance.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: The author of the book, Giles Andreae has written a number of children’s books. He himself has four young children so he knows and understands children and what they like to read or see pictures of.  The book takes silly animals as a fun way to approach the topic of accepting others. The simplicity of using animals makes it an easy topic to understand. The book is an international number 1 bestseller. It would be great in the classroom because it shows how the giraffe has to do things a little bit differently in order to succeed which would be extremely relatable for children in special education. The illustrations are bright and fun, easily capturing a child’s attention. It also has a rhyming to make the text easier to read.
 
Weaknesses: The book never discusses how the bullies were wrong for tormenting him when he could not dance. The giraffe learns to dance and is then accepted, but the bullies do not apologize for the way they treated him. This could teach the theme that it is okay to tease others who are not the same as us.
 
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IokV2nE3nB8 : This is a link to a youtube read aloud of the book.
 
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/authors/giles-andreae/ : This is a link to Giles Andreae’s
biography.
 
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/giraffes-cant-dance-lesson-plan/ : This is a great lesson plan to use in the classroom.
 

Category:  Special Education
Title: We’re All Wonders
Author: R. J. Palacio
Illustrator: R. J. Palacio
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Year: 2017
ISBN Number: 978-1524766498
Number of Pages: 32 (Hardcover)
Reading Level: K-3
Genre: Children’s picture book
 
Summary: This is a story about a little boy who looks different from all of his peers. The illustrations show that he is missing one of his eyes. The book is from the boys point of view and says how he feels like he is a wonder yet people sometimes stare and point at him and it hurts his feelings. When this happens he escapes by pretending he takes a rocket to Pluto and looks back at the earth. He then comments about how the earth is full of different people. We all look and talk differently, and that is what makes us all wonders.
 
Main Themes: The theme of the story is acceptance of other people’s differences. This is shown in the text of the story but also in the illustrations. There are different races shown and children with glasses- not to mention the main character who is missing an eye! It is a great book to introduce the topic of empathy and kindness toward others.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: The author of this book, R. J. Palacio got her motivation to write this book when she was with her three year old and saw a child that had physical abnormalities. She was not sure what to do in the situation so she quickly whisked her daughter away to keep her from making an embarrassing comment. She later thought about how she could educate her daughter on this and decided to write this book. The book has been made into a major motion picture and started a Choose Kind movement. It is a great story that teaches children about being accepting of others. Wonder has been listed as a #1 New York Times Bestseller, USA Today Top 100 Bestseller, An Indie Bestseller, Time Magazine 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time Selection, and received many other awards and praises.
 
Weaknesses: The story never explicitly says what makes the child different from his peers and why exactly people are pointing or talking about him. It is clear by the illustrations but if one could not see the illustrations they would be confused.
 
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFFhdwVcSYs : This is a link to a youtube read aloud of the text.
 
http://people.com/movies/wonder-rj-palacio-story-behind-book/ : This is a link to an interview with the author that explains her motivation for writing the book.
 
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/555247/were-all-wonders-by-written-and-illustrated-by-r-j-palacio/9781524766498/ : This website discusses the awards that the book has received and gives reviews from educators and parents. 

Category: LGBTQ
Title: And Tango Makes Three
Author: Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell
Illustrator: Henry Cole
Publisher: Little Simon
Year: 2005
ISBN Number: 978-1481446952
Number of Pages: 36
Reading Level: 1-3
Genre: Children’s picture book
 
Summary: This is a story of a zoo that talks about families of different animals at the zoo. When it gets to the penguins it talks about boy and girl penguins liking each other, then talks about two boy penguins that are a little bit different. They do everything together and the zoo keeper thinks they are in love. They realize they are different from other couples because they cannot lay eggs or have babies. When the zookeeper notices, he takes an egg that needs cared for and the two penguins sit on it until it hatches. When the bird is born they name her Tango because it takes two to Tango. Tango is the first bird to have two daddies but is treated the same as the other penguins.
 
Main Themes: The theme of the book is tolerance of all kinds. At the beginning of the book, one line is that “families of all kinds” come to the zoo. This sets the theme from the start of diversity and acceptance of all. The penguins are not viewed as outcasts because of their love for one another. They are accepted for who they are.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: Making the story have animal characters instead of humans is a great way to discuss the topic in a warm, inviting way that will hopefully keep others from being disrupted and upset. The penguins notice that the female is the one to sit on the eggs before they hatch, so since they are both males they take turns sitting on it. The author of the story is a clinical and academic psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with interest in  sexual development, early childhood development, self esteem regulation, and parenting. The book has been recognized as an American Library Association Notable Book and received the Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award and the Gustavus Meyers Award. The book does a great job of showing families who are unconventional but love each other for who they are.
 
Weaknesses: This book has been banned because of its homosexual content. It is a book that a teacher would need to get approval of before taking into a classroom.
 
Resources:
http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Justin-Richardson/27409275 : This is a link to a website all about the professional development of the author Justin Richardson and his other involvement with teaching children about sexuality.
 
http://psychoanalysis.columbia.edu/people/faculty/justin-richardson-md : This is a professional biography about Dr. Richardson and includes information about the book and awards it has received.
 
http://www.care2.com/causes/and-tango-makes-three-tops-list-of-banned-books.html : This article discusses why the book is banned. 

Category: LGBTQ
Title: Mommy, Mama, and Me
Author: Leslea Newman
Illustrator: Carol Thompson
Publisher: Tricycle Press
Year: 2008
ISBN Number: 978-1582462639
Number of Pages: 20
Reading Level: Pre-k-2
Genre: Children’s picture book
 
Summary: This is a simple story that walks through the day with a toddler who has two mothers. They do everything from playing hide-n-seek to eating meals to taking baths to goodnight kisses.
 
Main Themes: The main theme of the story is family. The story shows that there is no limit on a loving and nurturing family. The toddler is portrayed as happy and cheerful to have two mothers, never worried about being different.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: This book is very simple and would be a great tool for introducing acceptation of lesbian couples. Leslea Newman is lesbian herself and was influenced to write this story when a friend of hers mentioned that there are no children’s books that portray families like theirs. She has received many literacy awards including the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award and two American Library Association Stonewall Honors. She wrote the very first children’s book to portray lesbian families in a positive way and has continued with writing stories like this ever sense. Since she herself is lesbian I think it makes it easier for her to understand what these families are going through and write these books in a truly uplifting and celebrating way.
 
Weaknesses: The book is very light-hearted and happy but never touches on any of the negative things that come along with having two mothers. It could go deeper by adding something about getting funny looks from others but still being happy. However, it does a good job for what it was intended for which was to raise awareness of lesbian families and help them feel accepted.
 
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt2VphobB-A : This is a link to a youtube read aloud of the story.
 
http://www.lesleanewman.com/ : This is a link to a website all about Leslea Newman.
 
https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-58246-263-9 : This website includes links to information about the book and reviews from those that have read it. It also has links to ideas of how to incorporate this into a classroom. 

Category:  LGBTQ
Title: King and King
Author: Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland
Illustrator: Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland
Publisher: Tricycle Press
Year: 2003
ISBN Number: 978-1582460611
Number of Pages: 32 Pages
Reading Level: K-3
Genre: Children’s picture book/fantasy
 
Summary:
In this story, a queen is pressuring her son to hurry up and get married. Potential suiters are brought to him and he is not interested in any of the princesses. Then, he meets one he is interested in… but it is not the princess. It is her brother that he is interested in. The two princes end up getting married in a beautiful, fun ceremony.
 
Main Themes: The theme of the story is the twist added at the end. It is not a boy-meets-girl set up but a boy-meets-boy set up which still ends in celebration and excitement. It is introducing the ideas of homosexuality at a young age.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: This story takes away an overused story line of the prince meeting the perfect princess and living happily ever after and adds a twist. It is brief and light-hearted that presents this relationship in a matter-of-fact way and makes it seem normalized and acceptable. The authors of the book are co-authors and co-illustrators that work well together to portray this relationship. The book has been taken to the theater stage and performed from Vienna to Mexico City. Their publisher encouraged them to write a sequel which they tell of the two princes adopting a child.
 
Weaknesses: Bringing a book like this into a classroom can cause a lot of controversy and questions. Parents may not want children introduced to this idea yet and children may be confused with the concepts. This book tackles the concept hard and even shows the two princes kissing, which could be a bit much for younger audiences. It would be good for students who have previously had conversations or been introduced to the topic. The pictures in the book are almost collage style. For someone who is not familiar with this style they can seem clashing and confusing. The men in the story are also kind of portrayed as ugly and weak, which could cause problems since they are also portrayed as homosexual. One could argue that they are stereotyping homosexual men to seem ugly and weak. There is also a lack of the communication between the two princes before they get married, but this also keeps the story short and light-hearted making a big controversial issue viewed as simple.

Resources: 
http://entertainment.time.com/2007/10/02/top-10-book-controversies/slide/king-king-by-linda-de-haan-and-stern-nijland/ : This is an article that discusses the book and the controversy it presents.
 
http://www.lindadehaan.com/biography.html : This is the biography of one of the authors and illustrators of the book- Linda de Haan.
 
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/issues/king_and_king/book.html : This is an article about the controversial arising that took place when a second grade teacher read this book to her class without parent consent. 

​Category: Special Education
Title: Red: A Crayon’s Story
Author: Michael Hall
Illustrator: Michael Hall
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Year: 2015
ISBN Number: 978-0062252074
Number of Pages:
Reading Level: K-3
Genre: Children’s picture book, fantasy
 
Summary: This is the story of a crayon that is labeled red but colors blue. The crayon is doing its best to fit in and everyone tries to help it color red, but it just does not work. Red suffers an identity crisis and is extremely upset. Then, a friend comes along and helps the crayon discover that he is actually blue! This makes him feel accepted and happy.
 
Main Themes: The theme of the story is that it is okay to be different. The crayon cannot conform to everyone else’s expectations and he feels bad but when he discovers he is not as he perceived he feels better. It teaches to look beyond labels and outside appearances.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: The strength of the story is that it is easily relatable for anyone. It can be adapted to almost any topic. I chose to put it in special education because I think it would especially apply to someone experiencing differences in this area. The author, Michael Hall, was diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of 8. He later lost vision in his left eye. He has experience of feeling different and going through school needing to receive special education. The story is light hearted enough to apply to anything, not just special education, but can help those that have special needs feel confident and help those that do not be more understanding of them.
 
Weaknesses: A weakness in the story could be that it ends too soon. What I mean by that is that after the crayon discovers that he is actually blue and feels confident and excited to have discovered that, it does not talk much about the reactions of his peers. I think it would be powerful for the story to include going back to the events at the beginning of the book and having him explore those knowing he is a blue crayon and succeed. This would motivate a student with special needs to discover what they are good at and stick to it. The book has won the Irma Simonton Black and Hames H. Black Award 2005-2017. It also was a finalist in the E. B. White Read-aloud Award, Midwest Booksellers’ Choice Award, and Minnesota Book Award. It won the Booklist Best Picture Books in 2015 and was on the Rainbow list in 2016.
 
 
 
Resources:
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?a=1&tid=42279 : This website is loaded with links and information. It has everything from book trailers to lesson plans to awards of the book listed.
 
http://www.mackinviacommunity.com/2014/07/09/michael-hall/ : This is a link to an author interview of Michael Hall where he shares his motivation behind the writing of the story.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytZ2fhuj6kA : This is a link to a Youtube read aloud of the story.
 

​Category: Race and Ethnicity
Title: Peter’s Chair
Author: Ezra Jack Keats
Illustrator: Ezra Jack Keats
Publisher: Puffin Books; Reprint Edition
Year: 1998 (Original story written in 1973)
ISBN Number: 978-0140564419
Number of Pages: 40 (paperback version)
Reading Level: Age 2-7
Genre: Children’s picture book
 
Summary: This is the story of a little boy named Peter who has a new baby sister. He notices that his parents are painting his old crib and high chair pink for her. Before they can get to his little chair, he decides to take the chair and run away. He sets up outside the house with his chair and then realizes that he no longer fits in the chair. At the end, he comes inside and tells his dad he wants to help him paint the chair pink for Susie.
 
Main Themes: The theme of the story is sibling rivalry. It shows how Peter was jealous at first of how his new baby sister was being treated, but then comes around to realize that it is good for him to be supportive and kind to her. It shows themes of adapting to change.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: This story is classic and timeless in the way it portrays sibling rivalry. Class is not necessarily portrayed in the story. Peter could be in a rich or poorer family. He is illustrated as black but this would not be clear to the reader without looking at the pictures. The author of the book is Ezra Jack Keats and it was written at a time where there were not very many picture books that showed black children, especially ones just living a normal life. Ezra is a Caldecott award winning author. Children often have the feeling of “it’s mine!” when it comes to giving away old toys or things they used but this story does a great job of showing how to do this with a positive mindset- especially if it is something you can no longer fit in or use. The art in the story is simply and children can easily place themselves into the scene or imagine what Peter is going through.
 
Weaknesses: Something one could point out as a weakness in this story is gender stereotyping. All of the things Peter had previously owned were painted blue. When his little sister is born, they are painting everything pink. These are extremely stereotypical colors for the genders, and it is one of the main points the whole story revolves around. If they wanted to take the color of the toys out the author would have to re-write the whole story.
 
 
 
Resources:
http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ezras-books/peters-chair/ : This website is filled with information about the book. It has everything from summaries to ideas of how to bring this into the classroom and connect it to other themes.
 
http://oceansoffirstgradefun.blogspot.com/2011/03/peters-chair.html : This is a first grade lesson plan with a reading of the story and worksheets and coloring pages to use.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OB09KdxW6M : YouTube read aloud of the text

​Category:  Race and Ethnicity
Title: Corduroy
Author: Dan Freeman
Illustrator: Dan Freeman
Publisher: Viking Press
Year: 1968
ISBN Number:  0-590-30907-2
Number of Pages: 32
Reading Level:  K-2
Genre: Children’s literature, picture book/fantasy
 
Summary:
This is the story of a little bear for sale on a shelf. He is missing a button on his overalls. He is not picked because of this fact He then tries to go steal a button for himself but a guard finds him and returns him to his shelf. A girl sees him and falls in love but her mom says no. She then comes back and buys him and mends his button.
 
Main Themes:
There are a few different themes one can take from this story. One being to not judge others by their appearance- to not judge the bear because of the button he is missing. Another theme is friendship. Corduroy is so happy to have the girl as a good friend and she is happy to have him. He also has always fantasized of living in a castle, but is happy to be living in a small home with this girl. This shows to be happy with what you have and make the most of everything.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: The girl that adopts Corduroy at the end of a novel is a black girl. This is not mentioned in the text but it is a novel which shows diversity. The girl is portrayed as very polite- obedient to her mother when she says no and thankful when she says yes. The story also shows social class. The girls saves up money in her piggy bank to be able to take Corduroy home. The home she takes her to is small yet homey and filled with love. The author of the book. Dan Freeman, was really interested in sketches when he began his career. He started out just sketching for a different author but eventually began writing his own stories and illustrating them as well. This shows a strong correlation between what the author pictures and illustrates because it is done by the same person!
 
Weaknesses:
One could see a weakness in portraying a black child as poor and her home as small. This could be stereotyping by making the family that is poor also be a black family. The story also tends to stereotype genders. Every girl in the story is wearing pink or purple and every boy in the story is wearing green or blue.
 
Resources:
http://www.corduroybook.com/author.html : This is a link to the official website of the Corduroy book. This website has information about the author and ideas for parents and educators.
 
https://donfreeman.info/ : This website is all about the author and illustrator of the book, Don Freeman.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=963f90hittY : Read aloud video of the story.

Category: Race and Ethnicity
Title: The Snowy Day
Author: Ezra Jack Keats
Illustrator: Ezra Jack Keats
Publisher: Viking Press
Year:1962
ISBN Number: 978-0-670-86733-2
Number of Pages: 48
Reading Level: K-2
Genre: Children’s picture book
 
Summary: A young boy wakes up and realizes it has snowed outside. He puts on his snowsuit and goes outside to explore. After playing in the snow, he puts a snowball in his pocket for later. After going inside and taking a nice warm bath he realizes his snowball has melted but wakes up to more snow falling.
 
Main Themes:
The theme of the story is adventure. The story shows how the young boy, Peter, made the most of his day.  There is also a point when Peter shares his adventures with his mother, showing the positive relationship between mother and son.
 
Critical Review:
Strengths: The protagonist in the story is black, but just by reading the text one would not know that. This is portrayed in the illustrations which was a breakthrough in literature at the time that the book was published. The author, Ezra Jack Keats, has written over 85 books. In his books, the protagonists are portrayed as children of color. They are usually in an urban setting, which makes sense because he grew up in New York City so this is a setting he is familiar with. The Snowy Day has won the Caldecott Medal from the American Library Association, The New York Public Library’s Books of the Century, and The Library of Congress’s Books that Shaped America awards. Just this October Snowy Day Forever stamps were issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
 
Weaknesses: The weakness that one could point out in this book is that it does not go far enough. It does not have much interaction of race or controversy arising in the book. However, one could also view this as a strength. The author, who was white, was not necessarily trying to make a statement with the book but just wanted to make sure literature portrayed black children as well as whites.
 
Resources:
http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ : This website is called the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. It gives his biography, lists his books and awards received, and has links to a lot of information on each book he has written and illustrated.
 
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/snowy-day-lesson-plan/ : this is a link to a fun lesson plan involving the book that discusses weather and the seasons.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v7sZbywcFA : This is a youtube read aloud of the book.