The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Summary:

The Little Prince feels disappointed in his little planet, so he decides to leave it and discover the beauties of other planets. What he encounters, though, teaches him the value of enjoying what belongs to you.

The Little Prince Movie Trailer

The Little Prince Official Website

Rapunzel's Revenge by Dean Hale and Shannon Hale

Summary:

        Rapunzel is living a life of unknown secrets. Secluded from the outside world, she is allowed only to venture out into the gardens. She soon finds out though that the world around her, though beautiful, is filled with untruths. With the help of her new friend Jack, Rapunzel heads out to find out what the "outside" world has in store for her.

Evaluation Criteria: Setting and Style

         The setting in Rapunzel’s Revenge is quite different than most other adaptations of this story. It ties in multiple locations and scenes to serve the purpose of showing the change in our character of Rapunzel. Where she once started out very sheltered, she moved onto being hidden, and finally to a place where she can show her strength.

                  The reason that the style in this book is so different is because of the way they adapted this classic tale. The Hales have included speech and diction that does not take away from the message and tone this book orignally had.

More Rapunzel:
Go to the Hale's Official Rapunzel Website to find out how to incorporate Rapunzel into the classroom, printable paper dolls, and more!

Hale, D., & Hale, S. (2008). Rapunzel's revenge: Graphic novel. London: Bloomsbury.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Summary:

        Stephanie has just inherited a mysterious mansion from her recently deceased uncle. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy for her. On her first night she is attacked for access to the mansions mysteries, but she is saved by the magical Skulduggery. They continue to search for clues to her uncles murder and uncover more of the secrets that lie throughout her new home.


Evaluative Criteria: Characterization and Plot

        In Skulduggery Pleasant we have characters that, though visibly strange, are relatable. Skulduggery Pleasant is a character that readers would root for because of his ability to be a hero during multiple instances.
         Skulduggery Pleasant has a linear plot that has smooth transitions between the elements. The beginning of the tale opens us up to the world that mixes in both the supernatural and the “normal.”  This is seen when Stephanie acquires her uncles estate, but it completely changes when she is attacked and saved by Skulduggery.  

More:
Check out the Skulduggery Pleasant Website where you can read a blog by the author Derek Landy, play games, and get free downloads.

 Landy, D. (2007). Skulduggery Pleasant. New York: HarperCollins. 

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

 Creech, S. (2001). Love that dog. New York: HarperCollins.  

Summary:

        Jack is an intelligent boy that finds out that poetry writing isn't "just for girls." It is a realization that he makes slowly, but proudly claims at the end when he realizes that he is actually rather good at it. Through this book we get a taste of his charming poems and see how amazing he can be once he has found his inspiration.

Reader Appeal:

Readers will also be attracted by Creech’s work because of her use of humor and vocabulary used/seen by students within their classrooms. She makes learning connectable to their lives by showing them examples of what they are learning. This makes reading less stressful for our emerging readers (both old and young).

How would I sell this book:

There are different ways I would try to sell these books to our kids. One would be to do a mini-lesson using excerpts from the books to try to catch the students’ attention. This can be done during certain units that are being taught by teachers such as text structures, poetry, and figurative language. In addition, doing book talks with the students and teachers can help increase promotion of books, so I would want to do a book talk in coalition with the mini-lesson.

More Love:
Here is a printable Literature Circle Guide for Love that Dog!

3 other books by Creech: 

Hate That Cat    

Walk Two Moons   

Chasing Redbird

The only book that is similar to Hate That Dog would be Creech’s other book Hate That Cat. It follows a similar writing style and content. These other two books shown differ in that they are novels that follow the traditional pattern.