Daily Dose of Books with Em

  Title: The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver Genre: Biography/Nonfiction Author: Gene Barretta Awards: Bluebonnet Age Group: 4 to 8 year olds Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I think this book would be a good book to read about an important person in history and the impact they had on the world. In this case it would be the agricultural world, it would help us learn more about how farmers learned to tend to their crops.  Summary: This book is about George Washington Carver and the impact he made on the agricultural world and how he was a voice for racial harmony. The book starts with George in front of a bunch of representatives where he's talking about the value of the peanut. He takes this time to talk about his secret garden that he made and kept for himself and where he learned more as he kept experimenting on the flowers growing there. After a while he became known as the "Plant Doctor." After that though he set out on a journey to see more of the world, t...

Title: Ways to make Sunshine Genre: Realistic Fiction Author: Renee Watson Awards: Texas Bluebonnet 2020-2021 Age Group: 7 to 10 year olds Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I think the kids would enjoy this book and it would teach valuable lessons of real-life issues families face. These include moving homes, having to sell your car, dealing with people making fun of your name and so much more. The book is written in a way that showcases the main character's (Ryan) sassiness and how she's so sure about herself and her name. It also exposes the reader to the African American culture since hair is an important theme in the book.  Summary: This book is about a little girl named Ryan and her family and how she never stops trying to bring joy and sunshine to her family even during the hard times. These hard times include her dad having a new job that pays significantly less than his old one and then family having to move houses and make some adjustments as a result. They have to sel...

  Title: From an Idea to Disney Genre: Biography  Author: Lowey Bundy Sichol Awards: Texas Bluebonnet 2020-2021 Age Group: 8 to 12 year olds Teacher Evaluation: As a teacher, I think this would be an interesting book for students to read for fun or if we're working on writing biographies about other people. It's written in an interesting way with cute pictures throughout the book to help illustrate what is being said. The book also includes definitions for some of the words used on the pages throughout the book and not just at the end.  Summary: In this book the author writes about how Disney started as just an idea for Walt Disney and how it has become the big brand name we all know. It starts with some background on Walt's family and where he lived before moving to Hollywood to pursue being a cartoonist. In 1923 with his older brother Roy, they created the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Hollywood. That's where they met a film distributor, Margaret Winkler, who p...