A Shelter in Our Car by Monica Gunning

- A Shelter in Our Car is about a mother and her daughter Zettie who are homeless and live in
their car. There are many nights when the police lights are shining in their car telling them they
cant sleep there. The mother tries so hard to make more money, but they are in a tough
situation. If they are lucky enough sometimes they get to stay in a hotel room for a night. In the
mornings before school Zettie has to use the restrooms at the park to get ready and then mom
goes in search of a job. At school Zetties classmates call her Junk Car Zettie. This makes her
so upset so she flees from school and doesnt show up in the same place her mom picks her up
each day. Finally the mom and daughter reunite, and her mom promises Zettie she will have a
new job and place to live.

(P) And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

- And Tango Makes Three is about two male penguins Roy and Silo who live in the New York
Central Park Zoo. One day the two penguins tried to hatch a rock together. After a zookeeper
notices this Roy and Silo became a couple and were given an egg to raise together. When the
chick finally hatches they name it Tango. The point of this story is that we are all equal, and that
it doesnt matter who you are or what gender because we are all the same.

(P) Before You Were Mine by Maribeth Boelts

- Before You Were Mine is about adopting a dog from the shelter. The little boy who adopts his
dog from the shelters is very curious and wonders if maybe he lived with a little boy like him
before. He also wondered if the family had to move and couldnt keep him. He was just curious
of what his dogs life was like before he was adopted from the shelter. The little boy at the end
of the book learns to realize none of that matters now because now the dog has a good home.
This is a great book to share with children because it shows how adopting a pet can bring joy to
children and the dog too.

(P) Bully by Patricia Polacco

- Bully teaches children a lesson on how to respect each other and how being a bully really can
hurt a person. Lyla makes a really good friend Jamie on her first day of school. Lyla then
decides to join the cheerleading squad at school that is full of popular girls. Jamie is left behind
while Lyla is off with her new clique. Lyla knows what bullying is all about and she notices a lot
of her classmates being teased on Facebook including her friend Jamie. Soon Lyla is being
accused of stealing a test and all the pages have turned on her. This book teaches children the
dangers of cyberbullying and teachers can provide great lessons to their students.

(P) Elmer by David McKee

- Elmer is a bright colored patchwork elephant. All of the other elephants make fun of him
because he doesnt look like an ordinary elephant. Elmer begins to feel left out because now
even his own friends do not accept him. Elmer ended up covering himself in grey paint and he
began to become accepted again among the other elephants. It wasnt until a rainy when the grey
paint washed off that Elmers colorful pattern was revealed again. The elephants reassure Elmer
that they love him no matter what color he is, and together they all painted themselves just like
Elmer. This book focuses on diversity and accepting one another for who we are.

(P) Giraffes Cant Dance by Giles Andreae

- Giraffes Cant Dance is about Gerald the giraffe who cant dance very well. All of his friends
tease him because he cant dance, and at the Jungle Dance, he had an encounter where
everybody in town laughed at him. This made Gerald feel humiliated. Along came a cricket
who was Geralds guide that teaches him to listen to the sounds around him and feel the rhythm
in his body. Gerald learned to dance so well that he surprised all of his friends. This story
teaches a lesson that it is okay to be different and to do what makes you happy.

(P) Grandmothers Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray McCain

- Grandmothers Dreamcatcher deals with social issues. Kimmy goes to her grandmothers
house while her parents go to Chicago to look for a new house. One of the nights Kimmy has a
bad dream so her grandma tells her all about the Chippewa heritage. This is when her
grandmother tells her the story about the dreamcatcher that catches bad dreams in a trap and
allows only good dreams to come through. Kimmy and her grandmother make a dreamcatcher
together and many other nice things for her to give to her parents that she missed so much while
her parents were away.

(P) I Hate English by Ellen Levine

- I Hate English is a book about diversity. In this book Mei Mei is an immigrant from Hong
Kong and lives in New York. She becomes frustrated because everybody at her school can speak
English, but she refuses to learn it. Mei Mei is afraid that if she learns English she will forget all
about her Chinese language and heritage. It took for Mei Meis teacher Miss Nancy to take her
out around town to get her to speak in English. She let Mei Mei realize that she can speak both
English and Chinese while still being herself.

(P) Rules by Cynthia Lord

- Rules is about a girl named Catherine who is 12 years old. Catherine cares for her autistic
brother David, but also wants to have time with her own life. Catherines daily life is to make
sure David is well taken care of while making sure he follows the rules such as, excuse me,
and no yelling during dinner time. Soon enough Catherine gets two new neighbors Kristi and
Jason. Kristi is considered to be a cool girl while she fears Jason because he is confined to a
wheelchair. Catherine worries that if Kristi sees David that will ruin their friendship. Catherine
continues her friendship with Kristi, but begins to get closer with Jason. When Jason asks
Catherine to the dance she became hesitant because of him being handicapped. This upset Jason
very much. By the end of the story Catherine grew as a person and asked Jason to go to the
dance with her. She has found a stability between David while learning to manage her own life.

(P) Standing On My Own Two Feet by Tamara Schmitz

- Standing On My Own Two feet is a story that narrates how to get through a tough situation,
such as divorce for young children. It teaches children that even though mom and dad are not
together in the same house anymore they are still loved by each parent, and that it is not the
childs fault. In this story Addisons parents are divorced and he talks about the two different
houses he lives in and how sometimes he misses one of the parents he is not with. He knows he
is safe with both of his parents, but something that comforts him is that at night when he looks
out his windows they all enjoy the same moon.

(P) Tea with Milk by Allen Say

-In Tea with Milk, Masakos father promised to take her to San Francisco one day. Her English
friends called her May. Mays parents got homesick so they decided to go back to Japan. May
was very upset that she had to go back to Japan because she loved America. Her parents gave
her a matchmaker to find a husband in Japan. May got a job in Japan and became an elevator
girl. Her parents were ashamed of her working. Shen then got promoted to be a stores guide for
a foreign businessman where she met a man on tour. This man asked her to have tea with him.
She ended up marrying this man in Yokohama where they lived and had a child together.

(P) The Can Man by Laura E. Williams

- The Can Man is a great story to read to children to teach them that sometimes it is important to
put somebody else first instead of themselves. The little boy Tim sees the can man collecting
cans every day and decides that since his birthday is coming up soon he can begin collecting
cans to save up money for the new skateboard he has been wanting. Tim does end up collecting
enough cans until his next encounter with the can man where he finds out he cant afford a new

winter coat with the cold weather coming soon. Tim begins to understand why the can man did
collect cans all the time, and he gave all of his collected cans to the can man.

(P) The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta

- In The Composition, Pedro wanted a real soccer ball. The one he had now wasnt like all the
others. Pedro was always wondering why soldiers were in the streets, and he didnt understand
why his parents listened to the radio all the time. The next day his friend Daniels dad got taken
away while they were playing soccer. At school Captain Romo comes to school and tells the
children that the child who writes the best composition will get a gold medal and get to carry the
flag in the parade. The composition had to be about what his family does at night. At the end of
the story it shows that Pedro makes up what his family does at night.

(P) Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen by Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan

- Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen is about a little boy whose Uncle works in the soup kitchen
and wants to go to help and see what it is all about. The little boy becomes curious about the
homeless people who are living on the street each day in New York City. When he went to the
soup kitchen with his uncle he was able to volunteer while his uncle taught him about the issues
of homelessness and hunger in our society. He gets to learn while also preparing and serving the
food to the homeless, and appreciates the reward of getting to volunteer. This is a great book to

teach a lesson to children about the issues of hunger and homelessness, and teaches the children
a way they can give back to the community.