Kelsey+Calloway

Family Bibliography Children’s Fiction Jones, Sebastian. 2014. **I Am Living in Two Homes.** Stranger Kids. 56. Barnes and Noble.

// I am Living in Two Homes // is a story about a brother and sister that move back and forth between their mom’s house and their dad’s house. The book begins by describing the differences between their parents. Their mom loves nature and adventures while their dad loves the city and cars and planes. Then the story continues to discuss the differences between the things the children do when their at their mom’s house and the things they do at their dad’s house. Throughout the story the author also states that it’s never the children’s fault that their parents live in different houses and that it’s okay to be frustrated and upset. The book ends by talking about how the quality time they get to spend with each parent can make them feel better. This book is a good resource for children who are transitioning through their parents’ divorce. The teacher could talk about how some families live in two different homes and have stepparents or stepsiblings. This book could also be used in curriculum areas like Social Emotional and Mathematics. The book could be used in social/Emotional because it discusses feelings like frustration and the expression of feelings. The teacher could facilitate a discussion of different emotions or they could connect it to literacy by having the students write about a time when they were upset. In mathematics, the teacher could create a chart that discusses the differences between the mom and the dad. Janell Cannon. 2007. **Stellaluna.** Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 42. Barnes and Noble.

// Stellaluna // is the story of a bat that is separated from its mother when it is very young. A family of birds takes //Stellaluna// in but it is clear that she doesn’t belong. //Stellaluna// likes to hang upside down when she sleeps and she hates eating bugs. The mother bird demands that //Stellaluna// do things the way she is raising her baby birds to do them. Eventually the mother bird teaches //Stellaluna// and the other birds how to fly. //Stellaluna// leaves the nest and continues to act like a bird instead of a bat. One day a bat finds //Stellaluna// hanging from a tree by her thumbs instead of her feet. The bat begins to show her how bats are supposed to sleep. At the end of the book //Stellaluna// is reunited with her birth mom and learns that she was supposed to be doing things differently all along. // Stellaluna // is a great book for discussing a connection to foster care. The class could discuss how in some families, children move away from their parents for a while and live with another family. In addition, this book could be used in a scientific study of nocturnal animals. The students could also record the differences between birds and bats like their diet and the bats ability to see at night. The book could also be connected to social/emotional by discussing the different communities of the animals. For instance, birds live in nests and bats hang upside down from trees and inside caves. Lastly, this book can be connected to physical and health by discussing how the mother bird kept the baby bat safe when it lost its mother.

Monique Costa. 2012. **When Leonard Lost His Spots.** Dodi Press. 54. Barnes and Noble.

// When Leonard Lost His Spots // is a story about a leopard that transitions into a lioness. The story is told from the perspective of his adopted son. The book begins by discussing how Leonard was depressed all the time until one day he saw his reflection in the mirror and realized that he was born to be a lioness. As he begins his transformation, the book discusses his family’s reactions. Some of his family members were fully supportive but a couple others took some time to adjust to this change. His son has a hard time with the change. His peers at school called his dad a freak but then Leonard suggests they talk with other families that were going through the same thing. In the end Leonard is happy and confident with his new identity and his son decides that he loves his dad no matter what. This book can be used to discuss families with transgender parents or children. Students that are experiencing this change in their lives with find comfort in knowing they are not alone. This book could be used for a social emotional discussion about confidence as well. The teacher could facilitate a conversation about being confident in your family structures, even when it differs from other students. To incorporate mathematics, the students could compare the patterns of spots on different animals in the cat family.

Meg Medina. 2011. **Tia Isa Wants a Car.** Candlewick Press. 32. Barnes and Noble.

// Tia Isa Wants a Car // is about a little girl that lives with her aunt and uncle. Her aunt has two financial goals: to save up for a car and to save money so the rest of their family can come live with them in the U.S. When Isa and her niece talk about saving up for a car, their uncle scoffs and says they’ll never save up enough for a car. Isa and her niece are determined though and the niece starts doing odd jobs like feeding people’s pets and teaching Spanish. In the end she shows her aunt the money she saved up and they go to a used car lot to buy a car. Tia Isa is able to buy the car of her dreams and drive the whole family to the beach. This book is a wonderful resource for students that are separated from their family geographically. It can also be used to compare family dynamics and discuss how aunts and uncles can be moms and dads too. It can be used in activities that relate to the social emotional strand: persistence. Students could talk about setting goals and pursuing challenges. Another connection can be made to geography. The students can talk about the geographic features in the book and compare them to their own. For instance they could discuss how the family in the book lives near the ocean but in Arizona we live in a desert.

Grambling, Lois G. 2007. **My Mom is a Firefighter.** HarperCollins Publisher. 32. Barnes and Noble.

// My Mom is a Firefighter // is told from the perspective of a fire fighter’s son. The story begins with him talking about how his mom has two families, her and her husband and son, and her firefighter team that she also lives with. One morning as he walked to school he stopped by the fire station to see his mom. She was working with the other fire fighters to clean the truck after the fire they fought that morning. Then he heads to school. When he gets home, he eats dinner with his family and then goes back to school because his mom is giving a lesson on fire safety. The next night he eats dinner with just his dad because his mom is working. He calls his mom afterwards and goes down to the station to cook her fire fighter family dinner and tells them he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up too. // My Mom is a Firefighter // can be used to discuss different family dynamics involving parent jobs. For instance, some dads work a lot and sometimes it’s the mom. Some parents aren’t home as much because they work so much to provide for their family. This book can also be connected to activities involving community helpers. Personal safety could also be discussed since the book discusses what to do in case of a fire.

Byrne, Gayle. 2009. **Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas.** Abbeville Kids. 32. Barnes and Noble.

// Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas // is a story about a little girl that lives with her Nonnie and Poppy. The story begins by talking about the things she does with her grandparents. They play in her tree house and read books but then the girl is sad because sometimes when they read books she sees moms and dads interacting with their kids and begins to wonder why her parents never do those things with her. At the end of the book, the girl decides that her grandparents are just as loving as moms and dads are. This is another great book that can be used to compare the different family dynamics that exist. This book can also be used to discuss different seasons and geography. In the book there are numerous pictures of trees with red and orange leaves falling to the ground. The students could make timelines mapping the different seasons and when they occur. This could also lead into a discussion about past present and future. They could discuss the season they are currently in, the one that had passed and the next season they will experience in the future.

Qiong, Yu Li. 2011. **A New Years Reunion.** Candlewick Press. 40. Barnes and Noble.

In the book, //A New Years Reunion//, a young Chinese girl, Maomao, is reunited with her father after a year of being apart. Her dad is a migrant worker so throughout the year he lives far away and she only sees him on the Chinese New Year. The book describes the day she spent with her dad this year. At first she is a little nervous around him because she doesn’t recognize him but then they make sticky rice balls and he gives her a special golden coin. Later in the day he fixes up the house and they go to the dragon parade with her family. During her long day at the parade she loses her special coin. She is really upset but all ends well; the coin is found and she gives it to her dad as they send him off for the next year. This story has a lot of curriculum connections. Primarily this book will be used to discuss another family dynamic; it can be used to explain how some parents have to live far away but they still love their children. The book could also be used to discuss transportation and roadways. In the book, there is a man floating down a waterway in the middle of the city on a canoe and there are also cobblestone roads. The class could also compare and contrast the weather in different geographical areas. In the book, Maomao and her family are wearing puffy coats, scarves and beanies, which are vastly different from the winter clothes worn in Tempe, Arizona. Lastly, there are a lot of different emotions displayed throughout the book that could be discussed.

Children’s Non Fiction Ommer, Uwe. 2003. **Families.** Universe. 112. Barnes and Noble.

// Families // is a wonderful book that describes daily life, from a child’s perspective, in different countries. On each new page there is a picture of the child and their family, a quote about their daily life, and a map. In the quote about their life, the child explains things like games they play, religious beliefs, schooling practices and clothing. The topics they discuss vary from displacement in Haiti and dictatorship in Romania. Countries include Venezuela, Vietnam, China, Zimbabwe, Ukraine, Australia, Finland, and South Africa. This book can be used in a variety of ways. The different family dynamics can be compared. The geographic features in the pictures can also be compared. It could also be used in a study about different cultures and their dances. The students could listen to music from each culture and watch videos of the cultural dances. The students could strengthen their gross motor skills by learning the dances from each culture.

Parnell, Peter and Richardson, Justin. 2005. **And Tango Makes Three.** Simon & Schuester Children’s Publishing. 32. Barnes and Noble.

// And Tango Makes Three // is the true story of two male penguins that raise a baby penguin at the zoo. The story starts with a family going to the zoo and seeing the animals. When they get to the penguin habitat the author begins to tell the story of Roy and Silo. Roy and Silo were inseparable. They built a home (a nest of rocks) just like the other male and female penguins but eventually the other penguin mates started to have babies. The zookeeper decided to give Roy and Silo an egg from another pair of penguins that could not take care of it. They kept the egg warm in their nest until it hatched one day. The story ends with Roy and Silo teaching their baby penguin how to sing, snuggling with it at night, and teaching it to swim. This book is a great introduction into families that have two dads or two moms. This book could also be used in mathematics. The teacher could have the children count all the different animals they see in the book. They could then move into science and compare the characteristics of the animals. They could also make comparisons about penguins in relation to other birds. For example, some birds make nests out of sticks and penguins makes nests out of stones. Lastly they could also make connections to their own lives by discussing their trips to the zoo or their own family structures.

Berta Serrano. 2013. **Born From The Heart.** Sterling Children’s Books. 32. Barnes and Noble.

// Born From the Heart // is a story about an international adoption. The story begins by discussing how one mother and father couldn’t have a baby of their own but their love for their child was still growing in their heart. One day they received a phone call telling them their baby was ready to be picked up. They flew on a plane and then rode on donkeys up a mountain to be united with their new baby. The book discusses how even though the baby’s birth mother loved her very much, she chose another family that would take good care of her baby. The story ends with the parents taking their new adopted baby home. // Born From the Heart // will open up a discussion about how families come to be through adoption. The book can also be used to learn about different modes of transportation because the book discusses flying on an airplane and riding on a donkey. The students could also compare the modes of transportation used in different cultures. It could also be used to discuss timelines. Students could talk about what happened in the past for the family in the book in order for them to come together in the present.