See How They Run

See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes, and the Race to the White House is a nonfiction book written by Susan E. Goodman and Elwood H. Smith. This is an informational book that teaches readers about the history of our country's voting process and all things about the election process.

This informative book includes information about how we became the democratic country we are today alongside fun pictures and sidebars. We learn all about the different political parties, how voting happens, how campaigns work, and all the dirty tricks used by politicians.

The genre is nonfiction because it is teaching readers about the campaign process using facts from the real world. The facts in this book and clear and no information is one sided. The books is laid out clearly and we are able to travel through each part of the political process with ease. The illustrations used help enhance the reading and extremely reader friendly. The terms used may seem a little advanced for certain readers but the author includes a glossary to help explain the terms that may be more advanced.

Activity:

Have a discussion with students about problems they think are going on in the community. Let them know that even though they cannot vote yet they still have a opportunities to make a difference. The class could plan to volunteer somewhere in the community or write a letter to city officials about said problem.

After reading the book have students go back and find one example of when an idea by a politician was put into action and made an overall good impact on the world or community. Have students explain why the action worked and who made it possible.

Reader Response Questions:

Do you think it is important for everyone to vote?
When is election day?
Besides the democratic party and the republican party what is the third party?

This book is a great way to teach young readers about the process of elections and how our presidents come into office. This book encourages readers to vote someday and shows how important each one of us can be toward the country.

Similar books include:

Vote! by Eileen Christelow

A Kid's Guide to The Voting Process by Tammy Gagne

Susan E. Goodman and Elwood H. Smith have worked on two other books together as well.

The Truth About Poop

Gee Wiz! It's All About Pee

Goodman, E. S., & Smith, H. E. (2008). See how they run: Campaign dreams, election schemes, and the race to the white house. New York, NY: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books

Goodman, E. S. (n.d.). A Teacher's Guide to Classroom Activities. See how they run lesson plans.  Retrieved from http://www.susangoodmanbooks.com/?page_id=2456

No Monkeys, No Chocolate

 

No Monkeys, No Chocolate is an informational book teaching children where the chocolate they love comes from. Most children have no idea where this delicious treat comes from besides the store. Little do they know quite a few things have to happen before a chocolate bar ends up in their hands. This book shows kids all the work that goes into planting and harvesting on cocoa farms in an educational and fun way. The book also talks about how we depend on the rainforest and shows ways we can help to keep it around.

This book teaches kids about a real life subject using facts about science and nature which put this in the nonfiction genre. The authors use this information in an easy way for kids to understand. They even have cute little bookworms on the bottom of some pages with extra facts and commentary. The illustrations have a watercolor look and they fill the pages entirely. The illustrations enhance the story by putting the text into pictures kids can relate with.

Activities:

One activity can be an arts and crafts project related to the rainforest. Students can put together a collage of different animals, plants, and foods of the rainforest. Each student can can be responsible for one section of the collage. Then you can hang the finished product in front of the class and talk about different ways each part of the rainforest is important.

Another activity can be related to chocolate. Have students describe their favorite chocolate treat in a descriptive writing exercise. Have them include as many adjectives as possible and underline them. Without giving away the answer, read aloud all of the adjectives and write them on the board. Other students will try and guess what food is being described based on the adjectives. The student with the most correct guesses wins a piece of chocolate of course!

Reader Response Questions:

Where is the rainforest?

Name 3 animals from the book that live in the rainforest.

Why is it important to help preserve the rainforest?

I personally love this book because I learned a lot from reading it! I love chocolate and never knew monkeys played a role in the process of growing it. I think this is an excellent childrens book and would be a great edition to the classroom. The book was written by Melissa Stewart and Allen M. Young and illustrated by Nicole E. Wong. Melissa has written over 150 books for children most of which have a science or nature theme. She has a degree in biology and science journalism. Allen works at the Milwaukee Public Museum and is a former member of the board of directors of the Tirimbina Rainforest in Costa Rica. He is the world’s leading expert on cocoa pollination and growth (Stewart, p. 7). 

More books from Melissa Stewart:

Feathers: Not Just for Flying

A Place for Butterflies

Under the Snow

More books from Allen M. Young:

The Chocolate Tree

Small Creatures and Ordinary Places

Tropical Rainforests 

Stewart, M. No Monkeys, No Chocolate A Teachers Guide. Retrieved from http://www.melissa-stewart.com/pdf/NoMonkeysNoChocolate_TeachersGuide.pdf

The Sandwich Swap

 

The Sandwich Swap is a multicultural book written by Kelly DiPucchio and Queen Rania Al Abdullah. Illustrated by Tricia Tusa.

The book is about two best friends who come from different backgrounds. Their differences never interfered before, until one day at lunch they came clean about how gross they thought each others sandwiches are. One girl ate a peanut butter and jelly while the other ate a hummus and pita. Both girls took offense to the thought of having a gross sandwich. They finally made up by trying each others lunch and realizing being different makes friendship fun. This story shows that all cultures have their own version of "normal" and that's okay!

The genre of this book is Contemporary Realistic Fiction. The actions that took place in this story could happen in real life and the characters seem real. The illustrations in this book bring to life the lunchtime conflict between the girls. This book is intended for children preK- 2nd grade. 

Activity:

After reading this book in a classroom I think a great way to get kids involved would be having each student write down their favorite lunchtime food or snack and comparing all the answers. To make this more interesting, you could split the class into different groups and give each group a food from different cultures for them to learn about. The class could work together to organize a "picnic". Each group could be responsible for making a food using paper and markers. Then each group could present their item for the picnic to the class.

This book can be used as an example to teach children how important it is to respect one another. Although we may look different on the outside, we all have the same feelings on the inside. Sometimes we are scared of things that are different to us simply because they are unfamiliar. For example, the sandwich seemed "gross" but turned out to be a delicious way for friends to learn more about each other. It is very important to teach children to respect differences. Respecting others can start with respecting yourself. You could have the children write down the top 2 reasons why they love themselves, including what their "superpower" would be. This can then be used to show that each child has different talents and "powers" and no talent is greater than another.

Reader Response Questions:

Why did the girls think the sandwich that was not theirs looked gross? 

Why do you think it's important to be yourself?

How would you feel if someone made you feel bad about eating your favorite food?

Do you think it is important to learn about other cultures?

This book had two contributing authors, one of which is the Queen Consort of Jordan. Queen Rania fights for the rights of women and education. The Sandwich Swap has been named a New York Times Best Seller.

Queen Rania has also written 3 other children's books. All of the books have been published in Arabic and most in English as well. 

These books are:
Eternal Beauty 
Maha of the Mountains
The King's Gift

Co-author Kelly DiPucchio has written over a dozen children's books including:
Grace for President
Antoinette
Gaston

Books. Retrieved September 1, 2016, from http://www.kellydipucchio.com/books.html

DiPucchio, K., Abdullah, R. A., Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, & Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah (2010). The sandwich swap. New York: Disney-Hyperion.

(n.d.). Retrieved September 01, 2016, from http://www.biography.com/people/queen-rania-23468#bridging-the-gap

Website, Q. R. (n.d.). The Sandwich Swap | Queen Rania. Retrieved September 01, 2016, from http://www.queenrania.jo/en/rania/publications/sandwich-swap