Every Hero Has a Story: Easy Reader Reading List

While there are lots of media tie-in books for beginning readers that suit this summer's theme, many parents (including me!) are not crazy about books that promote TV shows and movies. On this list are a dozen great books featuring community helpers, unlikely heroes, a couple of detectives and regular kids dressed up as superheroes - without a licensed character in sight.

• Extraordinary Warren: A Super Chicken by Sarah Dillard
  This easy reader in graphic format follows the adventures of a chicken named Warren who, in an effort to become Chicken Supreme, hero, nearly becomes Chicken Supreme, dinner! (This book was a 2014 Cybils finalist in the Easy Reader category.)
  
• Wedgieman: A Hero is Born by Charise Mericle Harper, illustrated by Bob Shea
  Veggieman, a superhero who wants kids to eat and enjoy vegetables is given an unfortunate new name by a group of kids who love toilet humor.
  
• When Pigs Fly by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Frank Ansley
  Fitch is nervous about showing up to school on Hero Day dressed as Timberwolf when everyone else in the class is a fan of Hyper Hog. When he and his friend Chip actually become heroes, however, they realize that helping others feels good no matter what they wear.
  
  

• Super Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold
  This second installment in the Fly Guy series follows Buzz and Fly Guy to the school cafeteria, where Fly Guy saves the day!
  
• The Fire Cat by Esther Averill
  This classic book for beginning readers tells of Pickles the cat, who strives to be a great feline firefighter.
  
• Oliver the Mighty Pig by Jean van Leeuwen, illustrated by Ann Schweninger
  Oliver Pig is thrilled when he receives a Mighty Pig cape, which gives him the power to accomplish all kinds of household missions, from setting the table, to emptying the trash. When his cape goes missing, however, he fears his powers are gone for good.
  
  
  
  
• Sparky and Tidbit by Kathryn O. Galbraith, illustrated by Gerald Kelley
  When Sparky receives a K-9 badge for his birthday, he is excited to become a hero, but has trouble finding a problem to solve. When he finds that Tidbit, a puppy is struggling with learning to read, he decides to take on the challenge of helping him.
  
• Young Cam Jansen and the Dinosaur Game by David A. Adler, illustrated by Susanna Natti
  In this and subsequent titles in the Young Cam Jansen series, Cam uses her photographic memory and deductive reasoning skills to save the day for friends who have mysteries in need of solving.
  
• Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, illustrated by Marc Simont
  In this beginner's noir story, Nate the Great solves his first of many cases, all of which take place in his neighborhood.
  
  
  
  
• The Best Teacher in Second Grade by Katherine Kenah, illustrated by Abby Carter
  Luna adores her second grade teacher, Mr. Hopper, because he champions her creative idea for family night when no one else in the class likes it.
  
• The Littlest Leaguer by Syd Hoff
  The smallest boy on the little league team, Harold has trouble keeping up during games - until an important game comes along, and Harold proves he can make a big impact.
  
• Molly the Brave and Me by Jane O'Connor, illustrated by Sheila Hamanaka
  Beth idolizes her brave friend Molly, but in a dangerous situation, Beth proves to be the hero that gets them both safely home. 

13 Literacy Activities About Community Helpers

The CSLP Summer Reading theme for this year - Every Hero Has a Story - lends itself so well to story times and other programs focused on community helpers. Here is a collection of rhymes, songs, games, and other literacy activities which focus on the people who work to keep our communities safe, clean, and healthy.

Rhymes

• Helpers (from PreschoolEducation.com)
  In this rhyme, each of five fingers is assigned the identity of a helper who makes our community better by performing a particular service.
• Hats on Everyone (from Perry Public Library)
  Act out the characteristic motions of helpers who wear various hats.
• My Father is a Garbage Man (from Perpetual Preschool)
  This rhyme names the jobs of everyone in a hardworking family, using silly motions to act out what they do.
• Two Brave Firefighters
  I wrote the words for this simple fingerplay based on Two Little Blackbirds. I encourage the kids to pretend to put out a fire, and it is always a huge hit. 

Songs

• Workers and Their Tools
  I wrote this song to be sung to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus", but it could also work as a chant. Preschoolers really like pretending to use the different tools. 
• Hurry, Hurry Drive the Firetruck
  This is one of the least obnoxious children's songs ever to appear on Barney. Kids love pretending to drive the truck, climb the ladder, and put out the fire. 
• Who are the People in Your Neighborhood?
  This Sesame Street favorite has a lot of lyrics, but singing just the chorus and substituting in different helpers' names is usually perfect for toddlers. 

Games and Crafts

• Community Helper badges (from Crayola.com)
  Kids can label themselves as sheriff, state police, or members of the fire department with these badges to color and cut out. 
• People in the Community Mix and Match (from Kizclub.com)
  Match each community helper with the sentence describing his or her job.
• Whose Hat is That? Guessing Game
  Print our clip art pictures of different hats, and ask kids to tell you who wears each one. 

Flannel Boards

• One Brave Firefighter
  This flannel board (which I wrote) tells a simple story of firefighters teaming up to put out a big blaze. 
• Neighborhood Sorting Activity
  On the flannel board, sort various tools according to where they might be used, and by whom.
• Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do (from Storytiming)
  This picture book makes a perfect flannel board. Cate provides the paper dolls she used to make her flannel board pieces in the linked post. 

Booking Across the USA: Graham Salisbury's Calvin Coconut Series (Hawaii)

About Booking Across the USA

Today I'm participating in Booking Across the USA! This year, we're highlighting authors and illustrators from all 50 states. The other participants this year are edSnapshots, Incredibly Confident Kids, Child Led Life, Crayonbox Learning, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, The Educators' Spin On It, The Art Curator for Kids, My Little Me, Kathys Cluttered Mind, True Aim, The Jenny Evolution, Primary Inspired, KC Edventures, Chicken Babies, Mosswood Connections, Country Fun Childcare, Picture Books & Piourettes, Mama Smiles, Buggy and Buddy, Wise Owl Factory, Bambini Travel, Inspiration Laboratories , Kids Yoga Stories, Elementary Matters, Just Another Mom, Teaching With Grace, All Done Monkey, Something 2 Offer, ALLterNATIVE Learning, Cutting Tiny Bites, JDaniel4's Mom, Living Montessori Now, Pragmatic Mom, Kid World Citizen, Teach Beside Me, Kitchen Floor Crafts, Mama Miss, A Book Long Enough, and Brain Power Boy. 

I have claimed the state of Hawaii so that I can spotlight one of my favorite chapter book authors, Graham Salisbury.

About Graham Salisbury

Though Graham Salisbury was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, members of his family have lived in Hawaii dating back to the 1800s. Graham spent his own childhood in Kailua, Oahu, and he attended Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Kamuela. He now lives in Oregon, but has said that being away from Hawaii "makes it all the more enticing"  and that the state is "rich and exotic and full of stuff to write about." His love for Hawaii is evident in all of his books, but perhaps most of all in his chapter book series about Calvin Coconut.

About Calvin Coconut 

Calvin is a mischievous fourth grader who lives with his single mother, younger sister, and his mother's live-in teenage helper, Stella. His father is a famous singer named Little Johnny Coconut whom Calvin rarely gets to see, but he has a good relationship with his mother's boyfriend, Ledward. In the nine books of the series, Calvin gets into a fair amount of trouble as he investigates why his dog smells, tries to figure out how to negotiate with bullies like Frankie Diamond, works on respecting and getting along with girls, and even has the chance to be in a movie and save a friend's life. Calvin is himself an irresistible character, but his books are made that much more appealing by the descriptions of Hawaii's beaches and the way Salisbury incorporates pidgin English and Hawaiian phrases into each story.

List of Calvin Coconut Books

There are nine books in the Calvin Coconut series (links are to my reviews):

1. Trouble Magnet (2009)
2. Zippy Fix (2009)
3. Dog Heaven (2010)
4. Zoo Breath (2010)
5. Hero of Hawaii (2011)
6. Kung Fooey (2011)
7. Man Trip (2012)
8. Rocket Ride (2012)
9. Extra Famous (2013)

About Hawaiian Lingo Bingo  

This fun game is designed to teach elementary readers the meanings of some of Calvin's Hawaiian words and phrases, including 'ukus (lice), obake (ghost), and hamajang (all mixed up.) There are five bingo cards with words filled in, and one blank card which can be customized to include any vocabulary you want to focus on with your kids. Also provided is the call sheet, which gives the English definition for each word, and a set of markers shaped like leis. 

To play: 

• Distribute a Bingo card to each child.
• Cut apart the call sheet and toss the words into a basket face down.
• Choose a word from the basket and call it out. 
• Have the children mark it on their cards using the lei markers. 
• The first child to reach three words in a row, either across, down, or diagonally, wins. 

Variation #1: Call out the English words and have the children locate the correct Hawaiian words.

Variation #2: Make the game more challenging by having the children fill the whole card to win. 

Downloads

Each of the printables required to play this game is available for download from the following links: 

Blank Bingo Card

Pre-Printed Bingo Cards

Call Sheet

Markers

References

• Information about Graham Salisbury used in this post came from the following sources: 
• Interview with Children's and YA Author Graham Salisbury from cynthialeitichsmith.com
• Graham Salisbury's Printable Author Bio from Random House Children's Books

• Clip art images used in the printables came from Clker.com and ClipartPanda.com: 
• Lei
• Hibiscus
• Coconut

To see activities for all 50 States, visit the Booking Across the USA page at Growing Book by Book. Visit Graham Salisbury online at GrahamSalisbury.com

Every Hero Has a Story: Picture Book Reading List

This year's summer reading theme is all about heroes! Get your youngest readers into the spirit with these great picture books, organized into four heroic categories.

Superheroes

• Princess Super Kitty by Antoinette Portis
  A little girl named Maggie uses her imagination to transform herself into the feline superhero Princess Super Kitty.
• Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know-It-All by Peter Catalanotto
  A boy who has the ability to ask question after question meets his match in a little girl who seems to have an answer for everything.
• Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod
  A series of silly superheroes illustrates the letters of the alphabet and their sounds.
• Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by David Soman and Jacky Davis
  Preschooler friends Lulu and Sam become Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy and save the playground from imaginary enemies.
• Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom by John Rocco
  Rocco is convinced his hair provides him with superpowers, so the prospect of a haircut is worrisome.
  

Heroes in History

• Heroes of the Surf by Elisa Carbone and Nancy Carpenter
  When a steamship runs aground in 1882 New Jersey, two boys and many other passengers are saved by heroic surfmen.
• Bill the Boy Wonder by Marc Tyler Nobleman
  This picture book biography tells the story of Bill Finger, the real creator of Batman, who was never given proper credit during his lifetime.
• This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt and R.G. Roth
  This singable picture book celebrates great men in jazz history.
• John, Paul, George, and Ben by Lane Smith
  A silly and irreverent look at the childhoods of famous Americans John Hancock, Paul Revere, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. 

Community Heroes

• Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
  Author-illustrator Patricia Polacco pays tribute to the special teacher who helped her discover that she had dyslexia.
   
• The Impossible Patriotism Project by Linda Skeers and Ard Hoyt
  When Caleb is assigned to make something that will demonstrate the meaning of patriotism, he ends up creating a tribute to his father's service in the armed forces.
• This is the Firefighter by Laura Godwin and Julian Hector
  Simple rhyming text describes the work of a firefighter.
• Police Officers on Patrol by Kersten Hamilton and R.W. Alley
  When people need help, male and female police officers are ready to "rock and roll!"
  

Animal Heroes

• Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans
  Beloved French schoolgirl Madeline is saved from drowning by a dog named Genevieve.
• Swimmy by Leo Lionni
  After watching his own friends get eaten by a larger fish, a little black fish named Swimmy helps a group of red fish escape a similar fate.
• Pretzel by Margret Ray and H.A. Rey
  In this classic picture book, Pretzel, a very long dachsund, rescues a female dachsund who has previously disdained his length.
• Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
  A lively dog named Gloria helps add some excitement to Officer Buckle's otherwise dull safety presentations.