Cookie's Week is a story about a kitten who is not graceful. Each day something different happens to Cookie. Students could practice sequencing and sorting by what happens to Cookie each day of the week. This book is a level 1.3 on the accelerated reader leveling system.

Strega Nona is a story about a woman and her helper who wants to prove to the townspeople his knowledge of the secret recipe. Students can create a story map for this book that includes the setting, characters, problem, and solution. This book is a level 730L on the lexile leveling system.

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush is an inspiring text about the main character Little Gopher pursuing his destiny. Although he is smaller than all the other boys and can never keep up, he perseveres and uses his artistic gift to paint pictures that his people would remember forever. This would be a great book to integrate when teaching a unit on Native Americans or when discussing culture. An extension activity could be to create an anchor chart with key characteristics of legends so students have a better understanding of them. It would also be fun to create a list of descriptive words and give students Indian names. 

Guided Reading level: O

I love this book!!  It would be to broaden my students horizons with their knowledge of other cultures by reading this book.  It is very out there and mystical, but it does teach a pretty good lesson on not comparing your gifts to others', and on realizing that everyone plays an important role.  It has a 2.8 reading level.  I could have my students paint their own sunset scenes for fun.  It would be fun and different.