If I could give this book more than 5 stars- I would. This is a southern twist on the classic tale "Cinderella". Bubba is a ranch hand on his step fathers farm and the stepfather and 2 evil step brothers torment Bubba to no end. Bubba wants to go to the ball to meet "Miz" Lurleen (who bears a striking resemblance to Dolly Parton) but is not able to thanks to his step family. Bubba is devastated and rides out into the field to tend to the cows when all of a sudden his Fairy God Cow appears to rescue him and make sure that he makes it to that ball. Miz Lurleen and Bubba hit it off but in his rush to get home before midnight he loses his cowboy boot. Miz Lurleen searches the kingdom for the owner of that boot and eventually reunites with bubba and they ride off in the sunset to live happily ever after. This is a wonderful story to use in a fairytale unit. I would have my students create a t chart to compare and contrast the original Cinderella story to this one. 

Lexile Measurement: AD620L

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is an incredible novel by C.S. Lewis. I read this book in 5th grade with my class. It is about four children who make their way to a far away land called Narnia; there they become prisoners to an evil witch who calls herself the Queen of Narnia; huge sacrifices are made and war is brought up between the four children and the witch.

This story can be read in a 5th grade classroom; I would use this to have discussions on sacrifice, character analysis, and theme during the reading. You could also use this to do a compare and contrast between the four siblings, and describe the relationship between the four and how they work together. You can also have the students write about what it means to be a  hero and what makes Aslan a hero.

Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf is an interesting, funny story about a wolf named B.B. Wolf who gets invited to a tea by a librarian; his friend gives him advice on how to mind his manners at the tea, telling him to smile and to not bite anyone. This story has other fictional characters such as Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs, who B.B. tries his best to make a great impression on.

I loved reading this story. Children would really enjoy it because it is funny, has good advice on manners, and has other characters they are already familiar with. This book would be great to read in a first grade classroom with a number of other books about a "big bad wolf", having the students compare and contrast the wolves and other characters in the stories. They can also have a creative writing activity where they write a story about a "big bad wolf".

Bridge to Terabithia is about a boy and a girl, Jesse and Leslie who become best friends and together create wild kingdom. Jesse and Leslie have very different interests, but the two stick together like glue through everything, even when faced by a bully. This novel portrays relatable characteristics of friendship, and a father-son relationship through Jesse and his father.

I would read this novel in a fifth grade class room (Reading Level 4.6) and have my students describe each of the main characters and how they are different, and tell how the characters "cross the bridge", finding similarities between the characters and how they work together.

Grade Level: Pre-K-K, 1-2, 3-5

Lexile Level: AD570L

This book is about the classic story, "The Three Little Pigs" but told from the wolf's point of view. The wolf is going to bake a cake for his grandmother but he is out of sugar. He goes to each pig's house asking for sugar but he is suffering from a cold and his sneezes are what blows their houses down. From their houses falling down, the first 2 pigs die and the wolf eats them, therefore, giving him the title of the "bad guy". He is sent to jail but it was all a misunderstanding, or so he says. This book would be great to use for a point of view lesson or a lesson on comparing and contrasting.