The Giving Tree is a tale of unconditional love. The boy takes and takes from the tree without ever saying thank you, but the tree never seems to mind and is always willing to give more without a second thought. This book can help children of all ages understand the importance of being thankful and appreciative of what they have no matter how small. 

A great activity to go along with this book is to have students write a letter to the person, place or thing that gives them unconditional love. It can be a family member, friend, animal or toy it will completely be their choice. 

Another great message in this book is the environmental issue. The boy takes from the tree until there is nothing left but a stomp. This what we as humans do to the earth, we take from it without giving anything back sometimes. I would incorporate this book into "Green Week" and have students come up with ways we can give back to the earth. Depending on the grade level they could draw, write or use technology to display their ideas.

Lexile 530L

This book is about a boy and his relationship with a talking tree. The tree gives everything she can to the boy in order to make him happy. The extent that the tree goes through to achieve this goal is what intentionally shocked me. The plot showed the book moral in a very unique way that really sticks to the reader. It teaches about unconditional love a parent may have for their child, which is a wonderful thing to teach and learn about. It would be great to use in a lesson about something being unconditional. This book would also be great in demonstrating time progression due to the fact that the boy ages throughout the story. For instance, at the end of the story the boy is no longer a child but an old man. Despite the fact that the character was now old, the character is still referred to as "boy" or "the boy." This really reinforces the fact that the character is still the same person despite appearances. Thus, time progression. The lexile level is 530L so students should be around the 2nd grade for independent reading.

Never Too Little to Love, by Jeanne Willis, is about a mouse who loves a giraffe.  He tries to reach her by stacking one thing on top of another on top of another.  Finally, the stack crashes to the ground before he reaches her.  She hears the crash, sees him, and because she loves him, too, bends way down to give him a kiss. 

Never Too Little to Love is a sweet story about unconditional love and never giving up. It would be best read to or by younger elementary students. They will enjoy the repetition and will most likely read it along with you as the repetition builds. The illustrations are bright and younger students will appreciate the flaps that allow you to see the repeating words. It is just a really cute story.

Frozen, by Walt Disney Company, tells the story of two princesses in a far away land.  Kept apart in the palace where they both live due to an accident involving Elsa's freezing powers, the girls are reunited after the death of their parents. At Elsa's coronation, Anna falls in love and Elsa's powers become known to the everyone.  After freezing the whole kingdom, Elsa runs away and Anna follows after her, leaving the kingdom in the hands of her new beau. Along the way, Anna meets Kristoff and Olaff, who help her locate her sister.  Elsa rejects Anna, again accidentally subjecting her sister to her freezing powers.  In the end, the two sisters reuinite and Anna is saved by her sister's love.  Elsa learns to control her power, Anna falls for Kristoff, the kingdom is thawed, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Frozen is a book any elementary school child, especially girls, will enjoy.  Most will already be familiar with it from seeing the movie of the same name.  This is another great story to use as a writing prompt. When teaching point of view, students can write the story from a different characters point of view. They can also write about what happens after the book ends. This book would also be a hit as a readers' theater piece.  

In When Santa Lost His Ho! Ho! Ho!, by Laura Rader it's just a few days before Christmas when Santa realizes he can no longer say ho! ho! ho!  Everyone tries to help: Mrs. Claus, the doctor, and even the elves, but no one can bring it back.  When the news makes it's way around the world, the world responds.  Santa recieves gifts and letters from all over the world. When Santa sees all of the greetings he's received, he gets his ho ho ho back and Christmas is back on!

This is a fun book to read in grades K - 3 during the holidays.  It lends itself well to writing activities, such as writing a letter to Santa to make him feel better or writing a newspaper article about Santa's lost ho ho ho.  Students could decorate Santas to adorn the walls or the class Christmas tree. This book teaches a sweet lesson about caring about others and how showing we care can make things better for someone else. When Santa Lost His Ho! Ho! Ho!  is a great book to read to your class as part of a lesson or just for fun.