I was first introduced to this tale in movie form, however, to my great pleasure I stumbled across it at the book store on April Fool's day. To say I had to pinch myself to make sure I was not being tricked is an understatement. I whisked it to the front desk to purchase immediately and could not put it down! In this book, things like witches, wizards, kings, spells, seven-league boots and fire demons were everyday normal things.  The Hatter sisters, Sophie, Lettie, and Martha knew the warnings and stories. So, when a big black castle showed up on the horizon that moved warnings were whispered about in the village but life remained the same that is until the Witch of the Waste paid Sophie Hatter a visit and cursed her! From that moment on Sophie had to set out to find someone to break the curse and return her to her normal 17 year old self. Her mission is not as easy as it seems though as she finds the Wizard Howl and gets tangled up in all sorts of trouble. 

This book would be another good book to do an in-depth class study on and breaking it down into chapters for character analysis, plot, theme, problem/solution studies and much more. I foresee the students being activity engaged in trying to figure out the poems and untwisting the plot. 

Reading Level: 3rd to 6th grade

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What can you same about Dr. Seuss that hasn't already been said?  Sam-I-Am is very determined in this book completely devoted to his antics. He determines everyone should eat green eggs and ham because it is amazingly good. So, he sets out to convince everyone he meets that they too should eat green eggs and ham. However, he meets some resistance which only makes him more determined to convince his friend.  This book is a definite must during Dr. Seuss week at school.  As part of a weekly study on this author I would take a step out of what is considered the norm for a reading lesson and make green eggs and ham in the classroom. The students would then to an analysis of what color green eggs and ham they like (which green shade is better) and write down in complete sentences where they would eat them. 

Reading Level: Kindergarten to 3rd Grade

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