The Levitical Readings and Reactions

Title- Jamie O’Rourke and the Big  Potato  Author/Retold- Tomie DePaola Illustrated by Tomie DePaola Genre- Traditional Literature  Grade level- 3rd-12th Grade “Jamie O’Rourke is the laziest man in all of Ireland.” He would always avoid working and his wife Eileen would do all of the work. One day Eileen “wrenched” her back and she had to rest. Jamie O’Rourke thought he was going to starve, so at midnight he started his trek to the church for confession and maybe food. He came upon a leprechaun, caught it and asked, “where do you keep your pot of gold.” The leprechaun only had two coins in his pot and he offered Jamie O’Rourke a wish. He wished for the biggest pratie/potato in the world and a seed was given to him by the leprechaun. Jamie O’Rourke planted it and it indeed grew into the biggest potato in the world. He shared the potato with the whole town and it kept them full for the whole winter, so much so, that the town was fed up with potatos. Jamie O’Rourke told the ...

  Title- The Little ant  Author/Retold- Shirleyann Costigan, based one Aida Marcuse version Illustrated by Patti Boyd Photgraphed by Scott Campbell  Genre- Traditional Literature  Grade level- 1st-4th Grade Our story begins with an ant named Hormiguita. Hormiguita’s house got drenched by April showers. She asked the sun dry her home, but she couldn’t cause the clouds were in the way. Hormiguita asked the clouds to move so the sun could dry her house. The cloud said he can’t but she could ask the wind to blow the cloud away. So she asked the wind, but the wind said he no, he was going to be sleeping the whole day. So Hormiguita began to sing a lullaby to the wind and the wind started to fall into a deep sleep. Hormiguita began to climb up the winds beard and she took a feather and tickled his nose. This caused him to sneeze, which blew away the clouds, which let the sun dry Hormiguita’s house. This is a great book that teaches us how to have manners and taught a lesso...

Title- It’s Mine Author/Retold- Leo Lionni Illustrated by Leo Lionni Genre- Traditional Literature Grade level- Kindergarten-4th Grade The story begins with three frogs named Milton, Rupert, and Lydia. They were always quarreling about what belonged to them and what didn’t. They argued so much that the toad on the other side of the island came over and said that he could hear everything they were say and that there would be no peace because of their endless bickering. They didn’t listen, but shortly after a storm came and began to flood the pond. The island began to disappear and all that was left were three rocks, but soon those to were going under the water. There was one large rock left and they decided to share it and ride the storm out. After the storm passed and the water levels went down, they realized that the rock was actually the toad from earlier. The next day all three frogs enjoyed their island together because the island wasn’t “mine” but it was “our island.” I think this...

  Title- The Five Chinese Bothers  Author/Retold- Claire Huchet Bishop & Kurt Wiese Illustrated by N/A Genre- Traditional Literature  Grade level- Kindergarten- 3rd Grade The story begins with a mother and five sons that look “exactly alike.” One brother had the power to swallow the whole sea. Another brother had an Iron Neck. The next brother could stretch his legs really far. Another Brother could not be burned and the last brother could hold his breath indefinitely. The first brother would always come back from his fishing trips with a rare fish and one of the young boys from the town asked if he could go with him the second time. The brother said you can come under one condition, that “you shall obey me promptly”. The boy agreed and the next day they went. The brother sucked up all the water from the sea and all the fish and treasures under the water could be seen. The brother started picking up fish, while the child started stuffing his pockets with treasure. The...

 Title- The Ginger Bread Man (English & Spanish) Author/Retold- Catherine McCafferty  Illustrated by Doug Bowles Genre- Traditional Literature  Grade level- Kindergarten-4th Grade The book opens with an old couple that don’t have any children. The wife decides to make the “perfect child” out of gingerbread dough. The gingerbread man came to life and began to run. He ran from a cat, a snake, and a duck. He came upon a fox that didn’t chase him. The fox told him that there was a river up ahead and the gingerbread asked if he could help him to cross the river. The started to bring up across the river on his tale. As the river grew deeper, the higher the gingerbread man climbed up the fox. The gingerbread man climbed all the way up to the fox’s nose and then the fox ate him. This a great book for students ranging from kindergarten to 4th grade. This book can be used for students who are first beginning to read. It can also be used for teaching higher grade students onomat...