VRC 2016-2017 Primary Selection
Book Summaries and SOL Connections
I Yam a Donkey!, by Cece Bell; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, NY © 2015, ISBN9780-544-08720-0
This delightfully FUNNY book about grammar is a great read-aloud that will leave both
student and adult audiences chuckling as they ponder proper speech!
SOL: Oral Language K.1e use complete sentences that include subject, verb, and object/ Oral
Language 1.2c use common singular and plural pronouns with matching verbs in complete sentences/
Oral Language 2.1c use correct verb tenses in oral communication/ Writing 3.10d use past and
present verb tense/Communication 4.1e use grammatically correct language/ Writing 5.8 edit
writing for correct grammar (subject verb agreement)
This Book Just Ate My Dog!, by Richard Byrne; Henry Holt & Company, NY © 2014, ISBN
978-1-62779-071-0
About a girl on a walk with her dog, this simple story surprises the reader when the
characters disappear into the “gutter”, or binding of the book. The resolution requires
intervention by the reader to return things back to “normal”.
SOL: Oral Language K.3g follow one- and two-step directions/Reading K.5 understand how print is
organized and read/ Reading K.9c use pictures to make predictions/ Oral Language 1.3d follow
simple two-step oral directions/ Reading 1.9d make and confirm predictions/ Reading 2.8a make and
confirm predictions/ Writing 2.13i use commas in the salutation and closing of a letter/ Reading 3.5c
make, confirm, or revise predictions/ Writing 3.9 write for a variety of purposes (letter writing)
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Wolfie the Bunny, by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Zachariah OHora; Little Brown &
Company, NY, © 2015, ISBN 978-0-316-22614-1
A different perspective on the topic of adoption, yet the story addresses issues that ALL
families confront and resolve, when opening their family circle to a new member.
SOL: Civics K.10e practicing honesty, self-control, and kindness to others/Civics 1.10a helping
others, and treating others with respect/Civics 2.11a, Civics 3.11a respecting and protecting the rights
of others/ Writing 2.14 the student will use available technology for reading and writing/ Science
3.5b herbivore, carnivore, omnivore/ Writing 3.12 the student will use available technology for
reading and writing/Reading 3.5d compare and contrast settings, characters, and events./ Reading
4.5j identify cause and effect relationships
Take Away the A, by Michael Esoffier, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo; Enchanted Lion
Books, NY, ©2014, ISBN 978-1-59270-156-8
This is the most “different” alphabet book ever, which causes the reader to look at letters and
words in a unique and infectious manner.
SOL: Reading K.7a identify and name the uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet/ Oral
Language 1.4e, Oral Language 2.4d add or delete phonemes (sounds) to make new words/Reading
3.3a use knowledge of regular and irregular vowel patterns
Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson ;G.P.
Putnam’s Sons, NY, © 2015, ISBN 978-0-399-25774-2
Winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal and a 2016 Caldecott Honor, this book is an ode of
gratitude for the simple and the most important things in life.
SOL: Oral Language K.2d use words to describe name, location, size, color, and shape/ Reading 1.9f
identify characters, setting, and important events/ Reading 2.6c use knowledge of story structure and
sequence/ Reading 3.5c make, confirm, or revise predictions/ Reading 4.5b describe how the choice of
language, setting, characters, and information contributes to the author’s purpose/ Reading 5.5f
identify and ask questions that clarify various points of view/ History and Social Studies K.1e
comparing and contrasting people, places, or events/History and Social Studies K.7 describe how the
location, climate, and physical surroundings of a community affect the way people live, including their
food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and recreation/ Economics K.9a recognize that people make
choices because they cannot have everything they want/ Economics 1.8 explain that people make
choices because they cannot have everything they want/ Civics 1.10a, helping others, and treating
others with respect/ Civics 1.13c include people who have diverse ethnic origins, customs, and
traditions and are united as Americans by common principles/ Civics 2.11c describing actions that can
improve the school and community/ Civics 3.13 recognize that Americans are a people of diverse ethnic
origins, customs, and traditions and are united by the basic principles of a republican form of
government and respect for individual rights and freedoms/ Scientific Investigation, Reasoning,
and Logic K.2a the five senses and corresponding sensing organs
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SHH! We Have a Plan, by Chris Haughton, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA, © 2014
ISBN 978-0-7636-7293-5
In this story, the best laid plans go astray, every time. Kindness proves to be successful, but a
difficult lesson to learn.
SOL: Oral Language K.1d participate in creative dramatics/ Oral Language K.2e use words to
describe or name actions/ Reading K.9g discuss characters, setting, and events/ Oral Language 1.1d
participate in creative dramatics/ Reading 1.7c use information in the story to read words/ Reading
1.9f identify characters, setting, and important events/ Oral Language 2.1b create and participate in
oral dramatic activities/ Reading 2.8i draw conclusions based on the text/ Reading 3.5d compare and
contrast settings, characters, and events/ Reading 4.5b describe how the choice of language, setting,
characters, and information contributes to the author’s purpose/Reading 4.5g identify sensory words/
Reading 5.5k make, confirm, or revise predictions
Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do, by Steve Jenkins
and Robin Page, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, NY, © 2014 ISBN 978-0544-23351-5
Written as queries to 25 animals about their unusual appearance, this book provides factual
information in a very amusing way and is illustrated with Steve Jenkins’ amazing paper
cuttings.
SOL: Life Processes 1.5b animals, including humans, have many different physical characteristics/
Living Systems 2.5a living organisms are interdependent with their living and nonliving
surroundings/ Life Processes 3.4 a behavioral adaptations and 3.4b physical adaptations/ Living
Systems 3.5c predator and prey/ Living Systems 4.5a animal adaptations/ Living Systems 5.5c
traits of organisms that allow them to survive in their environment/ Geography 2.6a locating the
seven continents and the five oceans/ Writing 2.12 write stories, letters, and simple explanations/
Writing 3.11 write a short report/ Research 4.9 demonstrate comprehension of information resources
to research a topic/ Writing 5.7 write for a variety of purposes: to describe, to inform, to entertain, to
explain, and to persuade
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Rex Finds an Egg, Egg, Egg, by Steven Weinberg; Margaret K. Elderry Books, NY, © 2015
ISBN 978-1-4814-0309-2
Rex finds an egg, then survives a number of disastrous events, only to find that it is not an
egg at all!
SOL: Reading K.5e match voice with print (concept of word)/ Reading K.9f retell familiar stories,
using beginning, middle, and end/ Reading 1.5c identify ending punctuation/ Reading 1.9g retell
stories and events, using beginning, middle, and end/ Oral Reading 2.8j read and reread familiar
stories, poems, and passages with fluency, accuracy, and meaningful expression/ Reading 2.8h
summarize stories and events with beginning, middle, and end in the correct sequence/ Reading 4.5g
identify sensory words/ Reading 3.4g, 4.4c, 5.4c use word reference resources (thesaurus)
What Do You Do With An Idea?, by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Mae Besom;
Compendium Kids, Seattle, WA, © 2013 ISBN 978-1-938298-07-3
This whimsically illustrated story is about the conception, nurturance, and development of
an idea that is unusual and carries the potential of extraordinary change.
SOL: Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic K1.k objects are described both pictorially
and verbally/ Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic 1.1i observations and data are
recorded, analyzed, and communicated orally and with simple graphs, pictures, written statements, and
numbers/ Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic 2.1l simple physical models are designed
and constructed to clarify explanations and show relationships/ Scientific Investigation, Reasoning,
and Logic 3.1j inferences are made and conclusions are drawn/ Scientific Investigation,
Reasoning, and Logic 4.1a distinctions are made among observations, conclusions, inferences, and
predictions/ Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic 5.1i inferences are made and
conclusions are drawn/ Writing 4.9d give credit to sources used in research/ Writing 5.9f give credit
to sources used in research
Found, by Salina Yoon; Walker Books for Young Readers, NY, ©2014, ISBN978-0-8027-3559
Bear finds a lost toy and does his very best to return it to its owner. As he searches, he has a
lot of fun with his new friend, and becomes very fond of it; then the owner appears. The
resolution is a worthy lesson in generosity and sharing.
Writing K12.b draw pictures and/or use letters and phonetically spelled words to write about
experiences/ Writing 1.13g share writing with others/ Writing 2.12 c expand writing to include
descriptive detail/ Writing 3.9 write for a variety of purposes/ Reading 4.5j identify cause and effect
relationships/ Writing 4.7 write cohesively for a variety of purposes/ Reading 5.4d identify an
author’s use of figurative language/ Writing 5.7 write for a variety of purposes
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