Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens
Oh, boy Bear! Bear is so lazy, he never wants to do anything. Even his house is in disarray (check out the illustrations). Rabbit has lost his land in a bet, and realizes he is going to need some vegetables to last him all winter long, so this tricky little Rabbit gets to work in Bear's yard. Rabbit says he will do all the work while Bear sleeps. Of course, Bear agrees to this. He has given Bear the choice between tops or bottoms, and of course, Bear chooses wrong every time! While the Rabbit family works all day and night, Bear sleeps. Hard work and your wits pay off in the end, and sometimes the choices you make need to be more well thought out. This trickster tale has roots in the time of slavery, and capitalizes on using your wits to overcome adversity.
Here is a link to hear the story being read aloud.
This was another top choice from my Gifted student's book club. This book is so perfect to teach diversity, tolerance, and acceptance. The story premise, and I promise I didn't choose this based on the main character's name, is about a girl named Melody who has Cerebral Palsy. She is confined to a wheelchair, but her brain works just fine. She cannot speak well, and uses a machine (computer) to speak for her. Unfortunately, many of the children and classmates at her school do not think that Melody is capable of being in a general education environment. Many of her teachers think she should be in special ed as well, and the conversations that arise from this book are priceless. Empathy for the main character may be spoken at the beginning of this novel, but by the very end, you will have children making a judgment and taking a stand. You will be so proud. The end of this story is brilliant!
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