Subway Story by Julia Sarcone-Roach. 2011.

Traveling Underground

Inspiration Book:

Subway story by Sarcone-Roach, Julia — Alfred A. Knopf, 2011--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.8

Jessie, a subway car created in St. Louis, Missouri, enjoys many years as an important part of the New York City subway system, and after she is replaced by more modern cars she begins another important job. 

Rationale: Many primary grade social studies curricula include a unit about different forms of transportation. I like to work with the teacher to introduce group mini research projects. Each group researches a specific form of transportation--the more unusual for your group, the better. The result is a drawing or model of the transportation plus a short oral presentation  of 3-5 facts. Subways may not be familiar to small town and rural USA children. The Inspiration Book and the first seven books on the list of related books provide the content for an informational story hour. The last books give a bit of info about coral reefs and their restoration which is what Susie Subway helped do after she was too old to be a subway car.

Incorporate these titles in a series of story hours about transportation when primary teachers are working on that unit in the classroom. You could do a month or more of story hours with or without hands-on, computer, or research activities. Try cars, trains, ships, planes, bicycles for simple starters. Eventually you will find Books Alive entries for all of those topics.

When I initially worked on this Books Alive entry in 2012, the number of related titles that had a significant number of positive reviews was minimal. Quality subway fiction books have made a comeback, but the nonfiction books still tend to be expensive series encyclopedic titles for classroom work. I think one of my next crusades will be promoting well written, interesting, and exciting nonfiction that meets curricular needs.

Teacher Resources

Author Interview for Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (includes original sketches for book) http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=2242

Author website http://www.jsarconeroach.com/

Do All Trains Run Aboveground? PreK to 5 | Activity, Video, Website On September 1, 1897, more than 100,000 people took a three-minute trip on a train through a tunnel under downtown Boston. The first subway line in the United States had just opened! Let's ride the rails today in Wonderopolis. http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/do-all-trains-run-aboveground/ 

Related Books:

Count on the subway by Jacobs, Paul DuBois — Alfred A. Knopf, 2014 -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.6. Illustrations and rhythmic text describe the sights and sounds of a subway ride in New York City as a mother and child go uptown, counting their way from one to ten and back again.

Tap tap boom boom by Bluemle, Elizabeth  — Candlewick Press, 2014 -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.7. People race down to the subway for shelter during a thunderstorm.

Subway ride by Miller, Heather — Charlesbridge, c2009 p2011--388.4; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.8

Follows five children as they ride subways in ten cities throughout the world. 

Trains run! by Lyon, George Ella — Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2019 -E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 1.9. Illustrations and simple, rhyming text reveal different kinds of trains including subways, how they run, and the sounds they make.

The secret subway by Corey, Shana — Schwartz & Wade Books, 2016 : 388.4; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.4. In 1870, Alfred Ely Beach invents New York's first underground train

Subway by Niemann, Christoph — Greenwillow Books, 2010--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.7

Simple, rhyming text follows two boys and their father as they spend a rainy day riding the various lines of the New York City subway system. 

The street beneath my feet by Guillain, Charlotte  — Words & Pictures, part of The Quarto Group, 2017 551.1; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.9. This book, constructed on one continuous folded page, explores the layers of the Earth from human-made structures like sewers, subways and archeological finds, down through various formations of rock, to the Earth's core and back up again. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.com

The brilliant deep : rebuilding the world's coral reefs : the story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Restoration Foundation by Messner, Kate  — Chronicle Books, 2018 333.95; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.4. A nonfiction picture book that examines the ongoing efforts to save and rebuild the world's coral reefs.

Life in a coral reef by Pfeffer, Wendy — Collins, 2009 : 591.77; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.7. Explains how coral reefs form, tells what they are made of, and describes some of the animals that live in or around coral reefs.

Coral reefs by Earle, Sylvia A  — National Geographic, 2016 551.42; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.4. A brief introduction to coral reefs, including where they are found, how they grow, what lives in them, their importance, and efforts being made to protect and restore them.

Coral reefs by Chin, Jason  — Roaring Brook Press, 2011 577.7; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 6.1. A girl pulls an extraordinary book about coral reefs from the library shelf, and as she turns the pages, finds herself immersed in the coral cities of the sea. FREE Teaching Resources available for download from Follett.com

Coral reefs by Gibbons, Gail — Holiday House, 2007--577.7; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.5 An illustrated history of coral reefs, how they are formed, where they are found, and the importance of protecting them.