Granny Torrelli Makes Soup
This book is split into 2 parts. Each part has Rosie and her friend Bailey, who has been blind since the two of them were babies. Now, they are teenagers. In the first part of the story, it goes into the time period when it was discovered Bailey is blind. Rosie tells her point of view in how she hates the changes that have to be made, such as going to a different school than Bailey. The first part of the story is great for teaching about diversity and also teaching that just because someone is blind, does not mean that they depend on everyone else to live. In the second part of the book, Rosie realizes that she has a crush on Bailey when a new, flirty girl has moved to the neighborhood. She does not like the attention that Bailey is getting. In the end, Bailey has the same feelings for Rosie. This part of the story teaches about jealously and being a good person. I would use this book in the 4th to 5th grade. I did a guided reading lesson plan with this book myself involving synonyms. There are so many things that could be done with this book in the Language Arts aspect of it.
