Read Across America

This week I'm reading these two books by Dr. Seuss in celebration of Read Across America. Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Sam and the Lucky Money

Sam and the Lucky Money is my favorite book to read in celebration of Chinese New Year. My kids love it. It's a wonderful story of giving. We have a nice size population of Vietnamese students at my school who celebrate Chinese New Year and give the beautiful red envelopes. Over the years, I have been blessed by their spirit of giving and am grateful.

Valentine Books

These are two books I like to read at school for Valentine's Day. Share the love!!

Favorite Christmas Books

These are a few of my favorite Christmas books. Each is special in it's own way. Hope you enjoy this wonderful season of the year as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! Merry Christmas!

When a Monster is Born

This week I'm sharing this funny book, When a Monster is Born by Sean Taylor with my first grade classes.

It's the story of what happens to a monster as he does life and the choices he makes. This book is a circle story with predictable text so children can join in on the reading excitement. A great choice for a not-so-scary monster story for this time of year. Kids will eat it up!!

There's a Wolf at the Door

This creative and lively book is a retelling of five classic fairy tales by Zoe Alley with illustrations by R.W. Alley.  The illustrations are set up like a graphic novel that is easy to follow.  The dialog is updated and quick witted. It made me giggle several times with the sarcastic comments of the sheep exposing their point of view.  I started to feel sorry for the wolf by the end of the book.  This is a fun read for second through fifth graders with a good sense of humor.

Turtle's Penguin Day

Turtle's Penguin Day by Valeri Gorbachev is a story of a turtle who wants to pretend to be a penguin after his father reads him a book about penguins. He goes to school and all of the students want to become penguins after the teacher reads the book. This book encourages reading and how it stimulates knowledge and imagination.  It would be great as a focus when engaging kids to become information literate.

Help Me, Mr. Mutt!

Okay, it's been awhile since my last post!  I have been so busy reading books for the TBA committee, that I haven't taken the time to blog!

However, I just had to write about this new book by Stevens and Crummel, Help Me, Mr. Mutt!  I just loved it!  I can't lie - I am a dog lover so I am always compelled to read any "dog" books.  This book is funny, lively, and an excellent use of  voice in the dog (and cat) characters!  It is a collection of letters from dogs written to Mr. Mutt (the dog version of Dear Abby) asking for advice with various people problems.  Even if you don't have a dog, you will have a "laugh out-bow wow" time reading this book!  

Not Afraid of Dogs

There are times when children are fearful and this book is a story that children will relate to.  Not Afraid of Dogs by Susanna Pitzer tells the story of Daniel who says he's not afraid of dogs but just doesn't like them.  His family is taking care of their aunt's dog, Bandit, and Daniel is afraid to be anywhere that Bandit is. However, when a thunderstorm scares Bandit, Daniel understands and comforts Bandit. He now states that he likes dogs.  Young children will enjoy this story.

Orange Pear Apple Bear

WOW! It's already 2008!

I am trying to get back into the blogging mode for this New Year but having a slow start. I hope to read and discuss many books this year which will encourage more children to read. There are several Best of Lists in the blog world and I just wanted to mention one book I enjoy.



Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett has been mentioned on several "best of 2007" lists for picture books. It's soft and muted illustrations are just right for the simple text of five words throughout the story! The illustrations express the joy and fun of this book which is appealing to young children. It's a winner!

Farley Found It!

My kindergarten students loved this book, Farley Found It! It's a cute story about a sheep, Farley, who can't get a good night's sleep except when he finds Edna's doghouse to sleep in. Unfortunately, Edna loves her doghouse and tries to hide it from Farley. But of course, Farley finds it! There in lies the problem which is resolved at the end of the story. What an easy way to teach problem and solution to younger students by sharing this fun book! The repetition in the story is predictable and perfect for emergent readers. The illustrations are filled with pictures of Farley spying on Edna which the kids love to discover. This is just a fun read for younger kid! See if you can find it!!

Not A Box

What a great book to encourage imagination! This book, Not a Box by Antoinette Portis, is a simple story about how a rabbit can imagine an ordinary box as a mountain peak, burning building, a race car, and much more. All along the rabbit insists that it's not a box but all those objects.
Isn't this a beautiful demonstration of a child's need for play and imagination? I remember when my girls were toddlers and they had more fun with boxes and wrapping paper then the toys in them. They would play for hours creating stories and adventures. Sometimes I wonder if we hinder our children from developing their imagination and joy for simple things. We try to fit them into the "school mold" spitting out the right answers and not developing thinking. This simple book is a great reminder for me to stimulate my students imagination with books!
Happy Children's Book Week!

Move Over, Rover!

Move Over, Rover by Karen Beaumont is a great picture book about a dog expecting to get out of a storm by moving into his doghouse all alone. Little did he know he wouldn't be alone! As the the story unfolds, he is joined one by one by other animals. Then, the skunk comes and they all leave the doghouse finding the storm has gone away. Now Rover may enjoy the peacefulness of being alone in his home! As I was reading this book, I immediately thought of my kindergarten teachers and knew they would love the predictablity and rhythm of the language. They use Jan Brett's book The Mitten in their winter unit and were excited to see how well this book complimented that story. It's a fun book that young children will want to read over and over. So..Move Over and let's read!!