Children's Books I adore!

As a teacher, I come across a lot of wonderful books. I have also found some of the best books to use with my students (4th and 2nd) are picture books. They grab their attention better and then we pause throughout the book and talk about what is going, how the characters feel, and what the kids would do if they were the character. Picture books are a great way to introduce comprehension strategies to children early on.

Here are some books I wouldn't go a school year without reading at least once!

I discovered Souper Chicken when I was at BYU in my Children's Literature course. This chicken can read and is able to save the lives of fellow farm animals because of it. The moral of the book is "Reading can save your life." The illustrations are also very fun to look at. When Grace was visiting us a few summers ago I read the book to her and then for the next four nights she wanted the book reread to her.

SkippyJonJones was introduced to me last year. The school counselor came in to do a lesson with the students and read them this book. This book is so cute and clever I couldn't keep myself from laughing with my students. Skippy is a kitten with a huge imagination that takes him on a lot of adventures and sometimes gets him into trouble. Another thing I really liked about this book is that it is spotted with some Spanish words. My student that spoke Spanish loved it because it was a book they could help explain to the other kids. (Don't worry you don't need to know Spanish to read this book to your children.) I have read two sequel SkippyJonJones books to my students this year, and I think I may have more fun just watching the kids enjoy this book.

The Recess Queen is a great book to talk about bullies. Jean is the Recess Queen and bosses everyone around. Then a girl moves into town and is able to put Jean in her place and teach her how to play with others. Before the problem gets resolved at the end of the book, I like to talk with the students to hear what they would do it someone like Mean Jean was at their school. (Oh and some students learn that what they have been doing at recess is considered "mean".)
Boxes for Katje is based on real events that happened at the end of WWII. The story takes place in Holland, which was devastated by the war. In the story, a girl from America sends a care package to Katje. They continue to write back and forth and soon the American girl's town rallies together to send more need supplies. It is very touching story and when I read it to my students I have to be careful not to cry. I imagine this book would be great to read together at FHE and then the activity could be a service project. This story is a little bit longer and the kids have to be given some background knowledge what WWII was, but it still a good read.

Please let me know if you check out these books and read them. I would love to hear what you thought of them.

If you are looking for more books to read check out Utah's Book Award Site: http://www.clau.org/awpast/index.html

Here are some other books that are great.

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (good for young children)
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long
A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

If your local library doesn't have them, suggest they order them. And as always books by the same author are always fun to read. Happy Reading!