Books I Love to Share…
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
-Caldecott Award Winner 2004
-great to teach prediction skills
-gorgeous pull-out illustrations
Pick! Pull! Snap! Where Once a Flower Bloomed by Lola Shaefer
-prediction skills
-cross-curricular with Science
-beautiful pull-out illustrations
What’s Up? What’s Down? by Lola Schaefer
-predictable for little kids
-good for early elementary – predictable – they can help read (chime in at “What down if you’re a …?”
-great illustrations – NOVEL – the book flips in the middle to begin What’s Down series of questions
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
-fun poetry book
-great for “Fluency Development Lesson” poems
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
-great for prediction skills
-good for “skinny” questions and “fat” questions
-true story
The Three Questions written and illustrated by Jon J. Muth (based on a story by Leo Tolstoy)
-great for teaching “skinny” questions and “fat” questions
-gentle, touching story
-can lead to great discussion
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin (also author of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type)
-cute, fun to read
-humorous
Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan
-great for mid – to upper elementary
-beautiful illustrations
-great fantasy story
-can be used to be a story starter for children…Why would you like to meet?...What two people would you like to meet?...
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
-*Caldecott Award Winner (wood cutting illustrations)
-true story which combines science and good writing
-interesting story to read to students
-good for lower to mid elementary
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr / Eric Carle
-great book to reinforce Oral Reading Fluency with young children
-predictable, great illustrations
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr / Eric Carle
-great book to reinforce Oral Reading Fluency with young children
-predictable, great illustrations
3rd Grade – 5th Grade
Intermediate Picture Books
Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan
-great for mid – to upper elementary
-beautiful illustrations
-great fantasy story
-can be used to be a story starter for children…Why would you like to meet?...What two people would you like to meet?...
-great for oral reading to the class
When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan
-tells the story of Marian Anderson, an African-American singer who broke through racial barriers
-beautiful illustrations
-honor: Robert Sibert Honor Book
-great for oral reading
-good for discussions related to racial injustice – how far have we come in America?
Chapter Books
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
-a great read aloud for you and you students!
-a “must have” in your classroom library
-beautiful full-color illustration plates
-enriching, great message
-use for predicting strategy enrichment with the illustrations preceding each chapter
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
-a “must have” in your classroom library
-great addition for Literature Circles (book discussion groups)
-can be read aloud easily
-wonderful, enriching characters – both children and adults
Snap by Alison McGhee
-great book for upper elementary
-thoughtful content about the relationship between two 11-year-old girls
-tells the story of how relationships and friendships change
-poignant yet charming and funny at the same time
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
-a “must have” in your classroom library
-great addition for Literature Circles (book discussion groups)
-can be read aloud easily
-wonderful, enriching characters – both children and adults
A Piece of Heaven by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
-good for reading aloud to talk about with kids
-content, a little mature
-content/ a mother’s nervous breakdown
Holes by Louis Sachar
-fun, page-turning book
-good for setting a purpose – prediction skills
-can be easily read aloud
-YEARLING NEWBERY AWARD
Loser by Jerry Spinelli
-good for a read aloud
-great for book discussion groups
-good timely topic kids can relate to
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
-good for a read aloud
-NEWBERY HONOR AWARD
-great for book discussion groups
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
-good for a read aloud
-mystery
-interesting, diverse characters
-NEWBERY HONOR AWARD
-great for book discussion groups/Literature Circles