Children

This series is one of my favorite gateways to get kids transitioned to enjoying chapter books. Just Grace is a wonderfully delightful heroine that all can enjoy.

Last, but not least, here’s a children’s picture book that is not French, but it reminded me of some comments I have heard about the French by prominent politicians in the past few weeks: Funny little book with great pictures. It follows the daily life of a garbage truck. Good to read to kids who never change their school uniforms (or teachers who wear too much perfume/cologne).

Holy cow! I recently created a list of books for my friend to get for his fourth grade son, and after writing a few Dan Gutman titles I suddenly realized that I have never included him on a monthly picks list. What can I say – I figured everyone knew about Dan Gutman! He’s certainly one of the best writers to draw boys into books. This book about Satchel Page (one of my personal favorite baseball players) is just one in an awesome series of “baseball card” stories. Boys, and even some girls, DEVOUR these books.

This series is immensely popular with girls interested in presenting fun queries of their friends. Trust me. These books are always popular gifts.

Wonderful children’s biography of the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal (in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London). Lee’s inspirational story reveals his ascent from only being allowed to use public pools in southern California once a week to becoming an Olympic diving medalist and doctor. If you ever get a chance to see Sammy Lee interviewed, he is a delight. Among his other accomplishments, he used to be the coach of a diver named “Greg Louganis.”

Bill Grossman has a wonderful sense of humor, and your kids will get a kick out of this alphabet book that should leave Mom and Dad laughing at the rhymes and pictures as much as their kids.

Nice book for parents with little ones who are timid about their first day of school. Chad Thompson’s illustrations are just as comforting as this sweet story.

I have been featuring this book in my literacy workshops this past year as a perfect way to invite students to become interested in letters. Walter was so worried, you could see it written all over his face. Children get the chance to find the letters that form the facial features of various characters. A real hoot for kids.

Lovely story about a lonely bear with a huge hat that earns him a collection of friends. STUNNING illustrations. This is one of my favorite books of 2014.

I often receive books in the mail, and I want to thank the anonymous benefactor who sent me this beautiful classic, with new illustrations by Loren Long. Is there any better story about perseverance and determination? I read this book to a group of students stressed about taking a standardized test. If you’d like to see a good song to sing with kids before testing, check out this month’s blog by clicking here.

You NEED to buy books by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart. These are no ordinary pop-up books; they belong in museums. Kids salivate at the site of this book, which features brontosauruses rising and a tyrannosaurus rex lunging out of a page. This is the type of book you keep on your teacher’s desk and allow your “student of the day” to take home as a reward.

Subtitled Survive and Succeed with David Mortimer Baxter, this first in a fun series shares David’s best excuses for getting out of work. What I like best about the series is how Tayleur provides lots of “doodles,” subheadings and font changes, providing students with ideas on how to structure their own texts and help them come to life. Students love the inspiration for different excuses.

This is why I love children's books - they make me laugh. Some of our most creative minds write and illustrate children's books.

This series about a Siamese cat who thinks he is a Chihuahua is always a hit with young children. I recently met Judy and loved her tales of where she gets her ideas and her hat-box collections for story inspiration. Her evolution as an illustrator and author makes a great story in itself. Parents cannot go wrong with this latest tale in the series, which features a trip to ancient Egypt before Skippyjon returns home to his “mummy.”

I have had enough teachers write me with this recommendation that I suppose I must include this magically illustrated book, another in a long line of great reads from the very-talented David Shannon. Kids love this book for the pictures; teachers love it for the message that it’s alright not to succumb to peer pressure. A wonderful book to read aloud and “show off” to kids.