Children

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.

Perfect gift for those friends who think their three-year-old is ready for Harvard. With beautiful watercolor sketches by Charles Vess, this book can provide young children with motivation for the new year.

David A. Carter creates pop-up books that belong in museums. Do yourself a favor: buy this book, as well as everything else he has ever written.

How is it that I never thought to write a book about two of preschoolers’ favorite things, dinosaurs and toilets? Brilliant! Your little ones will request this to be read aloud every night.

Jasper Rabbit absolutely loves carrots until his paranoia catches the better of him and he feels surrounded by the suspicious vegetables all the time. This one makes for a very entertaining read aloud.

How could you pass up a book with a title like that? This book makes for great storytime fun!

The first in a series of stories chronicling the Orphan Train Movement at the start of the 20^th century, Wanderville is sure to commence interesting conversations among your upper elementary students. Important for students to understand and appreciate all of their modern-day conveniences.

I love Eve Bunting. Her books are a treasure. She has written a number of great Halloween books for kids (including In the Haunted House and Scary, Scary Halloween) and a couple of my favorite children’s books, Fly Away Home, which deals with homelessness, and A Day’s Work, which deals with a grandfather day laborer’s struggles with English. Most of Bunting’s books are touching and represent the diversity of students that are in our schools. This is just a good, old-fashioned rhyme that makes for a perfect read aloud with young children.

A very funny Turkish folktale with marvelous illustrations by Andre Letria.