Children

As a father who has one daughter in particular who feels compelled to interrupt just about every bedtime story with a comment on every page, I loved this amusing and beautifully illustrated tale of a daddy chicken trying to get through some bedtime fairy tales with his inquisitive daughter.

Lovely book about a young immigrant girl who is embarrassed after other kids tease her about her Korean name. She asks her classmates for name suggestions and eventually decides that her name is truly special. Simple, moving story with a great lesson.

My children get a kick out of this mischievous cat, and I have always enjoyed illustrations that blend photography with painting. A good bedtime read aloud.

With terrific illustrations by Chris Raschka, this book begs readers to read poems aloud, and it contains a good sampling of many different types. From limericks to tongue twisters, bilingual poems to group poems, Janeczko provides readers another example of why poetry is one of the best ways to build students’ love of language.

I recently met Keith at the Oregon Reading Association’s annual conference, and Keith had an entire room (including me) bending over in laughter every time he shared a letter from a child fan. He is a terrific illustrator, and besides purchasing his books you should book Keith to speak at your school. His descriptions of the illustration process are fascinating and a great inspiration to aspiring young artists.

Since we are on the subject of mischief, nobody does it better than Horrid Henry. Terrific read aloud with great illustrations by Tony Ross.

Parents will hate me for this one, as be prepared for your children to tell you endless knock-knock jokes. I just find it refreshing to see jokes that don’t disgust me with negative and crude language.

Wonderful in its simplicity, this book is a must for teachers, as it does a wonderful job of illustrating seasons and the process of growing goods, harvesting them, selling them and restarting the process. Oh, and it won this little award called the Caldecott Medal.

Jordan's witty and heart-warming story of a boy's attachment to a pumpkin is a timely Halloween/Thanksgiving story that all elementary school teachers should include in their collection.

I love books that bring math to life for students, as many of my reluctant readers enjoy math. Clements does a superb (and, often, humorous) job of bringing to life the concept of a “million” for students. A terrific picture book for teaching math!

This is part of a fun series of two armadillos who have a penchant for Texas history. Perfect book for that aspiring Cliff Clavin in your home that likes to recite interesting and random facts. Good discussion questions are provided in the back of the book for teachers and parents.

Tired of what’s a “red” state and what’s a “blue” state? Here is a great way to make American geography fun for kids, and the states are multiple colors, just like this country.

Little kids find this book hilarious, as it chronicles how a hungry fox gets trumped by a clever pig. Pig shows up at fox’s door, but before fox eats the pig, pig suggests that fox bathe the filthy pig, feed him to fatten him up, etc. By the time the fox is done preparing his “dinner,” he is exhausted, and the happy pig leaves bathed, well-fed – get the picture?

Ever felt ignored? While Treehorn tries to convince adults that he is shrinking, they shrug their shoulders as if the boy had told them there was a monster in his closet. All the while Treehorn shrinks, and the illustrations by Edward Gorey are delightful in his demented style (he illustrated the macabre drawings at the beginning of the wonderful “Mystery” series on PBS).

Set in ancient China, this story shows how a young boy’s father must inventory all of a warlord’s treasures. Frustrated by not enough toes and fingers to count with, he creates what turns out to be a primitive abacus with strings and beads. Great book for teaching math.