Children

Separated into two-page chapters, this book does a superb job of explaining various election processes. It also serves some delicious Cliff Clavin facts, like why political parties have the animal mascots they have and what foods are associated with specific Presidents.

Marc Brown is one of my favorite children’s authors, and his series of Arthur books are a treasure. Whenever I conduct trainings and concerned parents and teachers ask me about the downside of television, I always point to the PBS version of Arthur as not only a great show for kids, but one of the funniest shows on television. I read the books and watch the show with my kids all the time (there is a great book about D.W. being a picky eater, which I read to my daughter at least once a day – especially since she is a picky eater). Reading Marc Brown’s books will make you a happier and healthier human being. He has a wonderful interactive Arthur display at the Boston Children's Museum, by the way.

When Splat the Cat goes to a pumpkin patch with Seymour, he is determined to find the biggest pumpkin ever. But when he finally does, Splat discovers the real challenge isn't finding the pumpkin—it's how to get the pumpkin home!

Another wonderful resource to make the election process understandable to students (and Floridians).

I want to encourage parents and teachers to utilize poetry as a way of enhancing students’ reading abilities. Combine poetry and pets and you get two great motivators that are sure to interest students in reading. Besides having a variety of great poems about different kinds of pets, this book uses several different styles of poetry, from acrostics to cinquains.

When a young fox offers an idea to stop a hunter from trapping foxes, an elder fox brushes the idea aside as being too simple. But later the elder fox learns that there is something to be said for simplicity. A simple tale that younger students appreciate for its message that all ideas should be considered, regardless of who they come from.

The sequel to the popular Ladybug Girl, this fun book follows Lulu as she encounters Sam on the playground. Both seem to like the opposite of one another until Lulu suggests her Ladybug Girl game, which allows them to save the playground from hairy monsters and mean robots. Lots of fun to read aloud with little ones.

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.