Children

Beautifully illustrated tale of a grandfather talking about his days as a boy scared of thunderstorms, as he and his grandson wait out a power outage. Good book for teaching elements of figurative language.

I have a daughter who turns four this month, and she loves anything to do with princesses and the color pink. She loves this book about a girl who eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink. The only cure is to eat her vegetables. This is one of the most popular books that I read aloud to students right now. A MUST purchase.

A simple story best reserved for little children, I enjoyed the book because little bear’s constant curiosity at the everyday items adults overlook reminded me of my own young daughter, Kate.

I began this month’s list with a Steve Martin recommendation, and I figured I might as well push one of his children’s books. In this delightful alphabet book with illustrations offered by one of my favorite New Yorker cartoonists, Roz Chast, Martin creates zany tongue twisters to entice young readers to learn each letter of the alphabet. Terrific fun that prompts kids to beg for repeated read alouds.

I love funny tall tales, and this one does not disappoint. Two brothers who constantly search for he upper hand with one another are forced to work together when the mightiest wind they have ever seen blows their dear old mother on top of the barn. Reminded me of why I used o love the Pecos Bill stories so much.

It amazes me that this is one of my favorite books of all time, I recommend it all around the country and until now I have failed to include it as one of my monthly book picks. An outrage! BUY THIS BOOK. This is one of the simplest, most powerful stories I have ever had the pleasure of sharing with children. The message is simple: we are all artists. I think every teacher should read this book to see the potential in every child. Simply magical.

After being a Caldecott Medal bridesmaid five times, Pinkney finally earned a long overdue Caldecott Medal for this beautifully illustrated retelling of an Aesop Fable. Congratulations, Jerry – you are a role model to so many aspiring illustrators. My students love it when I read Pinkney’s books and share stories about how he became an artist. Truly inspiring.

I've read this book just about every day so far in my daughter's young life, and I think this is simply a brilliant book. Dr. Seuss deserves to be canonized; he is that important.

This book shows dads how to be silly with their kids. Also, February is Black History Month, and I greatly appreciate illustrator Kate Salley Palmer’s refreshing depiction of a playful African-American father (I am sick of books that insist on making ethnicity the central point to every story with minority characters). This is a book all families can enjoy.

This is what I call a “golden” book because it is written in English and Spanish (so kids and parents can follow along in both, making it especially great for ESL parents). Lovely story of little Anita, who arrives home on her 7^th birthday to discover her mother floating as she sings. Includes gorgeous illustrations by Yuyi Morales.

I always enjoyed this tale of the bull who did not want to fight. Ferdinand just wanted to smell the roses. When I lived in Spain I was excited to see the real-life bridge in Ronda that illustrator Robert Lawson drew in the book. This is just a nice story for everybody to read, especially world leaders.

Looking to boost creativity? You and your students will love this wonderful book about how a square can quickly and easily become many different things. Endless possibilities!

The perfect book to read to young children who are in foul moods. Laughter cures all.

I am thrilled that the start of baseball season is here. A devoted Dodger fan (torn by the recent sale of my beloved Dodgers, as I wish their corrupt owner Frank McCourt would walk away with nothing), I am always excited about a good Jackie Robinson picture book. Another great addition to illustrate to students how Jackie Robinson changed sports – and America – forever.

We lost a giant in literature this past month. Angelou’s beautiful voice is captured on each page of this terrific entry into children’s literature, with illustrations by Jean-Michel Basquiat.