Children

I am sort of addicted to these new scanimation books, as they operate like pop-up books on steroids. I have not shown this book to a single person who has not stopped what they are doing to stare in awe. You must check out this book.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to use poems and music to teach students of all ages. This is the perfect book, as it includes wonderful poems set to music by Jim Furmston and accompanied by Pat Woolley’s adorable illustrations. There are certain books that I read every day with my kids: Dr. Seuss, our children’s Bible, a book of nursery rhymes…and now this. My kids love it!

Your kids will love this silly tall tale about a little girl whose family gets a lot more than they bargained for when they get a couple of pet hamsters. With fun illustrations by Bruce Whatley, this book reminded me of the Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan stories I treasured as a child.

The McMullans wrote one of my favorite picture books, I Stink!, which is about the life of a garbage truck (I recommended it in my March 2003 issue). This is another gem, as it chronicles the life of a nasty T-rex who may not be as nasty as he seems. Total fun.

Occasionally, I like to include a classic that every parent, grandparent, guardian or teacher needs to read to children. This wonderful story of Rat, Moley and Mr. Toad is one of my favorite read alouds of all time and a perfect story for a lazy summer day.

Like stories about the underdog who wins? Like books that rhyme? Like beautiful illustrations? Here is the perfect quick read for you. This book can be sung, and Gerald the giraffe reminds just about everyone who reads it of a jungle version of Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer.

High Noon for kids, only except retiring sheriff Gary Cooper, this story features retiring dog sheriff Bart. Probably one of my favorite read alouds to kids over the past couple of months.

Featuring terrific illustrations by R.G. Roth, this delightful book teaches children all about different jazz musicians. Kids get to count up to nine (starting with Louis Armstrong at one) to the beat of “This Old Man.” A wonderful read-aloud for early elementary school teachers and students. 

Maybe it’s because I have been listening to a lot of jazz on my plane rides, but I cannot get enough of good jazz stories lately. This is another beautifully illustrated book by Sean Qualls chronicling the extraordinary life of one of the most important musicians of the 20^th century, Dizzy Gillespie.

A sweet story appropriate for parents preparing little ones who are off to school for the first time. This is pure saccharin with adorable raccoon illustrations by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak. I must admit, though, that one of the motivating forces for me to get this book were the free stickers inside! 

Great word-play fun for the beginning of the school year with little ones. Brought to life with wonderful illustrations by Joe Mathieu, this is a popular read aloud in preschool and kindergarten classrooms.

Even if most schools stopped teaching art, there are still a variety of wonderful books to get kids excited about art. I really enjoyed this book, filled with paintings by Frida Kahlo. Bernier-Grand’s wonderful accompanying poems inspire students to use language in a variety of ways to describe their personal experiences.

It’s not easy being young. I love the message in this book that as long as you try your best you should be proud. Beautiful and fun illustrations by Megan Wellman. A great read aloud for parents with kindergartners.

Part of the Fact
Finders series, my students get a kick out of the information about the Internet, cell phones and
Wikis. Heck, I learned a lot reading this book. Since most of the text students face on
standardized tests is nonfiction, I try to expose students to as much interesting nonfiction as
possible. This book is especially popular with boys.

This is part of a wonderful series of Bats books by Lies, and his illustrations and rhymes are always a crowd pleaser with kindergarteners.
In this episode it takes a librarian’s read alouds to settle the bats down, and the illustrations, as always, are fantastic. Just in time for Halloween.