Books I love to read aloud...over and over! Click on the book covers to get more information about each selection.
1. Chicks and Salsa by Aaron Reynolds
I love Chicks and Salsa! It's not just a clever, humorous story about farm animals cooking Mexican food. It's a great teaching tool. The vocabulary is rich, and the book lends itself to a variety of lessons on word choice, synonyms, shades of meaning, etc. Get it. It's awesome!
2. Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian
What goldfish keeps a diary?! Right?! This book is lovely. "I swam around my bowl." Great for teaching how to keep a journal, but completely entertaining as well. It's an adventure in a bowl, and there's a lesson about appreciating what you have, as well.
3. Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin
What's not to love? Pete is adorable and cool, and students can completely identify with this book. Sometimes I play the music along with it (you can listen HERE) and sometimes I just read it myself. No matter. It's always a hit, and I'm not even sick of Pete!
4. Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming and G. Brian Karas
I actually owned this book for a year before I opened it and read it. That is so unlike me! But it's the truth. I think someone gave me a copy, and I was busy with other things. Very sad story, because this book has it all. The language is extremely fun and rich, and Mr. McGreely goes to ridiculous lengths to keep the bunnies out of his garden, which makes for some hilarious illustrations. I now own at least five copies of this book!
5. We Were Tired of Living in a House by Liesel Moak Skorpen
I seem to gravitate to books with the "be grateful for what you have" theme. In this book, children experiment with living in a cave, a tree, at the beach, in a pond... before deciding to go back to living in a house.
6. Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
I love the rhythm and rhyme and illustrations, and there's some content there, too.
7. Meanwhile Back at the Ranch by Trinka Hakes Noble
Someone referred to this book as "vintage," which made me feel a little old. But I love the book enough that I don't care. In the story, Rancher Hicks goes into town for some excitement (there really isn't anything new, thought), and actually misses a TON of excitement back at the ranch.
8. Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman
Katie is an energetic and impulsive dog who scares three new kittens over and over again. She doesn't mean to, she's just a dog! The illustrations, especially of the expressions on Katie's face, are fabulous! This book is a ton of fun to read aloud!
9. Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
Okay, this time, yes... totally vintage! But age doesn't matter! Once you start chanting, "Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats," you'll be hooked!
10. Benjamin's 365 Birthdays by Judi Barrett
I know, I've talked about this book before. But it's one of my absolute favorites of all time! I just couldn't leave it off this list.
Happy Saturday, everyone! And HAPPY READING!
I must find and read Memoir of a Goldfish! It's been on my list for awhile.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this list - both the new and the vintage books. Muncha, Muncha, Mucha! is also one of my favorites as well.
ReplyDeleteI haven't thought about Meanwhile in forever! Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteHere's my list: Top Ten Edgy Picture Books.
I love that book! I've used in in workshops, because it really helps students understand the concept of voice in writing! Thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteAren't the Illustrations just the best? And the rhythmic language? And those adorable, sneaky bunnies? It's also great for teaching word choice during writing workshop! Thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteGreat list! A nice mix of old and new for me. I adore Millions of Cats, but can't wait to get my hands on Memoirs of a Goldfish. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCatherine
Catherine, you will love Memoirs of a Goldfish! "Today I swam around my bowl. Twice." Thanks for reading!
ReplyDelete