savannahblaze

The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Official Illustrated Movie Companion - Perry Moore, Andrew Adamson, C.S. Lewis

A novel study could be conducted in a sixth grade classroom with this amazing story of a world called Narnia. With themes appearing anywhere from betrayal and forgiveness to death and rebirth, this would be a fun adventure to read. It's a story about four siblings, with the help of a lion named Aslan, must overcome their own failings to become heroes of a better world. During the novel study, students could compare and contrast characters, discover new themes, and learn new vocabulary. 

A Bad Case of Stripes - David Shannon

A Bad Case of Stripes is a book about how peer pressure can literally affect a person. Camilla is worried about what other people will think about her and won't eat lima beans, because nobody else likes them. Camilla comes down with a bad case of stripes and has no choice but to be different now. This is a wonderful book to use when talking about peer pressure. I think that grades 2-5 could benefit most from reading this book. It is also gives a good lesson on how we should be and love ourselves no matter what. Who cares if we're different than everyone else?

Crankenstein - Dan Santat, Samantha Berger

Crankenstein is a book about a little boy that becomes so cranky that he turns into a monster called Crankenstein. This would be a great book to talk to any grade about emotions. We all have our own monster moments and laughter is the quickest way to tame it. An activity that could be used along with this book is a chance for students to write about a time that they became a Crankenstein. It's also a great transition into talking about ways that we can deal with our anger without lashing out at others. 

Ida, Always - Charles Santoso, Caron Levis

I think that it is very important to include a book about how to deal with loss or grief to your bookshelf. You may or may not have students encounter the loss of someone or something in someway. Whether that connection being direct or indirect, it's gonna happen. This book is about the friendship of two polar bears. Gus and Ida learn that Ida is very sick. When Ida passes away, Gus is sad but quickly realizes that Ida may be gone, but she is never forgotten. This would be a good book to use when dealing with grief or loss within your classroom. Teaching that even though these people or this thing is gone, they or it will never be forgotten. Having the student recall happy memories with the subject could be a good activity to use within any grade. 

Stellaluna - Janell Cannon

Stellaluna is a wonderful story about a young bat that gets separated from it's mother and eventually finds her way back home. While Stellaluna is lost, she is being raised by birds who teach her how to sit upright during the day, even though she is nocturnal and not like them. Stellaluna, however finds her way back home. Stellaluna maintains a strong relationship with the birds even though she is very different from them. This book teaches the importance of family connections and individuality. This would be a wonderful book to do with a comprehension activity and maybe even sequencing within a third grade classroom. 

What Do You Do with an Idea? - Kobi Yamada

What do you do with an idea? That is a really good question. One day you might have an idea that you don't really know what to do with or where it came from. The best thing to do with it is to not give up on it. When you feed your idea it becomes bigger and bigger until it is a part of everything. This is something wonderful to teach in any grade level. Students could even think back on times that they had a big idea, but was too afraid to embrace it. Or maybe they need to come up with their own idea. This book teaches the importance of not giving up on a dream and to always keep fighting for it. 

When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry - Molly Bang

This book is about a little girl named Sophie who gets really, really angry when her sister snatches one of her toys away. I think this book would be perfect to read in a Kindergarten classroom. This story gives kindergartners something to relate to; not wanting to share. It also gives them some insight on what to do when they do get angry. In this story, Sophie runs until she can't run anymore. This is a story that students can relate to very easily and even make connections to their own lives. 

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend - Dan Santat

This is my favorite children's book of all time. This book is about an imaginary friend that just wants to be imagined by a human. It's all about acceptance and belonging. A fun activity for students to do with this book would be to create an imaginary friend using playdough. After the students create their imaginary friend, they can write a short story on what they would do together. This could be done in a third grade classroom. 

Fancy Nancy - Jane O'Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser

I love this book, because it gives so many examples of synonyms to different words. I think that this book would be a wonderful book to read to a second grade classroom that us learning about synonyms. It teaches students that an object can have multiple words that mean the same thing. An activity that you could use along with this book could be to have students come up with other synonyms that they could think of for objects within the classroom. 

The Juice Box Bully: Empowering Kids to Stand Up For Others - Bob Sornson, Maria Dismondy, Kim Shaw

The Juice Box Bully is a book that empowers children to take a stand against bullying. I think that students would benefit most from this book at the beginning of the year. The characters in this book talk about something called "The Promise" which was an agreement that each student made together to stand up against bullying. After reading this story to your class, you could instruct the students to come up with their own "promise" to follow within the classroom. 

Wonder - R.J. Palacio

Wonder is another wonderful book that introduces diversity. I won't give any spoilers away, but it's about a boy who doesn't look like everyone else. After being homeschooled, he finally enters the 5th grade. Full of emotion and heartbreak, it will tug on the heart strings of readers. This would be a great book to use in a 5th grade classroom. After reading the book, students could do a character analysis. 

The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein

The Giving Tree is a favorite among many. I really love the story that it tells and the overall message it leaves to it's readers: be content with what you have. There is always going to be something better, but it is important to be content in where you are and what you have in life. This is a good story to read to second graders. After a read aloud, students could write letters to the tree sharing their feelings.

Duck! Rabbit! - Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Tom Lichtenheld

I had never heard of this book until Mrs. Gilmore introduced it to me. This had me laughing. This book is a great way to introduce different perspectives. A hard concept for many students to grasp is that there are more than one way to see the world. This book could be an eye opener for those that are having a hard time grasping that concept. This would be fun to use in a first grade debate.

Amazing Grace - Mary Hoffman, Caroline Binch

Amazing Grace is a great way to introduce diversity and acceptance. Grace is afraid to try out for the school's production of Peter Pan because she doesn't look the part. With the help of her family Grace decides to do it anyways. I love this book because it reminds me to always chase my dreams no matter what. I think a really great activity to go with this book could be doing a reader's theater in a third grade classroom. 

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes - Eric Litwin, James Dean

Pete the Cat is one of my favorite children's characters. I wanted to add this book specifically to my shelf, because I think it is a really great resource to use with your Kindergarten babies. This book gives the students an idea on the different things they will do throughout their day. They'll discover new places like the playground, lunchroom, and the library.

Interrupting Chicken - David Ezra Stein

This book is hilarious. It would also be a good way to teach your students to not interrupt while you are reading aloud or doing other things. After reading this book, students could write why they think they shouldn't be an "interrupting chicken." Grade level, any grade.