My Favorite Books to Launch the School Year

Hi Everybody!

I've been very busy visiting all my schools helping people get ready for the new school year. Everywhere I go I bring my suitcase full of my favorite books to read during the first month of school. 

I'm a little bit picky when it comes to these books. Just because it's a book about the first day of school, or it has kids reading and writing in it, it doesn't necessarily make it onto my list. Only my favorite books that I have read aloud to kids are on this list. There are lots of other wonderful books I could have added--I just haven't had a chance to read them to kids yet!

These books are arranged loosely in order of difficulty/maturity. Having said that, upper grade teachers and parents, don't be afraid to use the picture books! You might be surprised at the conversation that goes on!

Kindness and Friendship Picture Books:

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae

It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni

Swimmy by Leo Lionni

Ugly Fish by Kara LaReau

My Teacher is A Monster (No I Am Not!) by Peter Brown

Don’t Laugh At Me by Steve Seskin & Allen Shamblin

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon by Patty Lovell

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill

My Best Friend by Mary Ann Rodman

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

One Green Apple by Eve Bunting

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Kindness and Friendship Chapter Books:

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Counting by 7s by Hollly Goldberg Sloan

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

Overcoming Fear/Building Agency and Resilience Picture Books

Big Plans by Bob Shea

Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

Ish by Peter Reynolds

The Dot by Peter Reyndolds

Courage by Bernard Waber

The Writerly Life:

Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon

David’s Drawings by Cathryn Falwell

Rocket Writes a Story by Tad Hills

The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli

Little Red Writing by Joan Holub

The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter

Max’s Words by Kate Banks

Nothing Every Happens on 90^th Street by Roni Schotter

The Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk

I’m in Charge of Celebrations by Byrd Baylor

Building a Reading Life:

Wild About Books by Marc Brown

We Are in A Book! By Mo Willems

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

How to Teach a Slug to Read by Susan Pearson

If I Were A Book by Jose Jorge Letria and Andre Letria

Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

Little L. Reads Her First Books!

Check it out! Little L. read to us at bedtime tonight! Notice how she's using the picture to help her figure out what each page says, pointing under the words, and doing lots of stopping and thinking along the way. Our little reader!

Summer 2011, aka "The Summer of Libraries"

This was definitely the summer of libraries for us! We went to our neighborhood library at least once or twice a week to escape the heat, see some other kiddos, and read lots of books. This is at the NYC Main Branch (the one with the statues of lions that you see in lots of movies). Have you ever seen so many picture books in one place in your life?

Life-to-Text Connections

Real life always reminds us of life-to-text connections! (Yes, "life-to-text.")

This picture is from one of our many trips to the Bronx Zoo. It reminds us of so many great books!

This reminds me of...

... Llama Llama Red Pajama, by Anna Dewdney

... Is Your Mama a Llama?

... Zoo Looking, by Mem Fox

What does it remind you of?

Summer Reading and Writing Kits!

Now that spring has (FINALLY) arrived, Baby L and I are already thinking ahead to summer! With all the traveling we plan to do, we need some portable drawing and writing materials to keep Baby L's writing life alive and strong!

Here's what we did.

First I gathered up materials to make a box to hold all of Baby L's fun summer writing materials: 1) a cereal box decorated with catalog clippings, 2) some stapled booklets of blank paper, and 3) some crayons, markers, tiny notepads, stickers, envelopes, and post-its:

























Then I put it all together, so that Baby L has one transportable, totally fun, totally awesome SUMMER WRITING KIT! I even added in the mini-clipboard that the Easter Bunny brought her.













In the classroom, I love ending the school year by making reading kits and writing kits for the kids to take home for their summer reading and writing lives. You can spend the last week or two of reading workshop or writing workshop teaching the kids how to take care of and use their special summer kits so that by the time they leave for summer vacation, they've had plenty of practice with taking things out and putting them back, coming up with their own ideas for reading and writing projects, and dreaming up the kind of reading and writing they hope to do.

Here are some ideas that many teachers (and parents and caregivers) love!

For a container you could use:

• A giant zip-loc baggy
• Cloth bags ordered from Oriental Trading or other catalogue
• If you're a classroom teacher, sometimes parent volunteers are willing and able to sew beautiful bags for reading or writing kits. Thanks parents!
• Blank aluminum lunchboxes (available at some craft stores and websites) for children to decorate
• A typical pencil box
• Children could decorate whatever the container is with glued on pictures, stickers, or paint to personalize the kits

Some possibilities for tools to put in the Writing Kit:

• A notebook or notepad with blank paper (unlined for young children)
• “Special” summer writing paper with a place to sketch, and lines to write on just like writing workshop at school (photocopied onto colored paper to make it special; stapled or hole-punched and stuck on a ring to turn it into a notepad)
• Consider various paper sizes, decorating the paper with a stamp, photocopy a border or design onto it or placing a sticker at the top to turn it into “stationery”
• Colorful post-its, or post-its cut into shapes (stars, hearts, clouds, or other)
• Special glittery or colorfully designed pencils, pens or markers
• Envelopes and stamps, include a card with an address where children can to write to you and their new teacher(s) over the summer
• Post cards, greeting cards, notecards, etc.
• Poetry object(s) (seashells, stones, feathers, leaves, dried flowers, other)
• Recipe cards, list paper, How-To paper, mini-calendar
• Mini-staplers, tape, and/or glue sticks
• Personal Word Wall, Alphabet Chart, Blends Chart

Some idea for reading kits:

• Collect favorite books to put in the reading kit
• Include books written by the child, other children, or by the teacher or parents or caregivers and friends
• Special book marks with reminders for things to think about while you read ("I'm wondering..." "This makes me think..." "I notice..."
• A tiny flashlight for reading under the covers
• Special post-its (of course!!)
• A tiny notebook for making a wish list of books, or for jotting or sketching ideas about the books
• A tiny calendar for tallying up how many books you read each day or how many pages you read (if you are an older kid who reads chapter books)

Whatever you do this summer, have fun doing it! If you decide to make a summer reading or writing kit let us know, we'd love to hear about it!

Make a Special Reading Spot in Your House

Kids love having their own special spot for reading. Having a favorite place to read helps children build their identity as readers - they can think of themselves as "readers" before they even know the alphabet!

Here are some ideas:

1. Set up a corner with a basket of books, some pillows and some post-its.

2. You could set aside a child-sized rocking chair with a tote-bag full of books resting in it.

3. Keep a basket of books next to your child's bed with a mini-flashlight for reading under the covers.

Here's Baby L's fave reading spot right now:

Use your imagination!

Does your tiny reader have a favorite place to read? Leave a comment and share!

Love at First Read

At the library today, Baby L fell in love with this book! I've never seen her become so attached, so quickly, to a book.

She pulled it out of the board book section completely on her own and brought it over to me saying "Book! Book!" Then she demanded that I read it to her multiple times!

Has your child ever fallen in love with a book at first sight? Post a comment and tell us about it!

March is the Month for Text Sets

In first grade classrooms from New York City to Seattle, teachers are about to launch the March Unit of Study for Reading Workshop: Putting Texts Together: Reading Across Genres To Learn About a Topic and

Build Your Vocabulary.

And guess what, you can do the same at home!

Just collect up a whole bunch of books about a topic you and your little ones are interested in. Stick them in a box or a basket and have fun reading!

Baby L and I have been reading our winter books all season long. We've got stories, poems, board books, lift-the-flap books, nonfiction books, you name it. It's so much fun to watch Baby L make a connection from one book to another!

Winter is almost over (hopefully), so soon we'll be busting out a bunch of books about spring! Yippee!

New Year's Reading Resolutions!

Happy New Year!

It's the time of year when we all think ahead to the coming year and make big plans and big promises for ourselves. We think back on what we were able to do (and not do) last year and we think about how things can be better in the year ahead.

I've been thinking a lot on how much Baby L has grown since last year and my head just spins! Last year she was just a tiny newborn. She'd sit in my lap and listen intently as I read book after book after book. Her fingers would "skritchy-skratch" across the pictures and she'd pull books into her mouth to suck on them. I remember how proud I was when around this time of year last year she started turning pages!

Now, one year later, Baby L has favorite books of her own. She picks them out of her stacks of books that we have all over the house and she "reads" them to herself, opening and closing them (not quite turning one page at a time on her own yet), pointing and talking. For the book Baby Talk she always says "Mama!" because she loves the page that says "Mama." For Jamberry she says "Boom boom!" because she loves the page that says "Moonberry, zoomberry, rockets shoot by!" As far as I'm concerned -- she's reading!!!!!

(Sidenote - Lately, she's actually been getting very upset when the Jamberry ends and always wants to read it again... and again... and again... sometimes grabbing the book in frustration because she wants to skip right to the good part with the "boom." What a passionate reader!)

This year Baby L and I have a few things we definitely plan to do as readers together. Here are our New Year's Reading Resolutions:

1) Go to the library every week (and maybe even return all of our books on time!).

2) Read a few books each night at bedtime, and every day at naptime.

3) Keep books all around the house, and bring books with us when we go on trips in the car or when we ride on the subway.

4) Make sure Baby L sees Mommy and Daddy reading.

What are your New Year's Reading Resolutions? Post a comment and share!

Tips for Happy Bedtime Stories

Baby L loves her bedtime stories - but it wasn't always that way. From about 6 months old to 9 months old she went through a phase where she rolled around, pulled at my clothes, grabbed at anything nearby, and would just glance over her shoulder when I turned a page. Daddy B and I persisted though, and continued to read bedtime stories for every nap time and bedtime and our consistency, we think, has won her over! She's a huge fan of the bedtime story now! She snuggles in and helps turn pages, and points to parts of the picture, sometimes even "talking" about the pictures. When L talks, she gets the main sound of a word, like "tsss" for "necklace." If it's an animal she'll imitate the sound that it makes. Like "ack ack" for "duck/quack" or "ooo ooo" for owl (which she also says for "towel" - pretty cute).

Here are a few tips that my teacher and mommy friends have given me, to help out with bedtime stories. I've tested these out, and they work!

1. Find a quiet place. Turn off the radio, and the television. Close the door or do whatever you need to do to find a quiet spot to snuggle up and read a few books.

2. Be patient. Your child might not be a fan of bedtime stories tonight, but kids change quickly. Try to be consistent and read at least a few pages each night. You'll eventually establish a routine that will foster a love of books for the rest of your child's life!

3. Have fun! Use silly voices, gestures, tap the pictures with your fingers. Be goofy!

4. Try reading aloud books in themes. Reading books that connect by topic or by character is fun for kids. They love noticing when something is the same from one book to another. Baby L loves books that have animals in them. It's so exciting for her when we read her Baby Animals book and she has her Old MacDonald book with her that contains some of the same animals!

5. Act parts out. Baby L never gets tired of my sound effects and gestures for Goodnight Moon. We meow for the kittens, and pretend to put on mittens. We wave goodnight to each page, then wave goodnight to everything in her own bedroom.

6. Take turns with other grown-ups or read bedtime stories all together as a family, so it's not just mommy who reads.

7. Talk about books. Baby L often checks out books from the library that have beautiful pictures, but far too many words for us to get through in a bedtime read. So we talk about the book instead, by pointing to things in the pictures and naming them.

8. Try reading a favorite book many times so that it become familiar. Some babies like to have the same book each night because it becomes part of the routine, and routines help babies feel calm and safe. For a long time, Goodnight Moon was part of our routine, but recently Time for Bed has taken its place. Other babies enjoy more variety. Experiment to see what your child likes.

9. Spread out three or four books for your little one to choose from. Even the littlest babies will point to or pick up one book or another!

10. Respond to your child's cues. If she loves a particular book, read it again! If she's crying or upset, read as much as you can, but try again next time.

Good night everyone! Have fun reading!

Birthday Books!

It's hard to believe Baby L's first birthday is just a few days away! People always say ,"Seems like it was just yesterday..." but it REALLY seems like it was just yesterday that she was born.

As you can imagine, Baby L is definitely getting a couple books for her birthday. Daddy B and I are thinking of making it a tradition to get her some birthday books each year. We'll write a little note in each one so that as she gets older she'll have a birthday book collection. Here's this year's birthday book list:

Where's Baby's Pumpkin by Karen Katz

As you already know from previous posts, Karen Katz is L's favorite author, and has been since L was just a few weeks old! So it only makes sense that Where's Baby's Pumpkin is on our list. L already owns Where's Baby's Birthday Present, or that one would be on the list too! (Side note: L is going to dress up as the baby from WBP? for Halloween-- how cute is that!?)

Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton

Baby L also goes by the nickname L-Monster so it was perfect that we found Birthday Monsters for our own little monster!

The Birthday Box by Leslie Patricelli

Baby L and her nanny checked this book out at the library, and the more times we read it, the more L enjoys it. BUT... L really loves it because the baby in the book is wearing a party hat. She points to the pointy little hat and says "Doo doo..." (which is her "word" for "look, look" or "this...this...") Ever since L's neighborhood birthday party a few weeks ago, she had been obsessed with party hats. Funny, right? What a crazy thing to be obsessed with, but it's true. When she sees the party hat in the book, I say, "L, where are your party hats?" And she crawls over to her toy box and brings one back! (FYI: Where's Baby's Birthday Cake also has party hats).

Do you have some favorite birthday books? What are your birthday traditions? Post a comment and share!

Addendum:

Here are some of the other books Baby L got for her birthday:

On The Day You Were Born, by Debra Frasier, Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin, by Brooklyn Local Tad Hills, and My First Halloween Book published by my fave nonfiction publisher, DK.

The Summer of Loving Reading

This week I'm teaching at a five day reading institute for teachers, so I've been thinking a lot about how to help kids--and teachers--develop a love of reading. Let's be honest, if you don't really like to read, than it's going to be hard to get the kids in your life to love reading!

Here are a few ideas to spark a love of reading, for yourself:

1. Stop buying the books that your best friend, who was an English major, recommends. I know it seems counterintuitive, but forcing yourself to read things that aren't interesting (to you) is tedious. Next time you're at the book store, don't just shop for books your friends are reading--ask the staff for help. Tell them what kind of books you like. If you aren't sure what kinds of books you like, tell them what you don't like.

2. Open up the book and read a page or two before you sign it out from the library or pay for it at the book store! Don't force yourself to read things that are boring! Put it back, and find something else. There's a whole wide world of books out there!

3. Don't be afraid to try young adult literature. Some of my favorite books are on lots of middle school or high school reading lists! Especially if you've been in a reading slump, a good YA book can help jazz up your reading life.

4. Think about what's going on in your life. A new baby? Thinking of getting a dog? Going on a trip? Search for books that will help you learn about a topic that's relevant and interesting to you. Or find a good story that takes place in a setting that you have a good reason to be interested in!

Good luck! Happy reading!

Summer at the Library

Baby L. and I went to the library and guess what we found?

Board books for summer!

The library is the perfect place to hang out on a hot summer day. It's air conditioned, they have comfy seats, there are plenty of people for

Baby L. to watch, and there are tons of books. What more could you want?

We read a stack of books together, but came away with two summertime faves:

Splash! by Flora McDonnell is an absolutely adorable little book with elephants, tigers, and rhinos on a hot, hot, HOT day--just like the day we had today! Baby Elephant figures out how to cool everybody down.

Beach Day! written by Anahid Haparian and illustrated Kristin Sorra was the perfect book for us today. With just two words per page, L. could turn the pages just as quickly as she wanted. No waiting around for mommy to read the words--instant gratification! Plus the book is the perfect read to help us imagine the beach and do some wishful thinking--when we can't get in the car to drive there.

While we read our board books, there were plenty of other babies and kids in the library. Baby L. spent just as much time people-watching and socializing as she did looking at books! Everybody wanted to say hi--not that I blame them. She is irresistibly cute!

L. was especially enthralled by watching two brothers playing with a wire and bead toy. When they got up to pick books from a nearby shelf she studied them, watching their every move. When they turned and waved hello she nearly exploded with excitement! (Luckily our library isn't the totally-completely-silent type of library).

What are your favorite things to do with a baby or toddler at the library? Leave a comment to share your ideas!

Summer Reading Life for You and Baby

This is the time of year in schools when the teachers and I start talking with kids about their summer reading lives. Kids look back over their reading logs and reading notebooks and ask themselves questions like: "What kind of books do I like best?" "Which genre was my favorite?" "How much time and how many pages can I read in one sitting?" "What do I want to read more of this summer?" "What skills and strategies do I tend to use most? Least?" "What do I want to work on as a reader, and how will I do it?"

Some kids decide on a series they want to read, others make a goal for themselves, such as reading 40 minutes every day, or reading books on a topic, like volcanoes, or dogs, or soccer! Lots of teachers take their classes trips to the local public library to make sure everyone has a library card, and some teachers even send books home with kids for the summer.

As for me, one of my many summer reading projects is to read several books at each reading level from level G to level Q (that's from about first grade to third grade). Knowing the books will help me be an even better reading teacher, and will give me lots to talk about with kids and teachers this fall! I'm partnering up with my colleague, D.D., and we're going to meet a couple times to swap books and talk about them!

And, for Baby L, this summer we're going to do a couple things to make sure she has plenty of reading in her life too!

1) I've been working on videotaping myself and Daddy B reading her favorite books. That way she can listen to us read when we're at work and she's at home with the babysitter!

2) Baby L is turning pages now! So when we read, I've been letting her practice turning the pages.

3) When we read, I let her spend a long time looking at each page, so she can notice as much as possible in the pictures.

4) When we read, we read a couple books in a row. When she seems uninterested we stop. She usually is happy and engaged for 3-4 books now. Who knows how many books we'll be up to by September!

5) Our goal is to read every day, no matter what!

What are your summer reading projects? Leave a comment!

So Much To Read, So Little Time

Racing through pages,

Running across chapters,

Flying through texts of all kinds,

There's smoke coming out of my ears,

I'm reading so much,

I've got articles and books,

Websites and blogs,

Poems and stories,

So much to read, so little time.

* Day 19 of the KidLitosphere Poem-A-Day Challenge for National Poetry Month.

In love with...

the sound of a page turning,

the way fonts have personalities all their own,

the smell of ink,

fancy paper,

my extensive pencil collection,

starting a new notebook,

highlighters,

pens,

glue,

paperclips,

scissors,

staples,

bookmarks of all kinds,

reading lamps that attach to your book,

and of course,

last but certainly not least,

post its.

* Day 16 of the KidLitosphere Poem-A-Day Challenge for National Poetry Month.

Books Can Be Like Like Old Friends

Caps for Sale, The Runaway Bunny, and Millions of Cats. Those are just a few of the zillions of favorite books I remember from my own childhood.

Maybe you've saved some of your books from when you were a kid. Maybe you've received a couple classic titles as gifts. Or maybe you went out in search of those old books on the web or in a vintage book store. It's always fun to revisit a book that you haven't seen in a long, long time. It's like reconnecting with an old friend.

Everybody has an old favorite or two. Click here to read about another mom who remembers her favorite books and reads them to her daughter: Bedtime for Frances--and Lil Bits, Too.

What are your old favorites? Post a comment and share the love!

Here A Book, There A Book, Everywhere A Book

Every good teacher knows that a supportive classroom environment reflects the things that matter most to the teacher and the children in that community of learners. When I was teaching, children's writing and books were everywhere you turned in my classroom - on the walls, on the shelves, and at their tables.

Likewise, the environment at home can support what you value most in your child's learning. Numerous studies have shown that kids who grow up in a print-rich environment are at a distinct advantage in school. Not to mention, when you model a love of books, your child learns to love them too! And it's never to early to start.

On the coffee table in our living room, we've got little stacks of board books for Baby L., and our fave magazines and books for us. In L.'s toy bag, mixed in with Sophie the Giraffe and her rattles and shakers, she's got a bunch of cloth books with different textures for her to feel on each page. Her favorite is Good Puppy! On the kitchen counter there's a stack of recipe books, including a homemade one that my mother-and-law and I have been adding to for the last year or so. Our hallways are lined with books. On the bedside tables in our bedroom, there are stacks of parenting books, like Your Baby's First Year, and Baby 411, plus of course-- more board books. In L.'s bedroom, there are always picture books scattered on the guest bed plus more in the basket on her dresser.

Some other ideas for creating print-rich environment at home:

1) Put clippings from your favorite magazines or blogs on the refrigerator, or post them on a bulletin board.

2) Keep your family photo albums out somewhere (yes,

this counts!). Switched everything over to digital? Try ordering a bound book online from services like Snapfish. They have pre-made templates so all you have to do is click & drag your pictures to where you want them.

4) Put a cover on your child's artwork or writing, and then put your child's book on the shelf or coffee table with all the other published books in your home. Staples has lots of options for slip on covers or binders. Or better yet, spend some time with your child doing some book-making!

5) Talk about the every-day kinds of writing you do: post-its and lists, thank you cards, emails. Show this writing to your child and invite them to do it (as best they can) too!

6) Set the family computer's screen saver to some kind of text. A short poem, the lyrics to a children's song, or even a slide show of cool pictures will help immerse your child in a home where pictures and print aren't hard to find.

7) You don't have to spend a fortune on your child's own private library. Visit the public library and sign out some books together. Even your baby can let you know which board books they prefer. Hold the book up to see if she is interested. If not, put it back and try another one. If you keep trying a wide variety of texts eventually you'll figure out your little one's preferences, even if they don't have the words to tell you!

Have fun filling your home with books! Your baby will thank you later!