Library Lion

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, 2006

Brief annotation:

A lion starts visiting the local library but runs into trouble as he tries to both obey the rules and help his librarian friend.

Themes include libraries, rules, obedience and friendship.

This is a great book for first visits to the library in the school year. It is a good way to start talking about how to make the most of the library and to enjoy it while still understanding and following the rules ... within reason.

- Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2009

Handsprings

Handsprings, by Douglas Florian, 2006

Brief annotation:

This collection of poems and paintings captures the freshness and promise of spring, whether it comes in like a lion or a lamb. A companion to the highly praised Winter Eyes, Summersaults, and Autumnblings, Handsprings completes Douglas Florian's seasonal celebration.

Themes including winter to spring, spring, growth and poetry.

This is a good book for spring time and a poetry unit. It does not need to be an intense study of poetry, simply exposure to poetry with the timely topic of spring.

Winter Friends

Winter Friends by Mary Quattlebaum and illustrated by Hiroe Nakata, 2005

Brief annotation:

A snowfall.
A lost mitten.
A chance meeting.
A winter day just right for new friendships and fun.
The weather outside may be frosty, but Mary Quattlebaum’s lively story in poems and Hiroe Nakata’s joyful illustrations celebrate the good times to be had by all. So curl up with Winter Friends and delight in the simple pleasure of the season!

Themes include friendship, poetry and winter.

This book in verse is good to ease the youngest readers into an appreciation of poetry. It is a good storytime book during the winter months.

Bear on a Bike (A Barefoot Board Book)

Bear on a Bike (A Barefoot Board Book) by Stella Blackstone and illustrated by Debbie Harter, 1998

Brief annotation:

Bear heads out on numerous adventures and his young friend asks to come along. They go to the market, visit a forest full of fearsome creatures, travel by train to the beach and sail to a magic island. In the end, Bear heads off alone to outer space as his little friend waves "Goodbye and goodnight!"

Themes include various types of transportation, travel and friendship.

Board books are great for the youngest readers. This is an interesting way to introduce different modes of transportation to pre-kindergarten students.

Winter’s Tale: An Original Pop-up Journey

Winter’s Tale: An Original Pop-up Journey by Robert Sabuda,
Brief annotation:

Winter's Tale is Robert Sabuda's most spectacular original pop-up story yet. The simple, elegant text is illustrated with breathtaking artwork and extraordinary paper engineering. Stunning visual effects of foil, glitter, and a twinkling surprise further capture the magic of winter. This is a must-have for everyone's bookshelf.

Themes include animals and their winter environment using three dimensional pop-ups.

Pop-up books are also participation books as readers have to be involved in seeing what is in front of them as well as scenes hidden under the animals that are popping up. This is a good book to read during winter holidays or to study animals habits during winter time.

Green Eggs and Ham

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, 1960

Brief annotation:

Dr. Seuss turns 50 simple words into magic in this time-honored classic. Sam-I-am won't give up! He keeps trying to get the grumpy grown-up in the story to taste green eggs and ham. No matter how Sam-I-am presents the green eggs and ham (in a box, with a fox, in the rain, on a train), the curmudgeon refuses to try them. Finally, Sam-I-am's pesky persistence pays off. A crowd of open-mouthed onlookers watch in suspense as the old grouch takes a bite. And?...SAY! The old sourpuss's face is wreathed in smiles as he gratefully acknowledges, "I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you, thank you, Sam-I-am!"

Themes include persistence, humor and an unexpected yet very satifying ending.

Dr. Seuss books are classic beginning reader books, and this one in particular lends itself to struggling readers as the rhyming and repetition help readers enjoy the book and guess what might come next. This is a great read aloud book for any occasion, including Dr. Seuss' birthday/Read Across America.

Is Your Mama a Llama?

Is Your Mama a Llama? By Deborah Guarino and illustrated by Steven Kellogg, 1989

Brief annotation:

A young llama asks his friends if their mamas are llamas and finds out, in rhyme, that their mothers are other types of animals.

Themes include animals, rhyming, parent/child relationships

As with any predictable books, this book help bolster confidence for young and/or struggling readers as they are able to guess what is about to be said. The use of repetition, rhyming and pictures help students know what the words will be so they can become successful and confident readers.

Four Hungry Kittens

Four Hungry Kittens by Emily Arnold McCully

Brief annotation:

In this wordless story, four kittens share adventures while their mother is away hunting food.

Themes include adventure, friendship, family and life on a farm.

As with any wordless picture book, students can write their own words or simply take turns per page saying what they think should be written based on the pictures and what their classmates said on previous pages.

Bark, George

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer, 1999

Brief annotation:

"Bark, George," says George's mother, and George goes: "Meow," which definitely isn't right, because George is a dog.

And so is his mother, who repeats, "Bark, George." And George goes, "Quack, quack."

Themes include animals and the sounds they make as well as humor.

This book is a fun and funny book for young students to express themselves as different animals and to identify the sounds that George is making every time his mother instructs him to bark.

Up the Steps, Down the Slide

Up the Steps, Down the Slide by Jonathan Allen, 1992

Brief annotation:

Rhyming text and illustrations featuring a pair of cats present such opposites as over and under, on and off, and open and shut.

Themes include rhyming and repetition to illustrate opposites and get children guessing what will come next.

This book is a good introduction to opposites that occur in everyday life. The rhyming gets young readers involved by introducing vocabulary that they quickly become familiar with and are able to fill in the blanks on second reads. Good for new readers as well to build confidence and maybe get to read in front of their classmates.

One Gorilla: A Counting Book

One Gorilla: A Counting Book by Atsuko Morozumi, 1990

Brief annotation

One very playful gorilla keeps popping up in gardens, forests, jungles, and even people's houses as he takes the reader on a wild counting adventure. He hides--as much as a gorilla can!--along with all the other creatures as they dart, leap, and peer from the most surprising places, waiting to be counted. A chart at the end of the book provides a key to all the animals and their corresponding numbers. Soft, precise illustrations characterize this colorful counting book.

Themes include counting, nature and repetition.

This is a fun and colorful book to get young children involved in counting as well as identifying the animals that appear on the page.

Angelo

Angelo by David Macaulay, 2002

Brief annotation:

While restoring the front of a church, an old plasterer rescues several injured pigeons and nurses them back to health.

Themes include architectural conservation and restoration, wildlife rescue, friendship and death.

This is a good read aloud about friendship. It could lead to an interesting discussion about how Angelo and the pigeon helped each other even though they aren't a likely pair.

The Lady and the Lion

Long, Laurel, & Ogburn, Jacqueline. (2003). The Lady and the lion. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers.

Appropriate for students in kindergarten to third grade.
Written and illustrated by Americans, this book is based on the Brothers Grimm tale called The Singing, Springing Lark, which actually combined the stories of Beauty and the Beast (French origin) and East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Norwegian origin). Despite all of these Western influences, the bright, deep colors of the oil paintings have an Eastern quality about them. As is the case with many fairy tales, the story claims no home origin and in fact, the protagonist finds herself traveling the world for over seven years.

Best Books:
Children’s Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, December 1, 2003

This book is a good read aloud. The oil paintings are beautiful and well matched to the story. It will keep young readers attention and spark their imaginations. This book could also be good in combination with the more well-known Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. Young students could get an early opportunity to find similarities and differences between one of their old favorites and a favorite from centuries ago.