Award Winning Titles

 Adler, D. A. (2015). Don't throw it to Mo! Penguin Young Readers. 

Winner of the 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

Mo Jackson is a little boy with a big passion for sports. He may not be the biggest, the strongest, or the fastest player, but he won't let that stop him from playing!

Floca, B. (2013). Locomotive. S.l.: Atheneum books for Young Readers.

The Caldecott Medal Winner, Sibert Honor Book, and New York Times bestseller 

Locomotive is a rich and detailed sensory exploration of America’s early railroads. Accompany a family on an unforgettable week-long train trip from Omaha to Sacramento in 1869.

Henkes, K. (2015). Waiting. Greenwillow Books. 

Caldecott Honor and Geisel Honor Book

Five animal friends sit patiently on a windowsill, waiting and watching the world outside, waiting for marvelous things to happen. 

 Peña, M. D. (n.d.). Last stop on Market Street. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. 

This beautifully descriptive text tells the story of a boy and his grandma. This is a very inspiring book with terrific messages. This story helps you to see the wonders of the world even in places you would not expect.

 Santat, D. (2014). The Adventures of Beekle. LITTLE BROWN &. 

Winner of the 2015 Caldecott Medal

New York Times Bestseller

#1 Indiebound Bestseller

Huffington Post Best Overall Picture Book of 2014

PBS Parents Best Picture Book of the Year

NPR "Great Read"

ALSC Notable Book for Children

A Chicago Public Library Best Picture Book of the Year

Beekle, an imaginary friend, undergoes an emotional journey looking for his human. The illustrations in this book were done in pencil, crayon, watercolor, ink, and Adobe Photoshop. The text was hand lettered. 

International Books

Daly, N., & Daly, J. (2015). Thank you, Jackson. Frances Lincoln Children's Bks. 

This is an excellent book to teach the importance of please and thank you. The author of this book lives in Cape Town, South Africa. 

 Kobald, I., & Blackwood, F. (n.d.). My two blankets. HMH Books for Young Readers. 

This multicultural story of friendship is about leaving home, moving to a foreign and strange place, and finding a new friend, the child in this story moves from Sudan to Australia. The author of this book Irena Kobald is multi-lingual Austrian immigrant to Australia, who teaches aboriginal children in Australian outback. The children she teaches use English as a fifth language (many speak several Aboriginal languages).

 Lee, J. (2015). Pool. Chronicle Books.

Pool is a beautiful wordless book that illustrates one young boy's ocean adventure in a public pool. The illustrator of this book is South Korean.

 Meschenmoser, S. (2015). Mr. Squirrel and the Moon. NorthSouth. 

This is an adorable and funny bedtime story about a squirrel who finds the moon trapped in his tree and wants to get rid of it before someone thinks that he stole it. The author of this book lives in Germany. 

 Steven, K. C., & Torseter, O. (n.d.). Why dogs have wet noses. Enchanted Lion Books. 

This book is a humorous spin on the Noah’s Ark story and why dogs have wet noses. The author of this book, Øyvind Torseter is a Norwegian artist, illustrator, comic book artist and writer.  

Read for Fun

 Applegate, K., & Biggs, B. (2008). Roscoe Riley rules. New York, NY: HarperCollins. 

This is the first book in this series about first grader Roscoe Riley. This book has short chapters, smile sentences, and pictures. This book is about Roscoe getting in trouble even though he was just trying to help.

 Barkley, C., & Riti, M. (2013). The Critter Club. Amy and the missing puppy. New York, NY: Little Simon.

This is the first book in the Critter Club series. This book is a great first chapter book, the book has larger text and pictures. This book is about Amy spending spring break helping her mom at the pet clinic. Amy encounters an unexpected mystery she must solve.

 Noll, A., & McWilliam, H. (2009). I need my monster. Brooklyn, NY: Flashlight Press. 

This book is about a boy who needs his monster under his bed to go to sleep. But his monster has left him a note that he will be gone for a week.  This book is a great example of using descriptive text. 

 Shannon, D. (2004). A bad case of stripes. New York, NY: Scholastic. 

This book is about a little girl that is often worried about what others will think about the choices she makes. She only wants to do what everyone else is doing. The little girl ends up a the stripes and has to go to school with them. This book teaches a great moral, that its okay to be you. 

 Willems, M., & Muth, J. J. (2010). City Dog, Country Frog. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.

 

This is book is written by Mo Willems. This book is about two very different animals being friends. This book also starts in the spring and goes through every season. This book is a great book about friendship new and old. 

Guided Reading

Arnold, T. (2010). Fly Guy meetsFly Girl! New York, NY: Cartwheel Books.

This book is number 8 in the Fly Guy series. This is a great book to teach thought bubbles.  In this book Fly Guy finally meets anther fly that happens to be a girl. 

Creese, S. (2010). Mightymachines. Hertfordshire: Make Believe Ideas.

This is a nonfiction book about many different vehicles. This book contains bright photographic, facts for each vehicle and a key word section. This book is a great tool for teaching nonfiction text features. 

Parish, H., & Avril, L. (2014). AmeliaBedelia joins the club. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

This book is part of the new Amelia Bedelia series, where Amelia is a child. This story is about Amelia’s class dividing into two groups with Amelia having to choose between the two. This is a great book to use as an example of friendship. 

Rattini, K. B. (2014). Seed toplant. National Geographic Children's Books. 

This is a nonfiction book on the plant lifecycle. This book contains vivid photographs and many nonfiction text features.

Willems, M. (2013). A big guytook my ball! New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.

The book is from the Elephant and Piggie series. In this book Piggie is upset because a "big guy" took the ball she had found. This book is great with just a few words per page; readers can gain confidence in their fluency and comprehension.

Social Issues

Boelts, M., & Jones, N. (2009). Thoseshoes. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. 

This book is about a little boy who wants shoes that everyone else has. But his family cannot afford to buy him the new shoes that he needs. This book is an excellent tool to teach empathy and also teach needs and wants.

Gunning, M., & Pedlar, E.(2014). A shelter in our car. New York, NY: Children's Book Press.

This book is about a mother and her daughter that must live in their car and the struggles that came along with it.  This book teaches about homelessness in America.

Kilodavis, C., & DeSimone, S.(2011). My princess boy: A mom's story about a young boy who loves to dressup. New York, NY: Aladdin.

This is a nonfiction picture book about acceptance and compassion for others. This book is about the author’s son who grew up with the support to be who he wanted to be and he wanted to be a princess. 

Richardson, J., Parnell, P., &Cole, H. (2005). And Tango makes three. New York, NY: Simon &Schuster Books for Young Readers.

This book is based on a true story about two penguins at the Central Park Zoo. At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo get the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own.

Williams, V. B. (1982). A chairfor my mother. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

This book is about a girl, her mother, and her grandmother. They lost of their furniture and possessions in a fire. The family works hard to save all their spare change for a much needed chair. This book helps to teach needs and wants and also shows a single parent working hard to support her family. 

Shared Reading

Beaumont, K., & Catrow, D. (2005). I ain't gonna paint no more! Orlando, FL: Harcourt. 

This book is written to the tune of It ain't gonna rain no more! This book has rhythm, rhyme and repetitive text to keep children engaged. 
The illustrations are stunning while also funny. 

Murphy, S. J., & Jabar, C. (2004). Tally O'Malley. New York: HarperCollins. 

This is a fun way of teaching tally marks. While the children are on a road trip they find ways to count using tally marks. They book also provides activities to extend learning. 

Raposo, J., Lichtenheld, T., & Kaufman, B. (n.d.). Sing.

Three little birds sit in their nest. One sings and flies off. Another follows suit. The last bird tries to sing with all its heart until finally quitting. Right at that moment, a boy with a guitar takes a seat under the bird and sings a song my family has known for years. This book comes with a CD with the song Sing, which was made famous on Sesame Street. 

Slade, S. (2015). House that George built. Charlesbridge Publishing.

This book is written in the familiar format of "The house that Jack Built." This story takes the reads through process of how the president's house was built. Starting with the contest that George held to chose the perfect design all the way to John Adams' move into the house. 

Watt, M. (2009). Chester. Toronto: Kids Can Press

In this book the author of the book if fighting with her illustrated cat, Chester. Chester is trying to rewrite her book and they go back and forth. This book is very entertaining for children and keeps them highly engaged. 

Literature Circle

Marsh, L. F. (2010). National Geographic Readers: Great Migrations Whales. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. 

This book is part of the educationally vetted series of beginning readers that teach kids all about these tranquil and mysterious animals through brilliant photography and illustrations. This book provides information about sperm whale migration over the course of their 70 year life span. 

Marsh, L. (2011). National Geographic Readers: Sea Turtles. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic.

This book is part of the educationally vetted series of beginning readers that teach kids all about these tranquil and mysterious animals through brilliant photography and illustrations. This book provides information about how sea turtles spend their entire lives searching for food and a mate. 

Marsh, L. F. (2014). National Geographic Readers: Manatees. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.

This book is part of the educationally vetted series of beginning readers that teach kids all about these tranquil and mysterious animals through brilliant photography and illustrations. This book provides information about how manatees raise their young, and discover the threats to their environment. 

Schreiber, A. (2008). Sharks! Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. 

This book is part of the educationally vetted series of beginning readers that teach kids all about these tranquil and mysterious animals through brilliant photography and illustrations. This book teaches all about sharks. 

Stewart, M. (2010). National Geographic Readers: Dolphins. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. 

This book is part of the educationally vetted series of beginning readers that teach kids all about these tranquil and mysterious animals through brilliant photography and illustrations. This book provides information about the wild mammals.