Picture Book Mania~ #PB10for10

How perfect that #PB10for10 coordinates so perfectly with National Book Lovers day (August 9)! I have come to love this event not for the sharing of my favorites but, for all the great sharing of others! Thank you to all who are participating in #PB10for10 and a HUGE THANK YOU to our brave organizers~ @CathyMere and @MandyRobek, this is an event I look forward to each year and I am so pleased you take your time to pull it all together! 

This year I decided to post the top ten that have stuck with me over the year. Because I am choosing books that really stick in my head I may repeat a book from previous years. I have decided not to fret over this because if its still in my head there must be a reason! 

So here it goes~ 

Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen and Scott Magoon came to me this year in a tweet from @LauraKomos. Laura tweeted that her class loved this book so much they actually clapped and cheered for Big Mike! I quickly added this book to my library book bag. When the book came in I shared the back story with my class and after the read the kids showed their love just as as Laura's class had! I am sure they had a little "borrowing" going on but, the discussions and comments that followed this book demonstrated their true appreciation and take aways.   

Big Mean Mike is big and tough, everything around him is tough. Imagine his horror when one day a sweet little bunny and ALL his friends showed up and won't go away! Mike shows the readers it's all about being true to yourself, not your image. 

Psssst! It's Me…the Bogeyman by Barabra Park and illustrated by Steven Kroninger has been in my top five books for YEARS!!! My co-teacher Molly first introduced this book to me when were teaching kindergarten. It's actually out of print now and if you can find a copy for less than $40 you should grab it up quick! The language and craft in this book are a writing teachers delight! The readers will find themselves moving from laughter to fear in split seconds!…wait, the bogey isn't really scary after all? Or is he…make sure you read this one all the way to the end! (even my kindergartners were brave enough for this fun read aloud)…Now you want five scary words….? GO…GET…THIS…BOOK…NOW!

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter H. Brown is another book to turn you from laughter and fear in seconds! The kids love the unlikey  hero in this story and marvel at the problem solving strategies of the carrots. @itsmepeterbrown made the reading that much better by tweeting with my class this year! Peter Brown also has a great book trailer to illustrate the work that goes behind his amazing work. You can see this trailer, his new book and read about his recent trip to VIetnam all on his blog PeterBrownStudio. He has shared his travel in a way that will be appreciated by adults and our kids! 

You Will Be My Friend is another Peter Brown book. (Can you feel the Peter Brown love here?) but, this book moves us from the "darker" books above and plants us right in the life of a child desperate to make friends! Lucille Beatrice bear (Lucy) had no idea it would be so hard to make a friend! Just as she is feeling defeated and ready to call it a day, a friend finds Lucy. This kids love this story and quickly understand Peter Brown's play on words, YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND! Kids offer advice along the way and marvel at the friend in the end. This is a great book to start the year. Peter Brown has a great book trailer for this title. I like to show the trailer first, then as the actual book appears on our shelf it's an instant ROCKSTAR! 

! by Amy Krouse Roesnthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld Helps readers see the value to being your best self. This is a great read early in the year as we strive to help kids see that we all make our community special and we all have unique talents that are valued. This book also has a book trailer.

Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld is another great read aloud to illustrated the importance of being yourself and appreciating differences in yourself and others. Of course there is a Spoon book trailer. (By now I guess you're seeing a book trailer and Amy Krouse Rosenthal love) You might also want to pick up a copy of Chopsticks, you know the rule of threes! 

Duck Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld is a great book to help kids see perspective. Is it a duck? Is it a Rabbit? Well, that depends, how are you looking at it! I love the way kids change their thinking throughout the book. This book was a great when talking about opinion writing! Listen to what the kids have to say as they talk about their opinions. Of course there is a a book tailer for this one too…smiles. 

Loki and Alex by Charles R. Smith is another great book to help kids understand perspective, even the perspective of a loved pet. Every pet lover thinks they know exactly what their pet is thinking. But Loki and Alex shows us that we just might be surprised when we look through the world from our pets eyes. Charles R Smith uses color photographers to show the boys perspective and black and white photos to show Loki's. The kids laugh and make connections to this story over and over again.  BONUS! I saw it on amazon for $0.01!

 

These two books The Dot and Ish by Peter H. Reynolds changed the perspective and community of our class this year. Both books, as many of you probably know help us teach kids to take risk, try things that are hard and to accept mistakes as opportunities for learning. This year this point was never clearer. E a student who is was very much afraid of risk took a big risk and had her efforts rewarded by Peter H. Reynolds himself! @peterhreynolds is another great author on twitter!

After sharing this video of Peter H. Reynolds~


E learned to allow mistakes to happen and to turn them into new ideas~

We shared this with @peterhreynolds and look what we found in out Twitter feed~

Well, that's my top ten, I would love to hear from you~Do you have different perspectives on these books, book trailers you love, experience with author feedback, or anything else you'd like to share? Because as Sharon Nuessbaum Beach said at #ILEOhio, a blog is a conversation and we are better together! (I may not have the exact wording but, it's the message).