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Review

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

This children's book talks about the very real issue of bullying in a way that child can know how to defend themselves and what to do in bullying situations. My favorite part about this book is that it promotes that a bystander has a lot more control than one may think, and that one voice to speak up may make a world of difference. I would like to use this as a group reading book if I felt like a bullying problem was occurring or even the first day to establish rules and expectations. This book also has a "bully free policy" at the end. I would like my class to come up with out own bully free policy as an activity. Great read for the first day of school! 

Grade Level- appropriate for all elementary ages 

Review

The Class from the Black Lagoon - Mike Thaler

The entire Black Lagoon series is a series that I adored growing up, and is still a fan favorite of students of everywhere. This book is about a teacher that pictures the worst of the worst class for the year, and her imagination runs wild. Always at the end of any of these series, their imagination was way worse than the real outcome. It is a great lesson to teach students to be on their best behavior. I think a great lesson would be to use this as a writing prompt of what makes a great class and a terrible class. Great also for class discussion. 

Grade Level - K-2nd

Lexile Level - 480L

 

Review

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? - Eric Carle, Bill Martin Jr.

This book illustrates and describes many different animals in the world by using the sentence repetitively  "Brown Bear, brown bear what do you see?" Then, the bear proceeds by describing animals and creatures around him. I think this book is a great choice for the classroom because it is extremely colorful, easy to read, descriptive, and is loved by many students everywhere. I would use this book for my classroom if we were beginning to work on nouns and say "Students, students, what do you see?' and proceed by letting the students tell me a noun they see in the classroom. 

 

Guided Reading Level - C

Lexile Level - 880L

Review

Bully B.E.A.N.S. - Julia Cook

"Bully Beans" tells the story of a multiple children being bullied by a bigger girl in their school. What makes this story interesting and different is that it not only tells the reader ideas of how to handle bullying, but it also gives the perspective of the bully itself. It also focuses on the view of the bystanders, so, this book gives the perspective from almost all angles in a bullying situation. I would use this book in my classroom to promote discussion about bullying if I felt like this was necessary. 

 

Grade-1st

Reading Level-3.6

 

Review

Big Al by Andrew Clements (1997-09-01) - Andrew Clements

This book tells a story of a big fish that feels awkward and left out because of his appearance. This story is great because it is perfect for a classroom filled with diversity, and the teacher trying to encourage friendships between different types of students. I would use this book in my classroom as a group reading lesson to encourage good behavior and cooperation as a class as a whole to each other. This book also opens great discussion about anytime they have felt left out.

Grade level - K - 3rd

Lexile Level - 880L  

Review

Biscuit Goes to School - Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Pat Schories

This story is about a puppy named Biscuit who sneaks into school with his owner. Throughout the story, he learns about everything at a school and all what a students does on a normal day at school. I would use this in my classroom as a first day of school book to start off the day. This book could possibly calm the nerves of students of what the day and year will bring.

Grade Level- Kindergarten through First Grade

Lexile Level- 100 L

Review

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle

This book offers a creative way for children to understand the life cycle of a caterpillar through vivid colors and fun reading styles. The illustrations throughout the book are vibrant to grab the attention of the readers and counting techniques. When reading this book to my students, I could do an activity sheet with the students that talks about counting and the life cycle of the butterfly like the book models. A great idea for an activity would be for the class to observe the life cycle of a live caterpillar in the classroom after reading this book. 

Grade Level- K-2

Lexile Level- AD460L

 

Review

Amazing Grace - Mary Hoffman, Caroline Binch

This book is perfect for the classroom because it is all about loving yourself and being confident in your own skin. The main character, Grace, loves to tell stories, and when Peter Pan is the play being done at her school she wants to play the character of Peter Pan. Although, she is told that she can not play Peter Pan because she is a girl. Then, her grandmother reminds her that she can do anything she wants. I would read this book in my classroom to empower my students and remind them that they are capable of anything. 

Grade Level-K-2

Lexile Level - 680L

Review

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Board Book) - Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, Lois Ehlert

This book is a creative way of introducing lower-case letters and upper-case letters through vibrant colors and creative word-play. This book is also a favorite by many students everywhere. Using this book to help students identify letters and differentiating  lower and uppercase letters is a great idea for using this book in the classroom. I would also use this book for group reading because of repetitive lines that the students can help read along with. 

Grade Level - Pre-K-K

Lexile Level - AD530L

Review

The Invisible Boy - Trudy Ludwig, Patrice Barton

This book is about a little boy named Bryan who never feels valued in class because he doesn't have any friends. At the end of the story, a new boy comes to school with Bryan and they become friends. This book has amazing illustrations that will draw attention to the story by it's readers. In my classroom, I would have a color sheet of paper that is black and white and then for the students to draw a friends next to Bryan and then color the picture. This is also a great book to bring up discussion about our friends. Great read for students with disabilities in my opinion! 

 Reading level ages 6-9

Lexile Level AD680L

Review

Frog and Toad Are Friends - Arnold Lobel

This book tells the story of two friends that have very different personalities but still remain best friends. Each chapter tells an adventure of the two friends and problems they encounter. I would use this book in group reading for read-aloud reading to introduce chapter books and fluency. 

Grade Level K-2nd

Lexile Level - 400L

Review

Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein

This has been a favorite of mine since I was a young child, and my 3rd grade teacher introduced this book to me. This book is a series of short poem that are creative, engaging, and whimsical that grasp the attention of students. This entire book does a great job of introducing poetry to children in a fun and exciting way.  I would use this book as an exercise for students to write their own creative poem, and a discussion about how poetry can be about anything just like the poems in the book.  

Reading Level K-6

Lexile Level - NA

Review

The Story of Ferdinand - Robert Lawson, Munro Leaf

The story of Ferdinand is a classic tale about a little bull who does not exactly fit in with the other bulls. While the other bulls like to kick and butt heads, Ferdinand would rather lay in the shade and sniff the flowers. At the end of the story, Ferdinand realizes that he is happy with who he is and embraces it. This is an important lesson to teach students and this book does a great job of teaching the lesson of being yourself. I would use this book as a prompt for a creative writing assignment to talk about what makes them unique. This book could also start a great discussion session. 

The reading level is K-2

Lexile Level - 830L

Review

Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak

This has been one of my favorite books since I was a young girl, and it still is today. This book ignites the creativity of children by enjoying reading in an imaginary world. Going along with the story, I would get the students to make a monster of their own with construction paper, colorful string, and more. I think this book is ideal for Kindergarten - 3rd grade, and is Lexile Level is 740 L. 

Review

Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? - Brian P. Cleary, Jenya Prosmitsky

This book is a creative, colorful, and exciting way to to introduce adjectives to students by whimsical illustrations and funny sentences. I would use this in my classroom to introduce the idea of adjectives in sentences, and then guide the students to make sentences using adjectives and to circle them. I would use this for many elementary ages, but is ideal for 2nd grade. This book is Lexile Level NP. Great for usage in the classroom. 

Review

The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein

The Giving Tree tells the story of a boy and a tree that grow old together, but as the boy grows older he becomes more needy and the tree gives him more and more. Eventually all the tree can give is a stump, but that is what the boy needs in the end. This book could be used in the classroom to begin discussion about what we should be more grateful for. I think this book is great for all elementary levels and is Lexile Level - 530. Great read for the classroom.