Great+Read+Alouds

Our Top Picks
__Maybe a Bear Ate__ It by Robie Harris - popular with the K crowd.

__Thank You, Mr. Falker__ by Patricia Polacco- Read to 5th grade for orientation. Ties in with persevering (learning to read) and bullying. It's also autobiographical.

__The Library Dragon__ by Carmen Agra Deedy - read to 2nd grade for orientation.

__Read All About It__ by Laura and Jenna Bush- Read aloud to 2nd graders about a boy who doesn't like the library

__One__ by Kathryn Utoshi- great anti-bullying story for 2nd grade and up

__Those Shoes__ by Maribeth Boelts- Jeremy wants the same shoes as the other kids, but his family can't afford them. Good lesson about compassion for older students.

__Best Shorts: Favorite Stories for Sharing__ by Avi- Collection of short stories by various authors. 5 page, avg. stories for teachers to read aloud

__I am the Dog, I am the Cat__ by Donald Hall- Told from 2 different perspectives, great for teaching writing and point of view

__The Mixed-Up Chameleon__ by Eric Carle - Read aloud to K-2. Kids laughed out loud at the chameleon's changes. Each story time, a couple of students said at the end that it was a great story without any prompting.

__What a Treasure__ by Will Hillenbrand - Read to K & 1; about a mole who digs for treasures and finds a twig (which is a treasure for a bird), an acorn (which is a treasure for a squirrel), a shell (which is a treasure for a snail), and finally a another mole, which is a treasure for him. I have a box with these items, as well as items I consider treasures (including a book), which I am happy to lend.

__The Little Old Lady Who Was not Afraid of Anything__ by Linda Williams - Read to 1st, a fun Halloween read where the kids get to make sound effects throughout the story.

__Piggie Pie__ by Margie Palatini - Read to 2nd, used as an introduction to fractured fairy tales. Students enjoyed and laughed many times.

__Chicken Little__ by Ed Emberley - Read to kindergartners, who loved it, and compared it to the version they had heard earlier in the year. Great illustrations! Will read it to 1st, too.

__My Penguin Osbert__ by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel - Read to K and 1st. Nice holiday story about responsibility, good also for comparing the wishes of Joe, the main character, and his penguin Osbert.

__Afghan Dreams- Young Voices of Afghanistan__ by Tony O"Brien and Mike Sullivan This book is a beautiful compilation of stories and photographs of Afghan children. "From street workers to female students in newly formed academies, from children who work in family businesses to pickpockets who steal from visiting photographers, teese are the faces of young Afghans who universally wish for peace in their neighborhoods, in their county, in their lifetimes." Timely book in light of Greg Mortenson's visit.

__Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf__ by Judy Sierra - read to 1st and 2nd. Story presents several folktale characters, and has a cute song sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," which students have enjoyed singing along.

__More Bears__ by Kenn Nesbitt - read to K - 4; about an author writing a story with absolutely no bears in it, until children shout "more bears" (students repeat this throughout the book). Great book!