Where’s the Baboon? by Michael Escoffier

Escoffier, Michael. Where’s the Baboon? Brooklyn: Enchanted Lion Books, 2015.

This is a fun book that’s filled with questions that students can answer by finding hidden words! It will help your students learn to read and spell certain words while they laugh at the many funny pictures of fictional animals doing human activities!

Teachers can use this book to help kids find consonants and vowels, and to help them sound out words. Your students will really like it! 

By guest bloggers Natalia and Sydney, 4 Chaddock

Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! by Todd Tarpley

Tarpley, Todd. Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2015.

This book is about a boy who has three robots who won't go to sleep. Why won’t they go to sleep? What will the boy do?

This is a good book for teaching students how to read rhyming words and how to read with expression. It is also great for teaching that it’s important to get sleep. Your students will love this funny story!

By guest bloggers Lucas and Abdullah, 4 Chaddock

That’s (Not) Mine by Anna Kang

Kang, Anna. That’s (Not) Mine. New York: Two Lions, 2015. 32p.

In this book, two animals are fighting over a couple of things like a big chair and a swivel chair. These animals are funny and have a way of doing something that they agree on, then disagreeing all over again. Finally... Read to find out!

We recommend this book for kindergartners and first graders. They will love the story because it will make them laugh. Teachers can use this book to help their students learn how to share and cooperate.

By: Guest bloggers Sarah and Noah, 4 Chaddock

Zero by Kathryn Otoshi

Otoshi, Kathryn. Zero. Novato: Ko Kids Books, 2010. 32p.

This fun, playful book is about the number zero. He has a big hole right in the center of him! He is sad, and he feels left out because he thinks he has no value. He tries twisting and turning into other numbers, but it does not work. He has to watch the numbers count every day and it makes him feel even more depressed. Will he find his own value, or will he stay the same?!

This book would be good for kindergarten through first grade. It teaches kids math and place value in a fun way! It also teaches kids character education and shows that everybody matters, even if you feel you are different. The creative rhyming in this book will teach kids how to write poetry. 

                                                   

By guest bloggers Olivia and Katrina, 4 Chaddock

If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t! by Elise Parsley

Parsley, Elise. If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t! New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2015.

This funny book is about a girl, Magnolia, who brings an alligator to school for show and tell and lots of things do not go as planned. The alligator draws pictures of himself eating a kid and shows it to someone. He makes lots of origami too. Magnolia learns a valuable lesson that day!

This is a perfect book for teaching your students how to read with expression! You could use it to teach them how to write with proper punctuation too. It would be great for persuasive writing! This book would never get old to use during your animal units! 

By guest bloggers Jake and Parker, 4 Chaddock

Earmuffs for Everyone!: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs by Meghan McCarthy

McCarthy, Meghan. Earmuffs for Everyone!: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015. 48p.

This interesting book is all about how earmuffs were made. It includes a lot of diagrams of different earmuffs throughout history. Readers will learn that Chester Greenwood did not invent earmuffs, but that he made them way better! 

This is a great book for nonfiction units and for learning about inventions in science. Students will also learn about patents and how important they are!  

By guest bloggers Harrison and Mohamed, 4 Chaddock

Love Monster and the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright

Bright, Rachel. Love Monster and the Last Chocolate. Guangdong: RR Donnelley, 2015. 32p.

Love Monster receives a delicious-looking box of chocolate from a mystery sender. Monsters love chocolate, especially Love Monster. He is debating whether or not to share the chocolate with all his friends. What if there wasn’t a chocolate left for him?! Will he keep the box of chocolates, or will he share it after all?

This highly-enjoyable book is great for learning to read with expression! You can also use this book for teaching students how to be kind to others and how to include everyone. This is perfect for a read-aloud or for students to read on their own!

By guest bloggers Devon and Maura, 4 Chaddock

Frog on a Log? by Kes Gray

Gray, Kes. Frog on a Log? New York: Scholastic Press, 2014. 32p.

In this humorous rhyming book, a frog does not want to sit on a log. A cat disagrees with him. The frog learns what each animal sits on, but he is most surprised to find out where the dog sits!

This book would help kids learn how to rhyme in a fun way. It would also help them learn that it is always okay to be curious about other things!

 

By guest bloggers Riyyan and Cooper

I’m My Own Dog by David Stein

Stein, David. I’m My Own Dog. Somerville: Candlewick Press, 2014. 32p.

In this book, a little dog is prideful and he thinks he can live without anyone. But there is something he notices that he can’t do all by himself. He is still prideful and acts like a boss, but something about him changes!

This is a highly recommended book for kids with a love of animals. It is a hilarious book for teacher read-alouds in kindergarten through first grade. It’s also great for teaching kids how to use punctuation as they read and write. It will give your students good writing ideas for their own stories too!   

By guest bloggers Carter and David, 4 Chaddock

Waiting by Kevin Henkes

Henkes, Kevin. Waiting. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2015. 32p.

In beautifully soft watercolor and colored pencil illustrations, Kevin Henkes portrays the daily lives of five toys that sit on a windowsill, watching the outside world. Each toy is waiting for something as the year progresses, and a new toy brings her own surprises when she joins the irresistible crew. 

Children who love the Toy Story franchise or who have grand imaginations will enjoy this quiet but memorable picture book offering! 

R is for Rocket: An ABC Book by Tad Hills

Hills, Tad. R is for Rocket: An ABC Book. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2015. 32p.

Rocket is back, along with Goose and a few of Tad Hills' other beloved characters! In this book, Rocket and his friends explore the world, embarking on various adventures for each letter of the alphabet. This new arrival is sure to please young fans of the series while serving as a fun addition to alphabet units!

  

Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton

Haughton, Chris. Shh! We Have a Plan. Somerville: Candlewick, 2014. 40p.

Winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award for promising new children's book authors and illustrators, Chris Haughton has created a delightfully silly book for emerging readers! 

In this book, four characters creep through the forest trying to catch creatures in a net. The smallest character, who is friendly with the creatures, is always being shushed by the bigger three, who "have a plan." As the plan fails time after time, readers will giggle while rooting for the smallest, but smartest, protagonist! 

Pig Is Big on Books by Douglas Florian

Florian, Douglas. Pig Is Big on Books. New York: Holiday House, 2015. 24p.

Pig is big on books. He reads every day, everywhere. When he cannot find any books one day, he devises a clever plan to solve the problem!

This brief book, featuring one sentence on most double-page spreads, will give beginning readers confidence. It could also serve as a mentor text for writing personal narratives and as an example of author's craft (using the same sentence as a story lead and conclusion).  

The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt

Daywalt, Drew. The Day the Crayons Came Home. New York: Philomel Books, 2015. 48 p.

In this highly anticipated sequel to The Day the Crayons Quit, Duncan receives postcards from the crayons that he has abandoned in various locations. This hilarious book, great for read-alouds and independent reading, is perfect for teaching the skill of inferring (as much of the humor comes from readers' inferences). It will also make an outstanding mentor text for teaching writing from someone or something else's perspective.   

Monster Needs Your Vote by Paul Czajak

Czajak, Paul. Monster Needs Your Vote. Minneapolis: Mighty Media Kids, 2015. 32 p.

In this wonderful, brief introduction to presidential elections, persistent Monster changes his campaign platform a few times until he learns how to make a meaningful difference. 

Austin, Lost in America: A Geography Adventure by Jef Czekaj

Czekaj, Jef. Austin, Lost in America: A Geography Adventure. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2015. 40 p.

Austin the dog, having recently escaped from a pet store, searches for a new home while exploring the United States. Fun, quirky facts about each state, a list of states and capitals, and U.S. maps on the endpapers make this an engaging, informative choice for geography units!

Hug Machine by Scott Campbell

Campbell, Scott. Hug Machine. New York: Atheneum Books, 2014. 40p.

A young boy serves as a human hug machine, improving the lives of those around him and refueling with pizza when necessary. When the hug machine grows exhausted at the end of a long day though, what will he need?

Repetition of many words and phrases makes this sweet book a rewarding choice for students learning to read!

Tap to Play! by Salina Yoon

Yoon, Salina. Tap To Play. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2014. 40p.

Blip needs to get to a number bar and win a game. If he wins, he will get a surprise- but he needs your assistance. Students can shake, tip, talk to, and tickle Blip and can make him grow to win.

This is a great book for teaching counting backwards from five to one. It's also a good book for teaching kids to read with expression and to use punctuation in their own writing.

By: Guest bloggers Jack V. and Michael, 4 Chaddock

Circle, Square, Moose by Kelly Bingham

Bingham, Kelly. Circle, Square, Moose. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2014. 48p.

In this hilarious book of shapes, a moose keeps trying to ruin the shape lessons. When the moose causes trouble and starts a big mess, a zebra tries to catch him. When the moose ruins the book even more, something very funny happens!  

Throughout this book, there are colors, animals, shapes and food. This is a fun rhyming book, and it is great for art and math because it teaches shapes!

By: Guest bloggers Cody and Jack K., 4 Chaddock

Uni the Unicorn: A Story About Believing by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Rosenthal, Amy. Uni the Unicorn: A Story About Believing. New York: Random House Children's Books, 2014. 48p.

Uni the Unicorn is like all unicorns except for one thing...  She believes in little girls. She knows there's a little girl somewhere out there. Not far away, there is a little girl who believes in unicorns. Will they ever meet? Or will their dreams be crushed?

We think this would be a good book for teaching students to avoid bullying by not judging people by their beliefs and by liking people for who they are! It is also great for giving students writing ideas and inspiration. Finally, it's a book with amazing illustrations!!!

By: Guest bloggers Alora and Ruthie, 4 Chaddock