I have compiled my top 10 favorite books that I read aloud to classes in the year 2017. These books were not necessarily published in 2017, but they were books I chose to read aloud during the year 2017 to my students.
***These are in no particular order.***
La Princesa and the Pea
One of my favorite fairy tales from when I was little was The Princess and the Pea. This is a latino take on the original story. The author incorporates Spanish words into the story, so it was really fun to read with our bilingual class. They enjoyed telling me when I said the word wrong and praising me if I said it correct the first time.The rhyming text makes it fun for a read aloud, and the illustrations are gorgeous! This is perfect for multicultural, fractured fairy tales, and trickster tales!
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| Elyn, Susan Middleton. La Princessa and the Pea. G. P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2017. |
We Found a Hat
I love Jon Klassen's Hat trilogy, but it is dry humor and not everyone appreciates it. For example, the first of the triloly, I WANT MY HAT BACK, is not something that I would read to my kinders. I don't think they would understand it. This book, though, was not quite as deep and some of the gifted kinders could understand. My first graders and second graders found it to be hilarious!
Two turtles find a hat. They both want the hat, but there is only one hat. What ever will they do? The ending is so sweet, but the best part is that students have to make inferences to really know what happens.
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| Klassen, Jon. We Found a Hat. Candlewick, 2016. |
The Grumpy Pets
Billy is a grumpy child, so his mom takes him to the pet store to pick out a pet. Billy does not want a cheerful, cute, playful pet. Then, Billy finds the pets in the back of the pet store. These pets are grouchy, and a bit grumpy just like Billy!
This is a great read aloud for younger students. The kids laughed out loud at the faces that Billy made, and then all the antics of the pets in the store. There were quite a few oooohs and awwws at the end of the story, too.
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| Lombardi, Kristine. The Grumpy Pets. Harry N. Abrams, 2016. |
School's First Day of School
I knew I would love this book when I saw that it was illustrated by Christian Robinson. He is one of my absolute favorite children's illustrators.
I read this to kinder and first grade back in September when everyone was back at school. It was especially great for the new kinders and all our new first graders. Everyone is nervous the first week of school, but did anyone ever think about how the school building feels the first day of school? In this story, the main character is the school building, who talks to the janitor each day. The school is really nervous about school starting, but everything turns out great. By the end of the day, the school decides he wants the children to come back.
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| Rex, Adam. School's First Day of School. illustrated by Christian Robinson. Roaring Book Press, 2016. |
Samson in the Snow
Samson, a wooly mammoth, has a dandelion patch, which is his favorite flower because yellow is his favorite color. While tending to his dandelions, Samson meets a red bird. The red bird asks if he can have just 3 dandelions to give to his friend, who loves anything yellow. Samson allows the bird to have the flowers, then begins to dream of what it would be like to have a friend. He wakes up to snow everywhere! On his journey through the blizzrd, he finds the mouse and offers him shelter. Samson finds out the mouse is looking for his friend, that turns out to be the red bird! A beautiful story of friendship and kindness.
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| Stead, Philip C. Samson in the Snow. Roaring Book Press, 2016. |
Good Night Owl
If you do not own any of Greg Pizzoli's picture books, I implore you to buy some for your library this week!! He is a fabulous author, and the kids love his books.
Good Night Owl is about an owl that is just trying to get some sleep. As soon as Owl settles down into his cozy bed, he hears a sound. He knows he will never be able to sleep if he doesn't find the sound. He looks everywhere: cupboards, floorboards, even the walls! While tearing up his house to find the sound, he misses a small mouse-shaped detail.
The best part of the story is the illustrations. Owl's cute pajamas made the kids crack up, and with the mouse hidden on each page we all had a case of the giggles.
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| Pizzoli, Greg. Good Night Owl. Disney-Hyperion, 2016. |
Nugget & Fang: Friends Forever -- Or Snack Time?
Who doesn't love a good book with a shark? How about a shark that is a vegetarian?! My students love shark books, and this book did not disapppoint!
Nugget and Fang are the best of friends, and they love swimming together in the big ocean. Then Nugget has to go to minnow school, where he learns the dangers of sharks. Fang has to prove to Nugget that he can be trusted. He takes desparate and hilarious measures to get Nugget back as a friend.
The illustrations make the book even more hilarious. The text and illustrations also make this a great book for making predictions.
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| Sauer, Tammi. Nugget & Fang: Friends Forever or Snack Time? illustrated by Michael Slack. HMH Books for Young Readers. 2013. |
Alan's Big Scary Teeth
This book was so fun to read aloud, because you can make the different voices for Alan the Alligator and the other animals. The kids love to hear the different voices, it draws them in.
Alan comes from a long line of alligators who are great at being scary. He doesn't know how to do anything else, so he scares the other animals in the jungle with his big scary teeth. What a surprise to find out his big, scary teeth are FALSE, and he loses them one day! What will Alan do now?
My favorite thing about this book is the look of astonishment on the kids' faces when we find out that Alan's teeth are false!
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| Jarvis. Alan's Big Scary Teeth. Candlewick Press, 2016. |
Penguin Problems
Who doesn't love a good picture book with penguins? How about a penguin who doesn't know if he likes being a penguin? His home is too cold, other animals are trying to eat him, everyone looks the same, and the list goes on. The long speech by the walrus was a little much, but if you talk in a funny voice you can keep their attention. The ending is hilarious, and helps teach making inferences.
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| John, Jory. Penguin Problems. illustrated by Lane Smith. Random House Books for Young Readers, 2016. |
The William Hoy Story
I am a huge baseball fan, so I knew I would love this biography about William Hoy, a professional baseball player who struggled because he was deaf. On top of his teammates and other teams shunning him because of his disability, he couldn't hear the umpires. He works to have the umpires use hand signals for the calls. This changed the way the game of baseball was played.
This amazing biography teaches perserverance, and is a great read for any student that loves baseball or biographies.
It was hard to make my top ten choices, because so many great books have been written. What was your favorite picture book you read in 2017?
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