Real Princesses Read

This is another book that I haven't read yet, but it is highly recommended for upper elementary school grades. The story about a young man and his fight for survival in the wilderness is another inspirational tale that will uplift students. I would use this book in a fourth grade classroom and I would have students map out the area where the main character, Brian, is lost. Students would listen to the description the author gives readers about where Brian is located and they could draw a map of what they think it looks like. The class could also do a sort of compare and contrast of how Brian changes throughout the story.  

These books would be a great and wide selection of stories for second grade teachers to keep in their classrooms. They are great for introducing chapter books into students' lives, the vocabulary used in the stories isn't difficult for most children to understand, and each book involves a lot of fun and exciting adventures! I read many of these books growing up and I think the reason I loved them so much is because of the exotic and new places the main characters traveled in each story. Having the same main characters in each book made me as a reader feel connected, but the adventures made the stories intriguing and new each time. These books could be used for many different options in literacy centers. Selecting unfamiliar words from the text, pretending to be the author and changing a major point of the story, or illustrating different parts of the story themselves are just a few ideas that can be used!  

Even though I have never read this book personally, most everyone I have spoken to about this story loves it and says it is a great pick for children's literature. With its colorful and beautiful illustrations, this book would be a wonderful story to share with a class of Kindergarteners. This tale is about a boy named Max, who is in trouble for misbehaving so he goes to a pretend land full of wild creatures where he gets to be in charge. Teachers could have students create their own illustrations for the book or maybe even hold a class discussion where students can put themselves in Max's shoes and talk about what they would do if they were him. With this being such a popular book, there are numerous activities and lesson ideas teachers could use to teach about the text to students.

Any and all Ramona Quimby books would be, in my opinion, a huge benefit for teachers to share with their class. After having the Ramona books read to me growing up, I think these books would be most suitable for a second grade classroom. Beverly Cleary does a wonderful job of introducing readers to a very real and very funny young girl named Ramona Quimby. We as readers learn about her life as she goes to school, becomes a big sister, and figures out how to handle everything that life throws her way with her own Ramona flair, of course. This would be a great book for whole group and the teacher could very easily ask students to answer comprehension questions aloud or in their journals once the section of the day has been read. Children will love the funny things Ramona says and does and her "realness" will make her easily relatable to all students!

Another great book for a fifth grade class, this story of a girl's isolation and strife living alone on an island is simply amazing! A book about survival, isolation, and patience would be a really wonderful text for a class to dive into and discuss. I think a fifth grade teacher could have students divide into small groups to talk about the story and journal about how they would react/feel if they were left alone on an island and had to work for survival. The teacher could give students specific prompts on what to write or certain passages to focus on in their journals about the story. A tale that will really inspire students, this story is great for discussing, writing, and inspiring!

Shel Silverstein's book of poetry is silly, fun, and a wonderful resource for teacher's to use when teaching or introducing poetry to students! This would be a great text to use as a literacy center in a third grade classroom! Teachers could choose one or a few poems from the book, cover up the picture, have students read the poem, and then they could illustrate what they think the poem's picture should look like. Teachers could also do the opposite by covering up the poem, only showing students the illustration, and have them write a poem based on only the illustration. The possibilities with this book are endless!  

Being raised by her special needs mother and her shut in neighbor, Heidi decides to finally learn about her family and her mom's life before she was born. This story of self discovery and yearning to know about the family Heidi never knew is wonderfully inspirational and beautiful. This story would be a great whole group book for a fifth grade classroom! Having a story with a special needs character could open the floor for great discussion within the class and could also be a wonderful opportunity for students to write about how they feel about the author's choice of a special needs mother in the text. This could really open the door to clear up misconceptions about people with disabilities and give students a new perspective on those with them. Another book that you will want to read over and over again, it is a phenomenal story!

This book has been an absolute favorite of mine for over ten years! The story of a young girl as she travels with her grandparents to visit her mother may sound less than exciting, but this book will completely draw you in from the very first chapter and you will want to read it again and again once you've finished it! "Walk Two Moons" will break your heart, make you smile, make you feel connected to the main character, and will change the way you think about your family and what it means to truly love someone. I think this would be an amazing book to read in a whole group setting for a fifth grade classroom. Students could make predictions about the story, write about how they connect to the story personally, and discuss how they would change the ending and why they would do so. This is a great read and I hope everyone has a chance to read it at one point in their life! 

Pete the Cat books are great with their nice sing-song rhythm and wonderful illustrations! These books would be wonderful to implement into a first grade classroom because of their interactive little songs everyone in the class could sing along with and there are multiple opportunities for the teacher to ask students to predict what might happen next in the book. There are also numerous Pete the Cat read along/sing along videos available on YouTube for educators to use as an option when reading these books as well. After reading these books, everyone will fall in love with Pete and will be singing his funky songs all day long!