New reads for the classroom!

I have always had an obsession with books. Even with all this technology, I love nothing more than to curl up with an actual book in my hands.  Don't even get me started on book stores!  I could get lost for days!

I had some extra time before tutoring sessions today (that doesn't happen very often with a 2 year old!) so I stopped at Kohls (by myself!!  That also doesn't happen very often!!). As I was checking out, I saw two books on their display for the Kohls Care campaign. If you're not familiar, Kohls donates 100% of the net profit to help support health and education initiatives for kids. Pretty cool in my book!

Anyway, I picked up two books. A Sick Day of Amos McGee and If You Want to See a Whale.

A Sick Day of Amos McGee is written by Philip C. Stead. It's an adorable story about a man who works for the city zoo. He does specific things for each animal to ensure that they are happy. He wakes up sick one day, so the animals come to him and essentially return the favor. They each do something to help Amos. It's such a sweet story that I think is perfect for sharing with young readers.

In the beginning of the year, I spend a lot of time creating my classroom community. We spend each day reading books and connecting it back to how we want our classroom to look and feel. This is such a great story for how to treat others, not just for the fact of being nice, but to know that your actions will affect how others will treat you, even on your not so best days. I'm thinking of tying in character traits with this. We could also create our own character based on our favorite traits and include this in a writing piece. Nothing like having reading and writing coming together full circle!!

If You Want To See A Whale is written by Julie Fogliano. In this story, a little boy explains what you need to do in order to see a whale. On each page, he describes something else that you may see, but reminds you not to get too caught up or you will miss the whale.

This whole concept makes me think of goals. You want to set a goal, but there are going to be a ton of distractions.  If it's important enough to you, you have to keep your eye on the prize!  You may need to pay slight attention to the distractions, so you don't miss what's going on around you, but you want to keep the ultimate goal in mind. This seems like such a fun book to just relax and listen to. I see myself walking my cuties through this one. It gives me a perfect opportunity to model 'thinking while reading', while giving them opportunities to 'think, pair, share' with a buddy.

So get out there and pick up these books!  I think they will be a valuable addition to your classroom library! Feel free to comment and share how you would use these two books in your classroom!