This MF work of literary art was a large part of my children as well as many children across the world. The Harry Potter series is centered around a young orphan boy who finds out he is a wizard on his 11th birthday. He is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and off he goes, he meets his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, and he has many perilous adventures. Harry was scarred by the evil Lord Voldemort at 18 months

This B Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Winner is a beautifully told story of MLK Jr's life. This book is centered around words and showcases the power of words in a time of racism and oppression. This book recounts MLK's accomplishments and his work in a simple way for children to understand. I would utilize this book as a GR so that I could help the students with difficult vocabulary and help guide their discussions of the book. #UCFLAE3414SP20

This HF Young Reader's Choice Award and Newbery Honor Winner is a tale about a family man, Mr. Popper. One day, while the family is listening to the radio, they hear from a mysterious adventurer who promises them a surprise. Soon they receive a penguin and name him Captain Cook. Captain Cook's health begins to fail so they get him a companion, a female penguin named Greta. Not long after the couple has 10 baby penguins and a lot of mouths to feed.

This P ALA Notable Children's Book Winner is full of creativity and imagination. This book consists of various characters and poems, each of them being a story of their own. In addition to poems, there are many illustrations that would be enjoyable for readers of all ages. This book is perfect for an RA, as the teacher could read a couple pages a day to her class and do an activity (depending on time allowance). #UCFLAE3414SP20

This F Caldecott winner is a classic that I remember from Elementary school. Strega Nona (which means Grandma Witch) is a woman who uses potions and her “magic touch“ to help the people in her town in Calabria. Big Anthony is Strega Nona's assistant and although he means well, his inability to pay attention gets him into a huge mess. He breaks her one rule and touches the pasta pot, resulting in a gigantic pasta mess that only Strega Nona can fix.

This SF New York Times Best Seller is first in the Hunger Games series which is set in a dystopian society in North America that consists of 12 districts. Every year, children from each district are pulled from a lottery to compete in a grudge match to the death called the Hunger Games. The book follows Katniss Everdeen who volunteers to compete in the games in order to save her sister. This book is truly captivating from cover to cover.

This SF book is about a society that has removed colors, emotions, and memories from the lives of their people in order to achieve “sameness“ or total equality. The story follows a boy named Jonas who is chosen to store the memories of the past before “sameness“. Jonas's journey from that point on is truly enthralling to the reader as he encounters the truth about his society, many new emotions, and so much more. AMAZING book for upper elementary!

This NF book is sure to grab students' attention with its title “Do Whales Have Belly Buttons?“ Personally, I was intrigued by the title, so I'm sure students will wonder even more. This book is full of great information about dolphins and whales in the format of questions and answers, which is perfect for a PR. One student will read the question while the other will read the answers, and they can switch off throughout the book. #UCFLAE3414SP20

This B picture book encourages the reader to have high ambitions for their life by detailing all of the women who have made history. From Gyo Fujiikawa to Marie Curie to Frida Kahlo these women achieved their dreams, no matter what. I found this book to be very inspiring as these women came from all walks of life and achieved their perspective dream despite the odds. An AS would be appropriate as Vashti Harrison has books similar to this one that

This HF book utilizes humor and assigns quirky traits for each founding father, telling their story with a twist. John Hancock is bold (his large signature on the Declaration of Independence), Paul Revere is loud (his memorable “The British are coming“), George Washington is honest (the cherry tree incident), Benjamin Franklin is clever (his inventions/wittiness), and Thomas Jefferson is independent (he loved to write about liberty). The humor

In this P picture book, you follow the big and tough construction vehicles one by one as they go through a hard day's work and then fall asleep at night. The book itself rhymes and contains personification, as the vehicles are humanlike. This book is absolutely adorable and so great for learning about what goes on at a construction site. This book would be an excellent RT, as students can take on roles as the different trucks and act it out.

This RF book is told from the perspective of an artistic silverback gorilla who lives in captivity in a mall alongside his friends Bob the stray mall dog, Stella the wise and caring elephant, and Ruby the baby elephant. He forges lifelong friendships in the mall with animals and humans alike, but when change starts to take over the mall, uncertainty clouds their future. This book is amazing and a must-read, it truly speaks for the power of love!

This HF Scott O'Dell, Newberry, Coretta Scott King, and National Book Finalist is an amazing read. This book is about 3 sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern who travel across the country to visit their estranged mother in Oakland California in the summer of 1968. They have high expectations for their mother, who they soon realize wants nothing to do with them. Through the highs and lows, the girls learn more about their mother and the past.

This HF Caldecott winner is 533 pages long with 284 of those pages being pictures. I read this book for the first time in 5th grade and I fell in love with it, I still have it to this day. This story is set in the 1930s and centered around a young boy named Hugo who strives to repair an automaton (wind up mechanical figure). Hugo is struck by tragedy and setbacks, but he meets many people that shape his future along the way.

In this F book Doctor De Soto, an intelligent and superb dentist, works on patients of all sizes with the help of his wife. Although he has a strict policy to not treat animals dangerous to mice, he decides to help a Fox with a toothache. Doctor De Soto and his wife must outfox this sneaky fox, and the ending is truly a laughing feat! This Newberry winner would be an excellent IR for students that could be paired with an activity. #UCFLAE3414SP20

In this RF book titled Hair Love, a little girl named Zuri loves her hair and is very proud of it. Zuri and her father struggle to style her hair on a very special day, as her hair has a mind of its own. However the love and promise of a father can overcome any challenge, and he gives Zuri a beautiful hairstyle right before their special visitor arrives. This book is a New York Times Bestseller and it is absolutely heartwarming!
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Lulu is a Rhinoceros is a great book about acceptance and identity. Lulu is a bulldog on the outside but sees herself as a rhinoceros in the mirror and she wishes more than anything that people would see her for her true identity. She goes through many trials in the book to acquire a horn so that people will finally see her as she truly is: a rhinoceros. This is a great F book for GR due to its difficult verbiage and font.
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The Snowy Day is a RF that perfectly encapsulates childhood. As Peter goes through his snow day he encounters snow mountains and creates snowman. This Caldecott Winner captures the simplicity of childhood while also showcasing the amazing imagination that children possess. This picture book is excellent for a RA, as teachers could truly make it come alive with their voice and facilitate text to self connections. #UCFLAE3414SP20

This RF, picture book is absolutely perfect for a RA and would be excellent in any classroom library.

The publisher has a helpful teaching guide under “resources”.
https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061127595/big-words-for-little-people/

This resource meets UDL 2.1 clarify vocabulary words and symbols, and EL 11 place language in meaningful context. Children are learning the definitions of each new word in context in the book. #UCFLAE3414SP20