I Yam A Donkey is a cute book about misunderstandings and meaning. The yam is trying to teach the donkey the proper way to say that he is a donkey. This book has great content for teaching phonemes. This book would definitely be used for the lower levels of elementary, but I think it would definitely be a hit! #UCFLAE3414SP20

I was very excited to read this book because it was a Caldecott winner, however after reading it I‘m surprised it was even nominated. I thought the book was lacking a lot. The moral of the story was the best part, but I would never use this content in my class. I was disappointed, unfortunately. #UCF3414SP20

This Newberry award winner will win over your heart. Opal was abandoned by her mother and is now living in Florida with her father. She finds a hyper dog and befriends him right away. The two meet very interesting people throughout the town and realize the value of a community. This is an absolutely wonderful book! Loved it! #UCFLAE3414SP20

This book is a classic! It covers so many topics on behavior and educate. Students may also find that they relate to David or they know someone who acts like David. This story is a fun read aloud that can be used talk about behavior expectations in the classroom. #UCFLAE3414SP20

I was SO excited when I finally found poetry written about diversity and something that many students should learn at an early age. The famous question of “can I touch your hair” gets asked to many black children all the time. This book addresses differences between people and shows us the importance of diversity and acceptance. Absolutely loved this book! #UCFLAE3414SP20

My mom was a teacher and she always loved reading this book to her kids on the first day of class. It taught them respect for their teacher and was also a lighthearted story/joke. This book reminds me of many other classic stories as well. I think kids will be able to use text to world connections when they finish reading it.

This book should be taught in every school, in my opinion! It demonstrates the impact a teacher can make, but it also shows kids that they can do anything if someone believes in them. The concept of thinking you‘re awful at something then having one person come along and complimenting you, changing your entire mindset is a phenomenal message. #UCFLAE3414SP20

Camilla Cream loves lima beans! Her friends, however, do not. When she starts to receive judgement about liking them, she decides to no longer eat them. Suddenly, she wakes up with thick colorful stripes on her body! What could possibly cure this?!? This book is great to teach kids about inclusion and acceptance. It also highlights that being different is okay because that‘s what makes you, you! #UCFLAE3414SP20

This very special house was built out of love care in an area where it was able to see everything going on. Suddenly, there‘s one change followed by another and then another. Before long the house is sad and doesn‘t hardly recognize where it is. Soon something big happens that changes the house‘s life forever. This book is great to teach about change and adaptation. It can also be used to teach about innovation.

Harold and the Purple Crayon takes readers through a journey of a toddler who‘s magically using this purple crayon to create and draw stuff. This leads him through many adventures! I actually remember this book being read to me many many many years ago by a teacher who then challenged us to draw with a purple crayon. I think teachers could even take it a step further and have students close their eyes and draw the imagery that comes to mind!

A Christmas classic! This Caldecott winner takes readers through an incredible journey on Christmas Eve. Readers follow a boy, who struggles believing in Santa Clause, all the way to the North Pole where he discovers Santa‘s workshop. This fun to read story captures the imagination of children and presents one main question... Do you have to see in order to believe?

This book is very near and dear to my heart and will be the book I use for my read aloud. The Little Critter series continues when he meets Alex, a critter in a wheelchair. Many of the students are Nervous because they have never seen someone in a wheelchair before. Throughout this book they find that there are actually way more things they have in common than what makes them different! #UCFLAE3414SP20

This picture shows The Lucky Lottery with my not-so-lucky lottery ticket. This book follows 3 friends Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose on their investigation when someone steals a winnings lottery ticket from Lucky O‘Leary‘s home. They‘re racing against the clock because if they don‘t find it in time, Lucky won‘t be able to claim the prize. This book is great for students who are fans of the series and want to read more about Jack, Ruby Rose, and Dink.

This novel takes place in 1963, AKA a turning point in American history. The civil rights movement was sweeping the nation, especially in the south. This book follows The Watson‘s on their road trip to the south to visit their grandmother. The family encounters exactly what you might expect, but what the lesson they leave with is more powerful. #UCFLAE3414SP20

If you are an upper elementary school teacher in south Florida, this book is for you! Merci is entering into middle school with a rocky home and friend life. She‘s going through the awkward phase that every middle schooler encounters, but she has even more stress added on compared to her classmates. Taking place in south Florida, this book covers a lot of good content that students should be exposed to before their transition to middle school.

Wonder is wonderful book about social acceptance and judgement. I think this book is a must read for all students in the upper elementary levels. Auggie is born with a facial deformity and has never attended public school. His parents think that 7th grade is the perfect time to send him to school because everyone is facing the new environment together. This book follows Auggie‘s journey of self confidence and friendship.

Dream You‘ll Be is a wonderful picture book that illustrates different occupations. I would use this book as a RA and have a class conversation with lower grade levels about what students want to be when they grow up. This book also uses rhyming so a lesson could be made on that topic.

The 2001 Caldecott winner, So You Want to Be President demonstrates what it is like to have one of the most glorified jobs in America. It highlights all of the benefits such as living in a big fancy White House, but it also talks about the negatives such as how stressful the job truly is. I think this book would be amazing to connect to a history lesson about elections and past presidents.

The book Big Words for Little People is a wonderful book that exposes students to new and bigger words. This book is perfect for a teacher who wants to begin a word wall or for students to practice defying vocabulary terms. The Universal Design for this book would be (2.1) Clarifying vocabulary and symbols.