Poetry. Published 2007. This is a cute book that contains over 60 different poems from various writers. This is a great book to use for any part of the day, or even when you have 5 extra minutes to read a poem to a class.

“Growing up I was small for my age. I was sick a lot too, since we didn't have money for a doctor. But that didn't mean I was weak.“

I have used these books in my previous student teaching classroom with fourth graders when teaching them about non-fiction biography texts. The children loved these books and thought they were so cool. I'd love to use these again!

Biography series. Published 2014. This “I Am“ series is a great series of biographies for children about many famous, influential people from the past that have made an impact on today's world. I remember these books from when I was in grade school and I still see them in classrooms today. These are great for learning how to read biographies and teaching the structure of biographies!

“See there's a monster in my closet. With claws and teeth and hair and tonight i'm going to scare. Him he lives just right through there i spot my monster right away he's practicing his roar.“

This is a wonderful story for any teacher to use as a social-emotional learning read aloud to teach children how to overcome stress, fear, and anxiety and that things aren't always as scary as we think they may be.

Speculative fiction. Published 2017. This book is a super humorous story about a brave young ninja who needs to figure out how to catch the monster in his closet. The underlying message from this story is how to overcome stress, fear, and anxiety. This is a great read for a whole class read aloud in younger grades. I love this story!

“My heart skips a beat as I put on a dress and I look at my Dad who is anxious and stressed.“

I would love to use this for any grade but specifically K-2 to teach children self-love and self-acceptance from a very young age so they grow up with the skills and knowledge on how to be confident in themselves.

Speculative fiction. Published 2021. This is a newer rhyming story that “touches on the subjects of gender identity, self acceptance, equality and diversity.“ The story is based on the author as a little boy. The pink shadow represents the little parts of people that they feel like they need to hide from others but it always follows us around because it is part of us. This story teaches readers that we should be proud of ourselves.

“There's room on my broom for you.“

This would be a great Halloween book to have in the classroom for younger children to read. I would love to put it on a spotlight/seasonal bookshelf in my classroom and read it to the whole class as well!

Speculative fiction. Published 2003. This is a cute story about a witch who flies through the sky on her broomstick until the wind picks up and blows away all of her things. Three animals help her find her items and run into many other problems down the road. This story is built around problem and solution and cause and effect. It is a great silly read especially around Halloween time.

“Brian looks at the floor, wishing he could draw a hole right there to swallow him up.“

I would like to read this book to any grades 1-4 to show them that they can find their own shine in the world and make them feel more comfortable in my classroom.

Speculative fiction. Published 2013. This is a picture book that tells the story about a boy who is “invisible“ and is never noticed at school and never included in anything. A new boy comes to school and the invisible boy is finally noticed. They team up together for a class project and the invisible finally finds his way to shine. This would be a great read for any child who does not feel confident in the classroom to help them find their shine.

“Did you ever notice you always attack monsters with sticks? You need to start carrying a bazooka in that backpack of yours,” Emmet complained.

I love that this series is set in the Florida Everglades because I just visited there a few months ago and it was so cool to see all of the wildlife. I think this would be a great series to have in any classroom for grades 3-6.

Speculative fiction. First book of series was published in 2013. This series is set in the Florida Everglades where the main character, Emmet, and his dad, a wildlife biologist, moved to for the dad's work. Emmet's dad finds strange creatures in the park and soon find out that they are not natural creatures. This is a great series for children who love science and nature, and sci-fi!

“You Will Not Leave These Halls As You Entered Them.“

This series would be great in any 4-6 grade classroom for children who love Star Wars and want a fun spin on it!

Speculative fiction. Published 2013. This is another sci-fi series based on the original Star Wars stories/movies, but is set in a middle school called “Jedi Academy“. It shows readers the awkwardness and humor of middle school in real life and uses all of the original characters and setting from Star Wars. This would be a great read for younger children who love Star Wars but are not advanced enough yet to read the more advanced Star Wars books.

“And Mr. Cuddles. . .
My stuffed Minecraft pig.” (book 16)

“Chocoslimebuttlivertoecheeseearwaxpusfillednosehairbunionscab” (book 12)

I would love to have this series in my classroom library since I know how much children love Minecraft I could incorporate their likes and interests into my classroom to keep them engaged and foster their love for reading.

Speculative fiction. Published in 2015. This is a great series for children who love videos and are familiar with the game Minecraft. I can already see this series being a hit in any classroom with any age of young children because of how popular this game is and how many children love it!

“Jump, Robot, jump!“ “Now stomp, Robot, stomp!“ There are great verbs like these that are mentioned throughout the book.

This would be a great independent reading series for children in grades preK-3.

Speculative fiction. First book of the series was published in 2000. This is a great speculative fiction series for children to read. This story is about a boy, Ricky, and his best friend a robot. Having a big friend like that comes with a lot of responsibilities for Ricky and they are late to dinner again so they get consequences from Ricky's parents. They then find themselves sending bad guys back into space and saving the day.

“I am One. I value my uniqueness. If there were more like me I would hope they were small and easy to destroy.”

This would be a great book to have in my classroom library for independent readers who like mysterious books with a little sci-fi.

Speculative fiction. Published 2011. This is a story about a girl, Zita, and aliens that abducted her best friend. Zita finds herself on another planet when trying to save her best friends. This is a very fun, exciting, and mysterious book for children in grades 3-6.

“But because of this the mosquito has a guilty conscience. To this day she goes about whining in people‘s ears. ‘Zeee! Is everyone still angry at me?‘ When she does that, she gets an honest answer.”

I have never read this book before but once I read it I loved it and would love to have in my classroom for a silly little tale.

Traditional literature. Published 1975. This is a West African tale that tells the myth of why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears. The story is told through the animals who explain the sequence of events. It follows a typical traditional literature format. This book also won a Caldecott Award in 1976 for its “vivid watercolors and airbrush“ in the illustrations. This is a great silly tale that I could definitely see using in my classroom.

Traditional literature. Published 1975. This is a classic West African Tale This book was also won a Caldecott award in 1976 for the vivid watercolors and airbrush illustrations. The animals explain the sequence of events of mosquitoes and they said that they buzz in people‘s ears bc they‘re asking the people if they‘re mad at them.

“A dream is a wish your heart makes”

This was my favorite princess story growing up and i would love to be able to read this to my students along with many variations!

Traditional literature. Published 1995. This is the classic fairy tale of Cinderella who loses her glass slipper. I love the original folk tale of this story but there are also so many variations out today that are so much fun for many children.

“I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.”

This book can be heavy and emotional but it teaches such great lessons and could even be used in guided reading groups.

Graphic novel. Published 2012. This is a book that is now a movie as well. I remember seeing it in my classrooms when I was in school and my peers really loved it. It‘s about a kid who has a severe facial difference and has not attended a school until he starts 5th grade and wants to be treated like any other normal kid. There‘s a lot of lessons that can be learned from this read!

I have read this book with my PDS classes before and I always ask probing questions throughout the story and afterwards and I‘m always blown away by the wonderful things my students come up with.

Picture book. Published 2018. This is a great read that is very common in many classrooms today. It teaches children the importance of loving yourself while also respecting others and treating others with kindness. Self-esteem is a huge issue for many children and it‘s important to me to teach them how they can love themselves from a young age to carry in with them.

This is a great picture book to teach children the importance of the “issues of personal identity, conformity, and the value of friendship”. There are also many extension activities you could do in the classroom with this book.

Picture book. Published 2000. This was one of my favorite books to read growing up!! It tells the story about a chameleon who doesn‘t look like the others and hides away. He finally finds someone else who changes the way he does and they travel on through life together. This is an amazing picture book and I need it for my classroom!

There are many different variations of the original book that I would love to incorporate into my classroom.

Picture Book. Published 1968. This is another amazing classic children‘s picture book that I read growing up. This is a great read and was also mentioned as one of the “Teachers Top 100 Books for Children”. One of my favorite books of all time!