ALA Children's Book Roundup

At the most recent ALA, I was lucky enough to get to combine my love of teaching, books, and blogging! I received ARCs of some really fantastic children's books I can't wait to use in my Pre-K classroom this coming school year!

This is a really fun read that teaches kids about what it means to be a nocturnal animal, and what it means to find and be a friend. There's some great vocabulary in here that students might not already know, and some great moments of humor as well.

This is a great book to teach kids about the rainforest, and introduce them to poetry. The book contains poetry by the children's poet laureate that is short and fun, and full of information about the rainforest. There is also a section in the back of facts and vocabulary.

I cannot wait to use this book in my classroom! What I especially love about is that it does not label a talkative child as a problem. Rather, it uses a clever story to show children the importance of being a good listener as well. It offers concrete tips for children, parents, and educators about ways to encourage a child's curiosity and desire to share, while helping them balance truly listening to others as well.

This is a beautifully written, beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of Harriet Tubman, taking readers back through her life. What I really enjoyed was that this book uses such lyrical writing, and explains this piece of history in a way younger children can understand. I would hope reading this to students would lead them to seek out more information and books on Tubman.

I'm a big fan of this publisher for books that tackle social emotional topics, and this new series does not disappoint. I think this book would be a great one to read to get children talking about being scared, and how to overcome their fears. It has a positive ending, also covers ways to be a good friend, and has tips for parents and teachers in the back.

Sorting is probably my favorite math concept to teach! I'm always looking for ways to combine math and literacy, so finding this book made me so happy. This would be a great way to introduce my students to different ways of sorting-and they could use the pictures to guess how Sam sorted. I also like that this book brings in other concepts such as shapes, colors, and rhymes.

This is a great introduction to pre-writing, and how much fun making up your own story can be. I would love to use this to inspire my students to start writing their own stories, even if they are simply starting with a squiggle. 

I love that this book encourages children to try, and not worry about perfection. I would love to use this book to start having my students sound out their names, with whatever letters they hear, as a way to introduce letter sounds and writing, and have fun doing it!