Lunar New Year is an important cultural holiday celebrated by many East and Southeast Asians around the world. What better way for your students to learn about the origins and traditions of this celebration than by sharing some favorite Lunar New Year picture books?
Here are my top ten Lunar New Year books for 2024! And, since this is the Year of the Dragon, I’ve included a few dragon books as well!
Readers join Mai-Anne as she celebrates a new year with her family and learns about the origins of Chinese New Year and the twelve zodiac animals. Wonderful, vibrant illustrations in this one!
A look at the 15 day lantern festival that occurs each year during the Chinese New Year in the Shaanxi province of northeast China, told through the eyes of a young girl and her three friends. Colorful and joyful!
Such a sweet, warm story. I love the emphasis on family togetherness (across the generations) and how preparing beloved recipes helps honor tradition and celebrate each family member’s personal favorites! The Author’s Note at the beginning helps explain her personal connection to Lunar New Year and a recipe for pineapple cakes (which Ren is finally old enough to make!) is included in the back.
I love Grace Lin’s books! This is a simple story about a family getting ready for Chinese New Year. Love the personal connections readers can make to preparing for their own cultural celebrations. Simple and great for early readers.
I love that this book is both about a Taiwanese family’s traditions and preparations for Lunar New Year but also includes honoring and remembering those who have come before us. Lovely story!
Colorful, joyful and cute! In this story, a young girl proudly shares Korean New Year’s traditions, food, and clothing with her classmates. A glossary of Korean terms, with pronunciation guide, is included.
Inspired by the author’s childhood memories, this book, translated from Vietnamese celebrates Vietnamese New Year through the curious eyes of a child and her family. Delightful illustrations.
A delightful story about young Ruby’s adventures as she travels to visit her grandmother for Chinese New Year. Along the way, Ruby encounters all twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac along with one extra guest. Love how the story weaves both cultural traditions and the zodiac animals!
Did you know that the cat is one of the only animals NOT included in the Chinese zodiac? Why did cat get left out? This delightful book introduces young readers to both the Chinese zodiac and the importance of apologizing.
The How to Catch kids are at it again, this time trying to catch a dragon as they chase it through Chinese New Year celebrations. Set in China during Chinese New Year, the dragon has to avoid all the traps as the kids run through paper lanterns, red envelopes, and fireworks trying to catch him. Bonus Mandarin translation included in the backnotes.
This is such a beautiful retelling of the traditional Chinese New Year origin tale. A perfect book for sharing with slightly older students to celebrate and explain Chinese New Year.
From dragon dances in China to firecrackers in India, this book explores different lunar festivities around the world. Readers experience how children and their families from China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and India honor and celebrate Lunar New Year.
Our Moon Festival: Celebrating the Moon Festival in Asian Communities – Yobe Qiu
This book highlights different families and their traditions as they observe Moon Festivals in three different Asian countries: Zhong Qiu Jie (China), Tết Trung Thu (Vietnam), and Tsukimi (Japan) In all three stories, readers learn about celebrations of foods, traditions, dances, parades, and poetry.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found one or two new books to add to your Lunar New Year collection!
Top Ten Tuesday this week features some engaging nonfiction picture books about different biomes and ecosystems and the wild life who live within them. These make great read-alouds to link to your science lessons and for knowledge building in your class! Fascinating books filled with wonderful facts and amazing visuals – even if you are not studying the subject in science – they make great interactive, content-rich read-alouds!
Readers travel around the world and discover twelve terrestrial biomes of North and South America. From icy tundra, through grassland, deserts and tropical rainforest, we learn about all the natural homes animals live in. Fascinating, detailed illustrations in this one. I appreciate the author explaining clearly the differences between a biome and a habitat and the impact that humans have had on earth’s biomes.
This is one book in a wonderful series that looks at the impact of a single species on the ecosystem they live in. What difference could the loss of one animal species make? This book follows the chain reaction, and helps readers discover how important lemmings are. Simple text and great illusrations make this a perfect read-aloud! Other books in this series – What if There Were no Wolves, What if There Were No Bees, What if There Were no Wolves What if There Were no Sea Otters.
Interesting and informative book about the forests that grow close to the Arctic, “like a scarf around the world”. This book looks at this vast forest through all four seasons. There’s a really lovely feel to it as the reader is introduced to all different animals, fish, insects and more through the seasons. It also talks about the water cycle, the carbon cycle, and climate change. It’s packed with scientific facts, but not overwhelming. A good read for slightly older readers.
This beautiful, accessible poetry picture book is filled with odes to different animals found in the two polar regions. Could work as a read aloud or for a poetry unit. The illustrations are really lovely and the book follows David Elliots other poetry books – On the Farm,In the Wild, and In the Sea.
As someone who spent hours exploring tide pools on west coast beaches, I was immediately drawn to this book. A great picture book to introduce young readers to tide pools and some of the life that lives in the intertidal zone where the land meets the see. Simple, beautiful illustrations.
A book for slightly older readers, takes an in-depth look at how the disappearance of gray wolves from Yellowstone National Park was devastating to the ecosystem and how, decades later, the reintroduction of the wolves helped to restore it. The story offers excellent lessons about essential interconnectedness of the natural world, and the importance of human stewardship on the environment.
A beautiful book comparing the habitats of the world to a patchwork quilt. Simple explanations of nature’s interdependence and real patchwork patterns are used in the illustrations. The simple text could easily be used with your primary class.
I LOVE this series by Kate Messner that take readers on an exciting exploration of variety of different ecosystems. In each book, the illustrations are presented as a “split screen”, allowing us to learn about plant and animal life both above and below the ground. Gorgeous illustations by Christopher Silas Neal. The series include Over and Under the Garden, Canyon, Rainforest, Waves, and Snow.
This wonderful little scientific pop-up book introduces readers to seven woodland animals, their havitats, their extraordinary building skills, and how they work together as neighbours. Every animal introduced in this book is connected to each other within an ecosystem. Love this one!
A simple, repetative, rhyming text of how the food chain works–and how sometimes the smaller or more vulnerable creature escapes to live another day! While not specifically connected to specific ecosystems, it’s a great choice to help early readers learn how animals interact with each other.
This picture book tells readers about 14 incredible animals and the dangerous places they call home through informative poems. Singer writes a different poem for each animal and habitat and each page is accompanied by cut paper illustrations by the amazing Ed Young. More information about each animal included at the back of the book. A wonderful book to link to a unit on extreme environments.
Melissa Stewart is one of my all-time favorite nonfiction authors for kids. I learn something new every time I read one of her books – and this one is no exception. This fascinating nonfiction book, filled with stunning illustrations, details the end of life for a whale, also known as a whale fall, when its body sinks to the ocean floor and becomes an energy-rich food source for organisms living in the deep sea. This one will have the eyes wide in amazement at what a whale provides to the ecosystem of the ocean floor after its death. Ah-MAXING! (that’s “amazing” x 10 – and yes, I made it up!)
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have found one or two new books you can add to your content-rich picture book collection! Happy Reading, everyone!
Snow is in the forecast, so thought it would be a good time to share some favorite books about snow!
Here is a list of my favorite NEW books about snow that were released in late 2023 or early 2024. For more snow books, check out of some of my favorites HERE, including waiting for snow, celebrating snow, and visualizing snow.
GearTip – Remember – if you don’t have a hard copy of the book, check online for the YouTube read-alouds!
A perfect anchor book for “how to” writing! A young boy is excited to build a perfect snowman but when his snowman doesn’t look perfect he rolls with it and shows pride in his work. A cute book with a great theme!
Gorgeous illustrations and language in this book about a little girl, Ori, who wishes for snow. Then one magical snowflake appears and leads her, her friends, and family out into a snow storm.
As a young boy excitedly waits for the expected snowfall, he dreams of all the wonderful things he will do in the snow. He keeps checking out the window, not noticing all of the amazing things taking place on his street, believing that nothing is happening because there is no snow yet. A fantastic read-aloud, especially the day before a big snowfall!
A quiet, calming book about the changes in seasons shown through the slow changes to a persimmon tree branch. A simple story about the value of slowing down, seeing the world, and savoring experiences.
An interesting picture book based on a real man living in a secluded cabin who’s recordings of snow fall and other enviromental stats have been used by scientists around the world to document climate change. Backnotes are helpful for filling in background information. Excellent themes about ecology or how one person can make a difference.
A group of penguins huddle together in the cold night to stay warm, but in the morning they are all frozen together! They ask their friends for help, but no amount of pushing or pulling can separate the penguins. So off they go to the big city to ask a special octopus doctor to help them get unfrozen. Not exacatly a book about snow but SUCH fun, I had to include it!
Can’t miss out on this nonfiction ode to snow! Explore a busy day in nature through rich language, beautiful photographs and an introduction to a variety of winter animals.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you found one or two new snow books that caught your eye! Happy reading, everyone!
Thank you to everyone for following my blog as I count down my favorite books from the past year. In case you missed any of my lists – here they are again!
Click HEREfor my favorite beginning chapter books of 2023.
Click HERE for my favorite middle grade novels of 2023.
Click HERE for my favorite nonfiction picture books of 2023.
I end my count down of favorite books of 2023 with picture books! This was probably the hardest list to create because there were just SO many amazing books published this year! But I have tried my best to focus on my favorites. What makes a “favorite”? Now that is a question I have been asked a LOT! But my answer is always the same – the book speaks to me in some way: touches my heart, invites me to think, includes characters, experiences, or feelings I connect to, or illustrations that take my breathe away and stick with me long after I close the book. But more than my personal lens, these books have made my list becuase they are the ones I hope will find their way into your classrooms and libraries and into the hands and hearts of your students because that’s where they truly belong.
Here are my favorite 10 picture books from the past year. (As always, I can’t count very well!)
If you have not yet read this book, it is a must for your classroom or school library – and really has become one of my very favorite picture books not just of this year but ever! It is a deeply moving story that weaves in valuable lessons about fitting in, standing out, and the beauty of joyful acceptance. The illustrations are breathtaking. It’s on my mock Caldecott list for sure!
I love books that give us a new lens with which to view something we thought we understood – in this case – wishes. The book has such a dreamy, enchanting tone that flows beautifully through this story as readers learn how people in various countries make wishes. Paired with the gorgeous illustrations by Khoa Le, this book is breath taking. FULL book love for this one!
I just fell in love with this book by the great team of Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen when I read it in a local book store last month. The book asks the age-old question that every child wonders at one point in their life – just how does Santa get down the chimney? Does he go feet first? What if he gets stuck? What if I don’t have a chimney – then what? Such a great book for stimulatiing rich wonderings and class conversations!
There are some books I just want to hold close to my heart for a while – and this is one of them. John Schu and Caldecott Honor recipient Lauren Castillo join together to celebrate the power of finding the perfect book. A joyful celebration of books and libraries that every child should read (or listen to!).
I love everything Julie Flett does – whether it’s writing or illustrating – I’m a huge fan. I’m also a huge fan of intergenerational books so this one is a double winner! Firmly rooted in the author’s Indiengous culture and community, this story is about a young girl who wants to be just like her grandma and a grandma who wants to be just like her granddaughter. It’s so touching and so many connections to grandparents will be made from this book. The language is poetic but not “rhymey” and the illustrations stunningly signature Julie Flett!
I was late to the party on this book but now can’t stop talking about it! It is a little gem of a story about a timid little squirrel named Evergreen who bravely sets off with a pot of soup her Mama made to help her sick granny. Evergreen is afraid of everything but she sets off on an adventure full of twists and turns and a few surprises. The illustrations are soft and sweet and the variety of animal characters will make this a fun read-aloud.
This is a beautiful and heartfelt story of a child, Finn, and her grandfather, taking a walk in nature and noticing that there is always something beneath what is visible. Together the pair are able to begin to acknowledge their grief and understand that they are both feeling the same way. This book is quiet, profound, and so beautiful. A must read and be sure not to miss important details on the jacket, case cover, and endpages. I will just be crying for ever over here.
Oh, this book is so cute and such a perfect connect book about sharing for early primary students. It is a perfect rhythmic read-aloud and features a seires of hilariouly selfish forest animals! Absoultely delightful story and playful illustrations by the great Eric Rohmann.
This is a little gem with a positive message for both children and adults by the great poet Amanda Gorman. Dealing with environmental issues can seem overwhelming, but this book promotes the important impact we can all have by creating small acts of kindness in our community and bringing people together. So inspiring and a great book to launch helping in your local community.
I just loved this book when I chose it for one of the books in the Brain Pocket Writing GearPicks Pack this year! It is a delightful first-person narrative detailing a hot summer day spent at the city pool. Simple event story filled with beautiful language, relatable details, vibrant illustrations and a book that so many students will make “memory pocket” connections to! LOVE this one!
Little gasp. That’s what I did when I first read this book. Then I read it again. Then I had a little cry. After moving from a home in the country to an apartment in the city, a young boy and his mother talk about their memories–some happy, some sad. I love that the author doesn’t spill out the storyline and leaves lots of space for our thinking! Perfect book for for inviting your students to ask questions and make inferences. I can see many class conversations flowing naturally after reading this aloud. Oh, and did I mention stunning illustrations?
This book tells the true story of how Indigenous girls at a Canadian residential school sewed secret pockets into their dresses to hide food in order to survive. It’s heartbreaking but hearing the author’s mother’s story of her time in the Lejac residential school is such an amazing example of resilience — little girls using the sewing skills their mothers, aunties and grandmothers taught them, to sew secret pockets in their clothing to hide and share food. I know that this book was widely shared in many classrooms earlier this fall leading to Orange Shirt Day. A beautiful afternote is that the story has been placed in specially sewn pockets in the graduation robes of indigenous graduates of University of Fraser Valley, Chilliwack Senior Secondary School and Mission School District.
Written and illustrated by Vancouver elementary teacher Mavis Lui, this book is a GEM! With adorable illustrations, a loveable alien named Frank, this book is a true celebration of diversity with a lovely message about embracing our differences. I love how this book encourages readers to think about what unique aspects they love about themselves. Would make a perfect anchor book for writing and I have already added this to my Powerful Understanding “SELF” book list!
And there you have it! My favorite picture books of the year! What are your favorites? Would love to hear about them! Thanks for stopping by and hoping you found one or two new books you are excited to read and share!
This will be my last post of the year. I will be back in early 2024 with new books to start the new year! Wishing you all a very happy holiday with loved ones filled with magic, wonder, laughter, rest, and a lot of books!
My end of the year favorites continue this week with my favorite Nonfiction Picture books from the past year. This was VERY difficult to narrow down as the information books released this year were exceptional! Nonfiction books are perfect for linking to your socials and science units and make EXCELLENT interactive read-alouds to help your students build knowledge, vocabulary, oral language, and thinking! One book can do all that? Now that’s what I call a big bang for your buck! Hoping you find one or two new titles for sharing and gifting this holiday season!
NOTE: SEVERAL of the titles at the end of this list are marked as ones included in the GearPicks Pack Winter Nonfiction box so if you are a subscriber – PLEASE CHECK before purchasing so you don’t end up with two copies!
This is such an interesting, important and easily accessable book. Readers are introduced to the fascinating history of the straw, with a perfect segue (“But sometimes the solution to one thing becomes the problem…”) to our current single-use plastic problem! The book offers ways to start thinking of solutions and additional resources for further reading and understanding. A great read-aloud for promoting critical thinking and problem solving and would also be a great book to share on Earth Day, Global Recycling Day, or EVERY day in between!
I LOVE any nonfiction book Melissa Stewart writes and this one is no exception. In it, she shares the process of a “whale fall” – a whale dying and dropping to the bottom of the ocean floor and scavengers arriving to eat different parts. And she does so in a sequential, lyrcial story that keeps readers engaged and full of curiosity. I learned so much from this book! Did you know that in its death, a whale becomes food for other creatures—even its bones—for about 50 years, until every trace of the whale is gone? Amazing!
Narrative nonfiction at its best! This book combines story, facts and stunning illustrations to tell a story of a small jumping spider during her day in the garden. Love the voice and persepctive told from the spider’s point of view. As the story unfolds, a day in the life of a family near the garden is shown by the illustrations. Added back notes with additional spider facts included. LOVE this one!
A great new addition to your mapping or geography unit! A little raccoon shows us all about maps, starting with a map of his room and then the house. He explains how maps show us where to go and asks a lot of questions. Incuded in his map tour are a city map, a museum map, a body map, a road map, a national forest map, a trail map, and even a weather map. Each map includes a key and explanation. A perfect anchor book to inspire your students to create their own maps!
Written in rhyme, learn about how different places around the world have created sustainable farms — and why it is important. Examples include: a rooftop garden that grows food in the USA; tree-shaped gardens that collect rainwater and make solar power in Singapore; underwater, greenhouse pods that grow gardens in Italy. Back notes explain more about sustainable farming, food justice, a map of the places in the book, and gives information about each sustainable farm practice. Perfect book for learning about food and environmentalism.
With so many bad news stories in the world these days, this book is one that will help you and your students reflect on some positive ones! This delightful collection of true feel-good stories, each no longer than a paragraph, are inspiring examples of kindness, inclusion, and community. Many are examples of acts of kindness during the Covid lockdown. The book is illustrated with gorgeous textile collages.
I love everything Canadian author/illustrator Elise Gravel writes! Her latest is a hilarious book that teaches readers about fake news. Includes learning about what is fake news, why people make fake news, why disinformation is bad, why we believe fake news, and tips on how to tell real news from fake news. This is a colourful, quirky, accessible, kid friendly book about an increasingly important subject includes great tips and helpful reminders!
A fantastic introduction to chemistry with clear text and illustrations. Simple, interactive experiments you can use in your class to show children hands-on examples of the states of matter – from solid to gas to liquid. For example, “put” the sugar into juice and watch it dissolve. Next, place the juice in the freezer and close the door, aka. turn the page. While you wait, you can predict what will happen by tapping on the picture showing what you think might happen to the juice in the freezer. You’ll turn the page to see…it’s solid ice! Engaging and interactive and a great resource for your science class! (NOTE: This book is included in the 2024 GearPicks Nonfiction Book Selection PRIMARY)
This cumulative, lyrical story follows a day in the life of a food chain – from the lowly worm to the mighty king of the jungle. Clever twist at the end invites readers to imagine what might happen if each of those animals had somehow jumped the chain and survived another day! (NOTE: This book is included in the 2024 GearPicks Nonfiction Book Selection PRIMARY)
As someone who experienced fires first hand this past summer, and who now stares across Okanagan lake at a lot of burnt trees, I was instantly drawn to this book. It is a cumulative nonfiction story that explains how forest fires are critical to forest health and that the end of a tree’s life provides the opportunity for new life (great news!) Back notes explains the timeline of the forest cycle in more detail. A great book that links to units on forests, forest fires, forest succession, natural disasters, environment, and ecosystems. (NOTE: This book is included in the 2024 GearPicks Nonfiction Book Selection PRIMARY)
Gorgeous picture book with lovely fact-filled poems about different animals that live at the North and South poles. Love the paper collage illustrations and the book is oversized, making it a great choice for sharing and reading aloud. Animal facts are incuded at the end. (NOTE: This book is included in the 2024 GearPicks Nonfiction Book Selection PRIMARY)
This beautiful picture book tells the true story of Canadian Indigenous water rights activists Autumn Peltier and her great aunt Josephine and outlines their battles, courage, hard work, and dedication to “speak, sing, and dance” for clean water. Excellent book for discussing indigenous rights, indigenous activism, necessity and access to clean water. (NOTE: This book is included in the 2024 GearPicks Nonfiction Book Selection INTERMEDIATE)
A stunning picture book that shares how Chinese artist and activist Ai WeiWei has created art, often on a monumental scale, using everyday objects to help people understand the injustices others are facing. Perfect book to support units on social justice, civil and human rights, immigration, biography, and art.(NOTE: This book is included in the 2024 GearPicks Nonfiction Book Selection INTERMEDIATE)
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found one or two new Nonfiction picture books that caught your eye! Join me next week, as I share my Top 10 picture books of 2023!!
I’m back with my favorite middle grade (grades 5-8) novels of the year! I recommend these books for both classroom read-alouds and stocking stuffers for your middle grade readers at home! The list is long (far more than ten titles!) but they are all unforgettable stories and many will tug on your heartstrings! I have organized the books into different genres, so you are sure to find a book your middle grader will love!
This is the fifth installment in the Front Desk MG series. I can always count on Kelly Yang to provide uplifting stories of friendship, family, and history (The Chinese Exclusion Act, the Page Act, the Alien Land Act, Chinese history, Indigenous history) in her middle grade stories featuring Mia, Lupe and Jason. This time the setting is San Francisco and includes a math competition for Lupe and a writing camp for Mia.
Excellent story about a young girl growing up in the sixties in Winnipeg told in alternating timelines. Includes a lot of historical events including the Cuban Missile Crisis, Expo 67, Beatlemania and miniskirts. I loved this book for many reasons: strong writing; intergenerational storytelling; age-appropriate approach to heavy subject matter (body shaming, menstration mis-information, racism); and excellent characters who face their problems in realistic ways. Would make an excellent read-aloud in an upper intermediate class.
Twelve well-known Asian middle grade authors, including Ellen Oh, Grace Lin, and Linda Sue Park, collaborated to create this collection of emotional, funny, and interconnected short stories following 12 young Asian Americans in a Chicago airport. Powerful themes of Anti-Asian racism, discrimination, standing up for yourself and others. An excellent book with LOTS of discussion points.
This heart-wrenching book is beautifully written, and filled my heart! A must-read for anyone who loves heart stories and wants to understand what it feels like to not to be typical. You will fall in love with Maudie McGinn! This book tackles series issues (physical abuse and autism acceptance) but is filled with hope as Maudie discovers that she’s braver than she ever thought.
With themes of community, friendship, and art, this book and loosly based on a real building in NYC. The story follows Ruby and Scout as they decide to try to save their neighborhood from a rich real estate mogul who wants to buy their apartment building. Great characters, great pace, and who doesn’t love cheering for the underdogs?
Hercules Beal and his brother, Achilles, are both are trying hold themselves and the family business together after the tragic death of their parents. When Hercules is given a school assignment to relate all 12 of the mythological Hercules’ trials to real life, he sets off on on a path that changes not only his life but that of others around him. Such a great book for readers grades in 5-8 to read but even better as a class novel study. Excellent writing with lots of figurative language, sensory language details and strong character development. Love this one!
This is the fourth book in the award-winning middle-grade Misewa Saga. Unlike the first three books in the series, this one focuses on Eli, the younger foster brother of Morgan (main character of the first three volumes of the saga). Another captivating adventure with great backstories that answered a lot of questions I had while reading the previous books. Can’t wait for #5!
Eeeek! Roz is back in another action-packed installment in Peter Brown’s bestselling series. In this book, Roz is embarks on an under-the-ocean journey to save her beloved island! Some important themes are explored in this book – pollution and environmental damage – and I love the way Peter Brown includes facts into the story without being too distracting. Can’t get enough of Roz!
I wasn’t sure what to make of this book when I started it. It sounded so traumatic – Simon is the only student in his grade 5 class to survive a school shooting. But the story doesn’t focus primarily on the shooting and begins two years afterwards when twelve-year-old Simon and his family move to the National Quiet Zone—the only place in America where the internet is banned due in part because radio astronomers are listening for communication from outer space. They have no interest in Simon or his story, but Simon develops a big interest in them. I don’t want to give too much away here but yes, there are aliens. The author does such an incredible job of dealing with a horrifying situation with humor and heart. By far this is one of the funniest and best written books I have read this year. Recommended for upper intermediate (Gr. 7-9)
If you only pick ONE middle grade book to read this year – read this one. This story follows an 11 year old girl who has just found out there’s an 84.7% chance the world is ending, as an asteroid hurtles towards Earth. But this gut-punching book is about so much more than I can possibly explain to you. Just read it! And have your Kleenex ready because I cried. A lot! Recommended for upper intermediate students who love heart-wrenching stories!
A great book for those who like scary stories (and this one is VERY scary!) Rafa, whose mum is soon to be released from prison, loves to tell scary stories. But when Rafa tells scary stories on a blood red moon, the scary stories come to life and the caretaker is coming to him! Just enough spooky to tempt you to keep the light on at night!
When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, and suddenly his life takes an unexpected change. Told in different POV’s by Evan, a ghost librarian named Al, and an aging cat named Mortimer, this book has just the right balance of beautiful, sweet, and a little sad. A love letter to libraries so a perfect gift for your TL friends!
Rachel Riley, who just last year was one of the most popular girls in school, has become a social outcast but no one knows why. Anna Hunt, the new girl at the middle school, begins to uncover the reason. Lots of buzz about this outstanding middle grade mystery for slightly older middle graders (gr. 7-8) about sexual harassment, creativity, and standing up for injustice.
For fans of The One and Only Ivan series, the story of Ruby the elephant picks up a few months after the events of The One and Only Bob. Like the other two books in this series, Ruby’s story is heartbreaking and hopeful. I love that Katherine Applegate never fails to weave in important messages in her books without being too preachy. In this one, readers learn about the issue of poaching and illegal activities around elephant tusks. A great book to talk about endangered animal issues and how climate change affects animals.
Dog lovers – real and robotic – this one is for you! Dogtown is a shelter for stray and misbehaving dogs, and discarded robot dogs, whose owners have outgrown them. The story follows Chance, a sweet three-legged dog, who finds herself at the shelter after being injured and abandoned by irresponsible pet sitters. Not surprisingly, I loved this book because I love everything that Katherine Applegate writes and yes, not surprisingly, I teared up a few times. Can’t wait for the second installment in this series!
Johannes is a wild dog who lives in a park on an island with other animals. Johannes’ job as the Assistant Eyes is to travel all over the island keeping an eye on everything, and reporting on human movements or changes to the bison. When strange things (a new building and a boatload of goats) begin to show up on the island, Johannes must make decisions to protect his animal friends. This story has adventure, friendship and humour and beautiful illustrations. A little “Watership Down” and “Charlotte’s Web” like – perfect for animal lovers! And the audio book is beautifully narrated by Ethan Hawk – swoon!
Such an unexpectedly good story about Milo, whose family has just moved into a new house. When his mother asks him to go to the basement to find his little sister’s missing sock, things take a dramatic and rather spooky turn. This is such a fun story, full of imagination, spooky and a little bit scary without being terrifying, with lovable characters and great illustrations.
Silverwing: The Graphic Novel – Kenneth Oppel – (CAN)
Kenneth Oppel has transformed his bestselling novel (published 25 years ago – yikes!) about Silverwing, the runt bat of his colony, into a stunning graphic novel. Many of your readers will likely not have heard of the story of Silverwing, the runt bat, who is desperately trying to rejoin his colony after getting separated during a storm. Such nostalgia for me reading this! I hope they do the other two books in the series like this so a new generation of readers can enjoy them!
This is a powerful story written in verse about a young teenage boy who struggles with his weight and body image. I really like the way the author uses the font, such as capitalization and words spread across the page, to help the reader feel the anxiety, anger, frustration, sadness, and scatteredness of Will’s thoughts and emotions. Very positive and hopeful ending about acceptance.
I love this book! It’s a hilarious graphic novel, about Huda, a Muslim girl, and her family. In the story, we we follow Huda, her parents, and three sisters trying to practice religion while on vacation at Disney World. So many relatable teen and sibling scenarios. This is a follow-up to a book to Huda F are You? which I have not yet read but it’s now on my list!
Emotional and impactful novel in verse about hate crimes and bullying, mostly against the Jewish community. I just recently read this and, with so much conflict in the world, this timely book shows kids how they can make a difference in their schools, their communities, and their world. Josh, the main character has such a huge, tender heart, I was really taken in by his story.
Another book that tugs on the heartstrings! Eleven year old Laura is brought by social services to live with her aunt “Titi”, whom she’s never met, after her parents enter rehab. There, she has to adapt to a new home, new school, and new classmates. There are some heavy elements in this book – drug use, foster care, abandonment – but it is SO well written well and accessible. Not to mention an adorable puppy named Sparrow who Laura. Did I cry? Of course I did!
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my favourite novels of 2023! I hope you find one or two new titles you feel might fit your class in school or your middle grade reader at home!
As we approach the holiday season, I’m excited to start my Top Ten lists featuring my favorite books of 2023 for sharing and gifting! Each Tuesday leading up to Christmas, I will share my favorite 2023 titles from five different book groups:
Nov. 22 – Beginning Chapter Books (and Early Graphic Novels)
Nov. 28 – Middle Grade Novels
Dec. 5 – Graphic Novels
Dec. 12 – Nonfiction Books
Dec. 19 – Picture books
This week, we will begin with my favorite Beginning Chapter books of 2023. These books are often filled full-color illustrations, or graphic novel layout, and provide a nice bridge between picture books and chapter books. With a picture on nearly every page, these books feel similar to what beginning readers are used to, but their vocabulary is slightly more advanced and their storylines are longer.
Here are some great early chapter books (some part of a series) released this year, certain to keep your beginning reader entertained both at school and home!
A wonderful first chapter book for emerging readers featuring a lovable duo reminiscent of Frog and Toad. Drag & Rex (dragon and dinosaur) are a charming odd couple who have completely opposite personalities. They negotiate simple daily life things together always coming from their different perspectives but always being friends! There are 3 short stories which are all delightful and the illustrations are colorful and engaging.
This is the next installement in a series about Fox – a hilarious trickster character. In this book, Fox encounters problems and as he tries to fix them, causes new problems for his friends along the way. This is a new series for me and I really liked the simplicity of the words and great illustrations and the fact that it actually tells a story! I think even very beginning readers will feel confident that they understand the story.
I have followed this hilarious, popular beginning graphic novel series since it was released in 2016 so always excited to see a new one! In this book, Narwhal, who calls himself a unicorn of the sea, is desperate to meet an actual unicorn. This leads to a hilarious sea adventure filled with delightful signature puns and a great lesson on friendship and being a good listener. Love this series!
If you are looking for a great stocking stuffer for your Marvel fan, look no further! When the Avengers are assembled to contain a super threat in New York City, Spider-Man is given the most important job of making sure all the Avengers’ super pets are safe! Such a cute story – simple text, great illustations and sneezing teleporting dog guy!
This short graphic novel will have readers laughing at the wombat best friends who go on a camping trip when one of the two would clearly prefer to be “glamping.” They encounter a baby koala and help the baby find his home while trying to avoid the scary Wooly Moon Beast (I’m inferring the setting is somewhere in Australia!!!) Perfect for readers who love a laugh and the great outdoors!
Graphic novel style and fractured fairy tale mixed together! Two best-friend dogs, Schnozzer (the smart one) and Tatertoes (the cheerful one), journey through the fairy tale story-filled woods where they meet the Three Bears, Hansel and Gretel, and Little Red Riding Hood. Their adventure is funny with a heartwarming ending.
Unicorn lovers will LOVE this series about a little toy unicorn named Dazzle who wishes to be taken home to a family who loves him. In this 3rd book in the series, Dazzle experiences some friendship and problem solving issues – all resolved with successful solutions. Added bonus – this book features children doing a read aloud! So cute!
If you love the BFF vibe of Frog and Toad, you will LOVE this book! A collection of short stories filled with friendship adventures and funny miscommunications. Great examples of what friends do to adapt and stay together. Delightful illustrations.
I got quite a kick out of the whimsical and hilarious shenanigans of a funny little Gnome and his best friend, Rat. Short chapters, graphic novel format and filled with great illustrations – this book will be a great addition to an early reader’s book pile or Christmas stocking!
This is the 3rd and final instalment in this beginning chapter triology by the great Katherine Applegate. This early chapter book has everything going for it: distinct, appealing characters; engaging, humourous storyline; an illustration style that does not appeal “too babyish”; a slightly advanced vocabulary for those readers who are ready for more advanced reading levels. Great choice for your animal lover!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found one or two new titles that caught your eye! Come back next Tuesday when I will feature my top 10 favorite middle grade novels of 2023!
With Halloween and Remembrance Day behind us and Christmas coming up, I thought I would break from our seasonal themes and focus on something you might need to get you through to the winter break – I’m talking about a little RESPECT! While we often begin our school year with some of these books to help build a positive class community, they are also useful tools for pushing the “respect reset button” if you start noticing classroom respect flying out the window!
Here are my favorite books for helping your class RESET RESPECT!
“You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit!” – such an important reminder for kids! This is a great book to teach children how to compromise and not throw a tantrum when you don’t get your way! Wonderful illustrations!
When chatterbox Lacey Walker loses her voice for the day, she discovers everything she either missed out on or didn’t notice because she was always talking. Great message and great ending: I like that Lacey doesn’t go from ONLY talking to ONLY listening. She still loves talking, but now she has a better understanding of listening and being present.
In the same lane as “Mean Jean, the Recess Queen”, this book explores playground politics as two would-be rulers duke it out, divvying up the terrain and alienating playmates in the process. A relateble cautionary tale with a diverse cast of characters.
A perfect book for young readers to learn how to stand up for themselves in a respectful manner when something or someone is bothering them. It’s such a short story but filled with advice and tips from “the Ploofers” that are not overbearing or preachy. I haven’t read the other books in this collection (A Little Bit Different and A Little Bit of Courage) and but I’m going to now!
I LOVE this one for the start of the school year, but nothing wrong with a revisit! Based on The Golden Rule, this book reminds young readers to treat others the way you would like to be treated. It’s not only a funny and filled with punny storyline and jokes, but it encourages children to be kind and polite.
The Big Cheese, is the lastest addition to Jory John’s clever Food Group series, this one with a message against showing off and bragging in favor of sharing the spotlight. The story is about Cheese who has a huge ego and an unrealistic desire to be the best in everything. “How did I get such a good — or should I say gouda — reputation?” Lots of laughs, along with some important discussions points in this one.
A great little book about respect for young readers. I really like how this book gives very practical examples of how to respect people, places and things.
Interupting in a classroom is something that can be very direspectful, not to mention annoying! This book is entertaining and teaches children the value of respecting others by listening and waiting for their turn to speak. Such a great book for your respect reset!
Such a great book for discussing the impact of our actions! Such a great “mid year” book to review classroom rules and discuss the consequences “if everybody” broke them!
Another book by Julia Cook (hey – that rhymes!), this one can be used to introduce the concept of “social filters” to students. Let’s face it – kids can sometimes be brutaly honest! This book teaches children when it is okay to say things and when it is a good time to keep quiet. I really like how the author clearly distinguishes the difference between honesty and kindness.
Adorable book about manners for your littles! It’s full of misbehaving animals, from messy monkeys to grumpy grizzly bears. Lots of quirky, memorable rhymes and adorable animal illustrations! Love this one!
Choosing and using the correct voice volume is an important way to show respect in a school! This book helps students of all ages learn and remember what voice volume to use when speaking in class, chatting in the library, sitting at the lunch table, or playing outside.
Lions, libraries and love all wrapped up in this one. This is a favorite of mine – a beautiful story about rules and when they can be broken. Not enough triple scoop words to adequately express how truly wonderful this lion is. If you have never read this book aloud to your class – you MUST!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you found one or two books that caught your eye and might help launch a RESPECT RESET in your class this week!
With Remembrance Day quickly approaching, it’s likely you will be having some class discussions this week about the significance and importance of this day. For me, using a picture book is the perfect access point into Remembrance Day – what it is all about and why this day is symbolic as we remember the men and women from all wars who have given their lives for our freedom.
Some literal, some symbolic, some fictional, some factual – here are my top 10 Remembrance Day books for reading and sharing with your students this week. (Lesson idea is included at the end of this post!)
This is such a great book to learn and appreciate the importance of Remembrance Day. It explains the poppies, the parade and the ceremonies. It includes excellent pictures of the soldiers, the veterans, the parade and, of course, the poppies. Includes topics for discussion and classroom activites at the end of the book.
Remembrance Day in Canada – David James Pallister
Excellent introduction to Remembrance Day for early primary students. Includes information about Rembrance Day symbols and how Canadians honour soldiers and veterans.
Moving text and stunning illustrations by Governor General’s Award-winning artist Ron Lightburn explains the symbolism behind the poppy. Bonus 5 page spread all about poem “In Flanders Fields” and Canada’s peace-keeping practices.
Recommended for upper intermediate students, this beautifully illustrated, gently written overview of WWI, WWII and other wars includes an explanation for why we remember the sacrifices and suffering of war. Interesting but not overwhelming. Includes a glossary and additional books and websites and several poems. .
Why do we wear a poppy on Remembrance Day? Against all odds, in a day when women had few rights and opportunities Moina Belle Michael almost single-handedly launched a national campaign to establish the red poppy as the symbol of sacrifice and courage of America’s soldiers. Gorgeous illustrations.
Written as a rhyming poem, this book gently teaches children about the first world war, including; aerodromes, trenches, the battlefields and the friendship and courage of two soldiers. Would be a great read on remembrance day to remind children of why we wear poppies. This is not a new release but was a new find for me and I loved it!
A tribute to the famous World War I poem, “In Flanders Fields”. Informative and moving, weaving the words of the poems with fascinating information and stunning illustrations. Great to use for visualizing – read the poem first, without showing the illustrations and have students sketch images that the words depict for them. Afterwards, show the illustrations from the book.
This is an powerful book to share with older students (Gr. 5-8) about the historical significance of November 11, 1918. The story follows two childhood friends who enlist with 30,000 other Canadian soldiers to fight in WWI. The author does a excellent job of depicting war without scaring readers but, at the same time, making them aware of the sacrifices made by so many. Warning – I cry every time I read this book so I recommend having Kleenex close by.
A frog picks a flower; a mouse wants it… and so begins this simple, profound tale about how war starts and ends. This wordless picture book is one I have shared with many classes – perfect for practicing inferring and stimulating important discussions.
What does peace feel like? Sound like? Look like? An anti-war message told subtly through the five senses using similes and metaphors. Great anchor book for writing about the Six Senses of Peace! (scientists use 5 senses, writers use 6 – feelings!)
This is an “Adrienne” book, without a doubt! Lovely book filled with thoughtprovoking, essential questions (with no answers!) to generate discussion and thoughts about what peace means. Gorgeous illustations and notes from the author in the backnotes offer his insight into his ideas of peace.
Thanks for stopping by. Hoping you found one or two new Remembrance titles that caught your eye. Don’t forget to check out my “one word” lesson below.
Lesson Idea – One Word Activity
Before sharing your Remembrance Day book, write “Remembrance Day” (or “poppy”, or “peace” depending on which book you are reading) on the screen or white board. Invite students to think about a connection, visual image, and “find a feeling” connected to the word. After a few seconds of thinking, invite students to share their ideas with a partner, then with the class. Record their ideas around the word to create a word web using a colored felt. Before reading the story, invite students to notice if their thinking about Remberance “stretches” or changes while they listen to the story.
After you have finished reading, review the word web. Invite students to think about any new connections, visual images, or feelings they could add to the web after listening to the story: “How has your thinking stretched?” Students can share their ideas with a partner and then with the class. Using a DIFFERENT COLOR FELT, create an outside word web around the inital one with the students ideas.
Reflect on the fact that sometimes the ideas or thoughts in a book can stretch (or transform) our thinking. We all had our own thoughts and ideas about Remembrance Day but this book really helped us think a bit more deeply about what the day really means.
With only one more week before Halloween, I thought I would share some of the new releases perfect for reading aloud as your students count down to the big day! Looking for more titles? Check out my 2022 Halloween blog HERE. For less spook and more pumpkin – check out my pumpkin post HERE.
Starting out with my unexpected new favorite book of the Halloween season – and the perfect combination … books and Halloween! Adorable little boy loves reading to monsters and he goes out to find them and reads to them under the moon. Delightfully spooky and surprisingly tender, this lovely story is a celebration of monsters, stories, and the way a good book can bring us together. (Don’t forget to look for the little orange monster hidden on almost every page!)
Very sweet rhyming story about a little girl who is rather skeptical about ghosts. When she looks for explanations of the strange things happening around the house, she sees the everyday explanations (ie. the dog is sneaking food, a crow stole the laundry off the line) rather than the spooky ones (that ghosts are doing it!) Love the seek-and-find ghosts hiding in all the illustrations!
Although not officially a Halloween book, Jon Klassen’s new book is definitely one to share at this time of year. Despite the spook, it’s actually a sweet funny retelling of a Tyrolean folktale filled with skeletons, a talking skull, and a delightful little girl. Klassen’s illustrations are perfection! Possibly suited for slightly older students.
Grumpy Bruce is a bear who does not like holidays, and he really doesn’t like Halloween. His family of mice and geese decides the only way to get Bruce excited about Halloween is to tell a scary story! The story is laugh-out-loud funny, and as always, the wonderfully expressive illustrations are priceless!
This Halloween book is so cute! It’s tiny (six inches by six inches) and completely wordless. It follows a young, timid jack-o-lantern and his beloved stuffed animal. When his stuffy is blown away in a breeze, he’ll stop at nothing to get him back, even if it means facing a cat, skeleton, and witch. Adorable!
I was delighted to see this one as I’m a huge fan of the Narwhal and Jelly books! This is the eighth book in this beginning graphic-ish novel series where readers join Narwhal and Jelly for the spookiest time of the year, complete with a great twist! The audio is also terrific with a full cast, original music and sound effects – great for visualizing!
Sweet simple counting book about the fun parts of Halloween from picking a pumpkin to a neighborhood Halloween parade. A lively, lighthearted celebration of all the things that make Halloween special!
I love Grumpy Monkey so was so excited to see a new Halloween addition! Grumpy Monkey and his jungle friends are trick-or-treating on Halloween amid strange noises and mysterious smells. Heads up for a few flatulating jokes!
A great rhyming text perfect for reading aloud! Two children plant a pumpkin seed together and care for it through the seasons. The plant flowers and a pumpkin forms but the children must be patient and respectful of the growing process. Finally, they get to enjoy their pumpkin at their Halloween party!
A really cute book about a little old lady who is afraid of everything. When Melvina Whitmoore moves into a new house, she’s hoping that it will be a little less scary than her last one. But she hears noises in the night, and eventually finds a spooky surprise downstairs. A fun introduction to “horror” for young readers.
While I’m not a huge zombie fan, if you or your readers love a Halloween book that’s more ghoulish than cute, this one is for you! On Halloween night, a group of Halloween pumpkin heads come to life, zombie style, and march in parade to the graveyard to rest for another year. It’s lively and rhythmic and just spooky enough!
Thank you for stopping by! I hope you found one or two new titles to add to your Halloween collection!
Adrienne Gear - Reading Power Ltd. 