Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Top 10 Favorite Books of Second Graders

I recently surveyed the first through sixth grade students at my school about their favorite children's books, and I am presenting the results as a series of posts. This post will share the Top 10 Favorite Books among the first grade students. Other posts include Top 20 Favorite Children's Books, sharing the overall results across all grade levels and including interviewed parents, and the Top 10 Favorite Books of First Graders.

Top 10 Favorite Children's Books among Second Graders


#1 Books by Dr. Seuss


#2 Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling


#3 Books by Chris van Allsburg


#4 Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling


#5 Ivy and Bean series by Annie Barrows


 

#6 Books by Shel Silverstein


#7 Rescue Princesses series


#8 Nancy Drew Clue Crew series


#9 My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series by Mo O'Hara


#10 Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warren

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Monday, December 29, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12/29/14


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from pictures books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Top Books


Last week I coordinated a "Favorite Books Survey" among the first through sixth grade students at my school. The kids also went home and surveys parents, siblings, and friends about favorite books. This week's post covered the Top 10 Favorite Books among First Graders. I am working on a series of compilation posts for each grade level, but the overall Top 20 Favorite Children's Books results are already published. Did your favorites make our list?

I also wrote a post this week looking back at the Top Posts from 2014, highlighting five of my favorite posts from this year. Check it out at A Look Back at the Top Posts from 2014.

Picture Books


The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf, and Grandma by Diana and Christyan Fox (2014). I picked this out on a whim from our recent book order, and it has already become a huge hit among my third graders. They even insisted on bringing it to our librarian's attention. This fractured fairy tale has poor cat trying to tell dog the story of Little Red Riding Hood, with many distractions along the way. A great one to add to your "fractured fairy tales" collection.


Stand There! She Shouted: the invincible photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (2014) by Susan Goldman Rubin and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. This extended picture book biography of early photographer Julia Margaret Cameron mixes examples of her photographs with the incredible illustrations of Bagram Ibatoulline. I was personally very interested to read more about her background and story, as I had only recently come across her last year when I was challenged to replicate her style for a photography challenge. (You can see my effort below.) I think this is a book that students might have to be pointed to but that they would find interesting.

 

Middle Grade


Thursdays with the Crown (Book 3) by Jessica Day George (2014). I was so touched and excited when the student who introduced me to Jessica Day George's books gave me Thursdays with the Crown as a gift last week. She knew I hadn't read it yet, and we didn't have a copy for our classroom library. This third entry in the Castle Glower series picks up where the cliffhanger in the second book left off. While not all questions are answered, you will find out much more about the mysterious origins of the Castle ... and the griffins.

Reading Challenges

With the New Year approaching, I am still looking forward to finding and participating in some reading challenges for the coming year. Please leave any suggestions in the comments, thanks!

Happy Reading!

Saturday, December 27, 2014

A Look Back at the Top Posts of 2014

Well, it has been nearly six months since I started on this blogging journey with The Logonauts, so I wanted to take a moment to look back at some of my favorite posts from the past year.

#5 Reading in the Wild: Chapter 5

This #cyberPD was hosted by Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine, Laura Komos of Ruminate and Invigorate, and Michelle Nero of Literacy Learning Zone and was an excellent way to get ready for the new school year by thinking about Donalyn Miller and Susan Kelley's inspirational book, Reading in the Wild. Plus, as a bonus, I made a professional development diorama! (Perhaps the first of its kind ...) Read the full post here: Reading in the Wild: Chapter 5.

"After all, most wild readers ... certainly don't build dioramas ..." (pg. 100)
But sometimes we do! I had a sudden urge to rekindle my diorama-building skills
and to share a book reflection diorama-style too.

#4 Around the World in a Single Book: part 1 - children

This first entry in a three post series focuses on books that feature children, cultures, and people from around the world. Part 1 highlighted incredible resources about children, including many that are popular with my third graders. Read the full post here: Around the World in a Single Book: part 1 - children.


#3 Create Custom Maps with Google Maps Engine Lite

This informative post explains how I used Google Maps Engine Lite to create a custom world map with pins that highlight all the different books we have read this school year, organized by location. You can read the full how to here: Create Custom Maps with Google Maps Engine Lite.



#2 The Power of Poetry Friday

I love, love, love Poetry Friday. Both the weekly classroom practice and the weekly blog link-up. This post explains how and why I implement Poetry Friday in my classroom and shares some of my reflections as well as an original student poem. Read the full post here: The Power of Poetry Friday.


#1 Picture Books 10 for 10: Top 10 Must Haves

My top post of the year, by far, thanks to the wonderful community of bloggers also participating in the #pb10for10 challenge, this post introduces you to my Top 10 absolutely must have picture books and the ones that I share year after year with my students. Read the full post (and see the full list!) here: Picture Books 10 for 10: Top 10 Must Haves.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Top 10 Favorite Books of First Graders

I recently surveyed the first through sixth grade students at my school about their favorite children's books, and I am presenting the results as a series of posts. The first post, Top 20 Favorite Children's Books, shared the overall results across all grade levels and including interviewed parents. This post will share the Top 10 Favorite Books among the first grade students.

Top 10 Favorite Books among First Graders


#1 Thea Stilton series by Geronimo Stilton


#2 Magic Tree House series (fiction and research guides) by Mary Pope Osborne


#3 Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling


#4 Books by Dr. Seuss


#5 The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder


#6 Flat Stanley series of books by Jeff Brown and illustrated by Scott Nash


#7 The Rainbow Fairies series by Daisy Meadows.


#8 Nancy Drew Clue Crew series by Carolyn Keene


#9 Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel


#10 Geronimo Stilton series by Geronimo Stilton.

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Monday, December 22, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from pictures books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Top Books


Last week I coordinated a "Favorite Books Survey" among the first through sixth grade students at my school. The kids also went home and surveys parents, siblings, and friends about favorite books. I am working on a series of compilation posts for each grade level, but the overall Top 20 Favorite Children's Books results are in. Did your favorites make our list?

Picture Books


Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg (2010). This book was #1 on our art teacher's book list for the Favorite Book surveys, and I know she is planning to celebrate this book and its concepts with students later in the year. I love the message of this book and the unique, tactile format. I think all students can learn from this book how to celebrate and move beyond potential "mistakes."


Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown and illustrated by John Parra (2011). This book tells the true story of the biblioburros of Colombia from the point-of-view of a young girl discovering the joy and wonder of books. I really appreciated how this version of the story helps children better understand what a world with minimal books might be like and to help them appreciate the wonder of easily accessible books and stories. (H/T Elisabeth at The Dirigible Plum.)

Poetry


Amazing Faces by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Chris Soentpiet is a great poetry resource. Read my full review, Amazing Faces: amazing poems, to read a sample poem and find out about how I use this book in my classroom.

Reading Challenges

With the New Year approaching, I am looking forward to finding and participating in some reading challenges for the coming year.


I am very excited to be joining in the Award Winning Books Reading Challenge 2015 hosted by Gathering Books. I have seen many of you blogging about your own challenges and would love to find out more. Please leave any suggestions in the comments.

Happy Reading!