October Favorites

Nothing quiets a classroom of first graders like a good book. My students sit spellbound through many a read aloud. In our classroom we read aloud several books across our day. As we read books in our classroom we place them in our "This Week" basket. The basket's contents grow all week long. At the end of the week students vote for their favorite. There are always so many good books to choose from in our basket. It's never an easy decision.

As the month ends we take all of the favorites from the month and vote to find the book we loved most of all. It is always hard to choose. Here are our favorites for the weeks of October. Our very favorite is at the end of this post.

At the beginning of the month we chose Birdie's Big-Girl Shoes by Sujean Rim. This book was recommended to me by my friend,

Deb, as a good book for talking about choosing just-right books. Students enjoyed the story of a girl who loves her mom's shoes and wants to wear them, but finds them all to be a bit too big. These beautiful shoes make it hard for Birdie to do the fun things she loves to do.

Another favorite we read was What Am I? Halloween! by Alain Crozon. This is a favorite every year. The pages in this book are filled with flaps which hide many of our favorite Halloween characters. Rhyming clues help children guess what might be hiding behind the flaps and make the book fun to read aloud.

Where has Jan Thomas been all my life? I was looking for simple pictures for our study of illustrations. Our media specialist quickly recommended Jan Thomas. Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas is still being checked out each evening in our classroom. It is a book which begs to be performed. Jan Thomas's other books are quite popular, as well, each day in Reader's Workshop. This author has now earned a place on our author shelf as students just can't get enough of these stories. We love that Thomas writes and illustrates her own books just like we do!

I Stink! by Kate McMullan and Jim McMullan is one of the books I chose in my picture book 10 for 10. It is a book I just can't live without, and another book passed across the hall (Thanks, Deb!). My students can't live without it either. "I Stink" is the story of a garbage truck who loves his work! He's a truck with attitude. The illustrations are captivating. Students enjoyed watching his lunch be consumed alphabetically.

I've had this book for a long time and it is ALWAYS a favorite. Shake dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa and illustrated by Mike Reed is our very favorite book in October. In this story the rapping host encourages all the characters to shake dem Halloween bones. Students enjoy seeing Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, the Three Pigs, and others dance at the Hip Hop Halloween Ball.

September Favorites:

Marley Goes to School by John Grogan and illustrated by Richard Cowdrey.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Chalk by Bill Thomson (also featured in my Picture Book 10 for 10 list)

Where's Spot by Eric Hill

Good Boy, Fergus by David Shannon (our very favorite for September)