The Wrap Up: Our 2nd Annual Picture Book Event August 10 for 10

Thank You
This week was our second annual picture book event:  August 10 for 10 (#pb10for10).  While Mandy Robek and I co-hosted the event, the real success of it came from the diverse group of participants willing to share their picture book expertise with one another.  The result of this collaboration is a resource we can all return to throughout the year.  This year's event included books for preschool children, nonfiction lists, picture books for math, multicultural literature, old books, new books, borrowed books, blue books (ok, I'm getting a bit carried away).  Thanks to everyone who took the time to post, to e-mail, to tweet (and retweet), and to tell friends.  You rock!  (And a special thanks to Mandy for joining me in another year of crazy fun.)

August Event Links

• Jog the August 10 for 10 Picture Book blog collection (just click on left)
• Archive of #pb10for10 Twitter conversation
• 2010 August 10 for 10 blog collection

If you'd still like to post, I'm not much of a rule follower so I'll be happy to add your post to the collection.  Just comment here (or on my 10 for 10 post) or mention (or DM) me on Twitter.  

It's hard to explain to other people what I have gained from professional interactions on the internet.  The networks I've come to rely on through Twitter and the blogging world are such a big part of the learning I do.  I've gained a positive community of educators willing to help one another.  This event is a perfect example of what happens when we all join together.  You inspire me!  Thank you.  

August 10 for 10: Authors I Just Can't Live Without

It's here!  Today is our second annual picture book event:  August 10 for 10.  If you love picture books, you'll love this event which I'm excited to be hosting with Mandy Robek.  For weeks we've all been wrestling with the 10 picture books we just can't live without in our worlds.  You'll find picture books for your classroom, your library, and your bookshelves at home in this year's collection of posts.  If you'd like to have your blog linked to the conversation, just comment with the link for your picture book list here or at Enjoy and Embrace Learning.  You can also send us a link on Twitter using the event hashtag #pb10for10.  If you don't have a blog, but would like to join, there are lots of ways to participate.

Authors We Can't Live Without
Last year, I shared my list of 10 picture books I just couldn't live without.  This year I'm going to share 10 picture book authors I could not live without in my classroom.  I cannot even begin to imagine how I would teach without a collection of picture books.  The authors of these books are such a part of the discussions that take place in our learning community.  They are the books we read to learn, laugh, and talk together.  Not only do these authors help us to grow our reading lives, but they also help us to learn to live the life of a writer.  Authors are an essential part of our classroom.  Here are some must-have authors:

Eve Bunting
Eve Bunting is an author I just can't live without in my classroom.  Her books are perfect for young readers no matter what the grade level.  ANYtime I need a book that is a good mentor text for writing or a read aloud that will evoke discussion I know I can go to his author to find a book that will work.  Most of her books are written in first-person from the point of view of the main character.  Choosing a favorite is a bit of a challenge, but children always enjoy Ducky written by Bunting and illustrated by David Wisniewski.  Bunting wrote this book after reading about a box of plastic toys lost at sea (book includes an author's note).  In this story, Ducky spends days lost at sea hoping to be saved.   He has to be brave as he tries to survive.

Mem Fox
Mem Fox is one of those authors children just love.  I'm always amazed by the reactions her books get when being read aloud.  I love Mem Fox's books for young readers and writers for the very reason she wrote them; they put the sounds of language into the hearts and and minds of children.  Children love to hear books written by Mem, and those books then turn into great writing mentors in our classroom.  Young writers can learn a lot about language, repetition, and story from Mem.  I couldn't live without Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild by Fox and illustrated by Marla Frazee.  My classes always love this story about a small girl, Harriet, who seems to have a hard time staying out of trouble and a mom who sometimes finds it hard to be patient.

Mo Willems
I must admit I was a little slow to get on the Mo bus.  However, it didn't take me long to realize the power his books had with children.  Mo is a bit like Mem in that as an adult I look at his books and say, "That's a pretty good story."  Then kids get ahold of the books and shout joyously as they turn the pages.  Children seem to come alive at the crack of a story by Mo Willems.  Now my classroom is full of Mo Willems books.  My students just can't get enough of his books.  They are a perfect way for emergent readers to choose real picture books in the classroom and not just leveled readers.  So I have to choose a favorite?  Just one?  I think my class from last year would want me to tell you about Elephants Cannot Dance.  In this story Piggie tries to teach Gerald how to dance, but no matter how hard he tries he just can't move like Piggie.  Will Gerald ever find his groove?

David Shannon
David Shannon is the perfect author for a classroom full of beginning readers.  Shannon's character, David, is always one of the characters students love most in our classroom.  I can't imagine starting a year without David Goes To School.  In this story, David seems to have a hard time following the rules of the classroom.  As in many of Shannon's books, the pictures tell the real story.  This is good book for beginning a conversation about ways to make the classroom a place for learning and how each of us can help to do that.

Robert Munsch
Every classroom has to have a collection of books by Robert Munsch.  How can young readers resist stories in which the adults are always a mess and the children always save the day?  The repetitive phrases in Munsch's books make them easy for young readers to reread after the story has been read to them.  Kids love the humor in Robert Munsch's work and his books are always being taken home from our classroom.  Again, picking a favorite is tough, but I'm going to have to say Alligator Baby is always a hit.  In this story, written by Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko, Kristen's parents go to the hospital to have a baby but keep coming home with an animal baby instead of a people baby.  It seems they got confused and went to the zoo instead of the hospital.  Kids love guessing the animal as Kristen slowly lifts the blanket to find the new baby doesn't have "people" characteristics.  Can Kristen save they day?

Todd Parr
I love Todd Parr's books for the message, but the bonus is that young readers love them too.  I think his books are perfect for the beginning of the year when students are first learning to use pictures to tell a story.  Parr's use of shapes and bold colors are perfect for helping young writers begin illustrating their own stories.  Being the literacy geek that I am, I couldn't live without Reading Makes You Feel Good (thanks, Deb Frazier).  It is perfect for the start of the year as we begin our Reader's Workshop and share our love of reading.  (Oh, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of his new book, The I'm Not Scared Book.  Yes, I think I might have just bent the rules a bit and slid in an extra book.)

Eileen Spinelli
Eileen Spinelli is the perfect author to help teach the craft of writing.  Spinelli varies her choice of crafting techniques in her books creating a strong collection of mentor texts for young writers.  My favorite mentor text for young writers is In My Yellow Shirt.  In this story a young boy receives a yellow shirt for his birthday.  What would be considered by many to be an ordinary gift turns into an extraordinary gift as he shares all he can be in his new yellow shirt.  This imaginative tale demonstrates the use of repetition, strong vocabulary, and a seesaw pattern of text among other techniques.

Kevin Henkes
Kevin Henkes is another must-have author for any classroom.  Children love listening to his stories.  His new book, Little White Rabbit, is a book I just couldn't live without in my classroom.  In this story, rabbit wonders what it would be like to be different.  After each page in which little rabbit wonders what it would be like to be different, a beautifully illustrated double page spread shows what it might be like.  For example, little rabbit wonders what it would be like to be tall.  Readers turn the page to find a double page spread showing rabbit taller than the fir trees.   A group of us have been discussing using wonder to frame discussions of inquiry in our classroom.  Maria Caplin has shared Wonderopolis and an idea using wonder jars to start inquiry with students.  I'm thinking this book might be perfect for a collection of books about wonder to help in this experience.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal
I really have to thank Franki Sibberson for this next author.  She has often mentioned Amy Krouse Rosenthal in posts at A Year of Reading.  Eventually I started to put two and two together and realized how many books I had by Rosenthal, and how many more I needed to check out.  I'm still in the discovery stages of noticing all this author can offer the young readers and writers in my classroom.  However, I'm quite sure she belongs on this list of must-have picture book authors.  My students would want me to tell you about Duck! Rabbit!, but I'm going to suggest another favorite Little Hoot written by Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace.  In this story Little Hoot doesn't want to stay up all night like the owls.  Will he ever talk his parents into letting him go to bed early?  Kids love this play on tricking parents at bedtime.

Eric Carle
Though these authors are in no particular order, I suppose it makes sense to end with the tried and true work of Eric Carle.  I don't think I have to tell anyone about all that Carle's work teaches my young writers about illustrating and story telling.  I love, that like Henkes, Willems, Parr and Shannon, Carle writes AND illustrates his own books just like the young writers in my classroom.  They love the innovative ways he presents books to children and this usually inspires some innovation in student writing.  Yes, Eric Carle brings out the scissors and the glue invariably...and a lot more.  Not only are Carle's books perfect as writing mentors, readers love rereading his books over and over again.  It is truly impossible to pick a favorite from Carle's collection, but I suppose A House For Hermit Crab ranks high on my list.  In this story Hermit Crab gets too big for his shell and has to go out searching for a new home.  Will he find the perfect home  for him?

There they are; 10 authors I couldn't live without.  A big thank you to the authors who share their stories in our classrooms shaping the reading and writing lives of the young children in our classrooms.

August 10 for 10: Our Second Annual Picture Book Event

Start Searching
Mandy Robek, of Enjoy and Embrace Learning, and I are so excited to announce the 2nd Annual (cue flashing lights and loud music) AUGUST 10 FOR 10 PICTURE BOOK EVENT (#pb10for10).  Yes, that's right.  It's time to dig through your stack of picture books and find the 10 you just cannot live without in your classroom (library or home).  Now I know many of you have been participating in #bookaday, making wishlists on Amazon, and racing to the door when the delivery truck arrives with new books so you might want to look through those new book stacks too.

What is August 10 for 10?
Last year, Mandy (her 2010 post is here) and I (my 2010 post is here) began wondering about the "must have" books for our classroom.  You know how it goes, one conversation leads to another and, before we knew it we were hosting this event.  Last year over 40 blogs participated.  Each blogger chose 10 picture books s/he could not live without and wrote a post about the titles.  Each blogger put her/his own spin on a collection, and at the end of the event we had a resource with over 400 "must have" picture books.

So start searching.  What are the 10 picture books you could not live without?  This isn't going to be easy but here are some tips (Choosing Picture Books and More About Choosing Picture Books) .  There are so many things to consider when narrowing your list (especially when there are so many amazing books).  After you have finalized your list, write a post about your favorites.  On the day of the event, August 10th, place a link to your blog in the comments of one of our posts.  We will then link your blog to the other participating blogs.  If you don't have a blog.  No worries.  You can share your favorites on Twitter using the hashtag #pb10for10 (or you can start a blog **wink wink**).

Join Us
Pass the news along to your friends and join us August 10th for a virtual picture book party!  You might want to save your money as last year this event resulted in some new picture book purchases.  Contact us on our blogs, on Twitter (@mandyrobek or @cathymere), or by e-mail to let us know you are joining this event.  On the day of the event - August 10th - we will be linking all the "must have" posts.  Can't wait!!

The "Final" List: August 10 for 10 Picture Book Event

The Event

It's finally here! Today I am co-hosting the August 10 for 10 picture book blogging event with Mandy from Enjoy and Embrace Learning. All posts will be linked to both of our blogs. Mandy will be putting together a summary of posts, and I've created a jog to allow you to view all the posts from a common link. A jog allows you to page through all of the posts much like turning the pages in a book. When you click here to go to the jog you will be able to see the "table of contents" of posts. We are thrilled to have so many blogs joining the event. If you're looking for new books for your classroom, for your children, or as a gift you'll want to stop here.

Finally, My 10

For days and days and days you've heard me talk about choosing 10 picture books I can't live without in my classroom. You've watched me tweet, tweet, tweet the links (#pb10for10). I've probably driven a few Twitter friends crazy with my event updates and reminders. Consider yourself lucky. At home, my family has watched me collect picture books, rearrange stacks of picture books, and talk about the reasons I love certain books. I've had picture books stacked on tables, across the living room, and on the couch. They've heard me moan and groan because I just couldn't get my list under 15.

So here it is...the moment we've all been waiting for. Was I able to narrow my collection of picture books to 10 "must haves"? (Yes, I'm cheating a bit with the picture. Rules were meant to be broken bent, right?)

Have you ever been to a restaurant and been unsure of what to order? You're wrestling between a few dishes, and decide to just wait until the waitress or waiter comes to make that final last minute choice?? Well, that's pretty much how this choosing 10 books event is going for me.

The List

OK...the moment you've I've been waiting for. Here are the 10 picture books I think are must-haves. This is my list and I'm sticking to it (for today):

1. The Great Gracie Chase by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Mark Teague.

This is the one book I am keeping from my original list in More Than Guided Reading. (Of course, I still love all the others!) Gracie is a dog who loves quiet. All was quiet and well until the day the painters came to the house. That's the day of the Great Gracie Chase.

This book always has my students spellbound. Rylant has a way with words. Words like "ploop-ploop", changes in sentence length, and repetitive phrases make this a book that is fun for the voice. The story begs to be read quickly...then s l o w l y..., then loud, and then soft. Like all picture books, this book should be read and enjoyed over and over just for the rhythm of the words and the meaning of the story.

Later, it is a good book to revisit as a writing mentor and for reading focus lessons. I've used it to talk about repetition, character, and turning points in stories (among other things). Last year, my students decided our reader's workshop needed to be a place that Gracie would come visit; a quiet place where you could hear "the quiet fish going 'ploop-ploop'". Gotta love that!

2. Good Boy, Fergus written and illustrated by David Shannon

What is a list without David Shannon? There was no way my list could be without him. Let's be honest, young children love David Shannon. How can they not? David Shannon is the perfect author for any primary classroom. Like my young writers, David Shannon writes his own words and draws his pictures. I think this is a powerful example. After much debate about all of his titles, I chose Good Boy, Fergus! for my list. Fergus is not a very well behaved dog. If you read only the words to this book, you'd think Fergus was the perfect dog, but when you look at the illustrations quite the opposite is true.

Young children love this mismatch and play between the words and the pictures making it a good book for discussion about inferring. After hearing the story, the books are easy for emergent readers to return to reread over and over again. Another must-have.

3. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems

You thought #3 would be another dog book, but that would have only worked if I would have chosen The Pigeon Wants a Puppy. Instead I chose this one, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! I know you've all seen it, but it is a "must have" for children.

In this story the pigeon has a burning desire to drive a bus. Mo Willems, who also writes his own books and draws his own pictures, sets up this story as if the pigeon is directly talking to the reader to get permission to drive the bus. There is a lot of begging and pleading to drive the bus. Will he be permitted to drive it? You'll have to read to find out. (The pigeon also does his own tweeting on Twitter. If you're not following him you should be. Lots of laughs.)

Young readers enjoy the speech bubbles and young writers quickly want to give them a try. This is one of those stories children want to hear over and over again. It's also another book emergent readers can hear and then read over and over again.

4. Chalk by Bill Thomson

What is a list of picture book must-haves without a wordless picture book? There are many good wordless picture books to share with students. Wordless picture books are great for discussion and for language development. (Susan, of The Book Maven's Haven, discusses the benefits of wordless picture books and has suggestions for using them with children here.)

I stumbled upon this book, the most recently published book in my 10, last year. It was a hit in our classroom. In this story, some children go to the playground where they find a bag of chalk. When they use the chalk to draw pictures the drawings come to life. You can imagine the problem when one of the children draws a dinosaur on the playground. This book is perfect for demonstrating to young writers that a story can be told with pictures. As readers, much thinking goes into understanding this book. It provides many opportunities for teaching.

My class spent much time debating whether the events "really" happened in the story or whether the kids imagined it. They loved talking about what they would draw with this special chalk.

5. Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

I seem to have a collection of books with beautiful language (except the wordless book above, but students create beautiful language for it) and this book is no exception. Kitten is out for the night and sees, what she thinks is, a bowl of milk in the sky. She tries and tries to get the bowl of milk, but with little luck.

Children are always caught by the repetitive phrases Kevin Henkes uses in this book which are characteristic of much of his work. Children chime in on repeated phrases like "Poor Kitten!" and "Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting." repeat throughout the story. In addition to trying repetition, writers like to try the way Henkes uses several frames of pictures on a page to tell about a series of events.

6. Tough Boris, written by Mem Fox, illustrated by Kathryn Brown

Mem never lets down a crowd, and this book is no exception. Maybe it's because I can hear Mem Fox whispering in my ear that if I'm going to read her book to my class I better put my heart and soul in it, or maybe there's something about the arrangement of words, but I swear her books must be magic. Students love them! They love to listen to them being read over and over again. They love to reread them and take them home.

This story is about the pirate, Boris von der Borch. Boris is a pirate like all other pirates, but he has a soft spot in his heart for his pet parrot. This book is one of my favorites because of the see-saw structure of the text. "He was massive. All pirates are massive." This pattern continues throughout the story. It is a pattern readers can readily see, and writers can easily try.

7. Ladybug Girl, written by David Soman, illustrated by Jacky Davis

Students can easily identify with Ladybug Girl. Mom is busy, and big brother has plans, so Lulu is told she'll have to find things to do on her. This is no problem for this imaginative child. Like any super hero, Ladybug Girl, can get through anything. Lulu is one of those strong characters developed exceptionally well by the author which makes this book an excellent choice for character discussions.

8. Hero Cat, written by Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Jo Ellen McAllister Stammen

Eileen Spinelli is one of the authors I've recently fallen in love with for my classroom. She has such a wide variety of texts of varying topics and varying styles. This book is about a stray cat who has kittens in an abandoned building. Unfortunately, the building catches on fire and her kittens are lost in the heat and smoke. Will they be safe?

This book tops my list for read alouds which make great discussion about various thinking strategies used in reading. In my first grade classroom we work determine the difference between a good citizen and a hero. This book is perfect for helping kids to begin to gain an understanding of heroism. Is this cat a hero?

Of course, my favorite thing about this book is the author's note in the back. Here Eileen Spinelli discusses an article she read in the newspaper about a homeless cat who rescued her kittens from a building that was on fire. She wrote the story to honor the 10th anniversary of this rescue. (Another reason it is perfect for our 10 for 10 event. Sorry, I just couldn't resist.) It is powerful for students to see the connections authors make which give them ideas for their writing. Ideas are everywhere.

On a side note, Eileen Spinelli's website is one of my favorite author sites. Make sure you stop by her monthly poetry post. A delight!

9. The Recess Queen, written by Alexis O'Neill, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith

This book is one of the best read alouds of all time, in my opinion. In this story Jean is a recess bully. She always got her way, and if anyone gave her trouble she'd "push 'em and smoosh 'em, lollapaloosh 'em, hammer 'em, slammer 'em, kitz and kajammer 'em." Scary, huh. That's how it was on that playground until a new girl named Katie Sue came.

This book, like the Great Gracie Chase, is perfect for reading aloud. Changes in print size and placement cause the reader to slow down, speed up, change volume, and adjust intonation. At one point in the story, Katie Sue stands up to Mean Jean and the other children stop. At this pivotal point the story reads, "No one spoke. No one moved. No one BREATHED." No matter how big the group, this point in the story has always silenced the room. You could hear a pin drop as they wait to see what Mean Jean does.

10. I Stink by Kate McMullan & Jim McMullan

My friend, Deb, sold me on this book. She actually tried several times. She kept handing it to me, and I kept passing it back. Finally one day, I really needed a book to help one of my young writers. He was a terrific illustrator; drawing trucks, cars, space ships, animals, etc.. I kept trying to help him to take these drawing and turn them into characters with stories, but he wasn't buying what I was selling. That's where I Stink came to the rescue. I needed a good mentor text for making books about cars, trucks, trains, etc.. So, Deb handed it to me again, but this time I really took a close look. I was sold. I purchased a copy of this book, and other books by Kate & Jim McMullin, this summer. Children will enjoy having them in our classroom library.

Stink is a garbage truck who tells about his day on the job. This book has so much voice. You feel like you're chatting with Stink. The author uses text placement, punctuation, and changes in font to help the reader read the book the way it was intended.

A Reflection

Choosing 10 books every classroom must have was a real challenge --- much more than I had anticipated. There are so many terrific authors, and so many well loved picture books. The hardest part was not having a list that is characteristic of everything I think it is important to have in my classroom library. In our library I want students to be able to find a variety of genres including fiction, nonfiction, literary nonfiction, fairy tales and poetry. Our library needs to be multicultural. I want all of my students to be able to find themselves in our library. I work to find books that appeal to the interests of boys, girls, builders, singers, budding scientists, and pet lovers. This list of 10 in no way manages any of that.

Most of the books I chose are books with strong characters and powerful language. I've discussed some ways they can be used in the classroom. Some are perfect mentors for writing, and others are better for anchoring conversations in reading. However, books that are this well written can work for about anything we are teaching in the classroom, especially the myriad of reading strategies readers must use to understand stories.

Most importantly, all of the books listed above are loved by children. I've realized my list are all picture books I love to read aloud, and books students love to listen to over and over again. Mem Fox reminds us, "The literature I heard, rather than read, as a child resonates again and again in my head whenever I sit down to write." (p. 68, Radical Reflections).

So these are my 10 --- for today --- August 10th. We'll see about tomorrow....

Only 10 Picture Books?!?! What To Do??

When Mandy of Enjoy and Embrace Learning and I started bantering back and forth about the 10 books we couldn't live without in our classrooms, I had no idea it would turn into this fun blogging event (Twitter hashtag #pb10for10). Of course, I also hadn't prepared myself for the challenge of narrowing my stack to just 10 books.

I went to school to pick up some favorites. That really did not go as planned! Can you say, OVERWHELMING!?! There were so many picture books I knew my students had loved over the years. There were so many books students took home night after night. I've been updating my library so there are also new books I recently purchased which I am certain will be a success in the classroom. There were authors to consider. How could I have a list of 10 books without Mem Fox, Eric Carle, Eve Bunting, Cynthia Rylant, Eileen Spinelli, David Shannon, Kevin Henkes, Robert Munsch or Mo Willems (among others)? You see my problem.

So, I decided to make a list of criterion for a book that is a must have in the classroom. Surely that would help. I was still struggling. I wrestled with the idea of choosing the 10. Should they be books children just love to hear? Should they be books I like to use for writing mentors or books that work well for reading focus lessons? I chose my books, but you can see

I still had a problem....

So tomorrow you will see if I have managed to narrow to 10 (I'm interested in the result as well!)....

Tomorrow's Event:

We have well over two dozen blogs that we know will be joining us in the event, and I expect others as it wasn't necessary to reply your intent to participate. The collection of bloggers is diverse in many ways so the lists should be useful to many readers. I can't wait to see everyone's "must haves"!! (I'm saving my money for a few new purchases.) After reading e-mails and messages from other participants I know there are going to be some great spins on the lists (can't give those away though). Stop by and check it out!

If you would like to join our 10 for 10 blogging event, we'd love it! There's still time...

To Participate:

Write a post about the 10 picture books you couldn't live without in your classroom. Sometime during the August 10th event, comment with a link and brief description of your post to my blog or to Mandy's at Enjoy and Embrace Learning (no need to link to both). Your post will be linked to both of our blogs. Mandy will be posting in a summary format, and I'll have a jog of all posts.

Join us for tomorrow's August 10 for 10 "must have" picture book blogging event.

Choosing Picture Books

"What is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?"

Lewis Carroll (from thinkexist.com)

On Tuesday, August 10th, Mandy from Enjoy and Embrace Learning and I are hosting a blogging event: August 10th is 10 for 10 picture books. The list of bloggers that will be sharing their 10 must-have picture books is growing. We're getting excited about the event, and hoping you'll join us. As Julie of Raising Readers and Writers said, "Guess I better save my money...I'll be getting more ideas for books to buy."

To get ready for the event I've begun to consider which 10 books I will add to my list. I've started to compile my list of 10, but I have realized how difficult (and fun!) it is going to be. Only 10 books!! My classroom is full of books I've collected over the years, and I've spent most of this summer updating my library. Only 10 books?? How is one to narrow the list to 10 when there are so many amazing books out there?? Right now I am sure of 1 of my 10 (it's a secret). I have old books I love. New books I'm amazed by. Authors I couldn't live without. Illustrators who captivate my students.

All this talk about picking 10 books to share with everyone has me considering characteristics of a picture book which make it perfect for the classroom. Besides being hard covered, and taped well, I'm thinking picture books for teaching need:

1. Wonderful words: Picture books that beg to be read aloud in a classroom need wonderful words. There needs to be a rhythm to language, a way the words just fall out and sound like music. The words need to allow a little play with your voice. Places where the words say slow down, speed up, talk softly, pause. Words to help you to see the place, share the character's feelings, and participate in the story. My students love books with repeating phrases and words that are fun to say.
2. Illustrations: In picture books illustrations help tell the story. Often they create meaning in ways that words cannot. How often have I been reading to my students and they notice something in the illustrations that is important to the story, but because I am so focused on the words I have completely missed the clue?
3. Length appropriate for attention: It is important to consider the length of a text for read aloud. Let's face it, kindergarteners need a different length of text than a second grader. In first grade, at the beginning of the year, shorter texts are more successful. As the year moves on students are able to attend for longer periods of time so I can share longer stories then.
4. Structured appropriately: Picture books that work best in the classroom are structured in a way that makes sense to children. Characters are manageable and dialogue is easy to understand. My students always love picture books with strong characters or situations they can connect to their daily lives.
5. Mentor texts: While not a necessity for read aloud success, I like to share books with children which can serve as a mentor for their writing. I think it is important for my students to be able to say, "I can write a book like that," or "I can try that," or "I can illustrate like that."
6. Anchor text: The picture books I couldn't live without are those that not only appeal to children, but also support the thinking and learning in the classroom. Let's face it, I'm a teacher. The best books for the classroom are books we can use for different types of teaching. Books which allow us to anchor our thinking and learning. They're books that make us connect, predict, wonder, ask questions, synthesize, debate, and reflect. Interestingly the best books do all of that anyway.
7. Loved by kids: The best picture books for the classroom are those children love. They are the books students want to take home every night. The books classes have loved over and over again. They are books that make kids laugh and touch their hearts. Of course, I think if we love a book enough it will show as we read aloud, and students will be drawn to the story. Different teachers have success with different books. However, I think we have to remember we are adults and sometimes the books that appeal to us are not the ones are students will love. We have to read the silly books. The series books. The books kids want to pick up when they go to the library.

So, I'm off to pick out book #2 for my list. Here are a few sites you might be interesting in visiting:

• Mem Fox gives her read aloud commandments.
• Lester Laminack tells of his vision for children (scroll to the bottom), "Where teachers read aloud with the zeal of a street performer and the frequency of a birdsong"
• President Obama gives his read aloud tips. Stop by to see what you think.
• This site has some reasons for using picture books with children and many great links.

August 10 for 10: A Picture Book Event

If you were stranded on an island and had to teach, what 10 picture books would you hope to have in your bag? Of course, I'm being a bit dramatic (because it's fun), but I do always want to step inside the classrooms of others to see what books they love to use with their students. Which books spark delightful conversation? Which books keep children laughing or touch their hearts? Which books beg to be read aloud again and again? Which books could be used as writing mentors? Which books support the teaching and learning in the community? That's part of the reason why Mandy, of Enjoy and Embrace Learning, and I are hosting an "August 10 for 10" Picture Book event on - you guessed it - the 10th of August.

A little over a week ago, Mandy began reviewing the books I had suggested for teaching in a review of More Than Guided Reading on her blog. I remember writing the list of books. It was fun trying to consider 10 books I thought worked really well with students in a lot of ways. As I made the list I considered books students always connected with in the classroom. As I read her reflections though, I couldn't help but smile. I had been following Mandy's blog for some time, and I knew she had reviewed so many amazing books. I had a feeling Mandy's list of 10 picture books she'd want to have in her classroom would be interesting to read. As I followed her blog through the reviews I began to wonder more and more what Mandy's list would be.

As I followed the reviews of the 10 picture books I'd use for teaching, I also knew my list of 10 books had changed. I still loved all of those books (you'll find each one of them on the shelves of my classroom and each one still has its moment in my teaching), but I wrote More Than Guided Reading when I was working as a literacy coach. I chose the books more from a literacy coach's point of view. I wanted books which would work with students in a range of grade levels. Now I'm teaching first grade....and it's been about 5 years since I made that list. I've read a lot of kidlit blogs since then! I've made way too many trips to the bookstore. I've had so many friends hand me books they love to use with their students. My students have brought me so many books they just love. What would my list of 10 books be???

The more Mandy and I chatted, the more we wondered about the lists of favorites of other teachers, parents, and writers. We thought it would be fun to host a round-up of our friends, favorite blogs, as well as newbie bloggers (like me) sharing their favorite 10 picture books to use in their classroom. Since we're also beginning to feel the excitement of a new school year that is quickly approaching, we couldn't think of a better way to kick off the new school year than with a sharing of books! We're hoping you will join us on August 10th in a celebration of books by sharing the 10 picture books you couldn't live without in your classroom.

Pass the news along to your friends and join us on August 10th for a virtual book tour - a picture book party! Just in time for back-t0-school shopping. Let us know you'll be joining us on our blogs, on Twitter (@mandyrobek or @justwonderinY) or by e-mail. On the day of the event we will both be linking to the posts of your "faves". Can't wait!!!!!