I Like Children's Book, and I Know It...

This is a fun link up about favorite children's books brought to you by Primary Polka Dots...get ready to create an even longer wishlist for new classroom books as you click through the different posts!

I can remember listening to my 4th grade teacher read Shoebag to my class. As she read, I could envision the characters and all of the events that took place throughout the book. I, along with most of my classmates, fell in love with Shoebag, a cockroach as he endured the trials of becoming human for a period of time. The book is hilarious, but the spoiled little girl that he lives with also learns a great life-lesson at the end of the book.

One of the things that students always enjoy about the book is discovering how cockroaches get their "names". I won't spoil it for those of you who have never read this book.

A few years back, I was fortunate that my school's librarian decided to purge our school's copy of the book (which was in pretty good condition!). She knew it was my favorite and was sure to give it to me! It is sitting on my book shelf right now, just awaiting me to open it back up and share it with my 4th grade students!


One of my all time favorite authors is Gordan Korman. His books are geared toward upper elementary grades. Some of his books make up series, while others are stand alone books.

His writing style lends itself well toward accelerated students because of the level of vocabulary he uses. With each Gordan   Korman book that I have used, I always try to emphasis the new vocabulary that students encounter.

Although I haven't read all of his books (I'm far from it!), some of my favorites are:
*The Dive Series
*39 Clues
*Swindle
*The Island Series
*The Everest Series

One of my favorite illustrators is Patricia Polacco.
I know, I know. She's most known for her books, not her pictures. This is why she's my favorite! Her books are phenomenal and link so wonderfully with different points in history. I adore the way she tells her stories with emotion that draws the readers in and makes you love the characters!When I read Thank You, Mr. Falker for the first time, I cried like a baby! Pink and Say is the perfect addition to any Civil War unit. (btw, I cried during that one too! Sweet MoMo Bay!) And, of course, I treasure EmmaKate because that is my middle child's name (& I love the creativity
that is sparked from the story!). All of her illustrations go perfectly with both of these stories as well.

The Late, Great Dick Hart is an older novel that one of my favorite colleagues of all time introduced me to a few years before she retired. As with a lot of novels, it can cover several standards at once. I wouldn't recommend reading this book with below 5th grade because it is about two friends. One of the friends die, and the other one learns to deal with his death throughout the remainder of the book. The students LOVE the book, and it is a fabulous read aloud

Thanks for stopping by!

Elaine, Teaching Lane