Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Coffee brewed. Rae Dunn mug selected. Make It Happen. It’s my third cup of dark roast coffee. No cream. No sugar. Bitter and dark. It’s a day for ambitious endeavors. I am sorting through books for the first week of school. There are a plethora of picture and chapter books to choose from. Kindness; classroom expectations; growth mindset, and social emotional learning are only a handful of topics that will be covered the initial weeks of school.

First pass through the bookcase complete. Will this list change? Oh, yes! We have a couple more weeks before returning. There is just enough time to finish reading one more chapter book. In the meantime, coffee is brewing and pages are turning.

Picture Books

1. School’s First Day of School, by Adam Rex
2. Do Unto Otters: A Book of Manners, by Laurie Keller
3. What are Words Really?, by Alexi Lubomirski
4. Be Kind, by Pat Zietlow Miller
5. The Smart Cookie, by Jory John
6. What do you do with a Chance?, by Kobi Yamada
7. Maybe: A Story About the Endless Potential in all of us, by Kobi Yamada
8. The Book With No Pictures, by B.J. Novak
9. I Don’t Care, by Julie Fogliano
10. Noodle and the No Bones Day, by Jonathan Graziano
11. Wordy Birdy, by Tammi Sauer
12. Wordy Birdy Meets Mr. Cougarpants, by Tami Sauer
13. I Wonder, by K.A. Holt
14. After the Fall, by Dan Santat
15. When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left, by Peter Reynolds
16. The World’s Best Class Plant, by Audrey Vernick

Breakfast & A Book Read Aloud

Breakfast & A Book organically developed last school year. While eating breakfast in the classroom, students listen to a chapter book read aloud. As a class, we “sample” three chapter books and take a class vote. The winning chapter book is then read and discussed over breakfast. It’s also an incentive to arrive at school on time. If you’re tardy, then you miss the story. Do I leave the story on a cliffhanger? You betcha!

One of these lovelies will be selected as the first chapter book read aloud of the school year. It is always a challenging decision. Last year, my students had a wicked sense of humor. They were comedians. Loved to giggle and laugh. Second graders are ridiculously silly.

• The Chocolate Touch, by Patrick Skene Catling
• Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate
• The Trouble With Chickens, by Doreen Cronin
• Frindle, by Andrew Clements
• Gooney Bird Greene, by Lois Lowry
• Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl

*Please note that bookshop links will be shared at a later time.

Please share your favorite back to school read aloud.