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Title: We All Play
Author: Julie Flett
Illustrator: Julie Flett
Published: May 25, 2021
Pages: 48

Animals and kids love to play! This book celebrates diversity and the interconnectedness of nature through an Indigenous perspective, complete with a glossary of Cree words for wild animals at the back of the book, and children repeating a Cree phrase throughout the book.

Personal Connection: I think this story is good for younger readers. It can be a good beginning book when they can only read a couple of words per page. I think this can also be fun to read to the class and could be very interactive with students.

Theme: Learning
Genre: Picture Book
Main Character: The Children

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Title: Anita and the Dragons
Author: Hannah Carmona
Illustrator: Anna Cunha
Published: March 2021
Pages: 32

Anita imagines she is a princesa, about to be whisked away to a distant land, astride the back of a formidable white dragon. In reality, she and her family are leaving their home in the Dominican Republic, aboard a great white aeroplane, to move to another country.

Personal Connection: I thought this was a very special story. I think that this is my favorite children's book I've read so far. It shows themes of bravery amongst large life changes. I wonder where Anita's story went in the future.

Theme: Bravery, Change
Genre: Children's Literature
Main Character: Anita

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Title: The True Story of The Three Little
Pigs
Author: Jon Scieszka
Illustrator: Lane Smith
Published: 1989
Page Count: 32

This story shows a different version of the classic tale. In this version the wolf is innocent. He goes to each of the pigs homes and asks for sugar, but he sneezes and it blows the house down killing the pig. Then he gobbles up the pig. Also in this version the wolf is being nice to the pigs and the pigs are rude to the wolf just because he is a wolf.

Personal Connection: I thought this was a fun version of the story. If I had this book to read in class I would have my students find the differences between this story and the story they already know about the pigs.

Theme: sympathy
Genre: Children's Literature
Main Character: The Wolf, Three Pigs

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Title: The Three Little Pigs
Author: James Marshall
Published: January 6, 1981
Page Count: 32

This is the classic story of the Three Little Pigs retold by author James Marshall. It follows three pigs each on their own journey. They split up and each build a house out of different material. A hungry wolf comes along and blows the first two pigs house down and gobbles up the pigs. The third pigs home was made of brick and the wolf tried everything to try and get the pig alone to gobble up. Eventually the pig won and ate the wolf.

Personal connection: It is such a classic story that we all know. It is one of those books where the story is so familiar that you think about it first when you are adding books into your classroom. It is a story that many of my students may already know before entering my classroom.

Theme: Courage
Genre: Children's literature
Main Character: The Wolf, Three little Pigs

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Title: My City Speaks
Author: Darren Lebeuf
Illustrations: Ashley Barron
Published: September 7th, 2021
Pages: 32

This was a story about a visually impaired girl walking around her city with her Dad. She talks about the different sounds that she can hear and then at the end she is playing her violin for a crowd of people.

I thought this story was really sweet. Each page it talked about the sounds of the city and how it "speaks" but at the end it said "sometimes the city listens" which was when the girl was playing her violin. I thought this story was really sincere and special. It can teach kids to look at the world a little differently, since the main character was blind.

Theme: Courage, Love
Genre: Children's Fiction Literature

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Title: Be Your Own Best Friend
Author: Gary Robinson
Published: April 5th, 2021
Pages: 40

This book provides a message about self love. It talks about how there shouldn't be anyone or anything stopping you from loving yourself. You can be your own best friend.

I really loved the message the book portrayed. I think that it would be a good book to show young kids because I think it could have a positive impact on them.

Theme: Self Love
Genre: Children's Literature
Main Character: Jayla Rose

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Title: The Magic Treehouse: Camp Time in California
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
Published: March 2, 2021
Page Count: 112

Summary: The magic tree house follows Annie and Jack with a tree house with magical books that takes them to different places. In this one, they are surprised to join John Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt on the most significant camping trip in conservation history.

Personal Connection: These books are very nostalgic for me because I remember my brother reading them to me when I was younger and then later wanting to be able to read these specific books myself. I didn't know that they were still being written so it was super fun to read. These tales are so classic and also allow for kids to have a more imaginative side to reading which can be really helpful in developing their love for reading.

Theme: Adventure
Genre: Children's fantasy fiction
Main Characters: Annie and Jack

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Title: Inside Out and Back Again
Author: Thanhha Lai
Published: February 22, 2011
Page Count: 288

This book is about a young girl named Ha who lives in Vietnam with a father who is missing in action during the Vietnam War. Her mother, Ha, and her three brothers flee across the sea to Alabama after the fall of Saigon.

Personal Connection: I remember reading this book when I was in 3rd grade. I have such a vivid memory of picking up a random book from my teachers library and it was this one. I loved the book and I read it multiple times that year. When I saw this book as one that we could choose I remembered how special it was to me at the time. I want to have this book in my classroom so that kids can experience this incredible book just as I did.

Theme: bravery
Genre: Novel
Main Character: Ha

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Title: Wonder
Author: R.J. Palacio
Published: February 14, 2012
Pages: 310

Auggie Pullman was born with a severe facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. He starts 5th grade and has to deal with the stares and mean comments from his new classmates.

Personal Connection: I read this book for the first time in 5th grade. It was the first book that felt like a "big kid" book for me to read. I think the story is really interesting and unique. It was fun to go back and read the story because I forgot basically the whole book.

Theme: Courage
Genre: Children's Literature

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Title: Love, Violet
Author: Charlotte Sullivan Wild
Illustrator: Charlene Chua
Published: November 16, 2021
Page Count: 40

Violet has a crush on her friend Mira but she is always too afraid to talk to her and play with her at recess. On valentine's day she makes a valentine for Mira but is too scared to give it to her the whole day. She realizes that maybe there is a chance Mira wants to be her valentine too so she gives the valentine to Mira and finds out she was right and Mira gave her a valentine too.

Personal Connection: I thought this story was so sweet and the illustrations were great. What I especially loved about this story was the representation it gave to lgbtq+ students. I watched the read aloud from the author who said that she wished there was a book like this for her when she was a kid to make her feel like she belonged. I am so glad that she was able to do this for students.

Genre: Children's literature
Theme: courage
Main characters: Violet, Mira

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Title: Room on Our Rock
Author: Kate & Jol Temple
Illustrator: Terri Rose Bayntou
Published: Jan 1, 2019
Pages: 32

Room on our Rock is a powerful allegorical exploration of the emotions and fears that drive exclusion, persecution, and rejection of refugees. Read conventionally, it tells the tale of a group of seals who fear the approach of a strange pair of seals, one a child, whose rock is being overwhelmed by the sea.

Personal Connection: This is a great book for the younger grades and displays a sweet message.

Theme: Inclusion
Genre: Picture Book

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Title: Baby Dragon, Baby Dragon!
Author: Melissa Marr
Illustrator: Lena Podesta
Published: 2019
Ages: 4-8

This book is about a dragon and a girl that explore different parts of their kingdom together.

Personal Connection: I thought this was a really good story and it could be so fun for kids to read.

Genre: Children's fantasy

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Title: The Imagination Box
Author: Martyn Ford
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Date: August 2, 2016
Number of Pages: 240 pages

This is a story about Tim, a boy who can create anything that he imagines. He learns some valuable lessons through the book through this skill he has.

Personal connection: I thought this was a fun book to read and I think students would really like it.

Genre: Science Fiction

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Title: The Only Child
Author: Guojing
Published: 2015
Pages: 112

This book has a theme surrounding the loneliness of China's one child rule. It starts with the child home alone and feeling lonely so he goes and explores where he meets a stag in the woods and they go on an adventure together, the child found a friend. Then when their adventure comes to an end the child returns home and his family is back.

Personal connection: this book has a very heavy theme around it but since it is just a picture book I think that it would be good for young kids to start to understand how pictures can tell a story.

Theme: Loneliness
Genre: Picture Book

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Title: The Breadwinner
Author: Deborah Ellis
Published: 2000
Page Count: 160

This story follows an 11 year old girl from Afghanistan that dresses as a boy to become the family's breadwinner after her father is wrongly arrested by the Taliban.

Personal Connection: this story is very heavy but I think it is a good starting place for students to start to read books with deep plotlines. It was a very well written book.

Theme: Gender, Courage, Bravery, Hope
Genre: Chapter book
Main Character: Parvana

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Title: The Cats in Krasinski Square
Author: Karen Hesse
Illustrator: Wendy Watson

Published: 2004
Page Count: 32

This story was about a Jewish girl living in Poland during World War II. They were trying to get food for the others and all of this took a lot of strength and courage. They used the cats in the square as a distraction as they gave food to the others.

Personal Connection: I felt that this was a very powerful story about such an awful time in history. I think that this is a good book for kids to learn about.

Genre: Historical Children's Literature
Theme: Courage, Bravery

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Title: Little Red Riding Hood
Author: Brothers Grimm
Published: 1812
Page Count: 32

This is a classic tale of a girl walking through the forest to go visit her grandmother and keeps getting watched/followed by a sly wolf.

Personal Connection: this is a very iconic tale and I think it is one that everyone should/does know.

genre: children's historical literature
theme: bravery

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Title: Dazzling Travis
Author: Hannah Carmona
Illustrator: Brenda Figueroa
Published: 2019
Page Count: 26

Travis tends to like more feminine things like the color pink and dancing. People at school often make fun of him for it but he decided to not let it affect him because it

does not matter what he likes.

Personal Connection: I think this is such a sweet story about being confident in who

you are and not letting other people's opinions affect you.

Theme: Confidence

Genre: Children's Literature

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Title: Beautiful, Wonderful, Strong Little Me!
Author: Hannah Carmona
Illustrator: Dolly Georgieva Gode
Published: 2019
Page Count: 32

Lilly doesn’t look like most of her friends and they often ask her so much about “what” she is. She feels pressure

by this but then remembers that it does not matter what you look like it matters who you are.

Personal Connection: This is such a good story to inspire kids.

Theme: Confidence, Self-love

Genre: Children's Literature

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Title: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Published: February 14, 2006
Page Count: 192

This story is about a china rabbit who gets seperated from his original owner and then goes on a journey of over 30 years where he meets new people and has many different owners. At the end of the book he ends up in a shop and his original owner sees him and recognizes him as the doll she had when she was younger.

Personal Connection: this was my absolute favorite book when I was a kid. I think I've read it over 5 times in my life and I still own a lot of copies of it therefore it will be the first I put in my classroom. This story is so special to me that I want to have future units surrounding this book and even read it to the class.

Genre: Children's literature
Theme: self discovery
Main character: Edward Tulane

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Title: Forever Cousins
Author: Laurel Goodluck
Illustrator: Jonathan Nelson
Published: October 4, 2022
Page Count: 32

Kara and Amanda hate not being together. Then it’s time for the family reunion on the Rez. Each girl worries that the other hasn’t missed her. But once they reconnect, they realize that they are still forever cousins.

Personal Connection: This is such a good story to inspire kids. I also think it is good at educating kids too about Indigenous culture especially in the 1960s.

Theme: History, Love, Connection, Family

Genre: Children's Literature

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Title: Blue
Author: Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
Illustrator: Daniel Minter
Published: February 15, 2022
Page Count: 40

Goes into the history of the color blue and how it was crafted and developed as a color in African culture throughout history.

Personal Connection: This is a very informative book about the history of the color as well as African culture.

Theme: History

Genre: Children's Literature

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Title: Again Essie
Author: Jenny Lacika
Illustrator: Teresa Martinez
Published: May 3, 2022
Page Count: 40

Rafael, Essie's brother builds a wall to stop Essie from tearing it down but then he realizes that she just want to play with him.

Personal Connection: I liked the way that this book showed a positive relationship between brother and sister, I feel like not a lot of childrens books are about siblings and therefore I liked it.

Theme: Family

Genre: Children's Literature

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Title: All The Way To The Top
Author: Annette Bay Pimentel
Illustrator: Nabigal-Nayagam Haider Ali
Published: 2020
Page Count: 40

A true story about a young girl that was a disability rights activist.

Personal Connection: I think this story is so inspiring and shows how much you can do even as a kid.

Theme: Activism

Genre: Children's Literature

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Mario And The Hole In The Sky: How A Chemist Saved Our Planet

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Mario And The Hole In The Sky: How A Chemist Saved Our Planet

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Title: Mario and the hole in the sky
Author: Elizabeth Rusch
Illustrator: Teresa Martinez
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Page Count: 40

The book is about the scientist Mario Molina and how he discovered the Ozone layer.

Personal Connection: I liked this story because it was a fun way to learn some information on science.

Genre: Children's Literature
Theme: Science, Discovery

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Title: Tooth By Tooth
Author: Sara Levine
Illustrator: T.S. Spookytooth
Published: June 4, 2021
Page Count: 32

This book is teaching about different kinds of teeth depending on what you are, not just human.

Personal Connection: I like when you are learning something informational through the book.

Theme: Informational

Genre: Children's Literature

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Title: Bedtime Math
Author: Laura Overdeck
Illustrator: Jim Paillot
Published: 2013
Page Count: 32

A book with different fun math problems to solve before bed.

Personal Connection: It makes learning fun and also is informative

Theme: Learning

Genre: Children's Literature

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Title: Amelia Badelia Means Business
Author: Herman Parish
Published: 2013
Page Count: 160

Amelia Bedelia and her friends build a zoo in the backyard (complete with stuffed animals and attractions) and offer safari adventures to the neighborhood.

Personal Connection: I remember reading these books when they came out. I think that they are great for common core standards and having the students enjoy reading.

Theme: Adventure

Genre: Children's Chapter book

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Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes

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Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes

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Title: Mercy Watson: Something Wonky This Way Comes
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Page Count: 96
Published: 2005

Some may find it wonky to take a pig to the drive-in. But not the Watsons, who think the movie’s title, When Pigs Fly, is inspirational. And not their beloved Mercy, who is inspired by the scent of real butter from the theater’s Bottomless Buckets of popcorn. As they pull up in their convertible, Mercy lifts up her snout and becomes a pig on a mission, leading a delirious chase that’s trailed by hapless rescuers reunited from Mercy’s earlier adventures.

Personal Connections: I actually read the copy that I have of this book at my house when I went home for spring break. This was one of my favorites as a kid and I plan to put it in my library.

Genre: Children's chapter book

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Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

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Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus

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Title: Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus
Author: Barbara Park
Published: July 1, 1992
Page Count: 80

Make way for Junie B. Jones - a girl who's speedy fast, except when she's feeling squeezy about going to school.

Classic books that all kids tend to love

Genre: Chapter book

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Title: The BFG
Author: Roald Dahl
Published: 1982
Page Count: 224

The BFG is a 1982 children's book written by British novelist Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 book Danny, the Champion of the World. The book is dedicated to Dahl's late daughter, Olivia, who died of measles encephalitis at the age of seven in 1962

Personal Connection: Another book that i remember from when I was younger.

Genre: Childrens chapter books

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Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Author: Roald Dahl
Published: 1964
Page count: 192

The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.

Personal connection: I hadn't read this book in a long time but it was nice to reread it since I am used to the movie.

Genre: children's literature.