Summary: The story starts off with a very excited caterpillar who wants to know what his friends are doing and can he join them. Caterpillar doesn't seem to know much about what happens to caterpillars and isn't very patient about letting nature move at its own speed. Great book to discuss the value of patience and the process of metamorphosis.

Evaluation:

I love reading this book with the students they really enjoy the illustrations. It is a good support book for 2nd grade science unit of life cycles.

Summary:

"The Big Cheese" likes to let everyone know how good they are at everything, but when they lose a race to the shy 'Wedge Wedgeman,' the Big Cheese has to be humble in the face of defeat. Great book for teaching kids about trying you best, but being OK with the outcome. It is OK to lose and it can even help you learn to be better.

Evaluation:

Kids will like the funny story and silly illustrations, but the book confronts a problem that is particularly difficult for this generation; failure. Kids are under a lot of pressure to achieve and compare themselves with others. This book is a great way to explore those feelings but laugh about it along the way.

Publisher's synopsis: "The job of a baby banshee, a "bansheenie," as they are called, is to bond with a human. Once bonded, they know everything about that person. Most importantly ... when they will die. But the bansheenie in this story, named Beanie, is no ordinary herald of death. ..."

Eren's take: I LOVED THIS BOOK. It's the most precious take on an old Irish tale of woe of warning and it's just splendid. Recommend for story on folklore, travel, spooky season and more - great for grades 2 and up.

By: Aaron Becker

Summary:

A giant robot finds themselves the caretaker of an abandoned zoo. Earth has been flooded and the robot must now take care of the animals that remain. As the waters continue to rise, the robot must discover a way to save the animals and decides to build an ark. After facing several obstacles, the robot meets another robot on a deserted island who uses a hot air balloon to help save the animals from the flood waters.

Evaluation:

This is an amazing book! There are so many topics that this book could be used to teach about. Empathy, compassion, respect and perseverance are all SEL topics that come up in this story. Also, this book seems to be a modern-day version of Noah's Ark. It would make a great lesson to compare the two stories. This book also indirectly covers topics of climate change and conservation. It could lead to great discussions about the future of our planet. I think this book could be used with all levels of students. Simple lessons of empathy could be taught with kindergarten and deep analysis and environmental science connections could be discussed with high school students. This is really awesome and I will be adding it to my school collection.

Recommended for ages 8-12

Review by: Dawn Gaug

Summary:

Esme can't wait to finish sixth grade and dive head first into summer swimming. All her siblings are so accomplished, but Esme can't seem to get anything but criticism and disappointment from her Mom. As Esme settles back into her familiar summer routine with swim club, she finds new challenges -- a troublesome new girl, her embarrassing growth spurt, and a whole new middle school social scene. Will Esme's new success at swimming solve all her problems or will she find that winning isn't everything?

Recommendation:

This is a perfect summer reading book for ages 8-12. The theme of summer swimming connects easily to summer activities and girl athletes. This book wold be a good step up from first chapter books. The chapters are short and the typeface is large and generously spaced.

Age Range: Intended for Prek-Kinder but could be used in commemorating older grades at graduating levels.

Summary: The worlds favorite sassy pigeon is back and he finds himself at a crossroad of fear and excitement as he faces the next stage in life.

Connection/Recommendation: This story can be used with lower/early elementary grade students to discuss facing fears, persevering, and moving forward through the unknown. This is a perfect story time companion for prek/kindergarteners who are nervous about graduating to the next grade level.

Ages: 4-8 (preK-3rd)

Summary: In an effort to protect itself from ever getting squished again by various forces, one little sandcastle tries to be bigger and taller and stronger! But is that enough to stop all the squishes that may come its way?

Evaluation: A wonderful story about what to do when you're feeling "squished" and that sometimes if you take a look around you, you may just notice that others might be feeling the same way. Perhaps you can even come together to overcome your current situation, or at least have some fun trying! A great lesson about not giving up, and getting by with a little help from some friends. Also, how can anyone resist the adorableness of that big-eyed sandcastle?

Age Range: 3-6

Summary from Amazon: "Readers of children’s books ages 3–5 will fall in love with this captivating bird book for kids as it follows Bert’s touching quest to win over his potential mate through creativity and persistence. Perfect for fans of The Baddies or other Julia Donaldson books, this delightful kindergarten-level reading book offers young readers a beautifully illustrated story that explores themes of self-worth and acceptance through the charming adventures of a determined bowerbird."

Connection/Recommended Usage: I like the idea of using this book before testing (like the DIBLES test in K) to remind students of their self-worth when doing something new.

Summary: In Escaping Peril, Peril wants to leave her deadly past behind and protect her friends at Jade Mountain Academy. When her former queen, Scarlet, threatens the school, Peril sets out to stop her—joined by a mysterious SeaWing named Turtle. As she struggles with her fiery powers and reputation, Peril must decide if she can change who she is and become a hero.

Evaluation: The illustrations in this graphic novel are engaging and beautiful. However, they are unvaried. There were so many pictures of the dragons and not a lot of the surrounding land or other backgrounds. Students however will find this book fun to read and will be excited to have the next book in the series. This is a good series to use for reluctant readers, although this book is book 8 and not the first.

PreK - 2nd Grade

Summary: In this story, Bear is sitting on a park bench enjoying the day. Suddenly, a bunch of animal friends come and visit him. Only, they want him to interact with them and share with them. Bear does not share his true feelings--that he would rather enjoy some peace and quiet. Because of this, he lets his feelings build up inside of him until something strange happens! Find out what happens when you read this story.

Connection: This story could be used for socioemotional learning for young readers. Just like Bear navigates what it means to be kind to others vs. what it means to be a people pleaser, this story could be used to discuss these topics with children.

Age Range Recommendation: 4-8 years old

Summary: In this story, our main character, a little girl named Janie, is a birder. She loves to go out and watch birds of all kinds, but what she really wants is to find an owl. However, owls usually do not want to be seen, and so despite all her efforts, she has not yet been able to locate one. Her teacher helps her learn all about owls so that she can make her dream come true. As she continues her adventures to find this animal, will she finally succeed?

Connection/Recommended Usage: I would recommend using this book with younger elementary school students, perhaps while doing a unit on wildlife. It is also a great book to teach patience and pereserverance, and how we may not always accomplish what we want on the first try.

Age Range Recommendation: Preschool-Kindergarten (ages 3-5)

Summary: Join Jelly in this dangerous journey through the ocean! Jelly is cautious and does not want to take any risks as many dangers lurk around the ocean floor. In this interactive story, Jelly pleads readers to not touch anything or make any sudden movements. Although Jelly can sound convincing, that does not mean that they will listen. If you want to see the outcomes of this dangerous book, then you will have to read along with Jelly to find out.

Connection/Recommendation: This interactive story is sure to make young students laugh! I would recommend reading this story with new preschool students or reluctant readers. These interactions will help them to feel as though they are part of the story and get them excited about the book. This book would also be good to use to help students build their speaking skills by allowing them to make decisions for the character in the story and giving explanations for their choices.

Author: Vashti Harrison

Age Range Recommendation: 4-14. It's definitely geared towards younger readers with the few words per page, but its message would really hit home for middle school students, too.

Summary: A young girl is happy and thriving until she is told she is too big by various adults and other kids in her life. Their comments start to get her down as they affect her self esteem. She has to find a way to define herself, instead of letting others' words define her.

Connection/Recommendation: This is a powerful book for discussing body image, bullying, self esteem, confidence, and more.

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Age Range Recommendation- Pre-K -2nd

Summary: This is a hilarious (or boring) book about a boy who sits in his chair, does his laundry, and completes his math homework. Yet the pictures show something entirely different happening.

Connection/Recommendation: This is such a fun book! I used it in my preschool and K classes as a way to review some of our expectations on what we do when we have a story time (as we all do at whatever point of the year). I told them this would be an easy one to practice with because it was not silly or exciting at all and then revealed the titled. It is also a great way to get some discussion going on reading the text and the pictures and what happens when they are not aligning (or what ways they think they still are)

Author: Kaylin Melia George

Illustrator: Mae Waite

Age Range: PreK- Third Grade (Ages 4-8)

Summary: A young girl explores the many meanings of "aloha" while celebrating family, culture, and community. The beautiful illustrations help readers understand how one word can express love, kindness, and connection.

Connection/Recommendation: This book supports discussions about culture, language, and community. It can be used during multicultural lessons, family engagement activities, or social-emotional learning units focused on kindness and respect.