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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

10 Picture Books I've Recently Discovered

I love the idea that Cathy and Mandy had for today's picture book celebration--choose 10 picture books that you couldn't live without in your classroom. As I started my list, I realized that I could NEVER narrow it down to 10 so I decided to focus my list a bit. Today, as part of August 10 for 10, I am sharing 10 picture books that I have recently discovered-those that I can't live without. They are not the only 10, but they are 10 newer ones that I have fallen in love with.



CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG is my favorite book of the year. At first, I wasn't too thrilled to see that Mo was writing about characters other than Pigeon, Piggie, and Elephant. But this book is amazingly powerful for so many reasons. I have read it to children and adults and love it more and more each time I read it.

OTIS by Loren Long is another that is already well-loved in the library. This is a story of Otis, a tractor who is so happy with life until the new big shiny tractor comes to the farm. This is really a story of friendship and loyalty. You will LOVE the characters.

KATIE LOVES THE KITTENS by John Himmelman is a great story for dog lovers. Katie is a dog who gets new kittens at her house. She LOVES the kittens but they don't love her right away.

BELLA AND BEAN by Rebecca Kai Dotlich is a book that I carried around with me for weeks after I discovered it. These two girls are two of my favorite characters of all time and the fact that these girls are poets just adds to the fun.
HOW TO HEAL A BROKEN WING by Bob Graham is one that I read to several grade levels. A great
story about a boy who helps a bird to heal. But if you dig beneath the surface, there are so many great messages in the story and the illustrations. The writing is amazing--not one word wasted.
PETE THE CAT: I LOVE MY WHITE SHOES by Eric Litwin. All you have to do to fall in love with this book is to watch the video of the author sharing it with kids.

I KNOW HERE by Laurel Croza is filled with beautiful writing of home, the place the narrator knows best. Remembering what she loves about her home, she prepares to move to a new place. The writing makes this a great mentor text for kids.

A SMALL BROWN DOG WITH A WET PINK NOSE by Stephanie Stuve-Boden is one of my all-time favorite books about a girl trying to convince her parents that she wants a dog. This little girl is quite clever!

GUESS AGAIN by Mac Barnett is a great rhyming book that is full of surprises!

WAITING FOR WINTER by Sebastian Meschenmoser is a fun book about 3 animals who want to see winter so instead of hibernating they look for snow. Lots of humor in this one too!

Check out all the 10 for 10 Picture Book posts at Reflect & Refine (Cathy's blog) or Enjoy and Embrace Learning (Mandy's blog). Join the fun! Which 10 picture books are the ones you couldn't live or teach without?

7 comments:

  1. Pete the Cat continues to remain a favorite in our home! My toddler son loves to try singing "the shoes" song.

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  2. I think Bella and Bean is amazing, such a fabulous story that speaks to a writer's heart and art that kind of sneaks up on you, and I adore Otis, too, I wish every kid in the world could have a copy. This was a really outstanding list. Great taste! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Oh goody! Another wonderful list from you. So many of these are favorites of mine. Bob Graham is tremendous in art and word, and Rebecca's BELLA AND BEAN is enchanting. I'm off to find the ones I've yet to learn. Thank you!
    A.

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  4. love your descriptions of these books, I will have to check some of these out. Thank you for taking the time to do this list!

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  5. Must get your last four for myself, thanks for joining us in the sharing.

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  6. Thank you so much for sharing these! I was subbing last year so I have not been keeping up on newer titles. I think I need them all! I always enjoy hearing what you have to say about books. I have read your blog for quite some time. I really would like to get the one about Bella and Bean because my nickname was Bean when I was younger.

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  7. Love your list- can't wait to read some of the ones I haven't seen yet!!
    Thanks!!

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