Golden bookshelf and books about reading

In my classroom, we have lots of books. We use them for Daily 5 and we use them for read alouds. The books are on shelves built into the wall. But on the counter, we have one small but very special shelf called our "Golden Bookshelf". (This idea came from Steven Layne's book Igniting a Passion for Reading: Successful Strategies for Building Lifetime Readers). Each week, I put some wonderful books on the golden bookshelf.

Our school uses Storytown for language arts. So I try to tie the books on the golden bookshelf to that week's main selection...either thematically or by doing an author study or topically.

Last week, our main selection was Arthur's Reading Race by Marc Brown. Arthur doesn't think D.W. can read and says if she can read ten words while they are taking a walk, he will buy her an ice cream cone. We talked about how reading helped her (kept her safe, helped her prove she can read, allowed her to help Arthur) and how reading can help us (be smart, learn new things, have fun, get good jobs, help others, keep us safe).

So for the golden bookshelf, our books were all about reading. Here are the titles that I chose to spotlight this time:

Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco is one of my all time favorite books. Polacco had a hard time learning to read, but a special fifth grade teacher helped her to learn. This is her story of learning to read.

How to Teach a Slug to Read by Susan Pearson gives the mama slug step-by-step directions on how to teach her little slug to read. Many of the steps are true for young children, but some are especially for slugs. Cute.

Miss Dorothy and her Bookmobile by Gloria Houston is a sweet, true story of a woman who wants to be a librarian in a beautiful, big library. But she and her husband move to a rural area where there isn't a library. So this innovative woman helps the town buy a bookmobile which she drives all over so that people can check out books. Gorgeous illustrations and sweet ending.

Edward and the Pirates by David McPhail...One night while Edward is reading, the pirates in his book come to life and think his book will tell them where their treasure is hidden. If you've ever felt a story come to life in your mind...or wished that it would REALLY come to life, this is the book for you!

No T. Rex in the Library by Toni Buzzeo is the story of what would happen if there were a dinosaur trampling all the books in the library. Fun vocabulary in this rhyming book.

Wild about Books by Judy Sierra The library bookmobile comes to the zoo and the animals fall in love with books. Great illustrations and fun story.

Hooray for Reading Day by Judy Sierra In this story, Jessica is nervous about reading aloud to her class. But her dad helps her to know that she can do it and after practicing with her dog, she does a great job. Great for kids that find reading difficult or find reading aloud in front of their peers to be scary.

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills is the story of a cute dog that is taught how to read by a bird.

Series of Chapter Books

As per a parent request, here is a list of chapter book series that many second graders can read and enjoy. Of course, there are many other books that your child may like and not all second graders are ready for chapter books (which is okay).

Early Chapter Books
Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Mr. Putter and Tabby by Cynthia Rylant
Magic School Bus Chapter Books by Eva Moore and Ted Enik
Arthur Chapter books by Marc Brown



A little harder chapter books:
Horrible Harry by Suzy Kline
Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osbourne
Jigsaw Jones by James Preller and R. W. Alley
A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy and John Steven Gurney

Spooky Reads

Here are a few Halloween reads that your child might enjoy:

Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by Gris Grimly... cute, clever story, creepy/fun illustrations

The Little Green Witch by Barbara Barbieri McGrath, illustrated by Martha Alexander... a Halloween remake of The Little Red Hen...with a fun twist at the end.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler... a witch keeps making room on her broom for friends...until the broom snaps in two. Then they have to come up with a plan for the best broom of all.

A Very Brave Witch by Alison McGhee and illustrated by Harry Bliss... A little witch and little girl both show their bravery.

The Halloween House by Erica Silverman and illustrated by Jon Agee...A counting back book (from 10 to 1) with rhyming and all your favorite Halloween creatures.

CinderHazel... The Cinderella of Halloween... by Deborah Nourse Lattimore... I love clever remakes of fairy tales... and this Halloween Cinderella is sure to delight... Cinder Hazel is the messiest Cinderella of all.

The Witch Next Door by Norman Bridwell (author of Clifford)... Some neighbors don't want a witch living next to them... so the witch casts a (kind) spell on them.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything... Lovely repetitive book with a great ending.

The Benefits of Picture Books

I'm part of a children's literature group on Goodreads (which I love!) and links to a NY Times Article were posted there. The article talks about how and supposedly why picture book sales have been declining. I say supposedly because while I think there is some truth in what the article says, I think the article was very slanted and only considered one possible reason for the decline. Anyway,if you want to read the article here's the link: NY Times Article

I want to point out a few things. First, the parent who was quoted in the article was misquoted and has written a response explaining her position and telling more about her children's reading lives. Second, I think the article was written in an alarmist method. I don't know that looking at one year of sales is enough to say that picture books are no longer popular. And even if sales are declining, I don't think they can necessarily use that to draw the conclusions that they did. But it did make me think that I would like to share why I think picture books are valuable.

After reading the article as well as two responses to it, I wanted to share my thoughts. You might also want to read this link for someone else's views on why picture books are valuable...as well as to find information about many great children's books: Book Moot

Here's what I said about the article on Goodreads:
"While I still find the article a little sad, I guess I like to focus on what I can control. I certainly can't control how other people choose to spend their money (and I can't afford to buy enough picture books to personally make much of a dent in picture book sales! :)) but I can read aloud great picture books to my students and my children. I sometimes blog about my favorites and review them here on Goodreads. I also sometimes pass especially good ones on to other teachers. And if those of us who love picture books do those things then we'll raise a generation of kids who love picture books and see the value in them."

So, in no way am I trying to get kids or parents to stop reading chapter books. I love chapter books, and my daughter is thrilled to be reading chapter books now. But I would discourage pushing kindergartners and first graders to read chapter books...if they are ready and they choose them, that's okay, but I would keep a big emphasis on picture books. And I would have my kids keep reading picture books as long as they are willing and I would read picture books aloud to them until they are at least 8-10 years old. Here is why:

**Picture books cover a wide range of genres. Often once kids begin reading chapter books, they get hooked on a series or specific genre of book. This is not bad...in fact in many ways it is good. But you can often get children to read a picture book from a genre that they might not take the time to read in a chapter book. This exposes them to many new ideas and ways of seeing the world.

**Picture books contain amazing illustrations. Exposing children to great artwork engages their brains in a different way and is enriching.

**Picture books contain beautiful language. Few children reread chapter books over and over, but kids fall in love with the language, rhythm and cadence of well-written picture books and these books are read over and over. Repeated reading of well loved books increases vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, understanding of text structure, etc. OH and perhaps most importantly, it leads to engagement and enjoyment!

**Many picture books actually contain more difficult vocabulary and concepts than early chapter books and beginning reader books.

** Reading picture books aloud builds family togetherness, bonding, etc. It leads to great discussions and strengthens love and builds an eagerness for reading. Honestly, as a teacher (and a parent) if I could get every parent to do one thing it would be to read to their kids.

**Picture books come in a wide range of levels. Some are aimed at very young children but some are truly aimed at preteens, teens and even adults. I can literally say that many picture books have brought me to tears.

A few examples are Thank You, Mr. Falker and Junkyard Wonders, both by Patricia Polacco as well as She Taught Me To Eat Artichokes by Mary Kay Shanley and illustrated by Paul Micich.

Not only have picture books caused me to cry, they often make me laugh. I love rewritten fairy tales with a modern twist or fun new perspective. I'm writing a post on my other blog with some of my favorites listed.

And want to get in a holiday mood? NO matter whether the approaching holiday is Halloween, Christmas or the Fourth of July, there are darling picture books to get you in the mood. I fill my classroom and home with holiday books and it adds to the excitement.

I know that reading chapter books feels like a rite of passage for many kids. So, here in my home, what I do is let my second grader read aloud to me from her chapter book and then she and her sisters each pick a picture book for me to read to them. When we go to the library, they can each check out one chapter book but up to 8 or 10 picture books. I certainly don't think you should make a child read picture books, but every child loves to be read to. As a teacher, I have read aloud picture books to kids in first grade up to sixth grade. And in fact, I've seen a junior high teacher read aloud picture books to kids...and that teacher had them enthralled, on the edge of their seat and eager for more! So what I'm hoping is that as parents, we keep reading and buying and checking out picture books. We are the models for our children. If we fill our homes and our lives with great books...both picture books and chapter books, our lives will be richer and so will our children's lives.