Book Bash!

I am so excited to be a part of Kinder Friends!  This is a great group of bloggers and I am excited to get to know some new online buddies.  We wanted to do a blog hop on a great topic that all teachers love - books!  Hence, the "Book Bash" was born!  Since the end of the school year is fast approaching, I thought I would write about a couple of my favorite end of the year books and share some activities and freebies.  (This blog post contains affiliate links for your convenience.)

One of my favorite books of all time to read is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson.  Do you know The Gruffalo?  He has knobby knees, and...............you will get the reference if you know the book!  Ha! Ha! If you don't know the book, you should!  The Gruffalo is a delightful tale that rhymes, introduces different characters, and is full of surprises!  I was first introduced to The Gruffalo when a student brought the book in for her birthday.  I said I would read the book and I was blown away.  I kept saying how cute this book was and my student kept saying "I know!"

This is an excellent book that rhymes and is a story that you will want to read over and over.  It is the tale of a little mouse who is walking through the woods and he meets other animals who want to eat him.  He scares them off by telling the animals that he is meeting a Gruffalo, and describes a scary character.  The animals scurry away and then much to the mouse's surprise, he runs into a Gruffalo.  The Gruffalo is hungry, and the mouse looks tasty.  Will the mouse live?  And if so, how?  You must read it to find out.

I love this book so much that I wanted to extend our learning and focus on comprehension skills.  I created a literacy pack that is full of activities to reinforce sequencing skills (with many opportunities with picture cards for the pocket chart, a worksheet, crowns and a storyboard with puppets).  This also has many differentiated worksheets to practice character, setting, cause and effect, and more!

I wanted to share a cute freebie from the pack.  It is a storyboard in color with the characters from the story (there is also a storyboard in B&W in the big pack).  You can laminate them and put them on popsicle sticks and have your students retell the story.  Click on the image below to download your freebie.

Check out the preview below of the skills you will find in this packet.  If you like the freebie and are interested in more, you can find the packet in my TpT store here.

Another end of the year favorite is Humpty Dumpty by Daniel Kirk.  This is an adorable story of Humpty Dumpty that rhymes and is so enjoyable  Humpty wants to go to a birthday parade for King Mo, but Humpty's mom is worried about her little egg.  He promises to be careful and off he goes with his friends.  Well, Humpty can't see in the parade and so he climbs a wall - uh-oh.  It turns out that King Mo likes puzzles and gives it a whirl after all the king's men tried.  This story rolls off the tongue and is just so endearing.

After reading this story, we make a brick wall.  I fold a piece of white paper and staple it about 1/3 of the way up.   However, you could also have your students glue this (only on the sides) to save time.

The egg pattern I have is on thick cardstock.  I trace the egg pattern on different colors of construction paper.

I let the children pick the egg and have them decorate one side "regular" and one side "cracked".
They make a brick wall pattern on the white paper.  Then, they glue down the poem and can recite the poem and act it out.

If you'd like the words to make your own Humpty Dumpty, click below.  I did update the way the poem looks from my example.  This was back in the day before TpT and all the cute borders and fonts, and I was at a school that used D'Nealian.

I hope these ideas help you add some fun into the end of your school year.  My last day is June 10th with students.  How about you?

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Make sure to hop on over to Brittany's blog, A Kindergarten Love Story, to find out about some of her favorites books!

Best Books to Read at the Beginning of the School Year

The theme this week for Must Read Monday is must read stories for the beginning of the school year. This is also the FINAL week of Must Read Monday (sniff, sniff).  This has been a great summer linky party and I am so happy you came along on this reading adventure!

Some of you have already started school and I hope it is going well.  Some of you are like me, and won't get to meet your new little sweeties until September.  In any event, these are books that can be read at the beginning of the school year, and may also be revisited throughout the year.  Many of these become class favorites and students love to hear these stories more than once.

We wanted to end Must Read Monday with a giveaway!  Make sure to stick around so you can enter the rafflecopter below!

The Kindergarten Connection and I would love to know  - what are your favorite book(s) to read at the beginning of the school year?  You can link up with us and/or leave us a comment down below!  Here are a few of my favorites!

No David!,  David Goes to School and David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon are must reads for any primary grade classroom.  The books have easy language for children to learn and funny illustrations.  The David books are great because they show non-examples (or wrong examples) of behavior, and it leads to a class discussion about what the behavior should look like.  I always read these books within the first week of school and they help guide our discussion while developing our classroom rules.

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen is another fun book that illustrates challenging behaviors.  The story asks questions about how dinosaurs go to school and throughout the book I ask the children if the different behaviors are appropriate.  They always answer "No!"  The second half of the story talks about the correct behavior a dinosaur should exhibit at school.  The dinosaur books rhyme, are silly, and the students enjoy them.

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate is a book that teachers setting up their classrooms can definitely relate to.  Miss Bindergarten comes into her classroom and unpacks, decorates, and gets ready for her sweet students at the beginning of the school year.  This story is a wonderful rhyming book and the students' names in the story start with each letter of the alphabet A-Z.  I tell my students that I have to do similar things when setting up our classroom - just like Miss Bindergarten.  I read this story at the start of the year, and so my kindergarteners usually just stare at me!  Ha! This is a charming story and a great beginning of the school year read!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is a wonderfully playful alphabet book with rich and silly language.  The letters are trying to go up the coconut tree, but can they all do it?  There are capital and lowercase letters featured in this story.  I have the audio version of this story.  I never just read it.  Instead, I always play the song, and we sing along.  It is quite fun!

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books! by Lucille Colandro is another fun Old Lady story with a repeating structure.  She swallows many different school supplies and this story is perfect for retelling the order in which she swallowed them.

The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing follows the pattern of the other The Night Before stories.    This story focuses on several children who are getting ready for kindergarten and dreaming about school supplies on the night before the first day of school.  The parents bring their children to school and everyone meets the teacher.  Tears may be shed in this sweet rhyming story!

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes is a favorite story of mine that I read to initiate discussions about treating each other kindly.  It is a lovely story about a little girl with a long and pretty name who gets made fun of by a group of not so nice girls.  Chrysanthemum feels awful after school each day and her parents try to help her feel better.  It is only when the music teacher enters the picture that things begin to change for all involved.  This story is very relatable when talking about being a kind friend and what using un-kind words might feel like.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn is the book I read right away to my kindergarten students - like on the first day of school right away.  After backpacks are put away, I gather the children on the carpet.  There are many sniffles from children and parents simultaneously but that is when I start to share the story about Chester the raccoon going to school and not wanting to leave his mother.  The mother shares "the kissing hand" with Chester and that helps him go to school with a smile.  After I read this story, I tell the children that we are going to give the kissing hand to our parents and say goodbye and we will see them at the end of the day.  This is a nice way to have a large group of parents slowly exit the room, and a good way for us to get started with our kindergarten day.  Warning: this also causes some children to cry harder!

Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes, Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes and Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin are also must reads for your primary classroom!  The children love Pete the Cat, and why not?  He is easygoing, chill, and flexible.  He has great lessons to teach us as well.  After all, "It's All Good!"

We read, or shall I say listen, to the CD's at the beginning of the year, as well as throughout the year.  The children love to listen to Pete the Cat over and over again.  My grade level has also put together a Pete the Cat school tour after we read this story on the first day of school - which will be here September 9th!

For More Book Recommendations, please check out:

Must Read Books About the End of the School Year

Must Read Books About Friendship

Must Read Books About Math

Must Read Books About Cooperation

Must Read Books About Compassion

Must Read Books About Rhyming

Must Read Books Just for Fun!

Must Read Holiday Books

Must Read Modern Fairy Tale Books

This post contains affiliate links.

Thanks again for reading along this summer!  It has been wonderful writing about many of my favorite children's books and I always looked forward to Must Read Monday!  Thank you to all of the bloggers who linked up with us, and everyone who read along.  You helped to make this so very special!

An InLinkz Link-up

                                                             Time for a Giveaway!

We are giving away two $25.00 Amazon gift cards and two $10.00 Starbucks gift cards to two lucky winners!  We hope this makes your time heading back to school very sweet!

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Must Read Monday: Modern Fairy Tales

The theme this week for Must Read Monday is must read modern fairy tales.  These always add a fun twist to your classroom library.  It is great to read the original story, and then read the modern version and compare and contrast the versions.

The Kindergarten Connection and I would love to know  - what are your favorite modern fairy tales?  You can link up with us and/or leave a comment down below!  Here are a few of my favorites!

Humpty Dumpty by Daniel Kirk is an adorable book that rhymes and is a clever way to tell the story of Humpty Dumpty's fall.  Humpty wants to go the birthday parade of King Mo.  Humpty is friendly and adventurous.  King Mo is shy and loves puzzles.  How does Humpty fall?  Does he get put back together again?  This story is the beginning of a wonderful friendship!

I love to read this at the end of the school year.  Then, we begin an art project where we create a brick wall holder and a Humpty Dumpty egg (one side is cracked and the other side is fine).  It is a nice culminating activity.  The children can use the props to retell the Humpty Dumpty poem. You can see that activity in this photo I posted on Instagram here.

Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox is a funny spoof on this popular tale.  This books also rhymes and the rhymes are hilarious.  A prince comes to the tower and asks Rapunzel to throw down her hair...........she thought he said her underwear!  The kids crack up and it makes for a cute guessing game.  They try to guess what she will throw down that could rhyme with what the prince asks for.  Does the prince get the princess? Or, is there a surprise at the end?  You will have to read it to find out!

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka is the tale of The Three Little Pigs as told from the wolf's point of view.  He claims it is all a misunderstanding.  Or is it?  He is able to explain everything and it makes for a funny story.  At the end, the students can vote which one they think is the "truth" - the original or the modern day story.

The Wolf Who Cried Boy by Jeffrey Dinardo is an amusing twist on the familiar story The Boy Who Cried Wolf.  A young wolf is bored so he cries "Help, a boy is after me!"  The animals in town come running and he laughs as he tells them it is a joke.  The animals don't like it.  He does this one too many times and when a boy does come after him, nobody comes to help him.  The animals get the last laugh with a little trick and the wolf learns his lesson!

                

If the Shoe Fits by Alison Jackson is a creative fairy tale that starts off with the old woman who lived in a shoe with her many children.  She decides that they need to move and so they wander through various fairy tale poems - Hey Diddle Diddle, Hickory Dickory Dock, Humpty Dumpty, etc. There is something wrong with each home and so they flee back to the shoe, which they realize - is perfect for them!

Next week is our very last Must Read Monday blog post.  We will also have a rafflecopter giveaway so be sure to link up and visit our blogs for your chance to win!

For More Book Recommendations, please check out:

Must Read Books About the End of the School Year

Must Read Books About Friendship

Must Read Books About Math

Must Read Books About Cooperation

Must Read Books About Compassion

Must Read Books About Rhyming

Must Read Books Just for Fun!

Must Read Holiday Books

This post contains affiliate links.

An InLinkz Link-up

Must Read Monday: Holiday Books

The theme this week for Must Read Monday is must read holiday books.  This was sort of a tricky post to do because there are so many holidays and loads of books to go with each one.  I chose a few major holidays that we celebrate in my home and classroom and picked my favorite books for each. This post has a little bit of this, and a little bit of that.

The Kindergarten Connection and I would love to know - what are your favorite book(s) to read at the holidays?  You can link up with us and/or leave us a comment down below!  Here are a few of my favorites!

I want to say that before I do any of my official "reviews" if you don't own any of these books - GO BUY THEM!  Ha!  But seriously, I think all of these are excellent choices.  Some can be read around a holiday, some can be read during the holiday season (or both).  But these are some fabulous books - favorites for sure!

Halloween Favorites:

Where's My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi is a story about a little mummy who goes looking for his "mummy".  While it might have a few scary monsters, it is a cute story that plays on words (like playing "hide and shriek"), fun sound effects, and different creatures of the ghoulish night.  There are many questions and answers in this story which allow you to talk about punctuation and tone of voice.  But the moral of the story is that there is no place like home - with his mummy!

GO AWAY, BIG GREEN MONSTER! by Ed Emberley is a fun and short book to read.  The amazing feature of this di-cut book is that, as the pages are turned, the di-cuts slowly reveal the monster's different features. The book begins with round yellow eyes on an otherwise back page.  The monster slowly comes into focus as the story goes on and the monster is described.  Eventually, we see the entire monster!  Gradually, the monster starts to "go away" as its features disappear with each turn of the page.

A fun project to do after reading this story is a tear art project where you recreate the monster!  They turn out adorable!

Thanksgiving Favorites:

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey is definitely one of my all time favorite stories.  It is the day before Thanksgiving and children go on a school field trip to a farm.  The children meet some turkeys and are so happy to be around them - they become friends.  The children also meet Farmer Mack Nuggett who talks to them about how he is going to chop up the turkeys and turn them into Thanksgiving feasts.  The children freak - the teacher and farmer run to the well for water (because, doesn't water cure so many problems with our little ones!?!?) - and they calm the children down.  The children board the bus to go home (and look a little fatter).  Turns out, the children brought the turkeys home!  On Thanksgiving Day, the families dine on veggies, and the turkeys are guests.  This vegetarian loves a veggie filled Thanksgiving dinner!

This story follows the pattern of Twas the Night Before Christmas (rhyming!!!), has nods to many famous works of art, and is just as cute and kind as can be!

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting is another Thanksgiving story (spoiler alert!) where the turkey lives!  Yeah!  Mr. Moose promises Mrs. Moose a turkey for Thanksgiving so he goes on the hunt for one.  Other animal friends join in the search.  They finally find the turkey hiding down by the river.  Turkey is petrified.  Mr. Moose makes him come home with him.  They want him for Thanksgiving and he promised Mrs. Moose a turkey.  What turkey doesn't know is that he is a guest, not the meal.  Phew!

Christmas Favorites:

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg is a magical little story about a boy who goes to the North Pole on the Polar Express train and meets Santa.  It is a story about believing, fun, and childhood/adulthood.  There is something about the end of the book that always makes me teary-eyed.  Maybe I am wrong,  but I assume most of you know this book.  It is a such a sweet story.  It is a little long, but my kinders sit through it.  And of course, I ring bells at the end of the story and ask the students if they are able to hear the ringing.

Valentine Favorites:

The Giant Hug by Sandra Horning is another one of my all time favorites!!!!!  This is just adorable! I LOVE reading this story and I always read it on Valentine's Day.  This isn't even a Valentine's book - it is actually focused on a birthday present, but it is all about love!  Owen wants to send a GIANT hug to his granny for her birthday through the mail.  He doesn't want to draw her a picture of a hug, he wants to send an ACTUAL hug.  Owen and his mom address an envelope and go down to the post office.  Owen gives the worker behind the counter a GIANT hug.  That worker gives a GIANT hug to the mail sorter, who in turns gives a GIANT hug to the driver, who then gives a GIANT hug to the driver who is delivering it to the airport...........and so on and so forth until a GIANT hug is actually given to Granny.  Along the way, people blush, others kick up their heels, a date is made, and this hug just makes people happy!  Guess what Granny wants to send back to her grandson?  Wait for it............a BIG Kiss!  The children go WILD at this and the story ends with a red lipstick smooch on Owen's cheek.

This is also a good opportunity to talk about the postal service and the process of mail traveling across town and country.  It shows many different components to mail delivery and it makes for a good conversation.

Never Too Little to Love by Jeanne Willis is a very sweet book about an unlikely love between a mouse and a tall animal.  The mouse "Tiny Too-Little" is trying to get up high because he loves somebody and wants a kiss.  So he starts stacking things - a thimble, a matchbox, a candle, etc. so he can get up high.  The pile grows taller, and the pages become layered to illustrate the pile growing tall.  Eventually, there is a crash and "Topsy Too-Tall" has to bend down low for a kiss.  Topsy Too-Tall is actually a giraffe and the children discover this at the end and laugh so much!  It is great to predict who mouse is trying to reach.  There is also a little pop up feature of the giraffe's neck at the end of the book reaching her love.  Just plain ol' sweetness!

Saint Patrick's Day Favorites:

Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute is a book that is just that - clever!  Tom Fitzpatrick is out for a walk one day and finds a leprechaun.  Tom captures the leprechaun and makes him reveal where the gold is buried.  Since a leprechaun must show where the gold is buried if caught, he complies.  He takes Tom on a journey, and shows Tom that it is under a particular bush.  The problem is, Tom doesn't have a shovel.  Tom ties a red ribbon around the plant so he can identify it when he returns, and before he leaves to get his shovel he makes the leprechaun promise not to remove the ribbon.  The leprechaun promises and since they stand by their word, Tom felt comfortable leaving to get his shovel.  When he gets back to the field, he noticed his red ribbon was not removed...............but, there happened to be a red ribbon tied around EVERY plant.  Oh, the tomfoolery!!!!!  Clever, indeed!

 For More Book Recommendations, please check out:

Must Read Books About the End of the School Year

Must Read Books About Friendship

Must Read Books About Math

Must Read Books About Cooperation

Must Read Books About Compassion

Must Read Books About Rhyming

Must Read Books Just for Fun!

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An InLinkz Link-up

Must Read Monday Books Just For Fun!

The theme this week for Must Read Monday is must read books just for fun.  As teachers we always want to read books that make sense, or continue to teach the skills we are trying to get across to our students.  We pick books that have a purpose for each lesson.  Yet there are also some books that we just want to read, because, well, they are just fun!  They may still fit into the theme, but we also read them just because they are good literature, and we want to share these fun stories with our students.

The Kindergarten Connetion and I would love to know - what are your favorite book(s) to read just for fun?  You can link up with us and/or leave us a comment down below!  Here are a few of my favorites!

Stanley's Party written by Linda Bailey is probably one of my all time favorite books!  It is definitely in my top 10!  It is just plain ole' fun!  Every time I read it, my students are captivated, and many can relate because they have a dog for a pet.  Stanley is a dog whose people go out - a lot.  He starts testing things out while they are gone - sitting on the couch, listening to music, eating out of the fridge.  He always cleans up before they come home and everything is fine.  However, Stanley realizes he would like to share this with some friends.  He invites some dogs at the dog park..........and those dogs invite more dogs.........and so on and so forth until the house is full of dogs..............and it is the ONLY night Stanley's people come home early!  Uh-oh!!!!  It is hilarious and is sure to be one of your favorite books of all time as well!

The Gruffalo written by Julia Donaldson is another favorite story to share.  This book rhymes, is clever, and invites conversation about animals and why they might do certain things.  A mouse is out for a walk and other animals come along to eat him.  He tells them he will be meeting a gruffalo and describes a scary creature.  The animals run away in fear.  All is good until the mouse actually runs into the gruffalo!  The gruffalo also wants to eat the mouse.  What will the clever mouse do to survive?  You must read the story to find out.

The Story of Ferdinand written by Munro Leaf is copyrighted in 1938!  I love that a book written 77 years ago is still being read in classrooms today (at least in mine, and I am sure in many of yours as well!).  It is the story of a large bull named Ferdinand.  Rather than fight, like most of his friends, he would prefer to sit and smell the flowers.  One day men come from the city come looking for bulls for the bull fights, and Ferdinand is taken away.  It is quite amusing when this large bull gets brought into the arena.  He sits down to smell the flowers in the ladies hair, and makes the matador so mad!  Ha!  I love that he is a lover, not a fighter.  This is such a kind hearted story to share with kiddos!

Miss Nelson is Missing! written by James Marshall is a great book to read to students.  The first time I am absent in the school year, I have the substitute read this story and then have the students guess where I am.  Miss Nelson's students are poorly behaved.  One day she doesn't show up to class, but Miss Viola Swamp does.  Viola Swamp is mean and runs a tight ship.  The children miss Miss Nelson and set out to look for her.  Eventually Miss Nelson returns to school and the children are so excited to see her - and they start behaving!  This is a great book to talk about rules, behavior, and treating all teachers (PE, Music, ELD, etc) with respect.

The Hello, Goodbye Window written by Norton Juster is just a sweet story about a little girl who spends time at her grandparents house.  They clearly love each other and have fun together.  The Hello, Goodbye window is a place where laughs, smiles, songs, etc. happen.

The Bugliest Bug written by Carol Diggory Shields is a wonderful book that rhymes, and is a story of friendship.  Turns out there is a contest in town for the Bugliest Bug.  Dilly the dragonfly attends, but doesn't enter, for she feels she is just a small bug with no frills.  While the contest is going on Dilly notices that something is wrong - the judges are arachnids - and soon drop a net on all of the insects.  Dilly summons up the courage to fight back and encourages each insect to do what they do best - ants march, mantises pray (HA!) - and eventually they get away from the spiders.  Guess who all the insects name "The Bugliest Bug"?  You got it - Dilly!

Blueberries for Sal written by Robert McCloskey is another oldie, but goodie.  This story is first copyrighted in 1948.  It shows pictures of a time in the past and makes for a great discussion about clothes and what kitchens used to look like.  Sal and her mom go blueberry picking on Blueberry Hill. Sal has a hard time putting berries in her pail for she eats most of them.  Meanwhile, a mamma bear and her cub also go looking for blueberries on Blueberry Hill.  Both groups are so engrossed in the blueberry picking/eating, that they get mixed up.  Little Sal ends up with the mamma bear and the Sal's mom ends up with the bear cub.  Both groups scare themselves and end up exactly where they belong at the end.  This is a great book to read around Mother's Day, or with a bear unit, or, just because!

Alice the Fairy written by David Shannon is a fun book to read to children.  David Shannon books are great and the children love his stories and playful language.  Alice is a fairy..........a temporary fairy, she hasn't yet made it to permanent fairy status.  She can do all sorts of tricks - like make leaves fall off of trees (in the autumn), she can make cookies disappear (in her mouth) and more!  This is definitely a just for fun book - and your students will want you to read it again and again!

For More Book Recommendations, please check out:

Must Read Books About the End of the School Year

Must Read Books About Friendship

Must Read Books About Math

Must Read Books About Cooperation

Must Read Books About Compassion

Must Read Books About Rhyming

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An InLinkz Link-up

Must Read Monday: Books For Rhyming

The theme this week for Must Read Monday is must read books about rhyming.  Rhyming books are such fun stories to read for they tell a tale with playful language.  I love when we read stories that rhyme and children start saying, "That rhymes.........that rhymes."  And then there are those little sweeties that can't seem to hear them - at all!  So, we practice, we read, we play rhyming games, and we just keep working on it!

The Kindergarten Connection and I would love to know what your favorite book(s) about rhyming are.  You can link up with us and/or leave us a comment down below!  Here are a few of my favorites - favorite rhyming books, and favorite books in general!

Come Rhyme With Me! by Hans Wilhelm is a fun story.  It is an ABC book with different animals for each letter, it rhymes, it has riddles, and it has a flap to reveal the answer to the riddle.  It has a little bit of everything and your students will LOVE it!

There's a Wocket in my Pocket! by Dr. Seuss is just a fun and silly rhyming book.  In typical fashion, Dr. Seuss creates made up characters and rhymes them with everything and anything!  I like this book because it allows you to have the conversation that rhyming words do not have to be real words, they just have to sound the same at the end.

I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track by Joshua Prince is a really cute story about a train switchman named Jack who goes out of his way to save an ant from the train coming down the tracks.  The ant is oblivious to the train and the switchman is relentless in his efforts to switch the train.  This story rhymes and makes sure to convey the message that all life is important - no matter how small.

The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen is a wonderful story to read with a cute message about sadness and happiness.  This rhyming book is full of vocabulary words that require more discussion.  A fish is asked many times why he is so sad............and he responds that he is made that way..........until another fish comes along and changes his perception of himself!   This story can teach to the high kiddos, and yet also be scaffolded to make it understandable for all children.  I always read this book at the end of the year and end our literacy class on a great note!

Silly Sally by Audrey Wood is just plain ole' entertaining.  Silly Sally walks upside down.  She is trying to get to town and meets other friends along the way.  These other friends also get around in a playful way - a pig who dances a jig, a sheep who falls asleep, etc.  Will Silly Sally ever get to town?

The Magic Hat by Mem Fox is a class favorite.  This book rhymes, has riddles and magic - what more can you ask for in a book?  This story allows children to make predictions based on the clues, and the rhyming words help them guess.  Some of the answers are hard, but they start getting the hang of the guesses as the book goes on.  There is something about this book that is just easy to read, easy to like, and the children want you to read it again and again!

For More Book Recommendations, please check out:

Must Read Books About the End of the School Year

Must Read Books About Friendship

Must Read Books About Math

Must Read Books About Cooperation

Must Read Books About Compassion

This post contains affiliate links.

An InLinkz Link-up

Must Read Monday: Books About Teaching Compassion

The theme this week for Must Read Monday is must read books about compassion.  The American Heritage College Dictionary defines compassion as "Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it."  Wow!  That is a heavy topic for kindergarten children.  How on earth do we teach this?  Well, we do this like we do everything else.  We make it relatable.  We break it down so they understand the concept, and children definitely understand treating each kindly (or not) and how it makes them feel.  What better way to communicate this, than by reading children's books.

The Kindergarten Connection and I would love to know what your favorite book(s) about compassion are.  You can link up with us and/or leave us a comment down below!

Big Al by Yoshi is a super sweet story about a big friendly fish named Al.  The other fish are scared of him because he is so big.  Al just wants a friend, and he tries many different things to gain friends, but they are all unsuccessful.  It isn't until fisherman come along and capture the little fish with a net that they see Big Al is friendly.  Big Al saves them, but is captured.  Does Big Al live?  You have to read the book to find out!

A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon is a great story about being true to yourself.  Camila loves lima beans, but her friends don't.  She wants to fit in so she denies herself something she loves and so she breaks out in a bad case of stripes.  The other students make fun of her and she ends up being asked to leave school.  She is visited by several doctors and it is a little old lady who ends up curing her.  This is a story of compassion that makes sure you are faithful to your needs and confident in being yourself - and nobody else!

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell is a cute story about Molly Lou Melon, a little girl with some differences.  Her grandmother tells her to smile, stand tall, and be yourself and not be afraid of what others say.  This advice comes in handy when she moves to a new school and a bully makes fun of her.  Molly Lou Melon stays true to herself and eventually, the other children start to see her potential, and her gifts.

The Snow Bear by Miriam Moss is a heartwarming story of a bear cub who loses his mommy.  The snow bear decides to make a snow mommy until his mother returns.  Many animals come by and help the snow bear build his mommy out of snow.  Eventually, night falls, the other animals are called home to their moms, and the snow bear cuddles up next to the snowy mom.  It is a sweet reunion when the real snow mom returns to her bear cub!  The hardbound book is also fabulous because it is embossed and the students love feeling the snow bear, as well as the other animals in this tender story.  (I feel like this bit was written by a movie critic with words like heart warming, sweet, and tender! Ha!  But, these words are fitting - read the book and see for yourself)

The Colors of Us by Karen Katz is a great story to read anytime of the year, but I like reading it in February during Black History Month.  A little girl and her mom talk about skin colors and decide that brown is not just brown.  There are many shades of brown - like cinnamon, french toast, peanut butter, peachy, etc.  Each person is unique and has a skin color that is special.  They mix paint and the little girl creates portraits of all of her friends.  There is a lovely story about compassion that values each persons outer beauty and uniqueness.

The Lion Who Wanted to Love by Giles Andreae is one of my favorite books to read.  It also rhymes which adds to the story.  It is the story of Leo, a lion who is a vegetarian and wants to hug animals, rather than eat them.  He is banished from his pride (by his mother) and so Leo sadly leaves, but roams about the area helping other animals and saving them from peril.  All the animals love Leo and would love to find a way to repay his kindness.  One day, a cheetah is caught in a rapid river heading towards a dangerous waterfall.  Leo jumps in to rescue him.  He saves the cheetah but is then caught in the rushing water.  The animals all rush to help him.  Will Leo be saved?  Will he reunite with his mother?  Check out this book to find out - you won't regret it!

Hey Little Ant by Philip and Hannah Hoose is the ultimate story of compassion.  This is in my top 10 favorite books to read of all time!  It is the story of a boy who wants to crush an ant.  All of his friends are telling him to do it.  A conversation ensues between the boy and the ant and each of them state their own case.  The boy states why he should crush the ant.  The ant states why the boy should not crush him.  This rhyming book illustrates the idea that all living creatures matter.  The best part is, the book ends with the boy's raised up shoe and lets you, the reader, decide what he should do.  This leads to a great discussion and you can also have the children write and draw about what should happen next.

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry is an excellent story to read around Earth Day.  A man is sent into the rainforest to chop down a tree but gets hot and sits down to rest.  During his nap, different animals of the rainforest come up to him and tell him why he should not chop the tree down.  When the man wakes up, he sees the tree, the forest, and all the animals through different eyes.  What happens next?  Does he chop down the tree?  The end of the story will reveal all!

For More Book Recommendations, please check out:

Must Read Books About the End of the School Year

Must Read Books About Friendship

Must Read Books About Math

Must Read Books About Cooperation

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