10 for 10 Picture Book Blogging Event

Lisa and I decided to combine our Top 10 books. 

Lisa's Top 5...

1.  Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas:  Dust Bunnies make my students (of all ages) and me LAUGH!  The illustrations are simple and yet endearing.  The kids love the bunnies personalities, appreciate the humor. and ask to read it over and over again! 

2.  If I were in Charge of the World by Judith Viorst  Even though this book is OLD, I still love this charming collection of poems that eloquently describes the good. bad and the ugly days of childhood.  What not to like when one of the poems is titled something like this:  Thoughts of getting out of a nice warm bed on a cold dark night...followed by:  Maybe life was better when I used to be a wetter.  

3.  Life-Size Zoo by Teruyuki Komiya  There are three of these gems out now.  My "promising" readers many times shy away from nonfiction books because of the vocabulary.  However, these books are fascinating for children of all ages.  They are "SUPER-SIZED."  The real sized photographs are amazing and I find children love to read them together.  

4.  Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold  I am always looking for books that are readable for my students and yet are sophisticated enough to keep their interest.  The Fly Guy books meet these requirements.  Fly Guy is a HOOT!  The kids and I love the illustrations.  We have had a wonderful time creating our own Fly Guy books.  

    5.  Roscoe Riley Series by Katherine Applegate  First Grade student,  Roscoe Riley, starts every book off in Time Out.  What kid can't relate to that?  I love how the story is structured.  All of the books in the series start at the end and then the story unravels.  As an added bonus for my readers, some of the chapters are only 1 page long!  Even children who are older than Roscoe can see the humor in his many predicaments.   Kids beg to read them all...Now that is a good book series. 

Shelly's Top 5...

1.  Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney:  I enjoy beginning the year with this book because it shows how Miss Rumphius followed her passion and made a difference.  Throughout the stages of her life, she was thinking about her three goals:  to travel, to live by the sea, and to make a difference. 

2.  The Scaredy Squirrel series by Melanie Watt:  this series is enjoyed by every age group alike.  Whether intermediate or primary, kids are inspired by Scaredy Squirrel to write their own adventures.  I use it as a mentor text for text features such as diagrams, maps, and speech bubbles.  Some of the craziest narratives from my students were inspired by Scaredy Squirrel.

3.  We all Sing with the Same Voice by J.Phillip Miller: our first grade friends at school always do a program and end with this song.  It's catchy, the message hits home, and I find myself singing after I leave school.  We may look different, act different, but we all have a voice that needs to be heard.  I bought this book at the beginning of the summer, and can't wait to use it as a mentor text for celebrating diversity.

4.  Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller.  Another book for building community and classroom attitudes.

5.  Hope is an Open Heart by Lauren Thompson:  Other blogger friends wrote reviews on this book, so I ordered it.  I enjoyed the brilliant photos and inspiring messages.  But then, I was reading another professional book where it talked about having your students write out their hopes and dreams.  This book will become my mentor text for this project at the beginning, middle, and end of the year Hopes and Dreams lessons.

Lisa's top 5 took a broader spectrum than mine.  I'm deep into building my classroom community mode now, so my picks are about the beginning of school.  Thanks, Mandy and Cathy to not only hosting, but pushing us to think about our favorite picture books.  Check out the event at their two blogs!