Winter Reading List

I am so behind on learning theme posts and was going back to work on the post for Elise's birthday learning theme when I came across our winter reading list in my drafts! Spring is definitely upon us and has been for a while so I figured I better get this posted so I can start adding books to our spring list. I am so glad I have kept lists of our favorite books during each season because when holidays come around I can go back and look at our list to pick out special books for the kids. I'm going to need to remember to go back and look at books I have recorded because I loved them and want to use them in my classroom when I return! Check out our winter reading list from last year here, 2015 here, and 2014 here. I about died seeing the pictures from last year's learning theme where Elise was standing and pulling books down and the library. She was so little and precious!

Our Top Reading Choices From This Winter:

• Little Home Bird by Jo Empson, This book was about a bird who needed to migrate from his home to a warmer climate for the winter. It told of his worries about leaving his home and everything he loved. He tried to take everything he loved with him but over the course of his journey he had to drop everything but his nest in order to make it. The story was so cute and I loved that the bird got to his new home and liked it so much he decided he had two favorite homes. This book would be great to read with a child nervous about moving or about any life change. It would be a good way to start a discussion about how change can be scary but most of the time turns out nicely in the end. 
• Lillian's Right to Vote by Jonah Winter and Shane W. Evans, This book told the story of an old African American woman walking to vote. Over the course of her walk she remembered all the different milestones in her life that led to her eventually having the right to vote. It was beautifully written and brought me to tears multiple times. We read it right after the election and I kept finding myself wishing it could be read on television to remind everyone why it is so important to vote. It seems silly not to vote because "your vote doesn't matter" when you think back over the people who died trying to secure the right to vote for minorities and women. It was a powerful read for sure.
• Dog's Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting by Emma Dodd, This was a cute story about a dog who was white with one black spot. As the book went on he added more spots to his coat by getting messy. Carter thought it was hilarious and would laugh, pointing out that the dog had another spot on each page. It was very cute and a great book for practicing counting as well as color recognition. I always love Emma Dodd.
• Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry, This was a favorite of mine. I picked it up at the library because it was illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld and I love not just his illustrations but also the books he has written himself. This was a wonderful book about sticking up for others and would be a wonderful read for many adults in our country right now!
• The Great Gracie Chase: Stop That Dog! by Cynthia Rylant, Carter loved this book. I couldn't even guess how many times we read this over the course of the week we had it checked out. He loved the dog and that everyone was chasing her. It was an incredibly cute book and one I didn't mind reading 4 times in one sitting. 
• Mustache Baby Meets His Match by Bridget Heos, This book is a companion to Mustache Baby. Both books are quite cute and Carter enjoyed them both. I especially liked this one because it had a great message about competition. Carter can get pretty competitive at times so it was a good one to read with him.
• Follow the Moon Home: A Tale of One Idea, Twenty Kids, and a Hundred Sea Turtles by Phillipe Cousteau,When we came across this book I immediately loved it. In the book a girl realizes there is a problem with houses near the beach leaving lights on at night so baby sea turtles follow those lights instead of the light of the moon and don't make it safely to the ocean. The girl and her class take action and fix the problem within their community. I loved the message that even if you are small, you can make a big difference. This was definitely a book I look forward to reading with my classes in the future.