Focusing on picture books this week!
Be a Star, Wonder Woman! by Michael Dahl (picture book, PK-2)
Going to school can be tough! Luckily, Wonder Woman can show the way! In this story, the little girl is going to school and Wonder Woman shows her what she needs to do to be a star: be prepared, be kind, be brave, be honest, be strong, and be heroic. Throughout the book, we see the girl tackling different school situations on one side of the page and Wonder Woman tackling issues of her own on the other side. The pictures are super bright and colorful with speech bubbles and other comic book elements. This book has a multicultural cast of characters with a fantastic message for primary grade students. Be a Star, Wonder Woman would be a great read aloud and ties in nicely when talking about character traits. After reading the book, students could create their own super hero comic about one of the character traits mentioned in the book. I love this book for as a read aloud at the beginning of the school year! There are two other books in the series: Good Morning, Superman and Bedtime for Batman.
Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson (picture book, PK-2)
What do you need to make a seed grow? Plant the Tiny Seed explains what is needed in the simplest of terms for very young readers. Throughout the book, the author incorporates various actions to encourage reader participation: "Wiggle your fingers to add some water." and "Tap the cloud and wish for rain". The pictures are bright and simple and little ones will enjoy looking for the lady bug on each page. This book is a great story time read aloud for little ones. After reading the book, children could plant their own seeds. The author has two other companion books: Tap the Magic Tree and Touch the Brightest Star.
Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant (picture book biography, grades 1-5)
Imagine what it would be like to lose your vision and not be able to read! Louis Braille was a clever child and he enjoyed watching his papa work. One day when he was young, he lost his vision through an accident at his father's workshop. He was sent to Paris to go to a school for the blind and he soon realized that there were no practical books for blind people to read. So, he decided to take Morris Code and use that as a base for a new type of raised alphabet using just six dots that blind people could read. I love how all through the book we learn that Louis did not give up. It took a long time and he had to persevere but he finally invented something that would work. Six Dots would be a great read aloud when talking about inventions, adversity, perseverance, or biographies. After reading Six Dots, students could use the Braille alphabet to create their own messages.
Happy Reading!
