The Girl and the Mermaid (Hollie Hughes)

 

This is a "turning the hearts of the children to their fathers" kind of book. Storytelling through generations is beautiful.

Goodreads says:
**"An instant classic" - Lancashire Post**
**"Magical" - Inis**

Alina and her granny live in a lighthouse by the a home filled with the warmth of Granny's magical stories.

But Alina is worried. Granny's memories and stories are starting to fade away, and she doesn't know how to bring them back. Then one day, she meets a mermaid on the rocks near the lighthouse – and she's swept into a magical deep-sea adventure that will change everything.

A modern classic from the bestselling creators of The Girl and the Dinosaur.

Chester Van Clime Who Forgot How to Rhyme (

 

Great for our poetry unit!

Everybody had lots of laughs over how the sentences seemed so silly when they didn't rhyme.

Goodreads says:
"Chester tries his best to recover his rhyming talent when he suddenly loses the ability that once came so naturally to him"--

Macca the Alpaca (Matt Cosgrove)

 

Super cute! Good for talking about the difference between alpacas and llamas (alpacas are smaller). The llama in the story is a bully but the alpaca is clever. He even tricks the llama by using a simple machine.

Goodreads says:

Macca the Alpaca is the alpaca-llama mashup of the year! Perfect for fans of Oi, Frog! and You Can't Take anElephant on the Bus. Macca is an alpaca. He loves splashing in puddles, and he gives the very best cuddles.
Harmer is a llama. He's tall, strong and woolly, but he's also a BIG BULLY. When a friendly alpaca comes face-to-face with a meanie llama,he soon realises that LLAMA DRAMA lies ahead.
But, who knows, perhaps the differences that separate the two will be exactly what brings them together in the end. A heartwarming story of friendship, acceptance and the value of being yourself.

Bats At the Beach (Brian Lies)

 One of many books with bats as the characters by Brian Lies. These bats do a lot of stuff. 

Great illustrations!

Goodreads says:

FromCaldecott honor–winning and New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Brian Lies, a charming and lyrical beachy read perfect for summertime—or anytime. The first of many nighttime adventures with the award-winning Bat Book series.

Quick, call out! Tell all you can reach: the night is just perfect for bats at the beach!

So pack your buckets, banjos, and blankets—don’t forget the moon-tan lotion—and wing with this bunch of fuzzy bats to where foamy sea and soft sand meet.

Brian Lies’s enchanting art and cheery beachside verse will inspire bedtime imaginations again and again. Come visit a bedazzling world of moonlight, firelight, and . . . bats!

Check out brianlies.com for more escapades with these zany bats.

Bats at the Ballgame (Brian Lies)

 

Fun for kids who love bats (or when you do a bat unit!). The bats are characters in the story...doesn't really teach about bats. 

Goodreads says:

We’re off to watch the bats play ball!

You’ll never forget your first game: the green so green, the presence of heroes past, and togetherness with family and friends, rooting for the home team.

But you think humans are the only ones who enjoy America’s national pastime? Grab your bat—the other kind—and your mitt, and join these captivating bats as they flutter off to watch their all-stars compete. How about a mothdog?  Or some Cricket Jack?

In sweeping compositions that transport fans to the rightside-up and upside-down world of bats at play, Brian Lies treats us to a whole new ballgame.

Bats in the Band (Brian Lies)

 

I came across Bats In Night School and thought I should check out more of Brian Lies books. 

Goodreads says:

The look on our faces is easy to read:
a little night music is just what we need!

A late-spring night sky fills with bats flocking to a theater, already echoing and booming with delightful sounds of music. Bat music—plunky banjoes, bat-a-tat drums, improvised instruments, country ballads, and the sweet cries of a bat with the blues. Join this one-of-a-kind music festival as the bats celebrate the rhythm of the night, and the positive power of music. Brian Lies’s newest celebration of bats and their dazzling, dizzying world will lift everyone’s spirits with joyous noise and cheer!

If I Had A Little Dream (Nina Laden)

This would be a great book to read when we're learning about similes and metaphors and writing poetry. It's beautiful and optimistic and full of heart.


Goodreads says:

See and appreciate through a child’s eyes how fortunate we are to live in the world we do. Celebrate the wonder of the world - the joy, love, and beauty that is part of each and every day. Our world is full of possibilities if you look for them.

An African Orchestra (Wendy Hartmann)

Beautiful images and beautiful sounds of Africa. The author is from South Africa.

This would be a nice story to read while learning to write elaborative detail for settings.

Goodreads says:

A magical journey that celebrates the African sounds of nature. In the beginning, when all things began, these were the sounds which were music to man. Cicadas, crickets, beetles and frogs Seedpods, cocoons, hollowed out logs Crackling fires, the patter of rain Thundering hooves on the African plain Birds in the air, in the treeson the land Wind in the grass through the leavesover sand. With magical illustrations from Joan Rankin, and poetry from masterful storyteller, Wendy Hartmann, The African Orchestra lyrically captures the magic of the African sounds of nature. From the clicking of crickets to the crackle of the fire, follow the journey that celebrates these sounds, in the rhythm and music of Africa.

Aliens Love Underpants (Claire Freedman)

Cute story. We read a book a while ago where people hung their clothes out on the line. This is a totally foreign concept to children around here! It's funny that it keeps coming up.

Apparently, there are a bunch more about underpants. Will have to check them out. :)

We enjoyed the rhyming in this book.


Goodreads says:

This humorous tale describes how aliens, rather than visiting Earth to take over the planet, really visit to steal your pants.

Love is Real (Janet Lawler)

This would be a good discussion starter when writing or talking about families and how we show love to teach other.

I have to wonder though about how people feel love in different ways. This book is full of acts of service and quality time. What about words of physical touch, words of affirmation and gifts?

Goodreads summary:

From author Janet Lawler comes a charming story celebrating the power of love, with warm and tender art from debut picture-book illustrator Anna Brown. Young readers will delight in following along families of foxes, bunnies, and bears as they learn about the nature of unconditional love in Love Is Real.

No Such Things (Bill Peet)

This book might be just perfect for our gloopy stories. It has a bunch of creatures that are made up and just pure nonsense. Just what we're looking for!


I love Bill Peet!

Goodread summary:

Describes in rhyme a variety of fantastical creatures such as the blue-snouted Twumps, the pie-faced Pazeeks, and the fancy Fandangos

Zella Zack and Zodiac

Goodreads summary:

Zella the zebra helps Zack the ostrich when he is young and helpless. When he grows up Zack returns the favor by saving Zella's young offspring from a lion.

Huge Harold (Bill Peet)

I have a boy in my class who loves rabbits - so Huge Harold is a must read! After we read it he came to me and wanted to know if I had any other rabbit books. I had actually tried to get him interested in some previously, by telling him about them in his Response Journal - but he said he wasn't really interested. Today, though, I showed him those same books and suddenly he was extremely interested. Goes to show that just telling someone about a book doesn't do the trick. You need to do a little book commercial to warm them up to a book!

Right away my kids noticed this is a rhyming book - and they loved it.   They loved how Harold is big and awkward. One of my kids is crazy about rabbits because he is getting a bunny as a pet soon, so he was especially interested.

Good Read summary:

 

The world seems a cold place to Harold, a very overgrown rabbit, until he finds his niche as a champion trotter.