There's A Ghost In This House (Oliver Jeffers)

 

All the vellum (with ghosts on it!) is amazing. Kids will love this! 

Goodreads says:

A captivating new picture book with interactive transparent pages, from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers.

Hello, come in.
Maybe you can help me?

A young girl lives in a haunted house, but has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? She’d love to know! Step inside and turn the transparent pages to help her on an entertaining ghost hunt, from behind the sofa, right up to the attic. With lots of friendly ghost surprises and incredible mixed media illustrations, this unique and funny book will entertain young readers over and over again

The Seedling That Didn't Want To Grow (Britta Teekentrup)

 

Sometimes personal growth just takes time and not everyone has to grow like everyone else.
My favorite page is the one where you have to turn the book to see how big the plant has grown.

Goodreads says:

This story about a reluctant seedling packs a powerful message about the benefits of being different.

It's early spring and below the earth's surface seeds are just starting to sprout. One by one they stretch through the dirt and towards the sun, extending their shoots and leaves and growing tall. All except for one seedling, who isn't quite ready. Each page of this gentle but powerfully evocative book demonstrates how some of us are different. As most of the seeds transform into strong flowers, they block out the sun from the one left behind. But the little seedling persists, twisting and turning until, with the help of bird and insect friends, it finds its own place to grow and blossom. In the end, this little seed turns into a flower that's just as beautiful and healthy as all the others. Hailed by Publishers Weekly as "delicate, complex, extravagant, beautiful and strong," Teckentrup's inviting and softly colored illustrations provide the perfect backdrop for this moving tale about being unique while subtly teaching kids about the life cycle of plants.

Ban This Book (Alan Gratz)

 

I love this book so much. There are a multitude of references to books I've loved (and that have been banned). I was especially excited that it was a story about a girl in Fourth Grade....quite accessible for the kids I teach! I can't wait to share this one with them. Might make a great read aloud. I don't think my students are very aware of book banning....but it's a good topic to introduce, I'd say.

Goodreads says:

-Readers, librarians, and all those books that have drawn a challenge have a brand new hero.... Stand up and cheer, book lovers. This one's for you.- --Kathi Appelt, author of the Newbery Honor-winning The Underneath

An inspiring tale of a fourth-grader who fights back when her favorite book is banned from the school library--by starting her own illegal locker library!

It all started the day Amy Anne Ollinger tried to check out her favorite book in the whole world, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, from the school library. That's when Mrs. Jones, the librarian, told her the bad news: her favorite book was banned! All because a classmate's mom thought the book wasn't appropriate for kids to read.

Amy Anne decides to fight back by starting a secret banned books library out of her locker. Soon, she finds herself on the front line of an unexpected battle over book banning, censorship, and who has the right to decide what she and her fellow students can read.

Reminiscent of the classic novel Frindle by Andrew Clements for its inspiring message, Ban This Book is a love letter to the written word and its power to give kids a voice.

-Ban This Book is absolutely brilliant and belongs on the shelves of every library in the multiverse.---Lauren Myracle, author of the bestselling Internet Girls series, the most challenged books of 2009 and 2011

I Wish You More (Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichentenheld)

 

This is really beautiful! There are many pictures to stop and pause on and think about the delight children are. It would be a great story for the last day of school. 

Goodreads says:

Some books are about a single wish. Some books are about three wishes. The infallible team of Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld have combined their extraordinary talents to create this exuberant book of endless good wishes. Wishes for curiosity and wonder, for friendship and strength, laughter and peace. Whether celebrating life's joyous milestones, sharing words of encouragement, or observing the wonder of everyday moments, this sweet and uplifting book is perfect for wishers of every age.

I Lost My Words (Rita Joe)

 

There is a reverence that happens when we read First Nation's stories. The students seem to really empathize with the stories. 

Goodreads says:

I lost my talk
The talk you took away
When I was a little girl
At Shubenacadie school.

One of Rita Joe’s most influential poems, “I Lost My Talk” tells the revered Mi’kmaw Elder’s childhood story of losing her language while a resident of the residential school in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. An often quoted piece in this era of truth and reconciliation, Joe’s powerful words explore and celebrate the survival of Mi’kmaw culture and language despite its attempted eradication.

A companion book to the simultaneously published I’m Finding My Talk by Rebecca Thomas, I Lost My Talk is a necessary reminder of a dark chapter in Canada’s history, a powerful reading experience, and an effective teaching tool for young readers of all cultures and backgrounds. Includes a biography of Rita Joe and striking colour illustrations by Mi’kmaw artist Pauline Young. 

The Sharing Circle

 

Good introduction to sharing circles and the issue of a problem between friends was quite relatable.

Goodreads says:

When two red foxes have an argument which breaks apart their community, a gentle buffalo decides to take a braid of sweetgrass to a local elder and asks her to help with a sharing circle for all the animals. 

Boy (Phil Cummings)

 

This is a fabulous story. My students loved telling me about signs they know in sign language and they laughed at the silliness of all the fighting with the king, the knights and the dragon attempt to justify their actions. Sometimes not listening to people has its advantages.

"He showed them how their days could be without fighting and fear."

Goodreads says:

The kings battles with the dragon were always mighty and loud... CLING CLANG CLONG! ROAR!

Boy lived in a silent world and couldn't hear the fighting. But Boy could see the fear around him... and how everyone would be much happier.

Lou (Breanna Carzoo)

 

Good book for when we don't have a lot of time. The story is simple but the message is great! It's what's inside that counts!

Goodreads says:

Don't miss this humorous and heartwarming picture book by debut creator Breanna Carzoo about an unlikely everyday hero: a fire hydrant! Perfect for fans of The Good Egg and The Bad Seed.

Meet Lou. Lou has an important job . . . as the neighborhood toilet for dogs on their walks.

Useful as he may be, he gets the feeling that deep down inside, there might be more to him than that. He just doesn't seem to know exactly what yet. When disaster strikes, will Lou find out what he's made of and save the day?

From debut creator Breanna Carzoo comes a charming and funny story that reminds us to never let anyone--including yourself--hold you back from sharing your gifts with the world.

Kids will fall in love with Lou and his journey of self-discovery as he saves the day from a fire that breaks out in an apartment building nearby. You'll never be able to look at a fire hydrant the same way again!

The Dance of Anger (Harriett Lerner, Ph.D)

 

This is a really good book on solving differences. For women, being angry often isn't allowed in our social structure. She has a good approach and many ideas regarding looking at conflict. It is one worth reading again....especially when problems come up in life.

Goodreads says:

"Anger is a signal and one worth listening to," writes Dr. Harriet Lerner, in her renowned classic that has transformed the lives of millions of readers. While anger deserves our attention and respect, women still learn to silence our anger, to deny it entirely, or to vent it in a way that leaves us feeling helpless and powerless. In this engaging and eminently wise book, Dr. Lerner teaches women to identify the true sources of our anger and to use anger as a powerful vehicle for creating lasting change.

Hamnet (Maggie O'Farrell)

 

It took me a long time to get through this book. I loved the premise. It is the story of Shakespeare's wife...someone we really don't know anything about. The author has made many assumptions and I was comfortable with them. The book does a really good job of expressing the inner thoughts and agony of this family. I found myself really relating to her heartache over her son that died. Also her anger when her husband wrote a play using his name. I have had similar reactions when I feel like people aren't respecting my children. I liked how the author made her quite independent and wise, almost able to read people's thoughts. It's a well-written book.

Goodreads says:

Drawing on Maggie O'Farrell's long-term fascination with the little-known story behind Shakespeare's most enigmatic play, Hamnet is a luminous portrait of a marriage, at its heart the loss of a beloved child.

Warwickshire in the 1580s. Agnes is a woman as feared as she is sought after for her unusual gifts. She settles with her husband in Henley street, Stratford, and has three children: a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith. The boy, Hamnet, dies in 1596, aged eleven. Four years or so later, the husband writes a play called Hamlet.

Award-winning author Maggie O'Farrell's new novel breathes full-blooded life into the story of a loss usually consigned to literary footnotes, and provides an unforgettable vindication of Agnes, a woman intriguingly absent from history.

A New York Times Notable Book (2020), Best Book of 2020: Guardian, Financial Times, Literary Hub, and NPR.