Julie, Literacy Resource

http://www.reading.org/General/Publications/Books/SupplementalContent/bk616_supplement.aspx?mode=redirect&http://www.reading.org/publications/bbv/books/bk616/supplement.html

This website is great for finding books about diversity.  Each year the website is updated with 25 of the best books.  It offers support for both parents and teachers about cultural diversity.  You can search by year, author, title, genre - fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or folklore.   There are also books available in bilingual.  It is a great web-site, worth checking out.  You can never access to too many books for your classroom!
Julie

Anansi and the Talking Melon, retold by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Janet Stevens

This book is sure to be a hit with younger elementary students.  It is a trickster tale about a spider who gets into a melon and eats so much that he cannot get back out of the hole that he dug.  The spider tricks all of the animals into thinking that the melon can talk.  They take the melon to the king, who is a monkey.  The king gets frustrated because the melon will not talk and then throws the melon, upon which the spider is free.  The story does not end there...the spider gets into the bananas and the elephant then thinks that the bananas can talk.  It is a very funny story.  The students that I have read this to ask me to read it again and again.
Julie

Bookflix

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/grolier/

Looking for a computer based resource to promote fluency? Look no further. Sign up today for a free trial and bring quality children's literature into your classroom or computer lab. Familiar classroom read alouds are paired with non-fiction selections that students can choose to have
"read-aloud" as they listen with headphones. Look for the, "request a free trial" icon on the websites homepage. Students can choose from popular selections related to people and places, animals, ABC's, and more. If you have an active Parent Teacher Organization, funds may be available for an annual subcription. It is expensive, however every student in your school can access the website from any school computer and as an added bonus, students can access the website at home. Sign up today and a multitude of books will be available for your students to enjoy with a click of the mouse!

Reading Rockets

http://www.readingrockets.org/books/awardwinners

This is a website that has numerous teaching tools and more importantly 5 book lists. They are the 2011 Newberry Medal, the 2011 Caldecott Medal, other notable awards, best of lists, and other book list. The other book list has an extensive list of fabulous books. They are sorted by themes, best of, and hot off the press. This is a valuable website that should be checked out.

Town Mouse Country Mouse By: Jan Bret

The first thing that caught my attention about this book was the phenomenal illustrations. My kindergartner pores over this book looking at the rich pictures. It is the classics tale of the country mouse and city mouse that switch places. They think that the grass will be greener elsewhere and quickly regret their decision. The children love the ending of this book. The country mouse has no idea what a cat is and the city mouse has no idea what an owl is. This stemmed a great conversation as to why the city mouse called the owl a cat with wings and why the county mouse called the cat an owl without wings. It ends with the mice scurrying back to where they came from and the cat deciding to switch places with the owl.

Who Put the Pepper in the Pot? By: Joanna Cole

This book is about a family that is preparing for their Aunt Tootie to visit them. They are going to prepare a stew, but they forget to put pepper in the pot. Mama Sue asked everyone to put pepper in the pot, but they were all too busy. They all inadvertently put pepper in the pot. They discuss the different amounts of pinches the children put in the pot so you could easily incorporate math using this book. The back of the book has different jokes about food, kitchen safety tips, and a cookbook. The book has interesting illustrations and uses a variety of colors. I think it would be perfect for around the third grade.

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner

This is a group of books that if you are not already familiar with, you're missing out. I had not heard of these books until a student brought it in for their "All About Me" week. I was fortunate enough to read the book aloud to students and it was an instant hit. Fortunately, Schachner has written a few more books, some including cds that have her reading aloud. I especially like the cd aspect because she does a nice job of providing a model of fluent reading by changing her voice for "Skippito Friskito...the great sword fighter." The group of books centers around a Siamese cat that dreams of being a Chihuahua. He has adventures when he "turns" into a Chihuahua. I like the word choice of the books. The books have some Spanish words, some songs, and parts for the readers and audience to clap along. I think students of all ages would enjoy this book (even graduate students like me)!

Cornrows by Camille Yarbrough

Do you know why the hair braids of blacks are called cornrows? Do you know the significance of the intricate or simplistic pattern of the braids? Gramaw and Mama will tell you. As they braid Mama's two children's hair, they warmheartedly tell stories and sing songs about their hair, slavery, and life in Africa to sister and her younger brother, Me Too. The black and white illustrations in this 48 page picture book vividly capture the family's deep affection as well as the poignant horrors of slavery. This book is best suited for students that are at least in fourth grade. If you are looking for a book that will bring the celebration of black culture and heritage to life, and provides a variety of thought provoking discussion topics, I recommend Cornrows.

No, David by David Shannon

If you want to "hook" young readers on a book, read No, David. Young readers will immediately connect with David, a little boy that does things that kids do that upset mom's. What child has not put their finger up their nose, walked into the house with dirt or mud all over their shoes, or had their bedroom covered in toys? Laughter abounds when readers discover David running down the street, with his backside exposed. Through out the story, David's mom repeatedly tells him, NO! In the end, as she tucks David into bed, students will take comfort in her expression of unconditional love. This highly visual, limited text childrens book is a must. Be ready for students to beg you to, READ IT AGAIN!

Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale, By Mo Willems

Taking the advice of an article that we read for class this week, I chose a book that a class of first graders that I subbed for just loved rather than a favorite of mine.
The book that they were so anxious for me to read was called Knuffle Bunny:  a cautionary tale.  This is the first in a series of books.  The next book is Knuffle Bunny Too, and the last is Knuffle Bunny Free.  I could not wait to read the book to the class to see what their excitement was all about.  What I discovered was that anyone who has ever had a favorite toy as a child will be able to identify with these books, thus the popularity for both children and parents.  The illustrations, which are photographs with cartoon characters superimposed on them, are very captivating to the audience.  The first book in the series is about a little girl named Trixie who goes to the laundry mat with her father.  Before leaving Trixie tries to tell her father that her stuffed bunny is missing but he mistakes her babbling for being fusy.  Upon arriving at home the mother discovers that Trixie's stuffed bunny is  missing.  They return to the laundry mat and upon finding the stuffed bunny Trixie screams, "Knuffle Bunny!"  Those were the first words that Trixie had ever spoken.
I'm not sure if I would have chosen this book on my own as it seemed a little juvenile for first graders.  I'm glad that I took the advice of the students to read it.  It was a cute story and now I can't wait to read it to another class!

Dog Eared by Amanda Harvey

The book I would recommend to read to students is Dog Eared by Amanda Harvey. This book is about a floppy-eared dog whose ears are too long compared to other dogs standards. Other dogs made fun of Otis which made him self-conscious of his ears. He has trouble sleeping and thought of different ways to "wear" his ears. Fortunately for Otis, he has a wonderful owner who loves him for who he is...especially for his great snuggly ears. The next time he encountered the mean dog who was making fun of his ears he stood up for himself. I really appreciate this book to teach students to be proud of themselves for who they are. Also, this could be a read aloud to talk to students about bullies and ways to handle if a student is mean to them.