Black History Month Book Recommendations

This is Deniece from This Little Piggy Reads.

In February, my school celebrates Black History Month with a huge program that every grade level participates in.  Over the past decade we have celebrated many ways, including "faux wax museums", poetry readings, choir performances and plays.  It is standing room only!  

During the month I make it a point to read a variety books to my students.  I try to read both fiction and non-fiction texts that introduce them to new people/characters they can relate to.  I normally do not read the entire book.  Instead, I read a chapter to hook them!  I consider this to be more like a book trailer and/or a book review.

I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

This book is Dr. King's speech beautifully illustrated.

Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges

This book includes primary sources and is a pretty amazing read.

Let's Read About Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges and Grace Maccarone, 

Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu

An easy reader that's a good introduction to non-fiction.

Little Rock Nine by Marshall Poe, Illustrated by Ellen Lindner

I've read a few books about The Little Rock Nine.  I haven't read this specific book; however, it is a graphic novel and my kiddos LOVE all graphic novels.  I have a feeling this book will end up in my classroom library this year!

 

This series of books is AHHH-MAZING!  I love these quick reads.  I have a small variety of the What Was books and a larger collection of the Who Was series.  These are perfect non-fiction texts for biography studies.

 The Tuskegee Airmen Story by Lynn M. Homan and Thomas Reilly

I have this book and another one about the Tuskegee Airmen.  My boys are obsessed with the Tuskegee Airmen!  Last year for Black History Month, we made paper mache' airmen helmets.  If you'd like to read about my adventure into paper mache', click here. 

This book is a great option to incorporate STEM.  

My students love aviation and this book was a hit last year!

I am a teacher on a mission.
My mission is to ensure that my students see themselves in the literature that they read.  It is incredibly important for children to see themselves in the stories that they read.  I highly recommend adding any of these books to your classroom or school library.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

This quick read is definitely for 5th grade and up.  If memory serves me right, there are pieces that are written like a diary.  The 3 sisters in this book have to deal with their unconventional mother.  The good news is Rita Williams-Garcia continues the girls' story with two other books.  

 

Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

I love this book and highly recommend adding it to your Tall Tale Unit.

Ellray Jakes (series) by Sally Warner, Illustrated by Brian Biggs

If your boys don't know Lil' Ellray Jakes...they are missing out.

This is a good introduction to reading a series of books.  It is an easy read and the characters are very relatable.

Liberty Porter, First Daughter by Julia DeVillers, Illustrated by Paige Pooler

This is a new series about the First Daughter.  It is on my "to buy list".  There are a few books in the series and I have a feeling my students will definitely like Liberty!

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Have you heard of Henry "Box" Brown who mailed himself to freedom?

I found out about him a few years ago during Black History Month when our Kindergarteners studied him.  It is a pretty amazing story.  I added this book to my library last year and it both shocked and intrigued my GT students.  We ended up getting a box and many of them would sit inside it when they read the book.  Interesting.

Sugar Plum Ballerinas by Whoopi Goldberg.

I will admit, I heard about this book while watching The View.

It is a newer series, but has been successful.  I have one of them and some of my younger girls will read them.  Again, I think it's a good beginner series.

 

I know we have many primary grade teachers and although I do not own these books, I did read them when they were at our book fair.  I thought both were beautifully illustrated.  Music is a great way to introduce books in a PK/K classroom.

Do you have a favorite book to celebrate Black History Month? 

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Booktalking Clubs - Increasing Enthusiasm and Excitement for Reading

Hi everyone! It is Bex here from Reading and Writing Redhead, coming to you to share about Booktalking and Booktalk Clubs! I recently did some professional development and went to a session on the topic and am inspired!

  

So before we do anything else, you are probably wondering, "Hmmm, is that a typo? Does she mean Book Club, not Booktalk Club?" Nope! Booktalks are a bit different than book clubs. Here is the scoop. Booktalks are 2-3 minute presentations someone gives to persuade others to read a book they  recommend. You know what I thought of? Reading Rainbow! Remember those kids would come on and give you a 1 minute spiel about a book they read and loved and then you would think, "Oh my gosh I need to read that"? Similar!

Booktalk Clubs are after school clubs that students join voluntarily. At some schools Booktalk Club is held before school, during lunch or during a free period. Students often get involved for one or more of the following reasons: They love reading, love writing, are social butterflies, or enjoy performing for others.  Booktalk Clubs rely a lot of peer assistance - more so than lessons during your reading block - and kids that join end up reading more  and recommending more books to others even outside of Booktalk Club. 

In my post I am not going to go into every step of how to run a Booktalk Club - that post would be extremely lengthy -  but at the end I will post some links for places you can get more specific information.

Let's talk about some basics though. Booktalk Clubs work best in 12 week cycles. Plan for 12 meetings, which may mean they go longer than 12 weeks because f vacations and holidays. How do you get students to join? Well, start with your own class and promote it to them, and get all the teachers at your school to do the same. Make up a flyer and encourage those students who already want to join to ask their friends to join. The Booktalk Club likely needs to be a coordinated effort across your school- your principal obviously needs to be on board to allow you to meet with students outside of class time, and the more your colleagues know about it and the more they discuss it with their classes, the better it will go! By the way, Booktalk Clubs can include students in different grade levels. It is up to you what range you pick. I will post some links with suggestions but I think 2nd grade-4th grade might be a good range, 3-5, 6-8 and so on. You don't want children to be so far apart in age that they no longer are really "peers". I think you also want the youngest students in your club to be able to read independently - not struggling. That's just my take!

How do you decide what books get picked? The element of choice is so important here. Students are volunteering to do this one their own time and need to have a lot of input in what book they read.  Grab a lot of books from your classroom library, the school library and town library and have them on display. Be sure to have a wide range of types and levels of books. As students sign up and give you their permission slips work with them to pick out a book (before the first meeting of the club). They need to have  their book read or almost read for the first meeting.  The first book choice is always the hardest. Try too encourage students to be realistic about book choice- for example a third grader choosing a 350 page Harry Potter book to complete if the first BookTalk Club meeting is in 5 days is probably not going to work! Sometimes students will realize their first book was too hard, too easy, too long, or too short and the next time around will adjust for it.

A big part of Booktalk Club is the presentation. It is encouraged that all booktalks be videotaped. Some clubs have a night where everyone's family is invited and all the students do  their booktalks live. Some clubs do both. Club members will make  decisions together  about what they want the culmination to look like.

To get an idea of what Booktalks look like as a finished product, check out these videos. I found 2 younger students and one older student. They did a super job!

This is a slightly different take on a booktalk - this older girl is recommending a book for younger children.

So have you ever done a Booktalk Club at your school? Might you try it? Let us know what you think and comment!

Scholastic's Booktalk Website

Waco ISD's Book Talk Update

Scholastic Reading Summit: Booktalk Update

Nancy Keane's Children's Literature Page

Reading Online Booktalk Resources

And thanks to Erin of I'm Lovin' Lit (and Adventures in Literacy Land!) for the terrific frames used above and KG Fonts for, well, the font!

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So Many Picture Books...So Little Time

Summer is one of my favorite times because I have more time to read than I do during the school year.  Also, (please don't throw things at me) I like attending professional development opportunities provided in my area by the local educational cooperative.  My FAVORITE professional development every year is "So Many Picture Books...So Little Time" presented by Wendy Ellis, Director of the Reading program at Harding University.  She shares over 50 picture books during the PD that are current (published in the previous year).  It is the best way to keep current on all the great books being published.  Today, I am going to share some of my favorites with you.  Sit back, relax, and be prepared to add some books to your Amazon wishlist.

Simpson's Sheep Won't go to Sleep by Bruce Arant

Farmer Simpson wants to sleep, needs to sleep, but isn't getting any sleep because the sheep keep coming up with reasons why they aren't ready to go to bed.  What will he do?  How will he get the sheep to sleep?  As I read this book, I immediately made a text-to-text connection between the sheep (and all of their excuses) and to the pigeon in Mo Willem's Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late who continually made excuses why he should be allowed to stay up.

 

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

Duncan wants to color, but his crayons have other plans.  Each crayon writes him a letter with their grievances.  What will Duncan do?  Will he ever get to color again?

This book has a FABULOUS book trailer that gives you hints about how each crayon is feeling.

 

Charlie Goes to School by Ree Drummond, illustrated by Diane deGroat

You probably know Ree Drummond better as the Pioneer Woman.  She also write books.  Charlie is her basset hound that lives with her on the ranch. The book starts with Charlie seeing the kids going to school (home school) and he decides that he can have his own school.  Find out what happens by reading this adorable book.

You can read more about the book on her blog HERE.  The book also has a recipe at the end for Strawberry Oatmeal Bars that look delicious.

Book Trailer:

 

Llama, Llama, and the Bully Goat by Anna Dewdney

My little girl loves her Llama Llama board book that we read every night as part of our going-to-bed ritual.  This Llama Llama book is a great read to help students understand what bullying is.  Llama Llama is learning a lot of new things at school, but Gilroy Goat is teasing him.  What is Llama Llama going to do?  What will happen to Gilroy?

Kid President has a video that would be a wonderful accompaniment to this book:  Kid President Pep Talk.  One of my favorite lines from the video:  "If we are on the same team, then we need to start acting like it."  Read the Llama Llama book, watch the video, and have students discuss what connections the video has to bullying.

 

The Little "Read" Hen by Dianne Las Casas

This spin on the classic "Little Red Hen" is great for introducing young writers to the writing process.  Little "Read" Hen wants to write a story, but none of her friends will help.  What will she do?

This book has phrases that keep you laughing and engaged throughout the story, like "busted her tail feathers."  At the end of the story, there is a "recipe" for a story that would make a marvelous bulletin board to showcase student writing pieces.  The author has a page on her website that has activities to go with the book:  educator guide and theater script.



Thanks for sticking with me through these recommendations.  Dr. Ellis did share over fifty books with us, so be on the look out for more posts here and at my blog.  I LOVE a great picture book!

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