Books for Babes

Bully B.E.A.N.S is a fantastic book that empowers students to stand up to bullies. In the story, a group of kids are handed some 'magic' beans. The 'magic' beans are very special because they give the kids the courage they need to stand up to the school bully, Bobbette. They take the beans and team up to stop Bobbette from hurting anyone else. There must be something about those beans! This book teaches students to not be bystanders, but to stand together and take action. This is a must read in your classroom if you want your students to be proactive about bullying!

Use in the classroom: I would read this at the beginning of the year to teach my students that they need to be proactive about bullying and to empower them to take a stand if they ever encounter one. I would also have a bag of jelly beans for each student to have and tell them that if they ever need the courage to stand up to a bully, they just need to eat one of the beans. 

Target grade: kindergarten-4th

A Bad Case of Stripes is a wonderful story that teaches children individuality. Camilla Cream loves lima beans, but she will not eat them. She is too scared of what people might say, because most kids her age don't like lima beans. When Camilla tries to fit in with the other students, colorful stripes pop up all over her body. Instead of getting better and going away, the stripes begin to change with her surroundings. Specialists are called in, but the situation only gets worse. Camilla just needs someone to help her see what it means to be herself! This book will definitely have your students talking. 

Use in the classroom: I would use this at the beginning of the year to help students understand the importance of being themselves, no matter what anyone thinks. I might even have students volunteer to share something unique that they love about themselves.

Target grade: 2nd or 3rd 

Pippi Longstocking has and will forever be my favorite childhood book. I loved Pippi when I was a kid. Now, I am reading it again and I still laugh like crazy and have the best time reading it! Pippi is a nine year old girl who lives in a house called Villa Villkulla with a monkey, a horse, and no parents to tell her what to do. She moves into the rickety old house next to Tommy and Annika and the three of them become inseparable friends. Together they go on many explorations and get into a lot of trouble! Pippi is full of imagination and is determined to do anything she puts her mind to. Trust me, you do not want to miss out on the adventures of Pippi Longstocking, she makes life exciting!

Use in the classroom:  I would have the students do some creative writing after reading the book. I would give them the prompt "If I had Pippi as a neighbor, I would..." or "If I was as strong as Pippi, I would..."

Target grade level: 4th or 5th

Although the image provided is in another language, there is an English version of The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! and it is absolutely awesome. It is the same great story that we all grew up hearing, but with a very clever twist. This version is told from the point of view of the big bad wolf. We, the readers, get to hop inside the head of one of the biggest, baddest story characters and find out what he believes about what really happened. Alexander T. Wolf, the big,bad wolf, believes he was framed! He claims to have had a terrible sneezing cold when he visited the three little pigs houses for some sugar. He didn't mean to blow the houses down. But, he did mean to eat them. I mean, can you blame a wolf? Find out when you take a closer look at this awesome book!

Use in the classroom: I would use this book during a lesson on point of view. I would have the students read both versions and have them figure out what point of view they were written in. Then I would have them determine which point of view they most agree with. I would have some fun 'craftivity" and creative writing assignment to go along with it!

Target grade level: 2nd or 3rd

This series, which actually includes several more books, is incredible! What better way to have students learn different concepts of language than in a book, right? These books are so entertaining. If you are wanting to teach your students about nouns, verbs, and adjectives and are not sure where to begin, look no further. These books are a great way to get your students thinking about those very concepts and they are fun stories. It doesn't get much better than that!

Use in the classroom: I would read these (for each unit) and have a fun activity to go along with it, like a noun, verb, or adjective word find. I might also have the students interactive while I read the story by raising their hands or standing up every time they hear a noun, verb, or adjective. 

Target grade level: 2nd-5th

Dear Deer is such a fun book! It is about  Aunt Ant who who writes a letter about her move to the zoo. She describes all the silly things that she sees using homophones. Trust me, you don't want your kids to miss out on this fun opportunity to learn! 

Use in the classroom: I would you use this during a lesson on homophones. I would read the book aloud to the students to see if they can identify the homophones. Then I would give a copy of one of the pages with the homophones whited out, read them aloud, and have the students figure out which word goes where. This is a great book to help the students understand homophones and how to properly use them!

Target grade level:K-2 

The Giving Tree is an amazing book that captured my heart and brought me back to my childhood. It is about a little boy and a female tree who go through life together. The boy and the tree would spend every day together, from the boy's childhood up to his adult years. The two shared many adventures and memories. Because of those adventures  and memories, they were both happy. Sadly, the boy had to grow up and when he did he began to want more from the tree. The tree gave and gave and gave to him, until she had nothing left to give.

Use in the classroom: After reading this book, I would create a giving tree and put it on a wall (or desk, depending on how I create it). I would make leaves that have a student's name on each one (making sure to use every student). Then I would pass the leaves around and have the students write positive things about their classmates on them. The leaves would then be put on the tree so that they can be seen everyday. I would have extra leaves next to the tree so that the students or myself can add to the tree each day. 

Target grade level: Really I think this book would be great for 1st-5th grades, depending on how it is being used in the classroom.

Pete the Cat, by Eric Litwin/Illustrated by James Dean, returns in some pretty groovy new school shoes! In this super cute book, Pete discovers all of the wonders of school: the library, the lunchroom, the playground, the school bus, and so much more! Pete moves and grooves through the day 'rockin' in his school shoes.' This is such a fun book!

Use in the classroom: I would use this as a beginning of the year read to help my kiddos relax about the first day! We can all rock together. 

Target grades: Kind.- 3rd

Amazing Grace, written by Mary Hoffman/illustrated by Caroline Binch, is about a young girl named Grace who has a huge imagination and the courage to be anyone she wants to be. Even after negative comments from her classmates about playing the lead in the school play, she pushes forward and wows everyone. Grace inspires others to have courage and to never shy away from their dreams.

Use in the classroom: This would be a great opportunity to have the students write in their journals. Perhaps give them a prompt like: "If you could be anyone/anything, who would it be and why?" OR have discussion time and talk about how it doesn't matter how you look, you can still achieve anything you set your mind to, etc. Also is a great way to encourage kiddos to participate in their own school play! 

Target grades: 2nd-4th