Wonder is a RF novel that I truly believe every single person can benefit from reading. This book addresses bullying, self-insecurity and the importance of true friendship, and the characters are at an age (6th grade) where children often are least aware of how to deal with these things. I love the national Certified Kind Classroom Challenge you can sign your class up for: choosekind.tumblr.com/certified-kind-classroom-challenge #UCFLAE3414sp17

This TL picture book lets students read about the Hawaiian folklore behind how turtles get their shells. The images are vivid and engaging, and the story is a fun way to introduce the topic of folktales, fables and myths. Scholastic has dozens of resources for teaching this genre that this book could compliment quite well: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/myths-folktale... #UCFLAE3414sp17

"Brian looks at the floor, wishing he could draw a hole right there to swallow him up." This science fiction picture book is a great resource for discussing inclusion, kindness and the importance of a positive classroom community. I love the idea of creating a "random acts of kindness" school-wide campaign after reading this book: https://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/TheInvisibleBoy_... #UCFLAE3414sp17

This 2013 Irma Black award winner tells the story of Henry "Box" Brown and his brave journey to escape slavery. The biographical picture book addresses the topic of slavery in a way that is appropriate for younger readers. This would be a great read-aloud for a social studies lesson, and can be integrated in with this Underground Railroad expedition: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/underground_railroad/index.htm #UCFLAE3414sp17

"Hi-dee-go, here I go lookin' for my missin' piece" Shel Silverstein's poetry book, The Missing Piece takes readers on an adventure with an imaginary creature who is looking for his missing wedge. Shel's website has an animation of the book, so students can feel like the wedge is really moving on their adventure with them. He also has awesome event kits for poetry month! http://www.shelsilverstein.com/books/missing-piece/ #ucflae3414sp17

This TL by Ronald Dahl teaches the power of teamwork through the Ladderless Window Cleaning Company- a giraffe, pelican, and monkey! Dahl uses vivid vocabulary such as dotty, gumption and galloped, and adds in small songs and illustrations to bring the book to life. Here's a teamwork lesson, & there's a virtual tour of his museum! www.roalddahl.com/create-and-learn/teach/teach-the-stories/the-giraffe-and-the-pelly-and-me-lessons #UCFLAE3414sp17

Written and illustrated by Lita Judge, this nonfiction picture book teaches students about 8 different dinosaurs. I felt this book was a bit content heavy, and would only be appropriate for more advanced readers (grades 3+) or it could be used as a read-aloud. The pictures are vivid and there's a glossary that summarizes key terms at the end. Games & videos would be useful resources to add on discoverykids.com/category/dinosaurs/ #UCFLAE3414sp17

This fantasy picture book illustrated by Oliver Jeffers presents a hilarious display of the issues 12 different colored crayons may have. The book is youthful and an easy read for beginning readers, and teaches color recognition, respect and problem solving in a unique way. Students also learn how to write letters! Check out the sequel and a lesson guide for both here: www.crayonspicturebooks.com/day-crayons-quit-activities/ #UCFLAE3414sp17

This realistic fiction picture book won School Library Journal's Best book of the year, and for good reason. This little mouse can teach children about acceptance, kindness and confidence, while also addressing topics such as bullying and the importance of family. Scholastic provides a great "change your name" activity for students to further understand kindness & acceptance http://www.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=32395 #UCFLAE3414sp17

The City of Ember is a science fiction novel that will respark anyone's love for reading! An ALA NOtable Book winner, this novel kept me on my toes the whole time, and I truly felt like I was part of Luna and Doon's adventure. Now a major motion picture, this book would be a great addition to a 4-5th grade class, and can easily be tied to a variety of subjects. https://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/teachers_guides/9780375855719.pdf #UCFLAE3414sp17

Echo, a historical fiction novel by Pam Muñoz Ryan, tugs on your heart strings in more ways than one. This final quote was the most powerful for me; as I read it seemed all the characters faced terrible endings. But in the end, everything worked out how it was meant to for each of the children. I found a teacher blog that shows how this book was used across subjects in her class http://www.booksourcebanter.com/2016/02/29/14062/ #UCFLAE3414sp17