Must Have Picture Books!

Lindsey, over at The Teacher Wife, has a FANNNtastic linky party I just had to join!

It's all about your....
Photobucket 
This is perfect because now I can compile a list of alllllll the new books I obviously NEED for the upcoming year!


1. My Mouth is a Volcano! By Julia Cook
I recently posted about this one {here}, but I just LOVE this book. Julia Cook is amazing and this book starts the discussion of interrupting and blurting out! It puts my little chatty-kathys to a rest... at least for a bit :)


2. Mean Jean The Recess Queen! By Alexis O'Neill
This book is about mean ole' Jean and her being a bully on the playground. She gets whatever she wants, when she wants it and no one stands up for themselves! Well.. that is until a new girl comes to school. She doesn't take any of Jean's bullying and... you'll have to read it to see what happens.


3. Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler. By Margery Cuyler
I always read this one at the beginning of the year. This book emphasizes all the kind things we can do for others both inside AND outside of school. In the book, Mrs. Ruler and her class make a bulletin board highlighting all their kind deeds as they try to reach 100 of them! So obbbbviously, my class makes a bulletin board too! :)


4. The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein
Okay, I never heard of this book until last year when a colleague recommended it. I had a little lady in my class who was a PERFECTIONIST to the max! She was super smart, super creative, super everything.... and one time in front of the class she made a silly mistake when solving a math problem... ya know because she's human. Dear goodness, this little lady had a near meltdown. She couldn't get passed her mistake. Well this book helped BIG time and it is one of my absolute new faves!

When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry . . .
5. When Sophie Gets Angry- Really, Really, Angry... By Molly Bang
 I love the pictures in this book and I think it teaches a great lesson about what to do when you're really, really angry. I know it has mixed reviews because some think it only teaches students to walk away when angry and doesn't give other options, but hellloooo that opens the door for a FANTASTIC class discussion! And the rule in my class is if you're too angry and about to explode you need to get out and go for a "walk" (aka get a drink) to collect yourself before calmly discussing the issue with me or another student!

Hmmm... so we've had...
interrupting
 bullying
being kind
 making mistakes
and how to act when you are angry...
looks like we've got it covered! HA!

These books are my favorite because these issues come up ALL the time in class and my kids make connections to each story. Throughout the year we revisit each story numerous times based upon the needs of our classroom situation.

Now, GO!
Link up with {Lindsey} so I can see your books :)

Labels: ,