Gift Books 2017: 25 Picture Books to Gift this Season

Posted on December 10, 2017 by carriegelson

It’s December – the time to think about gifting books! How I love to help with shopping lists! Making a picture book list to give is one of my favourite holiday traditions. I started with 12 in 2013 and moved to 20 in 2014. In 2015 and 2016, I bumped the list to 25. Once again, I am happy once again to celebrate 25 incredible titles for 2017! Looking to buy a special picture book (or books) for someone in particular? Here is a beautiful selection to consider.

My criteria? Is it a book that can be shared multiple times? Does it inspire creativity, thinking, inspiration? Does it make its readers think differently? Does it celebrate something important? Does it freeze time? Is it a book that brings joy? Or does it simply make you laugh? Our world needs more laughter!

With those questions in mind, here is my list:

Listed alphabetically by author.

The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen

So a duck and a mouse take up residence in the belly of a wolf. Only Barnett and Klassen could pull this off. We all need a little wonderful wackiness in our lives.

Why Am I Me? written by Paige Britt and illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

I loved this lyrical, beautiful book full of questions and musings about self, identity and the wider world.

Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell

Nearly wordless. All about important things. Kindness. Trust. Simplicity.

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

A completely endearing title about one little boy’s route to being brave.

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! by Carmen Agra Deedy and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

An allegorical tale that will make you giggle and nod vigorously and leap up and shout in agreement. Our voices cannot be silenced. Oh, this book is timely. Cannot recommend it enough.

Windows by Julia Denos and illustrated E.B. Goodale

I could read this book endlessly. It is so calm and quiet and the little details are exquisite.

You Don’t Want a Unicorn! by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Liz Climo

So, so very funny. Who could have guessed that a pet unicorn could be so problematic? You might never look at cupcakes the same way again!

Milo and Georgie written by Bree Galbraith and illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

Moving is hard. Kids are quirky. It isn’t always easy to embrace change. Or maybe it is , , , This book celebrates adjusting to the new however we might approach things. Charming.

Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin

This wordless title won my heart. Graphic panels. Sweet characters. Generosity and kindness. What more could you want in a picture book?

Gift Books 2017: 25 Picture Books to Gift this Season There's a Book for That

Be Quiet! by Ryan T. Higgins

Oh so clever! A very chatty conversation in the middle of a wordless book. A.k.a. a really hopeful wordless book interrupted by many words. Hilarious!

If I Had a Little Dream written by Nina Laden and illustrated by Melissa Castrillo

A celebration of possibilities from a child’s perspective. Beautiful.

This is How We Do it: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World by Matt Lamothe

What do you eat for dinner? What is school like? What is your daily routine? What do you do for fun? How do you help your family? These details define us and unite us. They make us realize how we all have similar routines even though things in our day can be vastly different. Based on the lives of seven real children from around the world.

Lines by Suzy Lee

This book is beautifully brilliant. Wordless and full of complete surprises and incredible movements (exquisitely implied).

The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken

This book begins with an eye that was drawn too large. Where it ends up? Oh my! A creative and inspiring journey.

Things to Do by Elaine Magliaro and illustrated by Catia Chien

This title should ideally inspire endless poetry writing and will definitely help you see the world with a little more wonder. Gorgeous all around.

Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs written by Carol Murray and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

So much fun – lots of creepy and not so creepy crawlies flit, skitter and wander across these pages. Lots of information and delightful poems to share.

Now by Antoinette Portis

Being in the moment has never been celebrated with such lovely wonder and beauty.

If You Were the Moon written by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Jaime Kim

What would you do if you were the moon? A poem travels line by line, page by page on one side of each two page spread and on the other, more information about the moon. Incredible illustrations by Jaime Kim.

After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back up Again by Dan Santat

Find yourself completely surprised. This book. In awe.

Another Way to Climb a Tree written by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Hadley Hooper

Oh this book. Sweet. Inspiring. Creative. A perfect mix of text and illustrations.

You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith and illustrated by Danielle Daniel

Sparse words, gorgeous illustrations and a message of strength.

The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do by Ashley Spires

Perseverance and risk taking are a journey. Love the way they are depicted here.

Can an Aardvark Bark? written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Created by nonfiction royalty, this book is a winner! Animal sounds. And many other cool things you might have wondered.

Accident! by Andrea Tsurumi

This story is an absolute adventure. It’s all in the details and such details! Lola the armadillo spills orange liquid all over a white chair in a cart wheeling mishap. It is viewed as an absolute disaster! The end of the world! The end of everything! As she escapes her own mess, she runs into many other catastrophes. In the end, some important resolutions are explored. A book to get lost in.

If Sharks Disappeared by Lily Williams

A nonfiction title exploring ecosystems and the importance of keeping oceans healthy. Children will develop an understanding of food chains and how living creatures are interconnected in specific environments.

Happy Reading. Happy Shopping. Happy Giving.

Monday September 18th, 2017

Posted on September 17, 2017 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week.

Here are a few from this past week. Little readers. Lots of books.

Join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and share all of the reading you have done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. Follow the links to read about all of the amazing books the #IMWAYR community has read. It’s the best way to discover what to read next.

It has been weeks since I published a #IMWAYR post. I have been busy falling in love with my new Grade 3 class and settling back into fall routines. So I am sharing weeks of reading and just highlighting my absolute favourites.

Of course, in this past week I read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds and we completed some incredible dot art displayed as a community art piece.

This display still needs the themes we are taking on from The Dot – these are the take aways the students came up with. Take aways that launch our year together.

Our #classroombookaday titles were all about friendships and relationships.

Be a Friend inspired a discussion about qualities we would like in a friend.

On the blog:

I completed the fifth and final post in this blog series: Summer Maintenance in the Classroom Library. Step 5: Sourcing

I also shared a #MustReadin2017 update post.

Books I enjoyed:

Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs written by Carol Murray and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

I will be sharing this title in the next few weeks to inspire some of our own poetry, fact finding and art. The perfect mentor text!

The Bad Seed written by Jory John and illustrated by Pete Oswald

I know I shouldn’t have smiled through reading this. This is really one (cute) Bad Seed. Unless, he isn’t . . .

Why Am I Me? written by Paige Britt and illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

I loved this lyrical, beautiful book full of questions and musings about self, identity and the wider world. I bought a copy for our classroom collection.

You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith and illustrated by Danielle Daniel

This title is pretty special. Sparse words, gorgeous illustrations and a message of strength.

Now by Antoinette Portis

Being in the moment has never been celebrated with such lovely wonder and beauty.

Another Way to Climb a Tree written by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Hadley Hooper

Oh this book. Sweet. Inspiring. Creative. A perfect mix of text and illustrations.

Sam Sorts by Marthe Jocelyn

Teaching early primary? Want a book for your math collection about sorting and categorizing? This is your book.

Lulu and the Rabbit Next Door by Hilary McKay

I absolutely adored this title and ordered a number of titles from this series for my class!

Walking with Miss Millie by Tamara Bundy

Oh Miss Millie. I wish that I could come along for these walks. I loved the pace of this book. How it is quiet. Personal. Emotional.

Wish by Barbara O’Connor

Another title from O’Connor that I can’t wait to read aloud. Thinking this might be a read aloud in my class later this year. So much here – this books explores the amazing and the challenging about family and friendships and allows us to question what matters when it comes to home and security. What is important enough to wish for?

Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami

Truly an ode to sharing the love of books and reading. A young middle grade novel about persistence and learning how to fight for what you believe is right.

Reading Progress updates:

2017 Chapter Book Challenge: 49/75 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 211/365 books read

Progress on challenge: 48 books behind schedule. Oh my!

#MustReadin2017: 22/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 28/50 titles

Diverse Books in 2016: 33/50 books read

Up Next? I am starting A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Monday August 28th, 2017

Posted on August 27, 2017 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Each week I share a reading photo of the week.

In a few weeks I will have students again to snap some pictures of but for now – here is a photo of our first planned read aloud – getting some moral support from a friend.

I haven’t posted an #IMWAYR post for a few weeks as we have been travelling so this post highlights some favourites from a few weeks of reading.

On the blog:

Sharing a nonfiction title: A Bear’s Life

For picture book 10 for 10: Beautifully Quirky titles

These next 2 posts are part of a 5 part series on my blog:

Summer Maintenance in the Classroom Library. Step 3: Additions

Summer Maintenance in the Classroom Library. Step 4: The details

Books I enjoyed:

Today by Julie Morstad

Of course, this is Morstad stunning. I can see individuals or small groups getting lost in these pages.

How Much Does a Ladybug Weigh? by Alison Limentani

As much as a . . . A wonderful book about comparing mass.

Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin

This wordless title won my heart. Graphic panels. Sweet characters. Generosity and kindness. What more could you want in a picture book?

Can an Aardvark Bark? written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Created by nonfiction royalty, this book is a winner! Animal sounds. And many other cool things you might have wondered. Of course, this will be a new addition to our nonfiction library this fall. A must have for classrooms and libraries.

The Darkest Dark written by Chris Hadfield and illustrated by the Fan Brothers

A little boy’s relationship with the dark, the sky, the universe. Astronaut Chris Hadfield tells his story and the Fan Brothers bring it to life. Wonderful!

A Small Thing . . . but Big written by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Hadley Hooper

Brave acts are made of many small moments. Lovely.

Ally-saurus & the Very Bossy Monster by Richard Torrey

A fantastic title to share with young readers dealing with how to be with each other in play. Themes of friendship, relationship, being brave, standing up for yourself and others. Perfect for classroom discussions or library story time.

The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla

I absolutely adored Charlie. His journey is a must read experience.

Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson

This middle grade novel is not an easy read. Mississippi in the 1950s for a young black girl was about nothing easy. Rose is a character I can’t wait to follow and so was thrilled to see that Jackson has a second title being released next year.

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

I have heard the hype. I have seen the tweets about the ending leaving too much unanswered. I loved every bit. This book captured me. I couldn’t put it down and read it all in one early morning sitting. Would love to read this aloud to a class but think it is better suited to an older class (not Grade 3)

Reading Progress updates:

2017 Chapter Book Challenge: 46/75 complete

Goodreads Challenge: 197/365 books read

Progress on challenge: 41 books behind schedule. I need another bookstore visit!

#MustReadin2017: 20/30 complete

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 27/50 titles

Diverse Books in 2016: 32/50 books read

Up next? I am reading Walking with Miss Millie by Tamara Bundy

A Year of Nonfiction Picture Books Revisited

Posted on July 15, 2015 by carriegelson

I read a lot of nonfiction aloud to my class. I never get to as many titles as I intend to – the “must share” stack is always growing. It’s not necessarily due to lack of time. I make lots of time for nonfiction reading. It’s that I believe nonfiction read alouds need to be rich reading experiences. And so, they require time. Time for questions. Time for discussion. Time to think and absorb and ponder. We “stretch out” our read alouds over days and days – reading, writing, talking, drawing. I celebrate the time we take with each book because I know the learning is rich.

I thought I would make this post for Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday be all about the celebration of and learning from our nonfiction reading this year.

Here are (most of) the titles we read together in this “stretched out” style. We also read many other nonfiction titles – some in their entirety, some just a few pages here or there.

I chose some particularly important learning to highlight here.

A Boy and A Jaguar written by Alan Rabinowitz and illustrated by Cátia Chien

In this title we learned that a love for animals can be deep and a promise to protect them can be deeper. Alan Rabinowitz is a huge inspiration for my students. They felt his anxiety growing up stuttering and were inspired by his commitment to his work.

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla written by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Ivan’s story prompted discussions of animals in captivity, of human cruelty, of just “why?” Lots of conversations. Thanks To Katherine Applegate and all of those who have loved Ivan, we love Ivan too.

Handle with Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey written by Loree Griffin Burns with photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz

This title allowed students to explore a question they had never before considered – just how do butterflies get to museums and science centres all over the world? But it did more than that. It gave students a close up view at the miraculous life cycle of a butterfly and allowed them to see the beauty in every stage.

The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins and illustrated by Jill McElmurry

This book gave my students hope. It energized them. It reminded them about the power of an individual to impact a community. When we closed the book, students made comments like this one: “I like Kate so much. It happened a long time ago but her soul probably still speaks for trees. She was one person who did so much.”

Galapágos George written by Jean Craighead George and illustrated by Wendell Minor

This title let us talk about extinction. It allowed students to grasp the true vulnerability of so many species. We read this after reading various books about endangered animals. Reading about a special creature that actually became extinct prompted both outrage and sadness. “So many animals could disappear because of humans . . . ” one child observed solemnly.

Tiny Creatures The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies; illustrated by Emily Sutton

This title prompted a lot of “Wows” and a lot of hand washing! 🙂 It is so important for students to wonder about the world they can not easily see. The power of something very tiny is a very big idea.

The Iridescence of Birds: A Book about Henri Matisse written by Patricia MacLachlan with illustrations by Hadley Hooper

This title opened up the conversation about inspiration. What inspires an artist? What inspires any art? One child commented, “The book was about what inspired Matisse. Maybe we have inspiration all around us too.”

Our learning climbs up the walls, surrounding us all year.

We learned. Some things. A lot of things, in fact. Not close to everything. It’s a huge amazing world out there. But wow, did we learn.

We wondered. We pondered. We talked and listened. We developed our curiosity. We considered things from new perspectives. Most importantly, we considered our place in the world. What do we impact? What can we impact? What do we notice? What do we not yet understand? What do we plan to find out?

A year of reading nonfiction. I have described reading nonfiction titles with a class as building shared knowledge, one learning layer at a time. How exciting it was to build this developing understanding of the world with this group of children this year.

Thanks to Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2015. Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction books you need to read!

Looking for nonfiction titles to read aloud? Check out this list: Nonfiction Picture Books for Reading Aloud

Mock Caldecott 2015

Posted on January 9, 2015 by carriegelson

While every year I celebrate Caldecott winners with my students, this is the first year we are having our own Mock Caldecott competition. After perusing numerous other Mock Caldecott lists and lists of Caldecott predictions, I narrowed it down to eleven titles to share with my class. There was a LOT of rethinking and eliminating titles. In the end, I tried to choose a varied list that conveyed different moods, feelings and responses.

Here are the books we are sharing, reading and swooning over – shared alphabetically by illustrator:

Sparky! written by Jenny Offill and illustrated by Chris Appelhans

Quest by Aaron Becker

The Promise written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Laura Carlin

Draw! by Raúl Colón

The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee

The Iridescence of Birds: A Book about Henri Matisse written by Patricia MacLachlan with illustrations by Hadley Hooper

Sam & Dave Dig a Hole written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen

Hi, Koo! by Jon J Muth

The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Grandfather Gandhi written by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus and illustrated by Evan Turk

Our process is simple. We read and talk about each book individually, enjoying the interactive read aloud experience. Then, I hide the book away until we bring them all out again and spend some time looking closer at each title with Caldecott criteria in mind.

Like others who are running a Mock Caldecott with their classrooms, I adapted the criteria into a child friendly rubric.

Each child will have an opportunity to rate each book using a 1 – 5 scale (with 1 being not at all to 5 being agree absolutely) responding to these three statements:

This book is a book kids will really appreciate.

The illustrations in this book are excellent in quality.

The illustrations are a great fit for the story being told.

An opportunity to comment on favourites will also be available.

By next week, we should have shared all of the titles and will be prepared to rate each book. We will do this over a morning where we can reread, look more closely at the actual criteria and have lots of discussions with other students and the adults we have invited to participate in this process with us. More details on our class blog: Curiosity Racers.

We will then announce our medal winner and 3 honour titles.

I am not sure if it is the children or the adults who are more excited but our room is buzzing even more with picture book love. At times I am sure I can hear the hum 🙂

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: The Iridescence of Birds

Posted on January 7, 2015 by carriegelson

I am so excited to once again be participating in a weekly sharing of amazing nonfiction books that we can use to enhance the learning in our classrooms and our own reading and learning lives. Hurray for #nfpb2015!

This year, at least once a month, I want to try to share how I am using particular texts with my students or what we are reading in the world of nonfiction.

Today, we read the beautiful picture book biography: The Iridescence of Birds: A Book about Henri Matisse written by Patricia MacLachlan with illustrations by Hadley Hooper

This book, by the way, is on the Mock Caledcott list I am doing with my class. I think I love the illustrations more with each read.

This title is like one long answer to the book’s first page:

“If you were a boy named Henri Matisse who lived in a dreary town in northern France where the skies were gray”

It goes on to highlight beautiful images and memories of his childhood home and experiences. Simple. Calm. Subtle. Slowly, we are drawn into the colours, the sensations, the possible perspectives of a young Matisse. This isn’t a story of adult artist. It is about a boy absorbing the beauty of his world.

This title is truly a treasure. Read it over and over and find yourself lulled by the lyrical words and the beautiful hues of Hooper’s illustrations.

I loved this interview with Hadley Hooper on the blog Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Before I shared this title with my class, I “read” them the gorgeous wordless title Draw! (another title on our Mock Caledcott list) The author’s note at the back talks about Colón‘s journey to adult artist. The children were intrigued by his long history of drawing and who he counted as influences.

Before sharing The Iridescence of Birds, I posed this question to my students:

“I wonder where an artist gets his/her inspiration?”

This question mirrors the beginning of MacLachlan‘s author’s note at the back of the book:

“Why do painters paint what they do? Do they paint what they see or what they remember? “

We looked at some images of Matisse’s work and talked about what we noticed.

Students began to answer the question about where an artist’s inspiration might come from. Their ideas were fairly general:

from their childhood
from the places and people around them
from the time that they lived (we helped with this idea)

After reading the book, I asked the students to think about two questions:

What were specific things that might have influenced Matisse in his later work?
What was the author’s purpose in sharing this story?

We needed to picture walk the book a number of times again and read the text from particular pages so that the students could share specific and not vague answers. I pointed out that yes, his childhood had been an influence, but what specifically had the author and illustrator highlighted? I think this digging deeper past a quick answer is so important. This book in its beautiful simplicity of text, allows us to reread multiple times and focus on the specific details.

Finally, the students came up with this list:

the red rooms (floors and walls)
the fruit he got to put in bowls
the putting flowers into vases
there was always a cat
the painted plates his Mom made
the scenery he thought about or saw when he looked out the window
the pigeons – how they moved and what they looked like
his experience of mixing paints

They had some interesting comments about the author’s purpose. I love that when we read picture book biographies, they make connections between a particular individual’s story and their own experiences (past, present or future).

“It started off all grey and it gets more colourful. They showed how he changed his “place” himself to be more beautiful.”

“Kids like art. It’s fun. You can be inspired by reading about an artist and his life.”

“They wanted us to learn more about a famous artist.”

“The book was about what inspired Matisse. Maybe we have inspiration all around us too.”