The Reading Corner

No David! is a charming story about a reckless young boy named David who tends to get into many situations which lead to him being told "no." This book was one of my absolute favorites as a child, and I know that it was a favorite of many other children around me because it was either a very humorous or it was a very relatable story. Either way, David Shannon has written many stories which are very lively and impactful for children and adults alike. I would use this as an independent reading story in my classroom. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 1.1. 

The Rainbow Fish is a heart-warming story of a fish who had beautiful glimmering scales, but refused to share them with anyone. Though he was beautiful, he was stingy, so no one wanted to be friends with him. Rainbow Fish decides that he should give all of his friends a glimmering scale, and he can even keep one for himself. In the end, Rainbow Fish is happy that all of his friends are happy and that everyone got a chance to feel beautiful. I would use this book in my classroom to talk about friendship and sharing. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 3.3.

Elizabeth and Larry is a wonderful story about a woman named Elizabeth who, by pure accident, is introduced to her new lifelong friend, Larry. However, Larry is not your typical friend, because Larry is in fact an alligator. While Elizabeth doesn't mind, many others in their community give Elizabeth and Larry strange looks. Larry begins feeling ostracized and longs to be with other alligators, so Elizabeth sends him back to Florida. The two miss each other greatly, so Elizabeth decides to move to Florida to be with Larry and all of his new alligator friends. I would use this book in my classroom for a discussion of friendship, compromise, and diversity. This book has an AR reading level of 1.0 and can be used in classrooms from grades 1-4. 

This book is a wonderful and hilarious story about a young puppy named George who is learning to speak. George's mother keeps prompting George to speak, but whenever George speaks up, a different animal's sound comes out of him. His mother always responds by telling him that dogs don't quack, moo, or ribbit, but instead, dogs bark. At the end of the story, we discover that George had swallowed all of the animals whose voices had been heard and finally, George barks. I would use this in my classroom for a discussion of animals, speaking differences, language differences, and pattern books. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2.9. 

The Giving Tree is a wonderful story about a tree who loved a young boy. The boy ultimately took everything that the tree had to offer and the tree was always wanting to make the boy happy. In this story, the boy ages and the tree withers down to a stump, but the boy always returns to the tree, and the tree always loves the boy. I would use this book in a kindergarten to 4th grade classroom. In a classroom lower than 2nd grade, I would use this book in read alouds. This book would be very useful to discussions on giving and receiving, emotions, patience, kindness, and unconditional love. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2.6.

The Giver is a great story about a dystopian society in which a young boy discovers that much of his world has been hidden from him and everyone else so that their overbearing government can keep order and control over all of the people. I remember reading this book as a child and it really opened up my view of the world and made me start using higher level thinking more frequently and I know that this story is an intriguing one for many people. However, this book is a more advanced read, so I would probably only start to use this book in a fifth grade classroom. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 5.9. 

I have loved every Pete the Cat book that I have read, but this one really sticks out to me as being a great choice for a classroom. In this book, Pete the Cat is starting his first day of school and is learning about all of the different areas and components of his school and his school day. This book would be great to use during the beginning of the school year. I would read this to a K-1st classroom or have it be used for a group reading in a classroom of 2nd-5th graders. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 2.4.

This is a great book which battles stereotypes and bigotry. This book shows an intelligent young girl who is wildly creative and full of dreams and goals. Though some people around her try to tell her that she cannot achieve her goals because of her sex or ethnicity, she does her best and proves that no matter who she was, she could do just as well as anyone else because she practiced a lot and loved what she was doing. I would use this book in a third to fifth grade classroom. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 4.1. 

This is a lovely story about a police officer and his dog who visit schools to talk about safety. This promotes a positive image of the police and friendship. This book also covers topics such as jealousy and how to handle it and how to be proud of a friend's achievements, rather than being jealous or angry about them. I would use this in classrooms of 2-5 graders. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 3.4. 

This is a very cute story about a little girl who wanted to be just like all of the other kids. so in order to be more "normal," she quit eating lima beans because no one else liked them, even though lima beans were her favorite food. However, because she was trying so hard to blend in, she got a bad case of the stripes which meant that she started turning all different colors to blend in to her surroundings. Her case of stripes was remedied only by eating lima beans again and being true to herself. I would use this with a classroom in need of a story of diversity and of being true to who you are. This book would be good in a read aloud or for independent reading and I believe that children of all ages would enjoy and benefit from this book whether it is read to or by them. This book would do well in classes of third to fifth graders. This book has a Scholastic Reading Grade Level Equivalent of 3.8.