Book Love: The Pout-Pout Fish

Title: The Pout-Pout Fish

Author: Deborah Diesen

Illustrator: Dan Hanna

Why I Love This Book: You just never know when this delightful book will come in handy. There are so many topics you could address using this book, and I recently used it to talk about how to change your attitude from one of "dreary-wearies" to "cheery-cheeries."  The rhythmic, rhyming text combined with humorous and creative illustrations makes for a great read-aloud. I especially love how the illustrations depict the Pout-Pout Fish's moments of, well...pouting. The surprise ending is sure to cheer up any kid who's feeling a little down-in-the-dumps, and leave every listener with a smile on their face. 

Book Love: First Day Jitters

*Back to School Book Love*

Title: First Day Jitters

Author: Julie Danneberg

Illustrator: Judy Love

Why I Love this Book: My site teacher gave this book to me last year at the end of my student teaching for 2 reasons. Mainly because it is a story about how even teachers get the jitters on the first day of school. But the character in this story is a teacher named Sarah (yes, spelled with an h--so not exactly like me, but close enough). I enjoyed reading this book to myself as I was preparing for my first first day of school as a teacher. I did feel a little bit jittery, but I was also really excited. :) This book is a great way to talk about some of the different emotions both teachers and students feel at the beginning of the school year. 

Book Love: My Heart is Like a Zoo

Title: My Heart Is Like a Zoo

Author: Michael Hall

Why I Love this Book: I think this book is a fun, delightful way to talk about feelings with young children. The simple text uses similes to relate various feeling words to animals you might find at a zoo. Don't we all have days where we are "snappy as a crab" or "frightened as a rabbit?" Helping kids to build an understanding of their emotions is key to both social and emotional development, and this book could be a great tool for guiding conversations about feelings, in addition to being colorful and engaging. The illustrations are bright collages, with all the animals made out of heart shapes. The simplicity of the text is especially great for preschool and Kindergarten aged students.