Someone on one of my lists just asked for suggestions for a beginning-of-the-year book to read-aloud to her new class and, of course, we all chimed in with our opinions. Since many of you are already back in school and some about to start, I hope you will tell us what you’ve chosen and why. I’m still considering what I’m going to start with.
Last year my first book was The Invention of Hugo Cabret because I was doing a year-long study of silent movies (focusing on Charlie Chaplin) and it turned out to be a great choice (which surprised me as I wasn’t sure about how the image sections would work, but the did). This year I’m still considering my options. Maybe I’ll go for Frank Cotrell Boyce’s Cosmic which my students have always adored. Both are gender-neutral and aren’t particularly scary. (For more recommendations, I’ve a bunch of posts about books that worked well for me here. )
My preference is to start with a book that is brand new so the kids are unlikely to know it and so right now I’m leaning toward Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright’s The Cheshire Cat Cheese. I’m a hard-sell on animal stories, but was completely charmed by this one and since we will start the year with a close look at Charlotte’s Web I’m thinking this may be just the ticket for a first read-aloud.
So enough about my choices, what are yours?
educating alice 