Must Have Picture Books Linky Party

      Picture books...my husband is continuously amazed at just how many I have and why I keep buying more. :)  Each year I try to incorporate at least a few new (to me) picture books in with all of my favorites.  Here are three that I think are worth knowing about.

1.  Thinking about the beginning of the year, a new favorite that I discovered last year when trying to incorporate some social studies content on cultures was The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi.

Click on the picture to check out the book.

This story is about a little girl who has moved to America from Korea and has trouble deciding on a name for her classmates to call her.  They create a name jar to try and help her decide.  In the end, she decides that she loves her Korean name and helps them learn how to say it.  This is a great book to use when doing name activities in the beginning of the year and to celebrate differences.

2.  Another book that is a must-have is Have You Filled a Bucket Today? I know this is a more well-known book but it really is fantastic to use in the beginning of the year and re-visit throughout.  It gives your entire class a common language to use when talking about behavior.

Click on the picture to check this book out.

The premise of this book is that everyone has an invisible bucket.  When you do/say kind things to others, it fills their buckets and your own.  When you do/say unkind things to others, it dips into their buckets and your own.  Children love it!

3.   One other book I love to use toward the beginning of the year as we begin studying comprehension strategies is Amazing Grace.  

Click on the picture to check out the book.

This is a story about a little girl named Grace who loves to use her imagination and act out things she's heard/read in stories.  When her class will be performing the play Peter Pan, she dreams of being Peter. Some of her classmates tell her she can't because she's a girl and she's black, and Peter was neither of those.  In the end, she gets the part and learns she can do anything she puts her mind to!

These are just a few of my favorites.  I'm linking up to The Teacher's Wife Must-Have Picture Books Linky!

What are some of your favorite picture books?