Last week we started with I Am Trying To Love Spiders by Bethany Barton. My kindergarten, first, and second grade students loved this nonfiction book and it creeped me out ALL WEEK! I am NOT a fan of spiders, but I put on my big-girl pants and read it anyway. The kids thought it was hilarious that I was afraid of spiders and was willing to read them the book. I loved the tone, it was an extremely readable nonfiction book. I'm pretty sure it is the student favorite of all the books I have read so far. After we read it, I let the students play on the Duck Duck Moose App "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and it was such a nice day!
This week I am reading Night Animals by Gianna Marino. This is another one that is not really spooky, but it is about a bunch of night animals that are scared of... night animals! We are talking about main idea and this book really falls into my October category with a theme that everyone gets scared sometimes. I try to give the students something else to do after checkout that goes with our story to keep them engaged. I had a bunch of the Usborne Flashlight books that I hadn't put out yet, so I went and got flashlights at the dollar store and the kids have had a blast shining the lights to find the hidden pictures at the tables.The next two weeks we'll be having fun with monsters. I'll be reading Marilyn's Monster by Michelle Knudsen and The Little Shop of Monsters by R.L. Stine. I have another app I love to let them play with around Halloween - Monsters by Sago Mini. It lets them create and feed their own monster! I love pairing technology that my young students can explore and enjoy with our read alouds. I focus a lot on finding books to get them excited about reading in elementary school. It is so important for young students to find a love for books!
