Kindergarten Rhode: My Favorite Books Linky Party

Runde's Room is having a "My Favorite Books" Linky Party! If ever there was a book "hoarder", it would have to be me. I have thousands of books in my classroom, on my shelves at home, next to my bed, in storage,.....I think you get the picture. My daughter is the same way. She reads CONSTANTLY. This year she actually made the 2 million AR club because she read and tested on books that had at least 2 million words. Here are a few of my favorites:

Childhood Favorite: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

I read this book nearly every year. I don't really know why I liked this book so much, but I did. Another book that really affected me as a child was an autobiography of Freddie Steinmark. Freddie was a football player at the University of Texas at Austin who was diagnosed with cancer. The book I Play to Win was written about his struggle with cancer. It actually helped me to deal with and better understand the death of my grandmother and aunt from cancer. I actually was able to purchase a copy of this book several years ago off ebay. It is currently in my treasured book collection.

Classroom Favorite: When I taught the upper grades, one of my favorites was Save Queen of Sheba by Louise Moeri. It is the story of a boy and his sister who must count on each other to survive after their parents have been killed in the ambush of their wagon train. The subject is a little rough but the story is very touching. My kindergarten students this year LOVED the Tacky the Penguin stories. These books by Helen Lester are charming. Tacky is an odd bird but his differences are what make him special. The message is a good one for young students and Tacky is just funny too.

Reading to My Own Children: As small children, both of my children enjoyed the story And the Cow Said Moo! by Mildred Phillips. This repetitive book is darling and my children wanted it read OVER and OVER and OVER again! They also loved Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear. I was lucky enough to get them a personally autographed copy of these books shortly before Bill Martin, Jr. died. Hopefully they will share it with their own children someday.

Professional Favorite: Goodness.....too many to name. Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally by John A. Van De Walle, Karen S. Karp, and Jennifer M. Bay-Williams would have to be my current favorite. This book has forever changed the way I teach math to my students. Debbie Diller's Math Work Stations is a VERY close second.

Guilty Pleasures: You will usually find me reading Professional books, but every once in a while I stop and just read something for fun. The authors who I have read nearly all of their work are:

Tony Hillerman.................I love the southwest culture and Tony Hillerman wrote about it from the heart.

Patricia Cornwell (the Scarpetta books).............I love a good mystery and Patricia Cornwell adds lots of scientific information to the mysteries. Not for the faint of heart!