This is a must read book for anybody of any age. The first time I read this book was in high school but if I would have read it at an earlier age I think it would have touched me even more. It is hard to explain what you take away from this book except life isn't always fair but it is beautiful and precious no matter what. Mich Albom writes a wonderful story about his late mentor Morrie Schwartz. He speaks of the lessons that he learns from Morrie who's body is starting to surrender to Lou Gehrig's disease. He teaches Mitch to love and to let go of his greed and go back to the person he was as Morrie's student so many years ago. The best thing about this book is that it reminds you of the little pleasures in life like being able to walk, take yourself to the toilet and all the other things that we "normal" people take for granted. This book makes you, in a way, evaluate whats important in your own life and who is important in your life. As an elementary student I know kids will have read longer, "harder", books but none will carry the weight of a lifetime and the wisdom of Morrie Schwartz.

This is a very strong book with a lot of information packaged in a way that is useful and not overwhelming for elementary aged kids. I found this book would be a good jumping off point for a class discussion or a talk because although it answers some questions it doesn't really tell you how people contract HIV. I thought the book was done in a tasteful way and represented that HIV only lives in a persons blood not their tears, sweat or saliva. These facts are so important because most kids associate AIDS and HIV to bad people or bad things and that is not always the case. People who have the virus are moms, dads, teachers etc. and it makes children comfortable knowing more about these things and having the confidence that although the virus itself is bad the person is good and not contagious unless they are bleeding, cut etc. I think this book could be very useful in a classroom especially if you know of a child or a parent that has the AIDS/ HIV virus.

Debbie Bertram and Susan Bloom paired up with award winning illustrator Micheal Garland in this book about books! This is a great book to give a student who has no idea what they want to read about because it talks about a wide variety of books. It covers so many genres and topics by the end your student should have a few ideas of what they want to read. The best part is the book gets you excited to read and that is so important. I love the illustrations and the idea of the book. I felt like there was good diversity of books and looks in this particular books. Although it portrayed a suburban lifestyle it still had many ethnicity's represented in the book. Kids will be begging to read more after reading this one by Debbie and Susan.

This book was written by Peter Brown. He is the illustrator as well, graduating from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California his pictures are great. It is almost like he took a still shot from a pixar movie to illustrate his book. His story is a funny lighthearted one too. It portrays a lovable bull dog that does not fit in because he acts like a HUMAN! He finally gets in with an unlikely crowed. Your students will have fun with this funny and unforgettable book.

This book is really neat. Eric Carle and Kozuo Iwamura team up in this one to bring two languages together. Eric starts the book and the story progresses to the center. Then you can flip the book over and read it from back to the middle in Japanese. The coolest thing is that the two artist/authors draw in their famous techniques where Eric uses collage and Kazuo uses water colors. This book is so cool because it brings two languages/cultures together. I like the fact that the publisher put the sounds the Japanese characters make along side of them so you can read in another language. It is exactly the same story in two different languages so for any struggling Japaneses students in you class this book could be a big help. I think this is a book everyone should check out and I am kind of embraced that I had never heard of it before. Kids will love the story and have fun learning another language.

Eric Carle tells his simple tale on how the pretzel might have been invented. The best thing about Eric is that his illustrations are like no other persons in the world. I Love to look at all of the detail and it is actually amazing if you ever can see a video of how he does it and how much time and effort it really does take to make them. I am not a huge fan of the story but I had to read it because I had never heard of it before. It is cool because at the back of the book there is a short history on the pretzel, when it used to be eaten and why it looks the way it does. Kids will have fun with the pictures but you may find it hit and miss with the story. I found it kind of odd that some of the pictures of the sun had a face drawn in them and some didn't. That made me kind of curious on why he did it with some pages but not all. I guess I might never know.

This was such a powerful story from start to finish. I seemed to like this a lot better than the Year of Impossible Goodbyes. I loved how the author left us yearning for more information on what happened to the brother. I felt like the end was a little rushed but at the same time the brother took a path we had already read about. I thought for sure the brother was going to die as he took off by himself to find his family.

Yoko is so strong and self motivated. even after the death of her mother she powered though her life and made perfect marks in school and excelled at everything she did. It makes me sad that she had to grow up so fast in her life. She saw horrible things and managed to do whatever she needed to do to stay alive. Not only did she survive the war but she survived the relentless teasing by her classmates. It just makes you really think about some of the kids you went to school with and wonder how bad they really had it. You may have looked down on them for some reason or another but they may have been twice the person you are because of what they had to do to survive.

This book was really powerful and the journey alone kept me interested. The side plots and the two separate stories really made my mind jump around with excitement. I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to see the struggles of war and what it can do to a family. I was really mad that we didn't get a solid lock on what happened to the father. I was really wondering what happened. I thought he probably died halfway through the book but I was looking for closure on the issue. The horrors of war are evident in this book but the love of family is also very strong too. This is a great book and a must read.

This is a very powerful children's book about child abuse written by Doris Sanford. It is a book about how a young child gets abused at the daycare they attend. It talks about the symptoms that the child goes through, from change of behavior to not eating. You also see the anguish the parents are put through wondering if it was them that made their child so unhappy. In the book we find out exactly what happens to the child and it make you angry but also scared for when you have your own children. The most helpful part of the book is in the back it has ten suggestions on how to help your child through this situation if you ever are unlucky enough to have to go through it. I felt like this might be a hard book for kids to understand right away because it seems to skip over a lot of obvious information and leads you to make a lot of assumptions. I don't know how I would feel about reading this book to kids but I feel like it is also important to let kids know they too have rights that should not be violated. I loved the illustrations in this book and thought the soft touch of each picture really added to the mood and feeling of the story. this is one of the most powerful children's books I have read. Check it out.

Another author illustrator does some great work. Barney starts off with a story that talks about parents acting weird at their children's sporting events. As an athlete my whole life I can absolutely attest to parents acting weird and embarrassing their children while they play sports. I have seen parents get kicked out of events because they get so crazy and the looks on their kids faces are ones you will never forget. I liked this book because it helped explain why parents act like they are from outer space when they watch their kids play sports. The main thing is that the parents just want their kids to be happy and at the same time support them as much as possible. My favorite part of the book is it looks at both sides of the issue. You get to see why the parents do it and on the other hand why the kids wish the parents wouldn't act like they were from outer space. This book is full of funny cheers and silly outfits and is a book most kids who participate in extracurricular activities could relate to.

Leslie authored and illustrated this book. It features her lovely main character which is a baby in a diaper. The illustrations are really neat because it looks like she used a brush on top of a rough canvas so you get that little bit of canvas coming through on the page. The story itself is a simple but good one. It does a great job of reminding us (not kids) how we used to be so creative and easily entertained. The child in this story is just as interested in the box his present came in than the present itself. It takes me back to a simpler time when I would play with my farm toys in an imaginary world for hours and days on end. I didn't play video games or watch TV but i could keep myself entertained by just my mind and a few objects. It just reminded me of the things that used to make me happy.... like a box!

This story is retold from popular African folklore of the Bulu people of Cameroon, Africa. The illustrations in the book are out of this world and are unlike any I have ever seen in a children's book. I loved the book because it was kind of a David vs Goliath type of story. No matter the bully, or person there is always someone out there who is better than them or can out smart them. It really makes you think about how you act towards other people and especially how you treat others. I love reading folklore from other countries and cultures because it really makes you realize how much the same we really are. I thought the author illustrator did a great job of putting this story together and this is one I would like to have in my classroom. I especially liked the part at the back of the book where it describes the drum that was featured in the book. Really neat idea to do that. Good read.

This is a pleasantly disgusting story about a boy who loves the dirt. He loves it so much that he runs away from home so he doesn't have to take a bath. It doesn't take long for him to realize how smelly and gross he really is. This book is funny and gross. The boy sprouts mushrooms from in between his toes, his teeth get green and nasty and his hair becomes home to a family of mice and some birds. It is funny the more children's books I read the more I realize how un-diverse they are. Usually they have a white, middle class, boy as the main character. Regardless of the diversity factor I found this a great book and one a nice clean kid would enjoy.