Top 5 books of 2019.

 My top 5 read aloud books of 2019. 

#5. Drawn together. I purchased this book through Scholastic book clubs. It starts with a boy visiting what is assumed to be his grandfather in Japan. At first he is hesitant to engage in forming a relationship with him and throughout the story you start to see a progression. It is a great story to show how older generations and younger generations all have similarities. The illustrations are also incredibly vivid and eye catching. 

4. Greta and the Giants. This book is great for the current time. Kids are introduced to Greta Thunberg a climate change activist. Throughout the story the illustrations quickly catch your attention and bring your awareness to how humans are affecting the land and environment every day. 

3. We are the Gardeners. Naturally anything Joanna Gaines does is basically going to be exceptional. This book shows how much love and care go into creating a garden. My classes have loved to read this and see how these kids learned from their mistakes and continue to persist in their work. 

2. Hair Love. Hands down one of my favorites. It shows a young girl wanting to get her hair done the way her mom does it, yet she really struggles to get it right. Her dad steps in to try and help and it continues to be a mess. Through hard work and patience things start to change. This book is so incredible it recently was turned into a short film. The short is nominated for a 2020 Academy Award for Best Short. When I played the short for my class they were silent. Completely engaged and had so many takeaway moments afterwards. 

1. The Cool Bean: This book is a great sequel to the other books by Jory John. This book however had a different impact on my class than the other books in the series. We were learning about puns when we were reading this book and it fit along perfectly. (Raybean sunglasses). After reading this book you get the sense that there are so many ways to be "cool", and that students see you don't have to popular to be accepted. Kids often go through different social cliques or groups and this book is great to show that it's fine to float around and you don't have to stick with one group. This book was by far a class favorite.