Finding Just-Right Books for Kids

 Are you here because you have no idea what your child(ren) could or should be reading? Do the letters and numbers your child's teacher told you for your child's level mean jibberish or are you a teacher who has switched reading programs or are you new to teaching and starting a library? Have no fear! There are many resources out there to help you. 

This is an old guide from Scholastic that shows some of the paperbacks they've offered in the past. They are ordered by guided reading level. The chart on the first page shows correlation to grade, DRA, and Lexile levels.

Does your child have a favorite reading series that they've finished, but you're looking for something similar? Are you perusing books at the library or bookstore without having a clue what reading level they are? Download the Scholastic Book Wizard app or use the desktop website and watch the video below. 

Lexile has a hub where you can find books, level text, find word lists for grade levels, etc. I especially like the word lists for content areas like science. It helps a lot for students to preview these words to they can read and understand what a question or statement is asking because they are not words that occur frequently in other subject areas.

My classroom books are scanned into the Booksource app / website. Did you know that Fountas & Pinnell suggest that books are arranged by theme and genre instead of level? I write the levels inside the left hand corner of the books, and students see the level only after selecting the book by interest from a genre basket. I have stickers on each book to show which basket they go into, and students slip a paint stirrer with their number on it so they can remember where to put it back after checking it out. 

Remember that websites and apps are updated frequently, so some features shown in images and videos here may be slightly different when you access them. 

In the end, what really matters most is a child's interest in the book they are reading. If they don't like a book, they won't read it or won't read for comprehension. Think about what you read as an adult - recipes, magazines, newspaper articles, documents, etc. It's okay for kids to go read signs or comics or the back of baseball cards! As long as their eyes are on print, they will continue to improve as readers. 

Find more reading posts here.

Rebus Readers by Shirley Neitzel

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Shirley Nietzel is a former elementary school teacher and author of rebus books for kids. Beginning and struggling readers will love the repetition of these titles. They are wonderful for interactive read alouds, too! Most of these are a guided reading level J, which is a beginning of second grade level and DRA 18-20 with a Lexile around 420.

The main character is always spunky, which makes for a fun plot. She has written several books that we love, including:

The Bag I’m Taking to Grandma’s

Watch this book read aloud here.

This was our first book by Shirley, and it couldn't have come at a better time. We were discussing how my son's little sisters would soon be arriving, and how we would pack a bag for him to stay with his grandparents while Mom and Dad went to the hospital. He understood that he didn't need to take everything, and his stay went very smoothly.

Our Class Took a Trip to the Zoo

This is a fun book about a boy who gets into some mischief at the zoo. Rebus images include clothing items such as a coat, lunch bag, pants, a button, hat, shirt, and shoes. Animal words in the story are duck, lion, ostrich, bear, and chimpanzee.

click the images above to make a copy of the document

We’re Making Breakfast for Mother

The Jacket I Wear in the Snow

I’m Not Feeling Well Today

The House I’ll Build for the Wrens

I’m Taking a Trip on My Train

The Dress I’ll Wear to the Party

Write your own rebus reader in the same style of Shirley Neitzel! You can download these slides and print them to write and draw on, or you can create your story digitally. I put a spin on a few of her stories here. 

Click the images above or below to download.

The Night Before the Snow Day

 Are you or your "kids" (students or your actual children) anticipating or wishing for a snow day? If so, this post is for you! 

My kids and I read The Night Before the Snow Day by Natasha Wing. We talked about superstitions like putting pajamas on backwards, doing snow dances, and even putting ice cubes in the toilet. 

I decided to make some activities that I could see being used by:

• homeschoolers with kids at different levels
• classroom teachers
• substitutes
• teacher candidates for reading demo lessons that showcase differentiation

These lessons can also be done:

• during virtual learning -  independently while asynchronous or as a class or with partners
• on paper - options for writing or cutting

Like all of my Google Doc lessons, there is a linked table of contents that makes navigation easy as well as an answer key and differentiated pages!

Can You Say Peace?

The International Day of Peace (or World Peace Day) is celebrated annually on September 21. It is devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.

The book Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz teaches kids a few ways to say the word "peace" in a few different languages. Because it's pretty basic, we took it up a notch and created a Google Earth project to show the countries mentioned in the book.

Click here for the Google Earth project. Get exploring! Want a challenge for your students? Have them add other countries as well as the languages and recordings of their pronunciations. 

Here is a list from the last page of the book:

Check out these songs about peace.

A Song of PEACE for Kids by Jack Hartman

Peace, Love, + Kindness by Bari Koral

Find a word search to print here.

Austin Day

 You probably came across this post because you have a child or student named Austin. It has become a very popular name over the past few years. In fact, it was at #80 in the U.S. in 2017, when my son was born. Today is his birthday, and coincidentally also Thanksgiving. We know at least 3 boys with the name in our town! We consider our son to be someone we are definitely thankful for! Anyway, I didn't have the most common name growing up and it definitely wasn't spelled like many others with the same pronunciation. Speaking of spelling, here's a freebie for you! 

Amanda Pertl at A to Z teacher stuff created more Austin Name Printables. Snag them here!

A few weeks before my daughters were born, we had Austin Day. I had purchased a puzzle and name train from a local mom who wanted to pass them on from her ton to another little boy with the same name. This led to me trying to find books with a character with his name, and then shirts and other things. We pulled all of these things out and had a blast that day before it all became about the babies.

Below, find some of the activities we've done and personalized items we've loved. Whenever I see something on Amazon, I grab it fast because I know it may not last!

We are really into geography and travel over here. My husband was in the military in Texas among other places, and the state is one our son can spot easily on a map, despite him never being there or living in the state.

Good Night, Austin by Adam 
Gamble is one of two books listed here where Austin is a place and not a person. Our son knows he is partly named after a Texas city, and he thinks it's fun to learn about landmarks there. 

Speaking of landmarks, Austin, Lost in America is a book by Jef Czekaj. It is a "geography adventure" that helps Austin, a lost dog, find the best place for him to live in the United States. He gets through 49 states before deciding on the perfect home state. Can you guess which one it is?

The Littlest Bunny in Austin: An Easter Adventure by Lily Jacobs

Like other books of its type, this one is created for a major city (some are for states) and it includes landmarks as well as other towns near Austin, Texas. I thought it was fun for my son to learn about the area he's named for. I wouldn't say this book is a must have, but it was a cute Easter basket add.

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Here is an Austin, Texas coloring printable to go with the previously listed books!

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Written by husband - wife pair and former NFL coach tony & Lauren Dungy, the book Austin Plays Fair is one of my son's favorites. It poses the question to kids whether it's more important to win or be honest and follow the rules. Many professional athletes and coaches have gotten caught in scandals, so it's an important lesson to learn young.

Check it out here in read aloud version.

Austin's Adventures: A Friend in Space by Emily Davis

This book us definitely cute. It has rhymes and some kid-friendly information about space included throughout. It's enough to teach kids with some astronomy knowledge something without overwhelming newbies, and we liked the rhymes.

 

Austin's Unlikely Pet by Michelle F. Bradley

This book was fun for my son, who likes the idea of a pet, but not actually having one. Unlike his sister, he's not really a fan of furry things. He's really into funny stories, and this Austin's kind of silly.

A is for Austin by Li'l Llama Custom Kids Books

This one is another one of those personalized books that isn't really personalized. I got this same one for my daughter and the main difference is the name in it. Still, it's good for learning adjectives for each letter of the alphabet and wasn't outrageously expensive like some other "name" books.

Austin, You're My Everything by Miles Tucker

Another cute personalized book here, also available for the name Emma. The pictures are adorable and it has a heartwarming message to make kids feel loved.

This Austin has allergies. He has to advocate for himself and let others know what foods he is allergic to in Austin Goes to a Birthday Party and Austin's Allergies. These books are great social stories to help others navigate this situation and help advocate for others, too. It covers concepts such as epi-pens, cross-contaminations, and symptoms of exposure to allergens in a kid-friendly way. My Austin has seasonal allergies, so he can kind of relate to these concepts, but it's great for him to understand food allergies so he can support friends and family members who have them.

Download printables that go with the books here.

President Austin by Brian Eggleston

This book is a great example of why you should snap up books with your kid's name as soon as you see them. It's no longer available even though I wrote his post about two weeks ago! If you can find it, snag it. This story has a great theme about helping others (the homeless in this case).

If your child doesn't watch The Backyardigans, here's Austin! We printed this out and stuck it in a page protector. My son uses a dry erase marker to practice fine motor skills while also counting!

Here's an "Austin worksheet" Google search.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Sees Colors

 Today's post is all about colors, and more specifically books with bears and colors! Hope you don't mind my post title sounding like a Wheel of Fortune Before and After puzzle, haha.

Being able to read color words really helps kids with following directions in school and reading many early readers, as well as spelling and writing the words to add description to their stories.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle is an all-time favorite of many kids and parents. It teaches colors and animals and it's a quick, easy read. A quick Google search reveals tons of free activities and printables to do. Click "view web version" at the bottom of this post or here to view the read aloud video!

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Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman is another must-read. We love the recipe this author has for books. The same group of friends, some rhyming and repetition, cute pictures, and a nice theme (message) that kids can relate to.  Click "view web version" at the bottom of this post or here to view the read aloud video!

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We are all about play and experience-based hands-on learning here, but sometimes my son does worksheets when I'm putting the girls down for naps. These free fall color words worksheets were so fun for him to do with his Do-a-Dot markers. I did have to trace the outline a couple of times for him to figure out what the picture was, but he loved them and wanted to do more than one at a time.

Here are some other fun color worksheets.

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When my son was younger, he learned his colors very early. "The Colors Song" from Cocomelon not only helped him learn them, but it also helped him associate foods with their colors. Click "view web version" at the bottom of this post or here to view the video!

Snag a free printable here. Kids can trace and color!

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For more Karma Wilson, click here.

For more Eric Carle, click here.

For more rainbow posts, click here. 

For more book posts, click here. 

For more videos, click here.

For more songs, click here.

Learning about Frog Life Cycles with A Frog in the Bog

 Learning about Frog Life Cycles with A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson

We are big Karma Wilson book fans over here. We love the repetition and rhyme as well as the pictures. This one was great because we were able to tie in learning about biomes and life cycles in science while reading as well as practice our number words.

See the read aloud here.

Here are some printables I created for us to work with.

We also watched some videos about the tadpole's life cycle into a frog and learned about where frogs live.

Trials of a Tadpole video

I found a song called The Frog in the Bog. It's a little tricky for preschoolers, but it's fun when a puppet is included. 

Read another post about Karma Wilson books here.

Read more animal life cycle posts here.