Picture Books Linky Party

So I stumbled over a great teacher blog this morning and discovered that the blogger was having the most perfect linky party ever! Lindsay, over at The Teacher Wife, is having a "Must Have Picture Books" link party! What a genius idea! After viewing some of my favorite picture books below, you have to head over to Lindsay's blog and join in the fun. It is so much fun to blog hop through all the links and see everyone favorites too! It was so hard for me to pick just a few to post about, but here I go!

Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco has to be right at the top of my list! I have always loved this author and have collected many of her books over the years, but this book is AMAZING!  This book is one of the best, if not THE best Civil War book to read to students from upper elementary age to high school. I have read it to children in my fourth grade class for years and they are always fascinated by the story. The book follows two young boys who were fighting in the war. I can never read this book without my voice breaking. It is such a touching and emotional book that causes students to really grasp the concept of live during the Civil War. Read the story and you will find out why.

Bad Day at Riverbend by Chris Van Allsburg is such a unique book! Chris Van Allsburg IS my favorite children's book author and I am constantly changing my favorite book of his. Right now, it is probably Bad Day at Riverbend.  Ask me again at Christmas time and it will be The Polar Express... Ask me in the Fall and it would be The Stranger... ask me again it is would have to be The Sweetest Fig. Can you tell I love Van Allsburg? Anyway this book has such a great twist at the end and it is such a great book to use for Visualization, Story Structure, Inferences, and Making Predictions!

Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini is HILARIOUS! This book is so interactive and is such a great book to read for emphasizing VOICE, Character, and Sequence! Every year I use this book to model Character and I always use Gritch the Witch as my favorite character to get my students thinking about theirs. I am laughing just thinking about this book!

So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George is fabulous! All of her So You Want to Be... books are great! All I can say is if you haven't read this book, stop now, go to the book store, and get it NOW!

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine is another one of those books that strikes a cord with my students every year! This book is such a heartwarming book about slavery and the Underground Railroad!

Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya. This book was introduced to me a few months ago by one of my graduate instructors and it effected me is a great way! I have never read it to my fourth grade students, and probably won't, but it would be a PERFECT book to read to middle school or high school students studying WWII. I have cried every time I read this to myself. Here is Barnes and Nobles synopsis: The book is about a zookeeper that recounts the story of John, Tonky, and Wanly, three performing elephants at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, whose turn it is to die, and of their keepers, who weep and pray that World War II will end so their beloved elephants might be saved.

 First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg  This book is one of my favorites and I read it on the first day of school every year! It is perfect, but I hesitated on posting about it because I have kept is a secret from many teachers in my building, aside from my grade level colleagues, because I do not want this book read to my students before they get to me in fourth grade! Is that bad! I am so nervous that the book will be ruined for my students before they get to me. If you have not read this book, you need to and you will understand my secrecy when you finish it!

Now head on over to Lindsay's Site and play along! Click below!