My Students' Favorite Read Alouds

In a previous post The Principal as a Writer, I described how I used Moleskine journals and a document camera to write book reviews with students. These reviews are based on a book I just read aloud to them. Here were their favorites from 2011-2012: Best of the Year (five out of five stars) Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Review (4th Grade): "I love that dog?? I love this book! It's great because there were a lot of good poems to feel happy when feeling bad."

Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farms by Jon Katz

Review (2nd Grade): "This is one of the best books we have read because the different dogs had different jobs. For example, one dog makes people feel better and another dog herds the sheep."

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Review (1st Grade): "Owl Moon is a five star book because the pictures are colored in really nicely. Also, lots of details helped us know what they mean. It was awesome!"

Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin

Review (Kindergarten): "We thought this was the best book ever because it was funny. Pete kept stepping in colored things like fruit."

A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter

Review (5th grade): "Really interesting, hard to put down. Edge of your seat and intriguing story. Amazing."

Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

Review (3rd grade): "This book was excellent because it was funny, like when Fudge ate Peter's turtle. These funny events remind us of silly things kids do that we know."

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Review (4th grade): "The good, rhyming words and his voice made you want to read more."

Honorable Mentions (four out of five stars) Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart by Vera B. Williams

Review (3rd grade): "We thought it was very good because in the end, the girls' father came back. The author gave different personalities to each person."

The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skeene Catling

Review (3rd grade): "I like how the book teaches you a lesson, of eating too much chocolate being a bad thing."

The 500 Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss

Review (3rd grade): "We thought it was really good because it had math in it. For example, it was interesting when the squire was keeping track of the hats as they fell off."

Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

Review (4th grade): "It only had Jack's voice; wish we could have heard from someone else. We liked how he changed from hating to loving cats."

The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown

Our Poem (Kindergarten): "The most important thing about a fire truck is it has a ladder. It is on wheels. It is red. But the most important thing about a fire truck is it has a ladder."

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

Review (5th grade): "We really liked this book because it was humorous. For instance, we laughed whenever the grandma spoke nonsense."

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Review (4th grade): "We really like this book. The models of the buildings, the way the pictures described the story, and the way Ben's and Rose's story relate made this a unique and intriguing book."