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Our favorite books this July include the final Elephant and Piggie book. a book to inspire community engagement and creativity, the story of one of your kids’ favorite summertime toys, a captivating novel for animal lovers and a smart and suspenseful novel for mature readers.

Read on to see all the great stories our book experts can’t get enough of this month!

For Pre-K –K (Ages 3-6):

The Thank You Book (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems

The 25th and final Elephant and Piggie book will warm the hearts of grown-ups and have kids in stitches! It makes a perfect gift for a friend, a teacher, or anyone to whom you want to say, “Thank you.”’

For 1st and 2nd Grade (Ages 6-8):

Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood by F. Isabel Campoy

“Beautiful” describes both the art and the story in this wonderful picture book (inspired by real events!) about the power of art, creativity, and community engagement. It may invite readers to see the potential for creative change in their own neighborhoods.

For 3rd & 4th grade (Ages 8-10):

Whoosh!: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton

Kids will be fascinated to learn how their favorite toy was invented. This lively and interesting biography shows the importance of persistence, passion, and problem solving. It’s perfect for budding scientists and engineers!

For 5th & 6th grade (Ages 10-12):

A Dog’s Way Home by Bobbie Pyron

Kids (and adults!) will be utterly won over by this terrific, captivating novel. A deeply moving story of a girl separated from her beloved dog, it’s a true “must read” for any animal lover!

Grades 7 & up (Ages 13+):

Burn, Baby, Burn by Meg Medina

We love author Meg Medina! Smart and suspenseful, her powerful new novel is a great story of personal strength and family loyalty set in NYC during one tension-filled summer. A great choice for mature teens, it’s sure to prompt dynamic discussions about past and current events.

The post Monthly Book List: Our Five Favorite Books this July appeared first on First Book Blog.

Krista Dawson, who has been getting books from First Book for years, works with preschool children in Richmond, Virginia and recently responded to us with a great list of books that she uses to get kids started with reading. We love the list so much we created a bundle on the FB Markeplace to share with you!

First Book: How long have you worked with kids/literacy groups in general?

Krista: I have been an educator for 25 years and doing literacy work specifically for the past 5 ½ years.

First Book: Do you have a favorite story about working with your kids and/or First Book?

Krista: When providing my first site visit for my first First Book grant, I took the book, Five Little Ducks by Raffi. I had made foam stick puppets for retelling the story and when I shared with the group, they were already familiar with the song and were thus very engaged. My surprise came the following month when I returned with the second book to share and immediately the children began to shout “Five Little Ducks! Five Little Ducks!” They had obviously remembered me but only by the book I shared. Every month after that, no matter what book I brought, the children always wanted to recite the Five Little Ducks song before moving on to the new book. My personal takeaway from this is that songs and books with songs really stick with young children and are a great way to engage and build memory. The repetition and rhyme are powerful tools for literacy development (by the way, I still pick Five Little Ducks as our first book for each grant because I KNOW the power it has to anchor all future visits).

First Book: Do you have a favorite moment involving a child reading/enjoying books?

Krista: This was shared with me by one of the children’s staff that provide the site visits for our First Book Grants. “The other day a FB student came into the library. The student was very excited to see me at a different library from where I do the First Book Program. She grabbed her mom by the arm and very excitedly said, ‘Mommy that is Miss Heidi! She is the book fairy that gives us all of our books to take home!’ I had no idea that I was a book fairy but I am happy to accept that title.” (Submitted by Heidi Yannetti, Children’s Associate for Belmont and Main Libraries)

Early Childhood Ready to Read Collection: Two Copies of Each Book

Very Hungry Caterpillar (Special Edition) (Board Book)
Alphabet Book (Board Book)
Cleo’s Alphabet Book (Board Book)
Elephant and Piggie: We Are in a Book (Hardcover)
Elephant and Piggie: Listen to My Trumpet! (Hardcover)
The Mitten (Board Book)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Board Book)
Princess Bedtime Stories (Hardcover)
From Head to Toe (Board Book)
Big and Busy Ocean (Board Book)

The post Early Childhood Ready to Read Collection Created By Krista Dawson appeared first on First Book Blog.

Listen to My Trumpet by Mo Willems (Published by Hyperion)

Review by Chris Singer

About the author:
A three-time Caldecott Honor winner for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, Mo Willems has also won two Geisel Medals for There is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside? and his books are perennial New York Times bestsellers. Before he turned to children’s books, Mo was a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards. Mo lives with his family in Massachusetts.

About the book (from Amazon.com):
Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Listen to My Trumpet! Piggie can’t wait to play her new instrument for Gerald! But is she ready to listen to his reaction?

My take on the book:
If you’ve followed Book Dads, you know we are big fans of Mo Willems and Elephant and Piggie. I enjoy reading all of Elephant and Piggie books with my daughter, and it’s hard to pick a favorite.  Depending on the day you ask me, I would probably say the name of the last one we read together. Right now, our very favorite is “Listen to My Trumpet.” It has my daughter giggling almost from the very beginning. And when I say giggle, I mean full-out belly giggles. It’s just fantastic fun. I read this at the story time I do at the local library and the parents were laughing as much as the kids were. I can’t recommend this series enough. We’re slowly collecting the series and look forward to Mo’s next release!

Today is Friendiversary, when we celebrate the anniversary of our friendships. Think of one of your oldest and dearest friends. When did you first meet? How did you meet? That story is the story of your Friendiversary.

First Book is celebrating Friendiversary this week by providing 7,000 new Elephant & Piggie books to second-graders at Title I schools in Louisiana and Massachusetts. The Elephant & Piggie series is written and illustrated by our friend Mo Willems, whose support makes it possible for First Book able to provide these books. Every book includes a special Friendiversary note from Mo, and his publisher, Disney Publishing Worldwide, is also providing activity kits, stickers and posters free of charge to each classroom.

In fact, we’re so delighted with the Friendiversary kit that we also made it available to all the schools and programs in First Book’s national network.

There are Friendiversary parties happening in classrooms and programs all over today … or tomorrow, or last weekend. We’re pretty flexible on when you actually celebrate Friendiversary.

The biggest party we’ve heard about so far took place in New Orleans, at James Singleton Charter School. (Mo grew up in New Orleans, and has a special place in his heart for New Orleans kids, so making sure they all had copies of his books was important to him.)

Lynetta Rhodes, the chair of the local First Book volunteer group in New Orleans, helped put the party together. She sent us some great pictures, and filled us in on all the details:

• Every student got two copies of Mo’s books to keep, including There’s a Bird On Your Head, Are You Ready to Play Outside?, Today I Will Fly and Should I Share My Ice Cream?. (“I can’t believe I got two books!” one of the students told Lynetta).
• There were all kinds of local celebrity guests on hand to read with the kids, including New Orleans city councilmember Susan Guidry, children’s author Robin Washington, Louisiana State Rep. Wesley Bishop and TV reporter Rosa Flores.
• There was plenty of ice cream.

“The children looked adorable in their ‘Elephant and Piggie’ ears and the costumed characters made the kids shout with glee,” said Dianne de Las Casas, who hosted and helped plan the event. “Friendiversary at James Singleton Charter School was a great success.”

Happy Friendiversary, everyone!

If you work with kids from low-income families, you can be a part of Friendiversary and other great events and opportunities throughout the year. Sign up with First Book to find out how we can help you get new books for your kids.