First Day Books

Here in Texas, school started today. It seems a good idea to offer some great picks for that first day back read aloud.





For older students, how about an alphabet book of collective nouns? Here is A ZEAL OF ZEBRAS (Chroncile Books 2011) with a pandemonium of parrots and an ostentation of peacocks to name but a few of the collective nouns used for groups of animals. Add in a troubling of goldfish and a bale of turtles and let the discussion on how these collective nouns came to be used for these species roll on. <420>



Kate Messner's SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY with illustrations by Andy Rash (Chronicle 2011) is another perfect choice for those first days, especially in younger grades where there is the palpable fear of fitting in. Starting school is tough when you are a seam monster who does not fit into the other "schools." However, sea monster strikes just the right chord as he learns how to be part of the school. Humor, as always, helps to dispel some of the fear, and Messner provides plenty of humor in this back to school story. <421>