ROAR is for READING by Beth Ferry is a must have for any library! This book teaches advocacy and a love and appreciation for the diversity found in libraries.

The book starts with the first library, a cave with a few rare and precious books in it. Who better to guard these books than a lion who can ROAR and protect them! Over time, lions turned into librarians and their libraries grew in size and number. They found they didn’t have to ROAR so much, they could focus on enjoying the books, and getting others to enjoy them as well.

Until a letter came in the mail. The librarian took her son with her to the Mayor’s office to find out about this letter, and when she returned she began taking books off the shelves. Julius, her son, felt sad and asked why. He was told people were afraid these books were dangerous. He ran to his favorites to make sure they were still there and sat remembering them and who read them to him. Cherishing those moments that make those books our favorites.

The book Bunny Hop by Sarah Hwang is a Ready To Ready Pre-Level One book about a pink bunny on an adventure to find food, eat all the food, and feel the effects of all that food on the bunny’s tummy!

The illustrations, also by Sarah Hwang, really make this book. I love the cute style of the pink bunny and the feelings the illustrations convey when the bunny eats different foods. Such an expressive bunny with so few lines! I think kids in kindergarten will enjoy this book, although I think some of the words will be quite challenging for them. For a Pre-Level One book, words like sour, healthy, and squishy will give them a hard time. However, the sentences are short enough that, with adult support, the student will be able to read it independently after a few repetitions.

This illustrated picture book about loving books, baking and friendship by Blanca Gómez is fabulous. The illustrations are simple yet each page contains so much that each time you read it you’ll notice a new title on a book spine, a picture in a frame, the time on the clock. In this book two friends, Bookie and Cookie love to hang out together, but never at Bookie’s house/page. You see, Bookie lives on the left hand page and Cookie lives on the right hand page! The line: “I don’t like what I don’t know” is such an important conversation starter for kids – model thinking outloud with: “This makes me wonder if I have ever felt this way. Have you?” And start the conversation with kids about why we might be afraid of what we don’t know, and how we handle it.

This amazing friendship story is beautiful, real, and funny. My own children quote Bookie and Cookie often and get so excited when they see the very recognizable cover in stores and libraries around town.

If you want a great friendship story, beautiful art that gives Christian Robinson vibes, and a read aloud with great conversation starters, then this is the book for you.

Stop that Mop! is a Ready to Read Level 1 book focusing on the short o sounds in words like mop, slop, and stop. The colors, movement of characters, humor and repetition in the story lines make this a perfect Level 1 book. The pages are set up with 1-2 story parts on a page, mimicking a early graphic novel style without defined boxes. The characters are illustrated with alot of movement and are very inviting to young readers with the colors and expressions.

The words are repetitive and simple, helping the reader gain confidence as they go. The key words are presented in both capital letters and lowercase, helping the reader with letter identification.

This book will be a great addition for our Kindergarten and early first grade readers.

The Ship in the Window is written by Travis Jonker, author of 100 Scope Notes a School Library Journal blog, and illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell. This book gorgeously tells the story of a three character, a man, a child and a mouse and how although they are three separate strands, they are connected, just like a roped, twisted together and much stronger that way. The man creating a beloved model ship, covets his model and puts such care in it. He clearly wants the child to also love the ship, but isn’t ready to have the child help with the special project. Any grown up can relate to this as you work so hard on something and want your child to love it as well, but don’t feel like they are ready to partake in creating it to your standard yet. The mouse watches it all from a distance. And then, one night, the mouse dares to take the ship out to sea. The mouse, now the captain of the ship, sails until dawn when he is discovered by and angry man and shocked child. Slowly joy takes over both the man and the child as they see the ship doing what it is meant to do. Until….tragedy! The story comes to a magnificent and compassionate ending and you discover this book is really about how we react in hard situations, its how we move forward that matters the most. And this man, child, and mouse, choose to move forward together. Finally seeing that there is love and power in connection and creating things, like the ship, together.

This book is important to both grown ups and children! The illustrations add to the simple, yet strong text and make it even more profound. Every time you flip through the story you will find something else to look at in the drawings. Every person should at least read it twice.

I highly recommend this beautiful book and think it belongs in every school.