The Tiger Rising

DiCamillo, K. (2001). The Tiger Rising. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger — a real-life, very large tiger — pacing back and forth in a cage. What’s more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things — like memories, and heartache, and tigers — can’t be locked up forever.

Flora & Ulysses

DiCamillo, K., & Campbell, K. (2013). Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated

Adventures. Candlewick Press.

Do you like comic books? Superheroes? Holy unanticipated occurrences? Then this is the book for you! In this unexpected, HILARIOUS, story, a cynic meets a squirrel who gets sucked up into a vacuum cleaner (and comes out with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry). Flora changes, too… She realizes having an capacious heart isn’t all that bad, and that her parents truly love her.

This book is a Newbery Medal winner.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Silverstein, S. (1974). Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and drawings. New York:

Harper Collins.

Where the Sidewalk Ends is a collection of children’s poetry and drawings, all created by Shel Silverstein. The poems address common childhood concerns, but also presents some poems included purely for fun.

         The book is beloved by teachers and students alike. It is a great addition to any poetry unit or read aloud.

Chopsticks

 Rosenthal, A., & Magoon, S. (2012). Chopsticks. New York:

Disney/Hyperion.

Chopsticks is a charming story about two best friends (a pair of chopsticks) that do everything together. Until, that is, one of the chopsticks tragically cracks. Then, these best friends are forced to work on their own talents apart, before they can work together again.

This book has loads of puns, figurative language, and idioms. Its funny word choice is clever, and great to help students move out of literal thinking to higher level word processing.

This book is nominated for the Young Hoosier Book Award.

Mercy Watson Series

DiCamillo, K. (2005). The Mercy Watson Collection. New York: Random House.

         Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite authors, and she succeeds yet again in the Mercy Watson series. Mercy is a cheery pig that likes to act like a person. He loves driving cars, trick-or-treating, toast with butter, and causing trouble.

         The series has six books, all beautifully illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. These books are a great way to introduce Kate DiCamillo to students, with hopes they will move on to her more difficult, higher level books.

The Book With No Pictures

Novak, B. (2014). The Book With No Pictures. Dial Books.

            The Book With No Pictures is a hilarious book that makes the reader say silly things, because “if it is in the book, it has to be read.” The book explores how words can create funny images without illustrations. It is a perfect read aloud, especially for hesitant or ornery students.