back to school Archives - So Blessed to Be a Teacher

Back-to-School Read Alouds for the School Library

(Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links, and if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive compensation at no additional cost to you.)

Some of my first priorities when I begin the school year in my elementary library are helping to build my school’s culture of kindness and sharing my love of books with the students.

In keeping with these goals, the first few stories that I share with my elementary students are centered around social emotional learning, the wonder of libraries, and book care.

Here are a few of my favorite books that I have read aloud to students at the beginning of the school year!

Kindness is a Kite String

Kindness is a Kite String: The Uplifting Power of Empathy

Kindness is a Kite String is a sweet book by Michelle Schaub about how kindness can change the world, one small kind act at a time. I like to read this one to the second graders.

The Day You Begin

I love this book by Jacqueline Woodson! This is one of the few books during the year that I actually do not read aloud to the kids myself, but instead I love to share the Youtube video of the author reading it. There is something so soothing and kind about her voice that sets a tone of peace and acceptance, and I love to get the kids thinking about the power authors have to share stories.

The Invisible Boy

This book by Trudy Ludwig shares the story of Brian, a quiet boy who feels invisible among the students in his noisy classroom. The book promotes inclusion, kindness, and celebrating our differences. From a library lesson perspective, it is also a great book for talking about the important role of an illustrator, since the unique illustrations by Patrice Barton tell us a lot about how Brian is feeling throughout the story.

The Good Egg

Kids love these books in “The Food Group” by Jory John, and I like reading The Good Egg at the beginning of the year because it addresses social-emotional learning in an accessible, fun way. This story speaks to students who struggle with stress and perfectionism and sends positive messages about kindness, self-care, and acceptance.

The Library Bus

I see the beginning of the year as an opportunity to give my students some perspective on the importance of books and the role libraries play around the world. The Library Bus by Bahram Ramham is a wonderful book that I love to share with upper elementary students as a reminder of how blessed my students are to have access to education and so many shelves of books.

Waiting for the Biblioburro

Set in a different part of the world, but with similar themes to The Library Bus, Waiting for the Biblioburro is another great story that shows that access to books is not universal or uniform around the world. I hope that sharing this story with my upper elementary students at the start of the school year inspires them to really dive into our school library and all it has to offer.

Shop Hundreds of Favorites on Clearance! LAST CHANCE for big savings while supplies last! Free Shipp

The Book That Jake Borrowed

Switching gears, this silly story by Susan Kralovansky is perfect for your beginning of school book care lessons! Check out another post I wrote specifically about The Book that Jake Borrowed for more information and a printable freebie to go with the book!

Mr. Wiggle’s Book

This book about a cute bookworm is an oldie-but-goodie by Paula M. Craig and Carol L. Thompson that my students look forward to each year! Reading it is a perfect way to start the year and remind students to develop good book care habits. It’s out of print, though, so if you happen to click the link and a used copy happens to be available, grab it, because they are hard to come by!

I also read its companion, Mr. Wiggle Loves to Read, to my students as well.

If you are looking for resources to go along with these back-to-school books, feel free to check out some that I use in my library at the beginning of the school year:

I hope this post has helped you find a couple of new titles to try in your school library! Feel free to keep the conversation going and share one of your favorite start-of-school read alouds in the comments!

(Disclosure: The following banner is an affiliate link, and if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive compensation at no additional cost to you.)

Back-to-School Book Care with The Book That Jake Borrowed

(Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links, and if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive compensation at no additional cost to you.)

Don’t you just LOVE those first few library lessons of the year? Getting to meet new students and see the sweet faces of returning students is *priceless*!

During the past couple of years, I have included The Book That Jake Borrowed by Susan Kralovansky as one of my first read alouds for my first and second graders. Reminiscent of the classic tale “The House that Jack Built,” this story has a “library book care” twist that makes it wonderful for little library learners. It tells the story of the misadventures of a book that a boy named Jake checked out from the library. Unfortunately, Jake does NOT take good care of the book he has borrowed. Throughout the course of the story, the library book has run-ins with a dog, a cat, a rat, and some jelly!

The kids really enjoy this book because it includes great moments for them to join in with me as I read. The students LOVE yelling out, “Oh no!” and making animal noises throughout the story.

To make the interactive aspect of the story even more fun, I created little “cue cards” to help make the students aware of when it is their turn to say their lines. I select five “helpers” to stand with me as I’m reading the story, and I cue each of them to hold up their sign when it’s time for the students in the class to say their line. The helpers AND all the other students always find this read aloud SO MUCH FUN!

You can visit Susan Holt Kralovansky’s website for free resources to go with the story…

…and I have created a FREE DOWNLOAD FOR YOU that contains the cue cards I use with my students as well as a word search to go with The Book That Jake Borrowed!

(Btw, if you are teaching your students about book care, I also recommend the following book care coloring pages, available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. This has been one of my most popular products this Back to School season!)

*Book Care Coloring Pages, available in my TpT store!*

And, for more book care resources, please go ahead and visit one of my previous posts, where I have another book care freebie for you!

I wish you an amazing new school year! (And … I wish that no that library books that have had any interaction with dogs, cats, rats, or jelly are returned to your library!)

The 2018 Teacher-Librarian Stores Catalog is Here!

Since you all know I’m a book person, I guess it doesn’t come as a big surprise that I am also a catalog person. (Well, at least I was when I was a kid and didn’t notice all the clutter that goes along with being on mailing lists!)

I remember afternoons as a kid, sitting there and thumbing through the glossy pages of the JCPenney catalog, looking at all the pretty things set up on pretty pages. I don’t subscribe to many catalogs anymore to try to avoid unnecessary piles of paper in my house (as opposed to the necessary piles that already take up too much space!). But now that back to school is approaching, I do allow myself to flip through the occasional back-to-school circular…and I also spend some quality time with the digital (so, not glossy, but still pretty) Teacher-Librarian Stores Catalog by my TpT colleague Mrs. J in the Library!

TpT is awesome, but let’s face it – it can be overwhelming sometimes! If you go to the site without a specific resource in mind, but instead you just want to window shop to find inspiration and ideas, there is a ton of stuff to wade through. I just typed “library” into the search bar and got 42,236 results. What?!

Mrs. J in the Library has been compiling this catalog for several years now to help offer school librarians a simplified, streamlined process for shopping for Teachers Pay Teachers materials for their school libraries. This year, it features ten teacher-authors who specialize in resources for the library/media center, and each page is full of clickable links to fabulous products that will work well in the school library. The catalog also includes back-to-school tips and ideas so you can do a little PD while you are browsing.

I am excited that my store is part of the catalog this year! Feel free to download it and look at the beautiful displays of libraryliciousness…without cluttering your desk.

(I will be doing the same!) 🙂