All book cover images retrieved from the publisher’s official website http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/

Mo Willems is a wonderful author/illustrator who is well-known for the Caldecott Honor-winning books Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!   But my favorite books by Willems are the Elephant & Piggie series - they are filled with humor, silliness, friendship and fun.  Although the format consists mostly of conversation & thought bubbles and simple illustrations, any book in this series would be a great mentor text for ideas, voice,  and word choice.  Willems’ writing style is simple and highly-engaging.  I recommend this series for children ages 4-8.    All book cover images retrieved from author’s official website.

Mortimer’s Christmas Manger is a wonderful story for the holidays, filled with traditional sounds and symbols of the season as well as a heart-warming message about the true meaning of Christmas.  The author/illustrator team is Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman… well-known for their Bear series of children’s books.  As a matter of fact, you might also want to check out Bear Stays Up For Christmas (by Wilson & Chapman).  Both of these books are perfect for young children (ages 3-8).  Enjoy! 

 Book cover images retrieved from publisher’s website.

I have selected three authors who are well-known and respected for their works of literature that focus on math concepts – Please follow these links to learn more about them:

Cindy Neuschwander - Author of Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry and the Sir Cumference series.

 Stuart J. Murphy – Author of the popular MathStart series – 3 levels – Award-winning!

 Loreen Leedy - Author of  the books Missing Math: A Number Series, Fraction Action, and many more!

Henrietta the chicken decides that, since she loves reading books so much, she should write her own!  As Henrietta works, she gets input from her aunts who really don’t know very much about writing – so it’s a good thing Henrietta checked out a book from the local library entitled “Writing Rules!”  This funny picture book has a repeating line that makes it very engaging and memorable, and it would definitely be a great mentor text for plot in a story.  Check out The Plot Chickens by Mary Jane and Herm Auch, and you can also follow this link for activity ideas (great for teachers): http://www.holidayhouse.com/docs/plot_chickens.pdf.

Cover image retrieved from authors’ official website – http://www.mjauch.com/books/plot-chickens.

The goldfish’s life is very simple and uncluttered until, suddenly, new things begin to appear in his bowl.  The goldfish decides that he does not like these changes at all… or does he?  Memoirs of a Goldfish is a story about friendship and perspective.  It’s a great read-aloud book and also a good mentor text for writing a memoir.  But more than anything, it’s a story that is sure to make you and your whole family smile! 

Cover Image Retrieved from the Author’s Official Website – http://devinscillian.com   

• The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons
• The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
• Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg
• The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown
• In the Haunted House by Eve Bunting
• Scardy-Cat, Splat! (Splat the Cat) by Rob Scotton
• Where’s My Mummy? by Carolyn Crimi

Children love to read about seasons and holidays – Take advantage of that and read a few books together – These books are easy to find at a library, a bookstore, or even WalMart – Enjoy! 

Cover images retrieved from Bing Images

Today is the first day of the 2011-2012 school year, and (of course) reading is on my mind - for my students and for my own children.  Research shows that students who regularly read at home are often more successful in school – and this is also true of reading to your child (like nightly bedtime stories).

So, which books are good for reading practice, and which books are good for storytime? 

Books for Reading Practice should be:     

• high-interest     
• at your child’s independent reading level
• easily-accessible for your child          
• fun to read over and over again         
• some examples include the Step into Reading series (published by Random House) and DK Readers

Books for Storytime should be:

• high-interest
• quality examples of children’s literature
• engaging and thought-provoking
• fun to discuss together
• some examples include the books in the “Focus Books” section of this website (see tabs across the top of this page)

Sometimes, I see parents trying to read a level 2 DK Reader (like Star Wars Journey Through Space) out loud to their child – not a bad idea, just not very interesting and fun for the parents or the child!  These kinds of books are meant to be used for independent reading practice. 

Conversely, I often see kids who are trying to tackle books that are just too difficult for them to read independently (like kindergarteners who are “reading” the Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park) – in a case like this, try to steer your child towards books that are a bit easier and more appropriate for him/her to read alone.

When you’re using the right books for the right purpose, you will find that things go much more smoothly – and reading time will be more enjoyable for your child - And You! 

Interrupting Chicken is the comical story of a little red chicken and her papa who are settling down for a bedtime story.  Chicken has a bad habit of  interrupting Papa while he is reading because she just gets so drawn into the stories he reads - and poor Papa finds this very frustrating!  In the end, they decide to try something a little different to deal with the problem.  The result is a sweet, charming, and satisfying story that’s sure to become a bedtime favorite in the homes of many readers for years to come.

 Interrupting Chicken is a good mentor text to teach children about organization in a story.  This book has a story structure that is often referred to as “the rule of three” – this principle is considered to be highly effective and engaging, and therefore it’s frequently used in narrative writing.  Students could study the way this story is organized and then try their hand at writing something with a similar organizational structure.

Stein, D.E. (2010). Interrupting chicken. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

As I continue to learn more about mentor texts, I just cannot believe all of the wonderful books that exist in the world of children’s literature.  I remember as a child reading Little Golden Books, Curious George, and Nancy Drew – oh, and Dr. Seuss of course!  Now, our children have so many options!  How great to know that we can find reading material for our kids no matter what they are interested in – there’s something out there for everyone!

When you have time, feel free to check out the Author/Illustrator links that I’ve added.  These are some popular and beloved professionals in the world of children’s literature – and their websites are definitely kid-friendly!

Also, if you aren’t sure about what a “mentor text” actually is, please go to the FAQs page.  Thanks for reading!