A New York Times bestseller! A confident little boy takes pride in his first day of kindergarten, by the Newbery Honor-winning author of Crown. The morning sun blares through your window like a million brass trumpets.It sits and shines behind your head--like a crown. Mommy says that today, you are going to be the King of Kindergarten! Starting kindergarten is a big milestone--and the hero of this story is ready to make his mark! He's dressed himself, eaten a pile of pancakes, and can't wait to be part of a whole new kingdom of kids. The day will be jam-packed, but he's up to the challenge, taking new experiences in stride with his infectious enthusiasm! And afterward, he can't wait to tell his proud parents all about his achievements--and then wake up to start another day. Newbery Honor-winning author Derrick Barnes's empowering story will give new kindergarteners a reassuring confidence boost, and Vanessa Brantley-Newton's illustrations exude joy.

A New York Times bestseller! A confident little boy takes pride in his first day of kindergarten, by the Newbery Honor-winning author of Crown. The morning sun blares through your window like a million brass trumpets.It sits and shines behind your head--like a crown. Mommy says that today, you are going to be the King of Kindergarten! Starting kindergarten is a big milestone--and the hero of this story is ready to make his mark! He's dressed himself, eaten a pile of pancakes, and can't wait to be part of a whole new kingdom of kids. The day will be jam-packed, but he's up to the challenge, taking new experiences in stride with his infectious enthusiasm! And afterward, he can't wait to tell his proud parents all about his achievements--and then wake up to start another day. Newbery Honor-winning author Derrick Barnes's empowering story will give new kindergarteners a reassuring confidence boost, and Vanessa Brantley-Newton's illustrations exude joy.

When one boy waffles back and forth, it’s going to take a few little kids–and one pet rat–to get him to finally make a decision. Monty is a waffler–he can never make up his mind, which always gets him in trouble. But when each student in his fourth-grade class is assigned a kindergarten buddy, Monty takes some left-out kindergarteners under his wing, even though it’s against the rules to have more than one buddy. When his blended family and his teachers find out, they give him an ultimatum: choose just one buddy, or have none at all. That stinks! On top of that, his beloved pet rat escapes, and his twin sister stops speaking to him! Monty doesn’t want to cast away his new friends, but he needs to come to a decision before everything spins out of control. With laugh-out-loud humor reminiscent of Andrew Clements, Donovan gets the agony–and the tremendous fun–of elementary school perfectly.

What could happen if we viewed every read aloud as an invitation to learn more about literacy and ourselves? In Layers of Learning: Using Read Alouds to Connect Literacy and Caring Conversations, author JoEllen McCarthy explores read aloud strategies designed to enhance your reading and writing standards by capitalizing on the way literature can impact caring communities. Layers of Learning is structured around four key elements: Community, Agency, Respect, and Empowerment, or CARE. The book provides tools necessary to emphasize reading and writing connections, character education, and culturally responsive teaching, all while championing the power of read alouds. Inside you’ll find: Over 200 picture book suggestions introducing the Heartprint Framework , which demonstrates how you can layer literacy with life lessons 60 read aloud based connections that support caring classroom conversations, lesson planning, and extensions Instructional opportunities for nurturing readers and writers during workshop time, small-group gatherings, or individual conferring sessions Literacy Snapshot photo essays with ideas on how to adopt or adapt Continuing connections with additional resources and invitations for further learning Layers of Learning pulls together the ideas that the books we share not only serve an academic purpose, but also convey big, affective messages. This can lead to richer and more meaningful classroom conversations.

Children’s literacy advocate John Schu and Caldecott Honor recipient Lauren Castillo celebrate the power of finding the perfect book—in a story that’s more relevant than ever. This is a word on a page. This is a page in a book. This is a book on a shelf . . . waiting. With a sea-horse kite in hand, a child heads out with Dad to the library. On the way they stop at a park, joining lots of people, some of whom are flying kites, too. At the library, a person toting a big pile of books hands over a story on a favorite subject: the sea horse. All around, there are readers poring over books, each with their own questions, ideas to explore, hopes for the future, and imaginations ready to spark. With a warm, lyrical text and tenderly expressive illustrations, John Schu and Lauren Castillo invite us to imagine the myriad ways that books can foster connection and understanding—and how they can empower children, through their own passions, to transform the world.

Teach students how to practice reading skills independently – so learning sticks Simply Stations: Independent Reading shows how to ensure that elementary students are purposefully and effectively practicing reading comprehension, reading fluency, selecting books, decoding, inference, and summarizing every day. Your students will soon be purposefully engaged and making critical steps to owning their learning. Debbie Diller has been refining literacy stations (sometimes called centers) for more than 40 years, working with thousands of teachers and students. In this book, she guides you step-by-step through planning for instruction that incorporates reading standards, setting up and launching independent reading stations, varying and refreshing content, to reflection and ongoing modification. What stands out in this book is the full integration of instruction; Debbie shows how whole-group lessons transfer to stations work so students are practicing key skills independently – and gives you everything needed for success: Recommendations by grade level at every step, including grade-appropriate materials and book choices, fiction and informational texts, for each station; Whole-group lesson plans, differentiated by grade level and based on key reading standards, to introduce and support independent and partner work; On-the-spot formative assessment ideas and troubleshooting tips; Ideas to improve English Language Learners’ reading skills, including online Spanish-language materials; 30 time-saving downloadable resources for teachers and students to ensure success; and Dozens, real-classroom photos so you see the possibilities first-hand. Simply Stations: Independent Reading gives you invaluable tips, solutions, and insight that can transform the way your students learn and practice reading skills. It’s time to boost the impact of your literacy stations!