ALA Notable Books

Awarded by:  The Notable Children's Books Committee of ALA.  Automatically includes the Newberry, Caldecott, Batchelder Award, Sibert Medal and honor books, Pura Belpre Award and honor books,Theodore Seuss Geisel Awards winner and honor books.

Vamos, Samantha R. (2011).  The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred.  Watertown, MA:

            Charlesbridge Publishing Inc. 

Genre: Fiction Picture books

This is a cumulative story about a farm maiden who makes arroz con leche aided by all the farm animals.  The story is joyfully told with a mix of Spanish and English and the full page illustrations provide a sense of celebration using rich bold color.  This tribute to “The House that Jack Built” provides a sense of culture and community.  Young children will be enthralled by this book.  The illustrations will pull them in.  Some children will know the Spanish words and will feel successful as they participate.  Others will be excited to repeat and then use these new words as the story progresses.  All will enjoy making Arroz Con Leche using the recipe found at the back.   This book is one that children will reach for long after the initial reading.  Make sure it is in your classroom library!

Other awards: 

A Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book
  

 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts (NCTE)
  

NY Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
  

Texas 2x2 Reading List

Rinker, Duskey, Sherri. (2011).  Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. San Francisco, CA:

            Chronicle Books LLC

Genre: Fiction Picture book

This rhyming story draws the reader into the world of a busy construction site.  Five different big trucks must finish up their job and then get settled in for some well deserved rest.  The full page illustrations by award winning illustrator Tom Lichtenfeld capture the details of each truck’s day followed by their “snuggle down” time.  Children will not only love to study the pictures but will also learn new words related to construction and the trucks themselves.  This author knows that children do not want or need watered down vocabulary and supports their desire to know the real, grown up words.    Classroom teachers and parents alike will find this book very useful for rhyming practice and a welcome addition to a bedtime story book collection.

Other awards:

A New York Times Notable Picture Book, An Amazon.com Best Book of the Year, A Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibition Feature,
 A Texas 2×2 Reading List Selection, A Capitol Choice Selection., A Bank Street College of Education Book of the Year., A Pittsburgh Best Book for Babies, E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor Award.

Smith, Lane.  (2011).  Grandpa Green.  New York, New York:  Roaring Book Press.

Genre:  Fiction Picture Book

Great-Grandpa’s life in memories is depicted through the topiaries in his garden.   His great-grandson explains them to us as we go through Grandpa’s life chronologically.  Grandpa may not remember everything now but it is the topiaries that will keep his important memories alive.  This lovingly told story will be one to savor not gulp down.  There needs to be much discussion with little ones about aging and memories.  The detailed pictures need to be studied to be fully appreciated.  Using a Smartboard and document camera to enlarge them would be a great idea if reading this to the whole class.    Enriching discussions about how we preserve our memories would inspire many class projects such as a class yearbook and family photos displays.  Children could also draw or paint important school events for hallway displays. 

Other Awards:

A Caldecott Award Honor Book

A New York Times Best Illustrated Book

A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book

Silver Medal Society of Illustrators

An Amazon Best Book

Kansas City Star Top 100 Books

A Barnes & Noble Best Book

An SLJ Best Book

Seven Impossible Things Top Ten

A Time Out New York Kids Best Book

Junior Library Guild Selection

Rocco, John. (2011).  Blackout.  New York, New York: Disney-Hyperion Books.

Genre:  Realistic Fiction picture book

A summer night in the city is busy, hot and noisy.  Everyone is busy in their own worlds.  Suddenly, there is a blackout!  A family rediscovers each other and their neighbors as they interact without any electricity distractions.  When the lights come back on, everything goes back to normal but the family decides they like the closeness they felt without the lights and keep them off to talk with each other and play a game.  The full page illustrations demonstrate the isolation at the beginning showing the family members in separate rooms.  When the lights go out, everything goes black and white until the family discovers the magic in the blackout.  Color comes back into the photos as the family interacts and reconnects. This book reminds us that we all lead busy lives but we must consciously carve out quality time with those we love.  Blackout provides a wonderful springboard to discussions about quality time together.  Imagine if the lights went out in our classroom, how would we spend our day?  What could we do?  A teacher could promote family participation by sending home a homework assignment asking the families to write what they would do if they lost electricity.  Bonus points given if they turn off the lights for an hour and record what they did together.  If there is a family night at school, this book would be a great one to read to encourage family interaction.  That evening could  be spent sharing and participating in family activities such as board games, songs, reading by flashlight, etc. 

Other Awards:

2012 Caldecott Honor Book

New York Times Notable Book

Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year

Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

Raschka, Chris. (2011).  A Ball for Daisy.  New York, New York: Schwartz and Wade Books, an

 imprint of Random House Children’s Books. 

Genre:  Wordless fiction picture book

This wordless picture book lovingly depicts the joy and devotion that a dog has for her red ball.  She takes it everywhere with her.  One day, at the park, another dog destroys her beloved ball.  She is heartbroken and cannot be consoled.  When she must reluctantly go back to the park, surprise!  The dog that destroyed her red ball has brought a new blue ball for her.  They become fast friends and Daisy takes her new ball home ready for another happy day.   Children will be sure to relate to losing a special toy.  They can infer Daisy’s feelings by acting out this story.  A Flow map can be used to show sequencing in the story.   Finally, many pages have multiple parts providing a chance to practice top to bottom and left to right  reading.  The illustrations are strong enough to tell the whole story yet simple enough for children to quickly understand them.   I would recommend putting this book up on the Smartboard to really hone in on Daisy’s face or to read it together in small groups. 

Other Awards:

 2011 Horn Book Fanfare

 2012 Caldecott Medal Winner

2012 Bank Street Children's Book Award