Miss Swift's Shelf

Who doesn't love Pete the Cat? I would use this fun sing song book on the first day of school of course! Shaking off those new school jitters will be so important for those new kiddos. I would use this for lower elementary school, Kindergarten through 2nd grade! Let's rock out the first day!! 

PERSPECTIVE!! Its all about perspective! This book is so much fun to teach perspective. So many times we think what we see is the only way to see it! I think its so important to teach students about other people's perspectives and teach them to learn to value other people's opinions! I would use this in ANY and ALL elementary classrooms! Even adults need this book! 

Decisions, decisions! Should I Share My Ice Cream? tells the story of a great big dilemma. I love this book because the text is so learner friendly and who doesn't like ice cream? I would use this book in my lower elementary K and 1st grade classroom about the importance of doing the right thing and taking time to reason out decisions! Will he or will he not? Guess you'll have to read it for yourself to find out!

Boy, oh, boy!! This boy means business!! I also found this book in my placement and boy is Alexander serious! I would use this book for not only talking about stubbornness and keeping an open mind, but also for character analysis! Alexander does a lot of changing in this book and there is a lot of good traits to introduce through this book. I would use this in a 3rd or 4th grade class! He really does mean it by the way!

The first time I ever heard about this book was in my placement! I was able to read this book to my students and, wow, this is an awesome book! Without giving away too much, this book tells the story of a young Mexican boy who helps his abuelo find work. I would use this story in my classroom to include any Spanish speaking or Mexican student. This is such an excellent book that deals with the message of doing the right thing no matter how hard! I would also use it to teach students that honesty is always the right policy. I would use this book anywhere from 1st grade to 4th grade! 

I have always had a love for this story and the message Dr. Suess brings us through The Lorax. I will absolutely use this book in my classroom to teach students the importance of taking care of our beautiful planet. I don't think any student is too young to learn about what they can do to help the environment. I love how this story is so whimsical and fictional, but entirely real. I could use this book also as a comparison from book to movie which is always a fun project! Dr. Suess just has a way with words that is an indescribably beautiful work of art. I could also use this as a rhyming lesson as well! I would use this book in a Kindergarten, 1st, or even 2nd grade classroom!

If you haven't read this book yet it will probably be the funnest book you will ever read!! I won't ruin this story for you, but the rhyming and poem like structure of the book is unreal! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this as an adult and I can't imagine how a classroom full of children will react! I would use this book to teach about attitude and how quick a negative attitude can spread to others! I could also use this book for teaching rhythmic pattern and rhyming words when it comes to poetry and songs! I would use this book any where from Kindergarten to 3rd grade!

I just recently found this book and, boy, I can't wait to get my hands on it!! My hope and dream for my classroom is that it would be a positive, kind, and "bucket filling" environment! I would use this book to lay down my expectations as a class. I have found so many physical bucket filling reward system for kindness that I would have in my classroom so this book would help me immensely on teaching my students about spreading kindness to all and filling other people's buckets daily! I would use this in a  1st-3rd grade classroom! 

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun is a story every child (and even adult) needs! We all sometimes lose sight and get discouraged about who we are! This story would be perfect in the classroom to talk about diversity and that different is good and judgement and hateful words are bad. I would use this in my classroom to set a positive note in my classroom so every student has the opportunity to learn in a loving and safe environment. I would use this book in lower elementary grades K-3rd grade!

Where has this book been all of my life? I've been told about this book and I have seen it so many places and I absolutely need it for my classroom library! This book would be excellent in teaching those new classroom rules. We all know that one student that just can't keep their lips together longer than 30 seconds! I would use this book to help my students learn "how to do school". I think I would be excellent in forming those new classroom rules collaboratively and through this story they can see why it's important to respect other people's voices!  

I am so looking forward to reading this book because I have seen it pop up everywhere as a great book to use in the classroom! I would use this book to talk about bullying and to stick up for each other. I think it is so important to have a safe classroom environment and any classroom that acts as a protective family is one that fosters that environment! I would use this book for lower elementary; K-3rd grade! 

I just used this book for tutoring and it is one of those books that just keeps getting better and better the more you read it and the more you think about it! Normally, I don't ruin a good story, but for this I will! This book follows a little boy named Alex. Alex is very short and he HATES it. He asks different people what will make him grow. He does all these things, but nothing seems to work. He decides he will ask the tallest person he knows for advice, Uncle Danny. Uncle Danny shows him its not the greatest being tall and he tells Alex to do things that make him happy to grow on the inside and not the outside. I love this book because we all struggle with being self-conscious and wanting what we are not. I would use this book in my classroom as a way of encouraging students to love themselves and to grow on the inside! I would use this for elementary grades 4th grade and below. 

Three letters: E-L-L!!! I will buy this the second I see this! This is the same story, but it is also in SPANISH! This would be absolutely amazing for any Spanish speaking child. I would have this in an area for when I have a child in my classroom who speaks Spanish so they may feel included. It would even be fun to be taught how to read the book in Spanish and read both languages to my class! 

Mr. Panda is becoming one of my favorites!!! Just like Please, Mr. Panda this story involved pandas AND donuts! This time though patience is the name of the game! I would use this story in lower elementary to talk about patience and what could happen if you just wait!! 

I LOVE Mailing May!! I used this book in a lesson about questioning, but this book lends itself greatly to teach about the U.S. Postal Service and how to mail a letter. I would use this book to teach how to write a letter and how to address it and mail it. I had my kiddos fill out their own postal tags to mail themselves and they LOVED it!! I would use this book in 3 grade or above! 

I LOVE PANDAS AND THIS BOOK ABOUT ONE!!! I found this book shopping one day and the cover caught my eye because, well, it had a panda on it and also donuts and I love both of those! I began reading it in the store and completely forgot where I was and that my purse was still in the cart. This book is so funny! I hate ruining books for other people so I will say this, GO FIND IT! I would use this book to talk about manners and what our "magic words" are. I would use this book for lower elementary probably Kindergarten and 1st grade!