Primary Classroom Read Alouds

I’m linking up with Paula’s Place again to share some great books that I use every year in my class.

Kevin Henkes is one of my favorite children’s authors.  His books are fun and easy for students to relate to, the characters are cute, and there is usually a great message to be learned.  I often use his books at the start of the year when I’m teaching the comprehension strategy “making connections”.

My all time favorite Kevin Henkes book is, “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse”.  It’s about a little girl mouse who gets a brand new purple plastic purse with some trinkets inside of it. She brings it to school and just can’t help but play with it and show it to her friends when she is supposed to be sitting and listening to her teacher (sound familiar?).  Lilly’s teacher ends up taking the purse away and in return she writes a mean note to her teacher.

One year I had a very similar situation occur in my class, complete with the nasty note to me. So, I pulled out “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse” and read it to the students.  To my surprise (not really, I knew how the book would affect the student) I had an apology note on my desk before the end of the day.

If you haven’t already been reading Kevin Henkes’ books to your students, give them a go! I guarantee your students will love them as much as mine!