All time favorite read- alouds!

As of tomorrow we are officially only 2 weeks into summer but it already feels like it is flying by. Can you believe that next weekend is 4th of July?!?!?!?

So I have already begun planning for the upcoming school year.. I started mapping out my long range plans, I am making lists. and pinning so many cool ideas. As part of my planning, I am going to set a schedule for my read alouds. I have my favorites I read every year, but this year I want to add a few new ones. I am going to share my "staples" and I would love for you to share the read alouds you have done in the past that you love, in the comments below, as I am always looking to add new books to our rotation.

So here are the ones I pretty much do each year:

1. How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor-

I love this book for a number of reasons: first, it has a strong female character that struggles with making some tough decisions that young kids should not have to make. However, she has a lot of grit and is a likable character. This book is a great jumping off points for many discussions about whether or no it is okay to do something wrong even if you are doing it for the right reasons. It also deals with divorce, homelessness, and friendships. 

2. The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies-

I came across this book at a book fair a few years ago and grabbed it because it had great vocabulary and some connections to math. However, it also has a great story about relationships and responsibility, and family. It is the first in a series of great books about Evan and Jessie, brother and sister who start a battle to see who can sell the most lemonade and make the most money before school starts. 

3.  Wonder by R.J. Palacio-

A few years ago this book was on out SC Childrens Book Award/Battle of the Books list and all my students were reading it. I finally picked it up last summer and read it in one sitting. I fell in love with the main character August and figured that this book would be a great book to start the year out, and talk about how we are all different, and that is a good thing, and also to start one of many discussions about how we should treat each other.  It will be on my read aloud list for the coming school year too....

4. The Watsons Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis-

One of my all time favorite read alouds. I use this book a little differently. We read this book as part shared reading, and part read aloud, and I even assign a chapter or two for students to read at home. We end with a viewing of the movie and then do a discussion and some type of reflection. I tie it in with our Civil Rights unit in Social Studies. My students love this book and most of my students have read Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis as well. 

5. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein-

I read this book a few summers ago and added it as a class  read aloud last year for the first time. A few of my students had already read it, but they were great not to share the surprises, and plot twists and turns with their classmates. This book reminds me of several others, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Gollywhopper Games, both books i have used for read alouds in the past. This is a fun, easy read that usually had them begging for "just one more page."

I typically get through a book a month (or at least that is my goal). So here are some of my standard read alouds. What are yours? Please share in the comments below.