As we continue to honor Dr. Seuss and his silly rhymes, Kindergarten and 1st grade students heard a variety of Seuss books this week.
Reading the different stories by Theodor Seuss Giesel is a great lead-in as we discuss how the I-Can-Read section of the library is organized (alphabetical by author’s last name, just like picture books!).
March is Dr. Seuss Month! In honor of the famed rhyme-master, Kindergarten students got to hear classic Dr. Seuss stories.
Some groups shared Gerald McBoing Boing, and others enjoyed If I Ran the Zoo.
Kindergarten students got to hear a book that was just recently published: Otis by Loren Long.
The illustrations in this book are so endearing as you see how a baby calf and caring tractor develop a special bond. It’s a perfect example of a timeless picture book. Perfect timing as we begin to talk about how picture books are organized on the shelf (alphabetical by author’s last name!).
This week Kindergarten and 1st grade students learned about the Coretta Scott King Award, an award for books that celebrate diversity.
We looked at a variety of books that have earned this honor over the years, particularly those illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
Some groups also had a chance to read Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan, a former Dalton art teacher!
This week Kindergarten and First Graders took a look at the two Caldecott Honor Medal winners for 2010:
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon (illustrated by Marla Frazee)
and Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman (illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski).
Seeing such fantastic picture books was great inspiration as students began filming our video about ideas for our own picture books! We will keep you posted on the release date. 
This week Kindergarten got to hear another Caldecott classic:
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears byVerna Aardema.
This tale of how mosquitoes came to buzz in people’s ears features so many wonderful illustrations of jungle animals. And students got a treat: we watched the Scholastic video version of the story with awesome animal sound effects and a fabulous reading of the story by renowned actor James Earl Jones!
This week, all classes talked about the 2010 Caldecott and Newbery Award winners:
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney won the Caldecott Award
and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (a Dalton parent!) won the Newbery Award.
Congratulations to these two very talented individuals!
It’s Caldecott Fever!! This week Kindergarten got to hear a classic Caldecott Award-winner: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback.
Students could tell why this book is Caldecott material immediately because of its unique illustrations and cut-out method.
Taback’s style of mixing real photographs in with his illustrations led to a great conversation about how sometimes fiction books have real pictures and non-fiction books have drawings.
As we talked about the difference between fiction and non-fiction books, Kindergarten students got to see the ultimate in fiction: a wordless picture book, Sector 7 by David Wiesner.
Students were completely engrossed in the adventurous story of a boy who discovers a world in the clouds during a class trip. The way David Wiesner can tell a story through pictures alone is simply amazing!
‘Tis the season to be jolly, so Kindergartener’s got to hear a fun story in honor of the Christmas season:
Santa Claus The World’s Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee.
The adorable illustrations in this book give us a peek into the hard work Santa does to make sure that the holidays are a festive time for children everywhere.