Birthday Books - Some Lovely Selections

As many of you are aware, one of our many classroom traditions involves bringing in a book for your birthday. These books are inscribed by the birthday kid, and then kept on a special shelf. I tell the children that when they are older, maybe even upstairs in middle school, new first and second graders will be reading their inscriptions, and enjoying their books. It is a way of being remembered - leaving just a little bit of their personalities, interests, and identities behind.

Sena celebrated his birthday with us last week. He brought in When the Beat was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop, by Laban Carrick Hill. This book is quite new, coming out in hardcover in late August of 2013. It is a wonderful book, and really captured many of the children's interest and attention - and we all learned a lot about how the hip hop culture came to be. We found a little video clip on YouTube (that was kid/language friendly) that we watched, while some students perfected their moves. You can read more about it HERE.

My birthday was today, and I also supply the classroom with a new book. In fact, I couldn't choose, so I brought in two. But one in particular is bound to be a book I read every year - it is that great. It's called Imaginary Fred, and it is a collaboration between Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers. The illustrations and accompanying text are perfect. This is a very recent book, published less than a month ago. If you see it on the shelves, I highly recommend this to add to your collection, or to buy it as a gift for a friend.