Friday Five: Gift Books: Holiday Reads Edition

The holiday gift-giving season is upon us, and the countdown to winter break is...

So.

Very.

Close.

For this week's Friday Five, I am highlighting some of my favorite 2019 holiday-themed picture books. They would make great #classroombookaday read alouds with your students of all ages, picture books to share with your family, or gift giving.

Side note: Find out why you should follow Dan Santat on social media this holiday season.

Books Mentioned in the video: The Great Santa Stakeout by Betsy Bird and Dan Santat Dasher by Matt Tavares (Also, Red & Lulu) The Crayons' Christmas by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper and Carson Ellis Between Us and Abuela by Mitali Perkins and Sara Palacios Finding Narnia by Caroline McAlister and Jessica Lanan Fry Bread by Kevin Noble-Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal Freedom Soup by Tami Charles and Jacqueline Alcantara

Stay tuned next week when I'll post the FULL LIST of gift book suggestions for all ages, PreK-Adult. Uncle Joe? Grandma Joan? Your nephew? Books make great gifts for everyone, especially your own kids, and there is a book for every reader on the list. Also, if you have kids of your own and you plan on getting their teacher(s) a gift this holiday season, consider a monetary (gift card) donation to help them add to their classroom library. We love new books, and so do the students we teach!

In the meantime, this week's Friday Five will help you kick off your holiday reading. Happy Reading and Happy Holidays!

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#FridayFive #newbooks #highschool #middleschool #yalit #nonfiction #memoir #picturebook #kidlit #elementary #giftbooks #booksmakegreatgifts #mrsyuskoreads #booksuggestions

Friday Five: 5 Star Books, episode 2

I should actually be preparing for the seminars that I'm presenting in a couple of weeks, but it's been such a great week of reading that I can't stop! #booknerdproblems

It was another week of 5 STAR BOOKS, so I decided to highlight all of them in the Friday Five. You can watch the video below, or click here to view this and other Friday Five booktalks.

If you survived September and all the pumpkin spice, Halloween candy, and in some stores CHRISTMAS stuff, a good book should be your reward.

Happy Reading!

Books mentioned in the video:

Look Both Ways by Reynolds The Scarecrow by Ferry/Fan/Fan A Place to Belong by Kadohata

Frankly in Love by Yoon

The Fountains of Silence by Sepetys

Fighting for the Forest by Pearson

1919 by Sandler

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Friday Five: 5 Star Books

It had the potential for being a crazy week...

Full moon... Friday the 13th... not just in the same week but on the SAME DAY!

I was prepared for the worst (seriously, if you work in education you know what I'm talking about). But I was pleasantly surprised that this week was actually one of the best as far as reading goes.

There were many 5 STAR BOOKS this week (HOORAY!), so I decided to dedicate the Friday Five to highlighting them. You can watch the video below, or click here to view this and other Friday Five booktalks.

If you marked yourself "safe" from the Full-Moon-Friday-the-13th school day this week, I hope you'll consider one or more of these books as your reward.

Happy Reading!

EDITED 9/16/19: This morning, the National Book Foundation announced that one of the books I highlight in this video, Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds, was long-listed for this year's National Book Award for Young People's Literature!

Books mentioned in the video:

The Proudest Blue by Muhammad/Ali/Aly

Home in the Woods by Wheeler

Magic Ramen by Wang

Look Both Ways by Reynolds

Beverly, Right Here by DiCamillo Call Me American by Iftin Stargazing by Wang

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#fridayfive #audiobooks #top10 #mrsyuskoreads #yalit #nonfiction #memoir #newbooks #kidlit #picturebooks #nationalbookaward #shortstories #biography #graphicnovels