Reading List 2014

Here's an archived copy of my reading list for this year. I'll be keeping up the new list here: http://mlisunderstanding.blogspot.com/p/reading-list.html

I would recommend the bolded titles with enthusiasm, and I enjoyed the italicized titles but probably wouldn't read them again.

Read Aloud Roundup: December 2014

It can be hard to find winter holiday books that are appropriate for public school. Naturally, many of them are explicitly religious. Our community foundation is the arm of a church (admittedly one that recognizes many faith paths), and I'm sensitive to the appearance that we're preaching to the classroom. At the same time, most of the students are African-American or Latino and celebrate Christmas with their families, which I want to acknowledge. Additionally, some of the winter-themed stories focus a lot on snow... which San Francisco kids just don't have. So I usually use the December Read Aloud to introduce diverse or interfaith/intercultural holiday traditions. This year it falls in the middle of Hanukkah, and several of the books are about that celebration. Discussion usually centers on family traditions and what the children will do over their winter break.