Teachers’ Top 100 Children’s Books

The following list was compiled from an online survey in 2007. Parents and teachers will find it useful in selecting quality literature for children.

1. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
2. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
4. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
5. Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
6. I Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
7. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
8. Oh! The Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss
9. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
10. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
11. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner
12. Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
13. The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss
14. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
15. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
16. The Mitten by Jan Brett
17. Crunching Carrots, Not Candy by Judy Slack
18. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willlems
19. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
20. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
21. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
22. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
23. Corduroy by Don Freeman
24. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
25. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
26. Tacky the Penquin by Helen Lester
27. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
28. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
29. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
30. Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type Doreen Cronin
31. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
32. Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
33. Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
34. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
35. Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
36. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
37. Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
38. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
39. The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone
40. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
41. A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
42. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
43. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
44. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
45. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
46. Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
47. Olivia by Ian Falconer
48. The BFG by Roald Dahl
49. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
50. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
51. The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss
52. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
53. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
54. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
55. Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
56. Bunnicula by James Howe
57. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
58. Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom DeLuise
59. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
60. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
61. Frederick by Leo Lionni
62. Frindle by Andrew Clements
63. Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
64. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
65. Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen
66. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
67. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
68. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
69. I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
70. Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino
71. Jan Brett’s books
72. Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr.
73. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
74. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
75. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
76. My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
77. My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
78. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
79. No David! by David Shannon
80. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
81. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
82. Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch
83. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
84. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
85. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner
86. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
87. The Empty Pot by Demi
88. The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop
89. The Giver by Lois Lowr
90. The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
91. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
92. The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
93. The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements
94. The Napping House by Audrey Wood
95. The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau
96. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
97. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
98. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
99. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
100. The Wide-Mouthed Frog: A Pop-Up Book by Keith Faulkner

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Send comments to readacross@nea.org

Kids’ top 100 books

This list was tabulated from an online survey that ran at this web site from November 1, 1999 through February 1, 2000. The results leave no doubt that America’s kids LOVE to read. You might want to compare this with Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children.

1. Harry Potter (series) by J. K. Rowling
2. Goosebumps (series) by R. L. Stine
3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
4. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
5. Arthur (series) by Marc Brown
6. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
7. Shiloh (trilogy) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
8. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
9. Holes by Louis Sachar
10. The Giver by Lois Lowry
11. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
12. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (series) by Judy Blume
13. Sideways Stories from Wayside School (series) by Louis Sachar
14. The BFG by Roald Dahl
15. The Boxcar Children (series) by Gertrude Chandler Warner
16. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
17. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (series) by Beverly Cleary
18. Pokemon (series) by Tracey West, Maria S. Barbo
19. The Babysitters Club (series) by Ann M. Martin
20. Ralph S. Mouse (series) by Beverly Cleary
21. Little House on the Prairie (series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
22. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
23. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
24. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
25. Clifford the Big Red Dog (series) by Norman Bridwell
26. Stuart Little by E. B. White
27. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
28. The Adventures of Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
29. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
30. The Berenstain Bears (series) by Jan and Stan Berenstain
31. Animorphs (series) by K. A. Applegate
32. The Witches by Roald Dahl
33. Nancy Drew Mystery Stories by Carolyn Keene
34. The Hobbit (series) by J. R. R. Tolkien
35. American Girls (series) by Susan Adler, Valerie Tripp, Connie Porter, Janet Shaw, et al
36. Matilda by Roald Dahl
37. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
38. The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
39. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
40. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
41. Junie B. Jones (series) by Barbara Park
42. Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
43. Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
44. A Wrinkle in Time (series) by Madeleine L’Engle
45. Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen
46. Amber Brown (series) by Paula Danziger
47. The North Star by Peter H. Reynolds
48. Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley (Mankind)
49. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
50. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Chicken Soup for the Soul (series) by various authors
53. Curious George (series) by Margret and Hans Augusto Rey
54. The Teacher from the Black Lagoon (series) by Mike Thaler
55. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
56. The Bailey School Kids (series) by Debbie Dadey, et al
57. The Hardy Boys (series) by Franklin W. Dixon
58. The Mitten by Jan Brett
59. Amelia Bedelia (series) by Peggy Parish
60. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
61. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
62. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
63. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
64. The River by Gary Paulsen
65. Magic Tree House (series) by Mary Pope Osborne
66. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by John Scieszka
67. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
68. Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
69. The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
70. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
71. Redwall by Brian Jacques
72. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
73. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
74. Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
75. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
76. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
77. Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
78. Sweet Valley High (series) by Francine Pascal
79. The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley (series) by Judy Katschke, Cathy Dobowski, Lisa Eisenberg, Nancy E. Krulik, Nina Alexander, Frances Lin Lantz, et al
80. Garfield (series) by Jim Davis
81. Magic School Bus (series) by Joanna Cole
82. Math Curse by John Scieszka
83. White Fang by Jack London
84. I Spy (series) by Walter Wick, Jean Marzollo, Diana Noonan, et al
85. Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
86. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
87. The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
88. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
89. Draw 50 Airplanes, Aircraft and Spacecraft (series) by Lee J. Ames
90. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
91. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
92. The Rock Says by Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
93. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
94. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
95. All About Sam by Lois Lowry
96. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
97. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
98. Hank the Cow Dog (series) by John R. Erickson
99. Piggie Pie by Margie Palatini
100. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

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Send comments to readacross@nea.org

The Vaccine Book

I thought I’ve blogmarked Dr. Sear’s Vaccine Book a while ago…

Anyway, here it is together with an Alternative Vaccine Schedule vs. Regular Vaccine Schedule from AskDrSears.

Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Benefit Performance

A wonderful performance from Dance Connection:

Mark your calendar for Sunday, March 30 at 4:00 p.m. for our annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Benefit Performance. Last year, we raised a total of $3,701.00 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The City of Palo Alto generously co-sponsors our annual event with the donation of the Cubberley Theatre on a date when the theatre is not rented in advance. The 2006 benefit was held on Thursday evening, March 16th to a packed theatre on a rainy evening. It has been a tradition at Dance Connection to provide this wonderful performing experience to all team dancers, provide performing opportunities for extra choreography that dancers learn in the winter/spring. Some of our team and advanced dancers are working on specialty routines to perform at this touching performance.
100% of the proceeds for this performance go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. Dance Connection funds the staffing, rehearsals, dance faculty, and theatrical technical support. Thanks to all who attended and support the Komen Foundation through our benefit!

BBS…

That’s British Baby Signing These are new board books (or at least new for me) with baby signs I’ve seen recently at Linden Tree

Child’s Play Baby Signing

What is Baby Signing?
‘Baby Signing’ is the term used when parents who can hear use signs to communicate with hearing babies. It builds on babies’ natural ability to use gesture.
Babies are able to coordinate and control their hand muscles much earlier than their speech muscles. By introducing them to simple signs, we can help babies to communicate their emotions and needs from as young as eight months. This ability to communicate not only reduces frustration of both babies and their parents/carers, but it also helps their language development.
Signing is growing in popularity in Britain but has been used in America for years, and is the norm in American nurseries. Some British nurseries are now training staff in British Sign Language.
There have been some concerns that baby signing may inhibit speech but this would only happen if signing were used in place of speech. Signs should be used in conjunction with speech to provide babies with a multi-sensory environment.

Using British Sign Language means that your baby’s signs will be understood by other parents or carers who sign, as well as by you.

Benefits of Baby Signing
* Reduces frustration as babies can communicate their needs
* Strengthens the bond between baby and parent
* Leads to better communication between hearing and hearing impaired children
* Child may start to speak earlier than usual
* Child develops a wider vocabulary
* Leads to a higher than average literacy level

Useful Websites
UK Baby Signing sites

Starting to Sign

* The first aim is for your child to make a connection between the sign and what it represents.
* Introduce only three or four signs to start with. The most successful seem to be milk, eat, more and bed.
* Use certain signs before an event to enable your child to anticipate it (i.e. bath, nappy).
* Always say the word when you sign, never sign in silence.
* Use only one sign in each sentence.
* Repetition is important. Your baby will not sign to you immediately but will recognise signs.
* Be patient and don’t get frustrated. Signing should be a fun part of your everyday interaction, not a chore or lesson.
* Introduce signs that have a particular interest for your child.
* Your child’s signs may differ from yours, don’t worry; the signs will evolve, just like speech.
* There may be signs that your child will never make, but will understand perfectly.
* Have fun!

Mom Test :-)

A funny one from a friend

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth.

I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that.

“Why?” my daughter asked.

“Because it’s been on the ground, you don’t know where it’s been, it’s dirty, and probably has germs,” I replied.

At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, “Mama, how do you know all this stuff, you are so smart.”

I was thinking quickly.

“All moms know this stuff. It’s on the Mom Test. You have to know it, or they don’t let you be a Mom.”

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information.

“Oh…I get it!” she beamed, “So if you don’t pass the test you have to be the dad.”

Prescription drugs found in drinking water across U.S.

Something’s in the water

A sex hormone was detected in the drinking water of San Francisco, California.

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

Some praise can harm kids, psychologist warns…

I find this research kind of amusing, why it’s so hard to say yes good job, no needs more work…

Some praise can harm kids, psychologist warns
Praising innate abilities can undermine while praising solid effort builds confidence

by Arden Pennell
Palo Alto Online Staff

Praising a child for inherent abilities — such as saying, “You’re so smart!” — can actually undermine the child’s confidence and lead to a destructive fear of failure.

Some students might even lie or cheat to hide failures, Stanford University psychology professor Carol Dweck warned a tightly packed group of Palo Alto parents Monday.

But praise based on solid effort — “You really worked hard. Good job!” — builds confidence and a realization that a good effort is a worthy challenge that teaches kids to bounce back from failures, not hide them, she said.

Dweck spoke to a room crammed so tightly with more than 250 parents that she had to side-step several crouched on the floor each time she walked to her computer to cue a new slide.

She has lectured worldwide since the 2006 publication of her research work on praise under the title, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.”

She was invited to speak in Palo Alto by a district educational-equity team headed by Becky Cohn-Vargas, director of elementary education, on a longer but more precise topic: “”Intelligence: understanding the growth mindset and how to praise (and how not to praise) children.”

In the afternoon, Dweck gave essentially the same message to district teachers and administrators, also in the district board room at 25 Churchill Ave.

She said the wrong kind of praise and associated fear of failure is a chronic problem that afflicts bright, high-achieving students such as those in Palo Alto.

“Why do so many bright students stop working at school as soon things get difficult?” she asked.

She called on parents and teachers to shift their approach to praising students by focusing on effort rather than talent — to curb the phenomena of smart but fearful students.

Praising effort teaches students that success grows through hard work leads them to bounce back from failures and excel despite challenges, she said.

But praising talent alone can cause students to conclude intelligence is a fixed, ingrained quality, leading them to avoid obstacles and fail to achieve their full potential, she said.

She encouraged both parents and teachers to use praise that presents intelligence as a changeable — not fixed –- quality, and explained how to foster a “growth mindset” that values challenges and hard work as a way to build intelligence and success.

“The family has to start conveying challenges are fun,” she said.

Parents can swap tales of daily struggles at the dinner table and punctuate conversation with phrases such as, “What an interesting mistake. I’m learning from it, too,” she said.

If a smart kid brings home a series of straight A’s with minimal effort, parents should hesitate to praise the child’s innate brilliance, she said.

Rather, parents can acknowledge the score and then offer to help think of more challenging work, she said.

And failure can lead to success, she said, noting prestigious universities such as Stanford now seek students with a couple failures to demonstrate uniqueness and resilience, she said.

Teachers can also make tough lessons seem enjoyable rather than intimidating, she said.

“Boy, this is hard. This is what I call fun” and “Let’s do something hard that we can learn from, not something easy and boring,” were two phrases she suggested in the afternoon lecture.

Dweck is creating an online lesson, called “Brainology,” that teaches students to see the brain as something they can mold and improve through study and hard work, she said.

Pilot groups have already felt more in control of their learning and improved scores after watching Brainology, she said. She hopes to finish it by fall, she said, adding she would contact Cohn-Vargas when it was complete.

Dweck’s interest in intelligence mindsets began when she noticed the self-esteem movement that began in the late-1980s and 1990s encouraged constant praise, she said.

Using Little League baseball as an example, she said parents used to tell children: “Remember when you struck out in the seventh inning? I don’t think you were keeping your eye on the ball. Make sure to do that next time.”

But with the advent of the self-esteem movement, she said parents would say things like, “That umpire robbed you,” coaches told her.

She started wondering if maybe parents and teachers were actually producing the opposite effect of what was intended -– less-confident kids afraid to look stupid, shying away from challenges and doubting themselves when things got tough.

Her research bore out her suspicions, she said Monday evening, citing numerous studies showing praise could cause students to have either a “growth mindset” that views intelligence as malleable or a “fixed mindset” that views intelligence as an unchanging, innate quality.

Study after study showed those with a growth mindset focused on learning rather than grades and were ultimately more successful, she said.

Growth-mindset pre-med students at a prestigious Ivy League institution ultimately scored higher than fixed-mindset students, she noted. Even students at Bing Nursery School, part of Stanford’s psychology department, took more joy from drawing when they had a growth mindset, she said.

Believing intelligence is a fixed quality not only narrows the definition of success from learning to high grades but also leads students to believe that having to make an effort to achieve something is a sign of stupidity, she said.

“These students believe that effort alone means you’re not smart and in many cases, effort means you’re not worth it,” she said.

Fixed-mindset elementary students even lied about their scores to cover up failures, believing errors indicated stupidity, and they said they would cheat in the future to do better, she said.

In contrast, students with the growth mindset valued learning more than looking smart and saw mistakes as an opportunity to learn. When challenged, they didn’t feel dumb, and so were able to rise to the occasion more often, she said.

The talk was helpful but Dweck’s tips might be tough to adopt, Palo Alto resident Loren Stein said.

She is afraid of over-praising her only child, a 3-year-old daughter, and giving her a fragile ego, she said.

“I feel that we’re making the mistake of heaping praise on her for everything because we’re just so in love with her,” she said.

But rephrasing instinctive mothering comments will require real attention, she said.

“What we do is so rote as moms, as mothers. Good job, good job, good job. [Dweck says] we must re-orient how to relate to our children,” she said.

Toxic Showers and Baths

Citizens Concerned About Chloramine: Chloramine in Our Water Supply

On February 2, 2004, without any public discussion or consent and without adequate notification, chloramine, (a combination of chlorine and ammonia) was added to the Hetch Hetchy water supply by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). (The SFPUC distributes water to the San Francisco peninsula, from San Francisco in the North to Sunnyvale in the South.) Chloramine replaced chlorine, a long-used, well-tolerated and extensively studied water disinfectant.

Toxic Showers and Baths
Is Our Tap Water Toxic?

Spotlight on … Irish Books

A couple of days ago I’ve checked Linden Tree books and I found a nice selection of books for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter. And there were a few books by Tomie dePaola. And with a few more clicks I found these Notes on Irish Books by Tomie…