
Drum roll please,
My kindergarten children voted and their
Top Ten favorite books for the past school year are...

Coming out on top - at Number One! - is
Otto Goes To The Beach by
Todd Parr! This book also made the
Top Ten three years ago and I am happy to see it included once again. Otto was an overall favorite character this year. We read
Otto Has a Birthday at every birthday celebration but I think what pushed this book to the top is Otto's bathing suit mishap. Poor Otto!

Todd Parr was also represented in the Number Five position with
The Peace Book. This book continues the generous message found in all of Todd's work which is that of acceptance, love and celebrating differences.
His illustrations are colorful, welcoming and irresistible. This past week my students created a literacy center based on his artwork. Each student wanted to draw like Todd Parr using thick black dry erase markers on white boards.
They did a pretty fantastic job too.

Fairy Tales were also well represented. I give credit for this to the stupendous ASL storytellers who visited our classroom to retell the classic fairy tales in American Sign Language.
These were all recorded so the students could watch them over and over again. It improved not only their sense of story but their signing as well.
The hands-down favorite - and Number Two on our list - was a retelling of
Rumpelstiltskin. Our storyteller, Whitney, based her character on the illustrations found in Paul O. Zelinsky's book. In his hands (and subsequently hers) Rumpelstiltskin is all bug-eyed, small, INTENSE and hilarious.
Other fairy tales on the Top Ten included
The Gingerbread Man by Karen Schmidt (Number Four) and
Little Red Riding Hood by
James Marshall (Number Nine).
I would love to post some of the ASL fairy tales here but need to get permission from our storytellers. Stay tuned...
Of course, no Top Ten list would be complete (at least in my eyes) without that mischievous little monkey
Curious George. This book was voted Number Eight.

Here is the complete list of Top Ten Children's Books according to my kindergarten class for 2009-2010.
- Otto Goes to the Beach by Todd Parr
- Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky
- Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino
- The Gingerbread Man by Karen Schmidt
- The Peace Book by Todd Parr
- Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
- Good Night, Mr. Night by Dan Yaccarino
- Curious George by H.A. Rey
- Little Red Riding Hood by James Marshall
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

It is only because this post is getting rather long that I neglected to properly sing the praises of author/illustrator
Dan Yaccarino.
He has two books in the Top Ten. His books are sensational so look for an upcoming post dedicated to them this summer.
Happy Reading!!