The Big Honey Hunt by Stanley and Janice Berenstain

My first grader read this book to himself.
Mama asks (commands!) Papa Bear to fetch some honey from the store.  Papa decides to take Brother Bear on an adventure, gathering honey from the bees.
Humorous!
I do not like how this series portrays Papa Bear as dumb and irresponsible.
Guided Reading Level: I (1st grade)
-Borrowed from the library.

Father Bear Comes Home by Else Holmelund Minarik illustrated by Maurice Sendak*

My six year old and I started reading this story together (taking turns reading aloud the pages to each other) but he went ahead and finished it by himself because he wanted to know the ending!
Father Bear is away fishing.  Little Bear longs to be a fisherman like Father Bear.  He informs his friends that Father Bear may bring home a mermaid  . . . .
*Highly recommend.
We borrowed this book from the library.
Guided Reading Level: I (end of 1st grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 2.4

Barn Storm by Charles and Debra Ghigna illustrated by Diane Greenseid*

Step into Reading -Step 2
My six year old read this aloud to me.
When a tornado descends upon a farm, it creates havoc and a silly farm!
*Highly recommend.
Strategies: cause/effect, sequencing, "ound" word family
Rhyming text
Perfect for advancing beginning readers.
Guided Reading Level: I (end of 1st grade)
Grade Level Equivalent: 2nd grade
-We own this book.

Don't Throw It to Mo! by David A. Adler illustrated by Sam Ricks

**Winner of the 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award**
Penguin Young Readers Level 2 (Progressing Reader)
Guided Reading Level: I (1st grade)
My Kindergartner read this aloud to me and enjoyed it!
Mo is the youngest player on the football team called the Robins and hardly gets any playing time.  When they play against the Jays, Coach Steve has a plan to win that utilizes Mo.
It is fun to predict Coach Steve's strategy.
Strategy: predicting, "skippy the frog" word attack strategy
Points to discuss: I did not like how the players on the Jays team treated Mo.  Some name calling and taunting occurred.

Lions by Catherine Ipcizade*

"Pebble Plus"
Large book with more than one page spread photographs and simple text-perfect for the beginning reader and younger child learning about research and nonfiction.
This lion book is the most comprehensive out of the lion books my preschooler and I read.
Text features: headings, table of contents, labels, maps, map key, glossary, index
*Highly recommend.
If I had a PreK-2nd grade classroom, I would make sure I had all the Pebble Plus nonfiction African animal books in our classroom library.
Other titles in this series (African Animals): Cheetahs, Giraffes, Pythons, Elephants, Leopards, Meerkats, Zebras
Guided Reading Level: I (end of 1st grade)
http://www.capstonepub.com/library/products/african-animals/

Six Snowy Sheep by Judith Ross Enderle and Stephanie Gordon Tessler illustrated by John O'Brien

Six sheep receive a perfect Christmas gift to play in the snow.
Repetitive text make for an opportunity for listeners to join in the reading or great for beginning readers.
Lots of Alliteration!
Guided Reading Level: I
Grade Level Equivalency: 1.7