Read Aloud WV

10 to Try: Teachers’ favorites

At the West Virginia Reading Association’s 66th Annual Conference, participants from around the state shared some of their classroom favorites:

Froggy Goes to Camp by Jonathan London

Third in the Froggy series, with lots of jumping, flipping, and onomatopoeia.

Grades PK-K

Gwen Lyons, Title 1 Reading Teacher, Wyoming County


Dr. Seuss ABC and Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

Classics, but still good for beginning and early readers.

PK-2nd

Amber Janicker, Ashton Elementary School, Mason County


Pigs by Robert Munsch

Feed the pigs, but don’t open the gate. Pigs are smarter than you think.

K-2nd

Diane Binder, Title 1 Reading Teacher, New River Primary School


After the Fall by Dan Santat

Humpty Dumpty is famous for falling off a wall. This is the story of when he decided to get back up.

K-3rd

Leslie Boyd, Shepherdstown Elementary School, Jefferson County


The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Making your most magnificent idea is anything but easy. In fact, it is frustrating. A good book for social-emotional development.

K-5th

Kandi Kaiser, Blue Ridge Elementary School, Jefferson County


The Good Egg, The Bad Seed, and others by Jory John and Pete Oswald

Being good is hard. As the other eggs in the dozen behave badly, the good egg starts to crack from the pressure.

PK-5th

Allyson Varlas, Central Elementary School, Marshall County


Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

“I’m here because of this book,” said closing keynote speaker Colby Sharp, an author and teacher. “It changed my life forever. I would get lost in that story.”

4th+

Colby Sharp, 5th grade teacher, Parma Elementary School, Michigan


The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris

Friends Barnett and Harris created an animated strip during the Covid shutdown, and the book version just published this spring can take over a classroom.

3rd-6th

Colby Sharp


Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

First published in 1961, the story of Billy and his two hunting dogs still moves readers and listeners.

4th-6th

Linda Childers, retired 5th grade teacher, Cabell County


The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A foster child living outside Munich, Germany in 1939 steals to survive, and encounters something she cannot resist – books. She learns to read and shares her stolen treasures.  

6th+

Cara Dorsey, 9th and 10th grade English Teacher, Nicholas County High School

Exit mobile version