La Madre Goose: Nursery Rhymes for Los Ninos

Elya, S. (2016). La madre goose: nursery rhymes for los ninos. G. P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

A 2017 Texas Library Associations 2X2 Reading List book

Brief Overview: The book contains a glossary of Spanish / English words at the very beginning to help readers fully understand book. Each nursery rhyme has a Spanish twist to it and some Spanish words intertwined with the English text. The rhymes are fun and silly.

Resources:

Author's Website

Check out the Mother Goose Club on YouTube for fun video songs about traditional nursery rhymes.

Horrible Bear!

Dyckman, A. (2016). Horrible bear! Brown Books for Young Readers.

A 2017 Texas Library Associations 2X2 Reading List book

Brief Overview: A girl lost her kite. It flew into a cave with a bear. The bear rolled over the kite. She called him a horrible bear. The bear got his feelings hurt. He set out to show the girl what a real horrible bear was really like. The girl became even more upset and broke something else that she loved, her lovey. Bear came to be a horrible bear, but eventually the girl realized the bear never meant to hurt her kite and it was an accident. She apologized and they went to play together. 

Resources:

Book Trailer by the publisher.

Blocks

Dickson, I. (2016). Blocks. Nosy Crow.

A 2017 Texas Library Associations 2X2 Reading List book

Brief Overview - The book is a great way to visualize sharing for young children. A child with red blocks plays by herself and a child with blue blocks plays by himself. One takes the others block. Then the child tries to get their missing block back. Finally they decide to share and build together. Then a third child comes along with green blocks. What are they to do? 

Resources - 
Author's Website

Oral book reading with pictures from the book.

There's a Bear on My Chair

Collins, R. (2016). There's a bear on my chair. Nosy Crow.

A 2017 Texas Library Associations 2X2 Reading List book

Brief Overview: A delightful rhyming book. Mouse is frustrated and looses his temper with Bear. Bear taunts Mouse by sitting in his chair through most of the book. Then Bear wonders home and finds Mouse in his house.

Resources: 

Author's website - has a link to a story telling of the book.

Rhyme Time by Hooked on Phonics

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea

Clanton, Ben. (2016). Narwhal: Unicorn of the sea. Tundra Books.

A 2017 Texas Library Associations 2X2 Reading List book

Brief Overview - Narwhal is a beginning early level graphic novel with 5 chapters. I think this book is appropriate for 1st and 2nd grade 2X2 readers. The story is about a Narwhal which is a sea creature with a horn that lives deep in the ocean. He becomes friends with a jellyfish. The two have a silly, humorous adventure through the ocean.

Resources -  
Author's website 

Narwhals are real.

It Came in the Mail

Clanton, B. (2016). It came in the mail. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

A 2017 Texas Library Associations 2X2 Reading List book

A wonderful book about mail. Students today are not as familiar with sending letters through the mail carrier. It Came in the Mail takes a silly look at what would happen if you wrote letters and asked for items and they arrived in your mailbox. Rhyming is used throughout the story. This book would be a great way to open a lesson on writing letters to others and have students write a letter to someone. Then mail it and get mail in return - hopefully.

Resources:

Writer's Rumpus Blogs about an interview with the author.

Book Trailer 

YouTube Book Read Aloud

The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game

Churnin, N. (2016). The William Hoy story. Albert Whitman & Company.

The William Hoy Story is a is one of the 2017 Texas Library Associations 2X2 Reading List books. The story is based on a real person, so it is a biography. William Hoy was a deaf baseball player who changed the game. The book talks about his struggles with the game when he was young. He had trouble with communicating with the umpires and his teammates since he could not hear. He created signs that are still used to day behind the plate to help batters know how many balls, and strikes they have.

Resources:

YouTube Video of the Author reading the story and talking about her book. "The William Hoy Story" presented by author Nancy Churnin at the Rowlett Public Library

Nancy Churnin' s website

The Publisher's website with resources for teachers.