Catching up with #bookaday! June 22-July 2

I have some catching-up to do on my #bookaday posts!  Since my last post, I have been reading, so I'll catch you up on what I've done.

First, I've been reading (or re-reading) the books that are nominated for this year's NC Children's Book Award.  My K-3 classes will read these sometime during the year before next March so the students can vote for their favorite.  I try to read these books and connect with the Positivity Project character strengths as we learn about them.  So far, I've read the following:

• The Very Impatient Caterpillar (Burach) -- Most of my classes read this in the spring before I knew it would be on this year's list.  We loved it, so I can't wait to re-visit it. The obvious tie-in here is with self-control, but it could also work with curiosity.  
• Potato Pants (Keller) -- What another fun book! This one will tie in with courage/bravery, forgiveness and some other character strengths that we learn about.
• Mixed: A Colorful Story (Chung) -- A great tie in with art, of course, but also a good book to talk about open-mindedness.
• Because (Willems) -- Okay, it is no secret that Mo Willems is one of my heroes!  What a beautiful book this one is.   I'll probably tie it to gratitude, but it could also work with the broader connection/purpose theme. 
• Misunderstood Shark: Starring Shark! (Dyckman) -- Oops! I just realized that the wrong one is in the picture.  (I read that one, too!)  I enjoyed Misunderstood Shark: Starring Shark!  I think our students will enjoy the facts they learn and will want to learn more about sharks after reading this book.  
• Can I Be Your Dog? (Cummings) -- What a sweet book!  This may be a good one when we learn about love, kindness, or even perseverance.  
• The Crayon Man (Biebow) -- (not pictured) -- This one tells the story of Edwin Binney and the process he went through to invent Crayola crayons.  

I've read some other books, too, since my last post:

• Misunderstood Shark: Friends Don't Eat Friends (Dyckman):  Honestly, I like this one better than the first! There are some great facts in here that I didn't know, and it's quite funny.  
• Saving Fiona (Maynard):  This one is a nonfiction book from the NC Junior Book Award list.  
• Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea (Clanton):  This one has been really popular in our library this year, so I had to give it a try for myself.  
• The Secret Life of Squirrels: Back to School (Rose):  My 13-year-old son made me read this one.  He picked it up while we were in the library and read it because... well... squirrels.  The pictures are great.  I especially appreciated them after reading the information at the end of the book explaining how she takes the photos.  

I think that's 11 books for 11 days!   And just like that, I'm all caught up on my #bookaday challenge!