Choosing the Right Books

I am an avid reader. I would polish off Victor Hugo, and JK Rowling however I could not read Mark Twain. He wasn't the right fit for me. The same is true for our students.  Which brings me to the next question "How do I choose the right books"? 

There is no specific order but the believe books should be purchased in the following steps: 
1) Grade Level 
2) Enjoyment
3) Need  
4) Reading Level 


The first thing I would recommend is to think about the grade level. If you are teaching fourth easy print picture books are not going to be a good fit. If you are teaching first Ronald Dahl is not going to be a good fit. 

The next step it to choose books you personally enjoy.  If you don't love the books you are not going to talk about them with love. 

Mo Willems writes the Elephant & Piggie series.  These books are some of my favorite to introduce students to. They are books students can relate to and most importantly they hook the reader. 

Once you have build up some book you enjoy then its time to think about what you need. 

All libraries should have fiction and nonfiction. I would also recommend fairy tales, biographies and series and characters. 

Look at your state objectives. What are you teaching and what books will help you teach them. For example Kindergarten learns about plants. In a Kinder classroom you will want to get plant books. 

Now you should have books you like, books you need, that last part is books for your students. This is the hardest step. This is where you need to understand the reading levels and usually have an app to help you. 

Look at the text per page, what are the words, can the students read them independently. This is crucial in a library. Look at books from your lit lab and Basel readers to get an idea of what they should be reading. 

I hope this helps you get started on choosing the right books.