My Favorite Reads: Linking Up!

I'm linking up with Mrs. Stanford's class to share some of my favorite reads: profressional, personal, and children's books {of course!!!} I hope you'll find some new favorites among my suggestions...especially the children's books, I hope I'm including some you might not be too familiar with :)

First things first:  Profressional
I have to be honest, I don't read many profressional books.  I prefer a workshop, or online resources.  But here are two that have changed the way I teach Language Arts forever.  I know the first one is no surprise, but you might not've heard of the second one.  If you haven't, and you struggle with how to teach writing in any way, I HIGHLY reccommend it!  The mini-lessons and student resources included in the book are awesome!

Secondly: Personal
  Again, no huge surprise.  I'm reading what everyone's reading.  I love to read, and love that this summer should hopefully afford me some time to do so.  Besides the books picturesd here, my favorites include Confessions of a Shopaholic, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Secret Life of Bees, The Plain Truth (really any Jodi Piccoult book), Harlan Coben and James Patterson books {especially in the summer}, and so many more.  I am a repeat reader.  If I loved a book, I'll read it at least twice.

Last: Children's Books
Children's books really are some of my favorite books in the whole wide world.  I eat them up.  I sometimes believe they appeal more to me than some of my students.  I have a few favorite authors, but at the same time, I have fallen in love with so many books, it's hard for me to pick.  Miss Rumphius is hands down my favorite, and I want to frame the book's illustrations for my {future} baby's nursery.  They're breath-taking.

YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

I want to leave you with a quote I found when I was researching Barbara Cooney for my Miss Rumphius unit that I love, and find so inspiring:

On her receiving the Caldecott Medal in 1959: "I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting.... It does not hurt them to read about good and evil, love and hate, life and death. Nor do I think they should read only about things that they understand.... a man’s reach should exceed his grasp. So should a child’s. For myself, I will never talk down to—or draw down to—children." {Source: Wikipedia}

-Halle