I was supporting a school last month and had a chance to attend their book fair. A rush of nostalgia and excitement hit me all at once … THE BOOKS!!!
Finding great titles to read to your students can be thrilling, but also… overwhelming. To help you out, we’ve pulled together a list of our favorite read alouds to add to your 2024-2025 school year wishlist.
Here Are Our Top 10 Read Aloud Picks To Add To Your Library:
Last Stop On Market Street 
Summary: Matt de la Peña tells the story of a young boy and his nana’s afternoon journey on the city bus as he discovers beauty within his community. Christian Robinson’s gorgeous illustrations help bring this heartwarming tale to life.
Age Level: This book would be a great addition to any grade level’s library.
Read Aloud Skills: Retell, comparing and contrasting characters, envisioning, identifying character traits, understanding figurative language, text-to-self connections
Writing Craft Moves: Sensory details, starting a story in the action, dialogue, using similes and metaphors, developing character internal traits
A Big Mooncake For Little Star
Summary: Grace Lin’s whimsical story about a mother and her mischievous daughter who can’t seem to stop taking nibbles of the moon in the sky.
Age Level: TK to 5th Grade
Read Aloud Skills: Making predictions, character motivation, retelling and story sequencing, figurative language, reader’s theater
Writing Craft Moves: Character feelings, onomatopoeia, temporal language, using dialogue as a sense of closure, developing a folktale.
The Snowy Day
Summary: In Ezra Jack Keats’ classic story, Peter spends an entire day playing in the snow before returning home.
Age Level: TK to 5th Grade
Read Aloud Skills: Retell, cause and effect, making predictions, character feelings, problem/solutions
Writing Craft Moves: Temporal words, onomatopoeia, internal thinking, sensory details, zooming into a moment a small moment
My Papi Has a Motorcycle (Mi papi tiene una moto)
Summary: Isabel Quintero tells the story of Daisy’s adventures with her father driving around on his motorcycle. She discovers the beauty in her neighbors and community as they drive around. This book is published in both English and Spanish.
Age Level: TK and Higher
Read Aloud Skills: Retell, tracking character feelings, character motivation, theme, figurative language, zoomed-in pictures
Writing Craft Moves: Sensory details, internal thinking, dialogue, word choice, onomatopoeia, speech bubbles, repetition of certain words.
Watercress
Summary: Andrea Wang crafts a beautiful story to show the power of family, creating memories, and learning to accept your identity.
Age Level: 1st Grade and Higher
Read Aloud Skills: Character motivation, character change over time, lessons learned, character traits, theme
Writing Craft Moves: Showing and not telling, sensory details, internal thinking, lesson learned, flashback/flash forward
Troublemakers in Trousers: Women and What They Wore to Get Things Done
Summary: Sarah Albee highlights 21 trailblazing women who, for many different reasons, wore men’s clothing, pretended to be men, and broke the rules in order to do something they wanted—or needed—to do.
Age Level: Fourth Grade and Higher
Read Aloud Skills: Text-to-self connections, compare and contrast, uncovering bias, author’s point of view, evaluating claims
Writing Craft Moves: Theme, supporting claims with logical reasoning, researching and gathering facts, drawing conclusions and determining importance
One of A Kind, Like Me / Único como yo
Summary: Laurin Mayeno’s story developed a story about unconditional love and the beauty of being your true self. It’s a book that lifts up readers who don’t fit gender stereotypes and highlights the power of a loving and supportive community.
Age Level: TK to 5th Grade
Read Aloud Skills: Character feelings, character motivation, text-to-self connections, point of view
Writing Craft Moves: Dialogue, developing character traits, character feelings
I Am A Very Good Think
Summary: Derek Barnes takes his readers on an empowering journey that encourages them to celebrate everything about themselves: big, small, shiny, or dark.
Age Level: Any
Read Aloud Skills: Text-to-self connections, text-to-world connections, character feelings, character motivation, figurative language
Writing Craft Moves: Detailed illustrations, Alliteration, sensory details, repetition, stretching out words for effect, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia
Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon
Summary: Simran Jeet Singh tells the true story of Fauja Singh and his quest to be the oldest person to ever run a marathon.
Age Level: TK and up
Read Aloud Skills: Character motivation, text-to-self connections, lessons learned, text-to-world connections, retelling, character traits
Writing Craft Moves: Transition words, internal and external character traits, repetition, precise language, providing examples, character dialogue
Introducing Teddy: A Gentle Story About Gender And Friendship
Summary: Jessica Walton introduces readers to understanding gender identity and transition in an accessible and heart-warming story about being true to yourself and being a good friend.
Age Level: TK to 5th Grade
Read Aloud Skills: Comparing characters, character feelings, character motivations, text-to-self connections, making predictions, lessons learned
Writing Craft Moves: Character dialogue, precise language, contractions, transition words, stretching out a small moment
