Author studies or author of the month is a favorite activity of mine with my lower grade students. With Kindergarten, First Grade and my Second Grade students I try to have a monthly author focus. It's a great time to highlight some of my favorite authors with the kids. Some authors get a spotlight in collaboration from the teachers. Others get shoutouts because they are my personal favorites. I love telling the students about favorite books from my childhood as well as introducing them to new and upcoming authors.
I love reading Clocks and More Clocks by Pat Hutchins. The students find it way too entertaining to discover I was four years old when it was written. As a student I loved hearing it read by my first grade teacher and I want to make it just as exciting for my students.
Another great classic is The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle, published the year I graduated from high school. I just love all of Eric Carle's books. He's one of my favorite picture book authors/illustrators.
Newer authors I love are James Dean's Pete the Cat books and anything by Mo Willems.
Students today are blessed with an array of talented authors. As a librarian I'm only limited by my budget to great children's literature, definitely not the selection available!
Go check out other favorite authors at Primary Chalkboard's linky.
Happy Reading!!!
I love that you focus on one author a month with your students. My kiddos always get excited when they recognize an author's name on a new book we are reading. I think that is a great idea!! I found your blog through a comment you'd made on another one and just had to come over and check it out because I teach in Southwest VA, so I'm thinking we may be pretty close to each other! I'm glad to have found you.
ReplyDeleteCourtney