Must Reads for January & Happy New Year!

January is upon us and so is a new year! I can not believe that 2014 is here! 2014??!! Really??! I wish time would slow down. I am so very thankful for 2013 and all of the good things from the past year. I have my health, happiness, and lots of good friends and family around me! I am especially lucky to have 2 wonderful kids! My son is practicing very hard at water polo and doing so well. He is currently participating in the Olympic Development Program and he'll be part of the Southeast Zone team. He'll be traveling to Texas in March for a tournament. (Keeping my fingers crossed that he is selected to be part of the National team!!)
My daughter continues to dance her heart out. I am so happy that we were able to take a trip to NYC together. It was such a special experience. She is more motivated than ever to get herself to Broadway!
I'm looking forward to the new year, filled with new adventures!

Now on to some of my favorite reads for JANUARY!!

Grace Lin is such a wonderful author and illustrator.  Bringing in the New Year  is a perfect read for the Chinese New Year on January 31st.

 I love her beautiful artwork!

 The story tells of a family preparing for the special day.

Sam and the Lucky Money is about Sam who wants to buy something with the money he received for the Chinese New Year. He finds that most things are too expensive and he ends up using the money for something much more special.

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr.  are lovely picture book biographies. Each one is simple enough for our youngest learners to understand. The illustrations in both make these books MUST READS!

The Snow Globe Family is lots of fun and very retro! The book is about a family who lives inside a snow globe in the home of a family just like them. The only one that can see them is the baby, but she can't reach them on the shelf. The Snow Globe Family is waiting for someone to shake the globe so they can play in the snow. Love this little story and the old fashion illustrations.

The Night Before New Year's is patterned after the poem Twas' the Night Before Christmas. This book is best suited for our youngest readers and is perfect for helping kids understand the excitement of the night.

Squirrel's New Year's Resolution is about a squirrel (obviously) who is learning about the meaning of a resolution. She travels around the forest helping her friends make their resolutions while she tries to figure out her own.

Here is my new FAVORITE book by Jon Scieszka. Battle Bunny. Alex receives Birthday Bunny as gift, but decides he needs to turn it into something more exciting! With the help of his imagination and a pencil he turns the Birthday Bunny into Battle Bunny! The layered pictures and scribbled words make this story so much fun to read. I can not wait to share it with my class!

I hope you all enjoy ringing in the New Year. I wish you much happiness and peace in the coming year!!