Are you looking for literature to support classroom instruction about Pets? Check out Our Editors’ Choices for titles recommended by the Education World team. Then it's your turn to share books that you enjoy or use in your classroom in the Our Readers’ Voices section below. With your help, we will build the best list on the Internet of Best Books for teaching about Pets.
Hachiko Waits
by Leslea Newman What a good dog you are. What a fine dog you are. Hachi, you are the best dog in all of Japan. Professor Ueno speaks these words to his faithful dog before boarding the train to work every morning. And every afternoon just before three o'clock, Hachi is at the train station to greet his beloved master. One day, the train arrives at the station without the professor. Hachi waits. For ten years Hachi waits for his master to return. Not even Yasuo, the young boy who takes care of Hachi, can persuade him to leave his post. Hachiko Waits is a novel inspired by a true story. Readers will be touched by the story of Hachiko and his impact on the people of Japan.
Marshmallow
by Clare Turlay Newberry
Oliver is a tabby cat who is always the center of attention. Marshmallow is a baby rabbit who moves into Oliver's home. At first Oliver does not welcome Marshmallow, but the little bunny's charms are impossible to resist. This is the true story of how Oliver and Marshmallow become friends. Clare Turlay Newberry's lifelong passions for cats and for drawing come together in this elegantly illustrated book, winner of the 1943 Caldecott Honor. Her legacy as an author of more than fifteen picture books, most of which feature cats, still endures.
Now It's Your Turn!
We've shared a few Editors' Choices for teaching about this theme. Now it's your turn to contribute to the Readers' Voices section below. Do you have a book related to this theme that you and your students enjoy? Just click here to share it!
Don't miss our Editors’ Choices for Teachers and for Parents. We're waiting for you to add your Readers' Voices there too.
Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays
by Peg Kehret
Animal lovers will enjoy these eight short stories about shelter dogs going on to do great things. Among the dogs featured are Tracker, who was adopted by an animal trainer and has starred in TV commercials and movies; Ivan, who was trained by a hearing-impaired woman and ended up saving the lives of both the woman and her daughter when the fire alarm sounded; and amazing Bridgett, who can predict an epileptic seizure up to 20 minutes before it actually happens. A black-and-white photo of the dog and its owner begins each story, and a short section on a related topic (such as fire prevention) ends the segment. Kids will find the heroics appealing, but the book's greatest achievement may be its potential for increasing adoptions from shelters. (Booklist)
Girls and Their Horses
by Camela Decaire
Girls love dreaming about horses but may be curious about what it's really like to own one. In this book from the American Girl Library, real girls give an inside look at the hard work and the great rewards involved in caring for a horse. Readers will discover how to rough-ride at a rodeo, do a handstand on horseback, and raise unusual horse breeds. Included are 24 full-color trading cards and three mini-posters.
Kitten's First Full Moon
by Kevin Henkes
In this beautiful picture book, winner of the 2005 Caldecott Medal, Kevin Henkes captures the sweet, sometimes slapstick struggle of Kitten, who sees her first full moon and thinks it's a bowl of milk in the sky. Any child who has yearned for anything will understand how much Kitten wants that elusive bowl of milk. Readers will giggle as she tries to lick the faraway moon and gets a bug on her tongue, or leaps to catch it and falls down the stairs. In an effective refrain, the narrator repeats, "Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting."
Add your voice to our list of books for teaching about Pets.
The Education World Editors’ Choices above represent just a handful of the fine books that might be used to support classroom instruction about Pets. Now we’re waiting for you to add to our list. Simply send us your review of a favorite book in 100 words or fewer and we will add it to the Readers’ Choices below.
Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays
