Washington Children's Choice books

Hello,\
You may know about the Washington Children’s Choice program. Each year the Washington Library Association School Division (WLA) sponsors an award for the favorite picture book from a total of 20 that have been nominated. Teachers, librarians, or parents read the books to the children in grades K – 3 and students choose the one they like best. The votes are sent in and we wait as patiently as we can to hear which book won.
I look over the list of nominations and choose the ones that fit my library criteria. This year I found a few I’d like to share with you.

Saving Fiona: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Baby Hippo by Thane Maynard. 2018.
Fiona was the first baby hippo to be born prematurely at the Cincinnati Zoo in January of 2017. She was the first premature hippo to be raised by humans. This is the story of how TeamFiona committed themselves to help Fiona live. Photographs on every page illustrate each step of Fiona’s progress.

The Ugly Five by Julia Donaldson. 2017.
I admit that I almost didn’t even open this book simply because of the cover and the title. But since it was a WCC nomination, I decided I needed to at least give it a half-hearted chance. I am a fan of reading author’s notes and this one got my attention. Julia Donaldson went on safari in Africa and noticed that everyone made a big fuss about trying to spot the Big Five animals – elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino, and leopard. Julia found the Ugly Five more appealing and decided to write a story about these overlooked animals. This book features the wildebeest, hyena, vulture, warthog, and the marabou stork. At the end of this book, she asks if you went on safari would you like to see the Little Five, The Shy Five, the Big Five, or the Ugly Five? I’m glad I got it from the Scholastic Book Fair. I think you’ll like it, too.

Inky’s Amazing Escape : How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home by Sy Montgomery. 2018.
If you take a look in your library, you very likely have books by Sy Montgomery. He is quite a prolific writer and usually writes about science and nature. This is a true story about an octopus caught in a lobster trap in the Pacific Ocean near New Zealand. The lobsterman took him to the National Aquarium of New Zealand. Inky enjoyed his home in the aquarium, but got curious and was able to squeeze out of his tank and through the pipes in the floor which led back to the Pacific Ocean. I just read this last week to my students and we loved it.

Can I Be Your Dog? By Troy Cummings. 2018.
Arfy is a homeless dog who lives in a cardboard box in an alley. He wants a home and writes a letter to the people who live on the street. The whole story is written in letters back and forth from Arfy to each house asking if he can be their dog. If you are teaching a letter writing unit, this would be a great book to supplement the unit. After the story ends, there is information on how you can help homeless animals.

More next week.
Audrey