One of the joys of elementary school is reading time – that golden hour when students have the chance to sit together and listen to their favorite teacher read a classic. Some lucky students get the special opportunity to help the teacher read aloud. These moments are often when a love for reading takes hold of younger students.

Reading time also impacts teachers. Every year, AISD’s hard-working teachers add new books to their rotation, hoping to inspire their students to read more, learn more, and be the best they can be. Great books often remind teachers why they became educators in the first place: a love for students and a desire to introduce them to new worlds and brighter futures.

Earlier this semester, we asked five elementary teachers about their favorite books, why they read them, and what makes them unique. In November, we heard from Amy Hess (Thomas Elementary School), Susan Pate (Austin Elementary School), and Julia Siewert (Bowie Elementary School). Today, we’ll hear from Latoya Crisp (Stafford Elementary School) and Melissa Bell (Bonham Elementary School).

Latoya Crisp, 1st Grade Teacher

Q: Of all the books for elementary-age students, which is your favorite and why?
Crisp: “Leonardo, the Terrible Monster” by Mo Willem. This book is precious! It teaches students how to be good friends.

Q: How did you come to love this book?

Crisp: Leonardo is the cutest monster who is trying to scare the tuna salad out of someone. He compares his talents to his peers but realizes he is not meant to be a scary monster. Students can make text-to-self connections and learn new vocabulary terms while laughing.

Q: Do your students enjoy it as much as you do?
Crisp: My first graders adore this book! They laugh and can connect on so many levels, and, oh, the stories they share!

Q: What do you hope your students learn from the book?
Crisp: I hope my students will learn to see they are valuable, unique, and have a purpose. They are learning how to love themselves just as they are. This book shows how to love others despite our differences and how to be kind to someone else. 

Q: Do you learn new things with each reading?
Crisp: I learn something new every time I read this book to my students. It’s always a great topic of discussion and helps me get a glimpse of the colorful imagination of 6- and 7-year-olds. 

Melissa Bell, 4th Grade Teacher

Q: Of all the books for elementary-age students, which is your favorite and why?
Bell: My favorite book to read during the month of November is The Magic Treehouse book #27 (“Thanksgiving on Thursday”) because it is a historical fiction that includes elements of the plot that we can use to teach our students. In addition, Mary Pope Osborne uses a unique, fun style to engage the reader into taking the adventure with Jack and Annie while learning facts about the first Thanksgiving.

Q: How did you come to love this book?
Bell: A friend and colleague introduced it to me several years ago when I taught second grade, and those students loved it. When I moved to third grade, I read it to them, and they loved it, too. Now that I teach fourth grade, I decided to read it to them, and this book helped them understand elements of plot and genre characteristics.

Q: Do your students enjoy it as much as you do?
Bell: Yes, they do. I can tell because they laugh at the right moments.

Q: What do you hope your students learn from the book?

Bell: I hope that they will develop an interest in reading. I can already see it because after I read the book, they began searching for more Magic Treehouse books at the library.

Q: Do you learn new things with each reading?
Bell: I learn a little bit more in that the students make different connections to the book, whether it be a text-to-text, text-to-world, or text-to-experience.

Thank you to Ms. Crisp and Ms. Bell for sharing a little bit about their favorite books with us!