Here are my favorite books that I've read so far this school year. I'm using four of them for K/Grade 1 Mock Caldecott and two of them for Grade 2 Mock Sibert. All images and summaries from Goodreads.

Picture Books

Beware! This book has rules. You must follow all the rules. If you break the rules . . . Dennis the monster will eat you. And you don't want to be Dennis-food--do you? With a laugh-out-loud, interactive style, The Book of Rules invites you to get your sillies out before it's time to focus and listen to directions. And you better get started, because Dennis can't wait to eat--or, um--meet you!

A young girl lives in a haunted house, but has never seen a ghost. Are they white with holes for eyes? Are they hard to see? She’d love to know! Step inside and turn the transparent pages to help her on an entertaining ghost hunt, from behind the sofa, right up to the attic.

It's the first day of Kindergarten and Leo isn't at all ready. Leo is a quiet kid and would prefer to stay home. Over the summer, his new teacher, Ms. Perry sent a letter asking her students to think about how to show kindness in school. She explained that they would be making a kindness pledge, and each student should bring one way to show kindness on the first day. As it turns out, Leo's classmates have lots of ideas about kindness.

Meet Lou. Lou has an important job . . . as the neighborhood toilet for dogs on their walks. Useful as he may be, he gets the feeling that deep down inside, there might be more to him than that. He just doesn't seem to know exactly what yet. When disaster strikes, will Lou find out what he's made of and save the day?

Louis wants a dog, but his Grandma insists, "There are enough dogs in the neighborhood already." But how many dogs are in the neighborhood? Surely a sternly worded letter to City Hall will clear this up. When it turns out that City Hall doesn't keep an official count of this essential demographic, Louis and his Grandma do their civic duty and take matters into their own hands.

Tiny is having a party, but Bina Bear is nowhere to be found. Is that Bina hiding under a lampshade? It looks like Bina . . . but it must be a lamp. Is that Bina beneath the fruit bowl? It could be . . . but it's probably just a table. Searching for Bina, Tiny realizes something is wrong—and sets out to make it right. This is a humorous yet sincere picture book about friendship, understanding, and embracing our loved ones just as they are.

Shapes. You’ve heard of them. You might have even interacted with a few. But do you really know them? From plucky Plunger, who wishes to defy his shape and become a beautiful vase, to other household objects with dreams of a life beyond their predestined roles, I Want to Be a Vase takes readers on an essential and visually stunning journey through the lives and intimate dramas of often-overlooked household appliances.

Life can be hard for the only brown girl in a classroom full of white students. When the teacher talks about slavery, she can feel all of her classmates staring at her. When they talk about civil rights, she is the one that other kids whisper about on the playground. In those moments, she wants to slip away or seep into the ground; and she wonders, is that all you see when you look at me? What really matters is what she sees when she looks at herself.

Over the course of a long walk across a city, one curious kid needs to know: "Does it have a butt?" Everything from sheep to ghosts to dinosaurs is subjected to this all-important question, and Dad is a never-ending source of answers. On a laugh-out-loud father-child ramble, we come to see that every butt, from a bullfrog's to a zombie's, has its own distinctive, and distinctively hilarious, quality.

The young girl tells us that her mom’s new friend is just like the big bad wolf. At first the wolf is sweet and kind to her mom, though the girl notices the wolf’s cold eyes from the very beginning. When her mom arrives home late one day, the wolf suddenly hurls angry words and terrible names at her. From that day on her mother doesn’t smile anymore. How will she and her mom cope as the wolf becomes increasingly fierce?

To make . . . a cake, a garden, a song, you first gather, then make—and wait. To make a story (like this one), you gather, make, wait. To make anything—big or small—it will take some time. You may have to gather more, make more, and wait a little more, but you can create wonderful things if you just gather, make, and wait.

Middle Grade Novels

Jason Reynolds and his best bud, Jason Griffin had a mind-meld. And they decided to tackle it, in one fell swoop, in about ten sentences, and 300 pages of art, this piece, this contemplation-manifesto-fierce-vulnerable-gorgeous-terrifying-WhatIsWrongWithHumans-hope-filled-hopeful-searing-Eye-Poppingly-Illustrated-tender-heartbreaking-how-The-HECK-did-They-Come-UP-with-This project about oxygen. And all of the symbolism attached to that word, especially NOW. And so for anyone who didn’t really know what it means to not be able to breathe, REALLY breathe, for generations, now you know. And those who already do, you’ll be nodding yep yep, that is exactly how it is.

Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are.

Then one day a child goes missing from the Orphan House. At the Mayor’s suggestion, all eyes turn to the Ogress. But how can the Orphans tell the story of the Ogress’s goodness to people who refuse to listen? And how can they make their deluded neighbors see the real villain in their midst?

Danny Timmons has looked up to Jack Bailey ever since the older boy saved two small children from drowning during the Great Flood of 1940. Now with his father away fighting in World War II and his mother about to have a new baby, Danny relies on Jack’s friendship and guidance more than ever. So when Jack goes missing from their small Appalachian town, Danny is determined to find him.

Eventually, Danny’s investigation forces him to reckon with even larger questions: What is America fighting for in this war? What role do each of us play in stopping injustices, big and small? And is there such thing as a true hero?

Marisol Rainey's two least-favorite things are radishes and gym class. She avoids radishes with very little trouble, but gym is another story--especially when Coach Decker announces that they will be learning to play kickball.

There are so many things that can go wrong in kickball. What if Marisol tries to kick the ball . . . but falls down? What if she tries to catch the ball and gets smacked in the nose? What if she's the worst kickballer in the history of kickball? Marisol and her best friend Jada decide to get help from the most unlikely--and most annoying--athlete in the world: Marisol's big brother, Oz.

Ten-year-old Anthony Joplin has made it to double digits! Which means he's finally old enough to play in the spades tournament every Joplin Man before him seems to have won. Then Ant's best friend gets grounded, and he's forced to find another spades partner. And Shirley, the new girl in his class, isn't exactly what he has in mind. She talks a whole lot of trash -- way more than his old partner. Plus, he's not sure that his father wants him playing with a girl. But she's smart and tough and pretty, and knows every card trick in the book. So Ant decides to join forces with Shirley -- and keep his plans a secret.

Only it turns out secrets are another Joplin Man tradition. And his father is hiding one so big it may tear their family apart...

Isaac and Marco already know sixth grade is going to change their lives. But it won’t change things at home—not without each other’s help.

This year, star basketball player Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac’s parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-A Marco vows on finally winning his father’s approval by earning a spot on the school’s basketball team.

But will their friendship and support for each other be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?

Bea and her mom have always been a two-person team. But now her mom is marrying Wendell, and their team is growing by three boys, two dogs, and a cat.

Finding her place in her new blended family may be tough, but when Bea finds out her school might not get the all-girls soccer team they’d been promised, she learns that the bigger the team, the stronger the fight—and that for the girls to get what they deserve, they’re going to need a squad behind them.

Nonfiction

Do YOU like PIZZA? Because right now, somewhere in the world, someone is eating it. Did you know that in the United States we eat 350 slices of pizza every second? Or that in Sweden they serve pizza with bananas and peanuts? All over the world, people love pizza--but where did it come from? And who made the first pizza?

From an early age in Glasgow, Scotland, June Almeida loved learning about science and nature. She dreamed of attending university but economic hardships caused her to leave school at age 16. Still, June was determined to pursue her passion for science.

She was hired by a local hospital to work in its lab, using a microscope to magnify and examine cells. Her skill in using the electron microscope to examine cells and help identify viruses earned her promotion and respect in the science community. When June was 34 years old, she discovered the first human coronavirus. Her groundbreaking work continues to help researchers today in the fight against illnesses caused by viruses, including COVID-19.

This picture book tells the story of Harriet Hemenway's boycott of fashionable feathered hats, which saved millions of birds and led to the founding of the Audubon Society.

Kitty O'Neil was a force to be reckoned with. She became deaf as a child, and grew up loving sports and action. Kitty jumped, ran, raced, and swam, all while learning to read lips and communicating through sign language. Eventually, Kitty took a job as a stuntwoman, doing the most dangerous job on set and even filming stunts for films like Wonder Woman!

Still, Kitty wanted more thrills. She became a racecar driver and sought to do what no woman had done before.

Beatrice Shilling wasn't quite like other children. She could make anything. She could fix anything. And when she took a thing apart, she put it back together better than before.

When Beatrice left home to study engineering, she knew that as a girl she wouldn't be quite like the other engineers--and she wasn't. She was better. Still, it took hard work and perseverance to persuade the Royal Aircraft Establishment to give her a chance. But when World War II broke out and British fighter pilots took to the skies in a desperate struggle for survival against Hitler's bombers, it was clearly time for new ideas.

In the bustle of the busy streets of Chandigarh, India, Nek Chand saw something no one else did. Where others saw rocks and stones, Nek saw the boyhood village he missed so dearly. Where others saw broken plates and glass, Nek saw laughing men. And where others saw trash, Nek saw beauty.

Nek Chand’s incredible rock garden, built from stone and scraps and concrete, began as a way for him to express his long-felt grief at having to leave his boyhood village due to the violence caused by the partition of India. What began as a secret and personal (not to mention initially illegal) project became so much more, not only to Nek but to all of India.