Every year thousands of children all across the U.S. vote for their favorite new books. And every year the International Literacy Association (ILA) and the Children's Book Council (CBC) publish the results for grades K-6. Close to three dozen of the titles fall in the K-2 category, and range from Am I Yours?, featuring a misplaced dinosaur egg, to When The World is Full of Friends in which animal characters try to connect with some new arrivals.

Click here to download the annotated Children's Choices 2019 Reading List.  The Children's Choice list has been produced every year since 1974, and earlier versions are available, too.  Read more.

Guess what? There's a Teacher's Choices list, too. Click here.

It's a perennial question for preschoolers: "Why?" And School Library Journal offers a heads up on three books to be released soon that have taken on this challenge: "How do you turn a child's propensity for asking 'Why?' all the time into a story?"

Just Because by Mac Barnett tells the tale of a child being tucked into bed who keeps asking "Why?" and gets increasingly fantastical answers. Why? by Adam Rex is described as a "goofy" story about a child who confronts a supervillian with her persistent question--you guessed it--"Why?" Another book also titled "Why?" is about a bear and a rabbit who face some unanswerable questions. Read more.

From the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) comes a compilation of books to teach youngsters kindness and how to express emotions, plus some titles that address bullying and harassment and even civic engagement. "...a really great book has the power to counterbalance outside influences and teach children important lessons as they grow," according to Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, writing for the AAP's Healthy Children website.

The list of recommended titles (compiled with the help of Reach Out and Read) offers several choices in the category of "listening to others' views" since "books can offer models for engaging with others who have different views in a respectful and productive manner." The suggestions include When Sophie's Feelings Are Really, Really Hurt, The Sandwich Swap and Chocolate Milk Por Favor. Click here to access the full list.

Scholastic has put together a list of picture books that feature "fun, accessible stories" designed to wipe away fears about the new school year. Many of the titles are familiar ones, such as The Night Before Kindergarten, or feature classic children's book characters, such as Clifford Goes to Kindergarten. Read more. 

This collection was put together to help parents make sure their children are emotionally ready for the transition. But Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers, community-based organizations and many others in the neighborhood also have vital roles to play. That's the topic that will be explored at free Kindergarten Transition Summits coming up in October.

Kindergarten Transition Summits

Date: Monday, October 7, 2019

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (contintental breakfast included)

Place: Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Instructional Support Center at Sequoya, Holtsville

                  --OR--

Date: Friday, October 11, 2019

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (continental breakfast included)

Place: Western Suffolk BOCES, Conference Center, Wyandanch

Registration is free, but advance registration is required.

Click here for more information about the Summits and to register.

"Namaste, Young Readers:" If you want to explore mindfulness and meditation, Read Brightly offers 11 picture books to introduce kids to the topic.

11 books on the refugee experience are described in a collection of titles from We Are Teachers. Stories about refugees have been in the news lately and there's a good chance some children may have seen these reports and are curious.

For kids who love Elephant and Piggie: Read Brightly lists "10 delightful books" for fans of Mo Willems' popular series.

Books about rabbits are described by Vanessa Levin on the Pre-K Pages website. Why? "Rabbits are familiar animals to preschoolers...Our furry friends provide many learning opportunities and make a great topic to study..."

Picture books that explore data analysis. This article from Erikson Early Math explains that "data analysis" uses math to explore the world. And it can be as simple as writing down a list of grocery items or counting How Many Snails? 

Full-Time Special Educator in Pre-K setting

Kramer Learning Center, Bay Shore

Email to azicv@acld.org or apply online  ( www.acld.org)

Preschool Director

The Roslyn Trinity Cooperative Preschool, Roslyn

Email resume to theroslyncoop@gmail.com

• Your name
• Your position
• Your e-mail and phone number

• The name of your school and the town it's located in. You can include your web address, if you have one.
• A very brief description of the position or positions you want to fill. (For example: "Part-time Teacher Assistant" or "Full-time Pre-K Teacher."
• Information about how potential applicants should contact your for details or to apply. (For example: "Call Jane Smith at 631-xxx-xxxx" or "Send e-mail to jane.smith@schoolname.org")