Children's Books in a Montessori Classroom: Difference between revisions
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! Title !! Author !!Illustrator !!Word Count !!Topic | ! Title !! Author !!Illustrator !!Word Count !!Topic | ||
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|''Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing''|| Barrett, Judi || Barrett, Ronald || | |''Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing''|| Barrett, Judi || Barrett, Ronald || 110 || anthropomorphism | ||
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|''Will I Have a Friend?'' || Cohen, Miriam || Hoban, Lillian || 484 || starting school | |''Will I Have a Friend?'' || Cohen, Miriam || Hoban, Lillian || 484 || starting school | ||
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|''A House is a House for Me'' || Hoberman, Mary Ann || Fraser, Betty ||732 || homes | |''A House is a House for Me'' || Hoberman, Mary Ann || Fraser, Betty ||732 || homes | ||
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|''Just Say Boo!'' || Hood, Susan || Henry, Jed || || Halloween | |||
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|''Weeds Find a Way'' || Jenson-Elliott, Cindy || Fisher, Carolyn || || weeds | |''Weeds Find a Way'' || Jenson-Elliott, Cindy || Fisher, Carolyn || || weeds | ||
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|''The Quilt Story'' || Johnston, Tony || dePaola, Tomie || 567 || a family heirloom quilt | |''The Quilt Story'' || Johnston, Tony || dePaola, Tomie || 567 || a family heirloom quilt | ||
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|''The Snowy Day'' || Keats, Ezra Jack || Keats, Ezra Jack ||316||playing in the snow | |''The Snowy Day'' || Keats, Ezra Jack || Keats, Ezra Jack ||316||playing in the snow | ||
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|''The Philharmonic Gets Dressed'' || Kuskin, Karla || Simont, Marc || | |''The Philharmonic Gets Dressed'' || Kuskin, Karla || Simont, Marc || 1,252 || orchestra | ||
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|''Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons'' || Levine, Sara || Spookytooth, T.S. || | |''Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons'' || Levine, Sara || Spookytooth, T.S. || 963 || vertebrates | ||
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|''Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story'' || Peters, Lisa Westberg || Stringer, Lauren || || evolution | |''Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story'' || Peters, Lisa Westberg || Stringer, Lauren || || evolution | ||
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|''A Chair for My Mother'' || Williams, Vera B. || || 1,068 || | |''A Chair for My Mother'' || Williams, Vera B. || || 1,068 || | ||
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|''The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps'' || Winter, Jeanette || Winter, Jeanette || | |''The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps'' || Winter, Jeanette || Winter, Jeanette || 972 || biography, chimpanzees | ||
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Revision as of 14:53, 28 June 2015
Maria Montessori took a view of children's literature that was was very different from most others' of her day and ours. She thought that it was best to avoid giving books to young children that had magic or other fantastical elements in the stories. She thought that children below a certain age would be confused about what things in the stories were real or not. She thought is was disrespectful to children to not provide them with an accurate portrayal of the world when they were still building there understanding of how the world worked.
Another useful criteria for selecting children's books comes from the 19th century British educator Charlotte Mason. She advised against books that used baby-talk, or dumbed-down stories, or that insulted the intelligence of the reader in any other ways. She referred to these books as "twaddle."
Please feel free to add books to the lists:
Circle-Time Read Aloud
These are well-written, well-illustrated books that are either realistic fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction or biographies.
Title | Author | Illustrator | Word Count | Topic |
---|---|---|---|---|
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing | Barrett, Judi | Barrett, Ronald | 110 | anthropomorphism |
Will I Have a Friend? | Cohen, Miriam | Hoban, Lillian | 484 | starting school |
The Nutcracker Doll | DePalma, Mary Newell | DePalma, Mary Newell | 473 | being in a ballet |
Ox-Cart Man | Hall, Donald | Cooney, Barbara | 654 | frontier living |
A House is a House for Me | Hoberman, Mary Ann | Fraser, Betty | 732 | homes |
Just Say Boo! | Hood, Susan | Henry, Jed | Halloween | |
Weeds Find a Way | Jenson-Elliott, Cindy | Fisher, Carolyn | weeds | |
The Quilt Story | Johnston, Tony | dePaola, Tomie | 567 | a family heirloom quilt |
How Big Were Dinosaurs? | Judge, Lita | Judge, Lita | dinosaurs | |
The Colors of Us | Katz, Karen | Katz, Karen | 423 | different skin colors |
The Snowy Day | Keats, Ezra Jack | Keats, Ezra Jack | 316 | playing in the snow |
The Philharmonic Gets Dressed | Kuskin, Karla | Simont, Marc | 1,252 | orchestra |
Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons | Levine, Sara | Spookytooth, T.S. | 963 | vertebrates |
Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story | Peters, Lisa Westberg | Stringer, Lauren | evolution | |
I Love My Hair | Tarpley, Natasha Anastasia | Lewis, E.B. | 469 | |
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | Viorst, Judith | Cruz, Ray | 741 | a bad day |
Susan B. Anthony | Wallner, Alexandra | Wallner, Alexandra | 1,610 | biography, women's rights |
A Chair for My Mother | Williams, Vera B. | 1,068 | ||
The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps | Winter, Jeanette | Winter, Jeanette | 972 | biography, chimpanzees |
Chapter Books
These are longer well-written books that are either realistic fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction or biographies. They would need to be read over the course of several days.
Title | Author | Illustrator | Word Count | Topic |
---|---|---|---|---|
Linnea in Monet's Garden | Bjork, Christina | Anderson, Lena | 5,871 | |
A Little Princess | Burnett, Frances Hodgson | 66,181 | ||
Sarah, Plain and Tall | MacLachlan, Patricia | 8,377 | ||
Little House on the Prairie | Wilder, Laura Ingalls | 52,038 |