Children's Books in a Montessori Classroom: Difference between revisions

From Montessori Album
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! Title  !! Author  !!Illustrator  !!Word Count  !!Topic
! Title  !! Author  !!Illustrator  !!Word Count  !!Topic
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| ''Will I Have a Friend'' || Cohen, Miriam  || ? || 484 || starting school
| ''Will I Have a Friend?'' || Cohen, Miriam  ||  Hoban, Lillian  || 484 || starting school
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| ''The Nutcracker Doll'' || DePalma, Mary Newell  ||| ? || 473 ||being in a ballet
| ''The Nutcracker Doll'' || DePalma, Mary Newell  ||| DePalma, Mary Newell || 473 ||being in a ballet
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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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|''Ox-Cart Man'' ||Hall, Donald  || ? ||654 || frontier living
|''Ox-Cart Man'' ||Hall, Donald  || Cooney, Barbara  ||654 || frontier living
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|''A House is a House for Me'' || Hoberman, Mary Ann  || ? ||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
|''Just Say Boo!'' || Hood, Susan  || Henry, Jed || ? || Halloween
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|''The Colors of Us'' || Katz, Karen  || ? ||423|| different skin colors
|''The Colors of Us'' || Katz, Karen  || Katz, Karen ||423|| different skin colors
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|''The Snowy Day'' || 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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|''I Love My Hair'' || Tarpley, Natasha Anastasia  || ? ||469||
|''I Love My Hair'' || Tarpley, Natasha Anastasia  || Lewis, E.B. ||469||
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|''Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day'' || Viorst, Judith  || ? ||741||
|''Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day'' || Viorst, Judith  || ? ||741||

Revision as of 16:12, 23 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
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
The Quilt Story Johnston, Tony dePaola, Tomie 567 a family heirloom quilt
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
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
I Love My Hair Tarpley, Natasha Anastasia Lewis, E.B. 469
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Viorst, Judith ? 741
Susan B. Anthony Wallner, Alexandra ? 1610 biography, women's rights
A Chair for My Mother Williams, Vera B. ? 1068


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.

  • Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson
    word count: 5,871
  • A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    word count: 66,181
  • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    word count: 80,398
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
    word count: 8,377
  • Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    word count: 52,038