1. REBECCA AGRAST RED6116 My Literature Autobiography

2. Home For A Bunny By: Margaret Wise Brown This was the first book my parents ever read to me. It was my absolute favorite as a young child. They read it to me so many times that it now is held together with tape. Reminiscing now, I can see that this is a book I will want my future children to experience.

3. Arthur Series By: Marc Brown Arthur, DW, and Buster… Who could hate a crew like that? My first grade teacher Mrs. McNeilly conducted read-alouds with the Arthur series. She also had an Arthur stuffed animal that we could take home. I remember reading to Arthur when I was lucky enough to take him home with me.

4. The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe By: C.S. Lewis The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was among my favorite chapter books. We read it in my 5 th grade class in small groups and discussed what we read. I struggled reading this on my own, but I loved my teacher’s expression. She had a gift of making the characters come to life.

5. The Diary of a Young Girl By: Anne Frank When I was in high school my dad made me read The Diary of a Young Girl. At first I resisted, but in the end I came to love the book. Being Jewish, this was important to my dad (and later me) because it tells about one person’s history in the Holocaust.

6. Learning to Trust By: Marilyn Watson I read Learning to Trust in college for an education class. This book is based on one teacher’s experience. The book gives valuable strategies for classroom management and building a cohesive classroom community. This is a must read for all educators!

7. The Notebook By: Nicholas Sparks I absolutely love reading love stories. Nicholas Sparks does an outstanding job of creating characters that people can appreciate. Whether it be falling in love for the first time, dealing with a break up, or experiencing health issues, it is easy for many people to relate. When I actually take time to read for pleasure I almost always read one of Nicholas Sparks’s novels. Once I start reading I usually can’t put the book down!

8. Ready Freddy Series By: Abby Klein Poor Freddy! He is always getting into sticky situations. For the past three years, my students and I have really enjoyed reading Abby Klein’s series. Right after lunch we would read a chapter or two on the rug together. While reading, I was able to model different reading strategies and my students would help to make predictions about the story. This helped to inspire some of my students to read the series on their own.