Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winners

 

Henkes, K. (2015). Waiting. Greenwillow Books.

In this heartwarming story five toys wait on the windowsill.  One is waiting for the moon, one for the rain, one for the wind, one for the snow, and one for nothing in particular. They spend their days waiting and watching life go by out the window.  Other toys come and go but the five remain until one day a cat with patches joins them.  The cat then has four kittens and then there are ten waiting at the window.  The illustrations are simple line drawings that are perfect for this story.  This book could be used to teach about the difficulties of waiting as well as friendship.  

2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor

Other books by Kevin Henkes include: Kitten’s First Full Moon, Owen, and A Good Day.

Davis, E. (2008). Stinky. TOON Books.

In this comic style book a monster named Stinky lives in a swamp and stays away from the town. One day a boy builds a treehouse in Stinky’s swamp and he makes a plan to get him to go away. He puts his toad in the treehouse and hides the boy’s hammer, then he pretends to be a ghost and kicks the boy’s hat into the bottomless pit. Even after all his attempts the boy becomes friends with Stinky and they find that they have more in common than Stinky thought. The illustrations are comic style and brightly colored. This book could be used to teach about friendship.

2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor
Other books by Eleanor Davis include: Libby’s Dad, Flop to the Top!, and How to be Happy.

Smith, J. (2009). Little Mouse Gets Ready. TOON Books.

This adorable story is about a little mouse who needs to get ready to go to the barn with his family.  He then goes to get ready and goes through all of the steps that you take to get dressed.  Pulling on socks and underwear, buttoning pants and shirts, and lastly putting on his shoes.  Then his mother comes to see what is taking so long and reminds the mouse that mice don’t wear clothes!  Then off he goes without clothes to the barn.  This comic style book is a fun quick book for young readers.  This book could be used to teach about the daily task of dressing and to never give up.  

2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor

Other books by Jeff Smith include: Shazam! and the Bone series.

Grant, J. (2008). Chicken Said, “Cluck!”.  HarperCollins.

This humorous story is about two kids who are trying to grow a garden. Earl and Pearl work through each step of tending to their garden and are always telling the chicken to “shoo”. Then one day a grasshopper shows up and nibbles on their pumpkins. The kids try to tell it to “shoo” but the grasshoppers won’t go. Then the chicken “clucks” and scares the grasshoppers away. The kids are so grateful they share their pumpkins with the chicken. This book could be used to teach reading skills with its basic repetitive language and pictures that help tell the story. A must have for any new reader.

2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor

DiCamillo, K. (2007). Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride. Candlewick. 

This humorous story is about a pig named Mercy who loves car rides and hot buttered toast. Every Saturday Mr. Watson takes Mercy on a drive in his convertible. Mercy wants to drive the car but Mr. Watson will not let her. One Saturday the Watson’s neighbor Baby Lincoln joins them on their drive for adventure and folly. Chaos breaks out when Mercy takes the wheel and it takes teamwork to safely return them to their homes. In the end everyone ends up around the table enjoying Mercy’s favorite, hot buttered toast. The illustrations are cartoon-like with a retro feel. This book is a perfect first chapter book for new readers. It’s humor and brightly colored pictures will keep kids entertained until the end.

2007 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor
Other books by Kate DiCamillo include: Mercy Watson series, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Tale of Despereaux.