Before I list the books, let me just tell a little side story here. Originally I had 5 books on the list, just like with pre-k and kindergarten. Paper Bag Princess was the 5th book, but I read it to one class and decided to leave it off the list. At the end of the book the princess decides not to marry Prince Ronald and calls him a “bum.” One of my more outspoken little first graders announced, “That’s what my mommy says about my daddy all the time!” She was very excited and wanted to tell the class all about it (which obviously I stopped before she got started). Another kid thought “bum” was a bad word. When I did my elementary student teaching, the kids loved this book and I never had a bad reaction. And I love it, too. But I decided not to read it with any more classes to avoid the possibility of phone calls from parents!

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