which book should I read to the first graders?

I volunteered to read to a classroom of kids on Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) Day. That'll be this Tuesday. Have I ever read to a group of kids before? Hmmm. Nope. Guess not.

Last Thursday the Children's librarians had a workshop on choosing a book. They spread lots of their favorite read-alouds across the tables in the Children's Services Room. And gave a little demonstration on how to read and when to turn a page.

I took five books home. Which should I read?

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole

The Eye of the Needle a Yupik Eskimo tale by Betty Huffman, retold & illustrated by Teri Sloat

Traveling Man: the journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354 by James Rumford

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf as told to Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith

CLICK, CLACK, MOO: Cows that type by Doreen Cronin, pictures by Betsy Lewin

Possible problem with the last one: having to explain to the kids what a typewriter is.

Leaning toward Tango, the story of the gay penguins that raised a penguin chick in the Central Park zoo, and Needle, because it's a book my mother owned, I think she got it from Teri Sloat herself, and because I was born in Alaska and interviewed a Yupik dancer/storyteller for a school project. I read Tango to Kent. He teared up. Me, too.