Kerascoët is a husband and wife team who created this powerful wordless picture book about a topic that can often be hard to discuss with children: bullying. I Walk With Vanessa became a fast favorite in my kindergarten class as soon as we started reading it together. Each illustration is packed with detail. Children notice… Continue reading I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët
Month: December 2019
Sweeping Up The Heart
It is a rare opportunity when you get to share a novel with just one student, and that is just the opportunity I had with my niece while reading Sweeping Up The Heart by Kevin Henkes last summer. Maria and I had been on the hunt for a book to share together when we walked… Continue reading Sweeping Up The Heart
Saffron Ice Cream, written and illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh
As Rashin experiences her first beach day at her new home, she shares her memories of the Caspian Sea. She tells the mini-story of a chaotic beach day when the Islamic beach guards frantically repaired the curtain dividing the male visitors from the female visitors. That memoir morphs into her real-time experience of riding the… Continue reading Saffron Ice Cream, written and illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh
Just Ask! Be Different! Be Brave! Be You! By Sonia Sotomayor
This is a different kind of review than what I usually write where I share thoughts and reactions from children in my school district. Today, I wanted to share with you what I learned from Sonia Sotomayor while she was traveling around the country promoting her newest picture book: Just Ask! Be Different! Be Brave!… Continue reading Just Ask! Be Different! Be Brave! Be You! By Sonia Sotomayor
Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story
This laugh-out-loud fractured fairy tale will appeal to the young and the young at heart! Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story by Edward Hemingway had kids and teachers laughing out loud! Younger ones loved making connections to the classic Gingerbread Man and older students and teachers enjoyed each and every play on words, rolling their eyes… Continue reading Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story
Small In The City
By Sydney Smith “I know what it’s like to be small in the city”, “The streets are always busy. It can make your brain feel like there’s too much stuff in it.” Small in the City, written and illustrated by Sydney Smith, is a beautiful narrative picture book about, what at first seems to be… Continue reading Small In The City
Roll With It by Jamie Sumner
Teacher Thoughts: As the mom of a son who uses a wheelchair and the teacher of many children who are differently abled, I am encouraged by the increasing representation of characters with disabilities in middle-grade books. I pre-ordered Roll With It months before it was out after reading the summary and learning that the author… Continue reading Roll With It by Jamie Sumner
The Boy Who Grew A Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Sophia Gholz
Only by growing plants, the Earth will survive."--Jadav Payeng There are a variety of reasons why I chose to share this book with my class: I find picture book biographies captivating. Thank you to my friend and coach Susan Kennedy (@readingteachsu) for opening my eyes and heart to them.#MeetSomeoneNewMonday. On Mondays, my students are introduced… Continue reading The Boy Who Grew A Forest: The True Story of Jadav Payeng by Sophia Gholz
Please Don’t Eat Me, by Liz Climo
Have you ever had an unusual friendship? One in which it seems like your friendship doesn’t seem to work very well, or at all? Maybe you felt that your friends wouldn’t approve? These were all questions posed before we began reading Please Don’t Eat Me by author and illustrator Liz Climo. This book highlights the… Continue reading Please Don’t Eat Me, by Liz Climo
The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
I loved that the kids grew to love each other and to think they are family" ~ 6th Grade Student The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman is a story that pulls at your heart strings and has you rooting for the characters to triumph at the same time. Set in India, two young girls, Viji… Continue reading The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
Bird Count
I have a special connection to Susan Edwards Richmond's Bird Count. We're in the same writing group. The same day that she brought Bird Count to group to be critiqued, I had realized that no one had written a book about the combinations of ten. I had an inner battle with myself because I didn't… Continue reading Bird Count
The 2019 Nerdies
Each December, Nerdy Book Club fans nominate their favorite books of the year. The 2019 Nerdies Nomination Ballot is open until December 16th at midnight Eastern Standard Time. It’s not too late to share the titles you love. It was hard to choose, but here are my 2019 nominees. I picked up this stack at… Continue reading The 2019 Nerdies
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré, by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar
Anika Aldamuy Denise and Paola Escobar present this narrative nonfiction story of the life of Pura Belpré - an author, puppeteer, and the first Puerto Rican librarian of New York City. Through beautiful prose peppered with Spanish phrases, the author tells the life story of Pura, as she ventures from Puerto Rico to New York… Continue reading Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré, by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar
Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist by Christine Evans
As a reader, I love biographies. As a teacher, I see the power life stories have when shared with young readers. I have found that my third graders love reading about real people who pursued their passions to make a difference. Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist tells the life story of Lucy Evelyn Cheesman, whose curiosity… Continue reading Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist by Christine Evans
Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings by Francie Latour and Ken Daley
Ken Daley’s illustrations in this book immediately grabbed my students’ attention. They wanted to know if Haiti really looked like the pictures. They were captivated further by Francie Latour’s story of a girl who travels from the United States to Haiti to visit her aunt, a painter. As she experiences the sights, sounds, colors, history,… Continue reading Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings by Francie Latour and Ken Daley
The Brilliant Deep by Kate Messner
"It starts with one." This is the opening and closing lines of "The Brilliant Deep" by Kate Messner, and students really noticed that the book has a strong message of how one person can make a difference. Kids talked about how one person could help the planet, and how person could find something they care… Continue reading The Brilliant Deep by Kate Messner
Most Marshmallows by Rowboat Watkins
Rowboat Watkins’ Most Marshmallows has been floating around my book collection since February without a permanent home. Currently living in my love this book but what category bin, on the surface Most Marshmallows is a wonderfully silly tale about marshmallows. The publisher’s summary includes most marshmallows like to watch television and lead normal lives-but some… Continue reading Most Marshmallows by Rowboat Watkins
At School Kindness Starts With Me
By Jacquelyn Stagg Illustrated by T Omaskat When I first talk about the golden rule with preschoolers, the concept is new. But with the help of this book and the clear illustrations, they were able to understand the concept and put it into practice. Children started by complimenting each other’s outfits, and passing the utensils… Continue reading At School Kindness Starts With Me
Octopus Stew By: Eric Velasquez
Once again Eric Velasquez continues to help improve my teaching. In his latest book, Octopus Stew, Mr. Velasquez shares his family's love of storytelling and Afro-Latino heritage. Third-grade students notice the thread of family and culture throughout his books. He continues to inspire the writers in the classrooms in which I work. Kids said:… Continue reading Octopus Stew By: Eric Velasquez
Red Panda & Moon Bear by Jarod Roselló
Siblings with superpowers?Magic hoodies?Brain stretching vocabulary?Laugh out loud silliness?What's not to love about this graphic novel by Jarod Roselló? I began reading Red Panda & Moon Bear one day as I waited for my students to arrive back from recess. I found myself laughing out loud right from the beginning, and it didn’t take long… Continue reading Red Panda & Moon Bear by Jarod Roselló
The Hate U Give
“Fearlessly honest and heartbreakingly human. Everyone should read this book.” -Becky Albertalli, William C. Morris Award–winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda This powerful book, which has been made into a hit movie, beautifully and honestly addresses the issues of racism, resilience, and so much more. It tells the story of a… Continue reading The Hate U Give
A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese
This story starts with a wish and ends in a crime. The wish isn't granted, and the crime is never punished. Life is like that sometimes. But that isn't always a bad thing... -Keith Calabrese A Drop of Hope is a book that my sixth graders describe as "a very different kind of mystery," with… Continue reading A Drop of Hope by Keith Calabrese
Room On Our Rock by Kate & Jol Temple
"No room on this rock? Can it be true? Read back to front for another point of view." The first time I saw Room on our Rock on the shelf of a small, local bookstore, I pulled it down, read it and then answered the invitation to read the book again, this time from back… Continue reading Room On Our Rock by Kate & Jol Temple
Wordy Birdy by Tammi Sauer & Dave Mottram
The data says it all: 17 votes to 3. Wordy Birdy is a garrulous, gabby, gleeful bird. She attends to everything, and in so doing, neglects to give her undivided attention to anything. On a typical Wordy Birdy day, she’s out and about and distracted by the world. Her friends try everything they can to… Continue reading Wordy Birdy by Tammi Sauer & Dave Mottram
“An ode to loving who you, exactly as you are.”
I Am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown (Author), Jason "Rachel" Brown (Author), Anoosha Syed (Illustrator) is a beautifully illustrated book that highlights the love between a father and a son. When Karamo Brown, from Netflix Queer Eye, discovered that he had a ten-year-old son he adopted him. The love between the two is the focal… Continue reading “An ode to loving who you, exactly as you are.”
Dasher by Matt Tavares
Maine author and illustrator Matt Tavares is a favorite among teachers and students here in Waterville, Maine. His latest book Dasher was our December read for our, What's New in Children's Literature book group. Teacher's Thoughts... After years of knowing Christmas reindeer stories, it never occurred to me that some of the antlered reindeer might… Continue reading Dasher by Matt Tavares