Author: Christy Arnold (Contributor 2019-2020)

Positive poetry for all children, especially girls. In Just Like Me Vanessa Brantley-Newton gives a poetic voice to girls. The poems highlight happy times, sad times, silly times, insecure times and so much more. This a perfect mentor text for poetry units. Children will love reading through these poems to find themselves in the pages.… Continue reading Just Like Me

A Place to Land by Barry Wittenstein and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney is a vivid and concise retelling of the events that led up to Dr. King’s momentous I Have A Dream speech. Wittenstein and Pinkney give the readers a behind the scenes look into the night before the big speech. The illustrations and time… Continue reading A Place to Land

Along the Tapajós will transport you to Brazil with it's beautiful illustrations.

 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.”

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison is a beautiful story/folktale about a little girl who is not happy with the midnight color of her skin. Sulwe tells the complex story of what it's feels like to be unhappy in one's skin. One evening Sulwe goes on a magical journey. On her journey she… Continue reading Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o

Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj is the best children's book I have read all year! This book tells the story of a young girl and how she is transformed into an “accidental activist” after a terrible racist attack on her grandfather. The story is told from the point of view of Karina and her… Continue reading #WeBelong #IAmAmerican #CountMeIn

Have you ever encountered a student that was just not into books? Never happens right? Honestly, this happen every year, sometimes more than once.... or twice. Last year a teacher friend of mine had one of these students. He was a third grader, reading on the cusp of grade level, but didn't really get into… Continue reading Looking for a Early Chapter Book Series?

Not Quite Snow White, written by Ashley Franklin and Illustrated by Ebony Glenn is a delightful picture book about Tameika, a confident and creative little girl destined for the stage. Unfortunately, her confidence falters when her classmates decide that based on her height, weight and skin color she isn’t quite right to play Snow White… Continue reading Not Quite Snow White by Ashley Franklin, illustrated by Ebony Glenn