written & illustrated by Anoosha Syed Names are the foundation of our identity. Names matter. Being addressed by your name as it was intended is important. Children (and adults) whose names have ethnic origins or are perceived to be outside of the dominant culture are often forced to endure their names being pronounced incorrectly or… Continue reading That’s Not My Name!
Author: Gwen Blumberg
Gwen Blumberg is K-8 literacy leader in Greater Boston. She’s an avid reader who loves to share books with kids and listen to the stories they write and tell. She believes book and topic choice are essential ingredients for students to develop authentic reading and writing lives. You can find Gwen on Twitter & Instagram @gwenblumberg.
I Am the Subway
"I rattle and clatter over the tracks. Same time, same route, every day. Carrying people from one place to another, I travel over the ground and rumble under, twice across the wide Han River. Around I go, around and around. Crowds of people wait to climb aboard. ba-dum, ba-dum..." These words unfold across the first… Continue reading I Am the Subway
Dear Librarian
Lydia Sigwarth's beautiful new picture book begins, "Dear Librarian, May I tell you a story? It's about me, and it's about you, and it's about my Library Home." When she was five, the author and her family moved from Colorado to Iowa while her dad searched for work. During this time, the family of nine… Continue reading Dear Librarian
Memory Jars
Memory Jars by Vera Brosgol My first introduction to author and illustrator Vera Brosgol was her middle-grade graphic novel, Be Prepared.* I loved her autobiographical story about sleep away camp and was delighted to learn she had written a picture book. In Memory Jars, which was released earlier in 2021, we meet a young girl… Continue reading Memory Jars
My Summer Stack
This pandemic year, one of the smallest things that has brought me the most joy has been curbside library pickup. At night, typically with a cup of peppermint tea and if I'm lucky a purring cat by my side, I read our collective TBR blog, browse my favorite #kidbookstagram accounts, and fill up my online… Continue reading My Summer Stack
Southwest Sunrise
Written by Nikki Grimes & Illustrated by Wendell Minor "Whoa! This book is full of such descriptive language!" "Whoa! This book is FULL of descriptive language!" "This makes everything I'm learning in social studies about the southwest region come alive!" "Is there information in the back about all the different plants and animals in this… Continue reading Southwest Sunrise
An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America
written by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk So begins Equal Shot, a new nonfiction book that tells the story of why and how Title IX was passed. It also introduces readers to the four amazing women who fought for a law that would mandate equal opportunities for boys and girls in school and end… Continue reading An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America
Free Audiobooks!
I love to read! I love picture books, middle-grade books, YA, and "grown-up" books. I love the subtle crack a new book makes when it is opened for the first time and the new book smell that lightly wafts up and tickles my nose. I love hardcovers, particularly when there’s a surprise "BONUS cover” hiding… Continue reading Free Audiobooks!
Milo Imagines the World
words by Matt de la Peña and pictures by Christian Robinson The first time I heard this story, I was at the January Teachers College Reading and Writing Project Supper Club. Matt de la Peña was the featured guest, and he read the book aloud for the very first time to all who were in… Continue reading Milo Imagines the World
The Cat Man of Aleppo
by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha illustrated by Yuko Shimizu The Cat Man of Aleppo is the true, and inspiring story of an incredible man-- Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel. Alaa, an electrician from Aleppo, chooses not to leave his beloved hometown when the civil war in Syria reaches his city in 2013. Alaa stays behind to… Continue reading The Cat Man of Aleppo
How to Build a Virtual Book Room
As we lean more on digital texts during this Covid year, I've been working to create structures that honor the power of student choice in selecting texts. The past few weeks, I've been building nonfiction virtual book rooms designed to mirror in-person, pre-Covid book shopping routines when students browsed their classroom libraries to built their… Continue reading How to Build a Virtual Book Room
Choice Still Matters
This year, my K-8 school district has two parallel tracks for learning. The first is fully in school five days a week, and the other track is fully remote. The cohorts for both are very small, each has its own teacher, and families were allowed to choose which track was best for their child/ren. To… Continue reading Choice Still Matters
The Next President
With less than one month until election day, The Next President, The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America's Presidents written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Adam Rex is a timely read aloud. It's also not your average book about Presidential history for kids... it's way better. Clear and concise text and supporting illustrations… Continue reading The Next President
I Have Missed Books
A Sharing of My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano & Jillian Tamaki This was a different kind of reading summer. Normally, I go to local libraries on hot days, browse the recent releases in the children's section for hours, and check out stacks upon stacks of beautiful books. I visit small, local bookstores and linger… Continue reading I Have Missed Books
Summer Reading Resolutions
My summer reading list usually ends up feeling like a New Year's resolution. I have great intentions, aim too high, and end up disappointed I didn't achieve my goal. This year, I've decided to slow down a bit and think in twos-- two professional books, two adult books that I'm reading just because I want… Continue reading Summer Reading Resolutions
Camp Tiger
written by Susan Choi & illustrated by John Rocco At the beginning of the school year, the fifth-grade team asked me for a book recommendation. They wanted a book that they didn't know so they could authentically model the interpretation process with their students through a think aloud. They wanted a book that would make… Continue reading Camp Tiger
Going Down Home with Daddy
Written by Kelly Starling Lyons & Illustrated by Daniel Minter Nothing is more important than family." I was delighted to learn that Going Down Home with Daddy was named a 2020 Caldecott Honor Book. From the first time I read the beautiful words and poured over the lush, acrylic wash illustrations by artist Daniel Minter,… Continue reading Going Down Home with Daddy
Little Libraries, Big Heroes by Miranda Paul
If you are a reader of this blog, chances are you are a book lover. If I were a gambling woman, I would also be willing to bet that when you see a Little Free Library, you get a wee bit excited by the thought of peeking inside to see what treasures await. Dear reader,… Continue reading Little Libraries, Big Heroes by Miranda Paul
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
PAPER SON, The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist
Paper Son is a gorgeous, new biographical picture book written by Julie Leung and illustrated by Chris Sasaki about the life of unsung Chinese American artist Tyrus Wong. The story follows Tyrus from his immigration to the United States during the Chinese Exclusion Act, through his childhood, to art school, and to his first creative job… Continue reading PAPER SON, The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist
Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang
Last spring, a student I've known for years came to talk to me because he was having a bad day. He shared that everyone was trying to make him feel better, but he was just having a bad day and wished that everyone would give him space to have it and then move on. He… Continue reading Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang
Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando
by Andrea Wang & Illustrated by Kana Urbanowicz When I was a child, I LOVED it when one of my parents would make ramen. I adored winding the squiggly, wavy noodles around my fork and the salty broth that inevitably splashed on my face. In college, I ate a LOT... I mean A L O… Continue reading Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando
There Are No Bears in This Bakery by Julia Sarcone-Roach
Teacher Thoughts... Dip into this story to experience a powerful punch of rich, descriptive language. You’ll quickly tuck it into your “go-to” stack of mentor texts to love throughout the elementary grades. Kids who need models for how to weave description and figurative language into their writing will be inspired by phrases such as: “I slipped… Continue reading There Are No Bears in This Bakery by Julia Sarcone-Roach