Author: Jessica Carey

Our family has been going through a season of loss. I'm sure we aren't alone. Like any situation, happy or sad, we've turned to the world of children's literature to help us navigate tricky situations, big feelings, and to spark conversations. My nine year old daughter has been having a particularly hard time after we… Continue reading When Grandfather Flew by Patricia MacLachlan

Perfectly NormanBY Tom Percival I was first introduced to Perfectly Norman, by Tom Percival, during a demo lesson this summer. A candidate for a kindergarten position shared this story as an interactive read aloud with a group of rising first graders and as soon as the demo was over, I ordered a copy of this… Continue reading Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival

  Today, I found myself covering in a fifth grade classroom. It’s that time of year when the teacher absentee list on a Friday gets pretty long. Luckily, I had a copy of Someone Builds the Dream, written by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Loren Long, with me. When the kids got kind of antsy, I… Continue reading Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler and Loren Long

Starfish By Lisa Fipps Starfish by Lisa Fipps is a book I wish someone had handed me as a child. When my pre-ordered copy finally arrived, my almost nine year old daughter, Wren, got to the book before I even had a chance. At first, I wasn’t sure if the book would be appropriate, but… Continue reading Starfish by Lisa Fipps

My Thoughts Are Like Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness By Georgia Heard Last month, I taught my distance learning first graders a unit on writing poetry. When thinking about where to begin, I went back to my roots, where I really learned about poetry myself. Over ten years ago, when I was a third grade teacher,… Continue reading My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness By Georgia Heard

Dreams for a DaughterBy Carole Boston WeatherfordIllustrated by Brian Pinkney  It’s hard not to think of my three daughters and the women they will become during Women’s History Month. I feel so fortunate to be living in a time where there are so many strong women to serve as examples and role models for my… Continue reading Dreams for a Daughter by Carole Boston Weatherford

The Old Truck By Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey In a world where anything old is easily discarded for a new or improved version, The Old Truck by the Pumphrey brothers is a breath of fresh air. This is a simply told story of a truck that worked "long" on a farm and then "grew… Continue reading The Old Truck by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey

Little People, Big Dreams Martin Luther King Jr. Written by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara Illustrated by Mai Ly Degnan  This past weekend, I took home a stack of books about Martin Luther King Jr., determined to think about and plan a read aloud for our whole school. Our Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Committee at our… Continue reading Little People, Big Dreams: Martin Luther King Jr.

A New Green Day By Antoinette Portis   Around Thanksgiving, I introduced the idea that our writing can be a gift to my virtual first grade learners. We talked about how we can share our words, wrap them up, and think about people that we share these gifts with. They began writing cards with notes of… Continue reading A New Green Day By Antoinette Portis

At some point during quarantine last spring, my then second grade daughter asked if I could help her find pictures of Misty Copeland for her information chapter book she was working on. As I helped her Google images, I was simultaneously skimming captions to figure out “who is Misty Copeland?” I was admittedly clueless. The… Continue reading Bunheads, by Misty Copeland

Red Shoes Written by Karen English Illustrated by Ebony Glenn Karen English, a Coretta Scott King honoree, recently published a new picture book called, Red Shoes. You may know Karen English as the author of the chapter book series Nikkie and Deja and The Carver Chronicles.  Red Shoes begins as the story of Malika whose… Continue reading Red Shoes, By Karen English

Growing up, my best friend was a big fan of Halloween. Every year, she and her family hosted a big Halloween party, complete with costumes, games, and a trip to a nearby haunted house. I vividly remember standing outside of the haunted house entrance with my friend’s mom, crying as she tried to convince me… Continue reading The Stitchers by Lorien Lawrence

Your Name is a Song, written by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and illustrated by Luisa Uribe, caught my eye months ago as lucky ARC readers shared their love for this beautiful book. When my pre-ordered copy arrived, right on time, I resisted the urge to jump right in, ripping the package open at the mailbox and getting… Continue reading Your Name is a Song