Trending Post: Books Made Into Movies
Get preschoolers excited about STEAM topics with the motivating new LEGO® Education STEAM Park Kit with DUPLO bricks. This kit develops a preschooler’s skills in science, technology, engineering, art, and math through play and hands-on activities. Not to mention, it gives they an early, positive experience with these important STEAM topics. Introduce Preschoolers to STEAM…
Get your imaginative kids to incorporate pretend doll play, specifically with American Girl dolls, with technology, art, and writing — a STEAM activity — by making a stop motion movie of your dolls. Here’s how. . . STEAM Play with American Girl Dolls First, make a plan and write a script. (The A in STEAM.)…
Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Sphero to write this article. #sponsored #beyondcode Your kids can do SO MUCH with Sphero’s new app-enabled robot that inspires not just coding but also learning STEAM topics in creative ways. SPRK+ from Sphero caught my kids’ attention from the get-go and held it as they began to explore the various…
Girls Can! Crate is a cool STEAM monthly subscription box that introduces kids  ages 4 – 8 to one strong female role model and fun related activities. The kits provide 2-3 STEAM activities, creative play props, and a 20-page GIRLS CAN! activity book featuring the inspiring woman’s story, games, experiments, and more. Girls Can! Crate wants every little girl to see something in…
Get out your Barbies (or any other action figures) for a super easy but tons of fun STEAM / STEM activity. Big thanks to my 10-year old’s amazing science teacher, Chris Lazartic, for this fun science (physics,) engineering, and math (measurement,) activity idea! If you want the lesson plans for this activity, visit the NCTM website. STEAM Education Activity:…
A homeschool reader wrote to ask me my recommendations for educational YouTube channels. Which is a really fantastic question — and deserves a few blog posts, don’t you think? Let’s start with the best  STEAM / STEM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) YouTube channels. You know that it’s hard to sift through the massive amount of channels, and…
Have you heard of steampunk? I first heard about this new sub-genre of science-fiction a few years ago. Now, steampunk books for kids are also increasing. Both in number and quality. It’s not as common to find steampunk for middle grade but you can find some. I’ve listed those books as well as the best…
Get your 8-year-olds reading nonfiction books for 3rd graders! It’s SO important to have a balance of fiction and nonfiction in their reading diet. Why? Because it’s extremely important for readers’ future success when they’ll be required to read for information in the upper grades, middle school, and high school. Since reading nonfiction is a…
2024 continues to impress me with amazing new middle grade books. This huge batch of books includes historical fiction, realistic fiction, adventure, graphic novels, and more! Two of these books (And Then Boom, Telephone of the Tree) will make you cry! Believe it or not, I still have more MG books on my shelf for…
If science fiction (sci-fi) is a genre that appeals to your kids here are the best science fiction chapter books about space, inventions, and more.
I’m excited to share the best STEM and science books for elementary-age kids. (STEM means science, technology, engineering, art, and math.) The stories on today’s list will make STEM enticing to elementary and middle school readers.
Read the best children’s books about the solar system for kids. Learn about the planets, stars, moon, space travel, the planets in our solar system, and more. Why? Because space is endlessly fascinating! Read these nonfiction books and fiction children’s books with your children to learn more about space. The books’ topics include how to…
May 1 begins Asian American Pacific Islander American Heritage Month (AAPI month)! To celebrate, you can read these brilliant children’s books with Asian and Pacific Islander representation.Â
Animals, poems, facts, Shakespeare, elephants, and more–there are a lot of fascinating topics in this batch of new children’s nonfiction books, most of which are for middle grade readers.
I’ve noticed that whenever kids get a CHOICE ABOUT WHAT TO READ (and that choice includes graphic novels,) their time spent reading and competence improve.
Find amazing children’s book women’s history month biographies with this list of picture book biographies as well as middle-grade nonfiction biographies for kids about famous women for Women’s History Month in March!
Are you looking for the best chapter books for 3rd graders, 8-year-old boys and girls? I can help you find good books that are at their maturity and reading level and your children will love.
Don’t forget about nonfiction books for 7 year olds! It’s also fun to read informational fiction with fictionalized elements to learn facts, too– which are gateway books to straight nonfiction
Find the best chapter books and middle grade books for 4th graders. These books for 9-year-old boys and girls in 4th grade are book recommendations that I’ve personally read and reviewed. They’re in every genre and are about many different themes and topics that appeal to kids in this upper elementary grade. ALL of these books are excellent.
Looking for a winter book to read aloud to your children? You’ll love these winter-themed picture books stories with beautiful illustrations.
The new releases in picture books seemed much less this month, making this possibly my shortest picture book review list ever in my 16 year history! Here are the new titles I thought you would want to know about. I hope it saves you time and gives you lots of good read aloud book ideas.
As your year wraps up, you won’t want to miss these seven nonfiction books!
Every month of 2023, I’ve read around 250 newly published picture books, adding up to three thousand books. Of those three thousand, these are my picture book picks for the best books of 2023.
Dinosaurs wreaking havoc in the month of November is called Dinovember. Celebrate with read aloud picture books for fun and facts.
It’s the biggest gift-giving time of year, and I can’t wait to tell you about Kazoom Kids STEM-themed shoes and socks. I don’t know about your kids but my kids have already started their list of gift ideas. But, like you, I still get to pick out gifts for them that they haven’t even thought of before.
Realistic fiction books for kids start include excellent chapter books, relatable middle grade books, and compelling YA novels. Realistic fiction is either relatable to children’s own lives (mirrors) or builds empathy as readers walk in the shoes of another (doors.) But which titles are the best choices for readers? I can help you pick.
Your readers will love these fantastic 2nd grade books in a series to keep them hooked on reading. You’ll want these books in your classroom libraries as well as your home libraries.Â
What are the best 3rd grade books in a series for 8 year olds? Here are good chapter book series that are just right for third graders and that they’ll LOVE to read.
Looking for a good middle grade book for 4th grade in a series for kids ages 9 and 10? Once you can get kids hooked into a book series, you know that it will keep them reading for a while. Not to mention, they probably will be reading longer hours because the books are just too good to put down. That’s why I’m sharing the best books in a series for 4th grade kids.
If you’re looking for good 5th grade books in a series, these top middle grade book series for 10- to 11-year-olds are great choices for every interest.
I love introducing kids to ordinary people who did amazing things by reading picture book biographies for kids. Don’t you? These biographies for kids are inspirational narrative nonfiction texts that are written like a story, appealing to children with beautiful illustrations.
Get your children hooked on a graphic novel book series to get them reading for weeks and months as they move from one book to the next in the series.
Teachers and parents, use these picture books as mentor texts to show kids the process of writing a story. Read about getting ideas for stories, and the storytelling/story writing process, including story elements.
Want to know one of our favorite open-ended building toys? ZOOB!
Use mentor text children’s books to teach sensory description and model for our kids how good writers use all their five senses in their writing to show, not tell.
Monthly subscription boxes for kids make fantastic holiday or anytime gifts because they last all year long. You can find interesting gift boxes for all ages and many interests that will give kids new books to read, activities to do, science to learn, and more.