Do you have an art loving kid? These books celebrate many aspects of art whether you're an artist or just like to know about art, your kids will love these inspiring picture books and chapter books about trips to the museum, famous artists, and making your own art. Inspiring Children's Books for Art Lovers PICTURE BOOKS The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds Vashti is discouraged -- she is no artist. … [Read more...]
Picture Books About Present Day Indigenous Families
Children often learn about indigenous cultures from history but it's just as important to know that indigenous cultures are still alive and strong in the modern day, too. Picture books like these show Native American and Native Canadian cultures incorporating tradition, culture, and language in the present day. As I find more books, I'll add to this list. Please comment if you have … [Read more...]
Healthy Harvest Snack Food & Book List for Kids
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. It's harvest season! Grab a healthy, yummy snack food like Harvest Snaps veggie crisps while you read all about the bounty of the season's foods. In fact, why not find the best harvest books? Here's a book list with a printable you can take with you to the bookstore or library. … [Read more...]
Important Slice-of-Life Picture Books
The best books give us a glimpse into other people's lives. Books like these. Richly illustrated and told with simplicity, these picture books will transport readers. When we expose children to a wide variety of experiences in a story they can see themselves in books, travel the world, talk with strangers, and develop deeper empathy. Talk about what you notice. Talk about what might be similar or … [Read more...]
Skill-Building Easy Readers with Excellent Stories
Are your kids learning to read? Then you need good easy readers to get them excited to practice their burgeoning skills. I have a big list of easy reader recommendations HERE which will also include today's list of newly published books. What will you find on the list today? Well, Mo Willems has a new book filled with squirrel humor, Jan Thomas has two new silly stories with surprise endings, and … [Read more...]
Picture Books with Stories of Loving Grandparents
It's wonderful when grandparents spend loving, quality time with their grandchildren. Such is the case in these picture books... children spending time with a grandparent, often it's just time together but sometimes it's sharing memories, adventures, or wisdom. Picture Books with Stories of Loving Grandparents Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo The boy doesn't like the city where Nana lives, … [Read more...]
Picture Books to Teach Children About the Seasons
Children can learn about the four seasons any time of year. One way to do that is start with picture books like these to spark further discovery. You'll notice that many of these books talk about observing a tree throughout the four seasons. These books lead to a wonderful hands-on way to observe nature's changes -- watching a tree all year. I recommend keeping a tree journal with illustrations or … [Read more...]
Picture Books to Teach Perspective (How You See the World)
Teachers and parents, use picture books as mentor texts to teach perspective. Stories like these help you model for your students and children that our perspectives and the perspectives of different characters, including the narrator, is how we see the world and the events in it. It's easy to call this point of view but from a literary standpoint, perspective is a bit different. Point … [Read more...]
10 Enjoyable Picture Books Late Summer 2018
Guess what? I have new picture books to share with you. Shocking, I know. My favorites are at the beginning (Interrupting Chicken and Are You Scared, Darth Vader) although, I like all the books or I wouldn't be sharing them. (I don't write reviews of books I think are blah or not enjoyable.) I hope you find lots of good books to read aloud to your children or students. 10 Enjoyable … [Read more...]
9 New Picture Books About Friendship & Being Yourself
Kids can feel more anxious during the back-to-school season. Part of their concern is about friendships, old and new; as well as worry about revealing who they really are. Even my teenager says she doesn't want to get bullied so she won't tell anyone she likes geeky things like Lord of the Rings. Which makes me only the more eager to help her and other kids know that being your true self can be … [Read more...]
Picture Books for Teaching Personification
When writers give human qualities to an object or animal, it's called personification. It's delightful to read and very fun to use in your own writing. Use these picture books as mentor texts to teach the concept of personification. If you're a teacher, these are perfect for writing workshop. They'll most definitely be a way to inspire kids' own personification stories. Read one of … [Read more...]
7 Middle-Grade Chapter Books I’m Loving, Summer 2018
As summer wraps up, I wanted to share some of my new favorite middle-grade titles. If you like historical fiction, Lifeboat 12 is a must-read. Artists will love The Frame-Up mystery novel. Fantasy lovers, you don't want to miss the enchanting Willa of the Wood whose beautiful cover is one of my favorite covers EVER. But, there are even more good books on this list. See for … [Read more...]