Picture Books

11 New Picture Books, July 2020

I don’t have as many new picture books to tell you about, and some are from previous months. BUT, these books are great and worth your while to read. 11 New Picture Books, July 2020 Your Name Is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, illustrated by Luisa Uribe IDENTITY A beautiful, beautiful story that helps a […]

27 New Nonfiction Books, Summer 2020

I’ve been saving the nonfiction books from the last few months so I hope you’re ready to read a long post about 27 nonfiction books you need to know about for summer 2020. If you’re looking for a biography, you’ll find many good choices. Below the biographies are nonfiction books about biomes, yoga, history, and […]

Mentor Texts to Teach Juicy Word Choice in Writing

When we teach children to use rich, wondrous words by filling them up with the sound of many wonderful words. We must read to them them authors who use astounding word choices. We must encourage them to read high quality mentor text picture and chapter books filled with precise, lyrical, sensory words. Katie Wood Ray, […]

New Workbooks and Activity Books for Summer 2020

Need some fun activity book ideas to keep your kids busy and learning? Here’s what’s new! New Workbooks and Activity Books for Summer 2020 The Magical Underwater Activity Book by Mia Undersood These Button Books activity books are Pura Vida Mom’s kids’ FAVORITES. Read facts about the world of real and magical plants and animals […]

New Picture Books, June 2020

Many of these new picture books are too wonderful to miss. I can’t wait to tell you about them. New Picture Books, June 2020 Together We Grow by Susan Vaught, illustrated by Kelly Murphy INCLUSION Dynamic illustrations and lyrical text model inclusion and making a difference. This barn full of animals denies entrance to a […]

30 Children’s Books with Muslim Characters

Children’s books, picture and chapter books, with Muslim characters show representation, open kids’ eyes to new cultures, and build empathy. We still need more books with Muslim characters. Hopefully. publishers will realize that readers like us want to see more diversity and continue to offer more books with diverse characters. The books on […]

Diverse Easy Readers for Emergent and Early Readers

What are the best diverse easy readers for emergent and early readers? You may have noticed that most easy readers contain animal main characters. While diversity has gotten a little better in some categories such as realistic beginning chapter books and realistic middle grade books, we still aren’t seeing much representation in early readers. (Or […]

Picture Books That Teach Kids About Prejudice, Inclusion, and Kindness

(Originally published 11/2018, updated 6/2020.) My heart is heavy with the recent surge of institutionalized bullying from leaders, wide-spread, systemic racism from police against black Americans, and prejudice against people who are not in the dominant culture including BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). Teachers and parents have asked me to share picture books you […]