Craft and Structure

A collection of 50 posts

black history month

Celebrating Black History Month with Carole Boston Weatherford!

I tried to pick just one book to talk about for February but when I look at all the great books Carole Boston Weatherford has written, how do I choose only one? So instead of highlighting a book this month, I'm celebrating the brilliance of this amazing writer.

Art

Celebrate Disability Awareness Month with Music and Art!

This July, I had the incredible pleasure of hearing author/illustrator Cece Bell speak about her creative process. Many of us know Cece from her graphic novel, El Deafo. Her newest picture book, Animal Albums from A to Z, is ideal for punsters, fans of Sandra Boynton, animal lovers, musicians,

Art

Free for Father's Day!

When Squirrel feels a bit frantic as a single dad to three busy kits, his friends decide to give him a break and take the kits for a day. How hard could it be, the friends figure, to watch little ones for a day? When I ask kids this question

Biography

This book is a hit!

In Michigan, we are loving baseball season, because the Tigers are on a winning streak and because we have books like this one: You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter and Andre Carrilho. This picture book biography hits it out of the park. It has a conversational writing

Craft and Structure

Home is In Between

Today is #weneeddiversebooksday and I can think of no better book to feature than this gem written by Mitali Perkins and illustrated by Lavanya Naidu. Home is In Between is a story about a little girl making America her new home. As Shanti learns and adapts with her new experiences

Charlesbridge

Girls with Guts!

Girls with Guts! The Road to Breaking Barriers and Bashing Records written by Debbie Gonzales and illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon tells how women and girls throughout history were discouraged from playing sports, but some courageous female athletes and activists - girls with guts - fought for the passing of Title

Common Core State Standards

The Big Book of Barf

Your kids will gobble up this non-fiction book by Vicky Lorencen! The Big Book of Barf: A Spewnami of Sick Science, Hurled History, and Body Oddities is chock-full of gross facts that kids can't get enough of. Made easily digestible in its nonlinear format, kids can flip through

Craft and Structure

Go! Go! Go! for Kende! Kende! Kende!

So many kids will relate to Lolie, who from the time she was little always wanted to go! go! go! But a scary day comes when her family quickly has to go from their home because it is no longer safe. Lolie goes by wheelbarrow, by foot, by truck, and

Craft and Structure

When the Rain Came Down

I’ve been a fan of author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski for a long time. She’s incredibly creative, kind, talented, and she’s been a generous mentor for many years. I asked her about one of her newest picture books, WHEN THE RAIN CAME DOWN, illustrated by Keisha Morris, and

Biography

I Am Odd, I Am New

“I Am Odd, I Am New” written by Benjamin Giroux and illustrated by Roz MacLean. When Benjamin was ten years old, he wrote a poem about what it’s like for him to live with autism and be surrounded by kids who don’t always understand. This book is his

Craft and Structure

SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK!

I’m thrilled to announce that my newest picture book, SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, will be published by Charlesbridge on May 7th! Squirrel is especially grumpy after having been stuck in the nest all winter with three rascally kits so his friends decide to take the kits for the day

Craft and Structure

SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK!

See these cuties from GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA? Well, they get to be the stars of their very own companion book! SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, written by me and illustrated by the wonderful Matt Faulkner will by published by Charlesbridge in Spring of 2024! Watch this space for more updates. Hooray!

Craft and Structure

April: Poetry, Earth Day, and April Pulley Sayre

I had the pleasure of speaking at an early education conference where our theme was literacy and science. I brought stacks of books that tie into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) or STEAM (add Art) to share. Rather than just lecture all day, I led a session of “speed-dating” books:

Craft and Structure

"The Capybaras" and the Message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This is my new favorite book, The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit. It’s a wonderful read anytime but it’s especially poignant to share in January when we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Soderguit beautifully shares one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s beliefs that we are all part

Art

Loving Kindness For Us All

Loving Kindness written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Tim Hopgood is the perfect book for December. No matter what the faith of your students, this book shares a message we all need to hear. “You are beautiful just as you are. You are loved, and you love.” We see

Craft and Structure

Play It! "Ten Rules of Being a Superhero"

Twice during my years as a classroom teacher I had students that weren’t allowed to participate in Halloween activities for religious reasons. To keep the fun of dressing up without creating difficulties for any of your students, read Ten Rules of Being a Superhero by Deb Pilutti and become

Biography

Try Food as a Way Into Reading

Learning is best done through experience, and food is definitely a way into learning for many of us. To tie reading in with some cool hands-on (and mouths-on) experiences, grab this biography, Try It! How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat written by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Giselle

Craft and Structure

Play the Book!

Oh, 2021, we waited all through 2020 for you and frankly, you’re not off to the start we’d hoped for. We’re exhausted in so many ways. We still need to show up for our little ones. We need a bit of lightheartedness. “Playing the book” is a

Craft and Structure

Reading an "Again, again!" book in a new way

Happy Almost-the-End-of-2020! I think this year has been most challenging for those living with or working with small children. How do you keep them enticed if you can’t get new books from the library or from school? How do you keep yourself from going nuts if you’re tired

Craft and Structure

It's important: "Let's Talk About Race"

Talking about race is hard for me, but that doesn’t let me off the hook. Racism isn’t either/or, as in I don’t shout hateful slurs therefore I’m not racist. I’m racist because I’d rather hide any prejudice I have from growing up as

Craft and Structure

How-To Poems and My Love of Hedgehogs

How-to poems are an easy introduction to poetry, to nonfiction, and to writing what you know. This book of poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Richard Jones has such a wide range of topics that all your students will find at least one poem that they love.

Art

Celebrate all the BEAUTIFUL HANDS!

August is crazy-busy for teachers and parents of little learners, so grab this book for a quick-prep, interactive lesson: BEAUTIFUL HANDS by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten. The book begins with a question, “What will your beautiful hands do today?” which leads to more questions with inspiration-sparking answers: “Will they

Counting Book

27 Books You Can Use This Year

During the “Moving Beyond the Basics… Reaching for More” conference on Aug. 11 at the Byron Center High School in Michigan, a roomful of teachers and I read through boxes of books. (Thank you, Annemarie Johnson and Kate DiMeo, for inviting me to share informational picture books and to talk

Art

The Poetry of Firebird

Because poetry doesn’t have to rhyme, because poetry can tell a story, because the best poetry lights sparks of hope inside of us –  this is my choice for April’s Month of Poetry. Firebird is written by Misty Copeland and illustrated by Christopher Myers. A little girl sees ballet

Art

Go, Shapes, Go!

One of my favorite ways to hook readers during March is Reading Month is to do an author study, and one of my all-time favorite author/illustrators for the elementary crowd is Denise Fleming. I’ve had a book crush on Fleming since 1991 when I first read In the