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 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
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
Early Learning "Grandma Heaven" & "Grandpa Heaven" Shutta Crum and Ruth McNally Barshaw are two of my most favorite people in the kid lit world. They have two new books out, “Grandma Heaven” and “Grandpa Heaven” that sweetly feature my own parents as two of the people enjoying the afterlife. Is Heaven a fun-filled place of laughter,
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 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
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
Early Learning Less "tizzy-busy", more joy! Pout-Pout Fish fans, this is the just-right book for the holiday season! The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish is a wonderful addition to The Pout-Pout Fish series. Mr. Fish feels caught up in the “tizzy-busy” rush to find the perfect gifts. “… a gift should have meaning, Plus a bit of
Michigan Author Why I've Been Quiet for Six Months MYSTERY OF LONG SILENCE EXPLAINED! December, 2015: My first two books, GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA and DRAW WITH A VENGEANCE (under the pen name, Helen Wrath), were published. January, 2016: I had a stroke. I was in Boston at the American Library Association conference, attending for the first time not only
Early Learning Groundhog's Dilemma is here! It’s self-indulgent, but I can’t resist; my December pick is my new picture book that just hit the shelves, Groundhog’s Dilemma! It’s gorgeously illustrated by award-winning author/illustrator Matt Faulkner (with whom I’m about to celebrate five years of wedded bliss.) Half of Groundhog’s
Early Learning The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish I’ve been hooked on Pout-Pout Fish since the beginning (fellow Michigander Debbie Diesen is a long-time friend), and the newest book, The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish, is as wonderful as the original. Mr. Fish feels caught up in the “tizzy-busy” rush of the holidays. (Dan Hanna does a
Early Learning September Bonus List of Books and Activities! Because I gave a presentation to awesome librarians this month and I couldn’t resist sharing all the great ideas we came up with, you get a bonus post this month! And because you’re getting a bonus post, I hope you’ll allow me to indulge in a bit
Early Learning Ten Rules of Being a Superhero I’ll bet you a sack of Halloween candy that most of us have dreamed of being a superhero: saving the day, maybe flying, definitely wearing a cool cape and a mask. Snazzy accessories aside, if you want to be a superhero, you need this book: Ten Rules of Being
Michigan Author Nerd Camp and Twitter Yesterday I attended nErD Camp, a free, education “unconference” presented by the Nerdy Book Club. For a day and a half, teachers from all over the states came to Parma, Michigan to share ideas about literacy and learning. I led a small session about using public libraries to get kids
Early Learning Dig in to fun summer books! These books are so much fun I couldn’t choose just one! Now that summer is here, I’m looking for books that encourage outdoor play. Here are two books that will have kids scurrying to the sandbox: Digger, Dozer, Dumper written by Hope Vestergaard and illustrated by David Slonim
Body Smart Here Come the Humpbacks! Happy March, everyone! This month I’m sharing a terrific informational picture book about humpback whales and a fabulous, free activity guide that will have your students up and moving as they process information. For those Nature Smart students who’re fighting the winter blahs, this kind of reading will
Michigan Author Author video interview with Matt Faulkner, Ruth Barshaw and me! Ed Spicer, fantastic first grade teacher and blogger at spicyreads.org, was kind enough to include me in a author interview video! Ed attended a reading conference with Matt Faulkner, Ruth McNally Barshaw and me this summer on Mackinac Island. Here we talk about using books in the classroom to
Craft and Structure A Warm Winter Tail Here’s what you need this chilly January: A Warm Winter Tail by Carrie A. Pearson and illustrated by Christina Wald! This nonfiction picture book about animal adaptations in winter is perfect for a Range of Reading lesson (Core Standard #1 – check!). Carrie Pearson, a Michigander who knows all about
Michigan Author How to be a better writing teacher The path to publication is packed with peaks and pitfalls (and apparently a plethora of P’s). It takes patience to pursue this path, and the revision process can be particularly painful (as can alliteration, so I’m stopping now). The way my editor guided me through this process taught
Michigan Author My Journey Romelle Broas is a writer who is all about the journey. She was kind enough to ask me about my long, winding road to publishing my first picture book, and you can check out the details here: http://www.romellebroas.blogspot.com/2013/11/debut-author-interview-kristen-remenar.html I’m in Kalamazoo
Art Knock, Knock! Trent, one of my preschool pals, couldn’t stop giggling as he told me this gem, “So, a horse walks into a bar and the bartender says, ‘Hey, why the long face?'” Kids love good jokes – and they don’t seem to mind the bad jokes, either! Joke books
Michigan Author Picture Book Update! I want to share the latest in the epic saga of my first published picture book. (Have I mentioned lately that I sold my first picture book to Charlesbridge? And that it is set to hit the shelves in 2015? And that my husband, the award-winning author/illustrator Matt Faulkner
Art Peace It has been twelve years since the terror attacks on 9/11. Most of the students in elementary classrooms today weren’t even born yet in 2001, so how do we commemorate that day with kids? The kindest way I can think of to honor the lives that were lost
Early Learning Farmers' Market Day I am counting the days until my local farmers’ market opens. Until then, I’m glad I found this perfect pick: Farmers’ Market Day written by debut picture-book author Shanda Trent and illustrated by Jane Dippold. This rhyming book is a quick read that can easily be turned into an
Craft and Structure The Pet Project As soon as I picked up this new poetry book, The Pet Project, I thought of the animal reports many of my students are doing and I knew I must get this book into the hands of those kids and their teachers! The Pet Project: Cute and Cuddly Vicious Verses
