Non-Fiction - Kristen Remenar (Page 3)

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Non-Fiction

A collection of 63 posts

America the Beautiful

America the Beautiful

When I see the words “O beautiful for spacious skies”, I automatically sing in my head “for amber waves of grain”, but I didn’t know some of the other verses of this song that, for me, are so moving: “O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more

Toys 100 Years Ago

Toys 100 Years Ago

It is only Day 3 of summer vacation, and already I’m hearing the words guaranteed to make a parent go bonkers: “I’m bored!” I point out the oodles of toys, many of them electronic and almost all of them plastic, that litter my house and yet, my child

Just a Second: a different way to look at time

Just a Second: a different way to look at time

How many times do you think a hummingbird beats its wings in just one second? 10? 20? Steve Jenkins makes math irresistible in Just a Second: a different way to look at time. In one second, a hummingbird beats its wings 50 times. In one minute, a grizzly bear can

Dream Something Big

Dream Something Big

Dream Something Big: the Story of the Watts Towers, written by Dianna Hutts Aston with collages by Susan L. Roth, is a visually stunning biography of an artist you may never have heard of before. Simon Rodia was simply Uncle Sam to his neighbors in Los Angeles. Over 34 years,

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!

You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!

Baseball season is here, and while Detroiters are cheering on Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander, many kids are going (pea)nuts over Sandy Koufax. Never heard of him? I hadn’t either, until I read You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter and Andre Carrilho. This picture book biography

Use Silver Seeds to plant poems

Use Silver Seeds to plant poems

This is one of my go-to books I use every April to celebrate Poetry Month. Silver Seeds by Paul Paolilli and Dan Brewer with paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher is simply beautiful. The poems are all about nature, and they’re all written in a form many kids

Rah, Rah, Radishes!

Color Knowledge

Rah, Rah, Radishes!

Three cheers for April Pulley Sayre and Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant! How do you make healthy eating fun? With Sayre’s vibrant photos of vegetables taken at her local farmer’s market paired with her contagious rhymes: “Oh boy, bok choy! Brussels sprout. Broccoli. Cauliflower. Shout it out!

Little Pink Pup

Little Pink Pup

This book makes me squeal with delight! It’s Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby and it’s my new favorite non-fiction book. Pink was the smallest of twelve new piglets. He was so tiny that he couldn’t push his way past his siblings to get to his mother,

I'm a Turkey!

When I was little, I had a book with a 45 rpm record (yep, I’m that old) that I loved. It was “A Lot of Hot Water” read by Gordon from Sesame Street. Audio recordings of books have gone through a media transition or two, but it’s still

November is National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month

I like that we celebrate adoption in the same month that we celebrate Thanksgiving. For preschoolers and kindergartners, Thanksgiving doesn’t have much to do with Pilgrims and Native American Indians. Honestly, it doesn’t even have much to do with giving thanks for all we have (kids in the

1 + 1 = a lot of laughs

1 + 1 = a lot of laughs

Any kindergartner at this time of year will quickly tell you that 1 + 1 = 2, unless it’s a kindergartner who has read this fantastic book 1 + 1 = 5 and Other Unlikely Additions by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Brenda Sexton. The lucky kid who’s read this book knows

A Place for Wonder

A Place for Wonder

Usually I write about children’s books, but this week I’m sharing a gem for grown-ups recommended by my friend, Annemarie Johnson. (Annemarie is a gifted teacher and educational consultant, and her website: http://www.teacher2teacherhelp.com is bursting with great information.) I’ve been thinking quite a bit

Chew on these great books

Chew on these great books

In a recent Remenar Seminar, a principal pointed out that I share lots of stories, but not a lot of non-fiction. That’s something I’m working on – I love fiction, but I know many learners really respond to informational text. So, I’m trying to pair up books on