Tag: picture books

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Picture Books We Are Currently Reading on Repeat

Here are a handful of books we are currently loving: 

Roy’s Pancake Problem by Hailey Hall 

A fun book about a little boy that loved creating new pancakes every day, but had to problem-solve when his mom said enough! 

You Are a Beautiful Beginning by Nina Laden 

This is one of those books that make you tear up when you read it because you know the words are so very true and you can only hope your students are internalizing them. 

underGROUND by Denise Fleming 

It’s not springtime without digging in the dirt and finding bugs! This book is great for those dirt-digging, bug-loving kids! 

Which picture books do you have on repeat in your classroom right now?

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Inclusive Mother’s Day Picture Books #BookLove

Celebrating Mother’s Day in schools is not as it was in the 80s and 90s or even in the early 2000s when we read picture books about how excellent mothers are and made a cute craft to send home specifically to moms.

Families come in so many different shapes and sizes today, which is exciting and amazing! It may mean during these holidays with your littles, more conversations can and will come up about everyone’s specific family dynamic. And I’ve always believed that reading picture books can be a great way to learn and start up conversations! So here are some books you may want to include in your reading time.

To celebrate moms in different cultures: Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

For students that have two dads instead of a mom: Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer

For a large variety of different family dynamics: A Family is a Family is a Family by Sarah O’Leary and Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer

A book to celebrate ALL moms! All Moms by Sarah Kate Ellis and Kristen Ellis- Henderson

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Our Town Has a Little Free Library Now!

Our little town of 3,000 people recently had a BIG upgrade. No, not a new stoplight! It’s even better than a stoplight. We are now the proud owners of a little, free library in the park! I told you it was better than a stoplight. 

A high school senior in our area found a need and filled it. Our school demographics here are over 60% low-income and on free and reduced lunch, which can mean limited monetary resources for things like… books. 

My family spent an afternoon in the park where I was able to sit and observe each of the kids and families in the park interact with the little, free library. Most were acting out of curiosity, but all of them took a book out at some point and read at least a few pages- even the teenagers! 

It made my heart happy that we have such an amazing resource here in our town, somewhere we can all come together and bond over literature. 

I also loved that during our outdoor adventure at the park, we were able to pull out a book and read for a bit without having to bring one of our own. 

My family did our part by donating a few books to the little free library after it had been up and running for a few months and needed a good refresh of books.

Benefits of little, free libraries: 

  • Promotes literature in all ages, especially in younger kids
  • Promotes a sense of community and unity
  • Is a great place to donate books
  • Is a great resource to find new books you may not have discovered before 

Does your town have a little free library? Do you take advantage of it? 

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Raising Outdoor Readers: Picture Books in the Wild

While mindlessly scrolling social media I came across an Instagram post by @puddleparenting: 

I love how the trees in the book and the trees in the park match!

I love this idea and concept! Why haven’t we been taking picture books on more outdoor adventures with us in the past? They are a great addition to any outdoor learning.

Our town also recently acquired a little free library in the park thanks to a high school senior’s ambition to help a well-deserving community! This made it even easier for us to have a book to read while we were out and about at the park last week. 

The idea of reading a book outside at the park was so novel to my kids that they were more enthralled with reading than they were with playing. 

I can see many outdoor adventures that include picture books in our future. 

Do you take picture books outside with you on your outdoor adventures?

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Our Library Book Haul

This week’s library book haul was such a good one, I felt like I needed to share! We ended up with some amazing titles that I’ve been so impressed by.

I Am Enough by Grace Byers

This self-esteem booster book was very well written and I love the inclusivity of the illustrations. This book is sure to leave you and your kids feeling empowered!

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty

The part where she is sent to every different office in City Hall to have her question answered made me giggle!

Ten Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin Jr.

We chose this one to go with my daughter’s caterpillar and butterfly unit they are doing in her kindergarten class. I love how fun and simple this book is, and how they are able to incorporate a lot of information and learning in the text as well. Using this book in conjunction with Google Images was incredible!

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

This book was my son’s choice. I wouldn’t say it was my favorite! But it wasn’t horrible, either. He got a good laugh out of it though, so I’m still glad we picked it up!

Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel by Leslie Connor

I love the illustrations in this book! It was also a great conversation starter for talking about immigrants, Native Americans, and good old hard work.

Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt De La Peña

Carmela takes us on her adventure of running errands with her brother, and it’s fun to see a peek into their day and the errands that are important to their family.

One Little Bag An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole

I am absolutely in awe of these illustrations. Henry tells us an entire story over generations without writing a single word. Add this one to your Earth Day rotation, it’s incredible! I also loved how much talking and conversation came from the wordless picture book by studying the images.

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Picture Books For Spring Break

If you’re looking for some good picture books for Spring Break, look no further! Here’s what we added to the bookshelf in our house: 

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring by Kenard Pak

Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert 

Worm Weather by Jean Taft

Waiting by Kevin Henkes

Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff

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Our Newest Home Library Additions

One thing that always makes the top of our gift-receiving lists is BOOKS. We were gifted quite a few great kid’s books this holiday season, and I wanted to share what we’ve recently added to our bookshelf. Add these to your Amazon wishlist! 

Hi-Five Animals! By Ross Burach: A fun, interactive book for toddlers. 

The Christmas Princess by Mariah Carey: A cute story about Mariah Carey as a young girl and her quest for the perfect new pup. 

Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney

Goodbye, Old House by Margaret Wild: We bought this for our kids since we made a big move from one state to another this year. Highly recommend this book for those new house transitions!

Adventure Annie Goes to Kindergarten by Toni Buzzeo: Such a good read for a new kindergartener. 

A very good new book selection, if I do say so myself! We have some great reading ahead of us! 

Did you receive or gift any new books this year? Tell us in the comments!