Curating resources & sharing stories to empower teacher & student ownership, wonder, and daring.
This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.
Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) is still a few months away, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be added to our list of holiday picture books! These books were fun to look up and discover new titles. The Chinese culture has so much to offer and learn about, so let’s dive into my top favorites!
Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas
What books are you reading for Chinese New Year?
This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.
Happy first day of Los Posadas! This holiday celebrates the journey Mary and Joseph made to give birth to the baby Jesus, celebrated in Mexico and parts of the United States. Here are some fun picture books to read during this holiday!
Uno, Dos, Tres, Posada! This book is fun because it incorporates Spanish and English and teaches someone who is not familiar with Los Posadas what the holiday entails.
A Pinata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas A cute spin on the Twelve Days of Christmas from a Latino perspective celebrating Los Posadas.
The Legend of the Poinsettia This book is longer, but a great one for learning about poinsettias and why they are significant to Los Posadas.
Nine Days to Christmas: I really love the simplicity of the illustrations in this book. It’s another great one to learn more about Los Posadas!
What are some of your favorite Los Posadas picture books to read?
Cover photo from tuscon.com
This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.
Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah started yesterday, December 10th, so let’s celebrate with a list of picture books to read during this festive time!
Hanukkah Bear- A book about Hanukkah, delicious food, and a fun bear! Such a cute read.
Latke, The Lucky Dog– A mischievous dog that goes through the day of Hanukkah with his new family.
The Story of Hanukkah- This one gives a good background on where Hanukkah came from and why we celebrate it. A fun history book with beautiful illustrations!
How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?- A fun, familiar series of books with a Hanukkah version. This book gives the non-examples of how to act on Hanukkah for kids but then finishes by showing a great example of what to do, by taking turns and being respectful.
Meet the Latkes- I love that this book starts with some history behind the holiday before it begins. Such a fun book! This read aloud was one of my favorites I’ve watched so far, so check out this video by Mrs. Lemansky.
What are some of your favorite Hanukkah read alouds?
This is part of a series on writing booklists about holidays beyond Christmas. To read more about it, you can see it here.
Welcome to our list of favorite Diwali books! This holiday was a favorite of mine to research because of the colors involved with Diwali, making the illustrations in every book so fun! Here are my top four:
Festival of Colors by Kabir and Surishtha Sehgal
I love how this book is simple and on a child’s level, while still incorporating the Diwali jargon and vocabulary. It is also very inclusive of multiple races, showing that Diwali can be enjoyed by many!
Lots of LIghts: A Story About Diwali by Kavita Sahai
This one is fun because elephants are the main characters that walk kids through what Diwali is, again, on their level.
Rani Saves Diwali by Anita Badhwar
A princess saving Diwali! Such a fun book with cute illustrations.
Binny’s Diwali by Thrity Umrigar
Binny is trying to tell her class about her favorite holiday, Diwali. And her peers love it!
What other Diwali books do you love reading to your class? How do you observe Diwali in your classroom or school?
Christmas books! I’m giddy about putting together this post! The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year, and books are one of my favorite subjects. Let’s put the two together!
Pick A Pine Tree: We don’t own this one yet, but I’m looking forward to the day we do!
Dasher: Doesn’t the moody cover of the book just invite you in while you sit under a cozy blanket with a cup of hot cocoa?
Red & Lulu: The same author as Dasher. The magic of New York during the Christmas season is captured in this holiday book.
The Crayons’ Christmas: A holiday twist on The Day The Crayons Quit.
What books would you add to this list? Need some good book ideas for the holiday season that aren’t Christmas themed? Stay tuned for next week!
Featured photo: pexels.com
If you search book lists on our blog you’ll find multiple posts full of lists and lists of good read alouds, books for certain subjects, etc, etc. This blog is chucked full of book lists! What it’s missing is a list of read alouds for high school. I’m not talking books approved for English class to read and pick apart, but just a fun book to read to your students, no matter what subject you are teaching. Here’s my favorite list of chapter books you can read to your high school students.
What books do you like to read aloud to your high school students?
Snow is falling! Winter is here! I know for many this is discouraging and sad, but I am one to adore winter and the falling snow. So to excite everyone about the upcoming winter season, let’s come up with a great book list to get us ready for the snowy season.
The Snowy Day: A Caldecott award book, and the first picture book to have a Black child as the protagonist. What a great conversation to have with students!
Owl Moon: I can’t explain it, but you can HEAR the silence the snow brings in this book. It’s mesmerizing.
Wolf In The Snow: This book with no words pulls at your heartstrings when you realize the sense of family and community both humans and animals have, and how we aren’t as different as we may think.
The Wish Tree: I haven’t read this one yet, but it’s on my list to get at the library next time we go.
The Polar Express: Okay, okay. I know, it’s a Christmas book. But the wintery feel of the train and the page of the book with the wolves standing in the snow looking at the train? It just lights up something in me that excites me for that fresh snow smell!
Are you team snow or team no snow? Do you think reading fun books about winter and snow help change your attitude about winter?