Floating amid the wide and wonderful ocean of children’s books are special treasures: international books. When we look at tales from beyond our borders, our eyes and hearts open to new perspectives and deeper truths. In the case of Yael Berstein–the one-woman-powerhouse behind Tapioca Stories—we also find out-of-the-box surprises that dazzle and delight. Tapioca Stories […]
Spotlight on Tapioca Stories Read More »
The Inuit people live in our world’s northernmost permanently inhabited locale. Inuit Nunavut, the Inuit homeland, is also Canada’s largest territory, encompassing 36 percent of Canada’s landmass and 50 percent of Canada’s coastline. It is in this rich, Arctic expanse that the Inuit people—numbering over 160,000 across Canada, Russia, Alaska, and Greenland—live, love, and work
Stories, Legends, and Myths from Inuit Publisher Inhabit Media Read More »
If you’ve never met a rescue animal—and a rescue dog in particular—then you might not know that they are the four-legged definitions of gratitude and resilience. Some rescue dogs may come from previous loving homes where life circumstances forced their humans to re-home them. But just as many—and, sadly, probably many, many more—come from pasts
Canine Companions: Rescue Dogs and Beyond Read More »
But wait, there’s a difference?! OF COURSE I would know they’re all different, right? I’m a whole adult human, a teacher, a mother, a writer. I’ve read thousands of fairy tales and folktales. Surely SURELY I know the difference! Well, when faced with trying to articulate which is which and what is why off the
Fairy Tales, Folktales, Oh, My! Read More »
Fusing the delights of music and story is a powerful way to teach basic concepts as well as explore deeper ideas and emotions. Over my nearly 30 years of teaching young children, I’ve set a LOT of knowledge to simple tunes: the names of continents, oceans, countries and states, math concepts, simplified steps of the
Tales in Tune: Music and Picture Books Read More »
For most of humanity’s existence on Earth, people have migrated from one place to another as individuals, as family groups, and as entire cultures. Today’s humans can find themselves migrating out of need—escaping war, poverty, and danger to seek a place to call home–or moving in search of better jobs, or to help care for
Seeing Migration Experiences in Recent Picture Books Read More »
Darren López studied anthropology in college and then travelled the world listening to and collecting stories from elders of many cultures, including his own Puerto Rican and Colombian roots. His attention to oral histories and folktales helped him to develop his own storytelling, though film and other media, and now in storytelling with his elementary
A Chat with Author and Teacher Darren López Read More »
Nunavut is our world’s northernmost permanently inhabited place and Canada’s largest territory. And within this expanse of tundra and mountains live the Inuit people. Inuit-focused publishers such as Inhabit Media, make it possible for both Inuit and non-Inuit youth to deepen their knowledge about Inuit culture, oral traditions, folktales, arts, and family connections. Inhabit Media’s
Top of the World Tales from Nunavut Read More »