Thematic articles in which related titles from a variety of publishers are brought together.
Introducing children to participating in and observing the natural world holds well-acknowledged merit—as well as rich offerings in current children’s books. No matter how urban a child’s environment may be, there are almost always snatches of nature available: the sky and weather; a vendor selling fruit that was planted and grown to be eaten and […]
Picture book illustrators use so many different media to create engaging—and often revealing—elements for the pages children examine during read-aloud times. Sometimes the illustrator makes use of a tool other than a brush, a pencil, pen, or cut paper. Sometimes, we see picture books—in a range of age interests from board books to informational books
Photo Perfect Picture Books Read More »
August is celebrated annually as Women In Translation Month. This is the time when we turn specific attention—and give gratitude—to the women writers and the women translators who make possible access to stories from many languages to readers who can access them only in their own home languages. Professional translation is an art, just as
Women Who Connect the World of Books to Readers Read More »
One of the developmental steps in reading proficiency is learning how to predict while suspending certainty sufficiently to discover what actually occurs in the text. If the author had only one path to take and we could predict it with total accuracy, reading as recreation—which is how we get enough practice to make reading a
One, Two, Three, Plot Twist! Read More »
International Yoga Day, celebrated annually on June 21st, is a global event dedicated to promoting the practice and benefits of yoga. As more people embrace this ancient discipline for its physical, mental, and emotional health benefits, the interest in introducing yoga to children has grown. Children’s books on yoga provide wonderful gateways for young minds
Yoga for the Littlest Bookworms Read More »
Sometimes it appears that attention from many quarters comes to rest on one theme or an object with unanticipated universal agreement that this is the IT topic for the moment. This year in kids’ books we’re seeing that happen with—eyeglasses! In books that come to us from Spain, the Netherlands via New Zealand, the United
Look Here! These Books Are Spectacular! 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 »
Westerners have a peculiar way of prioritizing physical status over the conditions of our minds. We supply, even in casual conversation with children (and other adults), specific names for an array of possibilities when talking about our physical manifestations, including the experience of excellent health, impediments such as injury and disease names, recovery degrees, and
As we get ready to celebrate Earth Day, I think about how I can instill in my child a deep appreciation for the planet and its delicate ecosystems. As a children’s librarian I know one of the most effective ways to cultivate this awareness is through the power of children’s literature. Children’s books have the
Fifty Plus Years of Celebrating Earth Day Read More »
