Cicada Books

Get in Shape with a Pair of Picture Books

This is one in our Double Scoop Sundae series featuring a pair of thematically-related books and ideas for teachers and library program developers seeking ways to extend storytime with them. From a single point to a line, from a flat area created by connecting lines to a multidimensional entity, our concrete and imaginary worlds both supply us […]

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Cultural Patterns

As individuals, some of us tend to messy disorder while others keep the laundry quickly folded and the dishes stacked back in their places before day’s end. In spite of these personal styles, each of us belongs to a larger, and generally well ordered, social framework. These frameworks are as diverse as human languages and,

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Photo of a golden shelled snail against a green leaf

Perfect Pairs: Slow and Steady Snails

Spring has finally arrived, bringing with it warmer weather, blooming flowers, and an abundance of quiet life emerging in our gardens. Among the most curious and calming sights are the snails—gliding slowly across damp soil, curling around mossy stones, and leaving behind delicate trails that glisten in the morning light. There’s something mesmerizing about the

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A cover collage of the titles discussed

Building Stories

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

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Bank Street Books Announces Newest Best Children’s Books of the Year

The newly released list from Bank Street College of Education reflects their Children’s Book Committee’s choices from 2023’s publications. Bank Street’s seal of “best” is recognized by librarians, teachers, teacher training programs, and parents as a gold standard guide to children’s books. The selection committee is composed of more than two dozen members who are

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Health in Mind

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

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Tree photo by Mandy Ross

Fifty Plus Years of Celebrating Earth Day

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

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Painting of child looking out of a window

Celebrating World Solitude Day

This article was written by Publisher Spotlight intern Joslin Boals “Solitude: the situation of being alone, often by choice” Happy Solitude Day to all of those who celebrate! As defined by Cambridge Dictionary, solitude is the state of being alone, most likely by choice. Although some may view this as a lonely or sad thing,

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interior image from Migrants

Seeing Migration Experiences in Recent Picture Books

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

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