Toon Books

Pop Culture Classroom Inspire. Educate. Connect. graphic with colorful background and stylized clouds, logo of open book with cover stylized as superhero mask

Graphic Novels Without Capes: Q&A with Pop Culture Classroom 

Graphic novels, manga, and comics have been gaining popularity among readers of all ages over the past several decades–and more acceptance as teaching texts more recently. Publisher Spotlight is delighted to share that three of our client publishers held six of the finalist positions, and a category winner, among the Pop Culture Classroom: Excellence in […]

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Katsu the dog tucked up in a blanket

Canine Companions: Rescue Dogs and Beyond

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

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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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Fairy Tales, Folktales, Oh, My!

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

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Hansel & Gretel cover on left and interior spread on right

Old Tales Told Afresh

As the old year makes way for the new, let’s take a look through some fresh retellings of old stories. Some of these stories are rooted in folklore; others have been recrafted from literary works of bygone centuries. All offer new ways of seeing and understanding the roots from which they grow, just as insights

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101 Ways to Read a Book_Red Comet Press_ cover_ interior spread

O, Come All Ye Book Lists!

We’ve been collecting all the kids’ book lists we can find and highlighting the titles mentioned that come from our US-based publishers. (For listed titles from our many international publishing friends, just look here.) Like many of our beyond-the-US-borders publishers, our American kids’ book publishers provide titles from abroad in translation, as well as books

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Shaped manipulatives sorted by preschool aged child

Get into Shape(s)!

This has shaped up to be a good year for new kids’ books that focus attention on—shapes! Some shapes—and books—are simple, some simply fun (as well as informative), and some sophisticated—just the way geometric forms run the gamut from easy to grasp to complex. Learning to recognize and name shapes helps build the toddler, preschooler,

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