Theme: STEM
to make
Author: Danielle Davis Illustrator: Mags DeRoma A stunning picture book ode to the joys of the creative process and the spirit of collaboration. This lyrical story from Danielle Davis and Mags DeRoma is perfect for fans of Kevin Henkes, Gyo Fujikawa, and Julie Fogliano. To make . . . a cake, a garden, a song, you first gather, then make—and wait. To make a story (like this one), you gather, make, wait. To make anything—big or small—it will take some time. You may have to gather more, make more, and wait a little more, but you can create wonderful things if you just gather, make, and wait. This gorgeous, timeless book gently emphasizes patience as part of the making process and is a fitting book for all homes, classrooms, and makerspaces everywhere. Connections: A simple and beautifully written book for makers of all kinds. This book is a gentle reminder that making is a process, a process that takes time. This book's 3 steps: gather, make and wait can be extended to the Launch/Engineering Design Process. Students plan, design, execute their ideas through the 6 six step process: ask, imagine, plan, create, experiment and improve. |
Ice Cycle: Poems about the Life of Ice, by Maria Gianferrari
Pancake ice, floebergs, glaciers, icicles . . . cold temperatures create an astonishing variety of ice forms!
From Maria Gianferrari, award-winning author of Play Like an Animal!, comes a beautiful collaboration between verse and science. Brief poems and ethereal illustrations introduce readers to the many different types of ice on land and at sea. Fascinating back matter provides additional information about water as a solid, liquid, and gas, as well as more details about the unique forms of ice mentioned in the poems. Celebrate winter with this evocative and atmospheric exploration of ice!
Connections: Use this story in your upper elementary science lessons on matter. Explore writing in this poetic genre with other science topics of study too!
Pancake ice, floebergs, glaciers, icicles . . . cold temperatures create an astonishing variety of ice forms!
From Maria Gianferrari, award-winning author of Play Like an Animal!, comes a beautiful collaboration between verse and science. Brief poems and ethereal illustrations introduce readers to the many different types of ice on land and at sea. Fascinating back matter provides additional information about water as a solid, liquid, and gas, as well as more details about the unique forms of ice mentioned in the poems. Celebrate winter with this evocative and atmospheric exploration of ice!
Connections: Use this story in your upper elementary science lessons on matter. Explore writing in this poetic genre with other science topics of study too!
How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside By: Kari Percival
Say "hello" to worms, dirt, peas, and more in this gentle how-to guide for connecting with nature. The beautiful simplicity of a garden is depicted through digital woodcut illustrations and engaging nonfiction text presented as a series of sweet questions and gentle replies. Less of a traditional how-to and more of a how-to-appreciate, this soothingly sparse text paints an inviting and accessible picture of what a garden offers. And with an all-child cast, the absence of an adult presence empowers readers to view the garden and its creatures through their own eyes, driven by curiosity and wonder. Connections: This delightful book embodies the magic of gardening and encourages all readers, from those who LOVE the outdoors to those with hesitation, to interact with nature at their own, comfortable pace. Use this story as a kick-off to life science or backyard science. Students will enjoy expanding with their own thinking: "What do you notice? What do you wonder? How could we find out?" |
feathers together inspired by real birds with an unbreakable bond
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Theme: SEL/Mindset
Ice Cream Face by Heidi Woodward Sheffield
The Ezra Jack Keats Award–winning creator of Brick by Brick brings to delicious life the anxiety and elation involved in waiting in line to get ice cream. As far as this ice-cream-loving kid is concerned, every meal should include ice cream. In any form, in every flavor, he loves it all. But what he doesn't love is seeing other people with ice cream . . . while he's still waiting in line for his. That's when he can get his mad, "no-ice-cream-yet, waiting-in-a-long-line face"--until he finally gets his cone, and his mad face melts into something sweet. Heidi Woodward Sheffield gently explores a range of emotions as they relate to this delicious, everyday experience. (goodreads) Connections: This story shares how our feelings can change with events in life. E + R = O! Waiting is something we all do in life! Readers can share strategies and responses for what to do when you are forced to wait or when something unexpected happens. Exploration of Zones of Regulation can be charted with examples from characters in stories for student reference. |
My Mind is a Mountain Mi Mente Es Una Montana
Author: Cindy Montenegro Illustrator: Nqobile Adigun Introduce your little ones to the metaphor that the mind is a mountain and how it can powerfully handle all emotions from the lowest of the lows to the highest of the highs – and everything in between – in both English and Spanish. My mind is a mountain, powerful and strong! My Mind is a Mountain is a metaphor for the heights a mind can reach in powerfully handling all emotions from the lowest of the lows to the highest of the highs – and everything in between. Refreshing debut by a new talent, Cindy Montenegro Delgado, LMFT. My Mind is a Mountain takes little ones to new heights and enlightens them on being aware of their spectrum of emotions. Connections: This hardback is perfect for introducing children to acknowledging their full range of emotions and to understand that feelings of great enthusiasm and happiness can balance out those of sorrow and anger. The mind is a mountain, and it’s up to little ones to climb it! |
Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness
Written by: Maria Gianferrari and Illustrated by: Pete Oswald Simply be like a dog with this irresistible picture book by beloved author Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by #1 New York Times bestselling artist Pete Oswald that introduces readers to mindfulness. Join a young child and their dog as they experience every minute of the day to its fullest—from the second they wake up to the moment they fall asleep. Readers will love barking, wagging, and sniffing along with the gentle cues in the book. Connections: Interactive backmatter includes prompts for a mindfulness walk that engages all five senses as well as a guided breathing exercise. Great book for introducing the 5 senses as well as the practice of using them intentionally on a mindfulness walk. |
Bored No More! The ABC’s of What to Do When There’s Nothing to Do by Julie Reiters
The ultimate book of boredom busters from A to Z—perfect for any time you're stuck at home or in need of a little inspiration! Act out a play Bounce a ball Call a friend Dance down the hall Whether you’re home with the flu or stuck inside on a snowy day, this lively picture book offers fun suggestions for families looking to step away from their screens. Julie Reiters’s bold and graphic art style is sure to appeal to readers of all ages, and the poetic text makes for a smooth read-aloud. With options from A to Z, Bored No More! is sure to provide inspiration for what to do when there’s nothing to do! Connections: Mindset- we can make our own fun when we feel bored, clear action verbs on every page, illustration style is bright and simple. This could be a fun style for students to explore. |
Theme: Love of Literacy and Language!
A Library
Author: Nikki Giovanni Illustrator: Erin K.Robinson In this lyrical picture book, world-renowned poet, New York Times bestselling author, and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Nikki Giovanni and fine artist Erin Robinson craft an ode to the magic of a library as a place not only for knowledge but also for imagination, exploration, and escape. In what other place can a child "sail their dreams" and "surf the rainbow" without ever leaving the room? This ode to libraries is a celebration for everyone who loves stories, from seasoned readers to those just learning to love words, and it will have kids and parents alike imagining where their library can take them. This inspiring read-aloud includes stunning illustrations and a note from Nikki Giovanni about the importance of libraries in her own childhood. Connections: Explore the question “What is a Library?”. |
Welcome Dark
by Charis ST. Pierre and illustrated by Rachel Wada In this poetic picture book, young readers are invited to explore the sounds of nighttime and find comfort in them instead of fear. As a young child falls asleep, the night comes alive. Animals hide and leaves blow, seeds are spread and crops are watered, and the world wakes anew in the morning. Focusing on the necessity of nighttime, this beautiful book showcases the night, along with its sometimes scary sounds, through new eyes. Stunning illustrations from an award-winning illustrator complement each spread as the poetry balances the magic and mystery of nighttime with the comforting stillness of being tucked safely indoors. Connections: Explore writing moves and craft, imagery |
So Much Snow
author: Kristen Schroeder illustrator: Sarah Jacoby A beautifully illustrated, rollicking read-aloud about forest animals who are caught--literally up to their ears and antlers--in a snowstorm. On Monday, it starts to snow. Silent swirling. How high will it go? Follow seven forest creatures, from a tiny mouse to a giant moose, as they hunker down in a snowstorm. As the week progresses, the snow piles up and up--even past Moose's antlers! On Sunday, the sun starts to melt the snow, and it seems that, as the next week passes and it grows sunnier, spring has finally sprung. But wait...is that more snow?! This cumulative picture book is at once beautiful and lyrical and playful and joyful, with charming illustrations by a highly acclaimed illustrator. - goodreads Connections: Use this beautiful story to study the change in seasons. Study the author's craft, especially in the use of descriptive language. |
Theme: Community
Dear Black Child
Written by Rahma Rodaah Illustated by Lydia Mb An inspiring love letter to Black children from all cultures, a story of self-acceptance. In the spirit of I Am Enough, this is a moving and lyrical tribute to and affirmation of Black children around the world—by an exciting new author and illustrator team. Dear Black Child, We are here to remind you of your glory… An inspiring love letter to Black children from all cultures, this book is a celebration of their beauty, joy, and resilience. Dear Black Child is a story of self-acceptance, love, and empowerment for Black immigrant children and families of the diaspora around the world and features joyful and vibrant illustrations. Connections: Friendship/SEL/Mindfulness/ Community/window into other cultures/Mirror for black children |
This Story Is Not About A Kitten Written by Randall de Seve and Carson Ellis A heartwarming picture book about a neighborhood coming together to help a kitten find a home, from a New York Times bestselling author and a Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator. Contrary to what you may believe, this story is not about a kitten, hungry and dirty, scared and alone, needing a home. It is also not about the dog who heard the kitten meowing sadly. Even less so about the woman and child walking the dog, who stopped when their dog heard the kitten. Nor is it about the friends who brought a box for the kitten, or the man who offered it some milk. No, this story is not about a kitten at all--well, maybe a little--but more importantly this is a story about community, compassion, and generosity. Connections: This story shows what happens when small acts of kindness from the community changes the life a small kitten. This would be a great book to kick off a community drive. Each act of kindness by itself is small but together they can make a big difference. |
The More You Give
by Marcy Campbell, illustrated by Francesca Sanna A modern-day response to The Giving Tree, this lyrical picturebook shows how a family passes down love from generation to generation, leaving a legacy of growing both trees and community. Once there was a wide-open field, and a boy who loved his grandmother, who loved him back. The boy’s grandmother gives him many gifts, like hugs, and Sunday morning pancakes, and acorns with wild and woolly caps. And all her wisdom about how things grow. As the boy becomes a father, he gives his daughter bedtime stories his grandmother told him, and piggyback rides. He gives her acorns, and the wisdom he learned about how things grow. His daughter continues the chain, then passing down gifts of her own. Here is a picture book about the legacy of love that comes when we nurture living things—be they people or trees. Connections: This is a great story for a community day read aloud and launch of a whole school project to share all the ways we give and grow as a community. We may title it: The More We Give! Students can contribute art and words phrases as we build our "Giving Tree" from the roots up! |