Introducing Young Kids to the Holocaust

I’m not sure where I originally came across this book, but it has been on my “to read” list for a while, so I just picked it up from the library. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it is a powerful book, and needs to be a part of school and classroom libraries. It […]

What My Students are Loving

Whew – it’s been a while. Sorry, life got crazy there for a while. I’m warming up for a Spring Break posting frenzy. In the meantime, here are some books and series my students are currently loving: The Princess in Black series This fairly new series really appeals to my girls who love princesses and pink […]

Gossamer

Despite being a huge Lois Lowry fan, I’d never heard of this book until I came across it on the library shelf. The cover is somewhat reminiscent of The Giver and Gathering Blue, two of my all-time favorites, so I couldn’t resist reading it. Gossamer is so very unlike The Giver quartet, and yet so similar – in […]

brown girl dreaming

Wow. I just consumed this book in about 2 hours, and all I can say is, WOW. Is it fiction? Autobiography? Memoir? Poetry? I don’t really know. It doesn’t matter. It’s raw, and compelling, and vivid. Imagery so clear that I have the full movie version running through my mind now, even after closing the […]

Two of My Favorites

If you need a last minute Christmas gift for any 3-8 year olds in your life, try one of these two – or both! And to fully enjoy the gift, commit to reading the book(s) out loud to your special kid after the unwrapping. I Want My Hat Back, by Jon Klassen Deceptively simple, yet […]

Out of My Mind

Want to blow your kids’ minds? Read them this book. (I highly recommend it as a whole class read aloud.) Out of My Mind is the story of Melody, a 5th grader with cerebral palsy, who has been in special ed classes her whole life. The thing that only Melody knows is that her mind […]

Perusing the Bookstore

I stopped by our local bookstore last weekend, just to see what’s new and interesting. Full disclosure: I did not actually purchase any of these titles (remember… I’m on a teacher salary). But YOU should buy them and share them with your kids/students. Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes, by Nicola Davies Who would have […]

Need Convincing?

So, maybe you’ve read a few of these blog posts and thought… what teacher in this age of Common Core and mandatory subject time requirements and testing and computer based interventions and RTI has time to READ OUT LOUD to their students? Well. You should read The Read-Aloud Handbook and have your read aloud fire lit! […]

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

I picked this book up without even reading the cover blurb, but within the first page I was thinking of a few of my students. Joey Pigza is a “wired” kid. Although the book never explicitly uses the term ADHD, it’s clearly his diagnosis, and his medication doesn’t always control his behavioral symptoms. This book […]

Like a Warm Hug…

I’ve heard of The Year of Miss Agnes, but came across it on the library shelf and decided now was the time to finally read it. I’m so glad I did! It’s the heartwarming story of the children of an Athabascan (Native Alaskan) village in 1948, and their teacher, Miss Agnes. Miss Agnes is different than […]

A Need to Read

I'm a teacher who loves words.