May

2015

What I’ve Been Reading (April 2015)

Of the children’s books I read in April, these are the ones I’d recommend. Happy reading!

Preschool (3-5 years) & Early Elementary (5-8 years):

Middle Grades (9-12 years):

Apr

2015

Door Decorating Contest

The school where I teach had a door decorating contest this month. The theme: book covers! The awesome 4th grade class I co-teach decided on Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I’ve been reading this to the class a little each day this year, so it was a perfect choice. Here is our finished product.

Apr

2015

Scholastic Booktalk: How to Speak Dolphin

The fabulous librarian where I teach, once again asked for volunteers to create “Booktalks” for some new Scholastic books. The designated books will get a QR code attached to them in the school library. When the code is scanned by a student using a smartphone, ipad, etc., the book talk video will pop-up on their screen and give them a summary of the book. I was lucky enough to get a book about two of my favorite topics: autism and dolphins. The book is How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby and here is the script:

I think the costume I borrowed from my eight year old neighbor really makes the performance! Haha. Check it out below.

Apr

2015

What I’ve Been Reading (March 2015)

Of the books I read in March, here are the ones I recommend. I recently read The Very Quiet Cricket and Giraffes Can’t Dance at my school’s “Stories Under the Stars” night, where the students show-up in their jammies and listen to teachers read stories. Even though Eric Carle’s cricket book is recommended for younger ones, those elementary school kids “oohed” and “ahhed” at the end when the cricket starts chirping!

Babies and Toddlers (0-2 years) & Preschool (3-5 years):

Preschool (3-5 years):

Preschool (3-5 years) & Early Elementary (5-8 years):

Early Elementary (5-8 years):

Early Elementary (5-8 years) & Middle Grades (8-12 years):

Middle Grades (8-12 years):

Mar

2015

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

This is the week to celebrate the brilliant, the kooky, the stupendous, the inspiring, the one-and-only…

I kicked off the party by reading from The Lorax over the
morning announcements at the elementary school where I teach.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from The Lorax:

I’ll be reading a different Dr. Seuss book to my kids each night this week. How will you be celebrating?

Have a magical, fun-filled, Seussical week!

Mar

2015

Happy Read Across America Day!

Mar

2015

What I’ve Been Reading (February 2015)

Here are some fantastic children’s books I’ve read this month. I found the gem The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli, on the shelf of a tiny little bookstore in Middleburg, VA. Several of them are from TIME magazine’s list of the 100 best children’s books of all time. Enjoy!

Preschool (3-5 years):

Preschool (3-5 years) and Early Elementary (5-8 years):

Early Elementary (5-8 years):

Middle Grades (8-12 years):

Middle Grades (8-12 years) and Young Adult (12+ years):

Feb

2015

A Great Find at a Tiny Bookstore

I took my mom and mother-in-law to brunch today at the beautiful Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Virginia. After filling ourselves with mimosas and several helpings from the ridiculously delicious buffet, we decided to walk around downtown Middleburg and check-out the shops. One tiny building tucked down a side street caught my eye: Second Chapter Books.

With only a few bookshelves, this was definitely one of the smallest bookstores I’d been in. But just look at all the awesome books lined up! I see several that have been on my “What I’ve Been Reading” recommended lists.

The book store had two more small rooms upstairs with used books, one with adult books and one with children’s books. This is where I found a true gem! The Watermelon Seed by Greg Rizzoli immediately jumped out at me when I scanned the shelves. Look at this fun cover! I read the book out loud because it was just me and my mom standing there and let me tell you…it was PERFECTION. Fantastic pacing, simplistic illustrations and humor! And it won the Theodor Seuss Geisel award. How have I not read this before?

What a great find in a tiny bookstore!