In the wake of the social isolation that Zoom school brought to students, this year I’ve been flooded with requests from teachers for books about social emotional learning (SEL). There are many aspects of SEL, from developing empathy to encouraging self-confidence, but the request I’ve received the most is books about growth mindset. Carol Dweck […]
September
24
Developing Digital Detectives by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins
posted by CBethM
Pop Quiz! Which of the following was released to the public first? The first iPhone Facebook The CRAAP Test Youtube The CARS Checklist If you guessed the uber popular information literacy protocol The CRAAP Test, you’re right! This checklist, which is still widely used by many educators across the country, as a go to tool […]
September
23
Heading Back to School with Healthy Friendship Tools by Laura Shovan and Jessica Speer
posted by CBethM
“Healthy friendships feel safe and accepting.” This sentence, from the introduction of the new guidebook BFF or NRF? (Not Really Friends): A Girl’s Guide to Happy Friendships (Familius), jumped out at me. “Yes!” was my first reaction. And then, “I wish someone had told me this when I was in middle school.” BFF or NRF? […]
September
21
Chess Puzzles for Fellow Nerds by Steve Sheinkin
posted by CBethM
I’ve gotten really into chess during the pandemic. Holed up alone in my office, I’ve spent every lunch break for the past eighteen months watching recaps of grandmaster tournaments on YouTube. I love the game, and I love that the international stars of the game make nerdiness look so cool. Meanwhile, between chess videos, I […]
September
18
Who needs books when you have a dead chicken? by Laurenne Sala
posted by CBethM
I don’t remember much before I was three. I have flashes of imagery from preschool. Tuna casserole. Co-ed bathrooms. Puzzles. Big Bird. I don’t remember my dad leaving, and I definitely don’t recall an empty feeling when it was just me and my mom, together in a two-story house intended for a big family. My […]
September
16
On the Road Again, with David and Mike
posted by CBethM
David LaRochelle: Several years ago, Mike Wohnoutka and I were commissioned to create an early literacy program for libraries here in Minnesota. It included reading one of our books, writing a story together with the kids, drawing, singing, dancing, and puppetry. We visited 59 libraries that year and spent manyhours together in the car, driving […]
September
15
Inspiring Future Space Travelers by James McGowan
posted by CBethM
Space is cool. You don’t need me to tell you that. (Unless you’re one of those people who experience “cosmic vertigo” and can’t think about space without getting woozy, in which case you might need me to tell you it’s cool, so we can move on and stop discussing space. In that case, space is […]
September
13
10 Best Books Starring Kangaroos by Margaret Robson Kett
posted by CBethM
It’s the animal holding up one side of the Australian coat-of-arms. Europeans who encountered First Nations people speaking Guugu-Yimidhirr language in what is now northern Queensland over two hundred years ago heard them describe this strange animal as ‘ganjurru’. The kangaroo is adorably quirky and seems purpose built for picture books about mother-child relationships. My […]
September
12
Fun Facts from a Paleontologist! by Dr. Dean Lomax
posted by CBethM
Dr. Dean Lomax shares some facts from his new pop-up book Prehistoric Pets. Did you know… 1. …that Velociraptor is more closely related to living birds than to dinosaurs like Triceratops? That’s because birds are dinosaurs! 2. …that Tyrannosaurus rex lived closer in geological time to humans than it did to Stegosaurus? 3. …that the […]
September
11
JULIA CHILD AND THE TRUTH OF WITHOUT SEPARATION, SORT OF by Larry Dane Brimner
posted by CBethM
I suppose I blame it all on PBS. It was, after all, the YouTube of my youth. It was also one of three television channels we were able to pick up on the massive black-and-white TV that graced our living room, circa 1963. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was in the White House, and I […]
