A ZEAL OF ZEBRAS: An Alphabet of Collective Nouns by Woop Studios (Chronicle Books 2011) is not your typical ABC offering. Each illustration, beautifully rendered in Adobe Photoshop, is paired with a collective animal noun and two descriptive paragraphs of background. Some of the collective nouns were familiar, others sent me looking to see if… Read more »
Dianne White
Next-Door Dogs, Amazing Frogs, and a Secret Zoo
PRINCESS POSEY AND THE NEXT DOOR DOG by Stephanie Greene, illustrated by Stephanie Roth Sisson (Puffin 2011) Posey and her first grade friends are writing stories about their pets. Though Posey doesn’t have a pet – yet – her teacher will let her write about the pet she hopes to own one day. But Posey… Read more »
Different And The Same
Sometimes accepting one another’s “differentness” begins at the exact intersection of our sameness. This month’s final BOOK ROOM post includes books that are about those children who know the uncomfortable feeling of being “different” yet find a way to turn negative perceptions into positives. MOCKINGBIRD by Kathryn Erskine (Philomel Books, 2010) MOCKINGBIRD is a beautifully… Read more »
How to Handle a Bully
This week’s Book Room post looks at bullying, from several different perspectives, and what to do about it. CRASH by Jerry Spinelli Just about everybody has called John Coogan by the name Crash since he put on his first football helmet, charged into his cousin, and knocked her clear back out the open doorway. Everyone,… Read more »
Remembering 9/11
No citizen of the United States should forget the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and while it was only fifth graders in K-5 classrooms who were alive when the terrorist attacks occurred in 2001, it’s a part of our country’s history that those of us responsible for these young students – parents, teachers, and librarians –… Read more »
Amazing You, Amazing Me!
Developing a close-knit community of learners is critical in those beginning weeks and months of school. Appreciating one another – the commonalities and the differences – and recognizing that each of us has many wonderful talents to offer to the others in the class is one of the most important life lessons that kids learn… Read more »
Cookies, Soup, and Ice Cream – Lessons in Manners
Beginning a new school year is an exciting time. By summer’s end, most kids are ready to return to the more structured routines of the classroom, and while teachers look forward to reconnecting with former students, we also know the importance of laying the right foundation so that this year’s classroom routines get off to… Read more »
