The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for your readership over the years. Going forward, you will be able to access our blog entries at https://classroombookshelf.wordpress.com/ . Our full twelve years of entries will soon be there and we hope that you and your students will continue to use [...]
Recent Posts
Teaching Ideas for Youth Climate Activism: The Tantrum That Saved the World
Written primarily in rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter, The Tantrum that Saved the World centers on a young child who decides to do something about climate change. Just in time for Earth Day, in the classroom this engaging picture book offers an action plan to help students, families, and communities [...]
Teaching Ideas to Celebrate Poetry Month and Earth Day with the Caldecott Honor Winning Title: Wonder Walkers
What is a wonder walk, you wonder? For the two children featured in Micha Archer’s Caldecott Honor winning picturebook it is a journey of inquiry through the wonders of the world around them, a ramble through fields, forests, valley, and shoreline. Perfect for Earth Day celebrations, Wonder Walkers is a [...]
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Book Reviews
2022 Newbery and Pura Belpré Award winner: The Last Cuentista
Donna Barba Higuera’s Newbery Award and Pura Belpré Award winning novel nimbly mixes Spanish and English and draws from various storytelling genres to do what speculative fiction does best - imagine the latent possibilities in a given society, challenge readers to contemplate the promises and risks, and invite us to [...]
Past and Present Merge to Lift Us in Bryan Collier’s We Shall Overcome
Weaving past and present together through image and anthem, master illustrator Bryan Collier gifts us the inspiring message of the protest song “We Shall Overcome” in the form of a picturebook. Immersed in Collier’s deeply symbolic collages, readers accompany a young Black girl wearing a bright yellow dress as she [...]
Delicious Family Memories: May Your Life be Deliciosa
Written by Michael GenhartIllustrated by Loris LoraPublished by Cameron + Company, 2021ISBN # 978-1951836221Grades PreK – 3 Book ReviewWhat kinds of food do you associate with family celebrations and holidays? In this visually appetizing Pura Belpré honor book, author Michael Genhart and illustrator Loris Lora welcome readers to a Mexican [...]
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One Woman’s Legacy: Teaching Ideas for One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University
One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World’s Oldest University is a gorgeous introduction into the medieval Islamic world, the thriving city of Fez, and the ongoing cultural and scientific discoveries and exchanges of the Islamic Golden Age. It also demonstrates the power of one woman’s determination to bring education to girls and women, an action that has transformed lives and reverberated over 1,200 years.
Retelling Fairy Tales for Contemporary Times: Beauty Woke
The remarkable power of words to hurt and to heal is echoed throughout Beauty Woke, the vibrant and uplifting picture book by author NoNieqa Ramos and illustrator Paola Escobar.
Beauty Abounds in Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas
In a picture book as vivid and colorful as the art it celebrates, author Jeanne Walker Harvey and illustrator Loveis Wise collaborate to introduce young readers to the life and work of Alma Woodsey Thomas. Alma was the first Black woman to have a solo art exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art and she created the first artwork by a Black woman to be displayed as part of the White House’s permanent collection. While highlighting her accomplishments, the narrative emphasizes Alma’s early appreciation of the beauty of nature, the joy she found in making art, and her commitment to providing art education to underserved children in Washington, DC.
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The Year We Learned to Fly: Teaching Ideas for the Highly-Anticipated Companion to The Day You Begin
A luminous companion to The Day You Begin, Woodson and López’s latest picturebook collaboration will remind children that they have the courage and capacity to “fly” past their most difficult times.
The Crisis in Ukraine: How War Changed Rondo
How War Changed RondoWritten by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy LesivTranslated by Oksana LushchevskaPublished in 2021 by Enchanted Lion BooksISBN 978-1592703678 At The Classroom Bookshelf, we have been thinking about the ways in which we talk about the war in Ukraine with our students. We imagine that you, too, are thinking about how you can talk […]
Teaching through Art and Verse – Ideas for Marilyn Nelson’s Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life
Nelson’s fictionalized verse provides insight and access to the extraordinary life of an incredible artist and teacher, and offers readers of all ages with an example of artistry, agency, perseverance, and self-determination.
2022 Newbery and Pura Belpré Award winner: The Last Cuentista
Donna Barba Higuera’s Newbery Award and Pura Belpré Award winning novel nimbly mixes Spanish and English and draws from various storytelling genres to do what speculative fiction does best - imagine the latent possibilities in a given society, challenge readers to contemplate the promises and risks, and invite us to form new understandings about the world we live in now.
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Apr 21, 2022
Denise Davila on Teaching Ideas for Youth Climate Activism: The Tantrum That Saved the World
"Thank you, Chris! Much appreciated. ..."
Apr 21, 2022
Chris on Teaching Ideas for Youth Climate Activism: The Tantrum That Saved the World
"Thank you for bringing this important book to my attention. The resources and lesson ideas you provide are amazing. I ..."
Apr 20, 2022
Denise Davila on Teaching Ideas for Youth Climate Activism: The Tantrum That Saved the World
"Thank you for your kind words! ..."
Apr 20, 2022
Daryl Grabarek on Teaching Ideas for Youth Climate Activism: The Tantrum That Saved the World
"What an amazing resource! Thank you. ..."
Apr 13, 2022
Micha on Teaching Ideas to Celebrate Poetry Month and Earth Day with the Caldecott Honor Winning Title: Wonder Walkers
"Thank you for this beautiful review! So honored! ..."
Apr 2, 2022
Chime The New Year's Fairy on Retelling Fairy Tales for Contemporary Times: Beauty Woke
"Great! Fairy tales, according to the Jungian interpretation, teach children how to deal with basic human problems, desir ..."
Mar 17, 2022
Wilma Romatz on The Crisis in Ukraine: How War Changed Rondo
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Feb 3, 2022
Michael Genhart on Delicious Family Memories: May Your Life be Deliciosa
"Thank you, Denise, for featuring MAY YOUR LIFE BE DELICIOSA in SLJ's The Classroom Bookshelf. I love the different ways ..."
Jan 31, 2022
Marina Teramond @ NMPL on 2022 Winter Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards: A Roundup of Our Blog Entries for the ALA, NCTE, ILA, and NSTA Winners
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Oct 25, 2021
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Oct 25, 2021
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