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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 our teaching ideas to explore the wonderful books we have featured.
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 to work together in preserving the planet for future generations.
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 […]
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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.
#KidsLoveNonfiction
Nonfiction books for young people are in a golden age of creativity, information-sharing, and reader-appeal. But the genre suffers from an image problem and an awareness problem. The New York Times can play a role in changing that by adding a set of Nonfiction Best Seller lists for young people: one for picture books, one for middle grade literature, and one for young adult literature.
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 leaves her home, goes to school, and gathers with friends to paint a mural near a street with bright yellow lettering that reads ‘Black Lives Matter.’ The illustrations fuse past events with the present narrative; historical figures and monuments are represented by Collier in black and white, while the present is represented in bright colors. This moving picturebook invites us all to reflect on the contributions of the freedom fighters who have come before us, and on all of our roles and responsibilities in sustaining the continuing journey toward freedom.
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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 American family home inspired by […]
An Ode to Dads and Daughters: Dad Bakes
Dad BakesWritten and Illustrated by Katie YamasakiPublished by Norton Young Readers, October 2021ISBN-13: 978-1324015413Grades PreK and Up Dad Bakes is for “[a]ll of the families impacted by incarceration who I’ve painted with through the years” writes muralist and book creator Katie Yamasaki. Illustrated in bright, saturated colors, this tender story begins with four muralistic […]
Drawing Inspiration from The Wisdom of Trees
Whether or not you already identify as a tree lover, reading Lita Judge’s multigenre picture book, The Wisdom of Trees, will lead you to view earth’s amazing forests in multifaceted new ways. Judge deepens readers’ understanding of and respect for the interconnectedness of trees by presenting current research on tree communication, framing forests as communities through poetry, expository passages and extensive back matter.
Centering Food and Family: Tomatoes for Neela
Tomatoes for NeelaWritten by Padma LakshmiIllustrated by Juana Martinez-NealPublished by Viking, 2021ISBN # 978-0593202708Grades PreK – 3 Book ReviewThis book is a celebration of sun-ripened tomatoes and the joy they offer year-round. Vividly illustrated by award-wining artist Juana Martinez-Neal and written by celebrity chef Padma Lakshmi, this delicious picturebook is set during tomato season when […]
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