#20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 5. Oh, No! by Candace Fleming; illustrated by Eric Rohmann [Schwartz & Wade | Grades PreK-2] Click here for additional resources from Watch. Connect. Read. Can a librarian tell you about an outstanding picture book by answering eight important questions? Oh, yes! Q1: Does it star a brave frog, a mean tiger, a helpful [...]
#20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 10. Step Gently Out by Helen Frost; photographs by Rick Leider [Candlewick Press | Grades PreK-2] Click here for additional resources from Watch. Connect. Read. It’s all deceptively simple. A spare, beautiful poem about noticing your surroundings, combined with remarkable images. While photography often strives for accuracy above all, Leider makes beauty his first [...]
#20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 15. Island: A Story of the Galápagos by Jason Chin [Roaring Brook Press | Grades K-4] Click here for additional resources from Watch. Connect. Read. In an explain-off, my money’s on Jason Chin. In each of his three releases to date, Chin takes the complex and makes it engaging for young readers. Island [...]
For the past few weeks, fellow elementary school librarian John Schumacher (he of Watch. Connect. Read.) and I have been busy preparing our annual Top 20 Books time capsule. You should see the size of the hole we had to dig. Looking back on 2012, these are the books we love. The books we love [...]
We’ve covered my K-2 and 3-4 schools – today we wrap up this look back at the year that was with the most circulated books at my 5th and 6th grade school. A few expected, a few unexpected – all of them popular among this age group. 10. All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary [...]
Don’t even think about dipping that brush. It’s time to once again take an unvarnished look at the most popular books at my school libraries this year. Last time out, we covered 3rd-4th grade. This time around, we’re looking at books for the lower elementary crowd, grades K-2. 10. Boo Hoo Bird by Jeremy Tankard [...]
The end of the school year is a crazy time, I tell you. All of a sudden, things that would never appear in a teacher’s lounge at any other time, things like this… …all of a sudden show up. But I’d like to focus on a non-slushie order of business today – popular books. I’ve [...]
Back in the halcyon days of the late aughts, A Fuse #8 Production’s Top 100 Picture Books and Top 100 Chapter Books polls were daily required reading for any children’s lit supporter worth their salt. Consider that the warm-up. Process perfected and team of number-crunchers assembled, the Top 100 lists are making a triumphant return. [...]
Oh, man. This is going to be tough. And here I thought last year was wide open. The 2012 Caldecott race puts it to shame. While I went 1 for 4 last time around, I did manage to include big winner A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Time to give it another try. These aren’t [...]
Fellow school librarian John Schumacher and I are counting down our top 20 books of 2011. Head on over to Watch. Connect. Read. for additional resources for each book. #20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 5. Ice by Arthur Geisert [Enchanted Lion | Grades K-3] Click here for additional resources from Watch. Connect. [...]
Fellow school librarian John Schumacher and I are counting down our top 20 books of 2011. Head on over to Watch. Connect. Read. for additional resources for each book. #20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 10. Marty McGuire by Kate Messner [Scholastic | Grades 3-5] Click here for additional resources from Watch. Connect. Read. [...]
Fellow school librarian John Schumacher and I are counting down our top 20 books of 2011. Head on over to Watch. Connect. Read. for additional resources for each book. #20-16 | #15-11 | #10-6 | #5-1 15. A Pet for Petunia by Paul Schmid [HarperCollins | Grades K-2] Click here for additional resources from Watch. [...]
Time is running out to get gifts for the insufferable librarian in your life. With help from Etsy, the 2011 edition of the Librarian Lump of Coal Gift Guide has your back. Click here for the 2010 Guide Click here for the 2009 Guide (Click the images below to buy) For the librarian who…might like [...]
Let the singing of praises commence. Over four days, fellow school librarian John Schumacher and I will count down our top 20 books of the past year. It’s a K-6, anything goes sort of list, with picture books, chapter books, nonfiction, and graphic novels all tossed into one big pot. This year Watch. Connect. Read. [...]
It’s time to take a look back at the year that was in children’s lit miscellanea. Saddest Moment for Brick-and-Mortar Bookstores The demise of Borders More reader-focused and personal than Barnes & Noble, Borders was the chain bookseller you could still get behind. No longer. *** Most Subtle Change of Expression from Cover to Inside [...]
Recent Comments