Loving Kindness For Us All
Loving Kindness written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Tim Hopgood is the perfect book for December. No matter what the faith of your students, this book shares a message we all need to hear.
“You are beautiful just as you are. You are loved, and you love.” We see a sweet baby who grows and is connected to the big sister, who is loved and who loves. We see the animals who are connected to these humans, also loved. We see that everyone feels the sun’s warmth and admires the moon, everyone is loved and loves.
There’s also the message that we all make mistakes, and it’s okay because that’s how we learn. Take inspiration from Tim Hopgood’s beautiful art that includes speckles of paint. Using brushes and sponges, students can paint themselves doing something they learned that was once hard to do. Unintended droplets add to the beauty of their work.
I wish you all a happy 2022 filled with Loving Kindness.
Read MorePlay It! “Ten Rules of Being a Superhero”
Twice during my years as a classroom teacher I had students that weren’t allowed to participate in Halloween activities for religious reasons. To keep the fun of dressing up without creating difficulties for any of your students, read Ten Rules of Being a Superhero by Deb Pilutti and become superheroes!
Captain Magma and Lava Boy show us the rules with bright, captivating art and with short sentences to support younger readers. Big ideas like courage, integrity, and loyalty are introduced in kid-friendly ways, and there are good giggles, too. For example, Rule Number 2: “Saving the day is messy.” As Lava Boy cleans up the playroom ( with Captain Magma holding the dustpan), he adds, “Moms don’t understand Rule Number 2.”
There’s a fantastic, free discussion and activity guide (written by Superteacher Debbie Gonzales) that you can print from debpilutti.com. You’ll find fun games and a story sequencing activity that nails that Key Ideas & Details reading standard. I think Ten Rules of Being a Superhero makes a wonderful discussion and writing prompt. What are the qualities of a superhero? Who can be one? Since many kids are thinking about costumes this season, what about making superhero gear? Towels and blankets from the thrift store (thoroughly washed) can be made into capes. Donated t-shirts or paper grocery bags can be decorated with paints and markers. Thin craft foam can be used to make masks, wrist bands, and other superhero gear.
Once everyone is looking super, play the book! Act out the rules or write rules as a class for kids to act out. I hope you are having a happy school year!
Read MoreIt’s allergy-safe, no cost, promotes reading = it’s the perfect Halloween treat!
Every year at Halloween, a kid (maybe your own) asks for a scary book and you think, how scary is scary for this kid? Do they like zombies, or are carrots that eat bunnies more their speed? Trick or Reaters will help you find just the right book – and give you free bonuses like audio clips of first pages to entice readers.
Trickorreaters.com is loaded with book recommendations from authors like R. L. Stine to Grace Lin to Melanie Watt. Use the Scare-O-Meter to decide how scary you want your stories to be, or select by age (from two years old to fourteen) or by genre. Want a scary story about witches for a nine-year-old? Trick or Reaters will give you book suggestions like “The Gravedigger’s Son” by Patrick Moody, treat you with an audio clip, a book excerpt, or a book trailer, and help you find the book at your local library or bookstore.
Print fun flyers from the website to tuck into goody bags or to hand out on Halloween night, and use Trick or Reaters all year long to find books that are the exact right amount of scary!
The Cybils 2014 Finalists for Fiction Picture Books
I was honored to be a first round judge for the 2014 Cybils Awards in the fiction picture book category. I was one of seven people who volunteered to read more than 229 picture books and to argue for the books we thought were outstanding. The reading part was easy. Debating the merits of books I love with other well-read, highly intelligent, articulate bloggers – way tougher than I thought. Some books that I adored didn’t click with other readers, and some of their favorites I didn’t like. The process again reminded me of how personal our connection with books is, and why we need such a wide variety in our libraries.
In the end, we were able to choose seven fiction picture books to move on to Round 2. Good luck to those judges on choosing just one of these worthy contenders! See the list of all the Cybils finalists here.
Here’s one of the books that made me want to hug the author, the illustrator, the editor, and everyone involved in making it: Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me written by Daniel Beaty and illustrated by Bryan Collier.
Every morning, a dad knock-knock’s on his son’s bedroom door to tell him “I love you”. One morning the dad doesn’t knock, and the boy writes a letter asking why his father isn’t around any more. The letter the dad writes back about the hopes he has for his son’s bright, beautiful future is full of hope and inspiration. Any child dealing with the absence of a parent, due to incarceration or other circumstances, will find strength in this beautifully illustrated book. This is one of those books that may make a powerful difference in a child’s life.
Some of your kids need to hear this book because it will act as a mirror of their experience. Other kids need this book as a window into the experience of others. All kids need to know that a bright future lives within them no matter their circumstances.
Because this story can touch on strong, possibly painful emotions, it might be one you simply read aloud to your class and skip a follow-up lesson. Go ahead and let your kids see you get choked up, which you undoubtedly will, because powerful books do that to readers. Consider encouraging students to write letters – to someone they miss, to their future selves, even to you. If you let kids know they can write letters to you that will be absolutely private, and that you’ll write back to them, you may open incredible doors of communication with kids who need it.
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Guess Who Is Out of the Den?
