“Sara!” a voice called across the exhibit floor of the ALA Annual Conference a couple weeks ago. I looked around for a colleague or friend, but instead found a stranger. She handed me a hot pink ribbon to stick on my attendee badge boldly printed with “THE SARA CLUB.” Also …
While I love biographies, and teachers sometimes check them out for lessons, this part of the library collection has not been particularly popular with my students. They do, however, love sports books, whether of the fun facts variety, odes to favorite local teams, or photo-heavy manuals. A few weeks ago, …
PEACHES by Gabriele Davis and Kim Holt tells the story of a little girl attempting to surprise her father with a homemade peach cobbler. This isn’t just any cobbler, though. This is the recipe her mother loved to make before she passed away. This tale of the way food creates …
NOURA’S CRESCENT MOON by Zainab Khan and Nabila Adani is the warm and gentle story of a little girl who marks the end of Ramadan by searching for the new moon signifying Eid ul-Fitr festivities will begin. This moon sighting will be especially meaningful to Noura as this year is …
As soon as I heard the premise of Tricky Chopsticks by Sylvia Chen and Fanny Liem, I immediately added it to my school library wishlist. Following the story of Jenny Chow, who must come up with a solution for her chopstick troubles in order to succeed at the family Chopsticks …
One of the best things about my path to publication has been the formation of Kidlit Works, the fantastic debut group I am a member of. I got to know other writers with books coming out this year—and their stories. And now that it’s 2024, I get to talk about …
My kindergartners and first graders can’t get enough of fairy tales. And the second graders have a whole unit for studying folktales and fairytales from around the world. Ying Chang Compestine is queen of retellings, and RA PU ZEL AND THE STINKY TOFU, with its feisty heroine, adorable pup, and …
Come and Join US!: 18 Holidays Celebrated All Year Long might seem like a slightly belated choice for a post the day after Christmas. But the whole point of this book, written by Liz Kleinrock and illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat, is that there are other holidays celebrated this season and …
WHAT ROSA BROUGHT by Jacob Sager Weinstein and Eliza Wheeler is the story of the author’s mother, how she fled Nazi-occupied Vienna, and what she brought with her to America. The book begins with Rosa being looked after by her loving grandmother in a sun-filled city while her parents tend …
A few years ago, I was walking home to my apartment in Brooklyn, NY, when suddenly I noticed everyone on the block was frozen. I froze too, and then I saw what had made everyone stop in their tracks—a red-tailed hawk, perched on a chainlink fence. It was absolutely majestic, …