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A Colorful Caterpillar
Eric Carle: A Life of Art, Beauty, and Wonder

Eric Carle: A Life of Art, Beauty, and Wonder

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Note:  This post may contain affiliate links.  Please see my Disclosure Policy for more information. On May 23, 2021, Eric Carle, the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and many other iconic works of children’s literature died of kidney failure at the age of 91.  His books are everywhere.  It would be hard to find a classroom or library with books for kids that doesn’t have his books.  In the time following his passing, I have read several really excellent articles about his…

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16 Wonderful Thanksgiving Books for Celebrating Gratitude and Community
16 Wonderful Thanksgiving Books for Celebrating Gratitude and Community

16 Wonderful Thanksgiving Books for Celebrating Gratitude and Community

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At this time of year, I always spend some time looking for great Thanksgiving books to share. This year Thanksgiving is going to be really different, to say the least.  It may be necessary to take our celebrations virtual, instead of large gatherings.  I think that despite COVID-19, we need to try to focus our energy on things for which we are truly grateful.  I personally feel so much better when I focus on the things that are good in…

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Frustrated Reader at wrong reading level
How to Know if a Book is at the Wrong Reading Level for Your Child

How to Know if a Book is at the Wrong Reading Level for Your Child

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Understanding Reading Level If you are homeschooling your child for the first time or supporting your child through distance learning, it can be difficult to pick out books that are “just right” for your child.  If your child has been in a school setting until this year, the easiest starting point is to reach out to your child’s teacher from last school year to get a good reading level. Schools use different systems for measuring the reading level of students….

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10 Amazing Alphabet Books for Teaching Letters and Sounds
10 Amazing Alphabet Books for Teaching Letters and Sounds

10 Amazing Alphabet Books for Teaching Letters and Sounds

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Alphabet books are a great way to build background knowledge in a young child who is just learning about books.  A parent can start sharing alphabet books with their child very early in life.  I often see parents get really stressed if their kids reach first grade and don’t know all their letters and sounds.  Sharing ABC books is a wonderful, low-stress way to teach the letters and sounds without it seeming like work. The Gunnywolf retold by Antoinette Delaney…

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Parents sharing a book with their son
Shared Reading With Kids at Home

Shared Reading With Kids at Home

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Shared reading at school is an engaging way to model and teach young readers about how books work.  A teacher typically reads aloud a “big” book to the whole class, usually sitting on the carpet near the teacher.  This gives the teacher the chance to model fluent reading and demonstrate how readers think about the books they read.  Kids often chime in on parts of text that they know.  Teachers will stop and ask questions, ask students to make predictions,…

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Elbow Grease and the Value of Hard Work

Elbow Grease and the Value of Hard Work

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I really love Elbow Grease by John Cena and highly recommend it for first shared reading book of the school year. During the spring, I used this book in a really fun Zoom meeting with second graders. The book: Elbow Grease by John Cena, illustrated by Howard McWilliam.  ISBN: 9781524773502. The author: John Cena is an actor and WWE wrestler (16 times world champion) who has written several popular children’s books, including  Elbow Grease vs Motozilla and Elbow Grease: Fast Friends. …

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