So we were having technical difficulties last week and our voting link went down. If you were unable to get through or haven’t sent in your kids votes there is still time. Send the number of children participating and the number of votes for each title to lisav@bankstreet.edu and I will add them to our [...]

This book is a joy to read aloud. The conductor of a chorus of animals has written a song, “What Animals like Best”. He assumes that pigeons like to coo and that cows like to moo. The animals rebel and tell him what “they really like”- ballet, martial arts and skiing. Language of Book Making [...]

  Discussion with 1st and 2nd graders. We read aloud I Want My Hat Back! with the 1st and and second graders. Summary- a   bear is missing his red triangular hat. He asks various animals in the forest if they have seen it. They have not. Simple limited language paired deadpan illustrations created in a [...]

Today’s discussion brought up some interesting points… Charting the conversation. What we (the students liked about the book) We liked the way the author put in exclamation points in the sentences. We liked the cartoon illustrations The author showed how excited Lucy was about making a friend. We liked the words in the bubbles so [...]

Why would I encourage teachers and librarians to participate in the Black Awards for best picture book? The first image that comes to mind is the children in my library. They are  engaged and invested  in the process and the award. I witness six and seven year olds with strong opinions about what makes a [...]

now? While schools across the nation have registered, are reading and discussing the finalists, our first and second graders are too. The third and fourth graders have made posters proclaiming their favorites.