Classroom

Weatherford and Cooper’s fusion of art and history bring to light a shameful episode a century ago that allows teachers, librarians, young people, and their families to reconsider our present and reaffirm our commitments to anti-racism.

The post Learning from the Unspeakable: Teaching Ideas Centered on the Tulsa Race Massacre appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifer documents the experiences of a summer honeybee from birth to death. The combination of words and images invites readers deep into the hive, providing both an intimate encounter with the bee colony and with the 35-day life of a worker bee, aptly named Apis.

The post The 2021 Sibert Medal Winner, Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

Part magical realism, part folktale, part contemporary realistic fiction, Tae Keller’s Newbery and APALA Award winning novel weaves a coming-of-age tale that is heartrending, haunting, and hopeful.

The post Healing and Hope through Storytelling: The 2021 Newbery and APALA Award Winner When You Trap a Tiger appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

In Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, a young Chinese American girl speaks to readers through lyrical language that celebrates the beauty of her eyes and the eyes of her beloved Mama, grandmother Amah, and little sister, Mei-Mei.

The post Encourage Self-Love with Eyes that Kiss in the Corners appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

At The Classroom Bookshelf, we champion the read aloud as an essential and joyful part of one’s literacy life.  With World Read Aloud Day fast approaching on February 3rd, we wanted to spotlight this upcoming global book party as a joyful way to lift up the power of books and children’s voices. Whether students are […]

The post Get Ready for a Global Book Party: World Read Aloud Day is Almost Here appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

What can educators do? We can offer young people an opportunity to better understand and make sense of this moment through information. Nonfiction books for young people offer us gripping accounts of the past and present in language that engages young people’s hearts and minds. Nonfiction books for young people provide a “container” of information vetted and researched, with evidence documented in bibliographies and chapter notes, acknowledgements and author’s notes. Nonfiction books for young people personalize and problematize history. Nonfiction books for young people can be juxtaposed in the classroom so that students can hear a range of perspectives and make sense across texts. Nonfiction books for young people can model inquiry and informational literacy, while also providing essential information about our past, our present, and the government structures within which we operate.

The post Teaching Ideas for a Democracy Under Assault appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed BasketballWritten by Jen BryantIllustrated by Frank MorrisonPublished by Abrams, October 6, 2020ISBN: 978-1419741081 Book ReviewThe end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 heralds the opening of the NBA basketball season. As we enter the new year, we are reminded of the athlete activism that has changed the landscape […]

The post Above the Rim: Peaceful Activism for a New Year appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

We don't know what next year holds. We don't know where books will take us. But as we do each year, we’ve curated “best of” lists from a range of publications and organizations that review children’s and middle grade books. We hope you find these lists useful. You may be in search of winter holiday hibernation reads. You may be trying to find just the right book for a child or tween in your life, or new books for your classroom collections or school library.

The post Books as Bright Spots in 2020 appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.

In a stunning picture book biography, author Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrator Laura Freeman celebrate the life and work of Philip Freelon, Architect of Record for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. This not-to-be missed title has broad possibilities for exploring art and design; featuring diverse life stories; and inviting students to consider how they might use their own talents to be dream builders.

The post Building Big Dreams with Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon appeared first on The Classroom Bookshelf.