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9 Books Inspired by The Magician’s Elephant
Kate DiCamillo is an author whose books I will read no matter what they’re about. She has a way with words that is absolutely beautiful. And Kate can delve into tough topics in an age-appropriate way that just works. Her book, The Magician’s Elephant is being made into a movie…
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Top Ten Tuesday: Art Heist Middle Grade Mysteries
In today’s blog post for Top Ten Tuesday, we had the chance to choose a “genre freebie.” And I’ll tell you how I ended up in sharing books in this tiny little niche of a sub-genre – art heist middle grade mysteries. When I sat down to choose a genre,…
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12 Mindfulness Books for Parents, Caregivers, & Teachers
I think just about everyone can benefit from a little mindfulness! “Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens” (Greater Good Magazine). This is often easier said than done, but with anxiety, high levels of stress, and mental…
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Storytime Theme: Black Voices
Although Black History Month is almost over, you can use this storytime lesson plan anytime during the year! Extremely important, Black history can be a little difficult to cover in a thirty-minute storytime for toddlers and preschoolers, so rather than focusing on history or biographies (which you could also do!).…
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12 Read-Alikes for the I Survived Series
Today I’m sharing 12 Read-Alikes for the I Survived series. The I Survived series by Lauren Tarshis is a popular one in my library. At just over 100 pages, these books are quick reads that bring history to life in action-packed text. And now they’re also being re-released as graphic…
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Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Heroes & Heroines
Today’s theme Favorite Heroines got adjusted just a little to Favorite Heroes & Heroines so that I could share some of my favorite middle grade fantasy titles! I tend to claim that I’m not much of a fantasy reader, but in truth, I am. I’ve found that I can find…
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2023 CLEL Bell Award Winners
The CLEL Bell Awards are announced annually by the Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy (CLEL). Five books are awarded “in recognition of five high-quality picture books that provide excellent support of early literacy development in young children.” CLEL doesn’t just award books an award. They also create early literacy activity…
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Storytime Theme: Mail Time!
I’m so surprised that I’ve never done a mail-themed storytime before! Who doesn’t love getting fun mail? Honestly, my reluctance probably stems from elementary school. For a few years, we’d spend the early part of February learning about the postal service system. We took a field trip to the post…
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2022 CYBILS Award Winners
The CYBILS or Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards were presented on Valentine’s Day (or February 14th). And with a crazy week at work, I’m finally getting a chance to sit down and check out all the winners this year! The CYBILS “aims to recognize the children’s and young…
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Top Ten Tuesday: First Crush Middle Grade Novels
It’s a Valentine’s Day freebie for Top Ten Tuesday today. And at first, I was at a loss as to what to share today. But then, I realized that first crushes was a perfect theme for today’s Top Ten Tuesday. Some might think that middle grade readers are too young…
