• Activities

    Storytime Theme: Bugs

    bug

    Bugs are something that either fascinates little kids or terrifies them! There are plenty of bugs that bite or sting, but most bugs are really important parts of the ecosystem. This storytime can combine stories with nonfiction text to not only entertain, but also educate little ones on all the…

  • Lists

    Four on Friday: Fireflies

    firefly

    I think 4th of July weekend is the perfect time to introduce readers to some of my favorite summer animals – fireflies (or lightning bugs)! Our backyard has been filled with these little beacons of light for the past few weeks and it’s so fun to see them appear at…

  • Reviews

    #blogbookaday: My Busy Green Garden

    Summary:  “So begins this lyrical tribute to the bugs, bees, and birds that make the garden such a busy place. With each turned page, more visitors appear, and all the while the “surprise”—a chrysalis—changes unnoticed until, on the last page, a butterfly emerges and flies away across the garden’s well-tended borders.…

  • Reviews

    Picture Book Month Theme: Insects

    You’ll be seeing a lot of picture books on my blog throughout the month of November as we celebrate Picture Book Month.  You’ll definitely want to check out the website as picture book authors and illustrators will be posting an essay each day about the importance of picture books!  Check…

  • Reviews

    Book Review: Last of the Sandwalkers

    I had no idea what to expect when I opened up Jay Hosler’s Last of the Sandwalkers.  I’m not a huge fan of graphic novels, mainly, I think, because I am a very quick reader and I think that the format slows me down a little and I really don’t spend…

  • Reviews

    Grasshopper Jungle

    I reviewed an ARC copy of this book and let me tell you, I wanted to put it down for fear of nightmares with 6-foot tall praying mantises, but I couldn’t it was so interesting!  Austin, our narrator, and self-proclaimed historian is a confused teenager in love with the girl-next-door…

  • Reviews

    In Search of Goliathus Hercules

    In Search of Goliathus Hercules honestly scared me a little when I heard about it.  A young boy finds out that he can speak with 6-legged insects and soon realizes he is becoming more bug-like by the day.  My immediate thought went straight to Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and I am…

  • Activities

    Creepy Crawly Bug Story Time

    We had a small but enthusiastic crowd at toddler story time this morning.  Our theme – creepy-crawly bugs!  A couple of the girls started out with an, “ewwwww…. I don’t like bugs!”  But, I think the books that I picked worked out really well and everyone had a great time! Today…

  • Reviews

    Step Gently Out

    Step Gently Out written by Helen Frost with photography by Rick Lieder is a beautifully written poem about being outside and noticing the small things in nature.  The brief, descriptive language is paired beautifully with close-up photography of insects in nature.  At the end of the poem there is a section…