• Reviews

    Locomotive

    For train-enthusiasts, Locomotive is a beautifully written and illustrated book about the early beginnings of the cross-country railroad.  With beautifully illustrated pictures that really show the details of early trains, to the rhythmic text that reminds you of a train racing down the train tracks – this is the perfect…

  • Reviews

    Bad Girls

    This was such an interesting title, I just had to pick it up!  Written in (very) short chapters, the authors cover 26 “bad” girls of history with  graphic novel conversation between the authors as to their own opinions on each of the women.  Many of these women I have heard…

  • Reviews

    Courage Has No Color

    Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers written by Tanya Lee Stone is such an interesting piece of history that I had never heard before.  I am amazed by informational text authors finding these interesting subjects to write about – I feel that…

  • Activities

    Fun Friday Program – Urban Art

    Friday’s program was a lot of fun!  We ended up with 27 students from 1st – 4th grade.  Our theme for the month was “Urban Art.”  Because these kids live only about 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia with its largest public art program in the country, I felt that urban…

  • Reviews

    Animal Grossapedia

    If there was ever a book that boys (and some girls!) might like to peruse – it’s this one!  Animal Grossapedia by Melissa Stewart is an encyclopedia of over 50 gross things that animals do.  You’ll find everything from dung beetles to koala bears and vampire bats. Each animal is…

  • Reviews

    Seymour Simon’s Extreme Earth Records

    I had the privilege of listening to Seymour Simon speak at a conference last year and I was blown away by the number of books he has written and his amazing website filled to the brim with information about almost every topic you could imagine – especially if it has…

  • Lifestyle

    2012 Cybils Shortlist

    The Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards have announced the shortlist for 2012!  Definitely take a look as these are some of the great books published during the past year.  Winners will be announced on February 14th and the judges are people who regularly submit to a blog about…

  • Lifestyle

    2012 Nerdies Book Awards

    If you don’t follow The Nerdy Book Club blog, you are definitely missing out!  The blog is written by three school teachers from different schools across the country and blog book reviews and other information about children’s books.  They specifically have created their own awards called The Nerdies Book Awards where books…