It's NATIONAL POETRY MONTH! Hooray!! Kids LOVE poetry (and so do I)! Let's celebrate!
Here are some fun ways to celebrate Poetry Month with kids...
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The Beauty of Picture Books Blog celebrates the beauty and value of picture books. Our contributors include award-winning authors and illustrators as well as parents, educators, Little Bear and more!
It's NATIONAL POETRY MONTH! Hooray!! Kids LOVE poetry (and so do I)! Let's celebrate!
Here are some fun ways to celebrate Poetry Month with kids...
Read moreWhile visiting a classroom of second graders I was asked a series of questions. Who is Lorenzo the Bear? Where did he come from? Is he real, or fictional? Will he have more adventures, and stories to tell? All excellent questions...
Read moreIn our last post by Kyle Skor, he shared some illustrations from his book, "Art with Claude." This week, Kyle is allowing me to share some of my favorite illustrations from "The Bears of Snowflake"!
Read moreI decided to join a fun French protest in defense of a book that showed naked bodies. To be honest, I don't know much about this book, but here are some books on the theme of body comfort that I think are pretty great!
Read moreI LOVE this idea!! (Personally, though, I think they should have Take Your Bear to the Library Day, too!) (:3
Read moreI work in a 4th/5th grade classroom and we read picture books every day. It's especially great seeing the 5th grade boys get pulled into the cute pictures in spite of themselves.
Read more[Part 2 of author Lola Schaefer's guide to using picture books as mentor texts in classrooms] Picture books are amazing. Not only are they a source of enjoyment and entertainment, but in the hands of a proficient writing teacher, they become so much more.
Read more[Part 1 of author Lola Schaefer's guide to using picture books as mentor texts in classrooms] We’ve all heard the expression “show, don’t tell.” It’s especially true in teaching. If students discover truths or concepts on their own, they are much more likely to remember and apply these in the future.
Read moreRhymes have the power to engage us with their pattern of repetition in sound and rhythm. We are encouraged to think along and our mind starts to participate. Perhaps we wonder how will the rhyme end? Can I come up with an ending word of my own?
Read moreLast week, I celebrated the beauty of picture books in a program for three first-grade classes, in the library of Shepherd Elementary School in Washington, DC. The children were well-prepared with a love for and an excitement about picture books. Each of the classes surprised me with a dramatic, group performance of one of my poems.
Read moreI had barely begun reading my picture book Bears on Chairs in a first grade classroom when a boy in front broke in. “It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The picture shows four chairs on the first page, but there’s only one chair on the second page. Where are the rest of them? It doesn’t make sense!” ...
Read moreThese, the compelling ending words at the beginning of Eric Carle’s, I See a Song, led me to choose it as my most favorite picture book. A close second is my other most favorite picture book by Bill Martin Jr.-- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Read moreWhat makes a book a favorite? What makes us return to it again and again? What kind of book inspires fond memories? Even the youngest children show strong preferences.
Read moreWhen I was about seven or eight years old, I learned two very important things, one, that we're all brothers and sisters, and two, because of that everyone deserves our love, even if we don't agree with or like them. I remember very clearly thinking that I was going to travel then world, meet my brothers and sisters and share this message of love.
Read moreAs an editor and writer, I knew that reading would be a big part of my baby’s life. And, yes, as overenthusiastic parents, my husband and I started reading to the bump in my belly quite early, one of our favorite books at this stage being Ma, There’s Nothing to Do Here! And when our daughter Diora was born
Read moreMy love affair with books started when I was very young. I still remember sitting on my mother’s lap and listening to her read to me and my older sister, enjoying the closeness and the excitement of the stories.
Dr. Seuss stories always make me smile when I read them with children, and I remember how much I loved them when I was a child. He created animals and words and worlds and even a place where a little person with a little voice (just like me) who didn’t think he mattered (just like me), proved that “A person’s a person. No matter how small.”
Read moreI would find myself, as a child, running my fingers over the elaborate paintings in my father's oversized Bibles and religious books. My mind would be filled with the stories he had read to me while I sat with him on his large chair.
Read moreAs I have visited through the years with schoolchildren, parents, teachers and librarians, most of the people I have met, children and adults, love picture books. And yes, I do mean that they love books in a way that is emotional. I can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices when they talk about a character, a story, or an illustration, or when they recite a favorite line from a poem.
Read morePicture books are beautiful in so many ways—the warmth and intimacy that surround story times, the artful language, the special way they spark a child’s learning of larger concepts, the richly imagined worlds that encourage creative thought, and the way they make children (and even grown-ups) smile. So many picture books are truly works of art—philosophical, funny, and beautiful in every way.
Read moreOur blog features guest posts from artists, illustrators, parents, grandparents, educators and more! Read about the magic and beauty of picture books and, if you have thoughts to share, click here for submission guidelines!