I have LOVED doing my #middlegrademondays, but now that I am headed down to Grade 1 land, I feel like it might be good to get a new hashtag going. I'm thinking I'll post one #picturebookoftheweek each week (as best as I can actually follow through with... haha). I do have a special place in my heart for middle grades and will likely still post some of those, but this is a great opportunity for me to transition to a new group of books for a new group of kiddos!
July 14, 2023
I have to start things off with this fantastic book called Fried Rice and Marinara by Mike Yam and illustrated by Laura Dong.
Here are the details:
NFL Network sportscaster Mike Yam is releasing a delicious debut picture book celebrating intercultural identity and cuisine, “Fried Rice and Marinara” (Vooks). Inspired by his experiences growing up with a Chinese immigrant father and an Italian mother, his book demonstrates how a multicultural identity can give you a unique, creative perspective. In a world where Asian male leads are underrepresented, Yam's book adds a new character that young readers can see themselves in.
It’s Mikey Yam’s fourth birthday, and he’s facing a big dilemma: Should he serve Chinese or Italian food at his birthday party? Both his Chinese and Italian family members will be there, and he doesn’t know which one to pick! With the help of his trusty food gurus, his grandmothers, Mikey embarks on a mouth-watering adventure to create a one-of-a-kind fusion dish that will make his party the talk of the town. Mikey discovers that the best parties are the ones that celebrate diversity and bring people together through the power of food. Join Mikey’s journey and find out how two cultures can collide for a fusion of flavors to unite everyone!
I love that this picture book demonstrates the challenges that multi-racial children may experience, as well as celebrates diversity and the importance of loving all parts of your identity. I also love the mix of the two food choices, this is a pretty classic kid idea - I like both of these foods so why not mix them together?! It also works as a great metaphor for people and how you can be made up of many different cultures, traditions and languages, and those blends together make you special and amazing.
I definitely could see myself reading this book with my class and I think my grade 1s will love it! I also LOVE that it is also a Vook! There is no replacement for reading to a child, but sometimes videos of books help bring diverse texts to classrooms and homes that wouldn't otherwise be feasible. There are so many great books out there, getting the chance to experience ones that you don't have a physical copy of is a wonderful opportunity for teachers and families!
Here is a quick trailer for the book:
Thanks to the author for giving me the chance to watch and listen to the Vook, and to Books Forward for giving me the chance to read and review this book!
Books Forward:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MIKE YAM is a sportscaster and studio host for NFL Network and SiriusXM radio. He has worked at ESPN, NBA TV and Pac-12 Network. “Fried Rice and Marinara” marks his debut in children’s literature. Growing up with a Chinese immigrant father from Hong Kong and an Italian mother, Yam has always been fascinated by diverse cultures and perspectives. Yam is a passionate advocate for social issues and has authored op-eds on immigration and the Asian American community. Yam is a graduate of Fordham University and resides in Southern California.
July 28, 2023
Today I'm sharing about a cute series called Elinor Wonders Why written by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson. These picture books are written in comic book/graphic novel style and merges both fiction and nonfiction elements, truly bending all genres and book types haha! Each story follows Elinor, an inquisitive girl who loves learning about the world around her.
Elinor Wonders Why: Bugging Out
When her teachers tells the class that tomorrow they must dress as an insect, Elinor goes on an inquiry adventure with her father learning all about butterflies.
Elinor Wonders Why: How to Carry a Cupcake
When her classmates find out that it is almost their teacher's birthday, Elinor and her friends try to figure out the best way to transport a cupcake to school. This leads to an inquiry adventure learning all about hard shells like turtles and coconuts.
This series features a variety of fun and informative books that will definitely appeal to young readers in an interesting and unique way. I would definitely recommend these two books and look forward to checking out the others in this series! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Kids Can Press for giving me the chance to read and review this book!
August 4, 2023
How This Book Got Red
I don't think there is a word to describe just how much I LOVE this book. I read a lot of picture books, and now that I'm headed down to 6 year old land I plan on reading even more, but I want to make PBTW about the best of the best. The ones new teachers and veteran teachers should want in their classrooms and parents should want on their shelves at home. Some will be because they are DEI books, some because they have a great message, some will be cute and others just plain fun. And some will have it all, and I really think this is one of those books!
Red, a red panda, confides in her best friend Gee, a Giant Panda, that she feels sad that all the books in stores are about black and white pandas and none are about her. She starts to write her own red panda book then gets discouraged and throws it away. When some of her red panda friends find the discarded book they celebrate how awesome it is but are sad it is unfinished. Red realizes that people do want to read her book and that there is a need for books about pandas like her out there! She finishes her book and places it in a little free library for all to read, with the statement:
"Red hoped other red pandas would see themselves in the book. But if they didn't.... maybe they'd be inspired to write their own. 'Someday there will be all kinds of books about all kinds of red pandas,' Red said."
Teachers and other Inclusion experts talk about windows, mirrors and doors, as an analogy for having a diverse collection of books. Windows give readers a peek into a different perspective, mirrors give the reader a reflection of their own perspective and doors (in some cases specifically 'sliding glass doors') allow the reader to be transported into that other perspective and feel empathy for the characters in the story. Each are important, but a collection is incomplete without some of each and remember, libraries serve diverse groups, so there needs to be lots of windows and mirrors. What I love about picture books though, is that sometimes we can create characters that could potentially give us windows and doors without being mirrors because we can incorporate animals and other creatures or non-human characters. In the case of this book, we have two different types of pandas. Sure, readers who are from China might relate or connect to the pandas in a way that I might connect with a polar bear being from Manitoba (as in possibly, but also maybe not at all). But more than that, children may relate to the fact that they don't often see themselves reflected in books.
Beyond this, it is a cute story, with neat illustrations. There is a bit of a graphic novel feel, which for young readers who may not be familiar with GNs, may need a bit of preteaching/explaining how speech bubbles and navigating the page works. There are a few funny moments, especially when Red gets really mad, and some expressive text like "WHAT?" written in large letters taking up a large portion of the page, which I think will intrigue readers and encourage expressive reading when reading aloud. The font is a good size and is fairly decodable. There are some pages where the black font is over coloured backgrounds which may make it a bit difficult for some readers, but most would be fine, and most of the pages have black font on white or cream backgrounds.
In my classroom I could see doing an activity where the kids write books about themselves or "kids like me" or maybe even other things that they just can't find books about. I also think there could be lots of great conversations about own voices books and how authors can tell stories and share their own perspectives, like Red was able to do with her book.
How This Book Got Red by Margaret Chiu Greanias and illustrated by Melissa Iwai comes out on October 1st, so definitely preorder yours today!
September 18, 2023
This one was my top pick for the Canadian Book Club Awards, Children's Category. Check out my post here: https://teachreadinspire.wixsite.com/website/post/avid-reader-canadian-book-club-awards-2023
September 23, 2023
This week's #Picturebookoftheweek is Adelaide and the Cosmic Rescue Squad, a cute book about Halloween and facing your fears with your friends. It is written by Zoe Twitt!
It’s Halloween, and Adelaide and her friends are going trick-or-treating. As it gets dark, Adelaide’s stomach begins to hurt and her heart starts beating faster. Suddenly, a tiny witchlet named Zara appears in a golden bubble with some good advice for Adelaide and her friends: She tells them to imagine themselves inside a glittering golden bubble. She shows them how to spread the golden light all around, to help others who are also scared of the dark.
It is a really sweet book about finding your light and spreading love and kindness with others who need a helping hand. The font is large and well spaced with a good amount of writing per page. This is perfect for young readers who are easily overwhelmed with too much text on a page. I like the fun and expressive typography, though there are a few instances where it may be difficult for young readers to know which lines to read first, especially those around the bubbles later on in the story. That being said, for most readers it would be fine, and when reading with an adult it would also be a fun way to introduce this kind of book font. he illustrations and artwork are beautiful, especially the watercolour backgrounds that are pastel and give a calming sense to the book. Overall it is a really great, fun story that I think my Grade 1/2 students will love!
Thank you to @enchantedpress, @prbythebook, and the author for giving me the chance to read and physical copy of this book. I look forward to sharing it with my students next month as we get ready for Halloween!
September 29, 2023
I first read and reviewed this one back in 2022. Here is an updated post on why I picked this book this week!
October 13, 2023
This cute children's picture book tells the story of four young pairs of yellow wellies who journey to the top of a mystical mountain to ask three wise old women two very big questions. But, one thing they never expected was their little owner, River, to be joining them. Together they set out on the adventure of a lifetime. But will they make it? And, more importantly, will they find the answers they're looking for?
The story is sweet and fun. I think children would love to imagine what their favourite pair of rainboots might be thinking or doing when they aren't watching. The personification and the cute little details on the boots' faces also really adds to the story. In fact, all of the colourful illustrations make it really visually appealing and I am sure young children would be super interested in it. The large, clear font which is usually dark on a light coloured background or vice versa, is quite accessible. While there is a fair amount of words on each page, the well spaced and non-complicated font style will make things less intimidating for young readers. I also think it is perfect for shared reading with an adult. I would recommend this book for children in the age 4-8 range.
Thanks to Netgalley and a special thanks to the author Emily Dreeling for sending me a digital copy of the book to read and review. I am really glad I got to check this one out!
November 5, 2023
#didyouknow it is #nationalanimalshelterappreciationweek? In honour of this very important week I wanted to share a brand new picture book that is near and dear to my heart.
Molly's Miracle by @wonderbeaglemurphy W B Murph tells the story of an injured and abused dog who is rescued from the streets by an animal shelter worker. After having an amputation and spending time in the shelter, she is adopted by a loving owner, Mandy, who also has a physical disability. They share love for each other and make a perfect pair, reminding readers that rescue dogs are not broken, they are chosen.
I worked as an educator at the @whsanimals Winnipeg Humane Society for over 7 years back when I was in university and it was the most incredible job. I worked with small humans and got to meet so many amazing animals, each with their own story. Part of my role there was to search for great books to help teach responsible pet ownership and this would have been on the top of my list had it been around at that time! I would absolutely recommend this book to teach children about the important work animal shelters do on a daily basis, and that pets are a longterm commitment and have rights that owners need to respect. There are moments in the story that might be a little sad or scary for some young or especially sensitive children, but the messages are important and I think that if read with a caring adult it is appropriate and valuable even for very young children.
Thank you to @booksforwardpr and the author for giving me the chance to read and review an advance digital copy of this book. While I may not still be walking the halls of an animal shelter each day, I do still work with lots of small humans and I can definitely see myself grabbing a copy of this book for my classroom library. 💕
December 1, 2023
#TGIF because this week has been cray, and also because it's time for #picturebookoftheweek!
Clemmy Gets a Job by Caroline Crocker @drccrocker is the third in a beguiling series of stand-alone picture books about Clemmy the Brave Bulldog. In this mostly-true story, Clemmy tries to serve her family in many different ways, but none of them are particularly helpful. Eventually, she discovers that her real value is in who she is, not what she does.
The story is super cute, with just the right amount of predictability and repetitive text, that it will be relatively easy for young readers to read and follow along. The pictures are great, as many are real photos. This is a great comprehension aid for beginner readers or children learning to read in English. The messaging is about how a dog's role in a family is special and important, and it is clear right from the beginning that the characters in the story, Clemmy's family, love their dog very much. I used to work at an animal shelter as a humane educator and I could totally picture myself reading this book to the children I worked with. It sends the exact right messages and reminds readers that dogs sometimes do unexpected things like lick the dishes or bark at the mail truck, but that they are just trying to take care of their family or pack. I would definitely recommend this book to families, teachers or educators in settings such as the one I described. It is a cute and enjoyable book with lots of additional perks going for it!
Thanks to @breysbooktours and @verseventuretours for organizing another great tour.