Skip to content
Pragmatic Mom
Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Policies
    • Media Kit
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright
    • KidLit Blogroll
  • My Book Lists
    • My List of Lists
    • Multicultural Books for Children: 60+ Book Lists
    • #OwnVoices
    • Summer Reading Lists for Middle School Kids
    • Asian American Children’s Books
    • African American Children’s Books
    • Arab American Children’s Books
    • Latinx American Children’s Books
    • Native American Children’s Books
    • LGBTQIA+ Children’s Books
    • Diverse Books for Kids
    • Best Books for Kids
  • Education
    • STEM/STEAM
    • Math
    • Social Studies
    • Art Projects & Exhibits for Kids
    • Applying to Art School
    • Applying to College
    • Book Club for Kids
    • 70+ Free Educational Games
  • Controversial
    • Sexual Misconduct in Children’s Book Publishing #MeToo #TimesUp
    • Rethinking & Examining Dr. Seuss’ Racism
    • Blood Feud over YA #BloodHeir
    • Tulsa Race Massacre: What They Don’t Teach You in History Books
    • The Chinese Exclusion Act – What They Don’t Teach in History Books
    • Segregation in California Schools: What They Don’t Teach in History Books
    • SCBWI Minnesota Racist Illustration and Gaslighting Response
  • My Books
    • Activity Guides to My Books
    • My Book Announcements
    • Kung Fu Crane Girl picture book announcement!
    • GREEN HOMES HAPPY PLANET Cover Reveal
    • BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US gets Kirkus Starred Review!
    • Barbed Wire Between Us gets Starred Review from Publishers Weekly!
    • BARBED WIRE BETWEEN US Makes Kirkus’ Spring 2026 Preview of Must-Read Children’s Books
    • FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! is a Notable Social Studies Award Winner
    • Fortune Cookies for Everyone! wins California Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award
    • The Traveling Taco wins California Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award
    • The Traveling Taco on Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025!
    • We Sing From the Heart is a Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner!
    • WE SING FROM THE HEART is Orbis Pictus Recommended Book
    • WE SING FROM THE HEART is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
    • WE SING FROM THE HEART is Carter G. Woodson Book Award Honoree!
    • We Sing From the Heart wins Julia Ward Howe prize for children’s literature!
    • We Sing From the Heart makes Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year 2025!
    • WE SING FROM THE HEART wins California Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award
    • Starred Review for FOOD FOR THE FUTURE from School Library Journal!
    • FOOD FOR THE FUTURE is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection!
    • Food for the Future makes Mass Book Award Long List!
    • FOOD FOR THE FUTURE Makes Green Earth Book Award Long List!
    • ‘Food for the Future’ selected for Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best books
    • FOOD FOR THE FUTURE makes Sunshine State Young Readers Award Orange Blossom List for Nonfiction!
    • Food for the Future is a finalist for 2023 INDIES Book of the Year!
    • Food for the Future Wins Nautilus Silver Book Award
    • Sumo Joe makes Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year list!
    • How To Coach Girls wins Silver Award!
    • Scholastic Purchased CHANGING THE GAME!
    • Posts on My Books
  • My Book Events
    • My Book Events
Menu

Category: Reading Lists: Picture Books

Best picture books for kids including Caldecott and other award winning books for children.

Smiley Book of Colors, picture book of smiley faces found in everyday objects, Pragmatic Mom

The Smiley Book of Colors. Picture Book GIVEAWAY!

Posted on March 20, 2012May 28, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

The Smiley Book of Colors by Ruth Kaiser is a clever picture book that finds smiley faces in every day objects. It also teaches colors. What I love about it is that it also teaches kids to see, REALLY see, like an artist. Is there a smiley face lurking about? Probably! You just have to see it.

Read more
Wimpy Kid, Diary of Wiimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney, books for boys, reluctant readers, reading, reading strategies,

Children’s Choice Book Awards: Vote!

Posted on March 13, 2012May 28, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

The best picture books, chapter books, easy chapter books and graphic novels according to kids! Vote now to pick 5th Annual Children’s Choice Book Awards winners.

Read more
Picture Books That Teach Compassion

4 Picture Books to Teach Compassion: Book Club for Boys

Posted on March 12, 2012May 28, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

We came up with three more little boy book club ideas using advanced picture books and non fiction picture books to teach our boys about micro loans, Ancient Egypt and helping endangered animals.

Read more
children's books on losing a pet

20 Picture Books About Coping with Loss of Pets

Posted on February 29, 2012July 24, 2026 by Pragmatic Mom

It is never easy when a pet dies whether it’s expected or unexpected, particularly for children. My Mom Friend at Yoga asked for book recommendations when her son’s hamster died. She knew this would be hard on her son and my other Mom Friend recommended they read the Rainbow book out loud during the burial in the backyard. Luckily the ground wasn’t frozen over because the weather was still quite cold. The Mom reported back that the burial went well and that reading the book helped make the ceremony special and personal. I think they referred to The Legend of the Rainbow Bridge but there actually two books on the same topic with very similar names.

Read more
Best Books for First Grade

Top 10: Best Books by My Son in 1st Grade

Posted on February 28, 2012May 28, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

What is the most surprising is how these books make us both laugh and laugh. They are really funny! Ok, maybe not the Ninjago series … that’s more action/adventure, but Dragonbreath, Alvin Ho, Frankie Pickle and Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever are snuggle up and crack up together.

Read more
The Unbreakable Code, advanced picture book, Navajo code talkers, Sarah Hoagland Hunter, decoding scavenger hunt, book club for boys, book club for kids, boys book club

Book Club for Boys: Navajo Code Talkers and Secret Code Scavenger Hunt

Posted on February 21, 2012May 28, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

Secret Code Book Club for Boys My seven-year-old son is in first grade but his closest friends are in second and third grades. It just worked out that way because he missed the cutoff so he’s among the older kids in his class. He can read but he needs help with chapter books and when…

Read more
picture books that build vocabulary, new shoes for sylvia

SAT Vocabulary Words in Picture Books: New Shoes for Sylvia

Posted on February 8, 2012May 28, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

The words for Week 10 are from the picture book, New Shoes for Sylvia by Johanna Hurwitz, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. To think that reading picture books will expose your child not only to a wonderful and gorgeously illustrated story, but to SAT building vocabulary. Jerry Pinkney is also a Caldecott winning illustrator and we are enjoying The Lion and the Mouse at home which is an amazing work that tells the story solely through watercolor illustrations with almost no words. This is not the case for New Shoes for Sylvia!

Read more

Posts pagination

  • Previous
  • 1
  • …
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • …
  • 112
  • Next

Looking for something? Search here.

I’m Mia Wenjen!

Mia Wenjen High Res Headshot Jerry Russo

Hi, I’m Mia Wenjen. Nice to meet you!

I blog about diverse children’s books, co-founded Read Your World on Jan 28, 2027, and write children’s books.

Free Blog Updates in your Inbox (RSS feed)

Monthly Newsletter with Subscriber Only Giveaways in your Inbox

My Shop for My Signed Books + Art

Mia Wenjen watercolor figure painting

Activity Guides for My Books

Activity Guides to Mia Wenjen's Books

Pre-Order Postcards From Malcolm X

Postcards from Malcolm X by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Keith Henry Brown

Postcards From Malcolm X book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFsTxt5FyjQ

How To Coach Girls is back in print!

How To Coach Girls by Mia Wenjen and Alison Foley

Barbed Wire Between Us (click to purchase)

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación

Barbed Wire Between Us original song by Daria Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wZieLAYEXA

Barbed Wire Between Us book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_daYAENk8_U

How to Coach Girls book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j74M0bBxrGg&list=PLbbSkNv_SxvvXMTklQDJ42vdbLXqlz0tb&index=5

Follow Me on Instagram

Instagram Icon

Follow Me on Pinterest

Pinterest Icon

Follow Me on YouTube

YouTube Icon

Follow Me on Facebook

Facebook Icon

Follow Me on BlueSky

Bluesky Icon

Follow Me on X/Twitter

Twitter X Icon

Follow Me on LinkedIn

LinkedIn Icon

Search Amazon

Find Children's Books

Shop Read Your World: Discounted Book Bundles and Toys

Fortune Cookies for Everyone (click to purchase)

FORTUNE COOKIES FOR EVERYONE! by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Colleen Kong-Savage, Published by Red Comet Press

Makoto Hagiwara| Inventor of Fortune Cookie | Dorktales Storytime Stories for Kids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1TaM7HjuzY

Fortune Cookies for Everyone book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9k6aOlMgCc

The Traveling Taco (click to purchase)

Cover Reveal for THE TRAVELING TACO by Mia Wenjen

The Traveling Taco Song created by Daria – World Music for Children

https://youtu.be/KWTuCwbWLXs

The Traveling Taco book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf4tp9lffG0

We Sing From the Heart (click to purchase)

We Sing From the Heart picture book cover reveal of The Slants Simon Tam

Dorktales Storytime Podcast: Simon Tam featured in We Sing From the Heart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlDdwUZpcNI

We Sing From the Heart book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJNcJd8dEPU

FOOD FOR THE FUTURE (click to purchase)

Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng

Food for the Future Song created by Daria – World Music for Children

https://youtu.be/uTw6y3EjeOA

Food for the Future book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8rHRd8JHgw

SUMO JOE (click to purchase)

Sumo Joe cover reveal

CHANGING THE GAME (click to purchase)

Changing the Game: Asian Pacific American Female Athletes by Mia Wenjen

Changing the Game book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgqwm5qSYcY

I’ll Be At Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival!

I'll Be At Chappaqua Children's Book Festival!

I’ll be at CASL Conference 2026 in Mystic, CT

CASL Conference 2026 Mystic, CT

I’ll be at the 3rd Newton Children’s Book Festival 2026//NEW Venue!!

Save the Date for the 3rd Annual Newton Children's Book Festival 2026!

I’ll be at NCTE in Philadephia

NCTE Philly 2026

Heim Nest Kid Mattress Exclusive Deal

Heim Nest Kid Mattress
educational toys
educational toys from dhgate stores

Online GED test at Excel

Archives

Categories

The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship (click to purchase)

The Elusive Full Ride Scholarship: An Insider’s Guide

How to Get Kids Reading

  • Multicultural Books for Children: 60+ Book Lists
  • Getting Kids to Love Reading
  • Summer Reading Lists for Kids By Grade
  • Summer Reading Lists for Middle School Kids

Purchase Read Your World Merch

LGBTQIA+ Books Save Lives Merch.

Buy it here!

HOW TO COACH GIRLS book trailer by Mia Wenjen & Alison Foley

https://youtu.be/j74M0bBxrGg

HOW TO COACH GIRLS (click to purchase)

How To Coach Girls by Mia Wenjen and Alison Foley

ebook Version has 3 bonus chapters (click to purchase)

How To Coach Girls ebook

My Websites

  • How To Coach Girls
  • I Love Newton
  • Mia Wenjen (My New Author Website)

The Traveling Taco Book Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf4tp9lffG0

We Sing From the Heart book trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJNcJd8dEPU

Recent Posts

  • Kirkus Reviews POSTCARDS FROM MALCOLM X September 4, 2026
  • Read Your World’s Newest Classroom Kit: Media Literacy September 2, 2026
  • 18 Children’s Books on Media Literacy and Fake News August 31, 2026
  • Harvard Fogg Art Museum 2025 August 28, 2026
  • Jane Addams Awards and Hull House Museum August 26, 2026
© 2026 Pragmatic Mom | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT