Best picture books for kids including Caldecott and other award winning books for children.
I am planning a trip to Barcelona next year for two reasons: my kids have studies Spanish for YEARS so it’s time to take off the training wheels and my husband and kids are obsessed with Barcelona soccer. So forgive me if my post slants a little towards Barcelona. Of course, the irony: they speak Catalan there which is closer to Latin.
The Mixed Up Files of Middle Grade Authors blog has a great post on dragons that preempted this post but I actually had been working on this for several weeks. There is something magical about dragons and I’m glad that some kids can keep the magic alive. I’ve gathered my favorite dragon books that range in age from picture books to young adult. What is your favorite dragon book? Please share!
Administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award was first given to its namesake in 1954. The award, a bronze medal, honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
If you read Meteor! by Patricia Polacco with your child and it elicits interest in all things meteoric, then please explore the science of meteor links below. If you happen to find a real meteor (and a link to find out if your meteor is real is below), you can even sell it on eBay!
It caught me by surprise that the books he wanted, and bought for himself, were mostly non-fiction plus a hybrid graphic novel/easy chapter book. It was a wake up call that Boys Like Non-Fiction and Graphic Novels! Duh! You’d think I would have known that!
Rana DiOrio’s book tackles all the safety issues that kids face in suburbia. She does it in a calm and gentle way, raising the right points but without any scariness. I like how she touches on listening to your inner voice and standing up to bullies. This is the kind of book that reinforces the messages that we parents give. It allows for dialogue should an issue come up, but it can also just be an easy reminder of how to stay safe. And that’s exactly the message that I want to impart to my kids.
This list is a homage to the exceptional teachers everywhere who dedicate their lives to making a difference. And they absolutely do! One day, one of their students may even write about their exception teacher as in the case for a few of the books selected below.