King of Ragtime (Simon & Schuster) by Stephen Costanza is one of the books featured in the Black Children’s Book Week Read Aloud. Veronica N. Chapman, founder of Black Baby Books, launched the first annual Black Children’s Book Week, a week to extend Black History Month and celebrate Black children and the Black-authored books that represent them. The pre-recorded real aloud of the book features award-winning educator Jashonai Payne, with a performance of some of Scott Joplin’s compositions by award-winning pianist, Gil Scott Chapman! See the video here Get the book here
Like a Dandelion (HarperCollins) by Huy Voun Lee, King of Ragtime (Simon & Schuster) by Stephen Costanza and Born Ready (Crown) by Jodie Patterson, illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow have been selected as CCBC Choices 2022. CCBC Choices is a best-of-the-year list created annually by the librarians of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. See the full list here Get Like a Dandelion here Get King of Ragtime here Get Born Ready here
Let’s Be Friends/Seamos amigos (Holiday House) by René Colato Laínez, illustrated by Nomar Perez, has been named to Tejas Star Reading List for 2022-2023! The Tejas Star Reading List (TSRL) provides a recommended reading list to encourage children ages 5-12 to explore multicultural books and to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. The Tejas Star Reading List is intended for recreational reading, not to support a specific curriculum. Congratulations Nomar! See the full list here Get the book here
School Library Journal has given a starred review to Pink, Blue, and You!: Questions for Kids About Gender Stereotypes (Random/Anne Schwartz) by Elise Gravel with Mykaell Blais (text) & illus. by Elise Gravel. See the review below. PreS-Gr 2–In her signature style, Gravel (What Is a Refugee??” and others) and Blais provide an accessible introduction to gender and gender stereotypes. Beginning with smart, open-ended questions, the authors challenge readers to think about gender stereotypes, why they exist, and if they are true or fair. The book progresses to an overview of sex versus gender, complete with helpful visual aids, an exploration of pronouns, and ultimately, a few examples of how gender is treated in different communities. At each step, the authors ask readers what they think and how they feel. This engagement, coupled with the accessible presentation of the material, makes for an excellent resource. The folks depicted throughout vary in appearance, and include many skin tones, ages, and family structures. A few folks wear hijabs, and two others use wheelchairs. Gravel’s illustrative style is wildly appealing, and the comic-style presentation helps to endear the book to readers. A slight weakness is the homogeneity of illustrated body type, though this […]
Born Ready (Crown) by Jodie Patterson, illustrated by Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, has been selected for the 2022 KNEA Reading Circle Recommended List in the Primary category. Each spring, the newest list is published and sent at no cost to every school in the state of Kansas as a service of the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA). School library media specialists across the state use this catalog as a respected, dependable tool for evaluating and selecting new reading material for purchase. Additionally, educators and librarians from more than 20 other states access this recommended list online. Get the book here
Nelvana and Discovery Kids has given the greenlight to a third season of Redknot’s Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe. The hit animated preschool series airs in Canada on Treehouse, and is based on the best-selling Binky Adventure graphic novels (Kids Can Press) by Ashley Spires. Read the full press release here Get the Binky Graphic Novels here
