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Explore reading basics as well as the key role of background knowledge and motivation in becoming a lifelong reader and learner. Watch our PBS Launching Young Readers series and try our self-paced Reading 101 course to deepen your understanding.

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Rita Wants A Dragon by Maire Zepf and Mr Ando

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Rita Wants A Dragon by Maire Zepf and Mr Ando

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February 2022, Graffeg Limited, 36 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Meet Rita. She's a little girl with very big ideas. When Rita gets cross she imagines she has a ferocious dragon that will make the world shudder with anger. But even the hottest tempers can be soothed and Rita's mum knows just how.

I, like Rita, want a dragon although not for the same reasons as Rita. Rita wants one to help express her anger and rage better when life takes turns she doesn't like. Anger isn't an issue I have these days but i feel my younger self could relate to Rita. These days I'm more patient if things go wrong, but it can be hard to express frustration when angry, and a big dragon does that perfectly.

I like how the dragon is coloured similarly to Rita's clothes and hair. I like how eventually, once left alone Rita is reasonable and works out why she reacted the way she did and the way the story ends is utterly charming. I feel this will help talk about emotions with readers, how we may want to react all angry like a raging dragon but that isn't the best way to handle the situation.

There is also a Welsh edition of the book!

For more dragon adventures check out Sir Scaly Pants: The Dragon Thief by John Kelly (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)

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Review: Rita Wants A Dragon by Maire Zepf and Mr Ando (Children's, Picture book, 10/10E)

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Roar!!! February 2022, Graffeg Limited, 36 pages, Paperback, Review copy Book summary from Graffeg Meet Rita. She's a little girl with ve...

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This is a hard post to write because this book is so close to the reality for many and a growing number of people as we go deeper into the financial crisis. With families facing food and fuel poverty this winter, I wanted to share this incredibly important story -
The Invisible by Tom Percival - about remembering to look and really see those around us.

When Isabel and her family face changes in their financial circumstances, they can't afford to have the heating on, they can't afford a lot of things that some people take for granted.
Eventually they have to leave their home and move to a new part of the city: one that feels cold, sad and lonely. Much like Isabel in her new surroundings. Isabel starts to notice that people seemed to have stopped seeing her. The family driving in the car on the way to school, the smartly dressed people rushing passed, until eventually she simply fades away.

But Isabel does notice. She notices that there are lots of other invisible people. A whole community in fact. A community that she brings together to make their world brighter, more colourful until Isabel isn't just visible. She's vibrant! And so is her new home.

And get ready to wipe a tear: "And that was how Isabel made something very special. One of the hardest things that anyone can make... Isabel had made a difference."

This is a book to remind us to look for the invisible. In fact more than that it's a reminder to not let anyone be invisible. And to counter that with a message that we all belong here.
Beautifully illustrated, poignantly written, this is a book that all children should have read to them.

Note this is a library copy. When times are tough, remember libraries are for everyone. And they are packed full of colourful stories.

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This is a hard post to write because this book is so close to the reality for many and a growing number of people as we go deeper into the...

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Children’s book roundup | Books | The Guardian

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A wrap-up of the month’s best children’s book releases.

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Hi Teacher Friends! Welcome to Melissa and Lori Love Literacy, the weekly podcast that discusses all things literacy. We love to tackle big ideas about the way we teach reading and writing within the science of reading.

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Kid’s Book Review: As Long As We’re Together | Books Up North

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Kids’ Book Review of As Long as We’re Together by Brianna Peppins. A refreshingly youthful panel of enthusiastic readers reviewing newly published books for children

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Here are resources for sharing my books in the classroom, library, or at home. My books are listed chronological order, newest to oldest. If you've enjoyed sharing or pairing my books, I'd love to hear more! Please see BOOKS and SCHOOL VISITS for more information.

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Thao Lam is one of my favorite makers. Her picture books are inventive, original, resonant, and risk-taking in a way that pops in terms of both style and meaning.

A paper collage artist, the art Lam creates is textured, patterned, and fresh. For some books, it's colorful and a bit wacky. For The Paper Boat, it's muted, grounded, and striking, with familiar imagery on captivating backgrounds for dramatic compositions and combinations. Her stories are fresh and oftentimes deeply personal whether about a concept, creativity, or Thao herself in one of my all-time favorite picture books that was jaw-dropping when I first read it and remains a total inspiration for its content and for showing what this special form can become.

The latest: The Line in the Sand (2022)

"The most enjoyable part of bringing this story to life was creating all the little monsters...I intentionally made The Line In The Sand a wordless picture book because misunderstandings are often due to a lack of communication. By not including text, readers are now left to their own interpretation of the situation; will they be right or wrong? Or do they just have a different perspective?"-Thao Lam from this interview on Owlkids.

The memoir: THAO (2021).

"This one I wrote for me so I could cleanse my head of all the issues with my name that I had dealt with. I've been lucky that every time I write a book, it's also something that somebody else has dealt with or taken an interest in."-Thao Lam from this interview with the CBC.

Another true story inventively, movingly told: The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story (2020).
-Thao Lam from this interview with Open Book.
"I was two when my family fled Vietnam, so I have no recollection of our journey across the South China Sea. My mother often tells the story of her mom leaving a bowl of sugar water on the table to trap ants in the house. My mother, then a little girl, would sit there for hours and rescue them. On the night of our escape she got lost in the tall grass. Spotting a trail of ants in the moonlight, she followed them to the river where a boat awaited: the ants my mother rescued as a little girl saved her in return that night. These images of kindness and karma woven by my mother were the only facts I knew about the war and our escape. They helped shape me and guide me through life. This story with the ants and the sugar water became the cornerstone of The Paper Boat."

The imaginative, magical companion for a new-to-towner: Wallpaper (2018).

"The inspirations for my stories come from taking a walk, on the subway, standing in line at the bank-anywhere where you're forced to wait that's when my imagination kind of runs wild. The way the story starts for me is that I get an image in my head and with that image I start asking questions. If I find myself asking a lot of questions about an image, I would start plotting it down. I call it a 'brain dump.'"-Thao Lam from this in-studio video with Owlkids.

The goofy one with a fresh perspective for us all: My Cat Looks Like My Dad (2019).

The first one: Skunk on a String (2016).

In honor of this post and Thao Lam's picture book life, Owlkids is giving away all five of her picture books to one lucky reader! Enter in the rafflecopter below!
Big thanks to Owlkids Books for images and books for our giveway winner! (North America only.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

You might want to check out my WALLPAPER + Paper Creature Craft post if you're in the mood to make something fun!

find Thao Lam's books, read Thao Lam's books!

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Thao Lam's Picture Book Life + giveaway - This Picture Book Life

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Author and illustrator Thao Lam's picture book life + giveaway of five of her picture books thanks to Owl Kids!

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What is Given From the Heart - talking about empathy

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What is Given From the Heart - talking about empathy

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What is Given From the Heart, an Amazing Children’s Book About Empathy

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What is Given From the Heart is a powerful children’s book about empathy, one that touches on compassion, kind words, giving and gratitude.

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By · Published: · Modified: · This post may contain affiliate links
Inside: Children's books about gratitude are important to read not just during the Thanksgiving season, but all year round. These are some of our favorite gratitude books for kids that teach appreciation and generosity.

He handed it to me after school, his face glowing as if lit by a hundred lanterns. "Fankful," he said. I looked at the orange construction paper, his turkey hand print, and his teacher's handwriting, my heart instantly flooding the floor:
I am thankful for mommy, daddy, my brother and Daniel Tiger.
Yep. That about nailed the things my sweet boy loved and needed more than anything else in the world: his mommy for snuggles, his daddy for safety, his brother for laughter, and Daniel Tiger to teach him, well, pretty much everything.

I can't bear to take his picture off the pantry door where I taped it so long ago. To me, this simple, sweet list is perfection. As my son grows, I know his "thankful" list will morph and change, but I want to continually remind him that the things we should be most grateful for are our relationships and the necessities, not those shiny toys and cool gadgets that clutter up our lives.

I aim to model an attitude of gratitude for my children. I try to frequently express my appreciation for the things we have, and I like to talk about how we can give to others who may be in need as well.

Children's books about gratitude provide rich examples of how we can appreciate and help others. Our family loves reading them together to see how the characters in these stories similarly model attitudes of gratitude.

I know I'm not alone in seeking a way to encourage my boys to have grateful hearts all year round and not simply when Thanksgiving approaches. I'm confident that if I can instill a feeling of gratitude in my kids at these impressionable ages, the more likely they will be inspired to help those who may not be able to help themselves.

Of course, I want my children to become intelligent young men. But if they grow up to be compassionate, grateful and directed by a strong moral compass that encourages them to give back to their community, whenever possible, I will feel like I have succeeded as their mom.
RELATED: Looking for great Thanksgiving books? Check out our list of preschool Thanksgiving books and our list of Thanksgiving children's books for bigger kids!
Perhaps even more importantly, the following list of children's books about gratitude can serve as "window" books for our kids - books that remind us that the things we take for granted are missing from many homes around the country.

So many people face daily challenges while simply trying to provide for their families. As thankful as we may be for what we have, these stories open our children's eyes to the struggles challenging the community around them and the myriad ways they can give back.

It's a good reminder for us grown-ups as well.

Below are some of my favorite children's books about gratitude to get both my students and my own kids talking about the things for which they are thankful.
RELATED: Happily Ever Elephants features more than 100 phenomenal children's book lists. Be sure to check out this link!
Happily Ever Elephants participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.

RELATED: We've got a fabulous list of kindergarten read-alouds for you on Happily Ever Elephants, so be sure to check them out!

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Children's Books About Gratitude to Read All Year!

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Children's books about gratitude are important to read all year round. These favorite stories teach kids about appreciation and generosity!

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UNSEEN JUNGLE: THE MICROBES THAT SECRETLY CONTROL OUR WORLD BY ELEANOR SPICER RICE AND ROB WILSON - Fun Non-Fiction

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UNSEEN JUNGLE: THE MICROBES THAT SECRETLY CONTROL OUR WORLD BY ELEANOR SPICER RICE AND ROB WILSON - Fun Non-Fiction

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Unseen Jungle: The Microbes That Secretly Control Our World is your guide to some of the wildest hidden experiences in the world around us and inside us. We can't see the tiny creatures we call microbes, but we can see the amazing and weird things they're doing in our everyday lives. Whether it's forcing ladybugs to babysit the creatures that just ate them alive or helping birds become beautiful, microbes are acting out all around us. This book shows you were to look to uncover some of their most astonishing secrets.

Rob Wilson's illustrations are somehow both hysterical and more real than real life. Who ever thought they could be charmed by seeing a mouse eager to be snapped by a mousetrap? Or want to make friends with the vulture who's about to scarf down some roadkill? Rob's a brilliant artist, and he somehow takes complicated scientific information and transforms it into delightfully witty scenes that help each of us connect with the stories.

Rob and I had the unique opportunity to truly collaborate on this book. He made sure that each of his illustrations was both an accurate representation of the material and also just plain funny. His work is a gift to us all.

Did you know that our most conservative estimates suggest that one out of every three of the cells on our human bodies is a microbe? We have up to two hundred different species of them just living in our belly buttons! And that if you were to get rid of all the ones on and in your body you would probably die without major medical intervention? The microbes on us help keep us free of disease, help us digest our food, make important vitamins for us like folate and B12, and can even influence how attractive we are to other people! They can shape our moods, telling our brains to feel happy and calm or to feel distressed. We need our microbes as much as they need us!

Unseen Jungle: The Microbes That Secretly Control Our World's cover is one that I think captures the spirit of the entire book. When Eleanor approached me about illustrating it, I was hesitant. But as she explained her vision and its subject matter to me-how the unseen world of microbes affects our everyday existence in the most outrageous, and outrageously jaw-dropping ways-I was hooked. I realized it was a book I would have loved as a kid. Given the wide (and wild) range of drawings of insects and animals in the stories, deciding upon a grinning cockroach popping out from a toothbrush holder on the cover seemed to make sense. You may not like the little fellow mingling with your toothbrushes, but he's there, and a visual representation of all the things going on around us that we can't see. The green background pattern is a squiggly group of microbial shapes, also reminding you that they're living on the surface of the book as you hold it in your hands.

Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice has the incredible ability to explain the most obscure scientific details in the most enthusiastic, funny and entertaining ways that draw you in, make you think, and help you see the world differently. She's magic, and collaborating with her on this book was a delight. If I had questions about how to draw something microscopic-remember, the title has "Unseen" in it-she would describe the organism as if it was sitting right next to her having a chat. The playful nature of the illustrations are directly related to a number of conversations we had about the project before I started drawing. She wanted readers to be drawn in to the science of the book by having them charmed by images that spoke to them in the most engaging ways. Eleanor's excitement about science, learning and storytelling shine though, and I only had to create images that kept up with her.

Did you know I had no idea how much microbes influence our daily life. Learning how microbes affect insects and animals was amazing. Ladybug nannies?! Fly zombies?! But understanding how they surround humans-and are IN humans-was a revelation. As I walk around New York City where I live, I now see the world in a different way, thinking about the hidden, extraordinary unseen jungle here in this urban jungle. If anything, I hope our book creates a sense of wonder and amazement in the world, how we are all connected in it, and how much we have to learn.

Thank you, Eleanor and Rob!

Eleanor Spicer Rice, PhD, is an entomologist and the author of seven books, including Dr. Eleanor's Book of Common Ants, Dr. Eleanor's Book of Common Spiders, and Ants: Workers of the World. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, sons, dogs, hermit crabs, an assortment of spiders and insects, and a small but valiant flock of homing pigeons.

Rob Wilson is an award-winning illustrator and celebrated graphic designer who has created work for the Washington Post, New York magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, and the covers of best-selling books. He is the creator of the icon for the popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale, and his work has been featured in galleries in London and New York City, where he lives.

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Unseen Jungle: The Microbes That Secretly Control Our World by Eleanor Spicer Rice and Rob Wilson

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Happy, happy Tuesday! I'm celebrating Unseen Jungle: The Microbes That Secretly Control Our World 's book birthday with Dr. Eleanor Spicer R...

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Recommended books for children age two to grade two - Texas Library Association

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Recommended books for children age two to grade two - Texas Library Association

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Staff Spotlight: Julie Marshall

The TLA Staff Spotlight series is an occasional series where we highlight different members of the TLA staff. It's part of our effort to make sure you know who the [...]

Statement Opposing HISD Elimination of Librarian Jobs and Library Services

In early June, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) took over Houston ISD, installing state-appointed managers in place of the elected school board and appointing Mike Miles as superintendent. Superintendent Miles [...]

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Current List - Texas Library Association

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2023 List Annotated List A Seed Grows by Antoinette Portis (Neal Porter Books, 2022) Bathe the Cat by Alice B. McGinty, illustrated by David Roberts (Chronicle Books, 2022) Bear [...]

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I'm big on noticing nature. There's always something to watch and wonder about-from a line of busy ants to the flicker drilling on the maple tree to the clouds drifting by. Paying attention to the world outside has always helped me feel connected and I've tried to help others capture that feeling, whether it is showing young neighbors what's growing in my garden, birding with my dad, or taking my kids on wildflower walks.

Books are part of making that connection to nature in our family, helping us find nature right outside our window and in faraway places. And Nicola Davies is one of our go-to authors for books about the natural world.

Over the past forty years and thousands of conversations with children, Nicola has emphasized how important it is that we understand all that nature does for us. Her new book One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth, from Candlewick Press, reminds us of just how essential that understanding is. I've also found it to be an excellent title for launching many of the climate and climate change related activities in Weather Wonders.

We are thrilled to have Nicola here sharing things to think about, talk about, and do to better appreciate our incredible planet.

One World: Nature as Our Ally by Nicola Davies

One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth begins at midnight, a time of magic and transformation in all stories. But although the journey that the two children make is one that happens in their imaginations, spanning the whole globe in the time it takes the clock to strike twelve, the places they visit are real. The children visit wild locations on land and in the ocean, at dawn, midday, dusk, and night, experiencing different time zones and a variety of different habitats.

On one level, this is a story to encourage a sense of wonder about the natural world and to bring about an awareness of the extraordinary and marvelous life in which our planet is still clothed. I loved to look at maps as a child, to trace coastlines, mountains, and forests and imagine what animals and people lived under the track of my curious finger.

It made me want to explore the world, but it also thrilled me to think of jungles and deserts, mountaintops and ocean trenches existing at the same time as me, right now, on Earth. I loved to think of the world turning, with light and darkness following each other across the curved face of the planet, and all of us, humans and animals and plants, aboard our natural "spaceship." The delight that I felt back then has never left me, and I hope One World will help readers share it. Although I have been lucky enough to explore the Earth a bit, there are many places I will never get to, many creatures I will never see, yet I still delight in them. Just knowing that I share my home world with giant anteaters is enough, even if I never get to see one in the wild!

But One World has another layer of information and meaning. In each place they visit, the young travelers learn about threats that these wild places face from human activity-deforestation, hunting, climate change-and what humans could do and are doing to help. I know that some adults think children should not be presented with any of life's harsh realities, but in the modern world of TV and smartphones we can't wrap our kids in bubble wrap. I feel it's my job as a writer for children to tell them the truth about their world in a way they can understand. And the truth about the natural world is that, although we humans have caused terrible destruction, there is hope. Given the chance, nature can recover and thrive, and humans can choose to give nature that chance.

In the face of climate chaos and biodiversity crisis, I know that many children-and adults-feel afraid and powerless. The messages delivered by mainstream media either ignore the problems altogether or are very negative, encouraging a feeling of hopelessness. So my aim in writing One World was to counter both ignorance and negativity: to outline problems clearly but show that there are solutions, to demonstrate that humans can change their behavior, and to invite children to be part of that change.

Climate change is a huge problem. It will come to dominate the lives of the next several generations of humans. But in our efforts to combat climate chaos, nature is our greatest ally. Restoring the diversity and balance of complex ecosystems on land and in the ocean will soak up more carbon than any human geoengineering project ever could. Reading One World and talking about the issues it raises with your child is a way to help with that restoration because it begins with knowledge, and with the ability to imagine the real wild places that nourish and create our One World.

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Respect for the Planet | Reading Rockets

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I'm big on noticing nature. There's always something to watch and wonder about-from a line of busy ants to the flicker drilling on the maple tree to the clouds drifting by.