Florida Swamp photo by Peter Long www.flickr.com
*Middle-grade to tween (there’s some language in here–FYI ) contemporary fiction novel
*Middle-grade students Nick and Marta as main characters
*Rating: A good eco-mystery for kids with a quirky cast of characters, similar to Hoot and Flush by Carl Hiaasen.
Short, short summary: Scat has a main plot [...]

photo by >>>WonderMike

photo by Southern Foodways Alliance www.flickr.com
*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*Strega Nona as the main character
*Rating: Another clever Strega Nona book by Tomie dePaola, perfect for plant lesson plans
Short, short summary: Strega Nona, Big Anthony, and Bambolona are planting seeds with Strega Nona’s direction in the latest installment by Tomie dePaola. This [...]

photo by jimbowen0306 www.flickr.com
*Picture book for kindergarten students through third graders
*Groundhog teacher as main character
*Rating: A perfect picture book to celebrate Groundhog’s Day or to supplement a weather unit in science!
Short, short summary: Rabbit (and a few other animals) write to Professor W. Groundhog about his weather forecast on Feb. 2. [...]

photo by edenpictures www.flickr.com
Teaching kids about the weather may seem like an odd topic two days before Christmas; but weather is on my mind, and I don’t even live in the Northeast. I think it’s because as far back as I can remember, winter weather has messed up my plans in the Midwest. [...]

by GraceFamily www.flickr.com
Teaching habitats or teaching Christmas can easily be done with this remarkably clever and cute picture book: Who Would Like a Christmas Tree?
*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*Animals on a Christmas Tree Farm as main characters
*Rating: Who Would Like a Christmas Tree? is one of those children’s Christmas books that [...]

Hard Pan?
by Quinn Ryan Mattingly www.flickr.com
*Middle-grade novel, contemporary, realistic
*Almost 11-year-old girl as main character
*Rating: Lucky Breaks is a great sequel to Newberry-winning The Higher Power of Lucky, and Susan Patron has not disappointed us. “Scrotum” appears twice.
Short, short summary: Lucky and the lovable Hard Pan residents are back in this sequel, [...]

photo by Swami Stream www.flickr.com
*Picture book, contemporary urban fable, for preschoolers through first graders
*Young boy as main character
*Rating: How to Heal a Broken Wing’s beautiful illustrations tell this heartwarming story along with a few simple words.
Short, short summary: A little boy finds a bird with a broken wing in the middle of the city. [...]

Kids nonfiction books are changing, and they are changing for the better. They are more interesting, kid-friendly, and factual. They range from serious subjects such as the Hitler Youth to subjects more suitable for the bathroom! (Kids love bathroom humor.) Because of this, we should use children’s nonfiction books on a regular basis to supplement [...]

photo by H Dickins www.flickr.com
I picked up this book at the library immediately because most parents I know, including myself and my husband, deal with a fussy eater. My stepson is not terrible, but there’s still some days when he will throw me for a loop over something he won’t eat. That’s [...]