Cover of It's a Wonderful Story. Written by Amanda Rose, illustrated by Anne Rikta. When author, Amanda Rose, asked me if I would be interested in reading her picture book about a German immigration story, I jumped at the chance! Immigration stories are fascinating and, since my own family also immigrated from Germany, I had… Continue reading Big Picture 12: Immigration
As research for one of my manuscripts, I've been reading a lot of SEL (Social Emotional Learning) picture books. So far, some of my favorites include Allie All Along by Sarah Lynne Reul and Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse by Marcy Campbell; illustrated by Corinna Luyken. But when I came across Finding Kindness,… Continue reading Big Picture 11: Kindness Carries
Thursday, January 26th is Multicultural Children's Book Day (MCBD) and I am honored to be an official book reviewer once again. I was gifted the book, Sumo Joe, written by Mia Wenjen and illustrated by Nat Iwata. This book was published in 2019 by Lee and Low Books, Inc, which happens to be "the largest… Continue reading Big Picture 10: Sibling Bonds Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2023 Review
Visit author Shelley Moore Thomas' website here and illustrator Melissa Castrillón's site here. Hello and Happy New Year! The New Year is the perfect time to reflect on beginnings and endings and this post features a book about both. Beginning is written by Shelley Thomas Moore, illustrated by Melissa Castrillón, and was released in 2022… Continue reading Big Picture 9: Cycles
Visit Deborah Marcero's website here. Browse her work, order a print, or purchase one of her books. I like to make my friends laugh by saying that everything I know, I learned from picture books, but in many cases it's true! The life lessons and knowledge gleaned from picture books are not to be underestimated.… Continue reading Big Picture 8: Emotional Intelligence
Order your own copy of Steve Goetz's Old MacDonald had a Truck here. Find more work by illustrator, Eda Kaban here. Wow! It's been a loooong time since I posted, but this summer kept me super busy with travel, family and friends. I hope you also enjoyed your time these last few months, whether it… Continue reading Big Picture 7: Community
Check out author, Julie Leung's website. Check out illustrator, Julie Kwon's website. May is Asian/Pacific Heritage Month and I am celebrating with a post about Hazel Ying Lee, the first Chinese American female pilot in the U.S. military. Hazel Ying Lee joined the military in 1943, when the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) program was… Continue reading Big Picture 6: Persistence
Check out author, Lisa Wheeler's website. Check out illustrator, Zachariah Ohora's website. As promised, here is part 2 of The Pet Project. If you're looking for some resources for writing poetry for ELLs, check out this post from ¡Colorín colorado! Standards CCSS SL.2.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers… Continue reading Big Picture 5: Informed Decisions, Part 2
Check out author, Lisa Wheeler's website. Check out illustrator, Zachariah Ohora's website. Go into any school or library this month and it's hard to miss--National Poetry Month. You can read more about it here. While you're there, be sure to check out the list, 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month in the Classroom. If… Continue reading Big Picture 5: Informed Decisions
Art by Vicky Fang In 2021, picture book author, Vivian Kirkfield chose me as a #PBChat finalist. Later that summer, I met Vivian for lunch and got to talk shop with a real, live author! I think I was a bit starstruck. Luckily, Vivian is so gracious and easy to talk to. If you aren't… Continue reading #50PreciousWords Contest
LITTLE BIG PICTURE BOOKS 