Children's Picture Book Highlight

As I have previously mentioned in my last children's book blog, every time I take my children to the library, I check out the new picture books and staff pick sections to see what I can find in terms of diverse characters and/or topics.

Here are some that I have found in the last month! Happy Reading!




I Am a Baby

Author: Kathryn Madeline Allen
Photographer: Rebecca Gizicki
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
ISBN- 13: 978-0-8075-3622-3

This is an adorable picture book full of photographs of diverse infants and toddlers. Each page features a child with a familiar object or person that is labeled in short phrases or
sentences that is useful for families in supporting their young child's language development. The pictures include beautiful close-ups and feature a variety of different caregivers and races of children and families.



Ten, Nine, Eight
Author: Molly Bang
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
ISBN-13: 978-0-688-00907-6

This is a Caldecott Honor Book originally published in 1983. It is a counting book featuring a child of color getting ready for bed. This is a great text for counting interactions and vocabulary development for the familiar activities and items needed for the bedtime routine. I especially like this book because it features the child's father affectionately putting the child down for the night. The illustrations are colorful and fun. After reading this text, a caregiver could easily develop a seek-and-find or labeling activity to support understanding and vocabulary.



Say Hello!
Author: Linda Davick
Publisher: Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN-13: 978-1-4814-2867-5

A colorful and simple text featuring the many ways to say hello. The majority of the pages have a range of 3 to 4 words making this a perfect text for infants and toddlers who are not yet able to listen to a longer story. This is also a great text for young children who need more support and examples of ways to show affection without using spoken language. The
illustrations in this text include a variety of digitally created multicultural characters.



Feast for 10
Author: Cathryn Falwell
Publisher: Clarion Books, New York
ISBN- 13: 978-0-395-62037-3

First published in 1993, this is a counting book depicting an African American family first at the grocery selecting food and ingredients to buy and then counting again at home the materials needed for cooking and setting the table for the the family's dinner. The text is developmentally appropriate for very young children and the illustrations are detailed and life-like.

This text is great for discussions about family, grocery and meal preparation routines, and cultural similarities and differences among families.



Yaffa and Fatima: Shalom, Salaam
Author: Adapted by Fawzia Gilani-Williams
Illustator: Chiara Fedele
Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing
ISBN- 13: 978-1-4677-8938-7

Yaffa is Jewish and Fatima is Muslim. These two women share a very
special friendship! They are similar in that they both live in the Land of Milk and Honey (Israel) and are neighbors. They both own a date grove and sell their dates at the market. During the evenings, they spend time with each other and share their meal from the earnings at the market that day. While Yaffa prays at a synagogue and reads from the Siddur (Jewish Prayer Book), Fatima prays in the mosque and reads from the Qur'an (Islamic Religious Text). They both celebrate holidays and practice fasting. They are more similar, than different!

One year, after excessive rain and a poor harvest, Fatima and Yaffa did not have many dates to sell at the market. They each laid awake in their own beds worrying about the other. They both set out at night secretly with a basket of dates to place into the other's basket unknowing that the other did the very same thing. Both woke up to find more dates in their basket and thought of each other once again. They both set out in the evening once more to fill the basket of their neighbor only to cross paths in the field and witness that they both were sharing dates with each other all along!

This is a very inspiring story that was inspired by a tale from both Jewish and Arab origins. While reading this story, children have the opportunity to discuss cultural elements such as clothing, eating, and religious practices and holidays of people from the Middle East. It is an excellent example of being a good, giving neighbor and friend!



Sam Sorts
Author: Marthe Jocelyn
Publisher: Tundra Books
ISBN- 13: 978-1-101-91805-0

Follow Sam on an adventure as he cleans up his heap of a mess! This picture book includes the counting and sorting of toys that Sam finds. He even places his toys into a Venn diagram! The text features many opportunities for cognitive/mathematics and language activities such as rhymes and descriptive words.


Check out this book trailer for Sam Sorts!

Flowers for Sarajevo
Author: John McCutcheon
Illustrator:  Kristy Caldwell
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
ISBN- 13: 978-1-56145-943-8

This is a text more appropriate for our K-3 population about a boy named Drasko living in a war torn city of Sarajevo (currently in Bosnia-Herzegovina). Sarajevo has previously been a city of Yugoslavia and prior to that, Austria-Hungry. Drasko and his father, Milo sell beautiful, fragrant flowers at the marketplace. After Milo leaves to serve in the war, Drasko is left to sell the family's flowers at the marketplace by himself. One day, a mortar hit the bakery in the marketplace taking the lives of 22 people simply waiting for bread.

The next day, a cellist played  in front of the bakery among the rubble uniting the different people (Serbs, Croats, Muslims, and Christians)
through music. The cellist played at 10:00 AM everyday for 22 days in memory of each victim
of the attack. At the end of the story, Drasko leaves the flowers left over one day at the bakery in memory of the victims, at the orchestra's door in honor of the cellist, and at his father's seat at the dinner table. He wanted to be like his father and the cellist, and make his home, Sarahevo, beautiful again.

Flowers for Sarajevo is a useful text to teach school-aged children about conflicts around the world as well as teaching empathy for situations our friends, family, and members of our community may have experienced during times of war and violence. A CD accompanies this text so children have the opportunity to listen to John McCutchen sing "Streets of Sarajevo" accompanied by the cellist, Vedran Smailović. Listen to the sample here.



Pablo Finds a Treasure
Author: Andree Poulin
Illustrator: Isabelle Malenfant
Publisher: Annick Press
ISBN: 978-1-55451-867-8

Pablo and his sister, Sofia, go to the landfill to find recyclables for their
mother to sell at the local market in order to put food on the table for dinner. As they collect these recyclables, they also look for "hidden treasures" such as the blue boot, a book, or the two carrots to eat. Pablo looks through a garbage bag that is partially opened and finds a gold chain. Pablo and Sofia dream of what their mother will be able to buy from the market after selling
this gold chain. But then, a man who has been named, Filthy Face, sees them and demands that they hand over their entire collection. As they heading back home, Sofia is upset with Pablo for not giving her
the chain so she could hide it in her shoe. Once they get home and their mother asks what is wrong, Pablo opens his mouth to reveal that he still had the gold chain after all.

Prior to the start of the story on the copyright page, there is a note about how children in parts Central and South America, Asia and Africa are unable to attend school and are forced to work in harsh conditions to help their family earn money. Like Flowers for Sarajevo, this is a great text for our elementary population to teach about global issues and empathy towards classmates, neighbors, and families in our community who may have grown up or experienced similar situations as Pablo and Sofia.



All Kinds of Families
Author: Norma Simon
Illustator: Sarah S. Brannen
Publish: Albert Whitman & Company
ISBN: 978-0-8075-0286-0

Originally published in 1976, this picture book was evolved and in 2016, released a 40th Anniversary Edition with updated illustrations. This story is beautifully written and includes an inclusive description of the diverse families we may see in our community. Not only does this text feature diverse illustrations of families in terms of appearances, but also includes illustrations suggesting the birth and adoption of a child, terminal illness, death,
new marriages and separation/divorce, and military deployment. It would be a great introductory text to assist in the facilitation of discussions of family
life and issues.



Hop, Hop, Jump!
Author: Lauren Thompson
Illustrator: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
ISBN: 978-1-4169-9745-0

This is a fun, active text to read to young children to get
them up and moving. There are four characters in this
picture book that model a movement with a labeled body part. Because it involves different body parts, the story could be read in a way that modifies the movements so that a child with limited movement abilities may be able to participate.




Round is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes 

Author: Roseanne Thong
Illustrator: Grace Lin
Publisher: Chronicle Books, LLC
ISBN: 978-0-8118-2676-1

This is a book about shapes poetically written featuring objects with Asian cultural significance from East Asia.
This is a useful text for discussions about the similarities and differences in cultural traditions, routines, foods, art, games, toys, clothing, and pets.




Little Frog and the Scary Autumn Thing
Author: Jane Yolen
Illustrator: Ellen Shi
Publisher: Persnickety Press
ISBN- 13: 978-1943978-01-4


This little frog loves green, the pond, his mother and father, but is terrified of something that is happening to her environment. The trees are turning colors and little frog is scared of the colors gold and red! Follow little frog as she experiences her first autumn and feel her emotions as she sees things happening around her for the very first time. Life can be overwhelming and scary. It is okay to have these feelings especially when experiencing something new, different or strange. This picture book is useful in
teaching young children that new situations and transitions can be scary, but once we experience them, we can learn to accept them. Some of us may need more supports than others. :)







By: Sara Marker, ODEC President

New Student Contributor: Caitlynn

When people first think about children with disabilities being placed in a typical classroom, they may have negative thoughts or think that it might affect the other students in that classroom negatively. People might even think that it is not possible. The real answer is that it is a great thing to happen for both the children with disabilities and the students that are in the typical classroom.

A great technique to use is an activity matrix. It sounds complex, but it is something any educator can use and can be used with any child. This technique gives the students a structure during the daily routine and what to expect. Each activity matrix is individualized to fit the needs of the student. This helps the students achieve goals that are set between them and the teacher. Other students do not even have to realize that the student has an activity matrix. The main thing for teachers to remember is to keep the students needs, interests, and cultural perspectives in mind when planning strategies to use to embed learning opportunities for children with disabilities.

Emma's Blog #2: How do you embed learning opportunities for children with disabilities in the typical activities of your K-3 classrooms?

I believe that it is very important to embed as many learning opportunities as you can for children with disabilities in the typical activities in K-3 classrooms. In my classroom, I do not have any children with severe disabilities. I do have a couple of students who are on IEPs and have a diagnosis of ADHD. For these students, I try very hard to give them learning opportunities in typical activities during the day. I work one-on-one with a student who has ADHD. We use a behavior checklist throughout individual activities to help him focus and stay on task. This has seemed to improve his motivation quite a bit. 

After giving him a few assessments to find out what he really struggles with, I thought of strategies to embed those learning opportunities throughout the day. His three biggest struggles are focus, writing conventions, and memorizing multiplication facts. In the morning when he comes in, I ask him about his night before we begin to start his day positively. I continue to talk to him throughout the day asking him questions to engage him.

 During transitions during the full day, I embed several multiplication facts as we walk to and from specials and lunch. During reading time, instead of telling him to turn to a specific page number, I will tell him to turn to the page that is the product of 9x3. This helps him stay focused and gives him the opportunity to practice those facts. To give him the opportunity to work on writing conventions, I incorporate several writing practices into the day. On some days, his morning work will involve writing and editing. Usually it is writing about something that interests him, so that he is more motivated to write. All of these strategies gives this student learning opportunities that will benefit him and help him grow. 

ECE Student Contributor: Kiersten's Blog #2

In the third grade classroom I am observing, the students, who have disabilities, are only in the classroom a couple times throughout the day.  The students come in for the beginning morning meeting and then leave until lunch and recess.  During morning meeting, we get into a circle and greet each other.  All our students love this because it usually includes some sort of mini-activity or game.  It’s a good way for our students to start the day and let out a little energy before we start.   

When our students with disabilities come back for special (art, gym, keyboarding, etc.), lunch and recess, they are again back into typical activities.  During specials, they have a different teacher that runs that special for that day.  There is also a different teacher for lunch and recess so we don’t get to see what that looks like for our students.  I am usually outside for recess and our students usually always want us to watch them or play with them.  They are lots of fun outside and love running around and getting out energy.   

During the day, our students with disabilities go into the multi-sensory room with another teacher and other students.  The student’s love going there and get to play in the sensory room all day.  They also work on different school subjects and different social skills and cues that they need to work on.  It’s an awesome program that the school has and it’s one of the only schools that have this program in the area. 

At the end of the day, the students come back and get ready to leave for the day alongside the rest of the class.  They get on the buses or go with the walkers to their home.  This system at the school works very well; although, I would like to eventually see all students in one classroom all day.

Student Guest Blogger: Embedded Learning Opportunities by Casey

First of all, I find that the best way for a teacher to embed learning opportunities for children with disabilities during the typical activities in the classroom is by knowing and understanding the student’s specific needs and putting the most effective strategies into place. Children with disabilities have the right to participate in the typical activities as the rest of the class, and it is the teacher’s job to make sure that the child is receiving any necessary modifications and adaptations during the activity in order to promote successful learning.  

Planning is also an important part of a teacher’s day, and this can help the teacher to know ahead of time how to incorporate learning opportunities for children with disabilities into a typical activity. The teacher can think about what the typical school day looks like, and then from there, come up with different ways to embed learning opportunities throughout the day by thinking about how even a small occurrence during the day can offer the student an opportunity to learn. For instance, a student who is struggling to grasp the concept of time and the understanding of how to read a clock, can be asked different questions throughout the school day relating to time. The teacher may say something like, 

“Okay class, it’s time to line up for a restroom break. Before each one of you walks out the door, I will give you a time, and you will move the minute and hour hands on the clock I am holding to show what that time looks like on a clock.” 

This is an example of a teacher embedding a learning opportunity, not only for children with disabilities, but for the other students in the class as well. I am sure that as I continue my journey to become a teacher, as well as when I actually am a teacher, I will find new and different ways in which to embed learning opportunities for children with disabilities during a typical activity in the classroom.  

Student Guest Blogger: Kenzie's Blog #2

In my experiences this year, I have not had children with disabilities in my classroom. Even though I have not had children with disabilities in my K-3 classrooms, I have had to really learn how to make accommodations and adaptations for all learners in my classroom. I have had to adapt the environment, activities, materials and even provide hands-on assistance to learners. This experience of providing adaptations will help me be able to truly support children with disabilities in the future.  

To help my students, I have had to adapt a variety of materials in my lessons. For example, I have had to provide a “Wiggle Seat Inflatable Sensory Chair Cushion” for one of my lessons. This tool allowed the child to stay seated for a longer period of time. This is a way for the child to release physical energy without any distraction to their same-aged peers. I’ve had to adapt the environment by using a “wedge” to provide seating during our circle time activities. This allows every child to participate and engage in the lesson. I have had to adapt materials, by adding a movement activity in order to help children who have difficulty paying attention. I also provide assistance in the form of peer-assistance, such as “buddy reading”, so that children may engage socially and learn to read together.   

Check out the resources at http://www.dec-sped.org/resources

All in all, I have learned that every great educator needs to provide adaptations and accommodations for every single learner in his or her classroom. Whether you are working with children with or without disabilities, adaptations should be present in learning daily. In order to provide accurate and effective adaptations for the children in your classroom, you must get to truly know your students. Using resources such as the child’s caregivers and other professionals that interact with the child, and the internet can even be a great source. I hope to use some of these adaptations to effectively work with children with disabilities in my future career.