Education | Page 25 of 41

They Had A Dream, black American history for YA

Jules Archer is apparently quite the force in non-fiction books for young people. During his lifetime he published over 70 books. We read Jungle Fighters recently and loved it. The way that Archer presented the story of defending New Guinea was approachable and one that young readers could latch onto. With They Had A Dream he writes about four influential leaders of the civil rights movement. Frederick Douglas, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X are written about in this engaging and accessible book.

Continue reading They Had A Dream, black American history for YA

Reading Reconsidered, literacy instruction for teachers and parents

I’m a teacher. Once you’ve worked as a teacher you’re always a teacher. When my wife and I became parents we immediately started reading to our children. We also did the other parenting tropes like playing classical music, labeling key things in the house and saying Jumanji to make the dirty diapers disappear. Unfortunately that last one never did work. It’s in the vein of my prior profession that I wanted to read Reading Reconsidered.

Continue reading Reading Reconsidered, literacy instruction for teachers and parents

Jungle Fighters is first hand WW II history for tweens and up

Non-fiction can be a tough subject for younger readers to grasp. The subject matter may not be interesting, the text could be written in a way that doesn’t appeal to them or the content requires background information in order to comprehend what they’re reading. Originally published in 1985, Jungle Fighters: A Firsthand Account of the Forgotten New Guinea Campaign by Jules Archer is a great book for ages 12 and up because it deals with the a complex and brutal time in history in a way that young readers can digest.

Continue reading Jungle Fighters is first hand WW II history for tweens and up

Fantastic Fugitives makes non-fiction reading fun for tweens

As an adult I went through a big phase of reading non-fiction books. However, young readers, specifically children have a much harder time reading non-fiction. They’re perceived as wonky, humorless texts that lame teachers make them read so that they can learn about people they’ll promptly forget about. An added hurdle for young readers is that non-fiction requires context, as well as, a basic knowledge of history to fully comprehend, enjoy and hopefully learn something.

Continue reading Fantastic Fugitives makes non-fiction reading fun for tweens

Little Elliot, Big Family-great reading for 8 and under

When Mike Curato introduced young readers to Elliot in Little Elliot, Big City it felt good. It’s the kind of book that parents could read multiple times to children before bed time, has art with a timeless feel and a story that any age can relate to. The pink and blue polka dot elephant is back in Little Elliot, Big Family with an even more entertaining story and art that fills the pages with diverse, classic art.

Continue reading Little Elliot, Big Family-great reading for 8 and under

Be A Friend, a relatable lesson for kids of all ages

For us the best children’s books manage to make us smile from the cover. Be A Friend by Salina Yoon gets that (and many other things) right throughout the entire book. It has a boy dressed as a mime giving a young girl an imaginary flower. The image makes you smile and the happy vibes continue in this book that’s great for kids 3-7, but in reality any age can pick it up and learn something from it.

Dennis is the mime in Be A Friend. He’s a bit different, as anyone who is a mime would be; a little shy at times, but has fun in his own particular way. We see his friends have fun playing in a tree, while he has fun pretending to be a tree.

Continue reading Be A Friend, a relatable lesson for kids of all ages

Welcome to the Symphony, interactive-audio for kids

“What’s that noise?” our 4 year old asked as he stumbled into the kitchen. “That’s a cello” I said, “press that pink button and you’ll hear a viola”. Just like that the purpose of Welcome to the Symphony, a new book by Carolyn Sloan and James Williamson proved its purpose. For the next ten minutes he quizzed me on what is a symphony, about the different instruments and why the mice wanted to hear it.

Continue reading Welcome to the Symphony, interactive-audio for kids

Spot It! Miles From Tomorrowland, learning made fun

Is it better to refer to Spot It! as learning made fun or fun made learning? It is a fun card game that kids of varying ages will enjoy and have fun with, but they’ll also learn something from it. We were provided with Spot It! Miles From Tomorrowland, Spot It! Basic French and Spot It! Basic Spanish for the kids to try out. Each deck of cards comes in a tin can with round cards that have letters, pictures, words or numbers on them. Any two cards will have one pair of things that are an exact match. It sounds simple and to an extent it is, but it’s also great practice for young minds who are learning early concepts.

Continue reading Spot It! Miles From Tomorrowland, learning made fun