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Curating Your All-the-Feels Bookshelf: Children’s Picture Books with Big Emotions

1/14/2025

 

By Katie Caprino

If you’re looking for children’s picture books that will help your students learn how to process life’s biggest emotions, you’re in the right place. In this blog post, organized into emotional eras, I introduce you to six children’s picture books that will help your students navigate their emotions and will help you open up conversations in your classroom about many of the biggest feelings.    

The Calm Era

My mouth is a volcano cover
For those times when we want to help our students cool down, be patient, and pause before saying whatever is on their mind, I recommend Julia Cook and illustrator Carrie Hartman’s (2005) My Mouth is a Volcano.
 
In My Mouth is a Volcano (Cook, 2005), Louis is told that he erupts, just like a volcano. Through lively language and colorful illustrations, readers come to learn how Louis interrupts others and are given many glimpses into his interrupting at school and at home. He just cannot keep his thoughts to himself or wait until others are done speaking. Until, of course, Louis is interrupted by one of his classmates. It takes this moment for him to realize what he has been doing to others all along! This moment provides opportunities for you and your students to discuss what it means to consider others’ feelings before acting.

The Grumpy Era

Picture
There’s no need to stray away from the negative emotions with your students because there are just some days when we feel, well, grumpy. Even though Jim, a monkey, does not think he’s grumpy in author Suzanne Lang and illustrator Max Lang’s (2018) Grumpy Monkey, all the other jungle animals think he is. As is sometimes true with our students – and us – naming someone else’s feelings for them often does not go well. 
 
Jim dismisses (rather rudely) all of the animals’ ideas about his feelings and suggestions on how to improve his mood. Just as with most humans, Jim needs to eventually come to the realization that he is grumpy on his own ... and after he has some time to cool down and assess his own situation.
 
What this book helps us understand is that not only is it okay to feel grumpy (or any other emotion for that matter) but that sometimes we all need time to process our emotions. What is also a cool thing at the end of Grumpy Monkey (Lang, 2018) is that only when Jim has come to terms with his emotions can he be helpful to his friend. This is a really important message in this book.

The Shy Era

It is sometimes really difficult to help shy students participate and see their value in the classroom. Cat Min’s (2021) Shy Willow shares the story of a rabbit named Willow who learns how to push through her shyness to make a little boy’s wish come true. After a letter from Theo comes to the mailbox where she lives, Willow is determined to make Theo’s wish of having the moon shine brightly for his mom’s birthday come true.
 
Unique in its approach to shyness, Shy Willow (Min, 2021) does not simply introduce readers to this idea that one should merely accept their shyness. Rather, it showcases a character who preservers through a challenging ordeal, that of asking the moon to shine brightly for a little boy Theo’s mom on her birthday. The outrageous plot allows students to discuss what difficult actions they may have taken or can take even though they are shy.
 
As Willow reads the young boy’s letter to the moon, she is still really nervous. And, yet, because of the moon’s praise and seeing the effect her action has on Theo and his mom, Willow becomes an inspirational character, a model of not letting shyness win. For it is not just the moon that shines brightly at the end of Shy Willow. It is Willow herself.
Another text that encourages students to work through their shyness is Shannon Anderson and Hiroe Nakata’s  Too Shy to Say Hi. Shelli has such difficulty saying hi and avoids interacting with her peers.  
 
When she makes a commitment to ask her friend Lupita to play, Shelli has to work up the courage. Her hard efforts pay off though, and some of her worry drifts away. Readers see how making a goal of speaking and interacting with others can have positive outcomes.
 
This title is an important one not just for those students who are shy but for their peers who are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand how someone can be so shy that they do not say hello to people. I appreciated that this book can be helpful for students who are and are not shy.
 
Anderson’s (2021) Too Shy to Say Hi is a great companion text to Shy Willow (Min, 2021), as they both offer opportunities for teachers and students to discuss the power of overcoming shyness and how even though it can be difficult, it can have really powerful rewards.
Picture
Picture

The Worry Era

Ruby finds a worry
It should be no surprise that even many elementary school students struggle with worry and anxiety. Percival’s (2018) Ruby Finds a Worry is just the book to help you talk about these topics with your students.
 
Ruby is full of joy ... until she feels a little worry. But the worry, which is shown as a colorful blob behind her in the illustrations, gets worse and worse. And even though she tries to hide it, it will not go away. Until, that is, she notices another boy has a worry. And they learn that the only way to get worry to go away is to talk about it. And it’s not an unrealistic depiction of a worry-free world; it’s an honest approach to the fact that worry does exist but that humans can have coping mechanisms with which to face our worries.
 
Ruby Finds a Worry (Percival, 2018) is wonderful not just in its visual and written depictions of what having extreme worry can be like but also in its discussion of how it is important to talk about one’s worry. What Ruby realizes is an important lesson to student and adult readers alike: Keeping feelings in can cause more harm than good. This book provides a platform for readers to engage in conversations on what it is that worry feels like to each individual but also about who are trusted people in our lives with whom we can share our worries.

The Joy Era

The Yellow Bus cover
When I read Loren Long’s (2024) The Yellow Bus, I felt a sense of nostalgia for Shel Silverstein’s (1964) The Giving Tree. For years a bus shuttles happy, noisy school children, feeling a deep sense of joy. One day the bus is taken out of the school bus rotation and starts giving adult riders lifts to their myriad destinations. The bus is full of joy then, too.
 
And then one day, the bus is left in a city lot. The bus is not driving people around. The bus feels an immense emptiness. The bus is lonely and without purpose.
 
What happens in the subsequent pages helps readers see value in self-reinvention and the ultimate human need to be amongst people and feel a sense of purpose. Through several “repottings,” the bus ultimately feels that immense joy again – often in unexpected and beautiful ways.
 
The power in The Yellow Bus (Long, 2024) is its ability to help readers see that joy may not always come in ways that we think it will. But joy is still possible. Even the geographical locations where the bus finds itself mimic the emotional ups and downs that are perfectly normal in life. And whereas joy is certainly the main emotion in the text, it is not the only one. This fact helps readers understand that this sometimes yearned-for permanent joyfulness is not as guaranteed as we may want. For the real value in this text is what joy feels like and looks like may not always remain constant in our lives but it is always possible.
 
Just as life has a range of emotions, so, too should the bookshelf in your classroom. Myriad emotions and feelings should be represented in your classroom library so that your students can learn how both how to name and process their own emotions but also how their actions can influence others’ emotions.
 
It is my sincere hope that the next time you are pursuing the bookstore or library shelves to select your next read aloud that you will truly consider selecting one with all the feels.

The Books

Anderson, S. (2021). To Why to Say Hi. (H. Nakata, Illus.). Magination.
Cook, J. (2005). My mouth is a volcano. (C. Hartman, Illus.). National Center for Youth Issues.
Lang, S., (2018). Grumpy monkey. (M. Lang, Illus.). Scholastic. 
Long, L. (2024). The yellow bus. (L. Long, Illus.). Roaring Brook.
Min, C. (2021). Shy willow. (C. Min, Illus.). Levine Querido.
Percival, T. (2018). Ruby finds a worry. (T. Percival, Illus.). Bloomsbury.
Kathryn Caprino is a CLA member and is an Associate Professor of PK-12 New Literacies and the Director of the Teaching & Learning Design Studio at Elizabethtown College.

Exploring Heart & Hope with Biographies: The 2024 CLA Expert Class

10/21/2024

 

By Mary Ann Cappiello, Sara K. Sterner, and Kathy Short

Saturday, November 23, 2024 from 5:45 PM - 7:00 PM EST  Room 102 A, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
Official Session Link: Children’s Literature Assembly Expert Class: Exploring Heart & Hope with Biographies
The Biography Clearinghouse
The Children’s Literature Assembly (CLA) has sponsored a Master Class at the annual NCTE Convention since 1994. This guaranteed session provides K-12 teachers and teacher educators with the opportunity to gain insight about the use of children’s literature through interactions with leading scholars, authors, and illustrators in the field. In 2023 at our 30th Annual session, we debuted our new name: the Expert Class.
 
In collaboration with The Biography Clearinghouse, an affiliated project of The Children’s Literature Assembly, the 31st annual Expert Class, “Exploring Heart & Hope with Biographies,” showcases the many ways in which picturebook biographies can be used across the curriculum for a range of purposes. This is an exciting opportunity to expand engagement with biographies as well as increase participants' biography related repertoire in their classrooms.  
 
The concept of “a biography clearinghouse” began at the 2018 NCTE convention in Houston, when author Barb Rosenstock asked what could be done to go beyond genre study and elevate the role of biography in classrooms across the curriculum. Ideas began to percolate amongst Barb, former members of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Committee, and fellow author Tonya Bolden, and while sheltering at home at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team created “The Biography Clearinghouse.” Readers of the CLA blog may already be familiar with the work that appeared here 2020-2023.

The Biography Clearinghouse believes that:

  • High-quality, well-written biographies are multidimensional and multi-layered. As students explore the ways in which the book operates, and the decisions the author and illustrator made, they also use the biographies as vehicles for learning about the world.
  • Because of the increasing diversity of subjects, biographies are one of our best tools for diversifying the curriculum K-8.
  • Biographies can infuse the language arts, science, social studies, math, and integrated arts curriculum with models of agency and perseverance.
 
To help facilitate this work in K-8 classrooms, the Clearinghouse created a three-part framework: Investigate, Explore, and Create.
Inverstigate, Explore, Create Framework
This year’s class provides a unique opportunity for rich discussions about and experiences with picturebook biographies. After an initial introduction to the Investigate-Explore-Create framework, participants will rotate between four roundtables to experience activities and conversations rooted in each component. At one table, Barb Rosenstock and Scott Riley will focus on “Investigate,” and engage in conversation about the process of researching and writing biographies. Participants will “Explore” content and disciplinary thinking with Amina Chaudhri at one table and socio-emotional learning with Jenn Graff at another. At the fourth roundtable, Erika Thulin Dawes will engage attendees in the final part of the framework, “Create.”
 
We’ll conclude the session by sharing a Library Thing database of over 350 picturebook biographies (with tags)! This process will allow attendees to engage in dialogue about the power of biography and consider new ways to conceptualize how to bring the genre into their classes with more heart and hope. Everyone will leave the 2024 Expert Class filled with the wonder of biographies and ideas for new opportunities to bring biographies into the lives of children and tweens.
 
We are excited to share this biography party with you!  While building connections and learning together, we’ll share some vegan and gluten-free snacks (it’s late afternoon, and everyone might be a bit peckish). The Expert Class will close with the awarding of biography-based door prizes to bring home along with your new ideas and expertise.

Mary Ann Cappiello, Sara K. Sterner, and Kathy Short serve as the 2024 CLA Expert Class Committee.
 
  • Mary Ann is a Professor of Language & Literacy at Lesley University
  • Sara is an Associate Professor of Elementary Education at Cal-Poly Humboldt University and a CLA Board Member
  • Kathy is a Professor of Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies at The University of Arizona and a CLA Board Member

Other CLA offerings during NCTE 2024

Notables
CLA Breakfast
Art Auction

Announcing the 2024 Notable Books in the Language Arts

3/12/2024

 

By Fran Wilson, Patrick Andrus and Laura Hudock on behalf of the Notables Committee

For 27 years dedicated members of the Children’s Literature Assembly have served on the seven-member committee tasked with selecting 30 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts (NCBLA). While enthusiastic summaries of each title on the annual NCBLA list have been a highlight for readers of the Journal of Children’s Literature and Language Arts as well as for session attendees at the annual National Council of Teachers of English conference and Tucson Festival of Books, in coming months the instructional possibilities of selected NCBLA titles will now regularly feature on this blog. 

To launch this resource alongside the announcement of the 2024 NCBLA list, three current members Fran Wilson, a second-grade teacher in Madeira, Ohio and the 2024 NCBLA Chair, Patrick Andrus, a fourth-grade teacher in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and the 2025 NCBLA Chair, and Laura Hudock, an assistant professor of literacy and children’s literature at Framingham State University wish to pull back the so-called curtain to shed light on the selection process.

All titles on the annual NCBLA list are works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry penned for children in grades K-8 and published in the previous calendar year. These selected children’s books have to exemplify additional criteria, including
  • have an appealing format*;
  • be of enduring quality;
  • meet generally accepted criteria of quality for the genre in which they are written; and 
  • meet one or more of the following criteria:
    • deal explicitly with language, such as plays on words, word origins, or the history of language;
    • demonstrate uniqueness in the use of language or style; and/or
    • invite child response or participation*.
With these criteria foremost on NCBLA committee members’ minds, we individually read and evaluate and then collaboratively vet each prospective book. 

The exemplary children’s books named to each NCBLA list are high-quality texts that promote language arts and offer a range of literacy-related instructional possibilities. For example,
Holey Moley cover
Holey Moley (Bethan Clarke, 2023) features laugh-out-loud language play – rhyming and alliteration. This picturebook promotes phonological awareness and begs to be read aloud to the youngest of readers.
How do you Spell Unfair Cover
How Do You Spell Unfair?  (Carole Boston Weatherford, 2023) recounts young MacNolia Cox’s ground-breaking achievement – winning the local Akron, Ohio spelling bee and advancing to the national competition – while challenging racist stereotypes and facing discrimination. This nonfiction picturebook invites readers to explore embedded vocabulary shared as spelling words related to her lived experience.
The Probability of Everything Cover
Probability of Everything (Sarah Everett, 2023) is a middle grade novel that prompts immediate conversation among readers, often recounting their emotional experience while following protagonist Kemi Carter’s countdown of the meteor, Amplus-68’s collision with earth. These discussions continue long after the last page has been read. 
As we narrow down 768 prospective titles to a list of 30, the two *asterisked criteria often serve as our guiding light for envisioning instructional possibilities. Though we may anticipate a particular title’s positive reception to an audience of K-8 readers, we need to be certain that our assessments align with the responses of actual children. So, committee members often read aloud to their young children, grandchildren, K-8 students, and under/graduates enrolled in children’s literature and literacy courses. Patrick and Fran will highlight two ways we informally tested the asterisked criteria for titles published in 2023 and considered for the 2024 NCBLA list.

Patrick’s Polling Insights

During scheduled Zoom meetings each committee member nominates titles read to date as potential final selections based on NCBLA criteria, but we often wonder about how the intended audience of K-8 readers would receive these books. To help prioritize the target audience in committee discussions and voting, I (Patrick) have had the opportunity to share these nominated titles with my fourth-grade class. Throughout the past voting year, I tested out various picturebooks with this real-life "studio audience" to obtain a sampling of up to twenty-five elementary-aged readers’ honest, authentic opinions.  

I share one picture book each school day as part of my daily teaching routine. My fourth-graders become excited when they know I'm testing a picture book - they’re eager to contribute to the selection process and take this role seriously. My students offer their candid observations, inquiries, and themes related to these books. Many times after I finish one of the book selections, a student will shout out, “Now that is a five-star book!” or predict, “That one is going to be the winner this week.” At the end of the week, I collect their votes for the favorite picturebook of the week. Of note, some titles have been redacted.
Picture
Of those deemed potential final selections for the NCBLA list by our committee, some fell flat with my students when real aloud while others delivered positive responses. 
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Sometimes, quite surprisingly to our NCBLA committee, a title would receive overwhelmingly enthusiastic engagement compared to other contenders. 
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The diverse preferences among my students, reflected in the voting screenshots I share with the committee via text messages, enrich our conversations and reaffirm our mission to select the thirty best titles each year.

Fran’s Student-Initiated Persuasive Essays

When I (Fran) shared A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse, a picturebook written by Kate Allen Fox and illustrated by Khoa Le, my second-graders quickly noticed that the endpapers had illustrations featuring the stages of a solar eclipse. They were not only mesmerized by the rich, descriptive text highlighting the observable changes happening over a few beautiful moments but also appreciated the colorful illustrations depicting people gathering to make once in a lifetime memories. Upon learning that a total solar eclipse would be visible in many parts of North America this year, they wanted to know if their city was in the path of totality. After some research, guess what they discovered? They live on the southern limit!

After realizing the disappointment that April 8th was a school day, many students decided to voice their opinion–not just to me, but to my school district’s superintendent. Using information in the back matter and additional research, they wrote persuasive essays on why they should be released from school to experience the eclipse with their families. Here is a an example of a second grader’s two-page persuasive essay:
[Insert Blog_Pic 4]
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Lo and behold, my superintendent called an early release on April 8th! My students have realized the power of voicing their opinion. Now, I can’t wait for them to learn the titles on the 2024 NCBLA Award list. These children will truly know that their opinions matter!

Drumroll please…

As members of the 2024 NCBLA committee, we are privileged to serve alongside exemplary K-16+ educators. It is our hope that with these shared insights into the selection process and future blog posts about the instructional possibilities, you will be inspired. Now, we present the 2024 list of Notable Children’s Books in Language Arts.
Celebrating the 2024 Notables. Link to notables page
Fran Wilson is a second-grade teacher in Madeira, Ohio and the 2024 NCBLA Chai.
Patrick Andrus is a fourth-grade teacher in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and the 2025 NCBLA Chair.
Laura Hudock is an assistant professor of literacy and children’s literature at Framingham State University.

2024 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Selection Committee Members

Fran Wilson, Chair, Madeira Elementary School, Ohio
Patrick Andrus, Eden Prairie School District, Minnesota
Dorian Harrison, Ohio State University at Newark
Ally Hauptman, Lipscomb University, Tennessee
Joyce Herbeck, Montana State University
Laura Hudock, Framingham State University, Massachusetts
Lynette Smith, Walden University, Pennsylvania

Exploring the New Frontier of Uncharted Space Stories in Children's Nonfiction

5/10/2022

 

By Suzanne Costner

I headed to Houston in November 2018 to attend the NCTE Annual Convention and moderate a panel presentation for a group of children’s nonfiction writers. I was also looking forward to the Children’s Book Award Luncheon, never realizing that it would change my life. As the presentation of the year’s winners was winding down, an announcement was made encouraging attendees to apply for a place on one of the award committees. My sister nudged me and whispered, “You could do that.” Two months later, I was beginning my term on the Orbis Pictus committee and immersing myself in children’s nonfiction.

From January 2019 through December 2021, we read over 1,300 books on topics ranging from amoebas to world history. As we reviewed, debated, and voted, my favorite topics involved astronomy, aviation, and aerospace, although I enjoyed all of them. The titles that combine those topics with a picture book biography make wonderful entry points into the study of science and history. Even though my time with the Orbis Pictus has ended, I am still searching out those sorts of books to add to my school library collection. I would like to share two of those titles with you and suggest related areas your students might enjoy investigating.
Book cover: Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Gold Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer
Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Gold Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Cherokee author Traci Sorell and Métis illustrator Natasha Donovan is an excellent example of a biography that features a woman in a STEM career. The book shows Mary’s love of mathematics and traces her path from teaching, to becoming Lockheed’s first female engineer, and then a member of the Skunk Works division working on satellites and spacecraft. 

Extensive back matter includes a timeline, photos, an author’s note, an explanation of the Cherokee values mentioned in the text, source notes, and a bibliography. Illustrations showcase some of the aircraft Mary worked on such as the Lockheed A-12 and the Starfighter F-104C, as well as equations related to the projects.
To learn more about her amazing career, try the following:
  • Read the Smithsonian article “Mary Golda Ross: Aerospace Engineer, Educator, and Advocate.”
  • Read the Smithsonian article “Mary Golda Ross: She Reached for the Stars.”
  • Watch the Reading Rockets video: “Traci Sorell: Classified: Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer.” 
  • Access the author’s website for additional materials that explore the Cherokee values Mary personified.
  • There is also a Classified Teaching Guide which contains many activity ideas for experimenting with the forces of flight.
Blast Off! How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America into Space written by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Sally Wern Comport is another of the untold stories of the space program. Working with two engineers as her assistants, Mary Sherman Morgan created the rocket fuel hydyne which powered the launch of the first American satellite into space. This biography explores Mary’s late start in school, her determination to pursue a career in chemistry, and her work at North American Aviation.  

This book also has plenty of back matter with photos, a timeline, a selected bibliography, and more details about Mary, the Juno 1 rocket and the Explorer 1 satellite. The author’s note includes an explanation of how difficult it was to find information. She states, “Mary Morgan’s history is not well-documented. Unfortunately, that is true of many women who have made meaningful contributions to science and other fields.” Thanks to the author’s persistence in reaching out to family members, people from Mary’s hometown, and aerospace experts, she was able to create this inspiring story.
Book Cover: Blast Off! How Mary Sherman Morgan Fueled America into Space
Students may find helpful information in the following:
  • The book trailer shows the important launch Mary was working toward with her rocket fuel. 
  • This NASA video tells more about Explorer 1 and its lasting legacy for space exploration. 
  • NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a web page on Explorer 1 with links to photos, videos, and other information.
  • In this short BBC video George Morgan talks about his mother and Rocket Girl, the book he wrote about her work developing rocket fuel.
  • To make experiments of their own about the perfect fuel ratio for a rocket launch, students might enjoy working with fizzy rockets and trying out different proportions of water to Alka-Seltzer tablets to power the launch. SciTech Labs has posted a how-to video.
  • There is also a lesson plan with instructions available from the Civil Air Patrol.
When I was a child visiting my school library, all the biographies were about famous presidents and other men. We still have a long way to go to balance the representation of women and other marginalized groups, but knowing there are authors and illustrators bringing these stories to life for today’s students is encouraging. Reading these stories of dreams achieved and challenges overcome may inspire young readers to pursue their own passions in life, or even introduce a topic to spark that passion. I hope everyone finds some nonfiction to engage their hearts and minds.
Suzanne Costner, School Library Media Specialist at Fairview Elementary School (Maryville, TN) member of NCTE, CLA, ALA, AASL, ILA, NAEYC, NSTA, ISTE, CAP, AFA, AIAA

#MeetSomeoneNewMonday: One Teacher’s Year-Long Celebration of Picturebook Biographies

5/3/2022

 

By Mary Ann Cappiello, Jennifer M. Graff and Melissa Quimby on behalf of The Biography Clearinghouse

The Biography Clearinghouse Logo
Over the last two years, we’ve enjoyed sharing excerpts from The Biography Clearinghouse website. We hope that our interviews with book creators and our teaching ideas focused on using biographies for a variety of classroom purposes has been helpful to the CLA membership and beyond. This month, we’re very excited to share something different - a voice directly from the classroom.  

Melissa Quimby, a 4th grade teacher in Massachusetts, has written the inaugural entry in our new feature “Stories from the Classroom.” Melissa is the genius behind #MeetSomeoneNewMonday, a weekly initiative that has spread from her classroom to her grade level team to an entirely different school in just three years. 

This initiative launched when Melissa decided to share her passion for picturebook biographies with her students through interactive read-alouds. They were hooked! As Melissa writes, “Over time, I molded this project in intentional ways, and it evolved into an adventure that focused on identity, centered marginalized and minoritized communities, and cultivated thoughtful, strategic middle grade readers.” What started as a way to share nonfiction picturebooks as an engaging and compelling art form developed into a more nuanced exploration of global changemakers–past and present. With their weekly reading of picturebook biographies, students grow as readers and thinkers and deepen their individual and collective sense of agency. 

In the following excerpts, Melissa describes how she reveals each week’s notable changemaker to her students and shares some of her picturebook biography selections.

Monday Read-Aloud Routines

Reveal Slide ExampleReveal Slide Example
On Monday mornings, we gather together as a reading community. In an effort to build excitement, our reveal slide is projected on the board as students arrive. Some weeks, copies of the backmatter wait on the rug, inviting students to preview the figure of the week. This could be the author’s note, a timeline, or a collection of real-life photographs. Once all readers are settled, we watch a video to learn a little bit about the person in the spotlight. 

Some weeks, interactive read aloud time happens on Monday morning immediately following the reveal. On some Mondays, it works best for us to huddle up in the afternoon. Occasionally, we steal pockets of time throughout our busy schedule to enjoy the biography of the week in smaller doses. When we read the text is not as important as how we read the text. The heart of this work truly lies in how we generate emotional investment within our students and how we help our students’ reactions and ideas blossom into new thinking about the world and ways that they can take action in their own lives for themselves and others. Sometimes, we simply read the biography to love it. In those moments, readers are silent with their eyes glued to the book, scanning the illustrations, wide-eyed when something surprising happens. Perhaps they whisper something to their neighbor, let out an audible gasp or share a comment aloud. Sometimes, we read to grow ideas. In these moments, readers are tracking trouble, considering how the figure responds to obstacles. They are ready to turn to their partner and reach for a precise trait word or theme and supporting evidence.

Meet Someone New Monday: A Sampling of Picture Book Biography Selections

Patricia's Vision Cover
Fauja Singh Keeps Going cover
The floating field cover
Between the Lines cover
The Crayon Man cover
The Oldest Student Cover
To read more about #MeetSomeoneNewMonday, including Melissa planning process with her grade level team and student responses, visit Stories from the Classroom on The Biography Clearinghouse website

You can also reach out to Melissa through her website (QUIMBYnotRamona) or Twitter (@QUIMBYnotRamona) to discuss how to implement #MeetSomeoneNew initiative in your classroom or school.

Inspired by Melissa’s picturebook biography initiative or done something similar? Share your ideas and stories with us via email: [email protected]. Or, chime in on Twitter (@teachwithbios), Facebook, or Instagram with your own #teachwithbios ideas and picturebook biography recommendations. 

Melissa Quimby teaches fourth grade in Massachusetts. She is passionate about helping young writers improve their craft, and her to-be-read list is always stacked with middle grade fiction. Melissa shares her love of children’s literature on Teachers Books Readers and shares about her literacy instruction with the Choice Literacy community. You can connect with her at her website, QUIMBYnotRamona, or follow her on Twitter @QUIMBYnotRamona.


Mary Ann Cappiello teaches courses in children’s literature and literacy methods at Lesley University, blogs about teaching with children’s literature at The Classroom Bookshelf. She is a former chair of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction K-8.

Jennifer M. Graff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia where her scholarship focuses on diverse children’s literature and early childhood literacy practices. She is a former committee member of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction K-8, and has served in multiple leadership roles throughout her 16+ year CLA membership. 

Exploring Notable Poetry Books for Advocacy with Children

3/15/2022

 

By Ted Kesler

I have just completed my position as chairperson of the NCTE Poetry and Verse Novels for Children Committee. Our list of notable poetry and verse novels that were published in 2021 as well as other information about the award can be found on the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children page.

In this blog post, I discuss three notable poetry books from this list that promote advocacy and provide lesson plan ideas to do with children. 

Photo Ark ABC

Photo Ark ABC cover
​Photo Ark ABC: An Animal Alphabet in Poetry and Pictures, poetry by Debbie Levy and photos by Joel Sartore (National Geographic Kids, 2021).
​The diverse and playful poetry forms in Photo Ark ABC oscillate with vibrant pictures to create fascination with each animal that is represented. Here is one example:
Picture
“O is for Octopus” from Photo Ark ABC. ​
​The book is part of the Photo Ark Project, that aims to “document every species living in the world’s zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, inspire action through education, and help save wildlife by supporting on-the-ground conservation efforts” [Back Book Cover]. Therefore, the book provides wonderful online resources to use with children, which expand opportunities for classroom explorations. Here are some ideas:
  1. Visit the National Geographic Photo Ark Project online, and have students research and present about one of the animals they find fascinating or that is endangered.
  2. Locate each animal in the backmatter of Photo Ark ABC on a world map. Then, use the Google Earth feature that is connected with this Photo Ark project.  
  3. Study the poems as mentor texts, and have students write an original poem for the animal they studied.
  4. Students can then create their own full page spread of the photo and poem, along with an information text box. 
  5. Pursue other explorations using the Photo Ark resource: www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/photo-ark/education/

The Last Straw

The Last Straw Cover
​The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics, poetry by Susan Hood, illust. by Christiane Engel (HarperCollins, 2021). ​
​The Last Straw fits into the hybrid genre of poetic nonfiction (Kesler, 2012), as every page combines poetry with expository writing about a specific topic. Topics include microplastics, plastic bags and straws, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and other environmental issues. The poetry also has diverse forms, such as odes, concrete poems, limericks, elegy, and persona.

​The book also provides resources for each topic in the back matter. Here is one look inside:
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“Be Straw Free” from The Last Straw.
​Ultimately, like Photo Ark ABC, The Last Straw promotes advocacy. Here are some instructional ideas for classrooms:
  1. School-Based Research Project:
  • Have students generate a list of all the disposable plastics that people use in the school as they go about their school day.
  • Problem-solve with children ideas to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
  • Research alternatives to one of the disposable plastics that is commonly used in the school (e.g., sporks). Develop a plan for change that includes interviews, cost analysis, speech writing, petitions, etc.
      2. Reading:
  • In small groups, students can find a page they love. Practice and then perform the poem.
  • Read the other sources of information on the page.
  • Then, read the information about that poetry page in the “Sources and More” section in the back matter.
  • Have groups present to each other how the sources of information on the page all fit together.
      3. Writing:
  • Provide laptops or other digital devices to each group to research the sites that are provided for their topic.
  • Make a group presentation to the class about what they discovered and one way to make a difference.

My Thoughts are Clouds

My thoughts are clouds cover
​My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness, poetry by Georgia Heard, illust. by Isabel Roxas (Roaring Brook Press, 2021). 
​As the title implies, My Thoughts Are Clouds guides children to quiet their minds, which, in the words of Georgia Heard, allows them “to feel calmer, more joyful, more focused, less anxious, and to find the space and peace to live in the present moment.” In “Mindful World,” Heard proclaims, “When I become calm on the inside, / the world becomes calm on the outside.” This book ultimately leads readers towards kindfulness.
​
While taking readers through the dimensions of mindfulness, many of the poems also instruct, calling out to try it, like a how-to manual, poems such as “Counting Breaths,” “Square Breathing,” “In and Out Breath,” “Nature Walk,” “Come Home to Your True Self,” “Butterfly Body Scan,” “The Music of the Moment,” “Three-Way Loving Kindness Meditation.” Here is one look inside:
Picture
​“Butterfly Body Scan” from My Thoughts Are Clouds.
​You might choose any of these poems for shared reading, or assign it to a small group to practice reading aloud beautifully, and then guide the class through the activity that the poem describes.

​Many poems also call out like writing notebook prompts, similar to the mindful prompts in Heard’s book, Writing Towards Home: Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way (Heinemann, 1995). Poems such as “My Thoughts Are Clouds,” “Consider a Raisin,” “Open Your Eyes,” “Cultivate Tenderness,” “Kindfulness” all would provide rich writing notebook explorations. For example, I imagine students copying the poem “My Thoughts Are Clouds” on the left-side of a full-page spread in their notebook, and then on the right-side, creating their own thought clouds. 
​Finally, I think “Empowerment Mantra Haiku” (see image below) would provide an outstanding activity. The entire class could compose their own affirmative heard-shaped messages for a class empowerment “take one, add one” bulletin board that each child can hold onto as a gift and a reminder to be good to themselves and others throughout the day. 
Picture
“Empowerment Mantra Haiku” from My Thoughts Are Clouds.
Ted Kesler, Ed.D. is an Associate Professor at Queens College, CUNY and has been a CLA Member since 2010. He served as chairperson of the NCTE Poetry and Verse Novels for Children Committee from 2019 to 2021.
www.tedsclassroom.com | @tedsclassroom | www.facebook.com/tedsclassroom) 

Exploring the Life of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer with "Classified"

10/5/2021

 

By Mary Ann Cappiello & Donna Sabis Burns, on behalf of the Biography Clearinghouse

Cover of
“Do the best you can and search out available knowledge and build on it,” said Mary Golda Ross in April 2008. This quote introduces and frames Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, Cherokee author Traci Sorell’s and Métis illustrator Natasha Donovan’s 2021 picture book biography featured this month on The Biography Clearinghouse. 

Known as “Gold” to her family, Mary Golda Ross was a pioneer in multiple ways. A trained mathematician and educator-turned-engineer, she was the first female and the first Native American aerospace engineer in the United States. Mary’s intellect and penchant for problem-solving were invaluable as she helped research and design satellites, missiles, and rockets. Her work, much of which is still classified, was integral to the U.S. development of its aerospace program in the mid-20th century. Like many women entering traditionally male-dominated fields, Mary is considered a “Hidden Figure.” Fortified by her independence and tenacity, Mary carved out historical and professional space that had rarely—if ever—included women and minorities. And in doing so, Mary helped revolutionize our relationship with space.

Independent and tenacious, Mary was the great-great-grandaughter of John Ross, the Cherokee Chief who led his people during and after they were forced to abandon their ancestral lands in the Southeast. Their migration to what is now Oklahoma, is known as the Trail of Tears. 

Throughout her career, Mary relied on her Cherokee values for guidance, and she credited her professional success to those values. Sorell uses these values to “bookend” Mary’s story. On the first opening spread, a red box catches the reader’s attention. Within it, Sorell informs the reader that Cherokee values are not written down, but rather passed down through generations of family members. The core values that shaped Mary’s life were “gaining skills in all areas of life (both within and out of the classroom), working collaboratively with others, remaining humble when others recognize your talents, and helping ensure equal education and opportunity for all” (p.2). These values ground the reader and serve as a preview to Mary’s life. At the conclusion of the book, Sorell returns to those values, offering readers the four values in the Cherokee syllabary, a transliteration, pronunciation, and then finally, English translation. 

Illustrator Natasha Donovan visually moves the reader through Mary’s life with a series of shifting images digitally rendered, ranging from close-ups of Mary’s classrooms to a bird’s eye view of her travels, zooming out to the larger vistas within her mind as she imagined and designed, zooming in on the many hands around a table working collaboratively to bring these inventions into existence. The illustrations highlight the tensions and opportunities that Mary encounters, and the role she played in an emerging field. 

Mary’s unique circumstances prompted her to reach out and mentor many women in science and mathematics across her long career. She traveled to high schools to mentor college bound seniors and advocate education in engineering and mathematics, and also advocated for career opportunities for fellow Native American and Alaska Natives. Across her career, Mary worked closely with so many - from scientists working in secret on cutting edge technology to young adults just beginning to build their professional identities.

So far, 2021 has shown us the power and potential of science, from the COVID-19 vaccines that continue to be distributed across the globe to the ever-changing understanding of the virus’ variants. Scientists have modeled the ways in which their work is always collaborative. In contrast, 2021 has also shown us the power of the extremely wealthy to appropriate science and technology that has been developed for the benefit of the nation. The two richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, turned space travel into their personal pleasure. Was that part of Mary’s vision of interplanetary travel? Or was hers something more equitable, more in line with her Cherokee values of inclusivity and work for the common good?

Mary’s Cherokee values influenced the totality of her life and service. These values informed her work ethic, her ability to create and problem-solve in interdisciplinary ways, her commitment to educating herself and others, and her legacy of professional mentorship that underscored living a life of professional and personal purpose and fulfillment. Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer offers elementary readers the opportunity to think about how their values and their interests are intertwined, how one can live a life of purpose that is personally fulfilling but collaborative in nature, focused on expanding the boundaries of human knowledge and possibilities and the success of others. 

​​Using the Investigate, Explore, and Create Model of the Biography Clearinghouse, we offer a range of critical teaching and learning experiences to use with Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer on our site. Highlighted here are a few ideas inspired by the book.
Picture
Classified
  • Book Entry
  • Interview with Traci Sorell
  • Interview with Natasha Donovan

Exploring Values

From the first pages of the book to the last, author Traci Sorell affirms the significance of Cherokee values in Mary Golda Ross’s life. We discuss this in our interview with Traci and refer both to the red box that names Cherokee values on the verso page, as well as the information on Cherokee values in the backmatter. After reading Classified, ask students to share their understanding of what the word “values” means.  Then ask students to share their understanding of the Cherokee values that are represented in the book. How do they define them in their own words? Next, ask students to make a list of the values that are important to them. Provide them with an opportunity to talk to one another in pairs or small groups about their values. How are their values similar and different from one another? How are the words they use to describe their values similar and different from one another? After they’ve had a chance to do this, allow them time to consider where their values come from. Are they influenced by the grown-ups in their lives? Their community? Their religion? Are their values influenced by their family cultural heritage(s), race, or ethnicity(ies)? How do their education influence their values, and how do their values influence their education? Finally, ask students to look again at the four Cherokee values discussed in the back matter. What connections do students see between the values discussed in their group and the Cherokee values that guided Mary’s life? 

Mentoring Others 

Mary Golda Ross was known for the mentoring work she did, supporting younger women and indigenous women entering the field of STEM. What kind of mentoring exists in your school? In the lives of your students and their families? In your community? 

If you have 1-2 hours…
If you have 1-2 days…
If you have 1-2 weeks...
Have you ever had a mentor, someone you rely on to give you advice and guidance?

Ask your students to think about the mentors in their own lives. Who has helped them learn new things? Who has supported them as they tried to learn something new? Students might list coaches, dance teachers, karate teachers, librarians, older book buddies, and religious leaders. But they also are likely to mention their friends and classmates, siblings, and neighbors.

Allow students time to ask the older siblings, peers or adults in their lives about their mentors while growing up. Support students by brainstorming together the kinds of questions they can ask, rather than handing them set questions, helping students to ask questions that identify their grown-ups’ mentors in childhood and adult years, personally and professionally.

Have students share those anecdotes in class. What are the similarities and differences between their grown-ups’ responses?

Finally, ask students to consider who they could mentor in your school community, and in what ways. Support them as they design and carry out their mentoring plan.

The Space Race as Collaboration

As an aerospace engineer, Mary Golda Ross worked on the top-secret Skunk Works Project of Lockheed Martin. As Sorell writes in Classified, Skunk Works research contributed to the Apollo space missions and the eventual moon walk by U.S. astronauts in 1969. You can show students an example of her work: Planetary Flight Handbook, No. 9, NASA. What other women were involved in Space Race research? After reading Classified, provide time for students to explore these other books about the Space Race.

Picture Books: 

  • Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 written by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Dow Phumiruck 
  • Counting the Stars written by Lisa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by Raul Colón
  • A Computer Called Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America On the Moon, written by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison 
  • Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing written Dean Robbins, illustrated by Lucy Knisley

Chapter Books: 

  • How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure, written by John Rocco 
  • Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson, written by Katherine Johnson 
  • Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon, written by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez 
  • Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone, featured on the Biography Clearinghouse

In Classified, Sorrell notes that “whenever Mary received awards, she always thanked her colleagues because she knew no one person deserved credit for what everyone had done together.”  As students explore whichever permutation of texts you select, ask them to consider the ways in which teamwork is represented. In what ways are individuals featured? In what ways is their collective and collaborative work represented? Use this conversation as an opportunity to discuss the process of “doing science” as collaborative rather than singular work. This can also serve as a springboard to critical considerations regarding the ways inventions and scientific breakthroughs are often attributed to specific individuals instead of to the team as a whole, changing our understanding of what makes change possible. Change happens when groups of people work together over time. 

To see more classroom possibilities and helpful resources connected to Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, visit The Biography Clearinghouse.  Additionally, we’d love to hear how the interview and these ideas inspired you. Email us at [email protected] with your connections, creations, and questions.

Mary Ann Cappiello teaches courses in children’s literature and literacy methods at Lesley University, blogs about teaching with children’s literature at The Classroom Bookshelf, a School Library Journal blog, and is a former chair of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction K-8. 

Donna Sabis-Burns, Ph.D., an enrolled citizen of the Upper Mohawk-Turtle Clan, is a Group Leader in the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education* in Washington, D.C. She is a Board Member (2020-2022) with the Children's Literature Assembly, Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee, and Co-Chair of the 2021 CLA Breakfast meeting (NCTE).
*The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned herein is intended or should be inferred.

FOR CLA MEMBERS

CLA Board of Directors Elections

Picture
It's time for CLA members to vote for three members of the CLA Board of Directors. Board terms are for three years, beginning January 1, 2022.

Candidate statements and a link to the election ballot can be found in our Election Page.  To access the ballot and submit your vote, you will be prompted to log in to your CLA account. Voting begins on Tuesday, October 5th at 9 am EST.

Please submit your ballot by Friday October 22nd at 5 pm EST

Listening to Voices from the Four Directions:  Indigenous Storytellers for Your Classrooms

9/28/2021

 

By Donna Sabis-Burns, Rachel Skrlac Lo, and Casey O'Donnell on behalf of the CLA Breakfast Committee

Book cover: I Sang You Down from the Stars
Looking out the window we begin to see the slight change in color of the fall foliage, a brisker feel to the air, and school busses carrying students to their not-so-new-normal classrooms.  Apples, pumpkins, and “Indian” corn are appearing in the grocery store aisles.  The gift of autumn is here. One highlight of this time of year is the NCTE Annual Conference held in November. Under “normal” circumstances, the Children’s Literature Assembly Breakfast is held in person as part of that gathering. While we will not be able to meet in person this year, the CLA Breakfast will be offered as a live event during the conference. In anticipation of our session, we are sharing about some of the most prolific, wonderful Indigenous multiple award-winning storytellers from across the Four Directions.
​

Cynthia Leitich-Smith (Muscogee Creek), Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), Michaela Goade (Tlingit), Carole Lindstrom (Metis), and Kevin Maillard (Seminole Nation) will make up this year’s Breakfast speaker panel. They will offer insight into their creative writing process, share their newest work, and offer some candid thoughts on how being Indigenous has strengthened their entire literature experience.

These storytellers celebrate #OwnVoices in the here and now. They offer counter stories to highlight the dynamism of Native American and Alaska Native communities for all ages. During a conversation with them in February 2021, we discussed the joys of reading and storytelling and reflected on the importance of celebrating the rich legacy of Native experiences that influence contemporary society. Native American, American Indian, or Indigenous peoples (terms used interchangeably) make up the 575+ federally recognized tribes and 200+ state-recognized tribes, much diversity exists across this Indigenous landscape in the United States. To celebrate this diversity, in this post, we will share with you the newest works from these amazing storytellers, including samples of teacher guides, links to audio-books, artwork, and other storytelling materials to share both in and outside of the classroom.

​Teachers strive to create an environment for children that is all-embracing because they know that when children feel accepted, they will be happy, healthy, and confident members of society. This spirit of inclusiveness should permeate not only the social dynamic of the classroom, but the teaching materials as well. Children’s books that are endowed with social justice themes and multicultural issues provide a much richer reading experience than texts with homogeneous characters and unchallenging stories. The stories shared by these authors and illustrator offer many ways to enlighten students of all ages to the diverse books, cultural nuances, and traditions that Indigenous people bring to the table. Check out these teacher resources for a glimpse into the rich world of native storytelling.

Activity Kits and Teacher Guides

Book cover: Indian No More
A Teacher's Guide to Indian No More (Lee & Low)
Book cover: We Are Water Protectors
A Teacher's Guide to We Are Water Protectors (MacMillan)
Book cover: Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross
Discussion Guide for Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer (Lerner)
Book cover: Ancestor Approved
A Teacher's Guide to Native Literature (including Ancestor Approved) produced by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins
Book cover: Sisters of the Neversea
A Teacher's Guide to Native Literature (including Sisters of the Neversea) produced by Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins
Book cover: Fry Bread
A Teacher's Guide to Fry Bread (Read Across America)
Book cover: Encounter
When students encounter texts that feature characters with whom they can connect, they can see how others are like them and how literature can play a role in their lives. If students can feel connected to books, not only will they be more apt to obtain the intrinsic motivation to increase the amount of reading they do, but they will also begin to feel more accepted as strong and unique members of society and to become less vulnerable to negative stereotyping and feelings of oppression. It is the hope of our storytellers that these resources be shared with all students, to demonstrate not only resiliency and determination, but also joy and grace within the texts and illustrations to take them to places they have never seen or heard of before. Below are are some video and audio resources related to some of the works of our storytellers.

Video & Audio Resources

Traci Sorell on the writing process of 
Indian No More


Traci Sorell on The Children's Book Podcast

Book Chat with Illustrator Michaela Goade

I Sang You Down from the Stars Video Introduction from the Author & Illustrator

Kevin Maillard reads Fry Bread Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian
We are obligated to educate our youth with a clear lens and to teach the richness of realistic, authentic, and contemporary literature for children and young adults. We need to promote books where Indigenous characters are up front and visible, not hidden or pushed aside. We want to highlight in a bold, distinguishable manner characters and stories that unveil and promote the beauty of diverse literature written/illustrated by and for Native Nations (also called Indigenous people and used interchangeably here when the specific Nation is not known), and all other marginalized groups. The storytellers highlighted here, and across the land, provide a glimpse of the wonderment and beauty that present-day and historical Indigenous culture and traditions bring to the literature landscape.
Five Voices from the Four Directions. 2021 CLA Breakfast on November 21 @ the NCTE Convention
Come celebrate with us at 9 am (EST) on November 21, 2021 at the CLA Breakfast at NCTE! There will be great conversation and book giveaways!
Donna Sabis-Burns, Ph.D., an enrolled citizen of the Upper Mohawk-Turtle Clan, is a Group Leader in the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education* in Washington, D.C. She is a Board Member (2020-2022) with the Children's Literature Assembly, Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee, and Co-Chair of the 2021 CLA Breakfast meeting (NCTE).

Rachel Skrlac Lo is an Assistant Professor at Villanova University. She is a Board Member (2020-2022) with the Children's Literature Assembly, Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee, and Co-Chair of the 2021 CLA Breakfast meeting (NCTE).

Casey O'Donnell is
 a graduate student in the Masters Plus Teacher Certification Program at Villanova University.
*The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned herein is intended or should be inferred.

2021 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts Award Books

3/30/2021

 

BY JEANNE GILLIAM FAIN ON BEHALF OF THE NCBLA 2021 COMMITTEE

The NCBLA 2021 committee has the following charge as a committee: 

The charge of the seven-member national committee is to select 30 books that best exemplify the criteria established for the Notables Award. Books considered for this annual list are works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry written for children, grades K-8. The books selected for the list must meet the following criteria:

1. be published the year preceding the award year (i.e. books published in 2021 are considered for the 2020 list);

2. have an appealing format;

3. be of enduring quality;

4. meet generally accepted criteria of quality for the genre in which they are written; 

5. meet one or more of the following criteria:
  • ​deal explicitly with language, such as plays on words, word origins, or the history of language
  • demonstrate uniqueness in the use of language or style; and/or
  • invite child response or participation
Books transport us into new places and sometimes take us out of the craziness of the world. This was one of those years where we experienced unexpected challenges. I led this committee as we navigated some of the real challenges of the pandemic. To be perfectly honest, in September when we didn’t have the normal number of books, I panicked. 

I am truly thankful for this thoughtful committee that continually encouraged me to keep going as I contacted publishers in hopes of obtaining more physical copies of books. Many publishers returned from turbulent times and physical copies of books were difficult to obtain. However, as a committee member, it’s just easier to dig deeper with a text when you have a physical copy in front of you. Thankfully, publishers started returning to sending physical copies of books at the end of January and in February. We continue to be so thankful for the support many publishers extended to us as they worked diligently to send our committee books. However, that meant, that we had to read on a rigorous schedule and we often had to meet more than twice a month in order to have critical conversations around the literature. 


Here’s a figure that highlights our process as a committee:​
Picture

Recurrent Themes from the 2021 NCBLA List

Recurrent themes from the 2021 NCBLA list
This year, we talked about the importance of story and our criteria. We felt that students in K-8 classrooms needed joyful and hopeful stories. We also came to consensus that sad stories are important also. We felt that the readers needed to see themselves in the pages of picture books and novels. We see the strengths of each book and the themes that stand out across books. 

These themes capture the outstanding books on our 2021 NCBLA list. We are still working with publishers to collect all of the books' covers. But here are a few book covers that highlight some of the incredible books from our list.

Some of the 2021 NCBLA Books

Book cover: When You Trap a Tiger
Book cover: The Day Saida Arrived
Book cover: Your Name is a Song
Book cover: The Oldest Student
Book cover: Fighting Words
Book cover: Before the Ever After
Book cover: On Account of the Gum
Book cover: I Am Every Good Thing
Book cover: Black Brother, Black Brother
Book cover: What I like most
Book cover: Swish
Book cover: When Stars are Scattered

We invite you to see the power of literature across our 2021 NCBLA Book List!

Jeanne Gilliam Fain is s a professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee and Chair of the 2021 Notables Committee.
2021 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts Selection Committee Members
Vera Ahiyya (Brooklyn Arbor Elementary, New York)
Elizabeth Bemiss (University of West Florida)
Janine Schall (The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley)
Jennifer Summerlin (University of Alabama-Birmingham)
Kathryn Will (University of Maine, Farmington)
​Fran Wilson (Madeira Elementary, Ohio)

An Inquiry of the Outdoors: Contemporary Children’s Picture Books that Feature the Outdoors

3/25/2021

 

BY KATHRYN CAPRINO

How are humans and the outdoors connected? This inquiry question has been answered more acutely for some during COVID. Whereas I am grateful that I could spend time outside daily during quarantine, taking walks with my little boy and rekindling my passion for running, I know many others - for a myriad reasons - were trapped indoors. 

In this post, I share three contemporary children’s picture books that will help young readers answer the inquiry question: How are humans and the outdoors connected?

After sharing brief summaries of each text, I provide a few lesson ideas.
​
Book cover: Outside In
I was drawn immediately to the cover of Outside In, written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Cindy Derby. There was something about the girl and the brightness of Derby’s lines on the cover of this 2021 Caldecott Honor Book that resonated with me. What is revealed within its covers is a powerful story about how humans are often trapped inside. One poignant line even suggests that sometimes we are outside but really we are inside. But the outdoors does not give up on us. It sends little signals - the snail on the kale, the sounds on our windows - to remind us. And, ultimately, the outdoors wins. And we go there.

Watch Underwood and Derby share their ideas about the text in the video below.  

Similar to the power of the outdoors shown in Outside In, the sea in Swashby and the Sea, written by Beth Ferry and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, does not relent. In this stunning book about friendship, the sea ensures Captain Swashby and the little girl who has moved into the house next door become friends - despite all of Swashby’s efforts. Just as the outside in Outside In sends constant reminders about its presence, the sea in Swashby rewrites the messages Swashby leaves in the sand. As in Outside In, the outside wins, allowing for a wonderful friendship between an old man and his lively young neighbor. 
Book cover: Swashby and the Sea
Book cover: Outside, Inside
The connections between people seen in Swashby and the Sea are echoed, albeit differently, in LeUyen Pham’s Outside, Inside, a book that is about the time of COVID but also about the hope of the outdoors.
Publisher's Book Trailer
Whereas COVID is not mentioned explicitly, the narrator reveals that there was a time when most people went inside. Sharing that humans made the best of their challenging months inside, the text leaves readers with hope of reconnecting with others outside - but not before emphasizing that even though we are all different on the outside, we are all the same on the inside. Echoes of the idea that humans need to be outside seen in Outside In are also seen in Outside, Inside, and this idea that we are all united by something much greater than ourselves links with Swashby and the Sea.

Sharing the Books with Students

Before sharing these three texts with students, pose the inquiry question How are humans and the outdoors connected? Invite them to share the ways in which they feel connected to the outdoors via discussions, written responses, or pictures. 

Next, read the texts to students, providing opportunities for during-text discussions and post-text answering of the inquiry question. Ask students to reveal how each text confirms or alters their previous responses. 

After reading all three texts, ask students to draw, write, or discuss their response to the inquiry question, using their personal experiences and what they thought about as a result of the three picture books. 

Finally, have students engage in an activity that helps them engage with the inquiry question How are humans and the outdoors connected? in personal ways. They may want to create a project that helps keep the outdoors a hospitable place for humans. They might write to the town mayor to share some ideas on roadside trash collection, for example. Other students may pursue a more personal project, such as a drawn or written memoir or children’s picture book about their experiences with being inside and outside throughout the past year. 

Perhaps the best lesson idea I have, however, is to let these texts inspire you and your students to go outside. Take an awe walk to find inspiring objects and return to the classroom to discuss or write about them. Set up an observation log in your classroom so students can track what they noticed about the outdoors. Let students draw or paint the outdoors. Or even better yet, truly be outside with them - not outside but really inside as Outside In warns - and play with them. 


It is my hope that these three contemporary books that provide the opportunity for us to engage in an inquiry of the outdoors inspire us all to move and think and be outside just a bit more.
Kathryn Caprino is a CLA member, on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Children’s Literature, a blogger at katiereviewsbooks.wordpress.com, and an Assistant Professor of PK-12 New Literacies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. You can follow her on Twitter @KCapLiteracy.
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    The opinions and ideas posted in the individual entries are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of CLA or the Blog Editors.

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