Shark Week Unit
July 19, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 7 Comments
It’s Discovery Channel’s 30th anniversary of Shark Week, and you don’t want to miss out on this fun shark unit study.
My daughter has a lot of shark stuff.
My youngest daughter is a tad bit obsessed with sharks.
She has shirts, stuffed sharks, play sets, a shark tooth necklace, and more.
She’s watched all the Jaws and Sharknado moviesand lots of other fictional and documentary films about sharks. She also has the Jaws hardcover book and Sharkopedia. She can’t wait for The Meg in August!
We recently took trips to the Shedd Aquarium and Newport Aquarium.
She wants to be a marine biologist, specializing in the study of sharks.
Katie, Tori, and a friend designed a shark-themed restaurant for an architecture class.
She had a shark-themed 11th birthday:
Shark Units and Resources
The Homeschool Scientist links
Homeschool Share lapbook
Unit Study by Build Your Library $
Homeschool On Unit Study for Grades 2-6
Montessori Unit by Living Montessori Now
Shark Week Books by 3 Boys and a Dog
Natural Beach Living Printables
Super Cute Crafts by Natural Beach Living
Every Star is Different Montessori Unit and Printables
Adventures in Child Reading Unit $
Hammerhead Unit for PreK-1 by SuperMommy to the Rescue
Unit Study by Royal Baloo
Printable Puzzles by In All You Do
Shark Fin Jello Cups by Oh My Creative
Shark Bait Snack by Young at Heart Mommy
Crafts by Crystal and Company
LEGO Sharks by Little Bins for Little Hands
Chestnut Grove Academy Workboxes
Coloring Pages from A Natural Homeschool
K-1st Activities from Mrs. Wills’ Kindergarten
Notebooking Pages from Blessed Beyond a Doubt
Shark Movies (these can be pretty scary or gory)
Jaws and sequels
Open Water and 2 sequels
Sharknado and 5+ sequels
Sharks in Venice
Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus
Jurassic Shark
Sharktopus
Shark Tale – animated for kids
What’s your favorite shark (or ocean creature)?
Servings 12 cupcakes
1 stick unsalted butter softened
1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 c cake flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t kosher salt
Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl.
Sift together dry ingredients in another bowl.
Alternate adding milk with the dry ingredients into the butter sugar mix. Whip batter for several minutes.
Fill 12 muffin cups 2/3. Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes.
Allow to cool before frosting with your favorite flavor.
Linking up: Blogghetti, Life of Faith, Home and Horizon, Modest Mom, Create with Joy, Our Holiday Journey, Inspiration for Moms, Darling Downs Diaries, MaryAndering Creatively, Chicken Chick, Squishable Baby, Home Stories A to Z, April Harris, LouLou Girls, Wise Woman, Jessi’s Design, Our Three Peas, Trekking Thru, Gingersnap Crafts, Journeys in Grace, Sarah Frazer, Jamie Wiebel, Mississippi Mom, Marilyn’s Treats OTM, Marilyn’s Treats WW, Creative K Kids, Be Thee Inspired, Imparting Grace, Organized 31, Penny’s Passion, Debbie Kitterman, Life Beyond the Kitchen, Bountiful Love, Marilyn’s Treats TFT, Overwhelmed to Fulfilled, Momfessionals, NC Charm, CWJ, Simply Sweet Home, Answer is Choco, Blended Blog, CKK, Coffee with Us3, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Anna Nuttall, Bright on a Budget, RCH Reviews, Susan Mead, Charm of Home, Lyli Dunbar, Crystal Waddell, Counting My Blessings, Life with Lorelai,
Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: sharkweek, unit study
Our Curriculum for 2018-2019
July 9, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 6 Comments
I have homeschooled since 2005.
It’s been a wild journey and I have learned so much about myself as a mom and teacher over the years.
You can see how we began with our first and second years.
Here’s how I plan a homeschool year.
You can scroll through all the curricula we’ve used over the years for various levels.
I also created these pages of homeschooling topics and to help answer questions.
This year, I’m only homeschooling 3 kids!
We’re still finishing up some maths, science, and history…but we should have about a month off from academics. We typically school year round with lots of breaks for holidays, resting, and travel.
My eldest is dual enrolled at a local university, and has all but completed her high school work of French and history.
We continue to use our core curriculum of Tapestry of Grace for history, geography, literature, art, music, and church history.
We use Memoria Press for Latin. My son is finishing up Prima Latina and the girls are doing Latina Christiana. We also learn modern languages.
We’ll take local weekly art classes again since we love the teacher.
My middle girls are 11 and 12 years old. We don’t really do grade levels, but I guess they’re in about 7th.
Katie is trying soccer again.
Tori loves being outdoors and walks, runs, bikes, rollerblades all the time.
This year, they’re studying:
Beauty in the Heart Bible study
Spelling Workout Level H
New Elementary Maths 1
Apologia Physical Science and notebook
My son is 8 years old. He is in about 4th grade.
Alex loves baseball and will play fall ball and spring league again this year.
He is studying:
Apologia Chemistry and Physics to coincide with his sisters’ physical science.
A winter Astronomy Unit
Stargazer’s Guide
Apologia Astronomy and notebook
The Astronomy Book
various library books
Christian Liberty Nature Reader 3
Studying God’s Word Book D
Primary Maths 4
Spelling Workout Level B
Some of this curricula is no longer printed or has updated to new editions. I’ve had these books for years and if it ain’t broke…
What are you studying in your homeschool this year?
Linking up: Our Holiday Journey, My Pinventures, Inspiration for Moms, Life on Oak Hill, Lori Schumaker, Create with Joy, MaryAndering Creatively, Bloggheti, The Mrs. Tee, The Chicken Chick, Life of Faith, Our Mini Family, Al Things Beautiful, Jessi’s Design, Wise Woman, Timeless Mama, Creative K Kids, Gingersnap Crafts, Our Three Peas, LouLou Girls, Penny’s Passion, RCH Reviews, Organized 31, Debbie Kitterman, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Sarah Frazer, Soaring with Him, April Harris, Jaime Wiebel, Mississippi Mom, Abounding Grace, Be Thee Inspired, Purposeful Faith, Marilyn’s Treats, Bountiful Love, Trekking Thru, Simply Sweet Home, Overwhelmed to Fulfilled, Life with Lorelai, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Anna Nuttall, Answer is Chocolate, Blended Blog, Susan Mead, Charm of Home, Lyli Dunbar, Crystal Waddell, Counting My Blessings, Arabah Joy, Coffee With Us3, Our Mini Family,
Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: back to school, curriculum
Favorite Summer Books
July 2, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 13 Comments
Summer is a great time for reading. There are usually lots of free reading programs with fun prizes.
While some of us can’t make it to a beach vacation, we can read about adventures!
These fun summer reads are all about beaches, pools, camping, adventures. There’s something for everyone and all ages.
Our Favorite Summer Books:
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It’s their getaway, their refuge. Rosie’s friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose’s mom and dad won’t stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. One of the local teens – just a couple of years older than Rose and Windy – is caught up in something bad… Something life threatening.
It’s a summer of secrets, and sorrow, and growing up, and it’s a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.
The Bear’s Sea Escape by Benjamin Chaud
When the bears seek warmth from their chilly perch atop the Paris Opera House, Little Bear is mistaken for a toy bear and whisked away . . . to a tropical island! Papa Bear sets out on a frenzied journey to find Little Bear, traveling to a bustling wharf, beneath a sea brimming with coral and mermaids, onto a busy beach, and all the way to a sun-drenched island. As in The Bear’s Song, Little Bear is featured in every spread. Will Papa Bear—and the reader—find him?
Garmann’s Summer by Stian Hole
As the summer ends, six-year-old Garmann’s three ancient aunts visit and they all talk about the things that scare them, in an award-winning story that ponders fear and courage, life and death, beginnings and endings.
Weslandia by Paul Fleischman
School is over and Wesley needs a summer project. Having learned that every civilization has a staple food crop, he decides to plant a garden and start his own—civilization, that is. He turns over a plot of earth in his yard, and plants begin to grow. Soon they tower above him and bear a curious-looking fruit. As Wesley experiments, he discovers that the plant will provide food, clothing, shelter, and even recreation. It isn’t long before neighbors and classmates have developed more than an idle curiosity about Wesley and exactly how he is spending his summer vacation.
The Summer Visitors by Karel Hayes
This follow-up to the successful The Winter Visitors, traces the interactions between a family of bears and a human family during their summer stay at a lake cottage. Told primarily through illustration, with only a few dozen words in the book, children and parents (and grandparents) alike will delight in following the antics of the bumbling bears as they enjoy the comforts of cottage life, but also try to avoid detection by their human hosts.
The Toy Boat by Randall de Sève
A little boy has a toy boat. He made it out of a can, a cork, a yellow pencil, and some white cloth. The boy and his boat are inseparable, until one day when the wind pushes the toy boat out into the wide lake. Alone now, the little boat must face fierce waves, a grumpy ferry, a sassy schooner, and a growling speed boat. How the little boat misses the boy! But if he is going to survive, he must figure a way to do it on his own.
The Lost Lake by Allen Say
Luke and his father, who is disgusted by the tourists surrounding the once secluded lake of his childhood, hike deeper into the wilderness to find a “lost lake” of their own.
Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
The spell of rain, gulls, a foggy morning, the excitement of sailing, the quiet of the night, the sudden terror of a hurricane, and the peace of a Maine island as a family packs up to leave are shown in poetic language and vibrant, evocative pictures.
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
Deep in the sea lives a happy school of fish. Their watery world is full of wonders, but there is also danger, and the little fish are afraid to come out of hiding . . . until Swimmy comes along. Swimmy shows his friends how—with ingenuity and team work—they can overcome any danger.
Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
Working up the courage to take a big, important leap is hard, but Jabari is almost absolutely ready to make a giant splash.
Jabari is definitely ready to jump off the diving board. He’s finished his swimming lessons and passed his swim test, and he’s a great jumper, so he’s not scared at all. “Looks easy,” says Jabari, watching the other kids take their turns. But when his dad squeezes his hand, Jabari squeezes back. He needs to figure out what kind of special jump to do anyway, and he should probably do some stretches before climbing up onto the diving board. In a sweetly appealing tale of overcoming your fears, newcomer Gaia Cornwall captures a moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined little boy you can’t help but root for.
Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure
One little boy can’t wait for summer to arrive. He keeps asking, “Mama, is it summer yet?” Mama responds saying, ”Not yet,” but there are plenty of signs that indicate spring is changing into summer: The earth is soft and there are seeds to plant, birds singing, ducklings in the pond, and pink blossoms blooming. The young boy even wears his bathing suit and carries a beach pail in preparation, but will it ever be summer?
Ice Cream Summer by Peter Sis
Dear Grandpa,
Summer is going well. I am very busy. But don’t worry, I am not forgetting about school! I read every day. I practice my math facts. And I am even studying world history!
The Truth About My Unbelievable Summer by Davide Cali
What really happened over the summer break? A curious teacher wants to know. The epic explanation? What started out as a day at the beach turned into a globe-spanning treasure hunt with high-flying hijinks, exotic detours, an outrageous cast of characters, and one very mischievous bird! Is this yet another tall tale, or is the truth just waiting to be revealed? From the team behind I Didn’t Do My Homework Because . . . and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to School . . . comes a fantastical fast-paced, detail-rich illustrated summer adventure that’s so unbelievable, it just might be true!
How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague
Some kids spend their summer vacation at camp. Some kids spend it at Grandma’s house. Wallace Bleff spent his out west…on a ride, a rope, and a roundup he’ll never forget.
Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse
“Come on, rain!” Tess pleads to the sky as listless vines and parched plants droop in the endless heat. Up and down the block, cats pant while heat wavers off tar patches in the broiling alleyway. More than anything, Tess hopes for rain. And when it comes, she and her friends are ready for a surprising joyous celebration…
My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis by Paul Meisel
The hilarious–and scientifically accurate–tale of a praying mantis’s eventful summer
“May 17: I was born today! It’s a beautiful, sunny spring day!” This is the diary of P. Mantis, one of 150 praying mantis brothers and sisters born on a garden bush. P. Mantis is an amazing bug: she can make herself look like a stick to hide from predators, she can swivel her head all the way around, and when she’s grown up she’ll even be able to fly! Told in dated entries, P. Mantis describes the entirety of her life, sharing the fun and beauty of her world as well its little ups and downs (“I ate one of my brothers. Okay, maybe two”).
Summer Days and Nights by Wong Herbert Yee
On a hot summer day, a little girl finds ways to entertain herself and stay cool. She catches a butterfly, sips lemonade, jumps in a pool, and goes on a picnic. At night, she sees an owl in a tree and a frog in a pond, and hears leaves rustling. Before long, she’s fast asleep, dreaming about more summer days and summer nights.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Eleven-year-old Delphine is like a mother to her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. She’s had to be, ever since their mother, Cecile, left them seven years ago for a radical new life in California. But when the sisters arrive from Brooklyn to spend the summer with their mother, Cecile is nothing like they imagined.
While the girls hope to go to Disneyland and meet Tinker Bell, their mother sends them to a day camp run by the Black Panthers. Unexpectedly, Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern learn much about their family, their country, and themselves during one truly crazy summer.
Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
John Henry swims better than anyone I know.
He crawls like a catfish,
blows bubbles like a swamp monster,
but he doesn’t swim in the town pool with me.
He’s not allowed.
Joe and John Henry are a lot alike. They both like shooting marbles, they both want to be firemen, and they both love to swim. But there’s one important way they’re different: Joe is white and John Henry is black, and in the South in 1964, that means John Henry isn’t allowed to do everything his best friend is. Then a law is passed that forbids segregation and opens the town pool to everyone. Joe and John Henry are so excited they race each other there…only to discover that it takes more than a new law to change people’s hearts.
The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow
A young boy, who has never seen the sea, asks his mother to describe it.
Pete the Cat: Pete at the Beach by James Dean
Pete the Cat is one groovy cat at finding shells and building sand castles at the beach. But when it gets too hot, there’s only one way to cool off—jump into the ocean! Except Pete might be a scaredy-cat when it comes to the water.
Beach by Elisha Cooper
“Away to the beach! Away to sand and salt water, to rolling dunes and pounding waves.”
A day at the beach supplies any child with a lifetime of memories. In this new picture book by award-winning author Elisha Cooper, the simple magic of building sand castles, collecting seashells, and running from the waves is brought to life through poetic text and lively illustrations.
Good Night Beach by Adam Gamble
Good Night Beach features building sand castles by the ocean, boating, swimming, exploring the seashore, waves, tidal pools, surfing, fishing, snorkeling, crabs, seagulls, picnics, campfires, sunsets, and more. Grab your beach ball and towel, it’s that time of year again! This charming book guides little ones in discovering all the wonderful things the seashore has to offer.
Beach Bugs: A Sunny Pop-up Book by David A. Carter by David A. Carter
From picnic bugs and fireflies to rollercoaster bugs on a warm summer night, this next installment of the wildly popular Bugs series captures what everyone loves about summer!
Mouse’s First Summer by Lauren Thompson
Mouse and Minka invite you to celebrate summer with a picnic in the park. Roll down the hill on tickly green grass. Fly fluttery kites high in the sky. Enjoy some juicy watermelon! And before it’s time to go home, a summer surprise sparkles in the sky.
I See Summer by Charles Ghigna
From lemonade in the shade to picnics in the park, feel the summer season all around us.
Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe
A young boy is proud of having caught a jar full of fireflies, which seems to him like owning a piece of moonlight, but as the light begins to dim he realizes he must set the insects free or they will die.
S Is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet by Helen Foster James
Next to baseball and fireworks on the Fourth of July, nothing else seems as American as the family camping trip. From what to pack, where to go, and what to do when you get there, S is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet takes readers on an A-Z trail exploring this outdoor pastime. Veteran camper Helen Foster James tackles topics such as unique camping environments, equipment necessities, famous conservationists, and national parks and other attractions. Whether your idea of “roughing it” is a blanket in your own backyard or the subarctic ecosystem of Alaska’s Denali National Park, S is for S’mores is a fun and informative guide that is sure to help campers of all ages make the most of their wilderness adventures.
A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen
Mr. Magee and his trusty dog, Dee, are enjoying a peaceful camping trip when all of a sudden they find themselves plunging down a mountain and teetering on the edge of a huge waterfall! How will they find their way out of this slippery situation? Chris Van Dusen, the creator of Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee, has filled this new adventure with charming illustrations and a playful, rhyming text.
Letters from Camp by Kate Klise
Mom and Dad,
You’ve got to get us out of here! When you get this letter, COME IMMEDIATELY!
— Charlie
The brother-sister pairs who arrive for the summer at Camp Happy Harmony are almost too busy fighting with each other to notice how strange the camp really is. Not only are the campers forced to wear bizarre uniforms, eat gross food, and do chores all day, but the members of the family that runs the camp fight constantly–with each other. Are the campers in danger? Or–in spite of sibling wars–do they need to stick together to solve the mystery humming under the surface of Camp Happy Harmony?
Pictures from Our Vacation by Lynne Rae Perkins
With their new cameras
a brother and sister
take pictures of their vacation.
But when they look at their photographs they see:
1. The back of Dad’s head
2. Feet
3. A container of noodles
Does 1 + 2 + 3 = summer vacation?
What about how it felt to swim in the lake? What about the stories their cousins told and the taste of a just-invented strawberry and whipped cream dessert?
For those memories—the memories of summer and the memories of family that mean the most—they need to look someplace else. Someplace deep inside. Someplace permanent.
The Raft by Jim LaMarche
Nicky is convinced that his summer with his grandmother in the Wisconsin woods is going to be the worst summer ever. She cooks food that he doesn’t like, there’s an art studio where her living room should be, and he’s expected to do chores—including fishing, the most boring chore ever.
But one afternoon, while Nicky is trying to catch their dinner, a raft drifts down the river towards him. The raft has a calming magic about it, affecting both Nicky and the wildlife of the river and woods. Through the raft and the adventures it brings him on, Nicky finds new common ground with his grandmother, a fellow river rat, who encourages him to explore his newfound talent for art.
Froggy Learns to Swim by Jonathan London
Zzzziiiinnngggg splash!
Everyone’s favorite frog learns to swim!
Frogs are supposed to be great swimmers. “Not me!” says Froggy, who’s afraid of the water. But with a little encouragement, some practice, and the help of a silly song or two, Froggy becomes an expert frog-kicker!
What Lives In A Shell? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
What makes a shell like a house?
A house is a home for you, a nest is a home for a bird, and a cave is a home for a bear. But for some animals a shell is a home. Snails and turtles and crabs and clams all have shells that act as their homes and protect them from harm. In this book you’ll learn all about these and other crustaceous creatures, for whom a shell is just the right sort of home.
The Moon Jumpers by Janice May Udry (Author), Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
A lyrical story of night-time, in which four small children and a black cat find themselves enchanted with the loveliness of the hot summer night and the magic of the moon.
Hello Ocean by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Dive into this playful poem about the draw of the shore and the effect the ocean has on all five senses.
Relive a day at the beach with this lovely book of memories. You can almost feel the salt spray on your face and smell the musky scent of ocean in the cool morning air. Remember how the sand squishes between your toes as the tide rushes to shore and taste the tang of the ocean on your lips. Spirited language evokes a sense of closeness and nostalgia for an old friend. The inspiration of the ocean will make learning the five senses as easy as a day at the beach.
Beach Day by Karen Roosa
A cheerful family tumbles out of the car and onto the beach, ready for a perfect day. Buoyant verse just right for reading aloud and bright, playful illustrations capture the singular feeling of a hazy, lazy day by the ocean, complete with a ball game with new friends, water-skiers and sailboats, and a picnic lunch of fried chicken and deviled eggs.
Sea, Sand, Me! by Patricia Hubbell
Uncovering seashells…
jumping in the waves…
It’s a perfect beach day!
And what better way to spend it
than with a new beach friend?
Patricia Hubbell’s light verse skips merrily along, while Lisa Campbell Ernst’s playful scenes picture a sea that is just waiting to be splashed in!
Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck
Way down deep
in the deep blue sea,
there’s a lot to find.
I guarantee!
Come on! Be brave!
Just follow me!
And let’s explore
the deep blue sea!
A Day at the Seashore by Kathryn Jackson
Nancy and Timmy hop out of their beds one summer morning and help pack their swimsuits and lunch. And then it’s off to the seashore! In a charming rhyme, this Little Golden Book from 1951 (then titled A Day at the Beach) describes what preschoolers will find there: “You can catch little crabs—if you’re quick! You can draw great big pictures right on the beach with a piece of a shell or a stick.” Oh, what fun!
Indi Surfs by Chris Gorman
From surfer dad and photographer Chris Gorman comes Indi Surfs, the story of a little girl who braves the ocean to find the perfect wave. Gorman’s evocative images and text capture the essence of beach culture and the surfer’s journey in the story of a young girl who takes to the waves. Challenged by the ever-changing ocean, Indi shows how patience and persistence pay off in pursuit of the ultimate surfing goal.
In this evocative wordless book, internationally acclaimed artist Suzy Lee tells the story of a little girl’s day at the beach. Stunning in their simplicity, Lee’s illustrations, in just two shades of watercolor, create a vibrant story full of joy and laughter.
One Hot Summer Day by Nina Crews
An effervescent city child dances through a hot summer day until a thunderstorm brings welcome relief.
Pool by Jihyeon Lee
What happens when two shy children meet at a very crowded pool? Dive in to find out! Deceptively simple, this masterful book tells a story of quiet moments and surprising encounters, and reminds us that friendship and imagination have no bounds.
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, who lives alone atop a hill, has a job of the utmost importance. It is his task to open any bottles found at sea and make sure that the messages are delivered. He loves his job, though he has always wished that, someday, one of the letters would be addressed to him. One day he opens a party invitation—but there’s no name attached. As he devotes himself to the mystery of the intended recipient, he ends up finding something even more special: the possibility of new friends.
A Drive in the Country by Michael J. Rosen
The car has been stocked with drinks and snacks, maps and joke books, treats for horses and ducks — and now it’s time for three kids, two parents, and one excited dog to set off on that most favorite day trip, a drive in the country. The destination? Oh, here, there, and home again, with a fresh appreciation of family togetherness.
There Might Be Lobsters by Carolyn Crimi
Come on, Sukie, you can do it! A little dog’s paralyzing anxiety gives way to bravery when someone smaller is in need in this humorous, tenderly sympathetic story.
Lots of things at the beach scare Sukie. Lots. Because she is just a small dog, and the stairs are big and sandy, and the waves are big and whooshy, and the balls are big and beachy. And besides, there might be lobsters. With endearing illustrations and a perfectly paced text that captures a timid pup’s looping thoughts, here is a funny and honest read-aloud about how overwhelming the world can be when you’re worried — and how empowering it is to overcome your fears when it matters the most.
Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha
Young Mark spends a busy, noisy day helping out at Gram’s seaside hot dog stand. After the last customer is served and the grill is scrubbed to a silvery shine, Mark sails off with Gram for a promised surprise, and finds a nighttime sea full of shimmering moonjellies.
The scientific name for the creatures in this story is Ctenophore, they are also called comb jellies or sea gooseberries. In New England they are most plentiful in the late summer. They are not true jellyfish because they don’t have stinging cells or tentacles. Moonjellies are harmless.
Away by Emil Sher
Love shines through in the sticky notes shared between a mother and daughter in this picture book about making time for family in the midst of our busy lives.
Between work and school, homework and housework, a mother and daughter don’t always get to spend as much time together as they’d like. Add to that a little girl’s fears about leaving home for the first time, and the need to stay close through handwritten notes becomes even more important. As the camp departure date gets closer, Mom does her best to soothe her daughter’s nerves. A visit from her grandmother helps to calm her fears and convince her that she’ll have a good time, even away from her mother and beloved cat. Camp ends up being a wonderful adventure – but nothing is sweeter than a back-at-home reunion.
Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea by Lynne Rae Perkins
Alix and her sister, Jools, have never seen the ocean. When their parents pack them up for a week at the shore, Alix is nervous about leaving home, but excited, too. At the beach, the girls make friends, go exploring, and have adventures both big and small. They pick periwinkles, spot crabs, and discover that the beach is full of endless possibilities. As the week comes to an end, Alix is surprised to find she doesn’t want to leave!
Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan
Never be late for a parade.
Never forget the password.
Never ruin a perfect plan.
It’s all about the rules. But what if the rules feel completely arbitrary? What if your older brother is the only one who gets to make them up all summer long? And what if he’s the only one who can save you when the darkness of winter comes rushing in?
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
The first title in Arthur Ransome’s classic series, originally published in 1930: for children, for grownups, for anyone captivated by the world of adventure and imagination. Swallows and Amazons introduces the lovable Walker family, the camp on Wild Cat island, the able-bodied catboat Swallow, and the two intrepid Amazons, Nancy and Peggy Blackett.
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
A few hours after nine-year-old Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble in the dried-up riverbed, the rains come and end the long drought on the farm. The rains bring safety for the crops and the livestock, and money for Garnet’s father. Garnet can’t help feeling that the thimble is a magic talisman, for the summer proves to be interesting and exciting in so many different ways.
There is the arrival of Eric, an orphan who becomes a member of the Linden family; the building of a new barn; and the county fair at which Garnet’s carefully tended pig, Timmy, wins a blue ribbon. Every day brings adventure of some kind to Garnet and her best friend, Citronella. As far as Garnet is concerned, the thimble is responsible for each good thing that happens during this magic summer―her thimble summer.
All Summer Long by Hope Larson
Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he’s off to soccer camp for a month, and he’s been acting kind of weird lately anyway. So it’s up to Bina to see how much fun she can have on her own. At first it’s a lot of guitar playing, boredom, and bad TV, but things look up when she finds an unlikely companion in Austin’s older sister, who enjoys music just as much as Bina. But then Austin comes home from camp, and he’s acting even weirder than when he left. How Bina and Austin rise above their growing pains and reestablish their friendship and respect for their differences makes for a touching and funny coming-of-age story.
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
This summer the Penderwick sisters have a wonderful surprise: a holiday on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. Soon they are busy discovering the summertime magic of Arundel’s sprawling gardens, treasure-filled attic, tame rabbits, and the cook who makes the best gingerbread in Massachusetts. But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures.
The icy-hearted Mrs. Tifton is not as pleased with the Penderwicks as Jeffrey is, though, and warns the new friends to stay out of trouble. Which, of course, they will—won’t they? One thing’s for sure: it will be a summer the Penderwicks will never forget.
Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson—a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake—and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible vision of death that will haunt him forever.
As Cory struggles to understand his father’s pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that are manifested in Zephyr. From an ancient, mystical woman who can hear the dead and bewitch the living, to a violent clan of moonshiners, Cory must confront the secrets that hide in the shadows of his hometown—for his father’s sanity and his own life hang in the balance.
The Body by Stephen King
Author Stephen King’s timeless novella “The Body”—originally published in his 1982 short story collection Different Seasons, and adapted into the 1986 film classic Stand by Me—now available for the first time as a stand-alone publication.
It’s 1960 in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Ray Brower, a boy from a nearby town, has disappeared, and twelve-year-old Gordie Lachance and his three friends set out on a quest to find his body along the railroad tracks. During the course of their journey, Gordie, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio come to terms with death and the harsh truths of growing up in a small factory town that doesn’t offer much in the way of a future.
A timeless exploration of the loneliness and isolation of young adulthood, Stephen King’s The Body is an iconic, unforgettable, coming-of-age story.
What’s your favorite summer read?
Linking up: Blogghetti, The Chicken Chick, Squishable Baby, Modest Mom, Our Holiday Journey, Life on Oak Hill, Inspiration for Moms, Holley Gerth, Lori Schumaker, Darling Downs Diaries, MaryAndering Creatively, LouLou Girls, Home Stories A to Z, April Harris, Jaime Wiebel, Abounding Grace, Timeless Mama, Meghan Weyerbacher, Purposeful Faith, Trekking Thru, Soaring with Him, Debbie Kitterman, Bringing Up Georgia, Our Three Peas, Creative K Kids, Gingersnap Crafts, Penny’s Passion, Organized 31, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Journeys in Grace, Lori Schumaker, Be Thee Inspired, Quietly Reminded, Mommynificent, Sarah Frazer, Marilyn’s Treats, Life Beyond the Kitchen, The Charm of Home, CKK, Blended Blog, Simply Sweet Home, Coffee with Us3, Overwhelmed to Fulfilled, Easy Peasy Pleasy, Anna Nuttall, Answer is Chocolate, RCH Reviews, Momfessionals, Lyli Dunbar, Crystal Waddell, Counting My Blessings, Life with Lorelai,
Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: book list, summer
Teen Driving Tips
June 26, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment
My daughter recently got her learners permit to drive in Ohio.
It’s been fun teaching her the basics of driving. I’m not worried about her at all. It’s the lack of control and issues with other drivers that concerns me. This is part of growing up and being independent but it scares me so much.
She knows not to text and drive. She knows not to play the radio too loudly. She’s very cautious. She tells me some of her friends are reckless. She mentions an acquaintance who got a big ticket for texting at a red traffic light.
She knows what to do and what not to do.
Everytime I get behind the wheel, I’m teaching my kids about quick decisions, defensive driving, road conditions, and who is breaking the driving rules.
No distractions. It’s so dangerous to be texting or on phones, or even playing with the radio and air conditioner. Don’t reach down for a fallen item while driving!
Watch speed. Especially in road conditions that are not ideal. Rain, fog, ice, snow call make it more dangerous, even at lower speeds.
Defensive driving. This really just comes with experience. The first day on the road alone, my daughter got her side mirror knocked off by a hit and run driver.
Emergencies. It’s important to know what to do in case of emergency. Don’t panic! Check everyone for injuries. Check vehicles for damage. Take pictures of damage. Call response authority. Call parents. Exchange contact and insurance info. Call insurance to report.
Maintenance. Cars don’t just go forever. They need regular check-ups. Changing oil, checking and rotating tires for proper air and tread, replacing windshield wipers are all for safety and good upkeep.
Driver’s Ed Resources
Driver’s Ed Requirements by State
Student Driver Printable Sign
Driver Ed in a Box–complete parent/teen driver training program for both classroom and in-vehicle phases offered by Driver Education Supplies & Training. The program provides parents with educational materials and training tools necessary to train their teens to be safe, collision-free drivers.
Driver-ZED–Full-screen, full-motion, real-life interactive video puts you in the driver’s seat! You’ll use your eyes and brain to spot trouble before it happens. Spot all the risks and handle them right, and you’ll score a perfect 100.
National Driver Training Institute–Comprehensive, step-by-step curriculum will guide you through all phases of driver education and training with the goal of “creating safe drivers for life.”
*You can get discounts off insurance or tax credits for driving courses and good grades.
Some driving statistics:
According to the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs survey, for every 100 students using NDTI’s parent-taught driver education program:
8 were ticketed for speeding,
8 were involved in accidents,
6 were injured in automobile accidents,
1 was ticketed for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and
there were no fatalities.
With teens obtaining driver’s licenses during the summer more than any other season and an average of six teens dying every day from motor vehicle injuries, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best & Worst States for Teen Drivers.
In order to determine the safest and least costly driving environments for U.S. teenagers, WalletHub compared the 50 states based on 23 key metrics. The data set ranges from number of teen driver fatalities to average cost of car repairs to presence of impaired-driving laws.
Best States for Teen Drivers Worst States for Teen Drivers
1 New York 41 Arizona
2 Washington 42 Alabama
3 Maryland 43 Mississippi
4 Illinois 44 Idaho
5 Delaware 45 North Dakota
6 Louisiana 46 Nebraska
7 Oregon 47 Missouri
8 California 48 Montana
9 Hawaii 49 South Dakota
10 Texas 50 Wyoming
Best vs. Worst
Vermont has the fewest teen driver fatalities per 100,000 teens, 1.83, which is 10.5 times fewer than in Wyoming, the state with the most at 19.30.
Nebraska has the lowest share of major roads in poor condition, 5.00 percent, which is 8.8 times lower than in Connecticut, the state with the highest at 44.00 percent.
Hawaii has the lowest premium increase after adding a teen driver to a parent’s auto-insurance policy, 8.10 percent, which is 18.9 times lower than in Rhode Island, the state with the highest at 152.70 percent.
Alaska has the fewest vehicle miles traveled per capita, 6,826, which is 2.4 times fewer than in Wyoming, the state with the most at 16,457.
Please view the full report and your state’s rank here.
How did you learn to drive as a teen? How do you teach your teens to drive?
Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: high school, teen
How Teens Can Spend Summer
School’s out and summer’s here.
Most teens are in limbo between childhood and adulthood…they might want to just hole up in their rooms and spend all their time on social media.
There are plenty of opportunities for teens to continue learning, get job training, and have fun during summer.
Here’s a list of the top ten ways that teens can spend time this summer:
With flourishing trees and fully blossomed flowers, it’s arguable that nature reaches its peak in the summer. Getting outside and exploring its beauty is best done by taking the time to walk through and embrace it. You can even make a multi-day adventure out of hiking by pitching a tent with a few friends or family. Camping is an excellent way to take advantage of the cool summer nights and maximize your time enjoying the country’s wildlife. From dazzling beaches to soaring mountains, dense forests to vast plains, the U.S. is full of beauty calling for you to explore. The National Park Service has some handy resources for locating parks and trails near you.
Escape the Heat and Take a Dip
In most areas of the country, the weather is only suitable for swimming for a short period of time. Take advantage of the warmth and sunshine by going for a dip in the oceans, rivers, lakes, swimming pools, water parks or whatever you have access to in your area. There is nothing more refreshing than wading in the water on a hot summer day. With so many public access points at most bodies of water, there is no reason not to visit the thousands of water-spots in the country.
Become an Expert on History and Culture
Museums act as a window into places separated by time and location. They provide the tools to educate people on the history of our predecessors and the world’s intercultural development through the ages. From instructive science exhibits to experiential art displays, museums have a lot to offer for those with an open mind and a will to learn. Make a day trip to a local museum or plan a vacation around seeing multiple exhibits across the country. If you’re on a tight budget, do not fret. There are loads of free museums just a google search away. Check out National Geographic’s list of 20 free U.S. museums that are worth checking out.
Witness the World’s Wildlife
America is home to some of the best zoos and aquariums in the world. When looking into visiting a zoo or aquarium, you must consider the quality of the establishment. It is no secret that sometimes these institutions do not uphold the best treatment for animals. Despite the negligent ones, there are several zoos that do a great job caring for their animals. Read more about how to identify a good zoo.
Once you weed out the bad zoos and aquariums in your own research, there is an immense amount that society can take away from the high quality ones. They help conserve the extensive list of species at risk of becoming extinct, provide an outlet for scientists and animal-life experts to conduct research, and educate the public about our planet’s wildlife. Something to note is that if you research different zoos and aquariums in advance, you will most likely find some limited edition exhibits that pique your interest, so start planning today.
Earn Some Cash and Build Your Resume
With all of the spare time in the summer, getting a part-time job can never hurt. Whether you are saving up for college or earning some money to help fund your summer excursions, it is no doubt that the three-month break from school is a wonderful opportunity to earn some extra cash. Aside from the financial aspect of getting a job, it is never too early to start gaining work experience. There is something to learn from any job you have, no matter how simple it may seem. Some examples of part-time jobs good for high school students include lifeguarding, working as a cashier, host/hostessing at a restaurant, or being a camp counselor.
If you already have a pretty firm grasp on what you want to study in your post-secondary studies, the summer is perfect for seeking opportunities such as internships or specialty camps that provide insight into your desired field of study. When looking for a job later down the line, it may be beneficial to prove to the potential employer that you had an early interest in the field and have several years of experience. Even if you are unsure of your interest, these programs can give you an idea of whether or not it is a profession that you would like to further consider.
Declutter and Dispose with a Garage Sale
Summer break is a time for not only cleansing your mind but for purging unused or unwanted possessions. Whether you’re going off to college in the fall or simply need a fresh start, garage and yard sales are a great way for you to declutter your living space and get rid of those belongings that you haven’t touched in years.
If you’re having trouble getting this project rolling, let the thought of earning a few extra dollars motivate you. All you have to do to start is throw open your attic door, have two boxes labeled “Keep” and “Sell,” and get to sorting. Pick a day that works for you and list your yard sale in the appropriate classified sections of both Craigslist and your local newspaper. People won’t know you’re selling all this great stuff if you don’t advertise the event. Whatever you don’t sell, you can donate to local charities or even friends and family.
Explore Yourself through Self Expression
Ever have a hairstyle or cool outfit you wanted to sport? With three months away from your peers and teachers, it’s your time to explore yourself without fear of judgement. Summer is the perfect opportunity for you to test out new ways of expressing yourself and find out just what it is you have to offer the world. This doesn’t stop at your appearance. With your spare time, you can sign up for a dance class, learn an instrument, stylize your room, join a sports team and so much more. Live your best life this summer and have fun finding yourself.
Visit Places Only Your Imagination Can Take You
During the year, it can be difficult to read for leisure when you’re constantly bombarded with reading assignments at school. This summer, take the time to read something for yourself without any deadlines or papers in the mix. You might be surprised where your imagination takes you and what you can learn from a good book. If you don’t know how to find the right book for you, join a local reading club or check TIME’s list of 100 best books for young adults.
Have Fun on the Fairgrounds
Carnival rides and fair food are the pinnacle of American culture. Each summer, people travel from surrounding towns to go to the nearest fairgrounds and come together for a celebration of life. If you’re on social media, you most likely have seen ferris wheels and funnel cake flood your Instagram feed when the season rolls around. The truth is, it’s usually as fun as the pictures suggest. Many of these fairs offer petting zoos, games, rides and other festivities perfect for a day of fun with your family, friends, or romantic interest. Look up county and state fairs that are happening near you and start planning your visit today.
Put Others Before Yourself
Don’t feel bad if you’re spending your summer focusing on yourself, but if you have the time, you can do some work for others. Completing community service leaves you with a feeling of fulfillment and a sense of achievement. You can always log your hours and add the experience to your resume. If you’re a college-bound teen, volunteering your time is a great way to stand out to college admissions counselors and show them your quality of character. Read more about why volunteering is a key component in the college admissions process.
The opportunities are endless when it comes to deciding how to spend your summer. No matter how you choose to spend it, the important part is that you have fun and stay safe. Be proactive and make the most of your time this summer.
Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: college, high school, summer, teen
5 Ways to Learn Fast and Retain More
April 19, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment
The sooner you realize that learning never ends, the more willing you’ll be to expand, elevate in your profession, thrive in your life and even generate more income. Learning and studying can be difficult once we are long past our college years. For all the old dogs who might be reluctant to learning new tricks, we tapped the expertise of Dr. Sanam Hafeez, a New York based Neuropsychologist and Teaching Faculty at Columbia University to share 5 ways to learn fast and retain more so we can quickly grasp new concepts, technologies, business strategies and up-level our willingness to learn.
Independent learning is the hot new brain trend. Thanks to digital media, we see a new renaissance when it comes to learning. On the professional side, nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers have taken a course or sought additional training to advance their careers, according to a March 2016 study by Pew Research Center. On the personal development side, a simple Google search can lead anyone to a plethora of courses on everything from mastering personal finances, parenting, our relationships, nutrition, cooking, designing clothes, home organization and design.
“The key to longevity is the learning and application of new things. When we stop learning, we stop growing and that is a slow death to our brains and bodies. Luckily today there are online seminars and other ways to learn that speak to our interests. It’s also incredibly convenient to learn,” explains Dr. Hafeez.
What are the best ways to learn new things quickly? Dr. Sanam Hafeez offers the following 5 ways to learn fast and retain more.
1. Learn in quick sprints.
There’s a sweet spot for learning in the 30-50 minute timeframe. Dedicate that amount of time to learning and then take a 10 to 15-minute break to end a learning segment before starting a new task. “You’re more likely to retain more when you focus for a shorter amount of time at once,” explains Dr. Hafeez who helps people with ADHD to enhance their ability to focus and learn. “Using tools like notecards with quick points helps the brain absorb concepts even more,” she adds. Which leads to…
2. Take written notes and use color!
Ditch the laptop and go old school with a pen and paper. Outline important points with a different color pen or highlighter and if you can draw a concept out in the margin, go for it. Writing fuels comprehension and enhances listening skills. Studies out of UCLA and Princeton found students who took notes on laptops didn’t perform as well as students who wrote by hand. “When we handwrite notes we listen then process the information before writing. When we type on a laptop, we transcribe what we hear without any self-interpretation which is where the actual learning comes into play,” offers Dr. Hafeez.
3. Give your brain time to rest and recharge with sleep.
People brag that they work so much and sleep so little. Arianna Huffington’s book, “The Sleep Revolution,” and choice to add nap rooms at her Huffington Post offices turned the light onto sleep as a performance enhancer. “People who get a full 8 hours of deep uninterrupted sleep retain what they learn and have bandwidth to grasp more information quicker. We often feel tired after a course or following instructions. This is because focusing requires energy. Naturally, when we rest we get to reboot the brain,” says Dr. Hafeez.
4. Read out loud, record, replay.
Research has shown that reading out loud engages both senses of sight and sound which heightens retention. “Recording yourself reading and elaborating with your own idea of how the concept resonates then replaying the recording a day or two later, is a great technique that fires up the part of the brain that processes concepts like a computer filing information for later use,” explains Dr. Hafeez.
5. Break things down and relate it to what you already know.
We all heard of the math teacher who used the example of rock concert ticket sales to get kids to grasp algebra. According to Dr. Hafeez, “when we take a concept and link it to something we already know about or have genuine interest in, we retain that concept. Anytime we can internalize a concept is has resonance. It sticks.”
About the Doctor:
Dr. Sanam Hafeez PsyD is a NYC based licensed clinical psychologist, teaching faculty member at the prestigious Columbia University Teacher’s College and the founder and Clinical Director of Comprehensive Consultation Psychological Services, P.C. a neuropsychological, developmental and educational center in Manhattan and Queens.
Dr. Hafeez masterfully applies her years of experience connecting psychological implications to address some of today’s common issues such as body image, social media addiction, relationships, workplace stress, parenting and psychopathology (bipolar, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, etc…). In addition, Dr. Hafeez works with individuals who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), learning disabilities, attention and memory problems, and abuse. Dr. Hafeez often shares her credible expertise to various news outlets in New York City and frequently appears on CNN and Dr.Oz.
Connect with her via twitter @comprehendMind or www.comprehendthemind.com
Books About Indigenous Peoples
April 16, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 13 Comments
I want my children to understand North American history, and that includes the First Nations and Native Americans with their tragic displacement by white Europeans…and their discrimination even today.
As a white teacher, I have a responsibility to teach my children truth, even when, especially when, it might be uncomfortable.
My daughter is in college and recently read The Round House by Louise Erdrich in one of her classes. A white male student in her class asked if there really were still Indian reservations. We must be diligent in the education of our children so they understand that there is more to Indigenous peoples than casinos and stereotypes in Western movies.
I think it’s sad that the most exposure many white kids get to Native Peoples are stories about American Thanksgiving.
I was obsessed with Native American culture when I was little but there wasn’t much I could find to learn about them. I watched a lot of westerns and Lone Ranger reruns. I think I loved the idea from watching Little House on the Prairie and Lone Ranger reruns. There was a huge surge of Westerns in film and TV. I would beg my mom to braid my hair and I had this woven skirt that was probably more South American in design, but I loved it. I would often play “cowboys and Indians” in the neighborhood and I always chose to be the Indian, whooping and hollering and tying Chris up and beating him with sticks.
It’s embarrassing now to remember.
We have so many offensive phrases in our vocabulary that we maybe don’t think about like we should.
From Kaitlin Curtice…A few phrases we should stop saying, especially around indigenous peoples:
“Let’s powwow.”
“Really, we’re all Native Americans”
Oh, that’s my spirit animal.”
“Too many chiefs, not enough Indians”
“Off the reservation”
*Washington football team name* and others
“Find your tribe.”
“On the warpath”
Every step towards healing, justice, and reconciliation matters.
To be an Indigenous parent today is about reversing the toxic narrative found in novels, speeches, magazines, and movies. Its about teaching our children indigenous truths rather than colonial lies. It’s about restoring the truth of our kinship models. ~ Chief Lady Bird ~ The Intergenerational Resistance of Unapologetic Indigenous Parents
Many books on reading lists are told from a white perspective. While some are realistic and even respectful of Native history and culture, others are told from a Manifest Destiny perspective. I was rather horrified to see how many plots were about kidnapping white children. I want my children to understand the events that formed North America and how many of those events were and are harmful, even evil. I want them to see the whole picture and I refuse to glorify white history.
If we don’t actively discuss racism and its evils with our children, how will it ever end?
While researching, I found this amazing resource: American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL), with book lists and answers to hard questions. Also, the First Nations website has a great book list.
We recently visited Fort Ancient and learned about the Ohio Natives and their history. We learned about how and where they lived and what foods they grew and how they prepared them.
We’ve visited Boonshoft and learned about Native houses and culture. They currently have a temporary exhibit, Explorers, which includes:
The American Plains, where they can discover the history and culture of Native American peoples through books and hands-on activities in a real tipi, examine artifacts, and discover the tactile difference between leather and rawhide.
Guests can stamp their passport in each area, and even trek to an area designed for our youngest explorers.
More than 200 artifacts from the American Plains were donated in 1926 by Katharine Talbott of Oakwood, after she received them from A. L. Corey, a healer and teacher of American Indian arts on the Western frontier during the turn of the century.
It’s important we study all history and be honest.
I want to honor Native authors and illustrators here. I try to include as many books as I can find. If you know of a lovely Indigenous book for kids that’s not on my list, let me know!
A few other books with beautiful and respectful stories and pictures are also included.
We must recognize and listen to Indigenous voices and learn from their history and culture.
SkySisters by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
Two Ojibway sisters set off across the frozen north country to see the SkySpirits’ midnight dance. It isn’t easy for the younger sister to be silent, but gradually she begins to treasure the stillness and the wonderful experiences it brings. After an exhilarating walk and patient waiting, the girls are rewarded by the arrival of the SkySpirits — the northern lights — dancing and shimmering in the night sky.
This powerful story, with its stunning illustrations, captures the chill of a northern night, the warmth of the family circle and the radiance of a child’s wonder.
The Blue Roses by Linda Boyden
Every spring Rosalie, a Native American girl, and her grandfather sow tiny seeds that blossom into bright flowers. A red rosebush, planted under Rosalie’s bedroom window when she was born, is later joined by pink and yellow ones “to make a sunset,” Papa tells her. Rosalie asks for a blue bush, to represent the sky, but Papa explains that roses do not come in blue. When he dies the following winter, Rosalie’s blue rosebush comes to her in her dreams as a symbol of love, memory, and transcendence.
The Good Luck Cat by Joy Harjo
Some cats are good luck. You pet them and good things happen. Woogie is one of those cats. But as Woogie gets into one mishap after another, everyone starts to worry. Can a good luck cat’s good luck run out?
The first children’s book from an acclaimed poet whose honors include the American Book Award and the William Carlos Williams Award
Celebrates the special relationship between a young girl and her cat. A modern Native American story from a member of the Muskogee-Creek tribe.
When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton
Olemaun is eight and knows a lot of things. But she does not know how to read. Ignoring her father’s warnings, she travels far from her Arctic home to the outsiders’ school to learn. The nuns at the school call her Margaret. They cut off her long hair and force her to do menial chores, but she remains undaunted. Her tenacity draws the attention of a black-cloaked nun who tries to break her spirit at every turn. But the young girl is more determined than ever to learn how to read.
Fatty Legs by Christy Jordan-Fenton
Eight-year-old Margaret Pokiak has set her sights on learning to read, even though it means leaving her village in the high Arctic. Faced with unceasing pressure, her father finally agrees to let her make the five-day journey to attend school, but he warns Margaret of the terrors of residential schools. At school Margaret soon encounters the Raven, a black-cloaked nun with a hooked nose and bony fingers that resemble claws. She immediately dislikes the strong-willed young Margaret. Intending to humiliate her, the heartless Raven gives gray stockings to all the girls — all except Margaret, who gets red ones. In an instant Margaret is the laughingstock of the entire school. In the face of such cruelty, Margaret refuses to be intimidated and bravely gets rid of the stockings. Although a sympathetic nun stands up for Margaret, in the end it is this brave young girl who gives the Raven a lesson in the power of human dignity. Complemented by archival photos from Margaret Pokiak-Fenton’s collection and striking artworks from Liz Amini-Holmes, this inspiring first-person account of a plucky girl’s determination to confront her tormentor will linger with young readers.
Dragonfly Kites by Tomson Highway
Dragonfly Kites is the third book in Tomson Highway’s magical Songs of the North Wind trilogy. Like Fox on the Ice and Caribou Song, it has a bilingual text, written in English and Cree. And once again Tomson Highway brilliantly evokes the very essence of childhood as he weaves a deceptively simple story about the power of the imagination.
Joe and Cody, two young Cree brothers, along with their parents and their little dog Ootsie, are spending the summer by one of the hundreds of lakes in northern Manitoba. Summer means a chance to explore the world and make friends with an array of creatures, But what Joe and Cody like doing best of all is flying dragonfly kites. They catch dragonflies and gently tie a length of thread around the middle of each dragonfly before letting it go. Off soar the dragonflies into the summer sky and off race the brothers and Ootsie too, chasing after their dragonfly kites through trees and meadows and down to the beach before watching them disappear into the night sky. But in their dreams, Joe and Cody soar through the skies with their kites until it’s time to wake up.
Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson
Born of Mohawk and Cayuga descent, musical icon Robbie Robertson learned the story of Hiawatha and his spiritual guide, the Peacemaker, as part of the Iroquois oral tradition. Now he shares the same gift of storytelling with a new generation.
Hiawatha was a strong and articulate Mohawk who was chosen to translate the Peacemaker’s message of unity for the five warring Iroquois nations during the 14th century. This message not only succeeded in uniting the tribes but also forever changed how the Iroquois governed themselves—a blueprint for democracy that would later inspire the authors of the U.S. Constitution.
Malian’s Song (Vermont Folklife Center Children’s Book Series) by Marge Bruchac
Young Malian lives contentedly with her parents and extended family in an Abenaki village near Montréal in the mid-eighteenth century. One night, Malian’s life changes abruptly. Silently, her father carries her off to the woods, blanket and all, and orders her to run to their tribe’s winter camp. Malian obeys, but not before she turns to watch her father slip back to the village through the trees. She never sees him again.
Malian’s Song is based on the true story of a deliberate attack by English Major Robert Rogers on Québec’s St. Francis Abenaki community in 1759. Malian’s account of “Rogers’s Raid,” passed down through generations of Abenaki oral tradition, reveals that many Abenaki people survived the attack that destroyed their village, in direct contrast to Rogers’ journal accounts. Jeanne Brink, a descendant of Malian living in Vermont, told the Vermont Folklife Center the little-known Abenaki version of the brutal attack. In this first Abenaki and English picture book, preeminent Abenaki historian Marge Bruchac and illustrator William Maughan portray Malian’s story of a people’s strength and fortitude in the face of unspeakable loss.
Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin
Little Zoo Sap and his family are moving from their summer home on the coast to their winter home in the deep woods. Unnoticed, the youngster tumbles off the end of the sled.
Alone, cold, and frightened, Zoo Sap cries, and his cries attract the forest animals. Beginning with beaver and ending with the great bald eagle, the animals rush to protect the baby and shelter him from the cold until his father returns for him.
New, expanded 10th-anniversary edition of this classic that has sold more than 30,000 copies. ·
New features include an author’s note explaining the seasonal movement of the Passamaquoddy people; a pronunciation guide to the Passamaquoddy names of the animals in the story; and a QR code that will let readers link to the audio recording of Allen Sockabasin telling the story in the Passamaquoddy language.
A beguiling bedtime story and a profound expression of reverence for the natural world.
Chickadee by Louise Erdrich
Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Chickadee is the first novel of a new arc in the critically acclaimed Birchbark House series by New York Times bestselling author Louise Erdrich.
Twin brothers Chickadee and Makoons have done everything together since they were born—until the unthinkable happens and the brothers are separated.
Desperate to reunite, both Chickadee and his family must travel across new territories, forge unlikely friendships, and experience both unexpected moments of unbearable heartache as well as pure happiness. And through it all, Chickadee has the strength of his namesake, the chickadee, to carry him on.
Chickadee continues the story of one Ojibwe family’s journey through one hundred years in America. School Library Journal, in a starred review, proclaimed, “Readers will be more than happy to welcome little Chickadee into their hearts.”
The paperback edition includes additional material, such as an interview with the author and activities.
Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The affirming story of how a contemporary Native American girl turns to her family and community to help her dance find a voice.
Jenna loves the tradition of jingle dancing that has been shared by generations of women in her family, and she hopes to dance at the next powwow. But she has a problem—how will her dress sing if it has no jingles?
The cone-shaped jingles sewn to Grandma Wolfe’s dress sing tink, tink, tink, tink.
Jenna’s heart beats to the brum, brum, brum, brum of the powwow drum as she daydreams about the clinking song of her grandma’s jingle dancing.
The warm, evocative watercolors of Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu complement author Cynthia Leitich Smith’s lyrical text in this picture book.
When the Shadbush Blooms by Carla Messinger
My grandparents’ grandparents walked beside the same stream where I walk with my brother, and we can see what they saw.
Today when a Lenape Indian girl ventures to the stream to fish for shad, she knows that another girl did the same generations before. Through the cycle of the seasons, what is important has remained: being with family, knowing when berries are ripe for picking, listening to stories in a warm home.
Told by Traditional Sister and Contemporary Sister, each from her own time, this is a book about tradition and about change. Then and now are not so very different when the shadbush blooms.
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp
Giving Thanks is a special children’s version of the Thanksgiving Address, a message of gratitude that originated with the Native people of upstate New York and Canada and that is still spoken at ceremonial gatherings held by the Iroquois, or Six Nations.
Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray McCain
While Kimmy’s parents look for a house close to Daddy’s job, Kimmy stays with her Chippewa grandmother. The bad dreams she has had still bother her. But with her grandmother’s help, she learns about dreamcatchers.
Dreamcatcher by Audrey Osofsky
In the land of the Ojibway a baby sleeps protected from bad dreams, as the life of the tribe goes on around him.
I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis
When Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school, she is confused, frightened and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from despite being told to do otherwise. When she goes home for summer holidays, her parents decide never to send her away again, but where will she hide and what will happen when her parents disobey the law?
Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story by S. D. Nelson
This fascinating picture book biography tells the childhood story of Buffalo Bird Woman—a Hidatsa Indian born around 1839. Through her true story, readers learn what it was like to be part of this Native American community, which lived along the Missouri River in the Dakotas, a society that depended on agriculture for food and survival rather than hunting. Using original artwork and archival photographs, award-winning author/illustrator S. D. Nelson has captured the spirit of Buffalo Bird Girl and her lost way of life. The book includes a bibliography and an index, as well as an author’s note and timeline of events.
We love all the books by S.D. Nelson!
A Boy Called Slow by Joseph Bruchac
The True Story of Sitting Bull from multi-award-winning author Joseph Bruchac.
Anxious to be given a name as strong and brave as that of his father, a proud Lakota Sioux grows into manhood, acting with careful deliberation, determination, and bravery, which eventually earned him his proud new name: Sitting Bull.
We love all the books by Joseph Bruchac!
Arrow over the Door by Joseph Bruchac
For young Samuel Russell, the summer of 1777 is a time of fear. The British Army is approaching, and the Indians in the area seem ready to attack. To Stands Straight, a young Abenaki Indian scouting for King George, Americans are dangerous enemies who threaten his family and home. When Stands Straight’s party enters the Quaker Meetinghouse where Samuel worships, the two boys share an encounter that neither will ever forget. Told in alternating viewpoints, The Arrow over the Door is based on a true story.
How the Stars Fell into the Sky: A Navajo Legend by Jerrie Oughton
This retelling of a Navajo folktale explains how First Woman tried to write the laws of the land using stars in the sky, only to be thwarted by the trickster Coyote.
We Sang You Home by Richard Van Camp
In this sweet and lyrical board book from the creators of the bestselling Little You, gentle rhythmic text captures the wonder new parents feel as they welcome baby into the world. A celebration of the bond between parent and child, this is the perfect song to share with your little ones.
Internationally renowned storyteller and bestselling author Richard Van Camp teams up with award-winning illustrator Julie Flett for a second time to create a stunning board book for babies and toddlers.
Welcome Song for Baby by Richard Van Camp
From renowned First Nations storyteller Richard Van Camp comes a lyrical lullaby for newborns. Complemented with stunning photographs, this evocative board book is perfectly suited as a first book for every baby.
Little You by Richard Van Camp
Richard Van Camp, internationally renowned storyteller and bestselling author of the hugely successful Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns, has partnered with award-winning illustrator Julie Flett to create a tender board book for babies and toddlers that celebrates the potential of every child. With its delightful contemporary illustrations, Little You is perfect to be shared, read or sung to all the little people in your life—and the new little ones on the way!
Loving Me by Debby Slier
Whether it is a gentle kiss from mom, a hug from dad, a playful romp with an older brother, or reading with grandpa, babies and toddlers will discover the importance of family relationships in these charming photographs of Native American families. Loving Me features multi-generational family members loving and caring for a child, as they tenderly show their babies and young children how much they are loved in this book of love and diversity.
My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith
The sun on your face. The smell of warm bannock baking in the oven. Holding the hand of someone you love. What fills your heart with happiness? This beautiful board book, with illustrations from celebrated artist Julie Flett, serves as a reminder for little ones and adults alike to reflect on and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy.
International speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote My Heart Fills with Happiness to support the wellness of Indigenous children and families, and to encourage young children to reflect on what makes them happy.
We All Count: A Book of Cree Numbers by Julie Flett
We All Count: A Book of Cree Numbers provides insight into contemporary Cree life. It teaches Cree numbers and provides pronunciation. This board book is wonderfully illustrated by Canadian based Cree/Metis artist Julie Flett. This book is important in enhancing learning of Cree numbers and making Cree culture accessible to young readers.
Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk
A lyrical lullaby imbued with traditional Inuit beliefs, this bedtime poem written by internationally acclaimed Inuit throat singer Celina Kalluk describes the gifts bestowed upon a newborn baby by all the animals of the Arctic. Lyrically and lovingly written, this visually stunning book is infused with the Inuit values of love and respect for the land and its animal inhabitants.
Zoe and the Fawn by Catherine Jameson
An adventure begins when Zoe finds a lone fawn in the forest and helps search for its mother. But who could the mother be? A bunny? A fish? Join Zoe and her father as they encounter many woodland animals and learn their Native names along the way.
When We Were Alone by David Alexander Robertson
When a young girl helps tend to her grandmother’s garden, she begins to notice things that make her curious. Why does her grandmother have long, braided hair and beautifully coloured clothing? Why does she speak another language and spend so much time with her family? As she asks her grandmother about these things, she is told about life in a residential school a long time ago, where all of these things were taken away. When We Were Alone is a story about a difficult time in history, and, ultimately, one of empowerment and strength.
Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
Mama, do you love me? Yes I do Dear One. How much? In this universal story, a child tests the limits of independence and comfortingly learns that a parent’s love is unconditional and everlasting. The story is made all the more captivating by its unusual Arctic setting. The lyrical text introduces young readers to a distinctively different culture, while at the same time showing that the special love that exists between parent and child transcends all boundaries of time and place. The story is beautifully complemented by graphically stunning illustrations that are filled with such exciting animals as whales, wolves, puffins, and sled dogs, and a carefully researched glossary provides additional information on Arctic life. This tender and reassuring book is one that both parents and children will turn to again and again.
Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie
Thunder Boy Jr. is named after his dad, but he wants a name that’s all his own. Just because people call his dad Big Thunder doesn’t mean he wants to be Little Thunder. He wants a name that celebrates something cool he’s done, like Touch the Clouds, Not Afraid of Ten Thousand Teeth, or Full of Wonder.
But just when Thunder Boy Jr. thinks all hope is lost, he and his dad pick the perfect name…a name that is sure to light up the sky.
Hungry Johnny by Cheryl Kay Minnema
“I like to eat, eat, eat,” choruses young Johnny as he watches Grandma at work in the kitchen. Wild rice, fried potatoes, fruit salad, frosted sweet rolls—what a feast! Johnny can hardly contain his excitement. In no time, he’ll be digging in with everyone else, filling his belly with all this good food.
But wait. First there is the long drive to the community center. And then an even longer Ojibwe prayer. And then—well, young boys know to follow the rules: elders eat first, no matter how hungry the youngsters are. Johnny lingers with Grandma, worried that the tasty treats won’t last. Seats at the tables fill and refill; platters are emptied and then replaced. Will it ever be their turn? And will there be enough?
As Johnny watches anxiously, Grandma gently teaches. By the time her friend Katherine arrives late to the gathering, Johnny knows just what to do, hunger pangs or no. He understands, just as Grandma does, that gratitude, patience, and respect are rewarded by a place at the table—and plenty to eat, eat, eat.
Powwow’s Coming by Linda Boyden
Powwow’s coming, hear the beat?
Powwow’s coming, dancing feet.
Powwow’s coming, hear the drum?
Powwow’s coming, everyone!
Frustrated as a schoolteacher not being able to find good instructional materials on American Indians, Linda Boyden has bypassed the tired stereotype of Indians on horseback or hunting game and placed them in today’s setting of a powwow.
Powwow’s Coming provides children with a foundation for understanding and celebrating the enduring culture and heritage of American Indians. Boyden’s exquisite cut-paper collage and engaging poem visually place readers within the scenes of a contemporary Native American community while offering a thoughtful look at powwows and their meanings to the Native participants.
Wild Berries by Julie Flett
Tch, tch, sh, sh, tup, tup.
Spend the day picking wild blueberries with Clarence and his grandmother. Meet ant, spider, and fox in a beautiful woodland landscape, the ancestral home of author and illustrator Julie Flett. This book is written in both English and Cree, in particular the n-dialect, also known as Swampy Cree from the Cumberland House area.
Kunu’s Basket: A Story from Indian Island by Lee DeCora Francis
Kunu wants to make a pack basket, just like the other men on Indian Island.
But making the basket is difficult, and Kunu gets frustrated. He is ready to give up when his grandfather intervenes. This is not only a story about a family tradition, but also a story about learning to be patient and gentle with yourself.
A story about contemporary Native American life
This new paperback edition includes a new Author’s Note about the traditions and importance of basketmaking in Penobscot Nation culture.
Wild Eggs: A Tale of Arctic Egg Collecting by Suzie Napayok-Short
Summer vacation becomes exciting when Akuluk goes egg hunting with her grandparents in the Arctic.
Akuluk is not excited about visiting her grandparents in Nunavut. She would rather head south for summer vacation, somewhere with roller coasters and cotton candy. There can’t be much to do way up there, Akuluk figures. But as soon as she steps off the plane and sees all the exciting animals that the tundra has to offer, Akuluk forgets all about her dreams of going south. On her first full day in Nunavut, she can’t wait to travel out on the land with her grandfather to hunt for wild eggs. As she learns about the different types of eggs, how to collect them properly, and the delicious meals that can be prepared with them, Akuluk knows that this is just the beginning of the exciting things she’ll learn about the Arctic.
Water Walkers by Carol Ann Trembath
Water Walkers is the story of an Ojibway girl named Mai. Her family members are walking around Lake Superior to raise awareness about the harm that is being done to the Great Lakes. At first, Mai is told she is too little to go, but her grandmother says, “Even little people can do big things.” As Mai walks along the lakeside path, she tries to find ways to help. Will the secret messages from the animals she sees on her journey show her how to help the water and Mother Earth? Will Mai prove that she is a clever coyote girl and can become a good water walker?
Water Walkers is a tribute to the many Native women and men who in today’s world have courageously walked countless miles to draw attention to the condition of water. The message of this diverse, environmental book is to protect the water.
Included are: common core state standards, websites, cross-curriculum activities, a glossary of environmental terms, and ten ways for children to protect the Earth. With new original illustrations by Native American artist, David W. Craig.
Also, look at Stepping Stones: Protecting the Great Lakes.
The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson
The determined story of an Ojibwe grandmother (nokomis), Josephine Mandamin, and her great love for nibi (water). Nokomis walks to raise awareness of our need to protect nibi for future generations and for all life on the planet. She, along with other women, men and youth, has walked around all the Great Lakes from the four salt waters, or oceans, to Lake Superior. The walks are full of challenges, and by her example she challenges us all to take up our responsibility to protect our water, the giver of life, and to protect our planet for all generations.
Stolen Words by Melanie Florence
The story of the beautiful relationship between a little girl and her grandfather. When she asks her grandfather how to say something in his language, Cree, he admits that his language was stolen from him when he was a boy. The little girl then sets out to help her grandfather find his language again. This sensitive, beautifully illustrated picture book explores the intergenerational impact of Canada’s residential school system, which separated young Indigenous children from their families.
Tasunka: A Lakota Horse Legend (English and Indic Edition) by Donald F. Montileaux
Curiosity leads a young warrior to track a new animal. It leads him far from home, but at last he finds a herd of the strange new creatures. They are horses that shimmer with colour and run swift as the wind. The Lakota capture and tame them, and the people grow rich and powerful. They become filled with pride. With their newfound strength they rule over the plains. Then the Great Spirit, who gave the gift of the horse, takes it away. Donald F. Montileaux retells the legend of Tasunka from the traditional stories of the Lakota people. Using the ledger-art style of his forefathers he adds colorful detail. His beautiful images enhance our understanding of the horse and its importance in Lakota culture.
Donald F. Montileaux has some other lovely books.
Rock and Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story by Sebastian Robertson
Canadian guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson is known mainly for his central role in the musical group the Band. But how did he become one of Rolling Stone’s top 100 guitarists of all time? Written by his son, Sebastian, this is the story of a rock-and-roll legend’s journey through music, beginning when he was taught to play guitar at nine years old on a Native American reservation. Rock and Roll Highway is the story of a young person’s passion, drive, and determination to follow his dream.
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall
Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy—though you wouldn’t guess it by his name: his father is part white and part Lakota, and his mother is Lakota. When he embarks on a journey with his grandfather, Nyles High Eagle, he learns more and more about his Lakota heritage—in particular, the story of Crazy Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota and American history. Drawing references and inspiration from the oral stories of the Lakota tradition, celebrated author Joseph Marshall III juxtaposes the contemporary story of Jimmy with an insider’s perspective on the life of Tasunke Witko, better known as Crazy Horse (c. 1840–1877). The book follows the heroic deeds of the Lakota leader who took up arms against the US federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people, including leading a war party to victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Along with Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse was the last of the Lakota to surrender his people to the US army. Through his grandfather’s tales about the famous warrior, Jimmy learns more about his Lakota heritage and, ultimately, himself.
Beaver Steals Fire: A Salish Coyote Story by Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
A long time ago, fire belonged only to the animals in the land above, not to those on the earth below. Curlew, keeper of the sky world, guarded fire and kept it from the earth. Coyote, however, devised a clever plan to steal fire, aided by Grizzly Bear, Wren, Snake, Frog, Eagle, and Beaver. These brave and resourceful animal beings raided the land above and risked all to steal fire from Curlew.
Beaver Steals Fire is an ancient and powerful tale springing from the hearts and experiences of the Salish people of Montana. Steeped in the rich and culturally vital storytelling tradition of the tribe, this tale teaches both respect for fire and awareness of its significance, themes particularly relevant today. This unforgettable version of the story is told by Salish elder Johnny Arlee and beautifully illustrated by tribal artist Sam Sandoval.
Also, check out Bull Trout’s Gift: A Salish Story about the Value of Reciprocity.
Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light by Tim Tingle
Bee stings on the backside! That was just the beginning. Tim was about to enter a world of the past, with bullying boys, stones and Indian spirits of long ago. But they were real spirits, real stones, very real memories…
In this powerful family saga, author Tim Tingle tells the story of his family’s move from Oklahoma Choctaw country to Pasadena, TX. Spanning 50 years, Saltypie describes the problems encountered by his Choctaw grandmother—from her orphan days at an Indian boarding school to hardships encountered in her new home on the Gulf Coast.
Tingle says, “Stories of modern Indian families rarely grace the printed page. Long before I began writing, I knew this story must be told.” Seen through the innocent eyes of a young boy, Saltypie — a 2011 Skipping Stones honor book, WordCraft Circle 2012 Children’s Literature Award-winner, and winner of the 2011 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People in the category of Grades 4-6 — is the story of one family’s efforts to honor the past while struggling to gain a foothold in modern America.
Tim Tingle, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is a sought-after storyteller for folklore festivals, library conferences, and schools across America. At the request of Choctaw Chief Pyle, Tim tells a story to the tribe every year before Pyle’s State of the Nation Address at the Choctaw Labor Day Gathering. Tim’s previous and often reprinted books from Cinco Puntos Press—Walking the Choctaw Road and Crossing Bok Chitto—received numerous awards, but what makes Tim the proudest is the recognition he receives from the American Indian communities.
Karen Clarkson, a Choctaw tribal member, is a self-taught artist who specializes in portraits of Native Americans. She did not start painting until after her children had left home; she has since been widely acclaimed as a Native American painter. She lives in San Leandro, California.
Tim Tingle has several children’s and YA books.
The Apple Tree – A Modern Day Cherokee Story Told in English & Cherokee by Sandy Tharp-Thee
A Cherokee boy plants an apple seed, already seeing the apple tree it is meant to be. But the little apple tree is not so sure. Young and impatient, it begins to doubt its calling after apples fail to appear that first fall. How can the boy convince the tree to give the seasons the time to work their magic? The story is told in English with Cherokee translation, and includes a Cherokee syllabary.
Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun: A Cherokee Story by Geri Keams
After Possum and Buzzard fail in their attempts to steal a piece of the sun, Grandmother Spider succeeds in bringing light to the animals on her side of the world.
Soft Rain: A Story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Cornelia Cornelissen
It all begins when Soft Rain’s teacher reads a letter stating that as of May 23, 1838, all Cherokee people are to leave their land and move to what many Cherokees called “the land of darkness”. . .the west. Soft Rain is confident that her family will not have to move, because they have just planted corn for the next harvest but soon thereafter, soldiers arrive to take nine-year-old, Soft Rain, and her mother to walk the Trail of Tears, leaving the rest of her family behind.
Because Soft Rain knows some of the white man’s language, she soon learns that they must travel across rivers, valleys, and mountains. On the journey, she is forced to eat the white man’s food and sees many of her people die. Her courage and hope are restored when she is reunited with her father, a leader on the Trail, chosen to bring her people safely to their new land.
This book is one of my favorite read alouds.
The True Story of Pocahontas (Step-Into-Reading, Step 3) by Lucille Recht Penner
Filled with suspense, romance, and historical details, here’s a very young biography of the Powhatan Indian princess who played a vital role in early Colonial and Native American relations.
If You Lived With The Cherokees by Peter Roop
This book tells what it was like to grow up in a Cherokee family in the Great Smoky Mountains about 200 years ago.
Sacajawea: Her True Story (Penguin Young Readers, Level 4) by Joyce Milton
More than 200 years ago, explorers went on a journey to the Pacific Ocean. With the help of a young American Indian girl, the trip was a success. Her name was Sacagawea.
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola
In spring, the hills and meadows of Texas and Wyoming are ablaze with the reds, oranges, and yellows of the Indian Paintbrush. How this striking plant received its name is told in an old Indian legend.
Many years ago, when the People traveled the Plains, a young Indian boy had a Dream-Vision in which it was revealed that one day he would create a painting that was as pure as the colors of the evening sky at sunset. The boy grew up to become the painter of the tribe, but although he found a pure white buckskin for a canvas and made paints from the brightest flowers and the reddest berries, he could not capture the sunset.
How the young Indian artist finally fulfills his Dream-Vision is lovingly told and illustrated by Tomie dePaola, in words and pictures that capture the spirit and beauty of this dramatic legend.
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
“There was a girl in the village who loved horses… She led the horses to drink at the river. She spoke softly and they followed. People noticed that she understood horses in a special way.”
And so begins the story of a young Native American girl devoted to the care of her tribe’s horses. With simple text and brilliant illustrations. Paul Goble tells how she eventually becomes one of them to forever run free. Paul Goble has several lovely books.
Shin-chi’s Canoe by Nicola I. Campbell
When they arrive at school, Shi-shi-etko reminds Shinchi, her six-year-old brother, that they can only use their English names and that they can’t speak to each other. For Shinchi, life becomes an endless cycle of church mass, school, and work, punctuated by skimpy meals. He finds solace at the river, clutching a tiny cedar canoe, a gift from his father, and dreaming of the day when the salmon return to the river — a sign that it’s almost time to return home. This poignant story about a devastating chapter in First Nations history is told at a child’s level of understanding.
Indian Shoes by Cynthia L Smith
What do Indian shoes look like, anyway? Like beautiful beaded moccasins…or hightops with bright orange shoelaces?
Ray Halfmoon prefers hightops, but he gladly trades them for a nice pair of moccasins for his Grampa. After all, it’s Grampa Halfmoon who’s always there to help Ray get in and out of scrapes — like the time they are forced to get creative after a homemade haircut makes Ray’s head look like a lawn-mowing accident.
This collection of interrelated stories is heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny. Cynthia Leitich Smith writes with wit and candor about what it’s like to grow up as a Seminole-Cherokee boy who is just as happy pounding the pavement in windy Chicago as rowing on a take in rural Oklahoma.
Son Who Returns by Gary Robinson
Fifteen-year-old Mark Centeno is of Chumash, Crow, Mexican and Filipino ancestry—he calls himself “four kinds of brown.” When Mark goes to live with his Chumash grandmother on the reservation in central California, he discovers a rich world of family history and culture that he knows very little about. He also finds a pathway to understanding better a part of his own identity: powwow dancing. Riveted by the traditional dancers and feeling the magnetic pull of the drums, Mark begins the training and other preparations necessary for him to compete as a dancer in one of America’s largest powwows.
Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina by Maria Tallchief
Growing up on the Osage Indian reservation, Maria Tallchief was a gifted pianist and dancer. According to Osage tradition, women are not permitted to dance, but Maria’s parents recognized her gifts and allowed her to break the rule. Then when Maria reached the age of twelve, her father told her it was time to choose between her two loves. Maria chose ballet. It was a decision that would change not only the course of her life, but the face of classical ballet in America.
Sweetgrass Basket by Marlene Carvell
In prose poetry and alternating voices, Marlene Carvell weaves a heartbreakingly beautiful story based on the real-life experiences of Native American children. Mattie and Sarah are two Mohawk sisters who are sent to an off-reservation school after the death of their mother. Subject to intimidation and corporal punishment, with little hope of contact with their father, the girls are taught menial tasks to prepare them for life as domestics. How Mattie and Sarah protect their culture, memories of their family life, and their love for each other makes for a powerful, unforgettable historical novel.
Super Indian by Arigon Starr
Hubert Logan was an ordinary Reservation boy until he ate tainted commodity cheese infused with Rezium, a secret government food enrichment additive. Known as Super Indian, Hubert fights evil forces who would overtake the Reservation’s resources and population. Assisted by his trusty sidekicks Mega Bear and Diogi, they fight crime the way they know how — with strength, smarts and humor.
Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices by Lisa Charleyboy
Whether discussing the transformative power of art or music, the lasting trauma of residential schools, growing up poor, or achieving success, the contributors to this remarkable anthology all have something in common: a rich Native heritage that has informed who they are.
“All the Real Indians Died Off”: And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
In this enlightening book, scholars and activists Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker tackle a wide range of myths about Native American culture and history that have misinformed generations. Tracing how these ideas evolved, and drawing from history, the authors disrupt long-held and enduring myths such as:
“Columbus Discovered America”
“Thanksgiving Proves the Indians Welcomed Pilgrims”
“Indians Were Savage and Warlike”
“Europeans Brought Civilization to Backward Indians”
“The United States Did Not Have a Policy of Genocide”
“Sports Mascots Honor Native Americans”
“Most Indians Are on Government Welfare”
“Indian Casinos Make Them All Rich”
“Indians Are Naturally Predisposed to Alcohol”
Each chapter deftly shows how these myths are rooted in the fears and prejudice of European settlers and in the larger political agendas of a settler state aimed at acquiring Indigenous land and tied to narratives of erasure and disappearance. Accessibly written and revelatory, “All the Real Indians Died Off” challenges readers to rethink what they have been taught about Native Americans and history.
Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today by Lori Marie Carlson
The ten stories that make up this collection are raw, original, and fresh. Although they are all about American Indians, they are as different from one another as they are from anything you’ve read before.
A supermarket checkout line, a rowboat on a freezing lake at dawn, a drunken dance in the gym, an ice hockey game on public-access TV. These are some of the backgrounds against which ten outstanding authors have created their memorable characters. Their work — both poignant and funny, sarcastic and serious — reminds us that the American Indian story is far from over — it’s being written every day.
Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative by Ignatia Broker
With the art of a practiced storyteller, Ignatia Broker recounts the life of her great-great-grandmother, Night Flying Woman, who was born in the mid-19th century and lived during a chaotic time of enormous change, uprootings, and loss for the Minnesota Ojibwe. But this story also tells of her people’s great strength and continuity.
Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.
With a foreword by Markus Zusak, interviews with Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney, and four-color interior art throughout, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike.
Code Talker Stories by Laura Tohe
The Navajo language helped win World War II, and it lives on in this book, as the Code Talkers remember the war and reflect on the aftermath and the legacy they will leave behind. The veterans, able to speak to a daughter of one of their own in English and Navajo, truly shared from their hearts. They not only provided more battlefield details, but they also reveal how their war experiences affected themselves and the Navajo generations that followed.
My Name Is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson
My name is not easy. My name is hard like ocean ice grinding the shore…Luke knows his Iñupiaq name is full of sounds white people can’t say. So he leaves it behind when he and his brothers are sent to boarding school hundreds of miles away from their Arctic village. At Sacred Heart School, students—Eskimo, Indian, White—line up on different sides of the cafeteria like there’s some kind of war going on. Here, speaking Iñupiaq—or any native language—is forbidden. And Father Mullen, whose fury is like a force of nature, is ready to slap down those who disobey. Luke struggles to survive at Sacred Heart. But he’s not the only one. There’s smart-aleck Amiq, a daring leader— if he doesn’t self-destruct; Chickie, blond and freckled, a different kind of outsider; and small, quiet Junior, noticing everything and writing it all down. They each have their own story to tell. But once their separate stories come together, things at Sacred Heart School—and the wider world—will never be the same.
If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth
Lewis “Shoe” Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he’s not used to is white people being nice to him — people like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family’s poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan’s side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis’s home — will he still be his friend?
Acclaimed adult author Eric Gansworth makes his YA debut with this wry and powerful novel about friendship, memory, and the joy of rock ‘n’ roll.
Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School by Timothy P. McLaughlin
This is an exceptional poetry collection written by Lakota students in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at Red Cloud Indian School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The historic school was founded in 1888 at the request of Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Lakota. The poems enable readers to learn about the unique lives and heritage of students growing up in such distinctive circumstances and straddling cultures. The collection was compiled by a teacher at the school, working with school administrators, and contains never-before-published artworks by award-winning artist S. D. Nelson.
Native Writers: Voices of Power by Kim Sigafus
Learn about the life events and aspirations that shaped the voices of ten influential Native writers, whose novels, short stories and plays encompass the soul of Native life. Learn how these writers draw from personal experience to create situations and characters that are entertaining and poignant. Featured writers include:
Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene) Marilyn Dumont (Cree/Métis)
Joseph Boyden (Cree/Métis) Louise Erdrich (Ojibwa)
Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) Tomson Highway (Cree)
Maria Campbell (Métis) N. Scott Momaday (Kiowa/Cherokee)
Nicola Campbell (Interior Salish of Nle7kepmx Tim Tingle (Choctaw)
[Thompson] and Nsilx [Okanagan]/Métis)
Many individuals portrayed in the Native Trailblazers series surmounted adversity and humble beginnings in their journey for personal success. The Trailblazer books feature positive role models for Native students while providing non-Native students with a view of Indigenous people today.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream. In this dark world, Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden—but what they don’t know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves.
Native American History for Kids: With 21 Activities by Karen Bush Gibson
As the first Americans, hundreds of indigenous bands and nations already lived in North America when European explorers first set out to conquer an inhabited land. This book captures the early history of these complex societies and their 500-year struggle to survive against all odds from war, displacement, broken treaties, and boarding schools. Not only a history of tribal nations, Native American History for Kids also includes profiles of famous Native Americans and their many contributions, from early leaders to superstar athlete Jim Thorpe, dancer Maria Tallchief, astronaut John Herrington, author Sherman Alexie, actor Wes Studi, and more.
Readers will also learn about Indian culture through hands-on activities, such as planting a Three Sisters garden (corn, squash, and beans), making beef jerky in a low-temperature oven, weaving a basket out of folded newspaper strips, deciphering a World War II Navajo Code Talker message, and playing Ball-and-Triangle, a game popular with Penobscot children. And before they are finished, readers will be inspired to know that the history of the Native American people is the history of all Americans.
Other Craft Books: More Than Moccasins: A Kid’s Activity Guide to Traditional North American Indian Life and A Kid’s Guide to Native American History: More than 50 Activities
Night of the Full Moon by Gloria Whelan
In the winter of 1840, the night of the full moon is approaching. Nothing will stop Libby Mitchell from visiting her best friend, Fawn, during a special ceremony at the nearby wigwam camp. But Libby’s adventure takes an unexpected turn when soldiers suddenly rush in. They order everyone at the camp, including Libby, to move off the land—immediately! With each passing day, the displaced people must move farther away from home. Will Libby ever see her family again?
Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
A pioneer boy, brought up by Crow Indians, is reunited with his family and attempts to orient himself in the white man’s culture.
The Primrose Way by Jackie French Koller
Living in a rough Puritan missionary settlement that borders an Indian village, sixteen-year-old Rebekah is forced to choose between two cultures when she falls in love with a defiant Pawtucket medicine man. “Issues about separation of church and state, the scandalous idea of thinking for oneself, etc., are thoughtfully raised here and would provide provocative discussions.”
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Although he faces responsibility bravely, thirteen-year-old Matt is more than a little apprehensive when his father leaves him alone to guard their new cabin in the wilderness. When a renegade white stranger steals his gun, Matt realizes he has no way to shoot game or to protect himself. When Matt meets Attean, a boy in the Beaver clan, he begins to better understand their way of life and their growing problem in adapting to the white man and the changing frontier.
Elizabeth George Speare’s Newbery Honor-winning survival story is filled with wonderful detail about living in the wilderness and the relationships that formed between settlers and natives in the 1700s. Now with an introduction by Joseph Bruchac.
The People Shall Continue by Simon J Ortiz
Told in the rhythms of traditional oral narrative, this powerful telling of the history of the Native/Indigenous peoples of North America recounts their story from Creation to the invasion and usurpation of Native lands. As more and more people arrived, The People saw that the new men did not respect the land. The People witnessed the destruction of their Nations and the enslavement of their people. The People fought hard, but eventually agreed to stop fighting and signed treaties.
Many things changed and became more difficult, but The People continued to farm and create crafts. They remembered and told their children, “You are Shawnee. You are Lakota. You are Pima. You Acoma. . . . You are all these Nations of the People.” The People held onto their beliefs and customs and found solidarity with other oppressed people. And despite struggles against greed, destruction of their lands, and oppression, The People persisted.
Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto by Vine Deloria, Jr.
In his new preface to this paperback edition, the author observes, “The Indian world has changed so substantially since the first publication of this book that some things contained in it seem new again.” Indeed, it seems that each generation of whites and Indians will have to read and reread Vine Deloria’s Manifesto for some time to come, before we absorb his special, ironic Indian point of view and what he tells us, with a great deal of humor, about U.S. race relations, federal bureaucracies, Christian churches, and social scientists. This book continues to be required reading for all Americans, whatever their special interest.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
Vividly weaving memory, fantasy, and stark reality to paint a portrait of life in and around the Spokane Indian reservation, this book introduces some of Alexie’s most beloved characters, including Thomas Builds-the-Fire, the storyteller who no one seems to listen to, and his compatriot, Victor, the sports hero who turned into a recovering alcoholic. Now with an updated introduction from Alexie, these twenty-four tales are narrated by characters raised on humiliation and government-issue cheese, and yet they are filled with passion and affection, myth and charm. Against a backdrop of addiction, car accidents, laughter, and basketball, Alexie depicts the distances between men and women, Indians and whites, reservation Indians and urban Indians, and, most poetically, modern Indians and the traditions of the past.
Killing the White Man’s Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century by Fergus M. Bordewich
In the face of a new lightly romanticized view of Native Americans, Killing the White Man’s Indian bravely confronts the current myths and often contradictory realities of tribal life today. Following two centuries of broken treaties and virtual government extermination of the “savage redmen,” Americans today have recast Native Americans into another, equally stereotyped role, that of eternal victims, politically powerless and weakened by poverty and alcoholism, yet whose spiritual ties with the natural world form our last, best hope of salvaging our natural environment and ennobling our souls.
The truth, however, is neither as grim , nor as blindly idealistic, as many would expect. The fact is that a virtual revolution is underway in Indian Country, an upheaval of epic proportions. For the first time in generations, Indians are shaping their own destinies, largely beyond the control of whites, reinventing Indian education and justice, exploiting the principle of tribal sovereignty in ways that empower tribal governments far beyond most American’s imaginations. While new found power has enriched tribal life and prospects, and has made Native Americans fuller participants in the American dream, it has brought tribal governments into direct conflict with local economics and the federal government.
Based on three years of research on the Native American reservations, and written without a hidden conservative bias or politically correct agenda, Killing the White Man’s Indian takes on Native American politics and policies today in all their contradictory–and controversial-guises.”
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.
Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances.
In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes like Al Spencer, the “Phantom Terror,” roamed—many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll climbed to more than twenty-four, the FBI took up the case. It was one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations and the bureau badly bungled the case. In desperation, the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only American Indian agents in the bureau. The agents infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward American Indians that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly compelling, but also emotionally devastating.
This Day in North American Indian History: Events in the History of North America’s Native Peoples by Phil Konstantin
This Day in North American Indian History is a one-of-a-kind, fun-to-read book covering over 5,000 years of North American Indian history, culture, and lore. Wide-ranging and in-depth, it lists over 5,000 important events involving the native peoples of North America in a unique day-by-day format.From the construction of Mayan temples in A.D. 715 to modern political activism and governmental legislation affecting native peoples-and everything in between-virtually every significant historical event in Indian history is listed. It also includes biographical sketches of prominent and lesser-known North American Indian leaders, chiefs, explorers, and their white counterparts, descriptions of migrations, the histories of tribes and ancient languages, and a list of the meanings of tribal names. Well-organized and comprehensive, the thousands of entries in This Day in North American Indian History weave an exciting and panoramic mosaic of North American Indian history. It is the most all-encompassing single-volume reference work on the subject available.
Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations, and the U.S. Constitution by Lyons et al, Oren, Donald A. Grinde, Curtis Berkey
This groundbreaking work, which was written into the Congressional Record, has major implications for future relations between Indian tribes and the governments of the United States and other nations. It presents the strongest case ever made for Native American sovereignty.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.
Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering. Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.
1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann
A deeply engaging new history of how European settlements in the post-Colombian Americas shaped the world, from the bestselling author of 1491.
Presenting the latest research by biologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, Mann shows how the post-Columbian network of ecological and economic exchange fostered the rise of Europe, devastated imperial China, convulsed Africa, and for two centuries made Mexico City—where Asia, Europe, and the new frontier of the Americas dynamically interacted—the center of the world. In this history, Mann uncovers the germ of today’s fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars. In 1493, Mann has again given readers an eye-opening scientific interpretation of our past, unequaled in its authority and fascination.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown
Immediately recognized as a revelatory and enormously controversial book since its first publication in 1971, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is universally recognized as one of those rare books that forever changes the way its subject is perceived. Now repackaged with a new introduction from bestselling author Hampton Sides to coincide with a major HBO dramatic film of the book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown’s classic, eloquent, meticulously documented account of the systematic destruction of the American Indian during the second half of the nineteenth century. A national bestseller in hardcover for more than a year after its initial publication, it has sold over four million copies in multiple editions and has been translated into seventeen languages.
Using council records, autobiographies, and firsthand descriptions, Brown allows great chiefs and warriors of the Dakota, Ute, Sioux, Cheyenne, and other tribes to tell us in their own words of the series of battles, massacres, and broken treaties that finally left them and their people demoralized and decimated. A unique and disturbing narrative told with force and clarity, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee changed forever our vision of how the West was won, and lost. It tells a story that should not be forgotten, and so must be retold from time to time.
What’s your favorite book on the list?
What prejudice do you still see towards Indigenous peoples?
Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: americanindian, book list, firstnations, indigenous, native, nativeamerican
Favorite Easter Books
March 27, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment
Easter is a great time of year as we welcome spring.
I remember getting a frilly new dress and having a fun barbecue at my aunt’s house. She always had an Easter egg hunt, even though it was just for me and my two close-in-age cousins.
I love these Easter books about eggs, bunnies, and the resurrection of Jesus.
And there are some fun silly books too.
Books make great Easter gifts – fill those baskets with more than just candy!
The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story by Mike and‎ Jan Berenstain
The Bear cubs are candy-crazy this Easter! But Missus Ursula and some Sunday school students tell the cubs about Jesus’s resurrection and show them that salvation is much sweeter than candy!
The Biggest Easter Basket Ever by Steven Kroll
As Mouseville prepares for a gala Easter celebration on the village green, complete with a biggest Easter Basket contest, two lovable mice learn a lesson in cooperation — and fun!
Town mouse Clayton and country mouse Desmond continue to teach the benefits of collaboration and friendship in another sweet story centered around this joyful holiday.
Egg by Kevin Henkes
This masterful and stylistically original picture book introduces young children to four eggs. One is blue, one is pink, one is yellow, and one is green. Three of the eggs hatch, revealing three baby birds who fly away. But the green egg does not hatch. Why not? When the three birds return to investigate, they’re in for a big surprise! What will happen next?
The Easter Egg Artists by Adrienne Adams
The Abbotts, established Easter egg artists, let their son develop a style of his own when he shows interest in painting.
The Best Easter Egg Hunt Ever by Dawn Casey
It is Easter and Rabbit is on the hunt for the most special egg of all and with help from her friends she hopes to find it.
The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous
The Easter Egg by Jan Brett
Jan Brett’s lovable bunny hero, Hoppi, and her remarkable Easter Rabbit will enchant readers as they pore over illustrations filled with dazzling eggs made by Flora Bunny, Aunt Sassyfrass and others.
If Hoppi can make the best Easter egg, he will get to help the Easter Rabbit with his deliveries on Easter morning. But it is not so easy. Discouraged, he goes into the woods to think when a blue robin’s egg tumbles out of its nest. Hoppi keeps it safe and warm until the baby bird hatches, and when the Easter Rabbit arrives, he declares the empty blue eggshell the very best one to reward Hoppi for his kindness.
Spring is everywhere in gorgeous illustrations framed with pussy willows, flowering vines and flowers. Side borders feature busy rabbits making their unusual eggs and, in a border above, the Robin’s family drama unfolds.
A gatefold surprise reveals the Easter Rabbit.
Easter Eggs for Anya: A Ukrainian Celebration of New Life in Christ by Virginia Kroll
A Ukrainian Celebration of New Life in Christ Children love coloring Easter eggs, and here’s a story to explain one of the origins of this tradition. In early nineteenth-century Ukraine, Christians celebrated Easter by exchanging colorful, hand-decorated pysanky eggs—but with Papa away at the war and Mama struggling to make ends meet, Anya’s family was too poor to buy eggs to decorate one year. That is, until Anya discovered an abandoned nest of goose eggs and began planning an Easter surprise for her family. But God had an even better surprise in store, and when the eggs unexpectedly began to hatch, Anya learned what the Easter story teaches: spring brings gifts of myriad new beginnings, just as the risen Christ gave the gift of new life to us all. Each Traditions of Faith book features a story of how significant Christian traditions emerged in cultures around the world, with a note about the origin and history of the tradition, and offers ideas and activities each family can adopt as its own.
Petook: An Easter Story by Caryll Houselander
Petook and Martha, proud parents of twelve chickens, are visited by a stranger, and years later, they learn the meaning of Easter when they witness that stranger lifted onto a cross, as another batch of Martha’s eggs hatch.
Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco
Babushka, known for her exquisite hand-painted eggs, finds Rechenka, a wounded goose, and takes her home. When she’s ready to try her wings again, Rechenka accidentally breaks all of Babushka’s lovingly crafted eggs. But the next morning Babushka awakens to a miraculous surprise.
Easter Bugs: A Springtime Pop-up by David A. Carter
All kinds of bugs are hiding behind colorful Easter eggs, just waiting for you to find them!
(And there are lots more fun surprises, too!)
Home for a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Generations of children have followed this furry, lovable bunny on his springtime journey to find a home. A family favorite since 1956, Margaret Wise Brown’s simple yet playful tale is perfectly complemented by Garth Williams’s exquisite artwork.
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Celebrating 75 years, The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, beloved children’s book author of Goodnight Moon.
“If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.”
A little bunny keeps running away from his mother in this imaginary game of hide-and-seek. Children will be profoundly comforted by this lovingly steadfast mother who finds her child every time.
The Runaway Bunny, first published in 1942 and never out of print, has indeed become a classic. Generations of readers have fallen in love with the gentle magic of its reassuring words and loving pictures.
The Night Before Easter by Natasha Wing
“Twas the night before Easter, just before dawn, Not a creature was stirring out on the lawn.” The Easter bunny takes center stage in this delightful spin on a beloved poem that will send families hopping to the bookstore for an Easter treat sweeter than any sugar plum!
The Story of the Easter Bunny by Katherine Tegen
Everyone knows who the Easter Bunny is. Each year, he comes with a basket of painted eggs and chocolates for children. But not everybody knows where he comes from. On a snow-cold day in a snug little house… So begins the true story of the Easter Bunny!
With gorgeous and peaceful art, this fresh, innovative story describes how one little rabbit became a legend. The perfect addition to Easter baskets!
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward
The country bunny attains the exalted position of Easter Bunny in spite of her responsibilities as the mother of twenty-one children.
It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny by Marilyn Sadler
Meet P. J. Funnybunny in this humorous and touching Beginner Book by Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen. It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny tells the “tail” of P.J. and his quest to become something other than what he is. Is it more fun to be a bear, a bird, or a pig? Read along as P.J. tries to determine who he is—and where he belongs.
How to Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace
Is this the year you’ll be able to catch the Easter bunny in action? Start an Easter tradition with this fun and funny children’s book, from the New York Times bestselling creators of How to Catch a Leprechaun!
“I’ve been working long and hard
with all my peeps and crew.
We’ve made the eggs, and now I’m here
to bring them all to you!”
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is the original classic by Beatrix Potter. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was first published by Frederick Warne in 1902 and endures as Beatrix Potter’s most popular and well-loved tale. It tells the story of a very mischievous rabbit and the trouble he encounters in Mr McGregor’s vegetable garden!
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
At first a brand-new toy, now a threadbare and discarded nursery relic, the velveteen rabbit is saved from peril by a magic fairy who whisks him away to the idyllic world of Rabbitland. There, he becomes “Real,” a cherished childhood companion who will be loved for eternity.
How to Be a Bigger Bunny by Florence Minor
When Tickles the bunny’s family goes on an adventure without her, Tickles reads her book, How to Be a Bigger Bunny, and then winds up on an adventure of her own. When she finds her furry family in trouble, she must become a bigger bunny and save the day. Perfect for Easter time and springtime as well as year-round reading aloud and sharing.
The Little Rabbit Who Lost Her Hop by Jedda Robaard
Little Rabbit is on her way to the party, but something has gone wrong! Somehow, she’s lost her hop! Join Little Rabbit on a lift-the-flap adventure as she tries to get to the party in time without it.
Little Rabbit has lost her hop! Can you help her find it? Children can lift the flaps to help Little Rabbit look for different ways to get to her party without her hop.
Big Bunny by Rowboat Watkins
Once upon a time there was a book about . . .
SPACE ALIENS?
Nope . . . a BUNNY!
A GIANT SCARY TRUCK-EATING BUNNY?!?
Um . . . well, maybe it was a tiny bit big.
From the curious mind of Rowboat Watkins comes a ginormously imaginative story that is as funny as it is philosophical. How big is Big Bunny? And how will this story end? Delightfully meta and humorously subversive, Big Bunny will take its place as the next go-to story about stories.
Marshmallow by Clare Turlay Newberry
Oliver is a tabby cat who is always the center of attention.
Marshmallow is a baby rabbit who moves into Oliver’s home.
At first Oliver does not welcome Marshmallow, but the little bunny’s charms are impossible to resist. This is the true story of how Oliver and Marshmallow become friends.
The Story of the Easter Robin by Dandi Daley Mackall
In the center of the nest lay one perfect egg, the color of a spring sky. The father robin sat on a branch nearby, guarding his family. Tressa spotted raccoon tracks below and a blue jay eyeing the nest. “Gran, how are we going to keep the egg safe?”“We’ll have to leave that one to the Creator,” Gran said.Robins have built a nest on the window ledge at Grandmother’s house! Tressa is thrilled―and concerned. What will happen to the sky-blue egg laid by the mother robin? As more eggs appear, Tressa witnesses the daily drama of the robins’ nest and learns how God cares for all creatures.Besides watching the birds, there are Easter eggs to color. And there is a very special story to hear―a tale of long ago about one small bird with a very big heart. How did the robin get its red breast? Tressa is about to find out as Gran tells her the story of the Easter robin.Brought to life with colorful, tender illustrations, The Story of the Easter Robin will captivate and teach your child about compassion and faith.
The Parable of the Lily by Liz Curtis Higgs
Maggie, the farmer’s youngest daughter, loves getting gifts, especially mysterious ones. One wintry day, she receives a package in the mail. She excitedly opens the package to find a bulb buried in a crate of dirt. This was not what Maggie expected. She had hoped for a doll or a game, not a bulb that would one day become a plant. When spring comes, she finds the bulb in the cellar and tosses the lifeless thing into the garden, never to think of it again. . . . Until she walks outside on Easter morning and finds the most beautiful lily she has ever seen. Through the unique gift of a bulb, Maggie discovers the power of grace and forgiveness and the true meaning of Easter.
Here Comes the Easter Cat by Deborah Underwood
A cat with flair to spare, an Easter Bunny with a job to do, and a hilarious break from sticky-sweet Easter fare for fans of Patrick McDonnell and the Pigeon books by Mo Willems.
Why should the Easter Bunny get all the love? That’s what Cat would like to know. So he decides to take over: He dons his sparkly suit, jumps on his Harley, and roars off into the night. But it turns out delivering Easter eggs is hard work. And it doesn’t leave much time for naps (of which Cat has taken five–no, seven). So when a pooped-out Easter Bunny shows up, and with a treat for Cat, what will Cat do? His surprise solution will be stylish, smart, and even–yes–kind.
An homage to classic comic strips from the author of The Quiet Book and The Loud Book, this Easter treat has a bit of bite, a sweet center, and a satisfying finish—sure to inspire second helpings.
Easter Croc: Full of pop-up surprises! by Roger Priddy
Expect the unexpected in Easter Croc, a hilarious seasonal pop-up book that features a cast of funny characters enjoying their eggs from the Easter Bunny, and a grumpy Crocodile who goes in search of one.
The Easter Bunny has done her rounds and Crocodile has been missed out again! He asks the other animals, but they aren’t going to give him their eggs, so he stomps off to find the Easter Bunny. But where is she? Hiding, of course! Croc is big, and he looks angry. But then Crocodile says something unexpected. Open the door for an egg-tastic surprise that proves nothing impresses the Easter Bunny more than good manners.
Here Comes T. Rex Cottontail by Lois G. Grambling
Peter Cottontail is out sick, and there’s only one dinosaur who’s up to the task of delivering his eggs on Easter: T. Rex! All T. Rex has to do is work on hopping—without the wiggle. He keeps breaking all the eggs! Join T. Rex and his friends as he saves the day in a very special way. Will practice make perfect?
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick! by Lucille Colandro
A wacky new Easter version of the classic “There Was an Old Lady” song!
This time, the hungry old lady swallows a chick, some straw, an egg, some candy, a basket, and a bow!
And just as she’s hopping and skipping along, who should she meet but the Easter Bunny! Watch what happens when she trips, with amazing results!
With rhyming text and funny illustrations, this lively version of a classic song will appeal to young readers with every turn of the page–a fun story for Easter!
Easter Crack-Ups: Knock-Knock Jokes Funny-Side Up (Lift-The-Flap Knock-Knock Book) by Katy Hall
Sherwood.
Sherwood who?
Sherwood like to be in the Easter parade.
Get ready to crack up with more than two dozen egg-citing Easter knock-knock jokes in this egg-straordinary lift-the-flap book. Hop along with a bunch of funny bunnies and enjoy an egg hunt, a parade, and more.
You’ll just dye laughing!
How the Rabbit Became the Easter Bunny by Bob Bohlken
This book tells the story of how the rabbit and colored eggs became a part of the Easter celebration. Children ages 3 to 10 can follow along this journey as the WiseMan searches for a special way to celebrate Christ’s resurrection and the rebirth of spring. This rebirth is a celebration of new life, forgiveness, peace, and love.
In the far-off Land of Oohs and Ahs, the citizens ask the Wise Man how they can celebrate Easter. Each holiday has it’s own way of recognition, but there was no Easter celebration to bring attention to Christ’s resurrection into Heaven and the rebirth of Spring. The Wise Man must find appropriate ways to represent rebirth, new life, forgiveness and peace and spread it throughout the land. He meets with different animals to help him decide what to do.
Find out why the rabbit is the ideal animal to express the love and hope of Easter. This book will enlighten your children as they prepare for Easter and its celebration. Original color artwork.
The Longest Night: A Passover Story by Laurel Snyder
Unlike other Passover picture books that focus on the contemporary celebration of the holiday, or are children’s haggadahs, this gorgeous picture book in verse follows the actual story of the Exodus. Told through the eyes of a young slave girl, author Laurel Snyder and illustrator Catia Chien skillfully and gently depict the story of Pharoah, Moses, the 10 plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea in a remarkably accessible way.
This dramatic adventure, set over 3,500 years ago, of a family that endures hardships and ultimately finds freedom is the perfect tool to help young children make sense of the origins of the Passover traditions.
Humphrey’s First Palm Sunday by Carol Heyer
A new follow-up to the popular Humphrey’s First Christmas that finds Humphrey in the midst of Jesus’ triumphal entry.
The delightfully goofy camel we met in Humphrey’s First Christmas is back, three decades older and not much wiser. He wants nothing more than to be the lead camel in the caravan, so he can improve his view. When the caravan leads him to Jerusalem, he crosses paths with Jesus making his triumphal entry. Humphrey is delighted to see Jesus, now a grown man, and remembers the Child to whom he gave his coveted blanket all those years ago in Bethlehem.
Carol Heyer’s rich acrylic paintings showcase the quirkiness of the camel and add humor to the story. Here is a book that both entertains and informs without ever straying from the meaning of Palm Sunday and the Easter holiday.
The Legend of the Sand Dollar: An Inspirational Story of Hope for Easter by Chris Auer
Eight-year-old Kerry loves the ocean. But on this visit to the beach, she discovers a little-known treasure and learns of the story of Easter revealed in the sand dollar. Now you and your child can discover the story behind this small ocean treasure as stunning illustrations form the backdrop for this familiar seaside legend. Seen through the eyes of children, The Legend of the Sand Dollar shares the timeless hope of resurrection and new life—the promise of Easter.
The Legend of the Easter Egg
by Lori Walburg
Featuring the beloved setting and characters from the best-selling Legend of the Candy Cane, this moving story about Thomas and Lucy takes us deeper into the mystery of Christianity. When his older sister Lucy falls sick, Thomas goes to stay with John and Mary Sonneman at their candy store. But all the candy he could desire does not cure Thomas’s aching heart. Only when Mary Sonneman shares with him the story of Easter does he understand the hope he has — and what he can do for his sister.
The Blackbird’s Nest: Saint Kevin of Ireland by Jenny Schroedel
Kevin was always different. He loved animals and seemed to understand their secret language. But other children brought out the worst in him. He chased, bullied, and shoved, until one spring when he learned an unforgettable lesson from an unlikely teacher–a blackbird who built a nest in his hand. The Blackbird’s Nest: Saint Kevin of Ireland is the story of Kevin’s transformation into one of Ireland’s best-loved saints (AD-618), revered in many Christian traditions. Written with simplicity and humor by Jenny Schroedel, and brought to life with stunning illustrations by Douglas Montross, The Blackbird’s Nest is a rich, vibrant tale of renewal and a welcome addition to children’s Lenten literature.
The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale by Angela Elwell Hunt
Once upon a mountaintop, three trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. Each of their dreams come true in the most unexpected of ways.
Walking with Jesus to Calvary: Stations of the Cross for Children by Angela M. Burrin
A beautiful introduction to the Stations of the Cross, this book that will help children understand what really happened on Calvary and just how much Jesus loves them. Gorgeous illustrations are accompanied by a simple but moving narration of the events of Jesus passion and death. Each station ends with a heartfelt prayer. Walking with Jesus to Calvary is a thoughtful gift for Lent, Easter, or any time of the year.
Prayer intentions for family, friends, and others are suggested for each station.
Includes prayers traditionally used for the Stations of the Cross.
Amon’s Adventure: A Family Story for Easter by Arnold Ytreeide
Following in the footsteps of his widely popular Advent series–Jotham’s Journey, Bartholomew’s Passage, and Tabitha’s Travels–well-known author Arnold Ytreeide presents a captivating story to take families through the season of Lent, culminating on Easter Sunday.
Thirteen-year-old Amon, the son of Jotham and Tabitha, enjoys playing with his friends but is also ready to join his father in the temple court where only men are allowed. Eager to be considered a man, Amon struggles to divide his time betweenhis friends and his duties to family and faith. But when Jotham is falsely accused of a terrible crime, Amon willingly sacrifices his childhood ways in order to save his father’s life. Along the way, he sees the jubilant crowds that gathered on Palm Sunday, outwits the Roman soldiers that planned to kill both his father and Jesus, hears the Messiah address the angry crowds, is present during the daring betrayal of Judas Iscariot, and witnesses the ultimate sacrifice made on Good Friday.
With short, exciting chapters, reflections for family devotions, and advice for making Lent a meaningful experience, Amon’s Adventure will help families discover anew the spiritual power of the resurrection story.
Benjamin’s Box: The Story of the Resurrection Eggs by Melody Carlson
What are the treasures in Benjamin’s Box? Come along with Benjamin and see. Like all boys and girls, Benjamin is very, very curious. When Jesus comes to Jerusalem, Benjamin decides to follow him and find out who he really is. At first, Benjamin thinks Jesus is a teacher, then a king. At last, he learns the good news―news that every child (and grown-up!) will want to share. Can be used in conjunction with Resurrection Eggs® from Family Life!
The Easter Cave by Carol Wedeven
Help Children Discover the Glorious Gift of Easter. Rhythm, rhyme, and soft illustrations teach the miraculous Easter story. The Lent and Easter season is a special time for the family to read the Easter story together. Parents of beginning readers look for Easter books that reinforce reading skills while helping children learn about Easter. The Easter Cave from Concordia Publishing House (CPH) draws children ages 4 to 7 into the Easter story. Line by line and rhyme by rhyme, the story builds, covering often-overlooked details. Children learn about Joseph of Arimathea, the crowing rooster, and the crown of thorns. Through repetition and colorful illustrations, the joyful story unfolds on every page until it reaches the empty tomb, reminding families of Gods greatest gift and the Good News to share.
A Tale for Easter by Tasha Tudor
You can never tell what might happen on Easter… You might find colored eggs waiting in your shoes, or a basket of ducklings at your kitchen table, or a sweet bunny in Grandma’s rocking chair. Now available in a Classic Board Book edition, and with a fresh new cover, Tasha Tudor’s beloved tale about the magic of Easter is a treasure for every generation.
The Story of Easter by Jean Miller
This gentle introduction to the biblical account of Jesus’s final days on earth, and Resurrection, is perfect for preschoolers. Lush, colorful illustrations of the Last Supper, Jesus carrying his cross, and the angel in the empty tomb are accessible to little readers who are just learning about Easter. At the end of the book, Easter traditions from around the world are introduced, from Ukrainian painted eggs (Pysanky) to the greeting of the Easter sunrise in the British Isles. It’s a perfect first book about an important holiday for many, and an ideal Easter gift.
The Easter Story by Brian Wildsmith
Radiant watercolor illustrations enhanced with gold tones set the scene for this simple retelling of the Easter story as seen through the eyes of a little donkey who carried Jesus through the streets on Palm Sunday. The creative perspective will engage your children; and you’ll savor the artwork and reverent tone.
The Story of Easter by Patricia A. Pingry
Here is the story of Easter told in about 200 words that are simple enough for a toddler to hear. From Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem through the crucifixion and the Resurrection, the Easter story is presented in its most traditional form. Vibrant illustrations paired with classic text bridge the connection between the biblical story and today’s Easter celebration. This book is unsurpassed as an introduction to the significance of Easter.
The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier
The Gold Medallion Award-winning team of the renowned ancient historian and the gifted illustrator make the story of Jesus death and resurrection come alive for children aged 5 to 10. Difficult questions are asked, reasonable answers given.
The Beginner’s Bible The Very First Easter by Zondervan
The Beginner’s Bible, The Very First Easter introduceschildren to one of the most inspiring stories of all time: Jesus’ death to save us from our sins. Readers will learn about the events leading up to Jesus’ death and his miraculous return to life. With exciting new artwork from the bestselling The Beginner’s Bible, this book will help children understand why we celebrate this special day.
The Donkey That No One Could Ride by Anthony DeStefano
Author Anthony DeStefano begins his creative telling of the beloved Bible story of Christ’s triumphant entry by introducing the young donkey who has yet to realize his important mission. The lowly creature believes he can do nothing noble, but that’s before he meets the Master…
Then Jesus said to the donkey,
“It’s time that you knew
About the great thing
That you’re destined to do…”
He hears the sad donkey cry,
“Just leave me alone and cast me aside.
I’m just a poor donkey that no one can ride.”
The Donkey Who Carried a King by R.C. Sproul
Davey was a young donkey who was bored and unhappy because he was never given anything to do. Then one day, some strangers came to the gate and Davey’s master picked him for a very special task. Davey carried the King, Jesus, into Jerusalem. A few days later, Davey saw some angry people making the King carry a heavy beam of wood. Davey could not understand it until another donkey helped him see that the King was being a Servant on behalf of His people.
The Colt and the King by Marni McGee
A donkey tells how he reluctantly played a part in Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, in a sweet and poignant tale that will help the youngest readers come to understand the true spirit of the Easter season.
Simon and the Easter Miracle by Mary Joslin
The gospels tell of Simon of Cyrene—“a man coming in from the country”—who was ordered to carry Jesus’ cross.
Over the centuries, his story has been woven into Polish folklore: When Simon the farmer brings his wares to market, little does he expect how he will be involved in the events of that very special day, nor how his produce—of bread, eggs, and wine—will become important symbols of Jesus’ passion and resurrection, remembered throughout the ages.
Together with sophisticated artwork, this picture book retelling of a traditional European tale is thought-provoking, with the events and meaning of the first Easter at its heart.
How do you celebrate Easter?
What’s your favorite Easter candy?
Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: book list, Easter
Favorite Spring Books
March 19, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 17 Comments
I’m so ready for spring!
I’m tired of the dreary cold snowy weather of winter.
We love to cuddle and read books while the wind wuthers, hopefully blowing in some warmer weather.
Here’s a list of fun books to celebrate everything spring: gardening, clouds, warm rain, wind, flowers, and being outside in the sunshine!
A Gardener’s Alphabet by Mary Azarian
With her signature woodblock prints, the Caldecott medalist Mary Azarian invites readers into her own garden to discover its simple joys. Revealing the variety of life underground, the bright comfort of a greenhouse on a winter’s day, or the anticipation of starting seeds indoors in early spring, this striking alphabet book reminds us that gardens are perhaps our best way to live closer to the land and to the rhythm of the seasons.
I Love the Rain by Margaret Park Bridges
Molly hates rainy days. The gray sky, the soggy wait for the school bus, they seem to make everyone grumpy. Everyone except her friend Sophie, who shows Molly the magic she has been missing.
The simple, poetic language in this lovely book takes readers on a journeyfrom the girls’ first tentative steps into the drizzle to a rain-drenched romp in a puddle. The lyrical text is perfectly matched by the joyful watercolor paintings, which capture not only the color and beauty of a rainy day, but the warm interactions of the girls’ blossoming friendship. An exuberant homage to finding pleasure where it’s unexpected, the power of imagination, and the joys of friendship, I Love the Rain will have readers singing, “Sun, sun, go away!”
From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer
Female frogs lay eggs in the water, but what hatches isn’t a frog yet—it’s a tadpole! This classic Level 1 Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out picture book shows the incredible metamorphosis that occurs as a tadpole loses its fishy tail and gills and becomes a frog.
Now rebranded with a new cover look, this book includes a find out more section with an illustrated guide to identify different frog species and a map showing where bull frogs can be found throughout the United States.
The Falling Flowers by Jennifer B. Reed
Mayumie and her grandmother take a trip into Tokyo to see a surprise even more fun than the zoo and more beautiful than the shrine: cherry blossoms flowering in the heart of the city.
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
The white shape silhouetted against a blue background changes on every page. Is it a rabbit, a bird, an ice-cream cone, or just spilt milk? In this childhood classic, kids are kept guessing until the surprise ending, and they’re encouraged to improvise similar games of their own. This board book features sturdy pages and is just the right fit for small hands.
Zinnia’s Flower Garden by Monica Wellington
Springtime is here, and Zinnia can’t wait to plant her seeds and watch them grow. She carefully takes care of her garden, watering her plants, weeding, and waiting patiently for something to sprout. And soon enough, the first seedlings appear! With art just as colorful as a garden in bloom, young readers will enjoy watching Zinnia’s beautiful garden grow, and may even be inspired to start one of their own.
The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins
Unearth the true story of green-thumbed pioneer and activist Kate Sessions, who helped San Diego grow from a dry desert town into a lush, leafy city known for its gorgeous parks and gardens.
Katherine Olivia Sessions never thought she’d live in a place without trees. After all, Kate grew up among the towering pines and redwoods of Northern California. But after becoming the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science, she took a job as a teacher far south in the dry desert town of San Diego. Where there were almost no trees.
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
Lydia Grace Finch brings a suitcase full of seeds to the big gray city, where she goes to stay with her Uncle Jim, a cantankerous baker. There she initiates a gradual transformation, bit by bit brightening the shop and bringing smiles to customers’ faces with the flowers she grows. But it is in a secret place that Lydia Grace works on her masterpiece — an ambitious rooftop garden — which she hopes will make even Uncle Jim smile.
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
An array of collages follows the progress of a mother and daughter as they plant bulbs, seeds, and seedlings and watch them grow into a rainbow of colorful flowers
The Garden of Happiness by Erika Tamar
A littered lot in New York’s Alphabet City is transformed into a lush garden by people of the neighborhood. Young Marisol finds a small patch of her own, where she plants a large, flat seed. As it grows up and up, it surprises everyone and becomes the most special plant in the Garden of Happiness.
Spring Board Book by Gerda Muller
One of a series of chunky board books which lead young children through the seasons.
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
Kim begins the garden, planting a few lima beans to connect with her father who died when she was a baby in Vietnam. Then Tío Juan, a farmer from Guatemala, gains purpose when he teaches the neighborhood children how to plant. Soon curious neighbors join in and together they grow a beautiful garden. With each bean sprout and cucumber blossom the residents of Gibs Street find hope and meaning in their little green paradise.
Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur
New grass and daffodils, hopscotch and kite flying, kittens under the porch and baby birds under the eaves are the subjects of Steven Schnur’s evocative verses and Leslie Evans’s luminous linoleum-cut illustrations. When read vertically, each poem reveals a playful acrostic, making every handsomely designed page a double treat for the eye as well as a joyous tribute to the season.
Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
Fletcher loves everything about spring: listening to the birds sing, smelling just-opened flowers, and playing chase with butterflies. But then Fletcher sees something he never expected to see in spring: snow. Oh, no!
But it turns out that spring has another surprise in store for Fletcher—a warm and wondrous one.
Jump into spring with Fletcher and friends!
And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano
Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they’ve had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.
Explore Spring!: 25 Great Ways to Learn About Spring by Lauri Berkenkamp
Combining hands-on learning with solid science, trivia, riddles, and terrific illustrations, projects investigate “the reason for the season” and include identifying trees and measuring their growth, recording soil temperature, and observing the forest floor. Bird migration and nest building are covered, and the movement of air and water is studied with experiments in capillary action and in such activities as “Making Parachutes,” Making Kites,” and “Mapping Air Currents with Bubbles.”
Everything Spring by Jill Esbaum
We think of spring and we feel warmer, sunny days, we smell the freshness of nature’s flowers blooming again, and we picture little chicks and furry bunnies. These adorable baby animals are fun to look at and they represent the spirit of renewal and life that is spring. Every young creature finally ventures outside to play as the dreary days of winter fade away and color surround us all. Spring is about being outdoors enjoying all that our wonderful planet has to offer—it’s about living life to the fullest.
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
A small boy imagines what it would be like to have his own rainbow to play with.
Spring is Here! by Heidi Pross Gray
Discover the world as it wakes from its winter slumber as the flowers blossom, the animals come out from their resting place, and nature comes alive during this season of renewal. Head outside and play soccer and baseball with your friends while enjoying a wonderful picnic lunch from the food you grew in your garden! Heidi has done it again with this wonderful, wholesome book about the spring season, tying family and nature together in a book that will leave you feeling excited about spring!
What Can You See in Spring? by Sian Smith
Books in this series introduce emergent readers to the four seasons. In Spring, children are taken on a tour of things they can see in spring including typical spring activities and new life and growth in the natural world. Beautiful photos, very simple repeated text, high frequency and decodeable words and strong photo-to-text matching make this a perfect book for early readers to enjoy.
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb by Marion Dane Bauer
March comes in with a roar.
He rattles your windows
and scratches at your door.
In this exuberant, rhythmic story, March, personified as a lion, enters a boy’s cozy home and leaves a trail of snow flurries and muddy footprints. The boy calmly observes the pouncing, howling, growling lion until in comes the lamb on the crest of a huge sneeze.
Escorted by grass, flowers, sunshine, showers, and animal babies, the lamb brings forth spring.
Feel the Wind by Arthur Dorros
Have you ever felt the wind tickle your face or heard it whistle through your window? Did you know that some wind travels faster than a car? Read inside to find out more about what causes wind, and learn how to make your own weather vane!
Have you ever felt the wind tickle your face or heard it whistle through your window? Did you know that some wind travels faster than a car?
Air is always moving. We can’t see air moving, though we can watch it push clouds across the sky, or shake the leaves of a tree. We call moving air the wind. In this enlarged edition, find out about the wind – what causes it, how it can be used to help us, and how it affects the weather.
Kite Day: A Bear and Mole Story by Will Hillenbrand
On a windy spring day, what do Bear and Mole decide to do? Why, fly a kite, of course! But first they have to build one. They design, measure, and finally construct their kite. With a zoom, zoom, zoom the kite soars up, up, up in the air. But when a storm rumbles in –SNAP!–the kite string breaks! The chase is on as the two friends tear after their kite and find it in a tree, protecting a nest of baby birds from the rain.
Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand
Sniff. Sniff. Sniff. Spring is in the air. Mole can smell it. But Bear is still asleep after his long winter nap. How will Mole wake up Bear so they can celebrate together? When a knock, knock, knock and toot, toot, toot can’t get Bear out of bed, Mole cooks up a special treat.
Spring fever is catching in this vibrant story of friendship.
Who Likes Rain? by Wong Herbert Yee
It’s time to put on your rain gear for a rainy-day romp!
With spring come April showers. It’s time to put on a raincoat, grab an umbrella, and head outdoors. The worms like rain, and so do the fish and frogs. But what about the cat and dog? In this lyrical picture book, one spunky little girl discovers just who likes rain–and who doesn’t–as she explores the rainy-day habits of the world around her.
A New Beginning by Wendy Pfeffer
The spring equinox signals the time of year when the days are getting longer, the growing season has begun, and animals give birth to their young. With accessible, lyrical prose and vibrant illustrations, this book explains the science behind spring and shows how the annual rebirth of Earth has been celebrated by various cultures throughout the ages and the world.
How Robin Saved Spring by Debbie Ouellet
If Lady Winter has her way, the world will stay covered in blankets of snowy white and icy blue. Sister Spring will slumber forever and the winter will never end. Can Lady Winter really keep spring from coming or is there something the animals might do to help? Led by harbinger Robin, the animals are determined to wake Sister Spring, but what price will they each have to pay?
Through beautiful words and pictures, this enchanting tale about the battle of the seasons highlights one special bird who saves much more than just the day.
Bloom: An Ode to Spring by Deborah Diesen
Dig holes in the autumn soil.
Drop the bulbs in one by one.
Cover them with dirt.
Come spring, the bulbs will flower!
In this lushly illustrated story from Deborah Diesen that celebrates life and growing up, a mother and daughter plant a garden to see how something small blooms into something as beautiful and strong as their love.
When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes
Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink. Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. You can feel it and smell it and hear it—and you can read it!
Spring Walk by Virginia Snow
After a long winter’s sleep, the soil is springing to life. Spring flowers break through the ground to welcome warmer days. Come with Grammy and her grandchildren as they explore and learn all about 24 different flowers. Once home, she teaches them how to plant their own flowers from seeds and make beautiful bouquets.
The Story of the Root Children by Sibylle von Olfers
The root children spend the winter asleep. When spring comes, they wake, sew themselves new gowns, and clean and paint the beetles and bugs. All summer they play in fields, ponds and meadows before returning in the autumn to Mother Earth, who welcomes them home and puts them to bed once more.
When The Root Children Wake Up by Audrey Wood
Complimented with Ned Bittinger’s stunning illustrations, best-selling author Audrey Wood’s new version of a timeless classic is the perfect read aloud for this spring and gift all year round.
When Old Grandfather Winter disappears into his ice palace high in the mountains, Young Robin chirps her wake-up song to the Root Children deep underground. “Wake up,” she sings. “It’s time for the masquerade!”
Right away, the Root children set to work sewing their flowering costumes, and painting bugs with rainbows until they sparkle like jewels. Then, they frolic out into the world in a joyous chorus of color and song. They sing and dance through summer. But all good things must come to an end, and as the frosty autumn winds blow away the leaves and flowers, the Root Children must return to their underground bed with gentle Mother Earth.
Elsie and Pooka Stories – Spring by Lora Craig-Gaddis
These stories guide children through the Wheel of the Year in a way that is entertaining and amusing. Through these pages, Elsie, with her patience and gentle wisdom, provides a positive role model and instructor while children identify with Pooka. He asks questions. He makes them laugh. Sometimes, he even gets into trouble. They learn as he learns.
Ostara: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Spring Equinox by Kerri Connor
Ostara―also known as the Spring Equinox―is a time of renewal, a time to plant seeds as the earth once again comes to life.
Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring by Edain McCoy
Embrace Ostara as a point of balance in your life, a moment in time where both dark and light and night and day are in harmony before the light is victorious and carries us on to the bounty of summer pleasures. Ostara is packed with rituals, spells, recipes, crafts, and customs to celebrate the awakening earth.
This delightful guidebook will help you deepen your understanding of the spiritual aspects of this ancient spring holiday, and discover new ideas for expressing that spirituality.
Spring by Tanya Thayer
Crisp photography teams with easy-to-understand, repetitive sentences that encourage beginning readers to discover the world–one season at a time.
The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth by Ellen Jackson
Describes some of the ways in which people have celebrated the coming of spring, including the Mayas, the ancient Romans, and the Cree, as well as such holidays as Passover, No Ruz, Holi, and Easter, and suggest related activities.
It’s Spring by Susan Swan
Simple text and bold, beautiful paper sculpture convey the animal life, plant life, weather, colors, clothing, and feelings associated with the spring season.
What’s your favorite thing about spring?
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Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: book list, spring
Favorite Poetry Books for Kids
March 1, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 17 Comments
I love poetry.
I am raising my kids to be linguists, to love language and words and sounds and rhythms.
I read to them while they were being knitted in my womb. I read to them daily and the oldest one is in college.
Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood. ~T.S. Eliot
I don’t teach poetry.
I don’t want to ruin the magic. We read it and discuss it. We ooh and aah over some of it. We giggle and act it out. Its purpose is to enjoy it, not tear it apart or dissect it. I occasionally point out an example of a literary term or ask them to notice something special about a particular word, line, or poem.
Poetry should be fun.
Poetry should be recited, performed, read aloud, acted out with costumes, laughed at, cried with, sang, shouted, whispered…read outside under trees while watching clouds.
The Poetry of earth is never dead.
Our Favorite Poetry Books for Kids:
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children by Jack Prelutsky
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children offers both funny and illuminating poems for kids personally selected by the nation’s first Children’s Poet Laureate, Jack Prelutsky. Featuring a wealth of beloved classic poems from the past and modern glittering gems, every child who opens this treasury will finda world of surprises and delights which will instill a lifelong love of poetry. Featuring 572 unforgettable poems, and over 400 one-of-a-kind illustrations from the Caldecott-winning illustrator of the Frog and Toad series, Arnold Lobel, this collection is, quite simply, the perfect way to introduce children to the world of poetry.
This is a great poetry collection to get started.
Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky
“No one better recognizes the essence of the child-poetry connection than poet and anthologist Jack Prelutsky…Here are more than 200 little poems to feed little people with little attention spans to help both grow. Marc Brown’s inviting illustrations add a visual dimension to the poems, which further engage young imaginations.” The poems are by 119 of the best-known poets of the 20th century.
The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury by Jack Prelutsky
Here in one gloriously illustrated volume are 211 wonderful poems that represent the best this century has to offer. From sibling rivalry, school, monsters, food, and just plain silliness, to such ageless themes as the seasons, Who am I? and the many moods of childhood, this is a collection that begs to be read aloud and shared with the whole family. The poems, from every decade of this century, showcase 137 famous poets.
Poems to Learn by Heart by Caroline Kennedy
There’s a poem to celebrate every moment in life-whether it’s hitting a home run, watching a sunset, or laughing with your best friend. A poem is a gift of the heart that can inspire, reassure, or challenge us. Memorize it-share it-it’s yours forever.
These are just fun.
Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People by Jane Yolen
What colors do you see in nature – the green of a fern, the brown of a desert, the gray of a lifeless tree? Look closer. You’ll find more than meets the eye. Is that a white flower, or a star that fell in the forest? Is that an orange sunset, or a piece of fruit that’s ripe for eating? Is that a blue sky, or the slate on which a bird writes?
We love every single book by Jane Yolen. She has exquisite nature poetry books and celebrations for all sorts, in addition to fantasy and dinosaurs.
Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein
You’ll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.
All of Silverstein’s books are delightful. I loved them as a kid and now my kids love them!
Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Poetry and Color by Mary O’Neill
Poetry about the colors of the spectrum, has become a modern children’s classic.
Rootabaga Stories by Carl Sandburg
Welcome to Rootabaga Country–where the railroad tracks go from straight to zigzag, where the pigs wear bibs, and where the Village of Cream Puffs floats in the wind. You’ll meet baby balloon pickers, flummywisters, corn fairies, and blue foxes–and if you’re not careful, you may never find your way back home!
Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O’Connell George
Join a young boy as he creates a world filled with origami creatures of all shapes and sizes out of an array of brightly colored paper. From roosters waking up and buffalo pawing the tablecloth to cheetahs racing lions and moths that yearn for butterfly colors, here is a glimpse into the vibrant imagination of a child.
Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems by Kristine O’Connell George
This tree across the stream is a trickier bridge than it might seem…Deceptively simple verses reveal what trees think about and what they say to one another, as well as how they look and all the things they do for us. Humor and an unerring ear for the sounds of language make these poems an irresistible read-aloud; the luminous oil paintings evoke a country setting and the children who enjoy it through the year.
Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton
Featuring a wide range of beloved classics from William Shakespeare, Emily Dickenson, and Robert Frost to playful poems by Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein, this is the perfect collection for families to share throughout the years. Julie and Emma additionally contribute a number of their own poems and reveal the stories behind some of their family favorites. James McMullan’s stunning watercolor paintings bring each page to glorious life with his spectacular vision and artistic point of view.
The Collection, now featuring a brand-new cover design, is packaged with a special CD featuring mother and daughter alternately recording twenty-one poems, some of which are recited together. This special keepsake anthology is one that readers of all ages will return to and treasure.
We have a slight obsession with Julie Andrews. We are not ashamed.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
There are more animals to find among the trees, and the kindly figure with his “promises to keep” exudes warmth as he stops to appreciate the quiet delights of winter. The handsome new vellum jacket will attract new and old fans as it evokes a frost-covered windowpane.
We love reading poetry aloud. We love writing limericks and fun poems of our own.
I love reading poetry to my kids.
There are whole series of about 12 poetry books – Poetry for Young People. Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, William Wordsworth, and Walt Whitman are lovely.
I read to my kids from Shakespeare and Norton’s literature anthologies. I haven’t wasted money on kids collections’ of poems. We often check out fun poetry books from the library.
My favorite poets are TS Eliot, WH Auden, Seamus Heaney, Sylvia Plath…
Do you enjoy poetry?
Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: book list, poetry