#ClassroomBookADay Recommendations: Earth Day Picture Books

I'm excited to be partnering with Follett for a second year of monthly book lists! Each month of this school year I will be sharing a themed list of 20 recommended picture book titles for #CLASSROOMBOOKADAY read alouds in partnership with Follett Classroom. Each booklist is accompanied by a blog post explaining more in depth my thoughts in creating the list and why I chose those specific titles.

One of the great parts of this partnership is that my recommendation lists are also being saved in Titlewave which allows them to be easily found and shared with librarians for purchasing for school libraries!

My April list is full of picture books you can use for Earth Day
(or, really, any day)! 

[Please visit this link to read the accompanying blog post]

You can also find all of my posts & lists I've done with Follett at my landing page bit.ly/heisefollett.

And you can shop this list & many more for your personal or classroom collection at my Bookshop page!

#ClassroomBookADay Recommendations: Food Stories

I'm excited to be partnering with Follett for a second year of monthly book lists! Each month of this school year I will be sharing a themed list of 20+ recommended picture book titles for #CLASSROOMBOOKADAY read alouds in partnership with Follett Classroom. Each booklist is accompanied by a blog post explaining more in depth my thoughts in creating the list and why I chose those specific titles.

One of the great parts of this partnership is that my recommendation lists are also being saved in Titlewave which allows them to be easily found and shared with librarians for purchasing for school libraries!

My March list is all about picture books featuring FOOD! 

[Please visit this link to read the accompanying blog post]

You can also find all of my posts & lists I've done with Follett at my landing page bit.ly/heisefollett.

And you can shop this list & many more for your personal or classroom collection at my Bookshop page!

READ ACROSS the Regions of AMERICA

Two years ago NEA changed the focus of Read Across America away from Dr. Seuss and to "Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers" - moving away from a singular focus on, and raising up of, one white male author who has a history of racist imagery* and toward a year-long celebration of the diversity that makes our country what it is. Yet many schools still cling to the tradition without using a critical lens to consider what message the year after year celebration of just one author sends to students. Dr. Seuss can be both a beloved author AND ALSO problematic. So it's time to move away from a day and week celebrating Seuss and into a focus on inclusive choices that more kids can relate to.

Because we cannot let nostalgia guide our decisions. Because we cannot allow racist or stereotyped imagery to be part of what we promote through our read aloud choices. Because we cannot refuse to move on from the past and bypass our responsibility to represent the entirety of what America is about today. 

To help in efforts to have a more diverse & inclusive focus for students, 

last year I shared a list of 50 inclusive picture book read aloud alternatives. 

This year, I selected 5 titles for each of the 5 regions of the United States 

(Northeast, Southeast, South, West, Midwest) you could use next week to 

truly represent and Read Across the Regions of America.

#cbadSpotlight March - May 2021

 Last year, for the 5 year anniversary of #ClassroomBookADay, the concept evolved a bit to include curated monthly recommendations to support deeper book knowledge, support of BIPoC book creators, and common books for educators to discuss. If you missed the first round this year, and to learn a bit more, visit the original post here.

*In order to be able to be responsive and sensitive to the times we are in, this year I released titles three months at a time.* I hope you find titles you are excited about, some new to you, and ones that will support your efforts with your students this fall! 

Here are the next three months of the 2020-2021 #cbadSpotlight selections!

#ClassroomBookADay Recommendations: Wordless Picture Books

 I'm excited to be partnering with Follett for a second year of monthly book lists! Each month of this school year I will be sharing a themed list of 20+ recommended picture book titles for #CLASSROOMBOOKADAY read alouds in partnership with Follett Classroom. Each booklist is accompanied by a blog post explaining more in depth my thoughts in creating the list and why I chose those specific titles.

One of the great parts of this partnership is that my recommendation lists are also being saved in Titlewave which allows them to be easily found and shared with librarians for purchasing for school libraries!

My February list is all about Wordless Picture Books (& how to use them for "read alouds")! 

[Please visit this link to read the accompanying blog post]

You can also find all of my posts & lists I've done with Follett at my landing page bit.ly/heisefollett.

And you can shop this list & many more for your personal or classroom collection at my Bookshop page!

#ClassroomBookADay Recommendations: Picture Books About Families

I'm excited to be partnering with Follett for a second year of monthly book lists! Each month of this school year I will be sharing a themed list of 20 recommended picture book titles for #CLASSROOMBOOKADAY read alouds in partnership with Follett Classroom. Each booklist is accompanied by a blog post explaining why I chose to make the recommendations and theme for that month.

One of the great parts of this partnership is that my recommendation lists are also being saved in Titlewave which allows them to be easily found and shared with librarians for purchasing for school libraries!

My January list is picture books about all types of families. 

Be sure to visit this link to read the accompanying blog post!

You can also find all of my posts & lists I've done with Follett at my landing page bit.ly/heisefollett.

And you can shop this list, & many more for your personal or classroom collection, while supporting my work at my Bookshop page!