Black Bear Goes to Washington and Run Like a Sled Dog by Denise Lawson

There are two famous sled dog races that take place in Alaska each year, the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod.  The Iditarod is held each year on the first Saturday in March.  Teams of sled dogs and mushers gather in Anchorage, Alaska this and make the 1,000-mile trek to Nome, Alaska.  The Iditarod is a challenging race that takes 8 to 15 days to complete.   The Yukon Quest which is also 1,000 miles is considered to be even more challenging than the Iditarod because it takes place earlier in the year when it's colder and darker.  It runs between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon (Canada), and takes 9 to 24 days to complete.  The race is unique in that it takes place in two countries. Each year the direction of the race alternates so Fairbanks and Whitehorse take turns being the start and
finish line. The Yukon Quest is so challenging... it is considered to be the toughest sled dog race in the world!

Author Denise Lawson recently adopted a retired sled dog named Black Bear.  Black Bear was born in Eagle, Alaska and was a lead dog in the 2009 Yukon Quest.  She also led dog teams on remote wilderness expeditions for many years.  How cool is that?  When Black Bear was ready to retire and needed a forever home, Denise Lawson and her family welcomed her into theirs.  Denise Lawson loves Black Bear so much, she wrote an entire series of children's books about her.  The first book in the series is Black Bear Goes to Washington and the most recent book is Run Like a Sled Dog.  Keep reading to learn more about these two books, how you can use them in the classroom, and more about Black Bear herself!

The Adventures of Scout by The3engineers

A few weeks ago I wrote about the book Saving Planet Earthly by our friends at ClimateScience.  Saving Planet Earthly introduced the important topic of climate change to children.  It explained what climate change is, what causes it, and how we can minimize its effects.  

Like ClimateScience, the3engineers is another nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate children about environmental issues and to encourage them to make small changes that will add up to make a huge difference.  The3engineers have written a series of audiobooks called The Adventures of Scout, the first three of which... Plastic On Our Beaches,  The Bees Are Missing, and Endangered Animals... are currently available on their website.   Keep reading to learn more about the3engineers, their mission, and how they came up with the idea for Scout!

(The following is a paid sponsored post from the3engineers.)

Multicultural Children's Book Day 2021

Multicultural Children’s Book Day is an online children’s literacy event that occurs on the last Friday of every January. Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen created Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) several years ago as a way to celebrate diversity in children’s books while also getting diverse books into the hands of young readers, parents, teachers, and librarians.  Each year authors and publishers from around the world donate books to MCBD for bloggers to read and review.  This year I received three children's books:

🍎 Evelyn Del Ray Is Moving Away by Meg Medina
🍎 A Unicorn Ate My Homework by Julia Inserro
🍎 From My Window by Otávio Júnior

Keep reading to learn more about these three titles, how you can use them in your classroom, and where you can purchase them!

The Better-Than-Best Purim by Naomi Howland

Hooray!  Purim will be here in a few short weeks!  If you are looking for a children's book about Purim to read with your students, you've come to the right place.  I found the book for you.  It's called The Better-Than-Best Purim and is written by Naomi Howland.

(This is an updated version of a blog post I wrote in 2017.)

Please Don't Tell Cooper He's a Dog by Michelle Lander Feinberg

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics and behavior to animals and objects.  When authors use anthropomorphism in their books, we see animals and objects behaving like humans.  They walk, talk, and think the way people do.  Anthropomorphism is a fun literary technique that tickles the imaginations of children and keeps them engaged with what they are reading.  

Please Don't Tell Cooper He's a Dog by Michelle Lander Feinberg is about a beloved family pet Cooper who thinks and acts like a person.  What does Cooper in the story?  How does he behave?  Keep reading to learn about Please Don't Tell Cooper He's a Dog and how you can introduce anthropomorphism to your students!

Guest Post: Marvelous Masks by Nicole Billick

Using children's books to introduce vocabulary words to young readers is an important strategy used regularly by preschool and elementary school teachers.  Children's books can expose readers to new words that don't ordinarily come up in day-to-day conversation.  For example, in Marvelous Masks by Nicole Billick, readers learn about the different types of masks and who wears them.  Some of the vocabulary words in Marvelous Masks will be familiar to readers... such as cowboy, doctor, and superhero... but other vocabulary words... such as chemist and blacksmith... may be new to them.

In this guest post, author Nicole Billick talks about her book Marvelous Masks and where she got the inspiration to write it.  She also describes some activities parents and teachers can use with their children and students when they finish the book.  Keep reading to learn more about Marvelous Masks and the author!

(This is a guest post written by Nicole Billick.  To learn more about guest posts, please visit my About Me page.)

Saving Planet Earthly by ClimateScience

Climate change is a hot topic to talk about right now... a topic that is also controversial.  Some people believe in climate change and the science behind it, whereas others deny its existence and declare it a hoax.  Of course, there are plenty of people in the middle who have heard about climate change but don't really understand what it is.  So... what is climate change?  What are the causes of it?  Is climate change something cyclical, something brought about by humans, or a combination of both?  If climate change is for real... is there anything that can be done about it?  To help answer these and other questions children may have, three authors from ClimateScience wrote the book Saving Planet Earthly.  Saving Planet Earthly is a lighthearted children's book that takes a serious look at climate change and what we can do about it.  Read on to learn more about this book and how it can be used in the classroom.