Best Books of 2021

It’s finally here! The list I’ve been working away on with 14 other judges for the last four months! You might have been seeing the #Bookstagang_BestOf2021 hashtag on my IG posts for the last few months, and this is why! Over 400 books were submitted by roughly 50 publishers and then voted on by the…

The October Fiction Feast

English 4+ Tea Parties summary I’m so excited for this month’s Fiction Feast! I decided to pair a fiction with a nonfiction book dedicated to a childhood favorite, the tea party. An excuse to make cider donuts and scones? Sign me up! Mr. Pumpkin’s Tea Party is a book about the type of tea that…

Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz

English & Spanish 6+ Unlawful Detainment/ Concentration Camps Mexico & U.S. Border Family Separation Racism Nonfiction Compiled by Warren Binford for Project Amplify summary I’ve been trying to write this review for ages. Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz is a collaboration of Latinx illustrators working with the words from children that are unfairly imprisoned when…

Everybody in the Red Brick Building

English 4-8 City Living Anne Wynter & Oge Mora summary Everybody in the Red Brick Building is an adorable story that builds on previous pages with a multitude of onomatopoeia examples when all the residents of the apartment building are woken up one evening. The reader travels from apartment to apartment to see what happens…

Listen

English 4-8 years Mindfulness Hearing Interracial Families City Living Gabi Snyder & Stephanie Graegin summary Listen is a story that covers both mindfulness and the science of hearing. Living in a busy and bustling city, a young girl takes a moment to really hear each sound as it passes around her throughout the day. I…

We All Play

English & Cree 4-8 years Indigenous Voices Nature Animals Play Language Learning Julie Flett summary My love for Julie Flett’s beautiful art and lyrical stories knows no bounds. I’m thrilled that We All Play is finally out in the world…today!! Flett’s most recent story celebrates how both animals and children frolic outside, playing and enjoying…

Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame

English & some Hindi YA History Colonization Family Values Racism Self-Reliance Child Marriage Death Supriya Kelkar summary Woah, this book covers a lot of topics in both history and culture. Set in British-occupied India in the late 1850’s, main character Meera is caught up in both the violence of colonization and her extremely conservative family…

Paper Bag Princess Girl Power Giveaway!

In celebration of Paper Bag Princess Week, and my collaboration with Annick Press for a read aloud (Saturday, March 6th at 10:30 am EST) I have put together a Girl Power Giveaway, to celebrate the characters who #StandUpToDragons and defy stereotypes in their stories. One winner will receive: -A PBP gift set (pictured) -Superluminious -Salma…

Love You Head to Toe

Written & Illustrated by:  Ashley Barron For ages: Infants & Up (Board Book) Language: English Topics Covered: Family Early Literacy Babies Summary:  This adorable board book celebrates babies and their attributes similar to animals! Happy babies yawn like hippos, stretch like starfish, and munch like chipmunks. I love the papercut illustrations and the diverse families portrayed….

New Course Added: TTA 101

Are you interested in learning more about anti-bias anti-racist education, and how to infuse social justice into more aspects of you and the tiny humans in your life? Come learn with us in a setting that prioritizes mindset shifting and reflection over 6 weeks and have a greater understanding of how to use books in…