Over the last couple of months, I’ve started sharing themed reading lists on a variety of topics.
This time, though, I wanted to share some of our favorites. So, here are six of our favorite library finds from the past month or so.
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If you want to avoid shopping on Amazon, I suggest checking Bookshop or your local bookstores instead.
6 Fun Picture Books:
Snow Leopard: Ghost of the Mountain, by Justin Anderson, illustrated by Patrick Benson. This is a simple, beautiful book about watching for snow leopards high up in the mountains.
My Happy Year, by E. Bluebird, by Paul Meisel. What’s a Bluebird’s life like? This humorous tale recounts a bluebird’s year, told as a series of diary entries. I also highly recommend Meisel’s My Awesome Summer, by P. Mantis.
High Tide for Horseshoe Crabs, by Lisa Kahn Schnell, illustrated by Alan Marks. What do you know about these living fossils? This is a fascinating introduction to an ancient and not-terribly-well-known invertebrate.
Deep in the Swamp, by Donna M. Bateman, illustrated by Brian Lies. The alligator and snakes version of Over in the Meadow! We got the version that comes with a CD, and the kids enjoyed listening to it a ton.
Sea Bear: a Journey for Survival, by Lindsay Moore. It’s dangerous being a polar bear. This book doesn’t directly address climate change, but it shows how difficult a bear’s life can be.
A Beach Tail, by Karen Lynn Williams, illustrated by Floyd Cooper. The other books on this list are mostly informational fiction. This one is a fun story about a kid playing on a beach, drawing a lion in the sand.
Looking for something more to add to your reading time?
Try an art challenge!
5 Art Challenges:
- Design or draw a home for one of the animals in the stories above! Build
a nest for a bluebird or an alligator. Turn a box into a cave for a snow
leopard. Or, create a cardboard and paper mâché iceberg for a polar bear to rest on. - Write an E. Bluebird-style diary for your day. Make it a full cycle like the bluebird’s story, from waking up one morning to waking up the next morning!
- Find a patch of dirt or sand and draw your own picture in it. If you can’t go outside, you can use a tray a thin layer of flour or play dough.
- Design a timeline for an animal. It can be a short timeline for a pet or your favorite worm. Or, you can create a long one for prehistoric animals like horseshoe crabs or dinosaurs.
- Make up a story about watching for an animal in your own neighborhood. Pick one that you see occasionally, watch for it, and then keep track of what it does. Draw a picture of it to go with your story.
Be creative, and feel free to tag me on social media (@kidlitandsteam) if you share a picture of your design. I’d love to see what you come up with!
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