“free at last, free at last, free at last“

Love using picture books to bring history to life for kids.

Another amazing speech in history brought to the level of children through the media of picture books. I think something explained with pictures is much easier to grasp and I enjoyed this display of the speech.

“He thought hard about how the slave owner linked reading with slavery”

Love picture book biographies that open children's worlds up to such interesting people.

I didn't learn who this was until maybe my sophomore year of high school. Him, MLK jr. and Rosa parks were like the extent of my African American History, which is so sad because AAS history is American history and should be incorporated as such not just a single lesson here or there. That's why I think having books like these in the classroom early on are a great start to doing so.

“where did your christ come from? A God and a woman. A man had nothing to do with it.“

I think teaching about such a powerful woman to children is so important

I think Sojourner Truth is one of the post powerful and amazing woman to ever walk the earth. Her tenacity is just mind blowing. Ain't I A Woman I have read so many times in so many different contexts and studied it from history classes to wgss classes and every time it's back to the same conclusion that it was one of the greatest speeches ever given. I did hear a rumor from an AAS professor that she didn't actually give that speech though.

“With the tunes that he and Billy wrote, Duke painted colors with his bands sound.“

A great biography to learn about the greatest composer of the 20th century

What's funny is when I think of Duke Ellington now I think of Big Mouth where there is the Ghost of Duke Ellington, so it was nice to learn some real facts about him other than the fake cartoon I knew him as on the show. I'm sad that I hadn't already known about him but that's why I think these children's books are so valuable.

“The one thing that doesn‘t abide by majority rule is a person‘s conscience.”

My favorite thing about this book is the way you don't know the characters and you know they're not real but also they are so real because even though it might not be the exact same names it very well is a true story to many people at the time period.

Obviously everyone knows how good this book is but I will say it again. When I reread this it was just as good as the first time because you forget the little details but just remember the bigger plot and it's just so good. The character development is amazing and just over all the pinnacle of writing.

beautifully written poetry telling a great story

This is such a special and amazing book. Telling history so beautifully written in free verse poetry, it's no wonder it has so many awards. I think this is really cool too because she talks about how she grows up in Ohio so that really would hit home for students since that's where we're from.

“I wasn‘t standing up to that mom. Or even to the boy on roller skates. I was standing up for myself.”

I love the sweet little illustrations that go along with this book. I feel like it makes it more relatable to kids.

I love books that incorporate a diverse history. Having something like this in your classroom year round and not just at Black History Month is so important because it shows that representation all the time and values all people's history as American History.

“He loved to play practical jokes, was an ambulance driver in France during World War 1, and was the creator of Mickey Mouse.”

A fun way to introduce biographies with fun illustrations

I think these fun short stories are a great way to introduce biographies into your classroom. With the silly characterure like drawings that are silly and make the book more lively for young readers, this is a great book in class.

“He was a boy who loved zoos and drawing silly animals, a college boy voted “least likely to succeed”, and an author and illustrator who changed children‘s books forever.”

Fun book to learn about authors

As a kid I think I always just pictured Dr. Suess at the Cat in The Hat, so I think it's really interesting for kids to have a name to put to the face of the author of so many of their favorite books.

“He was a boy who had a cold and bossy mother, a great athlete and horseback rider, and the very first president of the brand-new United States.”

I don't think making light of a slave owner is useful in children's literature.

I do not like books that depict our founding fathers because they never tell the whole story, like at all, and while I understand this is a children's book, I feel it is unhelpful and counterproductive to teach any information if you're not gonna tell the whole truth. We glorify our founding fathers and I dont think we should

“She recalls dreams where she flew like a bird, sank, and was lifted by ladies in white who pulled her north.”

Really great book that brings diversity and Black history into the classroom.

This is a really great nonfiction book that incorporates an important part of history into the curriculum. Reading history in a way that tells it in an interesting way that connects with the students.

I like how they used kind of different animals like aardvark

Published in 2005 this nonfiction animal alphabet book is informative and helpful to students. I really like the illustrations that go along with it too.

“Animals know that in order to survive, they must stay hidden and, fortunately, nature helps them by providing coloration that camouflaged their habitats.”

I love the illustrations of the camouflaged animals.

Published in 2017 this nonfiction book talks about how animals have their abilities to camouflage in order to stop from getting hurt or eaten.The gorgeous illustrations that go along with this book really make it.

“Other lizards try to scare predators away”

Really great informative book on lizards

Published in 2010 this very informative books talks about all the different kinds of lizards and their qualities. I love the photographs that accompany the book.

“Down, down in the depths of the sunless sea, deep, deep in the cold, cold dark, creatures, strange and fearsome, lurk.”

Great informational book with cool illustrations

Published in 2016 this nonfiction book talks about the mystery of the deep depths below in our oceans. I really love the illustrations in this book and the informational text that goes along with it.

polar bears are a threatened species

good informational book for kids, easy to read with captions

Published in 2012 this nonfiction book talks about what it is going to take to save the polar bears and the science behind it. It's a good book that could be used for a research report for younger children. The pictures help make the story more fun to read.

Missing my old school, my old life, my old family

Great book to have in the class to have culturally inclusive writing

This is absolutely amazing collection of poems written by African American's and Art to pair up with them. It is so important to have representation of all walks of life in the literature we bring in the classroom. I love that this teaches about Black art.

This Is My Tree “This is my tree, And here I climb to grasp the endlessness of Time.