Dot Week in the Library!

 September 15th is International Dot Day which reminds us to celebrate being creative and brave enough to "make our mark". 

We celebrated throughout the week last week in our K-5 library classes. 

After reading the book with the accompanying Novel Effect soundscape, students chose from a wide variety of creative dot-related activities. 

Kindergarten students went on a dot walk throughout the school. They looked for circles as they walked through the hallways. 

They also turned circles into objects or designs. 

3-5 students created with dot markers. 

These were easy to use, but if you choose to use them, remind students that they are screw tops and not to push too forcefully or they will splatter. This is the brand I have. 

Other choices included making bookmarks...

Making art framed in "swirly gold"...

And building items with circles. 

What Dot Day activities do your students enjoy? 

Brontosaurus Is Back!: A Dinosaur's Name and Return to Fame by Sarah Albee & Chris Hsu

 

Brontosaurus Is Back!: A Dinosaur's Name and Return to Fame

by Sarah Albee

Illustrated by Chris Hsu

Expected Publication Sept. 26, 2026

Charlesbridge Publishing

Nonfiction Picturebook

Hardcover 40 pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Summary (Goodreads)
A hilarious and fascinating look at Brontosaurus’s comeback—perfect for dino fans and curious kids learning how science evolves over time.

A fun, fact-filled nonfiction picture book for ages 6 to 9 about a dinosaur’s disappearing act and return.

This is fun, lively, kid-appeal-filled nonfiction and tells the story of brontosaurus—discovered, discontinued, and then reinstated again.

Dino fans, come and get it! There's so much to learn in this interesting book about naming, sloppy science, dueling paleontologists, and more! Sarah Albee's signature humor and strong writing, coupled with Chris Hsu's kid-friendly and accurate art, bring history to life on the page.


My Thoughts

Am I interested in Dinosaurs? Not really. Did I learn a lot and enjoy this book? Absolutely! I can't really recognize many dinosaurs, but the Brontosaurus is one that I know. This book covers the rivalry between dueling paleontologists, Othniel C. Marsh and Edward D. Cope. Each wanted to find the most dinosaur bone fossils and name the most dinosaurs. Their drive to be the first to locate and name new dinosaurs led them to work quickly and not necessarily as carefully or as thoroughly as they should have. This led to some confusion when the dinosaurs named the Brontosaurus and the Apatosaurus were seemingly the same dinosaur. It wasn't until fairly recently, after more scientific evidence was found and studied, that scientists concluded that the dinosaurs are indeed 2 different dinosaurs.

Albee always does her research, and this book is no different. The information is presented in text and sidebars containing more specific information. Then there are the cute little birds that talk in speech bubbles, adding a bit of levity and fun.

The back matter contains a timeline of the discovery and study of the Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus. There is also a nice table comparing what scientists used to think and how their thinking has shifted because of additional data. A section tells the reader how scientists know what they know and what questions still remain. This shows readers that science is an ever-evolving field with new information constantly being discovered.

Chris Hsu's illustrations help readers process the information. The cartoonish illustrations show what scientists believe to be the color and size of the dinosaurs. The images of Marsh and Cope are funny and a bit silly, which kids will like. 

My students LOVE dinosaurs, and I am excited to be able to share this new book with them.
October 14 is National Fossil Day

Learn More About the Book Creators
Sarah Albee is the New York Times bestselling author of nonfiction books for kids. Her most recent titles are both nonfiction picture books: The Painter and the President: Gilbert Stuart’s Brush with George Washington, and Zero! The Number that Almost Wasn't. Other popular titles include Troublemakers in Trousers: Women and What They Wore to Get Things Done; Fairy Tale Science; Accidental Archaeologists: True Stories of Unexpected Discoveries; and Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up; and Alexander Hamilton: A Plan for America. She and her husband live in New York City and have three grown children. Visit her at www.sarahalbeebooks.com


Chris Hsu is a picture book illustrator and animation background artist whose credits include FX’s Archer and Marvel’s Hit-Monkey. His illustration work is influenced by world history, art history and music, and current favorite non-art activity is watching his daughters and nieces play soccer on Saturdays.

Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale by JaNay Brown-Wood & John Joven

 

Acacia: A Rapunzel Tale

by JaNay Brown-Wood & John Joven

Published Sept. 2026

Charlesbridge Publishing

32 Pages

Hardcover Picturebook

Copy provided by publisher

Summary (From Goodreads)

In this clever, contemporary Black twist on "Rapunzel," Acacia makes a new friend and uses her hair—and wits—to escape her evil stepmother.

A celebration of Black identity, empowering young girls to embrace and love themselves. A perfect storytime read for kids ages 4 to 7 years old.

Acacia has been locked away by Ma Gothel, left to wonder about the world beyond her tower walls. She spends her days reading stories about the outside until one day, Mahogany from A Little Red Riding Hood Tale happens to find her tower. When Mahogany sees Acacia let down her long, twisted hair for Ma Gothel to climb, she returns to befriend the lonely girl.

Eventually the girls realize they can untwist Acacia’s hair in a way that will make it impossible to let the locks down for Ma Gothel. An escape plan from the tower unfolds, because friendship—and a dream to see the world—are powerful.

Ultimately, Acacia’s Black hair is personal expression and her own superpower.

My Thoughts

This book is a companion to Mahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale, by the same creative team. I enjoyed this twist on the classic tale. Hair is an especially important component of black culture, and this book shows how Rapunzel's hairstyle, with the help of a friend, could be used as a source of strength.  

This book would be a valuable addition to folk & fairytale collections, where the characters and heroines are predominantly white. Young readers deserve to see a variety of diverse characters in all genres. 

The story is on the longer side, with lots of dialogue between the characters. The classic tale follows the same classic storyline at first, with Rapunzel stuck in a tower and an evil mother figure holding her hostage there. But then Rapunzel meets Mahogany, who tells her about the world and helps her outsmart Ma Gothel. 

John Joven's vibrant illustrations provide a magical storybook quality. The page spreads vary from whole pages filled with color to pages with more white space and illustrations contained in shapes. 

Here is a book trailer describing the story. 

Learn More About This Team!

JaNay Brown-Wood is a former early childhood professor and the author of several books for children, including Mahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale, Grandma's Tiny House, and Imani's Moon. She also contributed to the poetry anthologies Thanku: Poems of Gratitude and No World Too Big. Much of JaNay's work is intended to celebrate casual diversity, primarily featuring Black characters. She lives in Northern California. Learn more at https://www.janaybrownwood.com/.

John Joven is the illustrator of Mahogany: A Little Red Riding Hood Tale, The Plan for the Gingerbread House, and Preschool, Here I Come!. He grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, and studied graphic design at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He still lives there with his wife, Ana, and two children, Avril and Ian. When not illustrating, he enjoys spending quality time with his children, playing soccer with his friends, watching movies, and traveling. Visit johnjoven.com.

Foundational Skills for Writing: A Brain-Based Guide to Strengthen Executive Functioning, Language And Other Cornerstones For Writers by Melanie Meehan & Maggie Beattie Roberts

Foundational Skills for Writing: A Brain-Based Guide to Strengthen Executive Functioning, Language And Other Cornerstones For Writers 

by Melanie Meehan & Maggie Beattie Roberts

Published May, 2026

Corwin 

232 Pages

Paperback

Professional Learning Text

I am a bit of a professional book addict. I love reading professional texts to deepen and broaden my own knowledge and skills so that I can be the best teacher for my students. While I always learn something, not every professional text is as helpful as I hope it will be. Every now and then, a professional text comes along that is a game-changer--one that has the potential to impact the practice of everyone who reads it. Foundational Skills for Writing is one of those books. 

It is an understatement to say that Melanie and Maggie have done their homework. They have done a deep dive into how executive functioning, oral language, large and small motor skills, handwriting, spelling, syntax, and sentence construction all play important roles in writing development. They provide predictable progressions of developmental skills, which will help educators determine next steps for students. Each chapter is grounded in classroom practice by presenting a student scenario. Then the student is revisited at the end of the chapter, and the authors give an update on how the students have progressed using the information and strategies presented in the chapter. 

Most importantly, the authors provide replicable instructional strategies to address each foundational skill in a section called "Leveraging Literacy". These strategies are accompanied by sequential steps, visuals, and even direct links to resources. I got some new ideas that I will share later in this post. A section called Researchers to Know, includes a list of prominent researchers in the field presented in the chapter, including a brief description of their contributions. Each chapter ends with Conversations With a Colleague, where a practitioner in the field shares their experience, expertise, and advice. 

The mark of a good professional text is in how it will impact the practice of an educator who reads it. Books like this one make me wish I were back in the classroom so that I could use what I have learned with my classroom writers. But now I read professional texts through a library lens. Below are the strategies and activities I will implement (or continue to implement) in my library program to support foundational writing development after reading and processing Foundational Skills for Writing.

Executive Functioning

• Allow extra think time
• Leverage quick-writes
• Use sketchnoting with students
• Incorporate more oral storytelling

Oral Language

• Turn & talks (pairing similar "talkers" together
• Asking students to share what they heard rather than what they said. 
• Verbal rehearsal before writing
• Incorporate visuals like sketches as options
• Incorporate the use of sentence frames during discussions
• Ask questions to think deeper about characters from read-alouds, such as What would be the character's least favorite food? 
• Have students orally tell the story of wordless picture books

Large Motor Skills

• Utilize large motor movements before read-aloud
• Encourage students to read books on their bellies propped up on their arms
• Incorporate yoga poses in the library

Small Motor/Handwriting/Spelling Skills

• Offer a variety of writing utensils 
• Have a variety of paper choices on hand
• Offer Jigsaw puzzles
• Incorporate STEAM activities such as Legos 
• Bookmaking activities
• Incorporate the use of sticky notes and mini notebooks throughout the library and during play activities
• Keep letter-sound charts and high-frequency word lists available during writing activities
• Do high-frequency word hunts in books
• Orthographically map tricky words 
• Incorporate Interactive Writing 
• Label the library
• Use magnetic letters for choice activities

Syntax & Sentence Construction

• Mentor sentence activities
• Sort a sentence
• Collaborative sentence construction
• Sentence scrambles 
• Magnetic poetry

I would strongly encourage any educator to get a copy of Foundational Skills for Writing: A Brain-Based Guide to Strengthen Executive Functioning, Language, and Other Cornerstones for Writers by Melanie Meehan & Maggie Beattie Roberts.  

Anansi and the Talking Cloth

Anansi and the Talking Cloth 

By Ekua Holmes 

Illustrated by Caroline Brewer with Kwasi Asare

Expected Publication August 25, 2026

Charlesbridge

40 Pages

Hardcover Picture Book

Review copy provided by publisher

Publisher Summary

Illustrated by Caldecott Honor Award winner Ekua Holmes, this modern and original Anansi the Spider story explores traditional kente-cloth making, written by award-winner Caroline Brewer, in cooperation with weaving expert Kwasi Asare.
When kente-cloth weavers stop weaving, Anansi the Spider must save the city in this rhythmic African folktale, a rhyming read-aloud trickster picture book.
This rhyming and rhythmic original Anansi fable finds Anansi the Spider needing to save the city. One day the sun stops shining because the kente-cloth making spiders stop weaving in protest against mass-produced cloth. Handmade kente cloth has made Africa famous and the spider city wealthy. Without it, the city is doomed.
Anansi faces the biggest challenge of his spider life, and his clever trickster past, coupled with help from his wife, will restore harmony.

Author Caroline Brewer and master kente-cloth weaver Kwasi Asare worked together to create this fresh take featuring the African trickster Anansi the Spider, a classic hero.

My Thoughts

I am always looking for fresh books for my folk and fairytale section in the library. There are many Anansi tales featuring the trickster based on the character created by the Akan-Ashanti people of Ghana. Rhyming and rhythmic text gives a contemporary feel while holding true to a folktale structure. 

In this tale, the weavers of kente cloth, a special hand-woven cloth with unique patterns, have decided to stop weaving after villagers, and even the chief, start wearing cheap machine-woven cloth instead. Anansi attempts to use his trickster ways to try to get the weavers to weave kente cloth again, but will it work this time? It turns out that the weavers want to feel appreciated and recognized for the important work that they do. 

Layered, collage-style patterns fill each page with color and texture, bringing this visually stunning story to life. The back matter includes further information about Anansi folktales and the legend and history of kente weaving. 

Follow-up discussions about the importance of cultural art and storytelling would add to the power of this book. 

Teachers and librarians may want to consider reading this book in September-African Fabric Month.

Below is more information about the book creators. 

Caroline Brewer is an award-winning children’s book author, artist, environmentalist, literacy consultant, and creator of Nature-Wise, a program for students and teachers that blends literacy and nature exploration. Caroline is also author and illustrator of Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature and author of Say Their Names. Her newest book is Anansi and the Talking Cloth, written with Kwasi Asare and illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Caroline lives in the Washington, DC, metro area. Learn more at https://carolinebrewerbooks.com/.

Kwasi Asare was born in Nsawam, near the capital city of Accra, Ghana, and is one of Africa’s most prominent and accomplished weavers known for kente cloth, the highly prized Ghanaian cloth that traditionally symbolizes royalty, honor, and leadership. For the United Nations’ fiftieth anniversary in 1995, he created a new kente cloth design. Until 2017, it replaced the original cloth created by Kwasi’s father, A. E. Asare. www.kwasiasare.com

Ekua Holmes was awarded a Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King’s John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, Robert Siebert Award, and Boston Globe–Horn Book award for Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, her first illustration project. She won the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration twice: Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets and Stuff of Stars. www.ekuaholmes.com

Sharks in Kansas: The Ancient Sea in the Middle of America by Melissa Stewart and Becca Stadtlander

 

Sharks in Kansas: The Ancient Sea in the Middle of America

By Melissa Stewart

Illustrated by Becca Stadtlander

Expected publication July 7, 2026

Random House Studio

Nonfiction

Hardcover

40 Pages

Review copy provided by publisher

Summary from the Publisher

Sharks in Kansas? Yes, it’s true! Take a fascinating journey back 85 million years to a time when Kansas was submerged under a vast ocean teeming with incredible prehistoric sharks.

Sharks in Kansas? Seems impossible, right? After all, Kansas is smack dab in the middle of the United States—more than 1,000 miles from the closest ocean. But the world hasn’t always looked the way it does today.

Once upon a time, 85 million years ago, the middle of America was submerged in water–and incredible creatures roamed the sea. On a typical afternoon, a small herd of Claosaurus munches on plants along the shoreline. Above them, a Pteranodon glides across the sky in search of fish… when, suddenly, a Squalicorax grabs a young dinosaur with its bone-crunching bite. Chomp!

From the flightless bird Hesperonis to the mighty Tylosaurus, here is a fascinating look at many kids’ favorite creatures and the mysteries of an ancient ocean.

My Thoughts

Melissa Stewart's books are always engaging, unique, and jam-packed with information. Sharks in Kansas is no different. This book offers a fascinating glimpse into what our world looked like 85 million years ago, and how scientists have come to understand the creatures that once inhabited many parts of what is now the US. 

Stewart tells the story of the prehistoric creatures and includes sidebars that contain specific facts about them. She incorporates descriptive and content-specific vocabulary that shows a respect for young readers. 

Becca Stadtlander's illustrations help readers see what the creatures looked like. While maps, diagrams, and cross-sections show changes in the Earth over time, and how it is possible to find evidence of prehistoric ocean creatures in the middle of the US. 

Kids love sharks and all things prehistory, and they will love this book. I can't wait to share it with my students. 

Shark Week starts July 6! 

See What Others Have to Say About This Book:

“A solid, well-illustrated introduction to prehistoric North America.” —Kirkus Reviews
“It’s a smartly structured deep dive that brings a long-gone water body vividly into the modern age.” —Publishers Weekly
“An inviting plunge into the deep past.” —Booklist

Info About The Creators:

Melissa Stewart is a leading voice in children's nonfiction, with more than 200 science books to her name. Her work has been translated into more than a dozen languages and garnered such awards as the Sibert Honor, two Green Earth Book Awards, and four ALA Notables. Her best-known titles include Whale Fall, illustrated by Rob Dunlavey, Tree Hole Homes, illustrated by Amy Hevron, and Feathers: Not Just for Flying, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen. After earning a bachelor's degree in biology from Union College and a master's degree in science journalism from New York University, Melissa worked as a children's book editor for nine years before becoming a full-time writer. While gathering information for her books, she has explored tropical rain forests in Costa Rica, gone on safari in East Africa, and swum with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands. She lives in Massachusetts. For more information, including teacher resources, videos, and more, visit melissa-stewart.com.


Becca Stadtlander is an illustrator and fine artist. In 2019, she won the Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration for Made by Hand: A Crafts Sampler. Picture books she has illustrated include Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards, Sleep Tight, Farm, and On Wings of Words, which received four starred reviews. Her work is also featured in adult books, editorial publications, stationery, home decor products, and book covers.

Monarch & Mourning Cloak: A Butterfly Journal by Melissa Stewart and Sarah S. Brannen

Monarch & Mourning Cloak: A Butterfly Journal by Melissa Stewart and Sarah S. Brannen

Published March, 2026

Beech Lane Books

Nonfiction

Picture Book

48 Pages

Hardcover

Review copy provided by publisher

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Kirkus Starred Review

Goodreads Summary

A luminously illustrated and thoroughly informative picture book poetry collection by Sibert Honor–winning duo Melissa Stewart and Sarah S. Brannen that captures the beauty and complexity of monarch and mourning cloak butterflies.

Monarch and mourning cloak butterflies may seem similar on the surface; they are about the same size and common throughout North America. But following along at a butterfly’s-eye-view, readers will discover how they live in different habitats, eat different foods, and have different strategies for avoiding enemies and making it through winter. Because even though all butterflies have the same basic body features and life cycle, each species has its own special way of surviving.

Delightful and illuminating poems, informational sidebars, and lush illustrations will immerse curious young readers in the lives of these two fascinating butterfly species.

My Thoughts

In a letter to the reader, Stewart and Brannen describe this book as, "...a collage of poems and artwork that captures the beauty and complexity of butterflies while also revealing our creative process." 

It feels exactly like looking through a journal of a scientist or naturalist who has delved into studying the Monarch and Mourning Cloak Butterflies. The book is filled with poems about the butterflies that are illustrated to look like they are taped into the journal. The poems are accompanied by notes, sketches, diagrams, and timelines. There is so much to learn and explore. I found myself noticing something new with each reread. I can just picture my students poring over this book together. 

Reading Monarch and Mourning Cloak would be a great springboard into nature journals. Kids (and adults) will be inspired to start their own journals after reading and exploring this book. 

image from Amazon.com

Don't miss the back matter that could be a book by itself. 

Visit Melissa Stewart's website for more information and resources to deepen and extend the learning. 

I can't wait to add this book to my school library.