Some Days are Yellow
Author: Suzanne Slade
Illustrator: Michelle Lee
Summary: Some days are easy and some days are hard. Some days are silly and some days are serious. There may be rainbows or there may be skinned knees, but the happy thought is that there is always tomorrow for a brand new start!
Recommended Ages: 3-8 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: Identifying our moods and emotions can be hard for young children. Helping them to identify a color to describe how they are feeling can be useful when they are having an emotion they don't know how to describe.
Extension Activities: Pair this book with Dr. Seuss's "My Many Colored Days" to extend the idea of emotion and color. Help your child identify things that might make them feel angry, sad, happy, scared, excited (or any emotion) and pair it with a color to help identify and name their emotions.
Solar Bear
Author: Beth Ferry
Illustrator: Brendan Wenzel
Summary: Take a journey with a polar bear and his animal friends on the verge of extinction, see how we are all interconnected and how we can change the journey.
Recommended Ages: 4-8 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: A cautionary tale about what can happen to our animal friends and how the extinction of one effects the survival on another, and the impact of animal extinction of us humans. It also is a story of hope.
Extension Activities: This beautiful book lends itself to the research of animals on the verge of extinction and methods, big and small, we all can do to save our animal friends. Click on the link below to find some ideas that you and your children can do together to help our planet. Click here!
Just Because
Author: Matthew McConaughey
Illustrator: Renee Kurilla
Summary: "Just because I’m in the race, doesn’t mean I’m fully ready. Just because I’m shaking, doesn’t mean that I’m not steady." Life is full of contradictions..we can be excited and nervous at the same time. Told in couplets, this books helps to explore life's mysterious contradictions.
Recommended Ages: 3+ years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts:
Miguel Must Fight!
Author: Jamie Ofelia
Illustrator: Sara Palacious
Summary: Miguel's family are fighters and train day and night. They feel they must be ready to defend the family and their village. Miguel wants to please his family, but his passion is art. He sees beauty all around and wants to capture what he sees. Can Miguel and his family come to an agreement?
Recommended Ages: 4-8 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: This fun adventure book lends itself to discussions about following your passions despite what other friends or family think you should do!
Extension Activities: Take advantage of the Spanish glossary at the end of this fun book. Summer is a great time to try to learn some new words! Choose the link below to find some fun, digital Spanish language learning games! Click here!
Invisible Things
Author: Andy J. Pizza
Illustrator: Sophie Miller
Summary: If we could put on a pair of invisible glasses, would we be able to see the invisible things that make up our thoughts, feelings, smells, sights, and sounds around us? What would those invisible things look like?
Recommended Ages: 4-10 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: This colorful, fun book helps to identify the world around us and how so many different, ordinary things can effect our emotions and well being in a fun, engaging, age appropriate way!
Extension Activities: The blog linked below is a great resource to help guide the adult through the book. There is also a link to download activities by the author. Click here!
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