August 2024

How to Get your Octopus to School

Author: Becky Scharnhorst

Illustrator: Jaclyn Sinquett

Summary: It's Octopus's first day ever of school and she is not excited. In fact she is so nervous about everything! From her excellent hiding skills to choosing the perfect outfit for her first day, follow her journey to actually making it to school!

Recommended Ages: 4-7 years

Themes, Skills, & Concepts: The first day of school in hard for everyone (teachers, librarians and parents, too!). Read this book to have some giggles and maybe calm some nerves before the big day!

Extension Activities: Draw an octopus along with our friend Rob! Get your octopus ready for school. Make sure your little octopus has all the things that he or she will need to have a great first day of school! Click here!

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Little Green Donkey

Author: Anuska Allepuz

Illustrator: Anuska Allepuz

Summary: Little Donkey loves eating crunchy, juicy grass and he does not care to try anything different! Mom tries to encourage him to try new foods, but he refuses until one day when he sees his reflection and changes his mind!

Recommended Ages: 3-8 years

Themes, Skills, & Concepts: Trying new things can be so hard on young children. Have the discussions about the importance of overcoming the fear of some unknown, new experience and trying in small. little steps!

Extension Activities: Give kids a paper plate and have them draw or find pictures of foods that they would want to eat that might be new foods for them. Head on over to the TPT store for some fun extension activities! Click here!

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July 2024

Penelope Rex and the Problem with Pets

Author: Ryan T. Higgins

Illustrator: Ryan T. Higgins

Summary: Penelope Rex was not ever really sure that she wanted a pet, but then Mittens moved into her home. Having a pet is a lot of work and has challenges, especially when that pet is a 600 pound saber-tooth tiger. Have fun reading the latest Penelope Rex book!

Recommended Ages: 3-8 years

Themes, Skills, & Concepts: Choosing a pet that fits the family takes research and is a group effort. Brainstorm the pets that would best fit your family and learn all about the pet you would choose! Take a fun field trip to your local pet store and see what a variety of pets you have to choose from!

Extension Activities: Follow along with our friends at Art for Kids Hub and draw a Pandacorn! How are you going to care for your pandacorn? What will you feed it? Name? Where does it sleep? What would your mom say? Click here!

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June 2024

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.

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May 2024

Dandy

Author: Ame Dyckman

Illustrator: Charles Santoso

Summary: Daddy and the neighbors love their beautiful, manicured lawns..NO WEEDS! Sweetie loves her friend Charlotte, who happens to be a dandelion living in the perfect lawn! How will they work out this problem?

Recommended Ages: 4-8 years

Themes, Skills, & Concepts: A sweet little story of love, friendship and making sacrifices for the people that mean the most to you. A great starting place to have the conversations with your kids about how they can compromise with friends or family over a conflict.

Extension Activities: Learn all about dandelions: their life cycle, uses and fun activities that you can do with them! Click here!

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