Small Reads for Brighters Days
Well, I had planned to share this book because I saw that National Family Week is coming up next month, but as I read more, I realized that that’s just a conservative political campaign of intolerance. Forget that! I hope in your own unit on family, you focus on diversity and love and support, not […]
I always felt a little sad when our girls’ schools had Grandparents Day programs, since they never had any local grandparents. I think any holiday or celebration that happens around certain family members could also use recognition that not all families have someone in that role—and that’s okay! Check out Meet My Family to celebrate […]
It’s that time of year when many classes and groups are talking about Mother’s and Father’s Day. And many behind-the-scenes conversations happen around what to have students do who don’t have or aren’t in contact with their mom or dad. Or maybe they have two of one or the other. In a world where the […]
All around, you can find signs of animals getting ready for a new year. They’re building nests or repairing damage to last year’s dams. Most homes could use a good spring cleaning after a long winter! Here’s a cool STEM activity from the teaching guide for Meet My Family: Build a Beaver Dam! The guide […]
Valentine’s Day is a great time to talk about how we love our families, even though our families might be different from our friends’ families. My book Meet My Family, a rhyming nonfiction picture book celebrating all kinds of families in the animal world, is a wonderful lead-in to this discussion. Sing and move to […]
National Family Week is coming up later this month (Nov. 21-27). Talking about families with your students? Check out these two activities from the teaching guide that goes with my book Meet My Family. This first one’s a song–no materials needed! And this one lets your students share and celebrate their own family and […]
When I sign my book Meet My Family for readers, I write the above phrase. And when I read it out loud to groups, I invite kids to look for an animal family in the book that has something in common with their own human family. It’s fun to see kids’ eyes open wide when […]
Hello, Kidlitosphere! We’re up to Stop 6 on my Meet My Family blog tour! Today, thoughtful educator Catherine Flynn is sharing some writing her kindergartners did in response to Meet My Family. Wait until you see the book they made! Catherine is not only a super nice person, but she’s an empowering, passionate educator as […]
Happy Valentine’s Day! I love the nice review that Publishers Weekly gave Meet My Family! recently: In a tender celebration of family, more than 20 baby animals describe the ways the adults in their lives care for them. A baby beaver has lived in one home for all of its life, but an orangutan infant […]
First things first. Happy 30th anniversary to my fantastic husband, Randy Salas! My writing and career would be very different without him in my life. Now, onto book stuff:>) Last week, I did my first school visit since receiving my author copies of Meet My Family, and it was great to read it aloud […]
