The Poetry Tastings on TeachingBooks provide a fun-filled time for readers to listen to Meet-the-Author Recordings, audio excerpts, and video book trailers. Enjoy a hearty meal with the additional food themed suggestions below!  BREAKFAST   Start the most important meal of the day, with books that have “breakfast” in the title. Fuel up with these tasty titles!  Pancakes for Breakfast  Worms for Breakfast: How to Feed a Zoo  Chemistry for Breakfast: The Amazing Science of Everyday Life  LUNCH  During your lunch hour check out books by or about c ..read more

In this post, we feature author-illustrator Margaux Meganck, whose previous titles include People Are Wild, which was named a CCBC Choices selection. You can hear her speak about her new picture book, Speck: An Itty-Bitty Epic, and try her “invitation to imagine” activity. You’ll also find other resources to explore. Thanks for joining us, and let us know what you think in the comments below! Speck: An Itty-Bitty Epic Written and illustrated by Margaux Meganck Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House Release date: March 19, 2024 Everything and everyone ..read more

Chris Lynch, Teacher and Writer Walkin’ the Dog (Simon & Schuster, 2024) From Teaching to Writing TeachingBooks asks each author or illustrator to reflect on their journey from teaching to writing. Enjoy the following from Chris Lynch. Let It Rip by Chris Lynch Teaching is, at its best, a collaborative act. We should always be learning from each other. I teach in the Creative Writing MFA program at Lesley University. The workshop model, which is the core of everything we do, involves everybody marking up everybody else’s writing. We take this process quite seriously. Giving one’s all ..read more

It’s All About Me, Except It’s Not The main character in my new book, Sunny Parker is Here to Stay (Simon & Schuster, 2024), came to me out of the blue. She just popped into my head: a sunny-faced girl with big cheeks riding her bike along the sidewalk of her courtyard-facing apartment.   Immediately, I recognized that girl as me. I’d had big cheeks. I used to ride my bike along the sidewalk of my courtyard-facing apartment. But I also knew that that girl was not me. That girl was at ease in her own body; kid-me felt awkward and ungainly. That girl was warm and welcoming and ha ..read more

Each month we feature free and fun book contests and giveaways. We hope you will enjoy the following opportunities as well as the author and book resources available via TeachingBooks. Win a copy of Speck: An Itty-Bitty Epic by Margaux Meganck (Elementary) Everything and everyone has a place in the universe, but for a little speck, lost at sea, it will take an extraordinary journey to find it. This beautifully illustrated undersea adventure will resonate with all children looking for a place to belong. Knopf Books for Young Readers is giving away 5 copies of Speck. Submit an ..read more

In this post, we feature author Brooke Hartman and illustrator John Joseph, whose previous picture book, The Littlest Airplane, was named an Alaska Association of School Librarians Battle of the Books selection. You can hear them speak about their new picture book, All Aboard the Alaska Train, and try their “invitation to imagine” activity. You’ll also find other resources to explore. Thanks for joining us, and let us know what you think in the comments below! All Aboard the Alaska Train Written by Brooke Hartman and John Joseph Published by Red Comet Press Release date: March 5, 2024 Five ..read more

In this post, we feature a mother-daughter writing team: multi-award-winning author Kirby Larson, whose previous titles include the Newbery Honor Book Hattie Big Sky, and her daughter, debut author Quinn Wyatt. You can hear them speak about their new novel, Gut Reaction, and try their “invitation to imagine” activity. You’ll also find other resources to explore. Thanks for joining us, and let us know what you think in the comments below! Gut Reaction Written by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc. Release date: March 5, 2024 Tess Medina ..read more

Deborah Hodge, Teacher and Writer West Coast Wild Rainforest (Groundwood, 2024) From Teaching to Writing TeachingBooks asks each author or illustrator to reflect on their journey from teaching to writing. Enjoy the following from Deborah Hodge. A Wild and Beautiful Place by Deborah Hodge “There is a wild and beautiful place where an ancient rainforest meets the ocean, where whales swim and eagles soar. Waves splash up on a windswept beach, and sea and sky go on forever.”   This is the opening to West Coast Wild: A Nature Alphabet (Groundwood, 2015), the first of four books for p ..read more

Discussing Difficult Subjects with Youth   Road Home (Norton, 2024) Book banning is all over the news these days, most often targeting books with “questionable content” related to graphic violence, sexual exploration, or, frequently, themes focused on queerness and race. I believe the adults proposing these bans are doing what they think is best for children. But we—as a society—need to ask ourselves: why is that content questionable? And could these books in fact be an essential tool to broaching tough topics with kids? In tenth grade, I took AP World History with Mrs. Telford at m ..read more

In this post, we feature multi-award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford, whose widely acclaimed titles include Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, which was named the winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Author Award, a Caldecott Honor Book, a Sibert Honor Book, and many other awards. You can hear her speak about her new picture book, Outspoken: Paul Robeson, Ahead of His Time: A One-Man Show, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, and try her “invitation to imagine” activity. You’ll also find other resources to explore. Thanks for joining us, and let us know wha ..read more