One of my favorite things to do in the classroom is helping kids find awesome books to read. One of the most effective things that I do to accomplish this goal is to give book talks. In the latest episode of Ask Nerdy, Donalyn Miller and I talk about the importance of book talks, their impact, and we share tips for giving awesome book talks. You can find the Ask Nerdy podcast on your podcast app of choice, or you can listen to the conversation below in the embedded player. If you’d rather watch the conversation just click on the video below. Thanks for tuning in! We’ll be doing another episo ..read more

Last night, I went to a wrestling “Try it Night” for the youth wrestling program in our district because my second grade son is interested in giving wrestling a try. During the event I was able to chat with one of my students who was at the event to watch his sister wrestle. He was excited to share with me that after school he was able to finish the first book in the Wings of Fire series. He was so excited! This kid has fallen hard for the book. Each day he tells me about the different things going on in the book. I almost feel like I’ve read the book myself. This morning when he came into cla ..read more

October felt like a very long month. The highlight with my fifth graders was the return to fifth grade camps. Three days and two nights away from home and school is always a great time, but it sure is exhausting. We read a bunch of amazing picture books during the month. I talk about each book in the video below. If you’d like to learn more about or purchase any of the books from the video, be sure to click on the affiliate links below. You can use my code ‘colbysharp’ to save 20% and get free shipping. Bookelicious is pretty darn cool company that I love working with! Gibberish Kick Push The ..read more

This week’s book mail brings new reads from Katherine Applegate, Kate DiCamillo, Lauren Castillo and many more. I’m so excited to dig in and check these books out. Hoping to find some great books to share with my fifth graders. Check out my complete kid lit book unboxing video below. Check out previous Book Mail videos in the playlist below. I’ll continue to update the playlist when I make new videos. I’ve been trying to do more livestream interviews with authors. You can check out the complete play list below ..read more

I had a great time chatting with the author of Alone Megan E. Freeman. Her 2021 verse novel is amazing. Be sure to check out the video of our conversation below. If you’d like to learn more about the book, be sure to check out my book talk (below ..read more

I feel very lucky to receive review copies of books written for kids. It is often very exciting to get early looks at books written by some of my students’ favorite authors. I feel a little behind opening up my book mail, so I thought I might turn on my camera and open the book packages on camera. It was a lot of fun, and it made the process seem less lonely. It seems like most things seem lonely these days. If you are interested in me rambling on for twenty minutes about a bunch of books written for kids, please check out the video below ..read more

Celebrating World Read Aloud Day is one of my favorite things to do in my classroom. You can learn more about WRAD by clicking here. Below you will find a video, where I share 5 books that I think would make awesome read alouds for World Read Aloud Day. Books mentioned in this video: Giant Squid My Favorite Book in the Whole Wide World After the Fall The Oldest Student Mother Bruce Check out my list of AWESOME 2021 books: https://www.mrcolbysharp.com/2021 ************************* Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids The Creativity Project edited by Colby Sharp (ME!) Places to find me: Webs ..read more

Watercress is a special picture book. I don’t know what the world will look like at the end of 2021, but I do know that we will still be talking about this book. I share my thoughts on this gorgeous picture book in my video review below ..read more

Is there anything kids love reading about more than dogs? Probably, but middle grade fiction centered around dogs is always something a bunch of kids are into. I’m excited to share a 2021 book that I think kids are going to LOVE. Carolyn Crimi has written a lovely book about a pack of dogs getting a second chance. I talk more about the book in the video below. Happy reading ..read more

The first day back from winter vacation is always hard. I love the two weeks off with my family, and I am never quite ready to head back to school. Once I get there, I get excited, but the days leading up to that first day back area always a little somber. This year, all of my emotions are amplified. We’ve been learning 100% virtual since things went off the rails in Michigan mid-November. Around 60% of my students will be coming back to the classroom, and the other 40% will be learning virtually when we kick things off. It is hard to give my distance learners what they need when I’m in class ..read more