Author Archives

Tom Bober is a school librarian at RM Captain Elementary, 2018 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, former Teacher in Residence at the Library of Congress, and author of the upcoming book Elementary Educator's Guide to Primary Sources: Strategies for Teaching. He writes the Picture Books and Primary Sources posts for AASL’s KQ blog and has written articles for several publications. Tom also presents at conferences, runs workshops, and gives webinars to promote the use primary sources in student learning. He began his career as an elementary classroom teacher, was also an educational technologist, and has spent the last nine years as a school librarian.

• Picture Books and Primary Sources: Wood, Wire, Wings: Emma Lilian Todd Invents an Airplane by Kirsten Larson and Tracy Subisak

  By Tom Bober on 02/18/2021 • ( 1 )

  

  Often I suggest we bring historically based picture books into student learning to explore history. So many titles are rich entry points for moments and individuals from the past. Another approach though is to use these narratives to explore the… Read More ›

• Picture Books and Primary Sources: The Teachers March! By Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace, Illustrated by Charly Palmer

  By Tom Bober on 01/21/2021 • ( 0 )

  

  So many historically based picture books now focus on lesser-known events or individuals. When those books fill in gaps of knowledge and connect to other events that we do know, they can broaden students’ understanding of a moment in time… Read More ›

• Picture Books and Primary Sources: Beautiful Shades of Brown: The Art of Laura Wheeler Waring by Nancy Churnin and Felicia Marshall

  By Tom Bober on 12/17/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  Earlier this month I co-hosted a webinar on behalf of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) for librarians. In addition to highlighting the amazing collection that the NPG had to offer, we focused on how students could analyze and learn from… Read More ›

• Picture Books and Primary Sources: An Interview with Don Tate, Author and Illustrator of William Still and His Freedom Stories

  By Tom Bober on 11/20/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  In one of my last trips of the year, I had the opportunity to join Don Tate and others at the Historical Society of Philadelphia last January to learn about Tate’s upcoming book, William Still and His Freedom Stories. We… Read More ›

• Picture Books and Primary Sources: Oscar’s American Dream by Barry Wittenstein and Kristen & Kevin Howdeshell

  By Tom Bober on 10/22/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  Usually, I write about historically based narrative nonfiction picture books. There was a book that didn’t fit into that category that I saw recently. However, I knew it would fit perfectly into a primary source-focused learning experience with some of… Read More ›

• Picture Books and Primary Sources: The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine by Linda Elovitz Marshall and Lisa Anchin

  By Tom Bober on 09/16/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  Historically based picture books, while often having some type of connection to our own lives, may not always seem timely. That certainly wasn’t the case with Linda Elovitz Marshall’s new book, The Polio Pioneer. The book explores Dr. Salk’s life… Read More ›

• Picture Books and Primary Sources: Interview with Mara Rockliff, Author of Jefferson Measures a Moose

  By Tom Bober on 08/20/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  There are some fascinating historically based picture books that focus on a largely unknown moment of a well-known person’s life. The best of those highlights an aspect of that person’s character that helps the reader look at that individual differently… Read More ›

• Pairing Picture Books and Primary Sources: Thanks to Frances Perkins: Fighter for Workers’ Rights by Deborah Hopkinson and Kristy Caldwell

  By Tom Bober on 07/16/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  Many historically based picture books give insight into the life of an individual. Some also highlight how one person can influence the thinking of a nation. Such is the case with the book Thanks to Frances Perkins: Fighter for Workers’… Read More ›

• Pairing Picture Books and Primary Sources: Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson and Frank Morrison

  By Tom Bober on 06/23/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  I had read Monica Clark-Robinson and Frank Morrison’s picture book, Let the Children March, several times since it was released in 2018. The book, based on the 1963 Birmingham Campaign, is an amazing pairing of powerful words and illustrations. It… Read More ›

• Picture Books and Primary Sources: All the Way to the Top by Annette Bay Pimentel and Nabi H. Ali

  By Tom Bober on 05/21/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  The first time I read All the Way to the Top: How One Girls’ Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything, I felt admiration for Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, the young girl whose story is told in the book by Annette Bay… Read More ›