If there is any aspect of reading librarians excel at, it’s the curated list. Over the last two weeks – as protests around the country and the world intensify – librarians in New York City shared countless lists on anti-racist… Read More ›
primary sources
Picture Books and Primary Sources: All the Way to the Top by Annette Bay Pimentel and Nabi H. Ali
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 ›
Picture Books and Primary Sources: Teaching and Learning from Home
My reality for the past weeks has been the reality of many of my school librarian colleagues. Teaching and supporting students and teachers from home have their learning curves. I was finishing my March Picture Book and Primary Sources post… Read More ›
Picture Books and Primary Sources: Manhattan: Mapping the Story of an Island by Jennifer Thermes
Occasionally there is a picture book that I know will work well with a certain format of primary sources before I even open it. That was the case with Jennifer Thermes book Manhattan: Mapping the Story of an Island. There… Read More ›
Amazing (and Free) Resources from the Library of Congress
What if I told you there are amazing resources you can easily use with students and teachers that will help create curiosity, promote critical thinking, reinforce information literacy skills, and make curricular connections? Better yet, what if I told you… Read More ›
Picture Books and Primary Sources: Interview with Chris Barton, Author of All of a Sudden and Forever
Authors of historically based picture books typically focus on one set of primary sources to tell their story, a set of materials connected with one moment in time. In his new book, All of a Sudden and Forever, author Chris… Read More ›
Picture Books and Primary Sources: Samuel Morse, That’s Who! By Tracy Nelson Maurer and El Primo Ramon
Traveling the world, becoming inspired, overcoming obstacles, and changing life as we know it all sound like parts of some amazing movie. They are also parts of the picture book story of Samual Morse, inventor of the telegraph and Morse… Read More ›
Engaging Students with Inquiry Using Primary Sources
Teaching research is not just teaching about where information is according to Rebecca Newland. In her 2019 AASL National Conference presentation “Engaging Students with Inquiry Using Primary Sources,” she noted that teaching researching is also an opportunity to teach students… Read More ›
Picture Books and Primary Sources: Interview with Donna Janell Bowman, Author of King of the Tightrope
As we continue to explore picture book authors who utilize primary sources in their research, I was excited to interview Donna Janell Bowman who, in her newest book, writes about one of my favorite lesser-known historical figures, The Great Blondin…. Read More ›
Picture Books and Primary Sources: Interview with Barry Wittenstein, Author of A Place to Land
Authors and illustrators of historically based picture books often use primary sources as part of their research. These sources shape their understanding of a person, place, or time and ultimately help to shape the final story. As we enter the… Read More ›