In August the world lost a giant of poetry–the one and only Lee Bennett Hopkins. Lee edited more than 120 anthologies of poetry for young people, and was a champion of accessible poetry and emerging poets. He was a big personality with a delightful sense of humor and a dear friend to everyone who knew him–and it seemed like everyone knew him. Leading up to today’s release of his latest anthology, I Remember, two Lee & Low staff members share their memories: Continue reading
Tomorrow will mark the release of the fourth book in the Rafi and Rosi chapter book series by Lulu Delacre, Rafi and Rosi Music! and Rafi y Rosi ¡Música!
The Rafi and Rosi series follows two Puerto Rican tree frog siblings as they explore their surroundings and learn about the traditions, animals, and environment of Puerto Rico. The series is available in both English and Spanish, and is a great way to introduce early readers to chapter books!
In a groundbreaking initiative funded by William Penn Foundation, OpenIDEO launched the Early Childhood Book Challenge earlier this year seeking an original story for children ages 0 to 3 celebrating literacy and inspiring adults on how to support early language development. A committee of literacy and family engagement experts selected I’ll Build You a Bookcase by Jean Ciborowski Fahey as the winner.
We are thrilled to announce Lee & Low Books was chosen as the publisher to be a part of this endeavor.
Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for our webinar, “Using Children’s Books to Approach Trauma-Informed Education”. If you missed it live, or just want to watch it again, here is a recording of the webinar:
In this guest blog post, educator Lindsay Barrett discusses the power and importance in having diverse books and mentors. Jill Eisenberg, director of curriculum and literacy strategy at Lee & Low Books, also discusses the role of diverse books in mentoring programs for developing readers. This blog post first appeared on Reading Partners.
In this guest blog post, Dr. Lisa Pinkerton, the Marie Clay Endowed Chair in Reading Recovery® and Early Literacy at The Ohio State University, discusses the importance of expanding diverse stories for young readers in Reading Recovery®.
I have long admired Lee & Low Books and their mission to publish contemporary diverse stories that all children can enjoy. As a Reading Recovery® trainer, imagine my delight to discover that Lee & Low Books is now on the RRCNA booklist!
Released last week, The Magnolia Sword is the first young adult novel to reimagine the ballad of Mulan. We interviewed bestselling author Sherry Thomas on what piqued her interest in writing about Mulan and the different iterations of the beloved woman warrior in pop culture.
What was your approach when researching for The Magnolia Sword? What resources or organizations did you turn to while writing the story?
Sherry Thomas: I consulted everything from reddit threads to academic publications, along with various sources in the Chinese language, including my personal copy of Chinese Idiomatic Expressions Dictionary.
Northern Wei, the time period typically agreed on for the setting of the Ballad of Mulan, is not a major dynasty. So I would get whole books on food, clothing, etc. in ancient China and be able to use only a few pages. (Thank goodness for interlibrary loans!)
Another important source of research is actually Google Earth, which allows me to investigate the actual shape and elevation of the terrain that I would put my character into, and see photos people have taken of the general area. Continue reading
Join us for our critical back to school webinar about Trauma-Informed Education in time for the release of our new Trauma-Informed Education Book List on Wednesday, September 25 at 4:00 PM ET. Katie Potter, Lee & Low’s Literacy Specialist, and Andrea Adomako, an educator who has worked with elementary, middle and high school students, a PhD student in African American Studies, and a Mellon Cluster Fellow in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Northwestern University, will discuss different books and activities that approach various kinds of trauma.
Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for our webinar, “Lee & Low Books 2019 Showcase.” Whether you’re a parent, teacher, librarian, or bookseller, this webinar will help you discover great new books to diversify your shelves:
Books can encourage kids of all ages to enact change in their communities. Because it’s never too early to make a difference, we’ll be sharing a list of social activism books for each grade level. Check out our social activism book roundup for fifth grade below and for more social activism titles, check out our full printable Social Activism Diverse Reading List!
