It’s that time of year again! The annual American Library Association conference is in just a few days and we would love to meet you! If you will be in New Orleans this year, come visit us in booth #3452 where we’ll give away ARCs, bookmarks, posters, postcards, and other free swag! Continue reading
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How to Use Wordless and Minimal-text Picture Books
In this age of rigor, text complexity, and higher standards for younger and younger readers—why do wordless picture books continue to be so popular?
Wordless, or minimal-text, picture books:
- enable children to explore the art of storytelling and world-building
- are a wonderful medium for expression and creative thought
- are a natural introduction to inferencing, a metacognitive skill that is often taught in the later grades
- help readers practice reading facial cues and studying visual context clues for vocabulary and plot development
- engage visual learners or visually-motivated readers
- alleviate struggling readers who may feel overwhelmed by dense text and long print sections
- offer a launch pad to a lifelong love of other visually-rich formats, including comics and graphic novels
Why choose a wordless, or minimal-text, picture book for your next storytime?
10 Diverse Children’s Books to Celebrate Father’s Day
This Sunday is Father’s Day and we’ve rounded up 10 of our favorite books for Father’s Day. Celebrate your fathers, grandfathers, and father-figures by reading stories that make you feel at home through the traditions of diverse cultures and places around the world!
Did we miss one of your favorite titles? Let us know in the comments!
Free Upcoming Webinar: Lee & Low Books 2018 Showcase
Join Lee & Low Books editors for a showcase of our 2018 books! Whether you’re a parent, teacher, librarian, or bookseller, this webinar will help you discover great new books to diversify your shelves. Catch newly released spring titles that you won’t want to miss, and get a sneak peek at our fall books. This one-hour webinar will include picture books, middle grade, and young adult titles. Continue reading
Introducing Lee & Low’s New Line of Chapter Book Biographies
Chapter books are an essential stepping stone on the road to literacy. Chapter books allow young readers to linger in a story, and provide a bridge between picture books and more complex, challenging texts. But when it comes to diversity, chapter books still lag behind. Many classroom shelves and home libraries are lined with the same worn chapter book series that kids have been reading for decades, without much variety.
At Lee & Low, we believe that it’s just as important for young readers to have access to diverse chapter books. That’s why we’re excited to launch our “The Story Of” series, a new line of chapter book biographies out now. These chapter books go beyond the common names to introduce readers to amazing leaders and heroes whose names you might not know but whose achievements have shaped our world. Continue reading
Confucius: Great Teacher of China Teacher’s Guide
January marked the release of Confucius: Great Teacher of China by renowned children’s book author and illustrator, Demi. This beautifully illustrated biography pays homage to a man whose philosophy shaped the course of Chinese history. In this previous blog post, Demi speaks about the sources that served as inspiration for Confucius.
The Confucius Teacher’s Guide offers resources and tips on how to guide discussions about Confucius and his work in the classroom. This title and teacher’s guide is perfect for a unit on biographies, China, ancient civilizations, philosophers, and more. Our teacher’s guide also features summary and background information, prereading and discussion questions, ideas for reader’s response and writing activities, strategies for ELL/ESL, and interdisciplinary activities and connections. Below we’ve shared a few activities and resources from the Confucius Teacher’s Guide. Continue reading
Book List: Best Multicultural Story Books to Read Aloud
Summer is quickly approaching, which means more time to read picture books aloud to the children in your lives! Below we’ve compiled a list of amazing multicultural books to read aloud to children. And maybe they can even read aloud to you! Continue reading
Watch the Webinar: Diverse Summer Reading
Thank you to everyone who joined us this week for our webinar, 2018 Diverse Summer Reading. If you missed it live (or just want to watch again), here is a recording of the webinar:
New Release: Every Month is a New Year: Celebrations Around the World
Today we’re excited to announce the release of our new title, Every Month is a New Year: Celebrations Around the World, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Susan L. Roth. In many places around the globe, the new year starts on January 1. But not everywhere! Chinese New Year is celebrated in January or February. Iranians observe Nowruz in March. For Thai people, Songkran occurs in April. Ethiopians greet the new year at Enkutatash in September. All these celebrations, and many others, have deep-rooted traditions and treasured customs.
Lee & Low Books Announces 2018 New Visions Award Winners
New York, NY—Tu Books, an imprint of Lee & Low Books, is thrilled to announce the results of its fifth annual New Visions Award for new authors of color. Established to combat the low number of authors of color writing for children and teens, the New Visions Award is given to a middle grade or young adult manuscript. Winners receive a cash prize and a publishing contract with Lee & Low Books, a children’s book publisher specializing in diversity.
Previous winners of the New Visions Award include the novels Ink and Ashes, named one of the Best Books of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, and Ahimsa, named a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People by the National Council for the Social Studies. This year, two manuscripts were chosen to receive the award: Twin Flames by Olivia Abtahi, and The Regent Enigma by Luisana Duarte Armendáriz. Continue reading