Did I mention that my baby is going to kindergarten this fall? Okay so she really isn't my baby anymore, but my first child is going to kindergarten!!!! And I am freaking out more than she is so to prepare me . . . uh I mean her, we have been reading some books about going to school and other such related topics. We have a series of books, we bought as part of a Scholastic book order, called...

I asked the teachers I was working with on Monday morning as part of a professional development presentation on literacy in the content area, 'How would your life be different if you were not literate?' My question prompted some good discussions on how our lives would be different. I then showed them this picture of two model houses that were donated to our local library. The caption reads This...

School is just beginning again for many of our young book readers (not to mention some of us older ones). So, we thought that we would do a quick re-cap of things we learned this summer so that all of you would know that we didn't just sit and veg watching TV all day. From Holly: Do you remember when your teacher would ask you to bring an article to school or tell about a current event that...

The Frog Scientist is written like fiction, with a fascinating storyline, alternating between frogs, and the frog scientist (aka Berkeley’s own Tyrone Hayes). Turner’s writing style sets a great tone for learning and is augmented by Comins’ detailed photographs documenting the scientific process. The Frog Scientist satisfies various learning styles- the pictures draw you to read the story and the story keeps you turning pages to figure out exactly what pesticides can do to amphibians.

I’m in love. With a book. And a color. How could I have not heard of this book before? It was written just for me! I’m sure of it. Pink, pink, pink, pink. How can anyone not love pink? Pretty much pink has been my favorite color my whole life. The obsession began when I was knee high to just about everyone and was so severe, I’m not sure why I wasn’t diagnosed with pinkatitis. I’m sure I had it....

It's finally here, our Doublescoop for June (yeah we know how close it is to July). We are big fans of Mo Willems and our children right along with us, as you will see. Willems has won several awards for his work including a Caldecott Honor and the Theodor Seuss Geisel medal in 2008 and 2009 for the Elephant and Piggie early readers. Cari was first introduced to the brilliant, zany, fun-loving...

Okay, now that I have your attention. I should explain a few items of business at Bookscoops (and I really did kill a gopher with a shovel). For one - I accepted a position as a literacy specialist at a local middle school, which I am very excited about- and two, we are reeeaalllyyyy far behind on our Double Scoop for this month, but it is coming. . . we promise - the author is none other than...

One Wolf Howls by Scotti Cohn is a book to be read outloud - even if you are the only one in the room because otherwise you might not like it as much. I wasn't sure I liked the book until I read it outloud (note to self. . .always read poetry outloud) because I didn't like how the first line to each stanza was repeated as the third when I was reading it to myself, but after reading it outloud I...

You know how life throws you a few curve balls (maybe your life is not like mine and always runs smoothly). Well I had great plans to get lots done on our blog this weekend, but then my baby got sick and since I was flying solo most of this weekend I held her most of the weekend - being a mom is more important than blogging. Gratefully this curve ball wasn't to bad, her illness was nothing...

So Natasha over at Maw Books Blog is doing a fantastic book blogging challenge called Bloggiesta and it's all about improving your book blog. And as some of you may or may not have noticed I have been a little absent lately, and I am back in full force (or at least in some force). I recently accepted a dream position at a local middle school as the reading coach - and I have been bogged down...

The sequel to Lost Goat Lane focuses on Justin, the oldest of the Martin children. Justin decides to sell his goat, a Christmas present from his sister, to get the money for a bike so he can ride back and forth to baseball tryouts. At first Justin is overjoyed because he made the baseball team as a freshman- the only person to ever do that before was Booker Wilson, his neighbor who became a...

"Save the Worms! Save the Worms!" We've had a lot of rain this spring, and each time it rains, the worms come out for air. Our walks to school then take twice as long and are filled with worm rescues- but usually only for the biggest and the best. I'm warned to be careful multiple times, and chastised every time a stroller wheel rolls over an unfortunate one. But, when there are so many out...

"Save the Worms! Save the Worms!" We've had a lot of rain this spring, and each time it rains, the worms come out for air. Our walks to school then take twice as long and are filled with worm rescues- but usually only for the biggest and the best. I'm warned to be careful multiple times, and chastised every time a stroller wheel rolls over an unfortunate one. But, when there are so many out...

The Martin kids are bored in the hot summer sun, so they play with fire, er alligators. Kate and her brothers have promised their mom that they'd stay away from the dangerous creatures, but boredom does something to child minds. It isn't until Chip (the youngest) loses his beloved dog, Go Boy, to the alligators, that the older kids wise up and steer clear. The Martin family is struggling to make...

So, I (Holly here) was digging through a bunch of books at a store one recent day, and low and behold, shiver-me timbers, I found this great book, that my kids let me hold for about half a second. My two year old had me read the book for nap time, bed time and two times in the morning within 45 minutes of waking up. Then, he took it and hid under the table with it, slowly turning pages,...

So, I (Holly here) was digging through a bunch of books at a store one recent day, and low and behold, shiver-me timbers, I found this great book, that my kids let me hold for about half a second. My two year old had me read the book for nap time, bed time and two times in the morning within 45 minutes of waking up. Then, he took it and hid under the table with it, slowly turning pages,...

April was a busy month for us both. Cari found and applied for a literacy specialist 'dream' job.  Read the May review next month to find out how it turned out.  I (Holly here) left the country for the first time ever in my life to travel to the Dominican Republic with my great husband for our 10 year anniversary. We had a great time and came back appreciating clean drinking water and missing...

I first saw this book feature in the fairytales/folktales section of our local library and immediately recognized the name - Jama Rattigan. I was pretty excited to see this book since I have visited Jama's blog, alphabet soup. Both Holly and I enjoy reading her blog entries. She also wrote a book called Dumpling Soup, which I have not had a chance to check out yet, but hope to soon. I was...

Set in Venice in the early eighteen hundreds, this book is a piece of history reincarnated. I had no idea that Venice's musical past had anything to do with orphaned and abandoned girls. Enter Mama and Papa Dolci, a gifted musical couple who barely had enough food, but sang from morning to night. Their young son, Antonio was also very talented, but Mama and Papa could not afford to send him for...