Themed Bookshelves

Ms. Eudora Brown Almond believed that doctors, including her husband, Dr. Charles B. Almond, deserved to be recognized and celebrated for their hard work. In 1933, she began a tradition of saying “thank you” to doctors on March 30 with cards and red carnations – a celebration we continue today. Learn more about doctors, and help celebrate National Doctors’ Day 2023, by reading some of these great stories about doctors and other medical professionals, below. Read More

February 1, 2023: Celebrating Black Authors: 10 Books to Add to Your Preschool Classroom Libraries As part of Black History Month, our littles at SproutFive participated in NCTE’s African American Read-In. (Click here to Read More). On February 1, classrooms were given a basket of books to add to their classroom libraries. In the basket were books by four authors/illustrators we’d celebrate together during February–one author/illustrator per week. Our goals were to: •  Celebrate books together as a community •  Get to know authors we may not know •  Share a variety of books in our classrooms •  Add new books to our classroom libraries •  Introduce littles, teachers and families to authors/titles that may be new-to-them We chose four authors/illustrators and a few books by each of the them. We wanted to highlight both authors and illustrators, and we wanted books that would engage young readers in a variety of ways. Our littles are just beginning to build their identities as readers. We know that conversions about authors and illustrators help young children begin to notice similarities in books, expect certain things in books, participate actively and develop tastes as readers. For our month-long celebration, we wanted books that showed joy, celebrated everyday experiences and gave readers much to talk about in the illustrations. Like any great picture book, so much of each of these stories is told in the illustrations. For our teachers and families, we hoped introducing them to a few authors would help them by inviting them to find other books by these authors. Oge Mora and Anne Wynter were the author/illustrator team we celebrated for the first week of African American Read-In. Everybody in the Red Brick Building is a book that is meant to be read aloud, so we chose this one to begin. As young children follow the story, they'll also want to join into the repeated sound effects and notice the interesting font changes. There is also so much to notice in the artwork. This is a great introduction to other books by both Oge Mora and Anne Wynter. Preschool classrooms also received the book Saturday by Oge Mora, and the two books together provide a great opportunity to start to talk to young readers about noticing similarities in illustrations. For Week 2, we celebrated Christian Robinson with You Matter, Another, and Milo Imagines the World. Christian Robinson’s books speak to readers of all ages, and giving preschoolers a chance to enjoy the books and notice how much of a story can be told through the illustrations. Nikki Grimes has a trio of books that we purchased for Week 3 of our celebration. Off to See the Sea, Bedtime for Sweet Creatures, and Playtime for Restless Rascals are similar in their format, artwork and interesting font; young readers will naturally come to expect certain things from this “series” of books. Art, Story and Music work together in C.G. Esperanza's books. For our final week, classrooms received Soul Food Sunday and Boogie Boogie Y’All. Esperanza’s books are a celebration of families and communities. Children will definitely notice the feelings and expressions of the characters in Esperanza's art. We’re confident that getting to know these four authors will be a great experience for our littles. Over time, we hope to add more books by each of these authors (and others) to our preschool classroom libraries. Read More

A butterfly begins life as a tiny egg. Within a week, the egg hatches into a caterpillar. The caterpillar eats leaves and flowers until it’s much, much bigger, and then develops a shell, called a chrysalis, that protects the caterpillar while it morphs into a butterfly. Chrysalises can often be found hanging under leaves or branches. After 10-15 days, a beautiful butterfly emerges! For more information about butterflies, check out our collection of nonfiction butterfly books, below. Read More

On January 20, 2021, Kamala D. Harris was sworn in as the first woman Vice President of the United States. Vice President Harris is also the first Black and South Asian American woman Vice President in American history. (And Doug Emhoff, her husband, is the first “Second Gentleman” in American history.) Celebrate Women’s History Month 2023 with these books about women who have been trailblazers in politics, science, sports and the arts. Read More

Animals appear in many fairy tales, and since magic is a common fairy tale element, many of those animals can talk. Talking animals often help an author more effectively communicate his story through metaphor. Would the tale of Little Red Riding Hood have the same impact if, instead of saying, “The better to eat you with, my dear,” the wolf just snarled? Read More

By the 18th Century, printed Valentine’s Day cards were available for purchase, but we still love handmade cards the best. The books, below, explore some clever ways to help make your Valentine’s Day extra special. Read More

Celebrate Black History Month 2023 by reading and sharing some of these stories about Black experiences in America and beyond. Read More

For some of his most iconic paintings, including celebrity portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, Andy Warhol used photographs to create silkscreen “stencils,” pushing ink through the silkscreens and layering it on top of images he had already traced and painted by hand. For his Campbell’s Soup Cans, he used a slightly different technique, tracing the images using a projector and filling in the outlines using paint and brushes. To celebrate Inspire Your Heart With Art Day 2023, check out the books below to learn how Warhol and other artists created works of art that inspire our hearts. Read More

Jazzy is a Miniature Australian Shepherd, which is actually an American breed of dog. Jazzy lives in California, and her favorite activities include going on walks, playing “catch” with her red frisbee, and having her tummy rubbed. To celebrate National Walk Your Dog Month in 2023, check out these books featuring lots of fun facts and great stories about dogs: Read More

Hats have been worn for thousands of years. In fact, Egyptian artwork from 3200 BC depicts a man wearing a straw hat! Hats can be practical – keeping people comfortable in the sun or rain. They can also be purely decorative, like the tiny “doll hats” worn atop huge wigs in the 18th century, and the fascinators still worn for special occasions today. To celebrate National Hat Day in 2023, check out even more great books featuring hats: Read More