Best of the Web KidLit Crafts with Megan chose these books from
Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year and paired them with activities!
Every year, The Children’s Book Committee of Bank Street College of Education creates a list of more than 600 children’s books chosen by reviewers for literary quality, excellent presentation, and potential emotional impact of the books on young readers!
READ
About the Book
The newest story from the New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Brendan Wenzel is a funny and wise celebration of observation, curiosity, and indoor life.
From the endlessly inventive Caldecott Honor author/illustrator of They All Saw a Cat comes a picture book that is playful, perceptive, and full of delights. Inside Cat is just that: an inside cat. But while the cat’s life is bound by the walls of an unusual house, it’s far from dull. As the cat wanders, wonders, stares, and snacks, roaming from room to room and place to place, both cat and reader discover worlds and sensations beyond what’s right in front of them. And just when Inside Cat is sure it knows everything, another surprise awaits! Fresh, funny, and wise, Inside Cat is a feast for the eyes and the imagination.
A BOOK THAT ENCOURAGES IMAGINATIVE THINKING: All of Brendan Wenzel’s books play with observation, perception, and the imagination. Readers will see how the cat’s imagination grows as it explores its building and will be inspired to make their own imaginative journeys.
A BOOK THAT ENCOURAGES OBSERVATION: There are many details in this book, from the decorations in the different rooms to the animals that appear. Readers will enjoy seeing how these details affect the cat, and will flip pages back and forth to see how the cat has incorporated these details into its thinking.
A BOOK THAT MAKES THE MOST OF THE INDOORS: The cat’s world is inside a building, and it enjoys every aspect of being inside. The book sends a positive message about playing inside that parents will appreciate.
GREAT TO READ ALOUD: The rhythmic narrative and refrains are catchy and fun to read out loud and invite audience participation.
BELOVED AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Brendan is a bestselling Caldecott Honor–winning artist and a sought-after speaker at schools and libraries. His books They All Saw a Cat, Hello Hello, and A Stone Sat Still have received multiple starred reviews, state awards, and are family and classroom favorites.
Perfect for:
• Parents and grandparents
• Cat lovers
• Fans of Brendan Wenzel
• Educators
• Librarians
MAKE Paper Plate Cat
from
READ
About the Book
This alphabet picture book companion to the popular B Is for Brooklyn weaves together a multitude of immigrant experiences in a concise, joyful package. For readers of Dreamers by Yuyi Morales.
What do African dance, samosas, and Japanese gardens have in common? They are all gifts the United States received from immigrants: the vibrant, multifaceted people who share their heritage and traditions to enrich the fabric of our daily lives. From Jewish delis to bagpipes, bodegas, and Zen Buddhism, this joyful ABC journey is a celebration of immigrants: our neighbors, our friends.
WATCH Ready Set Draw! with Selina Alko I IS FOR IMMIGRANTS
What do drums, guacamole, and Japanese gardens have in common? They are all gifts the United States received from immigrants. Join Selina Alko for Ready Set Draw! as she shows us how to use acrylic painting and collage to create another gift the US received, The Statue of Liberty, based on the cover of her beautiful new book, I IS FOR IMMIGRANTS!
SUPPLIES Needed
-Acrylic paints
-Paper
-Paintbrushes
-Collage paper
-Scissors
-Glue
READ
About the Book
PLAY Memory Match, Word Search, and Crossword Puzzle
from
READ
About the Book
Capturing the joy of finding a kindred spirit, this stunning picture book by Newbery Honor–winning poet Joyce Sidman tells the story of a lonely girl moving into a new home and the little treefrog that helps her connect to the beautiful world around her. Perfect for fans of A Butterfly Is Patient and They Saw a Cat.
I See You
suddenly
among the tangled green
a tiny dollop of
frog
where before
there was only leaf
. . . Are you new here too?
When a shy girl moves to a strange new home, she discovers a treefrog perched in a secret spot nearby and learns that sometimes, all it takes to connect with the people and the world around us is a little patience, a curious mind, and a willingness to see the world through a different perspective than your own. With beautiful gouache illustrations by Diana Sudyka and magical, perceptive poems from Newbery Honor–winning author Joyce Sidman, the lives of one tree frog and the girl who discovers it converge, bringing solace, courage, and joy in finding a kindred spirit.
DOWNLOAD DEAR TREEFROG Reader’s Guide from Joyce Sidman
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READ
About the Book
From the award-winning team behind Ida, Always comes a story about a friendship that grows between a blind horse and a gruff goat
All the animals at the Open Bud Ranch can see that Jack likes keeping his space to himself. But when Charlie arrives, he doesn’t see Jack at all. He’s still getting used to seeing out of only one of his eyes.
The two get off to a bumpy start. At first, Jack is anxious and distrustful. But one day, he summons his courage and guides Charlie to his favorite sunlit field: this way, Charlie. And so begins a powerful friendship that will be tested by life’s storms—but will ultimately change each life for the better.
WATCH StoryMakers with Caron Levis THIS WAY, CHARLIE
WATCH Read Out Loud THIS WAY, CHARLIE
DOWNLOAD THIS WAY CHARLIE Coloring Sheet and Activity Packet
from author Caron Levis
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About the Book
This poetic and uplifting picture book illustrated by the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines follows a young girl born with cerebral palsy as she pursues her dream of becoming a dancer.
Like many young girls, Eva longs to dance. But unlike many would-be dancers, Eva has cerebral palsy. She doesn’t know what dance looks like for someone who uses a wheelchair.
Then Eva learns of a place that has created a class for dancers of all abilities. Her first movements in the studio are tentative, but with the encouragement of her instructor and fellow students, Eva becomes more confident. Eva knows she’s found a place where she belongs. At last her dream of dancing has come true.
DOWNLOAD I WILL DANCE Activity Guide from Guides by Deb
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About the Book
The author is an astrophysicist who has been fascinated by the universe since he was a child. As a parent, he has developed a new appreciation for the deep connections between billions of years of cosmic evolution and this one tiny human.
DOWNLOAD CHILD OF THE UNIVERSE Activity Guide
from Simon and Schuster
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About the Book
Winner of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
A 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor Winner
“A wonderful and sweet book . . . Lovely stuff.” —The New York Times Book Review
Told in lively and powerful verse by debut author Kevin Noble Maillard, Fry Bread is an evocative depiction of a modern Native American family, vibrantly illustrated by Pura Belpre Award winner and Caldecott Honoree Juana Martinez-Neal.
Fry bread is food.
It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate.
Fry bread is time.
It brings families together for meals and new memories.
Fry bread is nation.
It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond.
Fry bread is us.
It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.
Download the Recipe for Fry Bread HERE!
How to Make Traditional Navajo Frybread: Native American frybread is a relatively recent addition to North American cuisine. Every North American indigenous tribe has their own story of how frybread or bannock came to be in their oral traditions. Native people themselves have published stories, songs, and poetry about their family’s frybread in all waves of the modern Native American Renaissance. –wikiHow
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A shy musician makes an unexpected friend in this beautiful picture book from an award-winning duo.
A Great Lakes Great Reads Award Children’s Picture Book Winner
A girl named Harriet longs to play her cello alone in her room. But when a noisy owl disrupts her solitude, Harriet throws her teacup out the window in frustration, and accidentally knocks the moon out of the sky.
Over the course of an evening, Harriet and the moon become fast friends. Worried that he’ll catch a chill, Harriet buys the moon a soft woolen hat, then takes him on a boat ride across a glistening lake, something he’s only dreamed of. But can she work up the courage to play her music for the moon?
In this delicate bedtime story about a shy young cello player who learns to share her music with the moon, the award-winning Philip and Erin Stead deliver another whimsical, visually oriented picture book in their signature style.
DOWNLOAD Activities from The Kennedy Center
MAKE a String Instrument from Dallas Symphony
MAKE a Moon and Star Paper Plate Craft
from
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About the Book
From Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, Explorers is a new picture book about an extraordinary trip to a museum.
When a family goes to a local museum, a boy notices a homeless man sitting outside, making brightly colored origami birds. He convinces his dad to buy a bird the man makes just for him.
Once inside the museum, his little sister takes the bird and launches it into the air. Is it lost? Soon another boy helps him look, and the paper bird brings two families—and two new friends—together.
With the style he used in Wolf in the Snow, Matthew Cordell shows how an ordinary family outing can be both extraordinary and magical.
DOWNLOAD EXPLORERS Activity Guide from Macmillan
If you are interested in seeing Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year
Archived Editions CLICK HERE!
MEGAN CAHILL-ASSENZA is from Northport, NY. She is a Children’s Literature Fellow from Stony Brook University. A writer, filmmaker, and animal lover, Megan is pursuing a career in children’s literature. She currently works in the Academic Tutoring Center at Suffolk County Community College.
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