Baby's Bite! Picture Books About Siblings to Sink Your Teeth Into!
Baby’s bite! Siblings squabble! That’s reality. Reading Books about Sibling Relationships is an easy way to discuss sibling stuff with kids. And because it’s March and you are reading aloud right? Here’s a list of picture books about siblings that are—as Vampire Baby puts it, “Toothly funny!”—definitely worth sinking your teeth into:
March is National Reading Month! In between games and goings-on, pull out some books and read-read-read aloud with your kiddos!
After all, wouldn’t it be wonderful if your future all-stars could read about themselves—for themselves! Win-Win-Win! (A Three-Pointer!)
Tip-off starts March 2nd with Read Across America Day!
And get this, you don’t even need to lug around those big old clunky books. There are scores of picture book read-alouds on-line—click and pick!
Videos of my picture books are just a YouTube button Click Away! Below is a screenshot of my You-Tube Channel @kellybennettbooks9789 so you’ll know it. (Seriously…CLICK HERE!)
March Read Aloud Month more dates to remember (in case you need an excuse to read):
March 2: Read Across America Day
March 4: National Grammar Day
March 6-12: E-Book Week
March 20th: World Storytelling Day
March 21: World Poetry Day
What comes after March? April, of course! Library Week! So no excuses!
What’s more! my new picture book, The House That Ruth Built, illustrated by Susanna Covelli, available now from Familus!
“With beautiful, true-to-event illustrations reminiscent of Norman Rockwell, and with facts on every page about the stadium, the teams, and that very first fateful game that christened the original Yankee Stadium, The House That Ruth Built is the perfect book for kids and baseball fans everywhere. Take a step into the past and watch the baseball greats make history!”
For reading all the way down to here, you get a reward: It’s a brand-new readaloud of THTRB
Happy Read-Aloud March!
Poetry Challenge #286-There is Always Light
Amanda Gorman was the first person to be named “National Youth Poet Laureate”
in 2017. In 2021 at President Joe Biden’s inauguration, she delivered her poem, “The Hill We Climb” as the youngest inaugural poet. She was 22 (March 7th is her birthday!)
Her words touched the nation and the world. People read and reread her work.
You can watch her at the inauguration here:
Amanda Gorman performing “The Hill We Climb.”
Poetry Challenge #285
There is Always Light
One of Amanda Gorman’s most quoted lines is:
“There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Think about the light you would like to see in our world. How can you be “brave enough to be it”?
Write a poem detailing what needs to happen. Make it a call to action. Use strong words and phrases.
Be sure to read it aloud with feeling!
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, write the light!
Amanda Gorman’s inauguration poem The Hill We Climb has been published as a book. So has Change Sings (above) which is lovely. And that’s not all. Find out more on her website: Amanda Gorman Books.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2400+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
Click on Fishbowl link and sign up to receive email notifications from Kelly's blog (aka The Fishbowl):
All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
All Play Ball! Picture Books about Black, Brown, Male, Female Baseball Players
Spring Training is on! Right now, Major League Baseball players of all colors are warming up. A rainbow of baseball kids are warming up too, to play and watch—and read! These picture books about Black, Hispanic, Native American, male and female baseball players will make reading time a hit!
When talking baseball history, most fans’ knowledge of baseball players of color starts on April 15, 1947, when Jackie Robinson took the field as the Brooklyn Dodgers #42, the first Black player to play in the MLB. But that is far from the truth.
Black players have been playing as long, as well, and in spite of the MLB—right along with White players—the same game, by the same rules, and on the same fields!
Did you know that when Yankee Stadium wasn’t hosting NY Yankee vs other MLB team games, it was home field for Negro Leagues Baseball teams, too.
And there are—and were—women in Pro Baseball! Players, coaches, scouts, managers and owners. Effa Manley, owner/manager of Newark Eagles, was the first woman inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame!
Nicknamed “The Great One,” Roberto Clemente led the Pirates to 2 World Series, hit 3000 hits, and was the first Latino to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Read more in Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburg Pirates!
Mamie “Peanut” Johnson was the first female pitcher in Pro Baseball pitched in the Negro Leagues.
Read more in Mamie On the Mound!
Before 1947, players of color were banned from MLB so under the leadership of player/manager Pop Lloyd, the Negro Leagues was formed. Check out the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum website for Black players history, photos and more!
Negro Leagues superstar Buck O’Neil played with the Kansas City Monarchs. The Greatest Thing is his story.
Josh Gibson known as the “Black Babe Ruth” was one of the biggest hitters of all time! read more in William Brashler’s biography Josh Gibson: A Life in the Negro Leagues
“African Americans make up 50% of MLB’s current top 10 leaders in career HRs.”
On April 22, 1897, Louis Sockalexis became the first American Indian to become a Major League ballplayer with the National League Cleveland Spiders.
Read more about him in Louis Sockalexis: Native American Pioneer by Bill Wise.
Before Jackie Robinson put on the #42 Jersey and took the field as a Brooklyn Dodger, he’d done a lot of living and played a lot of baseball. There are books about him for readers of all levels:
And just so you know, my new picture book, The House That Ruth Built, illustrated by Susanna Covelli, is loaded with baseball history, vintage photos and trivia about the players, including Babe Ruth, Josh Gibson and the Negro Leagues, balls, bats, fouls, strikes bases loaded—available NOW from Familus!
What Inspires Me? J. Ivy
If you’re reading this, the 2023 Grammy Award ceremony is over. If you watched, you watched history being performed as the nominees and winners of a brand-new award category were announced:
Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
Whether you know it or not, poetry is alive and slammin’ in classrooms, coffeehouses— between b-ball games and cheer practice—gyms all over! Yes, Poetry!
Amanda Gorman brought poetry to the attention of the voting public when she read her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” at Biden’s Inauguration in 2020.
But J. Ivy! By pushing, urging, writing letters, campaigning, insisting Spoken Word Poetry Albums be recognized as Grammy Worthy, Poetry—performance poetry—vibrant poetry—the spoken word is now right up there with Pop, Country Western, Blues…Spoken Word Poetry is the 1st or 91st of the 2023 91 Grammy Award Categories! As it should be, for as J. Ivy said in an interview shortly after the new Grammy category was announced:
“Poetry is at the base, the root, of song.”
While being nominated—perhaps winning (if you’re reading this you know)— was not J. Ivy’s reason for pushing for the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category being added. His purpose was to give performance poetry it’s due and to help poetry creators & performers to be heard. After the category was added, he helped 20 or 30 other poet’ work through the award consideration submission process. But once you’re heard J. Ivy. you know he deserved a place on the list—in my opinion, at the top!
He’s nominated for his fourth album, 2022’s “The Poet Who Sat By The Door.” It’s a spoken word-musical opus that features contributions from Legend as well as Slick Rick, PJ Morton, Sir the Baptist, BJ the Chicago Kid and a number of other talents.
This year, J.Ivy is nominated alongside five other “Spoken” albums by, among others, Dave Chappell and our former POTUS Barrack Obama—none of which are poetry albums. The goal—J.Ivy’s goal for next year’s Grammys is to have “All five performers nominated be poets!”
Now that’s inspiring!
If, like me, you’re craving more of J. Ivy’s work, click over to J. Ivy’s YouTube Channel @JIvyTube settle back and enjoy!