Educators’ Guide for Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont by Nick Brooks

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Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont
Author: Nick Brooks
Published: October 4th, 2022 by Union Square Kids

Summary: Something cool happening in Ferrous City? Not a chance.

Until one day . . . when self-proclaimed genius inventor Ethan Fairmont runs into an abandoned car factory to avoid a local bully and accidentally stumbles across his ex-best friend Kareem, new kid Juan Carlos, and an extraterrestrial visitor. Cheese (the alien) is stuck on Earth in need of some serious repairs, spicy snacks—and absolute, total secrecy. That’s easier said than done when mysterious agents descend on Ferrous City to search for Cheese. With time running out and their family and friends in potential danger, can Ethan, Kareem, and Juan Carlos pull off an intergalactic rescue before they’re all found out?

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Cake Creative Kitchen:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

Recommended For: 

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Educators’ Guide for Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle

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Love Radio
Author: Ebony LaDelle
Published: May 31st, 2022 by Simon & Schuster’s Books for Young Readers

Summary: Hitch meets The Sun Is Also a Star in this novel about a self-professed teen love doctor with a popular radio segment who believes he can get a girl who hates all things romance to fall in love with him in only three dates.

Prince Jones is the guy with all the answers—or so it seems. After all, at seventeen, he has his own segment on Detroit’s popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, where he dishes out advice to the brokenhearted.

Prince has always dreamed of becoming a DJ and falling in love. But being the main caretaker for his mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and his little brother means his dreams will stay just that and the only romances in his life are the ones he hears about from his listeners. Until he meets Dani Ford.

Dani isn’t checking for anybody. She’s focused on her plan: ace senior year, score a scholarship, and move to New York City to become a famous author. But her college essay keeps tripping her up and acknowledging what’s blocking her means dealing with what happened at that party a few months ago. And that’s one thing Dani can’t do,

When the romantic DJ meets the ambitious writer, sparks fly. Prince is smitten, but Dani’s not looking to get derailed. She gives Prince just three dates to convince her that he’s worth falling for. Three dates for the love expert to take his own advice, and just maybe change two lives forever.

Love, Radio is a 2024 Project Lit Book

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy Love Radio‘s educators’ guide I created for Cake Creative:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

Recommended For: 

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Kellee’s 2023 Reading Round Up: Statistics, Favorite Reads, #mustreadin2023 End-of-Year Check In, & 2024 Reading Goals

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Here is my 2023 Reading Round Up!


And just for fun: here is Trent’s 2023 Year in Books!


Here are my five star reads from 2023!

I also did a 2023 Reading Bracket!


I introduced my #mustreadin2023 list last January–here is my end-of-year summary:


I am not sure if there is going to be a #mustreadin2024 challenge, but if there is, I am setting my goal to read the 29 2024 Project Lit books that I haven’t read (red checkmarks = I’ve already read).


Happy reading in 2024, friends!!!
To see all the books I’m reading, visit my READ Goodreads shelf and feel free to follow 📖💙

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New and Update Gail Gibbons Books: Galaxies, Galaxies! and The Planets

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Galaxies, Galaxies! (Third Edition)
Author and Illustrator: Gail Gibbons
Published December 12th, 2023 by Holiday House

Summary: Learn about the newest discoveries in the Milky Way and beyond in this updated edition from nonfiction master Gail Gibbons.

Planet Earth is in the Milky Way Galaxy, the cloudy band of light that stretches clear across the night sky. How many galaxies are there in the universe? For years astronomers thought that the Milky Way was the universe. Now we know that there are billions of them. Gail Gibbons takes the reader on a journey light-years away.

This updated edition vetted by an expert introduces young readers to our own galaxy the Milky Way and beyond. Learn how ancient people invented the telescope and began studying the Milky Way to the modern technology astronomers use to study other galaxies.

Gail Gibbon’s easy-to-read text and clearly labeled illustrations welcomes young readers to learn how telescopes work, about the different types of galaxies, how many galaxies we know of today, and more.

The Planets (Fifth Edition)
Author and Illustrator: Gail Gibbons
Published December 12th, 2023 by Holiday House

Summary: A new edition of a nonfiction favorite for more than 20 years from science writer Gail Gibbons, updated with the latest discoveries in space exploration.

From the burning surface of Venus to the freezing darkness of Neptune, Gail Gibbons takes children on a tour of our solar system—which are very different from each other in size, shape, orbit, and even weather.

Since its original publication in 1993, The Planets has been a home and classroom staple for introducing our solar system to the youngest readers. With her signature blend of clear, bright illustrations and accessible text, Gail Gibbons takes readers on a tour of our planetary neighbors, near and far.

This updated edition brings the latest scientific understanding of the planets of our solar system to young readers. The bodies in our solar system are named, described, and illustrated in clear, well-labeled spreads that give a strong sense of shape and scale to our skies.  Each entry is full of intriguing details about their composition, behavior, and moons.

About the Author: Gail Gibbons has been described as having a face that holds wonder like a cup.” It is out of this natural curiosity for how things work and how things are made that she has based a successful career as an author and illustrator of children’s books. From life on a fishing island (Surrounded by Sea) to the history and makings of kites (Catch the Wind.’), she has taught children – and adults – about the inner workings of things and places in our environment.

As a child growing up in Chicago, Gail was always asking how does that work?” She created her first picture book at the age of four. It was four pages long and bound together with yarn. Recognizing Gail’s artistic talents, her kindergarten teacher alerted Gail’s parents to it, and Gail began taking art lessons. Soon thereafter she started writing her own stories. After high school graduation Gail attended the University of Illinois where she studied graphic design. Upon graduation she went to work for a small TV station doing graphic work and later moved to New York City where she worked on ” Take a Giant Step” the children’s show that was the forerunner to PBS’ “The Electric Company.” The children that participated in the show were the first to suggest that Gail should create children’s books. And that is exactly what she did.

Gail Gibbons’s books are particularly accurate because she goes right to the source when researching a topic. She has been on the seventeenth floor of a skyscraper in progress, has spoken with truck drivers about the workings of their rigs, has dismantled every clock in her home, and would have donned scuba diving gear to research a sunken ship had the sea waters not been too turbulent. Gail says “I had a lot of ‘whys’ when I was a child. I guess I still do.”

Gail Gibbons and her husband divide their time between a landlocked house in Vermont and a house surrounded by sea off the coast of Maine.

Review: These two texts are telescopes into outer space. They take the reader on a journey filled with extensive information about the planets within our solar system (in The Planets) and extensive space (Galaxies, Galaxies!). I am so glad that they updated these two texts because with discoveries changing all the time, it is important to have the most up to date scientific and technological information in nonfiction books for our young learners; it is obvious that Gail Gibbons and Holiday House both know this is a priority. Another asset of these books is that the text is definitely informative but told in a way that even our youngest learners will understand and learn and older learners will also grow in their knowledge. They are both great nonfiction texts for elementary school.

Tools for Navigation: These books will be wonderful additions to any lesson about planets, outer space, and galaxies. They are a great supplement for any teacher or parent wanting to teach about these topics.

Flagged Spreads: 

The Planets

Galaxies, Galaxies!

Read This If You Love: Learning about space

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Holiday House for providing copies for review!**

Educators’ Guide for Airi Sano, Prankmaster General: New School Skirmish by Zoe Tokushige, Illustrated by Jennifer Naalchigar

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Airi Sano, Prankmaster General: New School Skirmish
Author: Zoe Tokushige
Illustrator: Jennifer Naalchigar
Published: September 20, 2022 by Philomel Books

Summary: A hilarious story of new-school hijinks, filled with friendship, family, and plenty of pranks–perfect for fans of Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid!

Meet Airi Sano. After spending her entire childhood moving from one military base to another, she’s excited to be settling down for the long-term in Hawai’i. She’s less excited about her new teacher, who’s determined to make Airi like school. But she’s got a plan: prank her teacher so hard that she gives up on even trying to get Airi to do any work–especially any reading.

But Mrs. Ashton won’t give up, no matter what Airi does. Airi will need the help of her new classmates–who might even be her new friends–to get Mrs. Ashton to crack. It’s time . . . for a prank war!

With fun and funny black-and-white illustrations throughout, New School Skirmish kicks off a brand-new series for readers to adore!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for New School Skirmish:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

Recommended For: 

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Living Popups: Educational Augmented Reality Enabled Children’s Books

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Living Popups is a newer app + book opportunity that takes reading to a new level!

The way it works is:

  • You buy Living Popups titles: https://www.livingpopups.com/lp-bookspace or at Barnes and Noble
  • You download the Living Popups app (free)
  • Then you use the titles + the app to bring an extra layer to reading!

I read Cooper the Dog and Always in my Heart, both picture books that have augmented reality. Both are cute picture books with very clear lessons: Cooper is about being comfortable with who you are while Heart is about grief and the journey towards healing.

First, I read the stories as a traditional book.

Then, I jumped into the augmented reality, which was not what I expected! Instead of it being a narrator reading the book to you, it is supplemental with characters talking to the reader, helping with comprehension, and even asking multiple choices questions.

The technology for this product is new and will definitely engage kids and even help them dig deeper into a book.

Both of the picture books I read were made specifically for Living Popups, but the company has other options as well such as Boxcar Children, Shakespeare, and classics, including My Father’s Dragon, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Animal Farm, and Of Mice and Men.

One negative is that I do hope to see the company work on making sure their library is inclusive in the future as currently the representation is very low.

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**Thank you to Sara Delgado, Director of Creative Development/Production at Living Popups, Inc., for sharing these titles and this new reading experience!**

Educators’ Guide for Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

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Promise Boys
Author: Nick Brooks
Published: January 31st, 2023 by Henry Holt and Co.

Summary: Promise Boys is a blockbuster, dark academia mystery about three teens of color who must investigate their principal’s murder to clear their own names. This page-turning thriller is perfect for fans of Karen McManus, Jason Reynolds, Angie Thomas, and Holly Jackson .

The prestigious Urban Promise Prep school might look pristine on the outside, but deadly secrets lurk within. When the principal ends up murdered on school premises and the cops come sniffing around, a trio of students―J.B., Ramón, and Trey―emerge as the prime suspects. They had the means, they had the motive . . . and they may have had the murder weapon. But with all three maintaining their innocence, they must band together to track down the real killer before they are arrested. Or is the true culprit hiding among them?

Find out who killed Principal Moore in Nick Brooks’s murder mystery, Promise Boys ― The Hate U Give meets One of Us Is Lying.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Cake Creative Kitchen:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

Recommended For: 

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