Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Books By Diane Alber

I’m Not Just a Scribble by Diane Alber

A simple story about a scribble who wants to have fun. The house doesn’t want to because he doesn’t look like him. His lines aren’t straight and he is colorful. When all the other drawings decide to have fun and play with him they learn a valuable lesson that including everyone no matter their differences, even in art makes everyone better for it.



A Little Scribble Spot by Diane Alber

The first thing we encounter is a multi-colored scribbled spot. The reason this spot is scribbled and multicolored is because it represents tangled and confused emotions. I love that the author gave a page where she showed different colored spots and what they represent. The second thing I loved is that not only did the scribble start to separate his spots by color but the author gave several words that were synonyms of the original emotion. For example the word peaceful can also mean, “relaxed, tranquil, calm, quiet, mellow and serene”. This is a great way to increase a child’s vocabulary. The author also used examples of where we can find these colors when we draw. For example we might color leaves, grass or vines green. All of these represent things that a lot of people find peaceful. This book teaches children that they have all of these emotions inside them, but sometimes they get mixed up.

A Little Respectful Spot by Diane Alber  

The respectful spot takes a young boy and girl on a tour of how to be respectful. The author has given examples of how to respect people, places and things. Through pictures and explanations this is a great book to have a discussion about respect with the youngest child.





Finding Your Spot in the World by Diane Alber

This is a book about diversity. In this day and age we need to teach our youngest children the importance of diversity. This spot teaches kids the benefits of everyone having unique features, ideas, talents and more. He explains through examples how boring it would be if everyone and everything was the same. He makes the point that no matter our differences we all want to be accepted and loved. The author expresses the importance and need for “diverse, idea, perspectives, and talents! I believe that everyone should read this book no matter their age, because this is a lesson everyone needs to learn.

A Little Safety Spot at School by Diane Alber

This is a great book to start with preschool children. It teaches them things like holding the hand of an adult when crossing a street. Children are taught how to get on and off a bus, how to listen to crossing guards. The Safety Spot then tells you how to stay safe in school. Don’t run, use handrails, look for hazard signs, tell a teacher if you have an accident. In the cafeteria don’t eat too fast, eat your own food. He also teaches the importance of washing your hands to get rid of germs. He tells kids how to stay safe at recess and when playing outside. How not to do something because you have been dared to do it. This is a book that the youngest child should have read to them over and over. This will hopefully keep kids safe from the youngest of ages.

A Little Spot of Responsibility by Diane Alber

Children need to be taught how to make good choices and this book can help with that. According to responsibility spot you first need to identify the problem, think about the positive and negative consequences, then make a choice and then reflect back on the outcome. We call this trial and error. The responsibility spot also makes the case that sometimes adults can help because they’ve had to make a lot of choices in their lifetime. The main message throughout is that the better choices you make the bigger your responsibility spot will grow. A simple message that all need to hear.


A Little Thankful Spot by Diane Alber

The thankful spot advocates keeping a Thankful list. Listing things you are thankful for keep you positive and happy. The Thankful spot gives a list of things they are thankful for. At the end of this wonderful book the reader is encouraged to make a thankful list. For that child who says they don’t know what they are thankful for there is a handout with wonderful starter questions.



A Little Spot of Patience by Diane Alber

The Patiences Spot is here to teach kids how to wait, even when it is hard. Once again they express the need to help your patience spot grow bigger. Problem solving helps grow the patience spot. Making good choices and listening all help grow your patience spot. The important message is that you can’t become patient immediately. Your patience spot is something that grows over time.



A Little Spot of Organization by Diane Alber

As I read this book I kept thinking that this would be a book I should read to my middle school students. It seems that if a child grow up through elementary unorganized then when they hit middle school it is even worse. In middle school they have to keep track of everything for seven different classes. The organization spot starts out helping them organize their messy room. Then he points out that organization starts in the brain. Some helpful suggestions were to create a routine chart, to do list, use notes, stickers on calendars. Then he touched on using graphic organizers for organizing your thinking in school.

Sticks by Diane Alber

When a popsicle goes outside and melts to fast he believes he is useless. He sees himself as just a stained stick. I twig tries to tell him that he is and can be so much more. This is a book about many things. First it is a book about believing in yourself. Then it is also a book about recycling. What could you do with a popsicle stick? What could you make out of it?




Never Let a Princess Paint with Her Unicorn by Diane Alber

A young princess has been told never to paint with her unicorn. She decided to find out why. She puts a bit of pain on a brush and the unicorn licks it. She gets out cans of paint and he uses his tail as a brush. Then she decides to see what would happen if she put a touch of paint on his horn. Paint spattered everywhere. This book started out in black and white and then as things happened with the unicorn and paint became very colorful. A very cute book.

Monday, August 3, 2020

Five Books by Asaf Rozanes

Part of the Rainbow 

This story is about a girl who is green. Mia’s face, hair and clothes are all green. She loves it. When she turns eight she goes to school and sees kids who are different from her. She is confused and scared until her teacher tells her she was the missing color to complete their rainbow parade. After talking with her dad about her day at school she learns that people come in different colors and it is all okay.



Short or Tall Doesn’t Matter at All 

Mia is the shortest kid in her class. The other kids exclude her and often tease her because of her size. She tells her dad about it and he gives her some good advise. The next day when her friends need someone her size they realize that everyone is special no matter how short or tall they are. Once again this is a book that teaches kids about differences and how they shouldn’t matter.




The Feelings Library
 loved the concept of this story. Mia lives in a town where they have a feelings library. They check their feelings out. Through different characters, the reader gets to see what happens if we hold on to one feeling too long. We see how it affects the character’s life. I loved this book and think it would be wonderful to read to that child who can’t stop being silly, angry, sad, or afraid. This is a wonderful way to start that discussion with children.



The Monster Friend 

Mia is frightened by the monster she see one night. All the monster wants is to be her friend. When she gets scared enough she calls out for her dad. He explains to her that sometimes monsters just want someone to play with. Mia colors with the monsters and sees him change. She is no longer scared of him. He doesn’t return after that night. However Mia meets more monsters each night. This is a great book about facing those things you fear.



Tomorrow is Near But Today is Here 

In this story Mia learns how much she misses out on when she focuses on things she doesn’t know or understand. She learns that it makes her sad worrying all the time. Her dad tells her how to handle things when she is scared. Mia becomes happy when she tries what her dad has told her. Worry is normal for children when they don’t understand something. This book would be a great help to children.

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Five Books by Ofra Peled



The Big Party (Bk 1)
Emma and Adam hated they only had parties on birthdays. Their teacher told them they could come up with a party. Adam wanted to plan his own party by himself. The teacher allowed them to go ahead with their party plans. Adam went home and sat and decided what he would need his parents to buy for the party. That was all he did. Emma told her parents about the party. Then she went to her room and started to plan it out. One of them had a very successful party and the other one did not. This book is to teach kids about the importance of planning anything, especially a party.

My Money Box ( Bk 2)

Adam and Emma go shopping with their fathers. They see things in the mall that they want their dad’s to buy for them. As they shop they notice that their father’s keep looking at each item and comparing it to others. They learn how their parents have a budget and why it is important for them to have that budget. The children learn the importance of saving money and waiting to buy things you want until later. This is great for teaching kids how to save money and why it is important.


The Creative School Class (Bk 3)

Creativity is one of the most important things in kids. We need creative thinking in our kids for them to learn how to problem solve. By not teaching or allowing our kids to be creative we are creating a group of kids who won’t be great problem solvers. In this book the principal has a challenge for the students. She wants them to create something to solve a problem. Great book for teaching kids to use their creativity.



The End-of-School-Year Show (Bk 4)

In this book Adam and Emma are in a dance group preparing for the End -of-the-Year Show. The problem is that everyone wants to be centerstage. This causes arguments and they progress no further. The coach tells them he is cancelling things until he can figure out a solution. Adam suggests to Emma that it could all be solved if the learned to cooperate the way the geese do. A wonderful story about valuing others and collaboration.



The Forex Clan (Bk 5)

Emma belonged to a group they called FOREX. Her club created the name from words that described what they love to do. One day on the news she heard the word FOREX and asked her dad what it was. He explained that it stood for Foreign Exchange. He then explained what foreign exchange meant. Emma brought this information and a special plan back to her club. This is a great book to teach about foreign money.