Being a teacher librarian, I’m reading ALL the time. For posts under this category, I review various books that I’ve read. This isn’t meant to be a YA or middle grade review site, so the books I review tend to focus on professional growth, makerspaces and creativity.
Over the summer of 2021, I collaborated with our 6th grade science teacher as part of a grant to find ways to incorporate makerspace activities into the curriculum. (Look for posts coming soon about some of the projects we did). Part of our work was reading the book, Making Science: Reimagining STEM Education in … Read more
When a library design book shows up as available in my local library system, I’m quick to place a hold. So I was excited to see that Collaborative Library Design: From Planning to Impact, had a copy available. This book is what I like to think of as library design eye candy (much like The … Read more
These last few months, I’ve been focusing on improving my sketchnote skills. Part of that work was reading several books on the tis topic for educators (see my review of My Pencil Made Me Do It). Many general books on sketchnoting focus on the basics of how to sketchnote, which is awesome. I love using … Read more
I’ve followed Carrie Baughcum’s work on Twitter and Instagram for awhile. We briefly met F2F back at ISTE 2016 in Denver. I’ve loved the positive, upbeat and fun loving tone that she shares in her posts. So when I heard that she was publishing a book about sketchnoting this past fall, I quickly preordered a … Read more
I’ve been a fan of Austin Kleon’s work for several years now. Steal Like an Artist had a huge impact on me as an educator and I frequently quote it in my conference presentations. Show Your Work helped me to better understand the importance of sharing what I’m doing (like right here on this blog). … Read more
Read This Book: The Design of Childhood I first heard about The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids in a NPR interview with the author. It immediately piqued my interest. Design, education and learning spaces are some of my favorite subjects. Bringing them all together in one book sounds amazing. And … Read more
I don’t normally review fiction on my blog, but Click’d ties in beautifully with makerspaces and would be a fantastic addition to your library. Here’s why: Read this Book: Click’d (Post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using them, I get a small commission that helps support running this blog.) Allie Navarro loves to … Read more
While I’ve never worked in an elementary school before, I’m always on the lookout for awesome maker picture books. Picture books are a great way to introduce a lesson or activity in makerspaces. We even have a whole chart on maker picture book connections in Challenge Based Learning (check out the resources page to see … Read more
When I first picked up Bored and Brilliant, I assumed it would be another book about creativity. And it is, but it’s so much more. Zomorodi takes a reflective and insightful look into how devices are distracting us. At how we avoid boredom at all costs. And how that avoidance of boredom is hindering our … Read more
Being that: a) we’re in that time of year that everyone is looking for the perfect gift, and b) educators will actually have time to read books during the two weeks they get off, I thought it would be a good time to write up a book recommendations post. These books weren’t necessarily published in … Read more