Presents a rhyming couplet featuring each letter of the alphabet, with such characters as David the dog-faced boy, who dons a derby despite being dirty, and Victor, whose frequent victories have made him vainglorious.

Join the world of balloons, pancakes, and musical instruments—just a few items to help improve early literacy in the library, the classroom, and at home. Literacy-builders covered range from music and instruments to magnetic letters, alphabet beads, and food. Literacy is a popular topic of discussion among librarians. Especially important is "early literacy," what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write. In this book, experienced librarians Kathy Barco and Melanie Borski-Howard share hands-on techniques that they have used to successfully promote early literacy and encourage family involvement. Storytime and Beyond teaches readers how to use "literacy doodads"—inexpensive props that add excitement to storytimes and can be used outside the library or classroom—to enhance the basic components of any early literacy program: talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing. Many of the doodads can be created as family do-it-yourself projects, and some can be adapted to work with non-readers of any age. Instruments can also be a great way to get children's attention and teach literacy skills, whether it's a drum to beat while reading a story or a maraca for children to shake during a song, and lesson plans for musical storytimes address how to use rhythm, singing, and dancing to make early literacy fun.

Covering more than 300 alphabet books with topic, content area, grade level, text structure, and instructional value indexing, this extensive resource guide includes bibliographic information and brief summaries of each selection as well as a chapter devoted to the unique uses of alphabet books within ELL classrooms. Alphabet books are perfect for establishing introductory lessons and serve as a starting point for project ideas. Alphabet Books: The K–12 Educators' Power Tool is ideal for school and public librarians as well as teachers who need to meet specific learning standards. The indexing by topic, grade level, and content area helps in finding just the right book for the aligned instructional objective. Some 300-plus alphabet books are additionally categorized according to the complexity of the text structure. Featured books for three grade level categories (Pre K–2, 3–6, and 7–12) are accompanied by instructional strategies to use with these books. Images of the finished student projects for every described strategy are included to clarify the instructional values. A chapter that focuses on the use of alphabet books in the English language learners' classroom offers strategies for the specific needs of this student group.

“The best sense of the man behind Shrek! . . . and other favorites is gained from the strange, free, and wholly original artwork that fill the pages.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Children, octogenarians, and everyone in between know the work of William Steig, the beloved cartoonist and award-winning children’s book author whose work graced the covers and pages of The New Yorker for more than seventy years. In Cats, Dogs, Men, Women, Ninnies & Clowns: The Lost Art of William Steig, Jeanne Steig uncovers more than 450 never-before-published cartoons by her husband and provides personal insight and anecdotes about his work and her relationship with Bill, shedding new light on this celebrated genius. “What a splendid gift it would be if the works tearing up the best-seller lists weren’t that of a Stieg Larsson, but a Steig, William . . . a fresh and quirky way of discovering the celebrated illustrator’s oeuvre.” —T Magazine Blog, The New York Times “Pure pleasure from cover to cover.” —Booklist “The book details a great character, and does so with a remarkable charm. Highly recommended for all interested in comic history and everyone who likes to look on the lighter side of life.” —Complex

This book situates the picturebook genre within the widespread international phenomenon of crossover literature, examining an international corpus of picturebooks — including artists’ books, wordless picturebooks, and celebrity picturebooks — that appeal to readers of all ages. Focusing on contemporary picturebooks, Sandra Beckett shows that the picturebook has traditionally been seen as a children’s genre, but in the eyes of many authors, illustrators, and publishers, it is a narrative form that can address any and all age groups. Innovative graphics and formats as well as the creative, often complex dialogue between text and image provide multiple levels of meaning and invite readers of all ages to consider texts that are primarily marketed as children’s books. The interplay of text and image that distinguishes the picturebook from other forms of fiction and makes it a unique art form also makes it the ultimate crossover genre. Crossover picturebooks are often very complex texts that are challenging for adults as well as children. Many are characterized by difficult "adult" themes, genre blending, metafictive discourse, intertextuality, sophisticated graphics, and complex text-image interplay. Exciting experiments with new formats and techniques, as well as novel interactions with new media and technologies have made the picturebook one of the most vibrant and innovative contemporary literary genres, one that seems to know no boundaries. Crossover Picturebooks is a valuable addition to the study of a genre that is gaining increasing recognition and appreciation, and contributes significantly to the field of children’s literature as a whole.

Designed for speech-language pathologists to enhance emergent literacy intervention for preschool and kindergarten-age children, this book includes 90 lessons addressing key areas of emergent literacy: phonological awareness, print concepts, alphabet knowledge, emergent writing, inferential language, and vocabulary. These lessons are suitable for use in clinical settings as well as in collaboration with classroom teachers. Also included are an overview of emergent literacy, differentiation recommendations, and suggestions for lesson integration across the key areas.

Defining both the Common Core Standards and the school librarian's role in their implementation, this book offers ready-to-use lesson plans and other tools for grades K–5 and identifies opportunities for collaborative teaching. As elementary schools in nearly all 50 states are faced with meeting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), school librarians need to understand the challenges and have lesson plans ready to help. This resource introduces the CCSS in English and mathematics to K–5 librarians and aides, helping them to understand the concepts, analyzing the impact on the school library, and providing lesson plans, resources, and other tools for implementation in integrated instruction with other curricula and collaborative teaching with other elementary teachers. Based upon the authors' own experiences in adopting the CCSS in their school, the included exemplar lesson plans and ideas are designed to support school librarians as they begin to collaborate with teachers in using the Common Core Standards in their daily classroom instruction. The book also discusses the opportunities for advocacy that result from the librarian's instrumental role in implementing the CCSS, both as a staff developer and a collaborative partner teacher.