‘Every Peach is a Story’

My read-aloud with visiting classes this week in SRCSA library was from Every Peach is a Story by David Mas Masumoto and Nikiko Masumoto, with illustrations by Lauren Tamaki. A young child, Midori, walking with her jiichan (grandfather) in their family’s orchard, asks if the peaches are ready yet. The gradual maturing of a peach parallels the family’s coming to America and “putting down roots,” planting an orchard in their new country.

‘The Invisible Parade’ by Bardugo and Picacio

One of my joys in SRCSA library is being able to offer read-alouds to some of the visiting classes. To help contribute to our schoolwide celebration of Día de Muertos, I read The Invisible Parade to some of the school’s fourth- and fifth-graders.

‘Benita and the Night Creatures’ by Mariana Llanos

Benita just wants to read her brand-new book, while creatures from Peruvian folklore do their best to scare her in Benita and the Night Creatures, written by Mariana Llanos with illustrations by Cocoretto.

‘Papá’s Magical Water-Jug Clock’

My read-aloud this past week in SRCSA library was Papá’s Magical Water-Jug Clock, written by comedian Jesús Trejo and illustrated by Eliza Kinkz.

‘Our Lake’ by Angie Kang

Two brothers go swimming in a lake that their father used to bring them to in Our Lake, written and illustrated by Angie Kang.

‘Filo’s Butterflies’ by Litea Fuata

My read-aloud of Filo’s Butterflies, written by Litea Fuata and illustrated by Myo Yum, centered an experience that I think a lot of people can relate to.

‘More than Peach’ by Bellen Woodard

When reading aloud during library storytime, I especially like sharing stories about children who are making a positive difference in the world around them. A great example of this is More than Peach, written by “crayon activist” Bellen Woodard and illustrated by Fanny Liem.

‘I Want My Hat Back’ by Jon Klassen

One of the pleasures of reading aloud to students is being able to share stories that have been recognized as exceptional works of children’s literature. One example is Jon Klassen’s picture book, I Want My Hat Back. Klassen was honored this past April as the 2026 Laureate for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

‘My Fade is Fresh’ by Grant and Thomas

A new school year is underway in SRCSA library, and I’ve already fielded my first read-aloud request: My Fade is Fresh, by Shauntay Grant.

‘Endlessly Ever After’ by Snyder and Santat

Ever since the arrival in my library of Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder and Dan Santat, I’ve looked forward to featuring it as a read-aloud. It features choose-your-own-adventure storytelling similar to the mass-market books I used to devour as a young person: except that Endlessly Ever After is a beautiful example of the picture-book format with its lavish, full-color, and evocative illustrations. This week, I debuted it with my school’s two third-grade classes; each class experienced a very different outcome as determined by the choices they voted upon each step along the way. Endlessly Ever After was the winner, in 2026, of the California Young Reader Medal in its “Primary” category.

Celebrating Children’s Book Week in SRCSA library

It’s Children’s Book Week, a time to celebrate books for young people and the joy of reading. During read-alouds this week in SRCSA library, I’ve shared the opening chapter from Dav Pilkey’s A Friend for Dragon. It’s one among a boxful of books and other amazing resources from Every Child a Reader and the Children’s Book Council, in partnership with Dav Pilkey and Scholastic. I’ve also been sharing activity pages from the Dog Man and Friends Epic Activity Guide.
https://everychildareader.net/cbw/davpilkey2025/

SRCSA library : What I’m looking forward to

As we embark on a new school year (2024-2025), here are some of the things I’m looking forward to in the library at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts.
https://youtu.be/AB6dNbQ3hkw

Read-aloud : Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gág

Happy New Year! With the arrival of 2024, Millions of Cats, by Wanda Gág, is now in the public domain. Here is a commemorative read-aloud.

Story Boat : QR code links to read-aloud in Ukrainian

This copy of Story Boat by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh, has a QR code inside it that links to a read-aloud of the book in Ukrainian, created by Liza Pedash, Yuliya Hordievska, and Yana Gumeniuk with the permission of Penguin Random House Canada. Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts was one of several recipients of this book through a give-away by I’m Your Neighbor books. For more information: https://imyourneighborbooks.org/ukrainian-read-aloud-story-boat/

Read-alouds and audiobooks offer similar benefits

A while ago, I came across some observations I really like, from Jim Trelease with The Read-Aloud Handbook. Those observations came to my mind during a discussion of audiobooks for LIS 5250.

Read-aloud update, Summer 2022

Video: Read-aloud update, Summer 2022. Between “First-chapter Friday” previews of new and interesting books, as well as full-length read-alouds of stories in the public domain, I hope that my recordings encourage young listeners’ imagination and vocabulary.

Book-Talk : Dragons in a Bag

If you haven’t yet listened to my read-aloud of Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott, now is an excellent time to do so. Dragons in a Bag is the selection for younger readers in this year’s Global Read Aloud. I am now recording a read-aloud for The Dragon Thief, second book in the series, and the story will continue in The Witch’s Apprentice, which is expected to be published in January 2022.

Video review: ‘Crunch’

Video: Get to know my latest read-aloud, Crunch, by Leslie Connor.

‘The Eleventh Trade,’ my current read-aloud

Recently, I agreed to record a read-aloud of a suspenseful story, and the middle-school language arts teacher at my school posed a vote among her students for the titles I’d suggested. The Eleventh Trade was the winning vote-getter. Here’s my Book-Talk video for The Eleventh Trade. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you are enjoying my videos.

SRCSA library : Welcome to 2021

It’s a brand-new year, and there’s a lot going on in SRCSA library. Here’s a review of recent highlights, including my read-alouds. The charter school lottery application window is open, if you’ve thought about attending our school.