New Releases by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

This heartwarming book touches on the themes of kindness and socio-emotional resonance and the idea that our words matter. Follow an adult and child as they explore their neighborhood, listening for the sounds of kindness. Words of friendship, gratitude, support, generosity, and love . . . we can see and hear them if we try. What will you hear if you take a kindness walk? Kindness is all around us every day, if we know where to look—and listen!—for it. This book is a gentle and encouraging acknowledgment of how much it matters to be kind . . . in our families, friendships, and communities.

學說好話 從小就應該開始 學會友善的對人 是一種好能力 一個人說話的方式、語氣，是從小耳濡目染來的。現在的生活裡、媒體裡，處處充滿了惡言惡語，影響著孩子們說話的方式。我們該如何引導孩子找回人與人之間的善意？學著說友善的話呢？便是這本書的重點。 故事中，首先以一個問題開始：友善的話是什麼呢？接著，爸爸再問孩子：「如何說出友善的話？」然後，爸爸便帶著兒子出去散步，展開一段學習如何待人友善、對人說好話的旅程。 這一對父子在路上所看到的人與人之間的友善對話與互動，繪者以細膩的圖像把很多細節表現出來。比如一個溜著滑板的小男孩，遠遠的看見一個老人從超市買了菜出來，便揮著手說：「我來幫忙！」，陌生人在車上彼此讓座，告訴剛上車的人「這裡有位子！」，也有人對著正在學騎腳踏車的小孩喊加油。 透過這些善舉和友善的對話，整本書每一個頁面都色彩繽紛，洋溢著歡樂友善的氣息。在故事的最後一頁，也就是爸爸和孩子散完步後，回到家門口，繪者以一張跨頁的大圖呈現出了整個城市的景象，每個人和諧的在城市中進行著各種活動，而整個城市看起來，正像是一座遊樂場呢！這也說明了「友善」會為我們的周遭帶來歡樂與美好。本書作者在最後還附上了如何引導孩子觀察周遭景況、學習以友善的話語自我表達的小技巧，非常實用。 ＊有注音

An ideal gift for children who love animals, this picture book is a celebration of Poem in your Pocket Day and a charmingly illustrated collection of playful poems about 19 different creatures. Fascinating information about the animals (yes, sea otters have pockets!) tucked into short, lively poems and bright, bold artwork make this collection perfect for National Poetry Month—or any day of the year. In honor of Poem in Your Pocket Day, a child imagines the poems animals might carry in their pockets, if they had pockets. What would a hummingbird write? A fox? A sea otter? These poems capture the essences of animals furry, feathery and finny, exploring what makes each unique. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird sings with its wings, Red Fox's poem is a fiery tail flashing in the dark, and Sea Otter’s poem is its secret pocket. Which poem will capture the heart of the child narrator? A poem about loving animals, of course!

Helping children balance that missing feeling after their parents' divorce. Mia's life feels split in two after her parents get divorced—even her cat and dog now live in two separate places. When she's at her dad's house, Mia misses her mom's jokes and singing. And when she's at her mom's house, she misses her dad's laugh and cooking. Mia just can't quite shake that missing feeling. Sometimes that missing feeling makes her angry. And sometimes it makes her sad. One day when Mia visits her grandpa, he gives her a little blue notebook, saying, "When I write about Grandma, I am sad, but I am happy too. She is gone, but you are here. Life changes, and writing helps me think about these changes. My notebook is a home for my heart." Mia keeps her notebook wherever she goes, writing about happy and sad memories. And soon her notebook becomes a way to balance that missing feeling. And it becomes a home for her heart too.

Capture the joys of reading in this amazing poetry collection! From that thrilling moment when a child first learns to decipher words, to the excitement that follows in reading everything from road signs to field guides to internet articles to stories, these poems celebrate reading. They also explore what reading does -- how it opens minds, can make you kind, and allows you to explore the whole world. Ryan O’Rourke’s rich artwork beautifully captures the imagination and playfulness in these poems by noted author Amy Ludwig VanDerwater.

Twenty-two poems capture the amazing power of writing and will inspire even the most reluctant writer to begin putting words to paper. Write! Write! Write! is a poetry collection that explores every stage and every aspect of the writing process, from learning the alphabet to the thrilling moment of writing a thought for the first time, from writer's block to finding inspiration, and from revision to stapling your finished work into a book. These poems also celebrate how writing teaches patience, helps express opinions, and allows us to imagine the impossible. This book, brimming with imagination and wonder, will leave readers eager to grab a pen, pencil, or keyboard--and write!

"Cet ouvrage fait partie de notre collection Les ateliers d'écriture, qui connaît beaucoup de succès auprès des enseignants et des spécialistes francophones au Québec et dans tout le Canada. S'appuyant sur des recherches récentes et des milliers d'heures d'expérimentation en salle de classe, Lucy Calkins et son équipe du Teachers College Reading and Writing Project accompagnent les enseignants d'élèves de 7 et 8 ans dans le processus d'écriture du texte poétique. Ces enseignantes d'expérience communiquent avec passion une approche d'enseignement explicite, illustrée de nombreux exemples et de travaux modèles d'élèves. Les 17 ateliers de ce module permettent aux élèves de la 2e année du primaire d'acquérir de l'autonomie et de développer plus d'aisance en écriture. Guidés par leur enseignant, les élèves se familiarisent avec l'écriture de poèmes en portant une attention particulière à la sonorité, aux choix des mots et à la structure. Du matériel reproductible accompagne ce module : gabarits d'écriture, exemples de tableaux d'ancrage, textes modèles, listes de vérification et tableaux de progression de l'apprentissage."--Publisher's description.

For young makers and artists, brief, lively poems illustrated by a NYT bestselling duo celebrate the pleasures of working with your hands. Building, baking, folding, drawing, shaping . . . making something with your own hands is a special, personal experience. Taking an idea from your imagination and turning it into something real is satisfying and makes the maker proud. With My Hands is an inspiring invitation to tap into creativity and enjoy the hands-on energy that comes from making things.

This lyrical and beautifully illustrated lullaby picture book prepares children ages 3-6 for bedtime by imagining what animals dream. This soothing bedtime story explores the question, When animals sleep, what do they see in their dreams? The lyrical text tells readers that chipmunks dream of digging deep burrows, puppies dream of long, waggy walks, and horses dream of wild, windy rides. But most of all, the animals dream of all the fun and adventure the next day will bring. The gentle rhymes and gorgeous, serene illustrations combine to create a comforting story perfect for transitioning from a busy day to being tucked in peacefully at night.

Children's writer and poet Amy Ludwig VanDerwater leads us on an adventure through poetry, pointing out craft elements along the way that students can use to improve all their writing, from idea finding to language play. "Poems wake us up, keep us company, and remind us that our world is big and small," Amy explains. "And, too, poems teach us how to write. Anything." This is a practical book designed for every classroom teacher. Each lesson exploration includes three poems, one by a contemporary adult poet and two by students in grades 2 through 8, which serve as models to illustrate how poetry teaches writers to: find ideas, choose perspective and point of view, structure texts, play with language, craft beginnings and endings, choose titles. Students will learn how to replicate the craft techniques found in poetry to strengthen all writing, from fiction to opinion, from personal narrative to information. "Poets arrange words and phrases just as prose writers do, simply in tighter spaces," Amy argues. "In the tight space of poetry, readers can identify writing techniques after reading one page, not thirty pages."

Young readers get an introduction to twenty different types of birds, with breathtaking paper-cuts by newcomer Dylan Metrano! "Chickadee wears a wee black cap.Jay is loud and bold.Nuthatch perches upside-down.Finch is clothed in gold."Young readers are fascinated with birds in their world. Every Day Birds helps children identify and learn about common birds. After reading Every Day Birds, families can look out their windows with curiosity--recognizing birds and nests and celebrating the beauty of these creatures!Every Day Birds focuses on twenty North American birds, with a poem and descriptions written by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and beautiful paper-cuttings by first-time picture book illustrator Dylan Metrano. Interesting facts about each bird are featured in the back of the book.

A spider is a “never-tangling dangling spinner / knitting angles, trapping dinner.” A tree frog proposes, “Marry me. Please marry me… / Pick me now. / Make me your choice. / I’m one great frog / with one strong voice.” VanDerwater lets the denizens of the forest speak for themselves in twenty-six lighthearted, easy-to-read poems. As she observes, “Silence in Forest / never lasts long. / Melody / is everywhere / mixing in / with piney air. / Forest has a song.” The graceful, appealing watercolor illustrations perfectly suit these charming poems that invite young readers into the woodland world at every season.