Children’s Library Lady: There’s a Book for That!
The Children’s Library Lady: There’s a Book for That! blog focuses on high-quality, inclusive picturebooks for classrooms and school libraries. The Children’s Library Lady says it best, she loves “picture books that send a positive message integrated into the story rather than being forced or too obvious; are exciting, diverse and inclusive for all ages; and are inspiring for children and the adults who read them!”
Who is the Children’s Library Lady?
The “real” Children’s Library Lady is named Kirsten, who spent 20 years in primary education as both a classroom teacher and teacher-librarian. Currently, she is a college librarian in Manchester, England.
Target Audience for the Children’s Library Lady
The Children’s Library Lady blog is all about picturebooks, so the target audience is elementary school teachers and librarians. But let’s face it, picturebooks aren’t just for children anymore. Depending on the subject, middle grade and high school teachers may benefit from the resources provided on the Children’s Library Lady blog as well. Parents and homeschoolers can also use this blog to find just the right picturebook. Here is what the Children’s Library Lady hopes to help her audience with:
- finding the best diverse and inclusive books for your classroom or library.
- inspiring you to find great literature and expand your options, especially if you are bored of reading the same books year after year.
- giving you access to resources on topics including the positive values, behaviors and attitudes we want our students to embody.
- collating online resources you can use in the classroom or send home to parents.
- creating free resources you can download to use in your classroom.
What You’ll Love about the Children’s Library Lady
I couldn’t find where the Children’s Library Lady had won any awards, but here are a few important things about this comprehensive and informative blog:
- The design is clean and appealing.
- Navigating the website is intuitive.
- Picturebook reviews are organized by topics, and helpful tips on how to search the website are provided.
- Links to all of the Children’s Library Lady’s social media sites are visible and accessible.
- Blog posts address a variety of topics, listing the benefits and what students will learn by studying each topic. At the end of each post, a solid list of related picturebooks is provided. There are also lists of picturebooks addressing the ten characteristics encouraged in The International Baccalaureate® (IB) learner profile (inquisitive, knowledgeable, thinker, communicator, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective).
- Free resources for each picturebook include: a summary; suggestions on topics the picturebook can be used to teach/promote; a list of related books; external links to resources, activities, and videos; and suggested read-a-loud questions.
- There is a subscription option to help you keep up-to-date with what’s new.
There are a Few Downsides…
- The links to purchase recommended picturebooks go to Amazon rather than Bookshop.org or independent bookstores.
- The website has advertisements.
- There are additional free literacy resources and picturebook activities available, but only if you request a password.
- Although reasonably priced, many of the teaching resources (Activities, Assessment, Centers, Independent Work Packet, Lessons, Printables, Projects, and Worksheets) must be purchased through the Children’s Library Lady’s store on Teachers Pay Teachers.
