A Favorite New Series About Axolotls and Lots Of Super Fun Resources That Go Along With This Adorable Capstone Series!

 

I have a favorite new Capstone series all about Axolotls that I would love to share with you, friends.

It's called Axolotls! by C. W. Estes and illustrated by Irene Saluzzi. 

As shared on Capstone's Spring 2025 Preview site, 

Welcome to Sandy Shorts, an underwater town full of weirdly wonderful and friendly animals. But no critter is more friendly than the axolotl! Each stand-alone story in the new Axolotls! series follows the hijinks of a plucky young amphibian as they tackle itty-bitty challenges, try new activities, and more—all with a smile on their face! In this story, Hugs-a-Lotl loves nothing more than giving a warm embrace to friends. But after jumping rope too fast at school, the axolotl’s little arms pop right off! Losing the limbs isn’t a problem. They’ll grow back. Hugs is only worried about one question: Who will hug for him?

You can preview it here.

Also on the preview site, Capstone has created several adorable resources that go along with the series. 

There is a poster, which I just have to say How cute is this?!?!?, 

stickers, 

bookmarks, 

...and the coolest coloring sheet.  

What a great way to introduce the new Axolotls! series. You will find all four on the Capstone site here.

Learn About Destiny AI & How It Enhances Library Management In The Recording Of This NEW Follett Software Webinar!

 

You can now watch the recording of our Follett Software webinar, Destiny AI: Enhancing Library Management Through User Insights, with Ji Kim and myself. 

As shared by Follett Content, 

Discover how these new enhancements are optimizing library management, helping educators save time and boost engagement. Shannon and Ji will walk you through real-world applications of the new AI tools in DLM, covering their favorite functions and how they support student learning and library efficiency.

This session is perfect for library staff, administrators, and educators looking to improve library experiences while managing resources more effectively. Get ready to see how Follett Software’s AI-powered tools can help you streamline daily tasks and inspire a love of learning in every student.

You can find the webinar recording here, friends.

The 2025 ALA YMA Posters For Our Library Walls and Digital Spaces Are Here From Our Friends At Follett!

 

This time of year, after the new YMA (ALA Youth Media Awards) Award Books are announced, I order the books we don't already have and get ready to set up a special display to show all of these off in our library for our readers. 

With these books, I love to display the YMA posters that our friends at Follett Content creates for us every year.  These bright and colorful posters filled with beautiful book covers represent five different YMA awards by displaying this years winner and several from the past too. 

You can get the posters here on Follett's site where you can download them to print. You can print them in any size you would like.  

There is an orange button that lets you Shop The Awards on Titlewave. I found this super useful when I was pulling together the new award books for our library.  You can find it here on Titlewave. 

I also started a Bitmoji Room with these posters hanging on the wall.  If you would like to use this, you can make a copy here. 

You've Been Book'd With The 2025 ALA YMA Winners!

The 2025 ALA Youth Media Award Winners were announced yesterday on January 27th. 

There were so many amazing books this year that we celebrated on this day. Our friends at Follett Content brought them together in this special Titlewave® list here.

Congrats to all of the winners!  

Transform Your Library with AI: Join The SchoolAI Sandbox Event 📚

I am so excited to join my friends at SchoolAI on February 4, 2025 for a very special event for librarians. 

As shared in the SchoolAI invite, 

Join us on February 4th for an exclusive SchoolAI sandbox event designed for Library/Media Specialists! Learn innovative ways to foster reading engagement, enhance digital literacy, and reimagine your library space using AI tools.

Special Guest

Featured speaker Shannon McClintock Miller, District Teacher Librarian, Future Ready Librarians Leader and Author, will share expert insights on integrating AI in library spaces.

What to Expect

• Practical strategies for using SchoolAI in your library
• Creative approaches to digital and information literacy
• Hands-on exploration of AI tools for student engagement

Exciting Announcement

Be the first to join our new Library/Media Specialists Discussion Board - a dedicated space for collaboration and idea-sharing about AI in school libraries.

While designed with Library/Media Specialists in mind, all educators are welcome to attend! Whether you're a classroom teacher, technology coach, or administrator, you'll discover valuable insights about fostering digital literacy and engaging learners through AI.

Register now to secure your spot in this transformative professional development opportunity! 

You can register here for this exciting free event, friends. 

Join The Creative Compass Lounge With Peter H. Reynolds, Friends! I Can't Wait To Connect With Everyone In This Special New Place.

Friends, I am so excited to share an amazing new place for all of us to join. 

We can now join the Creative Compass Lounge with Peter H. Reynolds.  

In the Creative Compass Lounge, Peter, FableVision Learning, and Reynolds Center TLC Studios is bringing us together to give us a special place to connect as we inspire creativity, courage, and self-expression for our students within our libraries, classrooms, and schools. 

Peter shared, 

I think of the Creative Compass Lounge as a big creativity resource cabinet-filled with tools that my team and I have created to inspire creativity, courage, and self-expression-for your students and YOU! 

In the Creative Compass Lounge, there are places to Teach with Lessons and Classroom Resources; Learn with Workshops and Professional Development; Create with a Sandbox for Your Creativity; Connect and Chat in the Community; Read from Articles and within Book Clubs; and Recharge gives us Reflections and Inspiration. 

You can join the Creative Compass Lounge here, friends. 

I can't wait to connect here in this special new community and share how we can use these wonderful resources and opportunities with our students and community. 

A Groundhog Day Choice Board & A Fun STEAM Activity From Our Friends At 3DuxDesign!

                 

On February 2, we all watch to see if the Groundhog sees his shadow.  This is always so much fun for our kids to watch and learn more about. 

I put together a choice board for our students and teachers at Van Meter and wanted to share it with all of you too. 

In addition to the Pennsylvania site, Enter a State of Phil for the...

...Groundhog Day 2022 Livestream here, I included a few videos for kids, online activities, 

the PebbleGo article about Woodchucks, 

...and two Capstone Interactive eBooks about groundhogs and Groundhog Day.

You will find the link to the Let's Learn About Groundhog Day Choice Board here. You can make a copy and add links to your PebbleGo and Capstone interactive eBooks or change them out for another resource.

Remember, when sharing with your students, just click on File and Publish to the web. 

Then copy that link to share with students.  It will be just the interactive choice board that they see. 

To go along with our choice board and lots of learning and fun, our friends at 3DuxDesign created a super fun STEAM activity for Groundhog Day to do with your students too.  You will find it here.

Have fun celebrating Groundhog Day in lots of different ways. 

The NEW January 2025 PebbleGo & PebbleGo Monthly Holiday Calendar Is Here! Turn It Into An Interactive Research Choice Board For Your Students & Teachers!

The NEW January 2025 PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next Monthly Holiday Calendar that our friends at Capstone create for us each month is here! 

In this post, I share more about the PebbleGo Monthly Calendars. 

I love making paper copies of these to share with our teachers and kids. 

They hang them up in their classrooms and hang them in our library too. I also share them online through social media and as an image in Google Classroom or Seesaw. 

The teachers even use the PebbleGo Calendars for mini research opportunities throughout each week. The students use PebbleGo Create to share what they learn throughout the month with the calendars. 

Here is the PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next January 2025 Holidays Calendar. 

Last year, when I was sharing the calendars with teachers and students, I thought....Hey, this would be really fun in a choice board! 

So, I opened up a Google Slide, uploaded the PebbleGo January 2025 Holidays Calendar, and added a little chalk board with text over the top.  

Then I went through the calendar and found every special day in PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next.  

For example, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on January 20, so they have the MLK Jr. Day PebbleGo article featured. I went to PebbleGo and found the article in PebbleGo.

 I grabbed the link, as shown in the image above. 

I took that link and added a linked text box around each special date. 

Now, when the kids click on a holiday, it will take them directly to that PebbleGo article.  

If you want to use the template to create your own, you will find the Google Slide here to make a copy and add links to the PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next articles. 

And to make it a choice board, just Publish to the web, as shown in this image above. 

You will share that Published Link with your students.  

I love sharing these interactive PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next Holiday Calendars with our students and teachers. They love learning all about these special days that are highlighted each month too.

I am excited to have the January 2025 PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next ready to go for the month. I hope you will find ways to use it with your students and teachers this month, and all throughout the school year too. 

The January, February, and March PebbleGo Calendars Are Here, Friends!

 

Our friends at Capstone have created special NEW PebbleGo Calendars for all of us to use within our libraries and classrooms.  I love using these calendars throughout the year with our teachers and students in lots of different ways. 

Each month we can explore the PebbleGo Calendars that feature notable dates with PebbleGo and PebbleGo Next article connections to spark research topics ideas, exciting learning experiences, students curiosity, and more. There are also Capstone books mentioned that fit into these important dates too. 

One thing I love to do is create an interactive choice board from the calendar.  I also print these off on 11 x 17 paper and give them to my classroom teachers too. You can read all about it, and find the January 2025 choice board template here in this post.

You will find the January, February and March calendars here on the Capstone site. 

Celebrate Digital Learning With Day With Book Creator At Their COMMUNITY DEMO SLAM on February 13, 2025!

Digital Learning Day is coming up on February 13, 2025. We cannot wait for this special day.

Our friends at Book Creator are hosting an amazing Community Demo Slam for all of us to join as we celebrate. I was so excited when I saw that Book Creator's David Hotler will be bringing together educators from the Book Creator Community to share lots of creative and fun ways to use Book Creator! 

Check out this news from Book Creator how you can watch, and participate too! 

🎉 Celebrate hashtag#DLDay with a Community Demo Slam! 🎉

Join us for an exciting FREE event:
🎤 Digital Learning Day: Community Demo Slam

📅 When? Thursday, February 13, 2025
⏰ Time: 12 PM ET / 5 PM GMT

💡 What’s a Demo Slam?
A fast-paced event where educators share 2-minute demos of creative ways to use Book Creator! 🎬 After 6 demos, the audience votes for the winner. It's quick, fun, and packed with inspiration!

🎁 Free swag for participants + bragging rights for the winner!
Think you have a winning idea? Contact dhotler@bookcreator.com to pitch your demo.

🎥 Can’t make it live? Register anyway to get the recording!

🔗 Sign up now: https://hubs.la/Q033fnY50

I can't wait to join this event as we celebrate one of the best days of the year! 

Join Us At The NCCE Conference For The Summit: Superpowered Libraries: Maximizing Impact With Limited Resources!

Friends, we are heading to the NCCE Conference in February and I want to share a very special event for all of my Future Ready Librarian® friends. 

It is the Summit and this year the theme is, Superpowered Libraries: Maximizing Impact With Limited Resources. 

As shared online, 

Librarians and library staff are the unsung superheroes of their schools, constantly adapting and innovating to inspire young learners despite shrinking budgets. This conference celebrates your superpowers and aims to equip you with even more tools for your superhero toolbox. We’ll introduce you to a wealth of free Open Educational resources and connect you with like-minded panelists who will share their secrets for leveraging social media to connect with authors and access free educational materials. Plus, discover free pedagogical tools to enhance your presentations, webpages, pathfinders, and worksheets. And don’t forget to visit the Nexus Hub during breaks and lunch, where you can immerse yourself in all thing’s library related. Get ready to level up your superhero game!

NOTE - This is a full day summit. We will break for lunch on your own from 11:50 am to 1:00 pm.

You can register for this event here.  We hope to see you there, friends.  

Build An Amazing Virtual Library....Join Us For This Upcoming Demco Webinar On February 18, 2025! Register Today, Friends.

 

We had so much fun last season with a special lineup of Demco webinars around important, engaging, and fun topics. 

On February 18, 2025, we are kicking off our 2025 Demco webinar season!  The first webinar, Build An Amazing Library, will be one you won't want to miss. 

As shared in the invite, 

Master your virtual school library with Shannon McClintock Miller and Demco! Join us and learn how to collect and incorporate virtual and interactive elements aligned with your curriculum and tips for improving student engagement.

In this webinar, participants will learn how to:

1. Curate digital resources
2. Incorporate digital tools and enhance student engagement
3. Build connections through virtual spaces with students, parents, and staff
4. Utilize technology and build a user-friendly, accessible space

All webinars are archived and available for viewing within a week of the original presentation date.

You can register for our webinar here, friends.