A Snowy Week Read: The Big Snowdown and Winter-Inspired Activities!

 

With our first big snow of the season happening over the weekend, I have been getting books and resources pulled together for our students and teachers. 

One of my favorite new Capstone books, The Big Snowdown by Katy Hudson, is perfect for this week! 

As shared on the Capstone site, 

The big moment is here—the start of the first winter games! Most of the forest animals have trained all year, honing their skills to compete in a variety of events. Owl hasn’t trained at all. But Owl isn’t worried! She's always the best at everything without having to train or practice. Her natural talent and confidence are enough—or so she thinks. Best-selling author/illustrator Katy Hudson brilliantly showcases themes of self-awareness, friendship, and the difference between being confident and being arrogant in this entertaining picture book.

As always, Katy created such an amazing story with beautifully detailed illustrations sharing the story of Owl and his friends. 

We see these characters throughout Katy's other books she has done with Capstone...

 ...and I know our students will love that connection. 

Katy and Capstone also created The Big Snowdown Activities packet that is filled with fun and creative activities for our readers. 

I love these activities and how they can be used within the library, STEM, and classroom in so many different ways. 

We will be using art supplies on some and I even popped the crossword puzzle into Kami for the kids to complete using the tools there. 

I am excited to share The Big Snowdown and all of these super fun activities this week. You will find the book here on the Capstone site to order for your readers and library too.

Learn About Book Creator and 24 Other Digital Tools and Apps In The 6th Annual Future Ready Librarians AppSmash! Watch It Here, Friends.

 

On November 18,  we celebrated the 6th Annual Future Ready Librarians App Smash Extravaganza where 24 inspiring librarians and educators joined me to share our favorite digital tools, resources, and innovative ideas. 

I loved sharing Book Creator, the simplest way for all learners to create content in the classroom. I love how we can give students freedom to tell stories their way in Book Creator. They can show what they know in the way that works best for them through all of the accessibility features.

I was excited to share the NEW Empowering Teacher Librarians site on Book Creator.  

It is  filled with ways to create, curate, and collaborate as librarians using Book Creator.

There is a library of Teacher Librarian Resources including the library toolkit and Books Librarians Love. 

We even have a Future Ready Librarian Annual Report book that you can remix to use for your annual report portfolio. 

I loved working on this with the Book Creator team to make something all Future Ready Librarians can use to develop, document, and celebrate our skills and work within the wedges of our framework. 

Book Creator inspires librarians to develop readers, learners, and creators in the library, and through collaboration with teachers too.  

And one more super cool resource included in Books Librarians Love are the book companions for my ISTE Digital Explorers series.  They can be found here. 

  

Get Book Creator today, friends.

You will find the webinar slides here. The webinar recording can be found on slide 2 and also here. 

We hope that you use this presentation and all of the resources to bring new ideas and inspiration to your libraries, classrooms, and school communities too.  

LIVE Author Events Coming Up In December From Our Friends At Storyvoice!

 

Our friends at Storyvoice have several special free author events coming up in December. 

Starting on December 5 with Alice Hemming and Nicola Slater with The Snow Thief! 

You will find Storyvoice here.  Go to the events and click on Register.  You can add it to your calendar once you register too. 

I always share these with our teachers so they can share them in the classroom too. 

Explore "The News" From The Achievery.... I Am The Featured Success Story Too!

 

There is a NEW place to explore all the news from The Achievery. 

You will find The Achievery News under the Explore the menu drop down at the top of the site. 

There are several different types of News including...

Partnership, Features, 

Events, Study Tips, Learning Essentials, and...

...Success Stories.  

And guess what?  I am featured as the first Success Story with my article, 

Teacher Tips for Using The Achievery Like A Pro.  You can find my article here. 

I am so excited to follow The Achievery News and you can too!  

Just sign up for your FREE Achievery account here. 

Invite your fellow colleagues and families to join too.  It is FREE for everyone. 

The Detective Experience Has An Interactive Literacy and Learning Adventure For The Holidays...North Pole PD!

I’m thrilled to share insights from my conversation with Gabrielle Mace, a literacy expert and co-founder of The Detective Experience, along with her co-founder Joe Waters. 

Gabrielle and Joe are on a mission to make reading and critical thinking irresistible for students of all ages – and they are doing it through immersive, gamified learning experiences that families and schools can enjoy together.

Their groundbreaking initiative, including the brand new North Pole PD, turns literacy into an interactive adventure, blending storytelling, problem-solving, and reflection into one single engaging experience. These programs are designed to spark curiosity, encourage collaboration, and make learning memorable – whether in the classroom or at home.

What’s exciting is how accessible their work is: with free access to their first case, North Pole Heist, students and families can experience hands-on, meaningful literacy adventures that strengthen critical thinking while having a blast. Gabrielle and Joe’s approach shows that learning doesn’t have to be traditional – it can be fun, interactive, and deeply rewarding.

Get to the North Pole PD here.  

The code is NPPD-HX42-98LT.

For more on Gabrielle and Joe's work and to explore their cases, visit www.thedetectiveexperience.com.

A New Follett Titlewave Tip, Friends....Follow @FollettContent on Socials For Awesome Titlewave Lists!

 

I have a new Follett Titlewave Tip for you, friends. 

Follow @FollettContent on socials for lots of awesome Titlewave Lists! 

For example, this week they shared a Titlewave list for the Top Selling Books of 2025. 

I loved browsing the full list on Titlewave and adding a few new ones to my December Titlewave List for our school library. 

You will find Follett Content wherever you follow on social...X (Twitter), Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and LinkedIn.

I know you will love all of the new book suggestions you will find there too. 

Ringing in the New Year with Celebrations From Around the World With This You've Been Book'd!

                   

As we get ready to ring in a new year, I brought together 25 special books highlighting celebrations from around the world.

You will find the choice board here.  Just click on each book cover to find the book in Follett Content Titlewave, and the entire list is there too.  That makes it really easy to add these books to your Titlewave list too. 

And if you would like to make a copy of this choice board and turn it into an interactive choice board of your own, you can use this link. 

Have a wonderful new year, friends. I can't wait to hear how you celebrate too.

Celebrate Gratitude Throughout The Holiday Season With This Week's Highlight From The Achievery!

As we head into the holiday season, it is the perfect time to discover appreciation and gratitude with your students and school community.  

I love this week's highlight on The Achievery that will help us celebrate gratitude during Thanksgiving and all throughout the year. 

The lesson Appreciation and Gratitude from Weird-Enough's Thanksgiving-ready units helps students in 6th-8th grade learn how feeling and expressing gratitude can keep relationships healthy.  

There are three lessons, each one with a video, 

lesson plan, and comic to download. 

You can sign up for your FREE Achievery account here.  Please invite your fellow colleagues and families to join.  It is FREE for everyone. 

There is something for every grade level, subject, interest, and more in The Achievery.  It's an incredible way to enhance students' learning experiences through interactive, engaging, and exciting learning experiences. 

The December Activity Journal From Book Creator Is Here, Friends! Remix and Share With Your Students Today!

It's almost December and time for the December Journal Activity Book from Book Creator. 

Our students are in for a treat this month as the December Journal is packed full of fun and meaningful activities within the pages of this book. 

From the very first page, 

       

through the Advent Calendar, 

and meaningful activities including Make a Gift Day, 

Computer Science Education Week, 

Gingerbread House Day, 

Hanukkah, 

Happy Christmas, 

New Year and more! 

And don't forget that you can get all of the Monthly Activity Journals in the back of the October Activity Journal too.

You will find the December Journal Activity Book here. 

Remix the December Activity Journal and make it your own. You can change up any of the pages and then share it with your students. 

The Book Creator Activity Journals are perfect to share in our classrooms and libraries. I love sharing these with my teachers every month so they can complete them with their students in class, or give them to students as a special place for journaling and time for free choice. 

                     

Get Book Creator today, friends.