You've Been Book'd With Books For Mental Health Awareness Month, Friends.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  To support mental health awareness this month and all throughout the year, I brought together 36 books in this special Follett Content Titlewave booklist. 

I turned it into a choice board that you will find here. 

Just click on the book covers to find each book in Titlewave.  You can also find the entire booklist here in the choice board too, friends. 

To make a copy and change up the choice board, you can make a copy here.

I Made A Copy Of The Drawing, Coloring and Craft Ideas Choice Board For Our Kids and Families To Use This Summer Too!

 

This week, I shared this choice board that I put together with drawing, coloring, and craft idea resources.

I was thinking today.... This would be a really great choice board to share with our families and kids this summer! 

So, I made a copy, changed the title, and published it here. 

You can share it that way, or make a copy to make changes and share that one with your families too.

 

Nominate a Magic Maker today for the Literati Spring Book Fair Awards! 

The Magic Makers Awards celebrate the coordinators, librarians, educators, and communities who transform their Literati Book Fairs into immersive, unforgettable experiences that spark a love of reading. 

They create book fair experiences that their readers will never forget! 

Any school that hosted a Treasured Tales fair this season (January through May) is eligible. 

★To nominate your school or someone else's, gather photos and videos of your decorated fair and fill out the form using the link here.

Winners will be recognized at the Book Fair Awards, presented at the TLA (Texas Library Association) Conference in April 2027.

This is your time to shine and celebrate all that you and your school community do to bring book fairs to life and make them amazing experiences for all students, teachers, and families.

A Choice Board Filled With Drawing, Coloring, and Craft Ideas For Our Libraries, Makerspaces, and STEM! Get Yours Today, Friends.

As we get ready for our new library to open in August, I have been gathering up lots of passive programming resources and ideas.  I can't wait to have a wonderful new space where we will be able to have different areas set up in our library where students can come to create, hang out, relax, and have fun.

There are so many amazing site for drawing, coloring and craft ideas from places like Twinkl, KidLitTV, Highlights, PBSKids, and more.  

I love the resources from Crayola.  They are always coming up with something new and super cool like Color Camera where you can personalize your own coloring page. 

All you have to do is upload a photo, 

adjust the size, and... 

...print.  I plan on making a bunch of coloring pages with this to have out when our library opens for back to school time.  The kids will love seeing themselves in the coloring pages we have in our passive programming stations. 

Oh, and I also love Art Projects for Kids and all of the drawing videos for children they have created.  There are over 785 and something for every little artist.  You will love this site! 

I put together a choice board so I could share all of these with you.  You will find the choice board here.

Feel free to pass this onto your library and teacher friends, even to your families. I shared it with our public librarian in Van Meter today.  I know she will find lots of ways to use it too. 

If you want to make a copy of the template, you can grab one here. 

Have fun with passive programming in your libraries, friends. And let me know what I can add to this choice board so we can all have access to it too. 

You Can Shop Teacher Wishlists Right At Your Literati Book Fair Register! How Cool Is That!

 

Today when I logged into my Literati Open Book, this message popped up on the screen...Shop Teacher Wishlists at the Register! 

How cool is that!  We can now shop teacher wishlists at the book fair register.  

Here is how it works....

When shoppers come to the cash register, they can browse and purchase items from any of the teacher digital wishlists.  

These items purchased at the register will ship right to your school, along with the teacher's other wishlist orders after your bookfair is over. 

We are really excited about supporting our teachers at our upcoming Literati bookfair this fall in so many new and exciting ways through their wishlists.  It will make a difference in their classroom libraries, and will support our school library collection too. 

Read all about the Teacher Wishlists and all things Literati here, friends.

The June 2026 Demco Activity Calendars For Early Literacy Activities and Children's Activities Are Here, Friends!

  

The June 2026 Demco Activity Calendars are here! 

I love finding these special calendars each month on the Demco site. I love printing them off to share with our teachers and families, and I love sharing them online too. 

You will find the Early Literacy Activity for June 2026 here.

And the Children's Activity Calendar for June 2026 here.

Both of these calendars are filled with ideas and activities for you to engage with your students and children all month long.

You can also find all of the Activity Calendars here at the Demco Ideas and Inspiration site. 

Have a fun June, friends. 

Interactive Summer Learning With The Achievery: Webinar Replay + Free Summer Learning Resources!

We hosted the Future Ready Schools webinar with The Achievery this month called Turn Summer Into an Adventure...Interactive Learning With The Achievery. 

For this fun webinar,  four of our amazing Digital Navigators, Paige Chambers, Sabrina Grant, Amanda Hunt, and Keely Nudo, joined me to share their favorite lessons and ideas for summer learning with The Achievery. 

These Digital Navigators love using The Achievery in their communities. Each navigator will highlight their favorite lesson showcasing how students engage with interactive videos, on-screen activities, and hands-on learning experiences that extend beyond the screen.

The webinar recording is now live and you can watch it here.  You will also find the slides here.

We also shared a very special resource that everyone can take and share with your students and families for summer learning.  In the slides here, you will find three grade level choice boards featuring...

elementary learning activities, 

middle school learning activities, 

and high school learning activities. 

You can find each linked in the slides. 

Everyone can sign up for The Achievery for FREE at futureready.link/achievery 

Summer Planning Just Got Easier With The STEMfinity 2026 Summer Camps Guide!

                  

This time of year, I start thinking about summer reading and learning for our students. I love creating and sharing experiences and resources with our families to support them in finding wonderful opportunities for their children throughout the summer. 

One of my favorite places to go is the 2026 Summer Camps Guide from our friends at STEMfinity!  

This special guide is packed with hands on STEM programs students will be so excited about. They include robotics, coding, engineering, Makerspaces, esports, drones, and more all gathered in one place so you do not have to spend hours searching.

The STEMfinity 2026 Summer Camps Guide is perfect for schools, districts, libraries, camps, and families looking to create an unforgettable summer.

You will find it here. 

Share it with your families, teachers, community, and others too.  Everyone will love this! 

Capstone’s Summer Reading Site Inspires Reading, Creativity, Curiosity, and More! Find It Here, Friends.

 

Our friends at Capstone always create such amazing summer reading experiences and resources for our readers.  

They have brought together a special site where we can unearth stories, grow curiosity, and explore new ideas all summer long.  

As shared on the site, 

Summer is the perfect time for kids to explore new books, discover favorite authors, and keep their love of reading alive. Partnering with your local library can help families find exciting new titles and fun programs that inspire kids to keep turning pages all summer long! 

Take a look at what they have included...

lots of summer reading downloadable, 

Quick Tips for Parents, 

creative activities for several of our favorite Capstone books, 

Makerspace Magic and an awesome infographic, 

and last but not least, several of their wonderful infographic posters. 

In fact, one of my favorites is the Stop the Slide! Start Summer Reading which is helpful to share with families as we promote summer reading. 

You will find Capstone's summer reading site here, friends.

Exploring Media Literacy, STEM, and Student Voice with Sonia’s Digital World and the ISTE Digital Explorers Series and Resources!

 

One of my favorite ways to open up conversations around media literacy and technology with students is through books, especially through my Capstone and ISTE series, ISTE Digital Explorers, and my book, Sonia's Digital World. Stories help students see themselves as creators, thinkers, and problem-solvers in a world filled with media and technology. Books create an entry point that feels approachable and engaging, especially for younger learners.

When we pair reading with conversations about technology, students begin to understand that digital literacy is about much more than screens. It is about communication, creativity, critical thinking, and using tools in meaningful ways. Through stories, students can explore topics like online safety, digital citizenship, collaboration, innovation, and how technology can help us share our voices with the world.

This spring, I had the honor of visiting Norwalk Public Schools in Connecticut for two days of author visits at three of their elementary schools. I loved every minute! Spending time with these students was such a great reminder of how naturally curious young learners are. They asked thoughtful questions, shared connections, and were excited to talk about books, ideas, and technology.

Last week, I did a little author visit with our 1st graders at my school too. It was so much fun connecting with our students to share about being an author and my books they have seen in our library. 

To continue the learning after our visit, I created a choice board to share all of my ISTE Digital Explorers books, including Sonia's Digital World, with them. The goal was to give students an easy way to continue exploring the stories we talked about together and access the Capstone Interactive eBooks after our event.

I created a template of the choice board so you can make a copy and add links to the eBooks for your students and teachers too.  You will find it here to push a copy. 

Then go to the Capstone Interactive eBook, copy the link, 

and add it to the corresponding cover in the choice board. 

You will find the ISTE Digital Explorers site here.  

There is the ISTE Digital Explorers Educator's Guide, extension activities, Book Creator activities, and more.  

And I really love the poster we created showcasing the ISTE Student Standards that support all seven of the books and each standard they represent. 

I hope that these books and resources help spark new ways to connect media literacy, STEM, and student voice together too, friends.  Please reach out if you have any questions or ideas on how to use them too. 

You've Been Book'd With Books For AANHPI Heritage Month, Friends!

 

We celebrate AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) Heritage Month in May.  

In honor of this special month, I brought together 35 books in this choice board, You've Been Book'd With Books For AANHPI Heritage Month. 

You will find the entire Titlewave list in the choice board.  When you click on a bookcover it will take you to that book in Titlewave too. 

I love using these choice boards as I work on my own collection development in Titlewave. 

I hope you find amazing new books for your library and readers too. 

And if you want to use this choice board as a template, you can push a copy to yourself here, friends.

Check Out This News....Literati Book Fairs Are Expanding Into 14 New States!

We love hosting Literati Book Fairs at our school.  

If you've been waiting for Literati Book Fairs to come to your area, here's some exciting news...Literati is expanding into 14 new states!

A lot of you have reached out asking me to share more about which states are included in this expansion, so I wanted to give you the details I know. 

The new Literati Book Fair states include Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. 

You also asked what I love about Literati Book Fairs. 

To start, there are books from over 150 publishers, simple and quick setup, flexible rewards (book profit, Literati Partner credits, cash, or a mix of all three) awesome digital teacher wishlists, and best of all...no trinkets, just great books that inspire a love of reading. 

And they always have the cutest book fair themes! I can't wait for our book fair this fall as the theme is Campfire Magic.  Our kids get so excited to see what the book fair themes are each season.  

I hope that helped, friends. 

You can reach out to Literati here to learn even more and bring a new book fair to your school and community too.  I know you will love Literati Book Fairs too. 

Have Your Students Create The Library Bookmarks For Next Year With This Fun End-of-the-Year Activity!

 

I have been brainstorming all kinds of fun activities for the fall when we open up our new library in our school.  

I shared the first one today...Create a Bookmark For Our New Library! 

I made a little activity sheet in Canva for this one.  The bookmarks that I like to create and print for our readers are 2 x 6, so I made the template in this sheet exactly 2 x 6 too. 

I included an explanation of the bookmark activity and contest, giving teachers and students due dates and details. 

With 7 days of schools left, our teachers love these type of activities as they work in a lot of fun at the end of the school year.  

I also created an activity template called Create a Bookmark For Our New Year that anyone can do for the upcoming school year.  

You will find both of these templates here at this link in Canva.

On the other side of the bookmarks I will add our library information as I always do to kick off the new year.  I include a QR code and bit.ly to our library website, Destiny Discover, technology we use, and a few library tips.  

I can't wait to see what our students create this week. Hope you are having a fun end of the school year too, friends.