Kristen Remenar's Blog

Kende! Kende! Kende! written by Kirsten Cappy and Yaya Gentille, illustrations by Rahana Dariah

So many kids will relate to Lolie, who from the time she was little always wanted to go! go! go! But a scary day comes when her family quickly has to go from their home because it is no longer safe. Lolie goes by wheelbarrow, by foot, by truck, and finally by airplane to a new home that is safe for her and her family. And when their car get stuck in the snow, her new neighbors help to push so her family can quickly go! go! go! to the hospital so Lolie’s new baby can be born in safety.

This beautiful book, written by one of my dearest friends, Kirsten Cappy, and Yaya Gentille who came to a new country in search of safety, is one I wish I could put into the hands of every child. Kende! Kende! Kende! is illustrated by Rahana Dariah and published by Child’s Play USA. It’s written in both French and English so that many readers can read it, and it has QR codes in the front of the book that you can scan to hear the book read aloud in French, English, Lingala, Swahili, Portuguese, Kinyarwanda, and Arabic!

With your young readers, compare the words in French, English, and Lingala. “Lolie adorait aller, aller, aller. Lolie loved to go, go, go.” In the illustrations, we see Lolie running after chickens and the words Kende! Kende! Kende! Even if you don’t speak French or Lingala, talk about how you might use what you know and use the pictures to figure out the words you don’t know. Talk about where your family is from and what languages people in your family speak or once spoke. Scan the codes and enjoy the story in a language that may be new to you!

This November, celebrate Indigenous People’s month with this wonderful book, the Caldecott winner WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. The art is glorious and the message is important. Our Earth’s water needs protecting for the sake of all life on our planet. Lindstrom writes in accessible, lyrical prose about how the Indigenous people who have lived on this land for generations are fighting to keep the water safe and clean. Share this beautiful book to inspire young ones to fight for clean water and click on the link to download the free WE ARE WATER PROTECTORS Activity Kit. I’m so thankful for Carole Lindstrom, Michaela Goade, and this fantastic book!

I’ve been a fan of author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski for a long time. She’s incredibly creative, kind, talented, and she’s been a generous mentor for many years. I asked her about one of her newest picture books, WHEN THE RAIN CAME DOWN, illustrated by Keisha Morris, and this is what she told me.

“I grew up watching the ups and downs of the bayou next to my house. But as more and more oil companies marched into Louisiana, diverting the Miss. River and its silt, affecting the marshes and coastlines, we saw higher and higher water and bigger storms coming toward land unimpeded.

My book, WHEN THE RAIN CAME DOWN, is in part about Hurricane Katrina, which was followed by Rita in 2005. But flooding is not always due to a hurricane and flooding can happen in every state of the union.

Years after those storms, I was trying to write a story about a family that was over-the-top friendly and invited everyone over. But my mind kept coming back to people who opened doors to those in need during the floods.

As a writer, I was fascinated by up and down rhythm of it all. The rain coming down water rising up and then eventually, the people rising up, the sun rising up, communities rising up.

It made me cry. And write.

Since then, I’ve learned more about restoration projects along the Gulf Coast. You can find many of them on my website: helakoskibooks.com

What can we do?

Be conscious of planting native plants and grasses wherever you live. Use natural products, and support “green” organizations.

Do not buy cypress mulch –we need those trees to slow down storms.

Weather disasters often leave people needing help–and not only during floods. I hope kids will see the power we have and will one day reach out to others and say COME OVER.”

This beautiful book is essential not only for children who’ve lived through natural disasters but for all of us witnessing what is going on in our world. May we all remember to reach out and say COME OVER. Thank you, Leslie Helakoski!

When Benjamin was ten years old, he wrote a poem about what it’s like for him to live with autism and be surrounded by kids who don’t always understand. This book is his poem, “I Am Odd, I Am New”. It’s beautiful and poignant and wonderful for discussion.

“I am odd, I am new.

I wonder if you are too.

I hear noises in the air.

I see you don’t, and that’s not fair!

I want to not feel blue.

I am odd, I am new….”

After sharing this book, encourage kids to write their own poem, rhyming or not, about what it’s like to be them. If kids get stuck, return to the words and art in this book. How are you like Benjamin? How are you different? “Odd and new” aren’t necessarily bad things – these things can be great! Do we want to write a poem together in which odd and new are seen as wonderful?

April is World Autism Month. I’m reminding myself to work for acceptance, not just awareness, and to presume intelligence, especially in nonspeaking people. For insightful reading, pick up “Ido in Austismland” by Ido Kedar and “The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism” by Naoki Higashida. These are brilliant books written by two nonvocal young men who gave me really interesting perspectives on what it’s like to live in a world without an easy means of communication.

I’m thrilled to announce that my newest picture book, SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, will be published by Charlesbridge on May 7th! Squirrel is especially grumpy after having been stuck in the nest all winter with three rascally kits so his friends decide to take the kits for the day to give him a break – how hard could it be, they think? By the end of a very busy day, Groundhog and his friends have a whole new appreciation for what Squirrel does as a single parent, and Squirrel realizes that he has family he can rely upon in his circle of friends. It’s a great book for fathers, single parents, and anyone who knows what a handful little kits can be!

Matt Faulkner and I will be visiting some local bookstores and libraries. I hope to see you there!

May 11th: 2 Dandelions Bookshop in Brighton, MI at 11am

May 18th: Sidetrack Bookshop in Royal Oak, MI at 11 am

May 19th: The Book Beat in Oak Park, MI at 2 pm

May 25th: Schuler Books in West Bloomfield, MI at 11 am

June 1st: Orion Township Public Library in Lake Orion, MI at 11 am

June 8th: Eras Bookstore in Oxford, MI at 11 am

Shutta Crum and Ruth McNally Barshaw are two of my most favorite people in the kid lit world. They have two new books out, “Grandma Heaven” and “Grandpa Heaven” that sweetly feature my own parents as two of the people enjoying the afterlife.

Is Heaven a fun-filled place of laughter, companionship, and love? Who knows. Perhaps it’s
simply a state of the universal/eternal mind. Regardless, Shutta Crum knows that here in this
corporeal world there are young worriers who’ve suddenly lost a beloved grandparent, and those
bereft children need to be consoled. Shutta began working on Grandma Heaven and Grandpa
Heaven years ago when her four-year-old grandchild asked, “Are you going to die, Grammy?”
Shutta reassured her granddaughter that that was not going to happen for a long time. But the
child’s question sparked the idea for these two books about grandparents having a great time in
Heaven. The grandparents drive snazzy cars in Heaven, study prehistoric animals, have pets,
bake, read, knit, bowl, tinker with broken things, and zip in on zip-lines. But the most important
job of a grandparent in the afterlife is watching over all the grandchildren of the world and
sending the memory of a hug when it is needed. Importantly, these two books are non-religious
and multicultural. Heaven in Grandma Heaven and Grandpa Heaven is populated by
grandparents from around the world so that all children can rest assured that their grandparents’
love never dies.

Grandma Heaven and Grandpa Heaven (published by Lawley Books, 2023) can be found online
wherever books are sold. Also, ask for them at your local bookstore, or to be purchased by your
local library. Paperback editions available: Sept. 28, 2023. Spanish editions: January 2024.

Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Grandma-Heaven-Shutta-Crum-ebook/dp/B0CB9L7KM8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694209435&sr=8-43&asin=B0CB9L7KM8&revisionId=&format=2&depth=1

https://lawleypublishing.com/

See these cuties from GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA? Well, they get to be the stars of their very own companion book! SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, written by me and illustrated by the wonderful Matt Faulkner will by published by Charlesbridge in Spring of 2024! Watch this space for more updates. Hooray!

April Pulley Sayre, a gift to the children’s literature community, passed away recently. In honor of her and her incredible legacy of picture books, I’m sharing a previous post. Look at all the ways you can use her books to teach in the most engaging ways!

I had the pleasure of speaking at an early education conference where our theme was literacy and science. I brought stacks of books that tie into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) or STEAM (add Art) to share. Rather than just lecture all day, I led a session of “speed-dating” books: we’d spend a few minutes skimming a book and brainstorming ways to use it with students, share our ideas with the group, and pass the book along. This way, we had time to get our hands on over a dozen books and walk away with practical classroom applications. I was so inspired by the fantastic ideas the teachers generated! Here are a few ideas we came up with after reading Rah,Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre:

Bring in vegetables found in the book. Sort the vegetables by color and by size.

Classify and sort vegetables by the parts we eat: root vegetables, leaves, etc. Read Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens as a tie-in text and talk about which vegetables would be “tops” or “bottoms” according to Hare.

Predict which vegetables will sink or float. Test predictions in a tub of water. Wash the vegetables and talk about textures.

Use the vegetables to make prints.

Compare and contrast with fruits.

Weigh and measure the vegetables. Use a vegetable as a measuring tool.

Take photos of vegetables and label them. Reread the book and have students hold up the corresponding photos.

Make a chart or a Venn diagram with the terms “raw” and “cooked”. Try some vegetables both ways and chart our preferences.

See what other vegetables besides potatoes can be delicious mashed (great for little ones to do the mashing!)

Bring in potatoes with “eyes” sprouting and bring in vegetable seeds. Compare seeds and sprouts, then plant!

Make an edible collage with vegetables.

Practice patterning skills like ABAB, etc. with bite-size veggies and eat when done.

Plan a field trip to a farmer’s market or invite a farmer to come to the classroom for more vegetable experiences.

If you’re interested in the list of science books I shared, please email me at kristenremenar AT gmail DOT com. If you like Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant, be sure to check out Go, Go, Grapes! A Fruit Chant and Let’s Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat also by April Pulley Sayre. Hooray for early science!

This is my new favorite book, The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit. It’s a wonderful read anytime but it’s especially poignant to share in January when we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Soderguit beautifully shares one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s beliefs that we are all part of one community and all are worthy. The simplicity of the text and the art communicates in ways that draw us in for discussion.

This book works with students of any age. The language is simple enough for preschoolers but the message makes it shareable for discussion even with middle school and high school kids.

So read the book aloud all the way through without interruption with students first. Then play the video with Pious Ali, a City Councilor in Portland, Maine, sharing the book. His invitations to discussion are wonderful. As teachers of tomorrow’s leaders, may we create communities in which our diversity is seen as the gift it truly is.

Loving Kindness written by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Tim Hopgood is the perfect book for December. No matter what the faith of your students, this book shares a message we all need to hear.

“You are beautiful just as you are. You are loved, and you love.” We see a sweet baby who grows and is connected to the big sister, who is loved and who loves. We see the animals who are connected to these humans, also loved. We see that everyone feels the sun’s warmth and admires the moon, everyone is loved and loves.

There’s also the message that we all make mistakes, and it’s okay because that’s how we learn. Take inspiration from Tim Hopgood’s beautiful art that includes speckles of paint. Using brushes and sponges, students can paint themselves doing something they learned that was once hard to do. Unintended droplets add to the beauty of their work.

I wish you all a happy 2022 filled with Loving Kindness.