My Favorite Collaboration Is Back!

Read It. Move It. Share It. 

I can't believe it's been two years since Maria Hanley from Maria's Movers and I took a break from "Read It. Move It. Share It." But we're back! We probably won't be posting every month but hope to collaborate at least a few more times this year. It feels so good to be back! To remind you about our collaboration, I choose picture books for Maria to use in her creative movement classes in New York City, and then we both share our experiences with the books. This month's book is Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site!

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site was published a few years back by debut author Sherri Duskey Rinker and seasoned illustrator Tom Lichtenheld. It quickly rocketed to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List, and for good reason. It's clever, adorable in its words and pictures, and appealing both to children who love trucks and to parents -- and dance teachers! -- who might be anxious to settle their little ones down after a long day at school or play.

The book starts out showing a variety of different trucks working hard until the sun begins to set. It then quickly focuses in on each type of truck and what it has to do to finish its work for the day and get ready for bed. It's written in rhyme, with each truck getting a short introduction, a stanza about what kind of work the truck does, and a stanza to say goodnight.

The first truck in the book, the crane truck, works "hard to help his team" by raising "one last beam." He also reaches, stretches, lifts high, and swings his beam. Only then can he get ready for bed...

He slowly folds his boom back in, 

And then with one last sleepy grin, 

He tucks himself in nice and tight (sigh!),

Then cuddles up and says goodnight.

Shh...goodnight, Crane Truck, goodnight.

This pattern is repeated for a cement mixer, a dump truck, a bulldozer, and an excavator. And as you might imagine, there are fabulous movement words everywhere in the book! There's spinning, churning, lifting, carrying, spilling, and so much more.

As the book comes to a close, the trucks are together again...although they are all sleeping this time. One of my favorite stanzas happens as the book winds down. I love the messages that it sends to young children, who are probably identifying strongly with the trucks by the end of the book. Work hard. Be proud of your work. And make sure your work is fun! Great lessons to carry into adulthood as well...

These big, big trucks, so tough and loud,

They work so hard, so rough, so proud.

Tomorrow is another day, 

Another chance to work and play.

I can't finish this post without also mentioning the brilliant illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld that really bring this book to life. He personifies the trucks so well, giving them great facial expressions whether they are working, playing, feeling sleepy, or snuggling into bed. So sweet.

I can't wait to find out how Maria used the book in her classes. Let's go see here.

You can also click here to read an interview with author Sherri Duskey Rinker and learn more about her inspiring road to publication. And if you like what you've heard and seen so far, check out the second picture book by the amazing team of Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld -- Steam Train, Dream Train!

Book and Boogie in 2015!

Hope it's not too late in the month for an enthusiastic…..Happy New Year! Thanks for hanging in here with me, as I know my posts are sometimes few and far between. I'm happy to report, though, that I already have a couple fun posts lined up for the coming months. So stay tuned!

In the meantime, I wanted to highlight Book to Boogie -- a feature on The Library as Incubator Project website that I help curate. It's a monthly series that pairs picture books with dance and movement activities for preschool story time. The series already includes 19 posts, which means 19 great ideas for bringing movement into libraries, classrooms, dance studios, and homes!

I always try to feature the latest Book to Boogie posts in my Read & Romp Roundups, but you can also follow the series at The Library as Incubator Project itself. The mission of this wonderful project is "to promote and facilitate creative collaboration between libraries and artists of all types, and to advocate for libraries as incubators of the arts." This mission really comes out in Book to Boogie and the many other features on the site.

To entice you even more, here is a list of the talented guest bloggers who make the Book to Boogie series possible. Click on their names, and you'll see just how passionate they all are about integrating movement and the arts. Wow!

Jayne Gammons (kindergarten teacher)
Julie Dietzel-Glair (freelance writer and library consultant)
Maria Hanley (early childhood dance educator)
Amy Musser (children's librarian)

Jill Homan Randall (modern dancer and teaching artist)

Liz Vacco (dance, yoga, theater, and early childhood educator)

Read & Romp Roundup: Sept/Oct 2014

Welcome to the September/October Read & Romp Roundup! And since it's actually November, this post also gives me an opportunity to highlight one of my favorite online celebrations -- Picture Book Month! The Picture Book Month blog is full of posts from children's book authors and illustrators who have been sharing all month long why picture books are important to them. It's a very inspiring read, and one I am feeling thankful for this time of year!

Just in time for the cold weather, Darshana at Flowering Minds reviews the new picture book Flora and the Penguin -- the sequel to the popular Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle. Her post includes a delightful trailer for this lift-the-flap book about friendship, told through beautiful ice dancing scenes with the two main characters.

At Wild Things Yoga, Kathleen shares some yoga ideas to go with Manfish: A Story of  Jacque Cousteau by Jennifer Berne and Eric Puybaret. She uses the book to talk about the concept of Ahimsa (non-violence) and try out some fun yoga poses related to the sea!

At Mother Daughter & Son Book Reviews, Renee and her son highlight the new picture book Twelve Dancing Unicorns by Alissa Heyman and Justin Gerard -- a variation of Twelve Dancing Princesses but with unicorns instead! Renee says the book is "an absolutely enchanting tale weaving the themes of magic, love, and friendship" with artwork that is "among the best I've seen in picture books."

Book to Boogie is a monthly series of the Library as Incubator Project in which guest bloggers pair picture books with movement activities for story time. The September post was on Quick as a Cricket by Audrey and Don Wood. The October post was on Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball by Vicki Churchill and Charles Fuge.

Debbie at American Indians in Children's Literature features Girls Dance, Boys Fiddle by Carole Lindstrom and Kimberley McKay. The main character is a girl named Metisse who would rather play the fiddle than dance, even though most people in her community expect girls to dance. Metisse is part of an Aboriginal group known as the Métis people, who live in parts of Canada and the Northern United States. According to Debbie, you can find elements of Métis culture on every page! 

Read & Romp Roundup: July/August 2014

I just realized that August was the four-year anniversary of Picture Books & Pirouettes. When I was starting the blog back in 2010, someone asked me if there were really enough dance-related picture books to keep the blog going. I had done my research, and I knew that the answer was yes. But, as time has gone on, even I have been amazed by the sheer number of movement-related books out there -- those that contain movement, those that inspire movement, and those that do both. And they just keep coming!

If you check out the left-hand column of the blog, you will see some new releases, some books that have been on the shelves for a little while, and some others that will be published in the next few months. The July/August Read & Romp Roundup also highlights many of these titles -- a true testament to this special niche in children's literature. Thanks for helping Picture Books & Pirouettes keep going strong!

At Playing by the Book, Zoe hosted a summer picture book party that included reading, dancing, and creative cooking and crafts. One of the books she featured was Frances Dean Who Loved to Dance and Dance, which inspired Zoe and her daughters to dance with abandon, just like Frances Dean learns to do in the book!

Thanks to Cathy Ballou Mealy, I also found a lovely review of Frances Dean Who Loved to Dance and Dance on the blog The Illustrated Forest. The author of the post sums up this beautiful book by Birgitta Sif so eloquently in the first few lines of the post that I hope it entices you to read the rest. "Birgitta Sif writes books for people like us; she takes characters that are introverted and makes them brave; she makes them heroes in their own way, and if you are a little shy that is truly uplifting."

Kathleen at Wild Things Yoga shares a yoga lesson plan, perfect for first and second graders, to go with the picture book I Wonder by Annaka Harris and John Rowe. Following a discussion of the book and what her students wonder about in general, Kathleen explores the concept of wondering using movement. For example, "I wonder what would happen if we try to balance on our hands?" and "I wonder what would happen if we try to put our head to our knees?" Fun!

At Picture-Book-a-Day, Amy shares one of her monthly picture book roundups, where she reviews four recent picture books. Two of the books -- Father's Chinese Opera by Rich Lo and I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison and Frank Morrison -- contain lots of movement. And if you're looking for movement ideas to go with I Got the Rhythm, Amy's got you covered! She features the book, along with movement ideas for preschool story time, in the August Book to Boogie post at the Library as Incubator Project.

The July Book to Boogie post at the Library as Incubator Project features the picture book Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and Ted Rand. Written by dance educator Maria Hanley, the enthusiastic post provides plenty of ideas for getting babies and toddlers moving with different body parts!

Thanks to Darshana Khiani, I found out about the blog All Done Monkey, which recently featured a board book about dances from India! Dances of India is the first in a series of four books created by two mothers who wanted to increase the availability of multicultural books for small children. With the help of two characters named Maya and Leela, the book takes readers on a journey across India, introducing four classical dances from distinct regions of the country.

I had the pleasure of meeting well-known author and illustrator Jules Feiffer at a children's writing conference a few years ago and was delighted when I stumbled across a video of him discussing his new picture book Rupert Can Dance. The MacMillan Children's Publishing Group hosts the wonderful one-minute video, during which Mr. Feiffer talks about his inspiration for the book.

I recently discovered the blog The Brown Bookshelf, which "is designed to push awareness of the myriad of African American voices writing for young readers." In July, the site highlighted two picture books about young girls inspired to dance. The first -- Firebird -- is written by Misty Copeland, who as a soloist for the American Ballet Theater was the first Black woman to star in the Firebird ballet. The second -- A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream -- is about a little girl who becomes inspired by the first Black prima ballerina, Janet Collins.

And last but not least, I discovered a post on The Book Chook featuring a new picture book out of Australia called Little Piggy's Got No Moves. Written by the husband and wife team of Phillip Gwynne and Eliza McCann with illustrations by Tom Jellett, the book celebrates the uniqueness of every child through a story about Little Piggy, who learns that he really can dance, even though no one thought piggies could groove. Check it out!

Read & Romp Roundup: March 2014

Welcome to the March Read & Romp Roundup! Women's History Month was celebrated widely in March, so several of the submissions feature women who have broken boundaries in the world of dance -- the African American ballerina Janet Collins and the inspiring dancer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker. And of course, no roundup would be complete without picture books and movement ideas to go with them, which are also included. Enjoy!

At Good Reads with Ronna, Rita Zobayan reviews the popular new picture book A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream by Kristy Dempsey and Floyd Cooper. "Inspired by the story of Janet Collins, the first African American ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream is a story of high hopes and grand dreams," says Rita. Read the full review to see why this "wonderful tale of courage, perseverance, and determination" brought tears to her eyes.

Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month hosts special guest blogger Kristy Dempsey -- the author of A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream. What a treat! Hear from the author herself about her inspiration and experience writing the book. "A Dance Like Starlight is my song of thanks to all the women throughout history who have shown us who we can be and have given us an example to pursue our dreams with passion," Kristy says.

At Booktalking #Kidlit, Anastasia Suen features the new picture book Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby and Christian Robinson. Josephine struggled in her early life but became a celebrated dancer and performer after moving from the United States to Paris in the 1920's. Anastasia's post includes a snippet of text from the book, which is written in free verse. It also includes a book trailer and plenty of examples of the book's illustrations, which are stunning.

Maria from Maria's Movers shares some creative activities to go with the picture book The Squiggle by Carole Lexa Schaefer and Pierr Morgan. With her younger students, Maria used long colorful strings (as squiggles) to explore some of the ideas from the book, and with her older students she made up string dances!

And finally, don't forget to check out the March Book to Boogie post at the Library as Incubator Project. Dance educator Liz Vacco shares movement ideas to go with the classic picture book Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. She includes ideas for both younger and older students and recommends music to go with the movement!

Read & Romp Roundup: February 2014

Welcome to the February Read & Romp Roundup! As usual, we have a nice mix of submissions this month, including some poetry. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the reading -- which will hopefully lead to some romping as well!

Amy at Picture-Book-a-Day is back to share a short review of the new picture book A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream by Kristy Dempsey and Floyd Cooper. The book is set in the 1950's and tells the story of a fictional African-American girl who sees the first "colored" prima ballerina --Janet Collins -- perform. The review is part of a roundup that includes some other recent picture books:  Don't Play with Your Food, Mr. Flux, and Yellow is My Color Star.

Amy was also featured in the February Book to Boogie post at The Library as Incubator Project. In her post, she summarizes the picture book Move! by Robin Page and Steve Jenkins and describes her ideas for using it to inspire movement during library story time.

Elly at Yoga & Creative Movement with Elly suggests retelling the classic picture book Fortunately (by Remy Charlip) through movement games and yoga poses. She also suggests having kids tell, act out, or write their own story in a "fortunately…unfortunately" format. Check out her post for all the details!

Kathleen at Wild Things Yoga is a kindred spirit with a love for picture books and movement, especially yoga. This month she shares a lesson plan -- a shorter version for preschoolers and kindergartners and a longer version for first and second graders -- for combining yoga with the picture book The Leopard's Drum by Jessica Souhami. The book, which is a West African tale about a leopard who doesn't want to share a huge drum he makes, also lends itself to discussions about fairness and problem solving.

And last but not least, two guest dance educators join Maria's Movers to share their experiences using different kinds of poetry in their creative movement classes. Becca Beck and Kerry Bevens discuss building dances around poems, using poems as warm-ups, exploring nursery rhymes in class, and more!

Read & Romp Roundup: January 2014

Here's the January Read & Romp Roundup for your weekend reading…especially those of you who are stuck inside because of the rain or snow. There are some real goodies in this roundup, so enjoy!

At OMazing Kids, Angela shares two new additions to her collection of snow-themed picture books. Ladybug Girl and the Big Snow is the newest book in the popular Ladybug Girl series by David Soman and Jacky Davis. And One-Dog Sleigh, by Mary Casanova and Ard Hoyt, is a fun rhyming book about a whole bunch of animals squeezing into a single sleigh. Read Angela's post for her ideas on which yoga poses go best with the books!

To keep with the winter theme, Yoga & Creative Movement with Elly provides some yoga-inspired winter activities to keep your little ones busy if they are cooped up inside. Her post includes a short poem about a melting snowman, which would be great inspiration for some creative movement!

Reshama at Stacking Books posted about the new picture book Penguin Cha-Cha by author and illustrator Kristi Valiant. The book's main character, Julia, is sure she saw the penguins at the zoo dancing, but they just don't seem to want to do it again…at least not while anyone is watching. Read Reshama's post to hear more about how Julia tries to get the penguins to dance and to see some gorgeous illustrations from the book!

I'm so happy that Marta from A Bilingual Baby joined us again, this time with a post -- in both English and Spanish -- about a unique picture book version of The Nutcracker. Published by Usborne Children's Books with illustrations by Anna Luraschi, this book is recommended for preschool-age children, who will especially love pressing the buttons on the right-hand side of the book to hear different Nutcracker tunes by Tchaikovsky!

Dance educator Maria Hanley wrote two blog posts related to picture books and creative movement in January. Her contribution to the Book to Boogie series for the Library as Incubator Project discusses how to incorporate movement into story time with the classic picture book The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. On her own blog, Maria's Movers, Maria shares movement ideas to go with the rhyming picture book Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows and Kurt Cyrus.

And last but not least, Renee at Mother Daughter Book Reviews is signing bloggers up for a blog tour in March 2014 for the new picture book Good Night, Animal World. The book is the newest in a series of Kids Yoga Stories written by yoga instructor Giselle Shardlow with illustrations by Emily Gedzyk. Sign up for the tour if you want to join the fun!

An Interview with the Creator of Crafterina

I have a feeling that a lot of you know little girls and boys who love both ballet and crafts. And if you do, then I have a feeling you will especially enjoy hearing from our special guest today -- Vanessa Salgado! Vanessa is an accomplished dancer, dance educator, and visual artist who has combined her unique talents to create Crafterina -- who, you will find out in the following interview with Vanessa, is much more than a character in a book!

How did you come up with the idea of Crafterina?

After teaching children's dance classes across New York City for a number of years, I always seemed to encounter the same question from parents: what can we practice at home to make my child a better dancer? My answer always surprised them: don't practice the classroom exercises at home -- instead, expose your child to the arts, encourage them to play, read stories together, and share with them a love of dance. Eventually, after realizing that parents may need a bit of help encouraging creative thinking and moving at home, I was inspired to combine my dancing, illustrating, and teaching skills to create Crafterina.

Crafterina is a storybook, craft book, and dance lesson in one. When I was developing the character, I wanted to inspire young thinkers and movers to use their imaginations to create art and learn more about the world around them. I understood great value in interdisciplinary learning, and I believe Crafterina’s Read-Create-Dance approach is the secret to achieving our inspiring tagline of CREATE YOUR DREAM. This is the big lesson behind Crafterina: you can be anything you want to be and you have the power to make it happen!

Crafterina is such a unique idea! When you were creating her, did you envision how the book and the crafts might be used in a home setting?

The book was designed to unite parent and child in a creative quest at home. It is perfect as a nighttime story, or as a weekend dance and craft activity. By using simple household craft tools and supplies, children are encouraged to create crafts and use their imagination to go on dancing adventures. Embedded in the text are simple do-it-yourself craft instructions, making it easy to create crafts together as you read. 

The storybook and website are also an excellent tool and resource for dance educators. We hope to inspire more teachers to encourage creative thinking and moving in the classroom and at home. For more tips on how the book and crafts can be used, please visit our website: www.Crafterina.com. 

I noticed that Crafterina is also unique in the way she looks, especially the fact that she doesn’t have facial features. What was your reasoning behind this?

As the storyline developed, I felt it was important to create a character that all children could identify with. Our society has an immense focus on facial and physical beauty. The true beauty in the art of dance is not what one’s face looks like, but rather how the body is able to communicate through movement. The Crafterina character also embraces diversity and spreads a message of universality. To further this belief, we offer the Crafterina book in five additional styles so that all children can imagine they are the main character -- a creative, bright, beautiful, and talented artist!

Each child has a voice and a gift to share with the world. As grown-ups, our responsibility is to encourage young minds to believe in themselves and follow their dreams. We need more positive thinkers, role models, and leaders creating our world. Crafterina is a character to inspire a love for the art of dance in all readers and to spread the message that EVERYONE CAN DANCE!

That's a very inspiring message, and one that all children can embrace...especially when it involves crafts! Speaking of crafts, do you have a best-selling or most-popular craft? They all look like so much fun!  

Our Playtime Tableau has become a very popular craft and is very easy to create. Simply visit the Crafterina Etsy Shop to purchase and download one instantly. Once the craft is printed upon two pages of cardstock paper, carefully cut out and fold the backdrop and dancing characters to make them 3D. This particular craft is not only a fun toy for children. It also inspires thinking like a choreographer. Playing with the idea of symmetry, asymmetry, and stage directions, children learn from an early age how to create patterns and formations.

I like your idea of having crafts that go along with the Crafterina book but also having extra crafts available for purchase. So many possibilities this way! Would you have any recommendations for picture books that some of the extra crafts could be paired with?

I absolutely love using picture books to enhance learning for young dancers. For example, Nutcracker season is right around the corner. The Crafterina Etsy Shop is full of Nutcracker tableaus, puppet theaters, and masks to help bring this storybook ballet to life! One of my favorite picture book versions of The Nutcracker is a gorgeous pop-up book by Nick Denchfield with illustrations by Sue Scullard. The pop-up paper construction makes the story come to life!

Another series of popular ballet crafts are our Carnival of the Animals puppet theater, masks, and coloring pages. My favorite version of this whimsical tale is by Classical Music for Kids, with commentary by Barrie Carson Turner and illustrations by Sue Williams. The book even comes with a CD of Camille Saint-Saëns’ famous Carnival of the Animals score. 

For my third and final book recommendation, I'd like to highlight the board book Little Green by Keith Baker. A short and sweet story, this book is an excellent tool for dance educators looking to introduce the idea of pathways in a fun and imaginative way for their young students.

These all sound great. I've actually been wanting to get my hands on a copy of Carnival of the Animals for a few years now, so you have inspired me to go find a copy soon! Before we go for today, is there anything else you would like us to know about Crafterina?

I am working on new illustrations and crafts everyday and hope to spread the importance of creative dreams even further. I hope that my sharing of love for art with others may inspire many more young Crafterinas to follow their hearts and create their own dreams!  

I'd love for people to connect with Crafterina online via our website, our Etsy Shop, Facebook, and Twitter to become a part of our dance and craft community! Also, the Crafterina children's book is available on Amazon.com, Etsy, and iTunes for the iPad. 

Thanks so much for allowing me to interview you, Vanessa. I've loved learning about Crafterina and being inspired to be more creative!

Vanessa Salgado is a professional dancer and visual artist based in New York City. She can be seen performing with CONTINUUM Contemporary/Ballet and has also taught many little dancers throughout Manhattan, primarily at the School at STEPS on Broadway and at the Joffrey Ballet School. Vanessa is a graduate of the world famous Alvin Ailey/Fordham University BFA Program at Lincoln Center. She also holds a Certification in Dance Education from the Dance Education Laboratory at the NY 92nd St. Y, Harkness Dance Center. Her earliest memories involve story time with her dad, creating with her mom, and attending weekend ballet class alongside her sister, Donna. Her interests in visual art revealed themselves wholeheartedly in high school as she simultaneously trained vigorously for the professional dance world. As she transitioned into her college days and into her professional life, her incessant doodles and crafting have remained a source of wonder for those around her. For more about Vanessa, please visit www.VanessaSalgado.com. 

Read & Romp Roundup -- October 2013

Fall is in full swing, and hopefully the posts in the October Read & Romp Roundup will get you and your little ones swinging as well! There are even a couple posts with fall themes, including a "fa-boo-lous" Halloween rhyme to keep the holiday spirit alive. Here we go...

At Maria's Movers, Maria describes how she used a short poem about falling leaves with her 4- to 6-year-old dance students. She hung the poem on the wall, read through it, and then led a creative movement exercise based on the poem. For the 5- and 6-year-olds, she even separated them into groups and let them experiment with their own choreography! My favorite part of the poem is how the wind sends the leaves "dancing to the sky."

Lynelle from Flower Girl World introduces the picture book Camellia the Fabulous Flower Girl from her Flower Girl World series of children's books. Each book focuses on a different flower girl. One is a fashion model. Another is a cowgirl. There's even a detective among the group. So can you guess what Camellia might be? She's a ballerina! Check out Flower Girl World to learn more about the series, which also includes chapter books, and for information about preparing little girls for participating in a wedding.

At Picture Books Help Kids Soar, Vivian shares the 96-word rhyme "Halloween Dance Party Countdown" about dancing zombies, goblins, monsters, and more! The rhyme won an honorable mention in the annual Halloweensie Contest run by children's author Susanna Leonard Hill. Congratulations, Vivian!

Angela at OMazing Kids shares another fabulous post about how she incorporates picture books into her yoga and speech-language therapy sessions for kids. This month she explores I Love Monkey by Suzanne Kaufmann -- an adorable book about the importance of being yourself. Check out Angela's post for ideas on yoga poses, props, games, crafts, and music to go with the book -- and to see photos of the cute bendable sock monkey figurines she found!

I always look forward to posts from Reshama at Stacking Books about picture books with unique movement themes. This month, she shares a review of the new picture book Mitchell Goes Bowling by Hallie Durand and Tony Fucile. "Mitchell Goes Bowling is a HILARIOUS story of a four-year-old and how his dad combats, with an AMAZING amount of patience, a simple every-day problem of keeping his son's energy in check," says Reshama. Apparently Mitchell loves to knock things down!

And finally, I hope you will check out the October Book to Boogie post on the Library as Incubator Project website, where dance educator Jill Homan Randall discusses the picture book Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia. Dig, mix, lift, and tip along with Jill as she shares her ideas for using this book to get kids moving during library story time!

Read & Romp Roundup -- September 2013

Fall is slowly creeping in, with the leaves starting to change color and Halloween just around the corner. Thanks for all of your submissions to the September Read & Romp Roundup, which includes plenty of picture books -- both classic and new -- to keep the little ones moving as the cold air sets in this season. Enjoy!

Elly from Yoga with Elly shares two posts with us this month! In the first post, her beautiful writing explains how the classic book Harold and the Purple Crayon sparked her imagination as a child and how she strives to encourage that same magical sense of imagination in her young yoga students. She also includes a full lesson plan for the book, including both yoga and creative movement ideas.

Elly's second post features the new picture book Some Monsters Are Different by David Milgrim, including the lesson plan she used with the book in a recent yoga class for 4- and 5-year-olds. The book -- which addresses differences in appearance, style, and other characteristics -- was perfect for her weekly theme on making friends.

At OMazing Kids, Angela shares another new book -- A Little Bit of Oomph! by Barney Saltzberg. "It teaches the valuable lesson of throwing your heart into whatever you're doing and trying just a little bit harder -- because with a little extra effort and a little bit of oomph, you can make anything beautiful," says Angela. Check out her post to see the activity sheets she created to go with the book, which "moves" all by itself. Lots of flaps, spinning circles, pull tabs, and more!

Zoe at Playing by the Book shares a picture book by debut author and illustrator Alice V. Lickens that is sure to get your little ones up and moving. In Zoe's words, Can You Dance to the Boogaloo? is "essentially an illustrated poem about the joys of making music and dancing." Definitely check out Zoe's post for lots of fun surprises, including videos and ideas for making musical instruments at home!

Barb at Bookworm Yoga features a different picture book each month, and Exclamation Mark (also known as "!") by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld was her September pick. Her post includes a sequence of yoga poses to go with the themes and phrases from the book: exclamation mark, full stop, deflated, and "I've got it!"

Children's author Susanna Leonard Hill shares a wonderful interview with debut author Charlotte Gunnufson, who's picture book Halloween Hustle was just published in September. Hear all about Charlotte's journey to publication and the creative ways she is helping to market the book. Plus check out the book's awesome trailer!

And finally, over at the Library as Incubator Project, the Book to Boogie post for September was written by dance educator Liz Vacco about the picture book Fortunately by Remy Charlip. Liz has been using this classic book with her young dance students for years, so she has lots of ideas to share for integrating movement into a reading of the book at story time!