Book love! A great review in Bookpage and a third star for Raindrops Roll (Beach Lane/S&S), this time in Publisher’s Weekly. Woodpecker Wham, with Steve Jenkins, will be released May 12 and was recently reviewed by Kirkus. I’m just back from three weeks photographing creatures in FL beaches and wetlands. Can hardly wait to share the FL photos with you, readers. This year I’m going to update my website to make it more interactive. In the meantime, “Like” my facebook author page April Pulley Sayreand from there I’ll keep you updated on when the new interactive site is ready. Other recent blog reviews and interviews on Richie’s Picks, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, and Think Quick Interview.
Raindrops Roll in Wall Street Journal
Greetings from here at my desk, Jan 5, 2015! “. . . we read and are refreshed by such beauty and natural simplicity,” says the Wall Street Journal of my just released photo-illustrated book, Raindrops Roll. It was favorably reviewed in a Wall Street Journal article Jan 3, 2015, page C9. How wild is that? For another lovely review, see BookPage. There Julie Danielson says: “With expertly crafted, economical text and vivid photographs, April Pulley Sayre brings readers a tribute to the wonders of rain itself.” 2015 is shaping up to be a great year. I’m busy writing and out in nature doing photography for picture books and middle grade books under contract. In addition to Raindrops Roll, out now from Beach Lane/S&S, I’m also looking forward to Woodpecker Wham, illustrated by Steve Jenkins, which will be released by Henry Holt on May 12, 2015. My husband’s recent work, Kaufman Field Guide To Nature of the Midwest, coauthored with the Kaufmans, will be out from Houghton Mifflin in late April. We so appreciate your support, as readers and educators. Your buying our books and recommending them to others allows us to do this healthy, joyful work of exploring and sharing nature, science, and playful language. Happy 2015, friends!
Picture Book Month is November!
I’m honored to be a Picture Book Champion this year. See the calendar, essays, and activities this robust group has planned for November, 2013: www.picturebookmonth.com
Common Core and More
School Library Journal’s Myra Zarnowksi, Marc Aronson, and Mary Ann Cappiello serve up some common core nonfiction mentor texts in an article. Here Come the Humpbacks is included, hooray! This year it’s been productive using the book with kids to get them writing. Apparently a lot of what I do in presentations and books ties in with common core. Educators are cluing me in on how how it all dovetails. Feel free to contact me and share your wisdom. I could use links to anything you do with my books or see in my books that ties in well with common core. I would like to share general common core/nonfiction resources with educators I meet at conferences, school visits, and so on. This year I’m speaking a lot at STEM events. The more quality books/resources that reach our children’s minds, the better! As always, INK, .inkrethinkblogspot.com is a font of inspiration for nonfiction and the writing process. I’m not blogging on there this year but did so in previous years.
Alphabetical Seed Guide for Let’s Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat
Here are photos of seeds to help you identify the seeds in my book Let’s Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat, (August 27, 2013, Beach Lane Books). Continue reading “Alphabetical Seed Guide for Let’s Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat”
Sea Turtles and StoryWalk at Essex
It’s been such a busy year that I’m only now getting around to reporting on some of the terrific places I’ve visited. In February I was greeted by giant sea turtles at Essex Elementary in VT, where I met a kindred spirit, librarian Carol Scrimgeour. Continue reading “Sea Turtles and StoryWalk at Essex”
New Books Featured
My new book Touch a Butterfly: Wildlife Gardening With Kids is featured on the National Wildlife Federation website. They are some of the best educators in the field of wildlife gardening and have been spreading the message for years. So it’s an honor to be on their blog.
Let’s Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat, which is being released in August by Beach Lane is reviewed in the renowned journal Kirkus. At the risk of overusing exclamation points, I say: Hooray!
On the Road!
In my namesake month, I’m mostly on the road doing school visits in spots like the one pictured here. The educators and children are so energizing! Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me, too.
Common Core Masters: Librarians
If Common Core is about encouraging inquiry, the people we should be consulting are trained librarians: the masters of guided, deep inquiry. Susan Raben at Lyon is a master librarian and clear communicator: she should be teaching thousands of educators nationwide about inquiry. Rachel Davidson, at Henking, is a new tech guru who taught me tons about QR codes and how to get kids creating content and truly interacting with the web, not just imbibing it mindlessly. 
Hey, administrators nationwide…need help with common core? Go look for the experienced, trained librarians you’ve been undervaluing and laying off. (Thankfully, not these two, whose administrators know they rock.) Librarians are the ones who know how to get kids thinking more deeply about text and content! And these were just two librarians/inquiry masters i met last week while doing school visits in Glenview, IL. This week I’m in schools again; who knows who I might meet.