Activities for Loreen Leedy Books!

Here is a handy list of links to download FREE printable activities and ideas to engage children with informational picture books such as Step by Step, Fraction Action, Amazing Plant Powers, and Seeing SYMMETRY by Loreen Leedy. Activities include writing, drawing, labeling, puzzles, presentations, coloring, and more.

The direct links below will take you to each resource in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop...enjoy! For all free book activities, click here.

• This 50+ page PDF guide to all Leedy math, science, social studies, and language arts picture books includes 2 X 2 = BOO!, There’s a Frog in My Throat, and Crazy Like a Fox: a Simile Story. Each book’s page includes a summary, reviews, art notes, and one or more activity ideas for students. Additional printables for Measuring Penny, My Teacher is a Dinosaur, and more are in the ZIP file.

• Amazing Plant Powers: How Plants Fly, Fight, Hide, Hunt, & Change the World is packed with photos and information about plant adaptations such as thorns, bark, flowers, and much more. The printables include a photosynthesis diagram to complete and a writing prompt to record plant products in the classroom such as paper, wood, and fiber.

• Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story tells how Rufus the fox sneaks up behind Babette the sheep to roar like a lion (which makes her as mad as a hornet) plus other antics to entice Babette to chase him to her own surprise birthday party. This PowerPoint presentation reviews the similes in the book using photographs of the real things used as comparisons (lion, daisy, and so on.)

• Jack & the Hungry Giant Eat Right with MyPlate updates the classic tale with a giant chef named Waldorf. This popular PDF (over 30,000 downloads) includes a graphic organizer to list items from the different food groups and a MyPlate template to draw and color.

• Missing Math: A Number Mystery shows how impossible life would be without numbers and math; we couldn’t keep score, have birthdays, use clocks, computers, or phones, and so much more. This poster prompts kids to design a new book cover and summarize their thoughts about the many ways that numbers are important.

• My Teacher is a Dinosaur and Other Prehistoric Poems, Jokes, Riddles, & Amazing Facts takes readers on a whirlwind tour from the early days of life on Earth to the emergence of humankind. These printable pages include a scavenger hunt inside the book, a prehistoric word search, and a book report poster prompt.

• Seeing SYMMETRY is a great STEM title to help children visualize math concepts such as wholes, halves, equality, transformations, and other math concepts in the world around them. This resource includes ideas for introducing the book, a scavenger hunt for images in the illustrations, draw-the-missing-half pages for a tiger or a triceratops, and templates for creating original designs with line or rotational symmetry.

• Step by Step is a guessing game about baby animal tracks for preschool, kindergarten, and first graders. Download this PDF for coloring pages with baby animals and their footprints, a craftivity, directions to make Animal Track Snacks, plus drawing and labeling activities. 

• 2 X 2 = BOO! A Set of Spooky Multiplication Stories stars ghosts, cats, witches, and skeletons in funny problems. The printable has a writing prompt for examples from the book and space to draw and write equations about something good to multiply (e.g. candy apples) as well as something bad such as smelly socks.

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading, teaching, and creating!

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy

A baby sea turtle coloring page extension for the picture book Step by Step by Loreen Leedy

Free activity guide for Loreen Leedy books

What happens when a web site is out of date? Google sends you ominous emails saying your site is not "mobile friendly," which is clearly a bad thing (...cue the scary music.) The tricky part was that each one of my 40+ books had a separate page with a good amount of relevant information and I couldn’t figure out how to easily transfer all these pages to the new site. This stalled all progress for awhile until I decided to downsize the new site, leave out the older book pages, and create an archive instead. All of the individual pages have been reformatted into a free downloadable PDF guide to Loreen Leedy books available on this site or in my TPT shop.

The cover image from the Guide to Loreen Leedy Books, a free downloadable PDF

My books relate to many topics in the elementary school curriculum so this guide is designed to be helpful for parents, teachers, and librarians. The titles are divided into the categories Math, Language Arts, Science and Nature, Social Studies, Holidays, and Fiction. Each page has a summary, reviews, excerpt, cataloging and illustration details, an image, and an activity related to the subject matter. Some sections have an bonus page or two of additional book extensions. The guide is 50 pages, and will be updated when new books are released.

An example from the free Guide to Loreen Leedy Books, showing the page for Step by Step

Redoing a web site is a big job but we all live online these days and increasingly on our phones so one has to channel Hansel and Gretel and toss out those breadcrumbs so people can find us. I had been using an old version of Dreamweaver which was functional but only just, and could not create a mobile site (or it was beyond my ability to figure out how!) What I was looking for in a site-builder was the following:
 • Behind-the-scenes updates to keep the site functioning without me having to think about it
 • Good design options with a variety of themes, fonts, colors, layouts, and so on
 • A built-in blog
 • Reasonably easy to update and figure out the tech stuff
 • The ability to have an online shop (haven’t utilized it yet...)
 • Not overly expensive

Squarespace was the one I ended up using and it has worked out well. Like most interfaces it was kind of confusing at first but I kept looking stuff up in the Help files and sent an email or two to Customer Support. The answers came within a few hours and helped me fix a couple of glitches such as navigation links hidden behind images (the pages needed more “padding.”)

I haven’t added everything that could potentially be on my site but at least the major breadcrumbs have been sprinkled around, such as information about my recent books and links to my classroom resource shop. So far I’ve left my old Blogger blog as is, with a final post directing readers here. Someone knowledgeable suggested that I redirect posts from my old blog (somehow) but honestly it doesn’t seem that urgent to me. Maybe if I planned to “monetize” this web site the traffic numbers would matter but since I hate random ads in the middle of blog posts, that’s not going to happen.

Quite a few blog subscribers have signed up so that’s nice! If you’re new here, the post topics include writing and illustrating children’s books and educational materials, demos, tech tips, and no doubt a pretty random post here and there. If these sound interesting, please subscribe to my blog >>> in the sidebar >>>

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading, teaching, creating, or whatever you're up to!

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

Free guide to children's books with math, science, and language arts content by Loreen Leedy  

50+ ways to use comic templates in the classroom

Kids of all ages love cartoon characters and comics, so why not take advantage of that positive connection? Comic strips are sequential in nature and generally use both words and images to convey their message. Templates are a good option because having the panels already on the page provides some helpful structure and takes away the fear of the dreaded "blank page." Offering several different designs allows students to choose the layout that appeals to them.

How to use comic strip templates in the classroom for any subject

The educational concepts and topics that work well in a comic format are endless. Almost any subject matter or grade level is a possibility from STEM to ELA and beyond, and it doesn’t have to be humorous. Those students that prefer not to draw can make a collage of photos. We’ll start with ideas for a specific number of panels.

2 Panel Comic

• Before and After
• Then and Now: for example, what your street looked like 100 years ago and today
• Main Idea and Key Details
• Cause and Effect
• Pros and Cons
• DOs and DONT’s
• Fact vs. Opinion
• Idiom: Literal and Understood meaning
• Theme vs. Main Idea of a story
• Proper and Common nouns
• Synonyms and Antonyms
• Prefixes vs. Suffixes
• Fiction and Nonfiction characteristics
• Contraction vs. Two Words such as I’ll vs. I will
• Even and Odd numbers
• Numerals and Number Names
• 2D shapes and 3D shapes

Two panels work well for 2-part concepts such as Cause and Effect

3 Panel Comic

• Beginning, Middle, and End of a story, event, or process
• A 3-step sequence such as making the bed: First, Next, Last
• A life cycle process such as Seed, Sprout, Flower
• Main Character, Setting, Plot
• Author’s Purpose definitions: Persuade, Inform, Entertain
• KWL chart: what I Know, what I Want to know, what I Learned
• Place Value: Standard form, Word form, Expanded form
• Fraction Forms: Number, Words, Picture
• Types of Fractions: Proper, Mixed Numbers, Improper
• Types of Lines: Parallel, Perpendicular, Intersecting
• Steps in an illustrated recipe
• Text Connections: to Text, Self, and World

4 Panel Comic

• The 4 Seasons: a tree or scene as it changes through the year
• Types of Sentences: Declarative, Interrogative, Exclamatory, Imperative
• Ways to Revise: Add, Remove, Move, Substitute
• How to Edit: Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, Spelling
• Types of Angles: Obtuse, Acute, Right, Straight
• Story summary: Characters, Setting, Problem, Solution
• Sights, Smells, Sounds, Tastes of a country, holiday, habitat

General Ideas

• Science concepts such as erosion, growth, mitosis, the scientific method, and so on
• Graphic novels
• Things to do on vacation
• My goals
• Jokes and riddles
• Autobiography or biography
• Book report
• Announcement
• Advertisement for a fund-raiser
• Tell a story using dialog only
• Define vocabulary words
• Illustrate verbs, nouns, adjectives
• Measure something several ways
• Write word problems and solutions
• Compare two or more ideas, books, people, or objects
• Define several fiction genres
• News story with Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How?

Writing a biography of Abraham Lincoln using a comic strip template

Seasonal Ideas

• Back to School get-acquainted activity: My Pets, Favorite Foods, Hobbies, Interests
• How-to Steps: carve a pumpkin, rake leaves, build a snowman, or plant a seed
• Facts about Bats, Turkeys, Reindeer, President Lincoln, and so on
• New Year’s Resolutions
• Things I love for Valentine's Day
• My Favorite President: Opinion and Evidence
• Signs of ______: a season, event, or holiday

Tips for Creating Comics in the Classroom

1) Write ideas and sketches on scrap paper first. 

2) Choose template or draw panels to organize content. Don’t forget to leave space for a title and student name.

3) Write and draw in pencil first. 

4) Use numbers and/or arrows to guide readers if reading order is important. 

5) Go over pencil lines with pen or marker (or paste in cut out pictures.) Color if desired with favorite coloring tools. 

6) Add more pages as needed. 

So, I got on a roll with these ideas and there are a few more than fifty as it turns out. Hopefully these will be inspiring, and students will no doubt think of other great ways to use the comic format for thinking, writing, and making pictures about multiple topics. With all these different options, it would be easy to make new comics every week!

It’s not that difficult to make your own templates with a simple graphics program. If you would prefer print and go printable pages with 40 templates including themes such as apple, pumpkin, and Christmas tree layouts plus extras such as comic-style words and speech bubbles, please visit this link in my TPT shop.

Comic strip templates for Kindergarten through 12th grade writing and art

If these ideas have been useful, please subscribe to my blog >>> in the sidebar >>>

Thanks for stopping by and happy reading, teaching, creating, and/or taking a break!

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

50+ ways to use comic strip templates in the classroom for any subject or grade level

Why printouts are wonky (and how to fix it)

It's so annoying to print out a PDF and what you see onscreen is NOT what gets printed on the page. To achieve WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) may seem an impossible task with many desktop printers or maybe it's just my HP Officejet. But with just a tweak or two plus some test prints, there IS hope.

Troubleshooting a printout that is not WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)

These are banner templates in progress, designed to print 2 per page and sized so that you only have to cut the paper in half and trim off the little triangle of paper at the bottom of each banner. Or at least that's how it's supposed to work! The next two photos show examples of how the printout can be off-center and/or too large or too small:

Because the printed image is too small, this would require a lot of extra cutting to trim off the excess paper.

The image in this printout is so large it has run off the edge of the paper, making it useless.

What causes these glitches? Generally more than one control affects the size of the image so use the list below to troubleshoot:

• Paper size: check to make sure the paper size selected matches your actual printer paper. For example, my printer includes some custom dimensions such as postcard size. In my software you click the Printer button to get access to the Paper Presets.

Use the built-in paper presets or create custom sizes and paper types such as glossy photo paper, cardstock, and so on.

• Percentage: some programs allow you to choose a specific custom percentage larger or smaller than 100%.

• Borderless: often runs the image off the edge of the paper. It may work in combination with a reduced image size if that option is available. In other words, using a Borderless option with a 95% image size might be just right.

• X and Y Controls: these allow you to enter numbers to fine tune the position of the image on the paper, but only some programs have them as an option (Adobe Illustrator, for example.)

• Size Options: Fit, Actual Size, or Shrink Oversized Pages are controls in Adobe Reader.

• Software: Outdated printer or PDF reader software can cause a myriad of issues such as entire sections of the image disappearing, looking grayed out, or other anomalies.

You just have to try the options because the little preview image of the page isn't very precise. To get an accurate printout from Adobe Reader, what worked in this case was to select Actual Size with a 8.5 X 11 inch Letter size plain paper preset. However, settings can change depending on the image being printed so ••• always make a test print first ••• to be sure. Because, what's even worse than an off-center printout that's running off the page? Printing 30 of them!

The photo below is what I want, banners that are easy to cut out with very little trimming needed. Now I can go ahead and add the lettering and details on them, so yay!

It's not always important to have a file print perfectly but often it does make a big difference. Printer options and controls do vary but hopefully these tips will help the next time your printouts get wonky.

Thanks so much for coming by! If you would enjoy more posts about children's books, classroom activities, educational resources, and freebies >>> please subscribe on the blog sidebar >>>

Happy reading, teaching, creating, and whatever else you're doing!

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

Good printouts that are aligned mean less cutting and trimming

Growth Mindset Rebus Puzzles

Many teachers, school counselors, and parents are using growth mindset concepts to help children learn more effectively. As students find out how their own brains work, they learn methods to “train their brain” such as choosing a different strategy, extra practice, making a plan, and thinking outside the box.

Growth Mindset Rebus Puzzles give kids a fun challenge as they "think sideways" to solve them.

One growth mindset principle is that struggle is the start of making new pathways in our noggins. As we practice a new skill, the neural connections become stronger until what began as novel and difficult becomes an easier task. It occurred to me recently that rebus puzzles would make a fun challenge for kids because creative, "sideways" thinking is required. In addition, multiple brain pathways are engaged due to combination of visual and verbal clues. Hopefully this makes the solutions, i.e. the growth mindset statements, more memorable.

How to solve Growth Mindset Rebus Puzzles in 4 easy steps: Decode, Record, Color, Reflect.

The steps to solving the rebus puzzles

• Decode the clues, which may consist of pictures, letters, numbers, arrows, and so on.

• Record the growth mindset statement on the How My Brain Grows! response page.

• Use favorite coloring tools to color in the puzzle.

• Invite children to think more deeply about the statement by completing the writing and drawing prompts on their response page.

Let's get started

Each of the 12 Growth Mindset statements has 3 ability levels to choose from from Beginner to Advanced. I suggest using one puzzle at a time so students can absorb the concept. A workable schedule could be to introduce one statement a week for 12 weeks.

Choose from 3 ability levels for each growth mindset rebus puzzle (36 options in all).

• Print a puzzle and a How My Brain Grows! response page for each child.

• Go over the rebus examples on the How to Solve a Rebus Puzzle page. Laminate if desired for students to refer to.

• After children solve the puzzle they color it in and record the growth mindset statement on their response page.

• Students complete the writing and drawing prompt for that week’s growth mindset statement. 

Display the finished puzzles and prompts for everyone to enjoy, then switch them out when the next puzzles are completed. Add to student portfolios or journals or have students take them home to decorate their rooms.

Building on what they've learned

As a follow-up activity students will use the Blank Templates and additional 12 statements provided to create their own original rebus puzzles with a growth mindset theme. Along with a template and response page, each child will need scratch paper to sketch out their new puzzle before writing and drawing the final version. After displaying the original student-made puzzles for awhile, consider placing them into plastic page protectors in a binder to make a unique class book. Use one of the printable Display Titles as the cover for the book.

Please click on this link to see a preview and video of the puzzles and other pages in this resource.

I hope this article has been useful. If you would enjoy more posts about children's books, classroom activities, educational resources, and freebies >>> please subscribe on the blog sidebar >>>

Thanks so much for coming by!

Happy reading,

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

Help students train their brains with engaging growth mindset rebus puzzles!

21+ Activity Ideas for Nonfiction Children’s Books

Parents, teachers, librarians, and children’s book authors have the same goal, to inspire kids to become good readers for academic and career success as well as lifelong enjoyment. It's vital for students to master informational texts according to the education learning goals set forth in the Common Core State Standards and similar guides.

Students must be familiar with a number of concepts to effectively read and write informational text.

Providing quality resources to young readers is a great way to start. Nonfiction books for kids have come a long way from the traditional style that included just the facts plus some photographs. A wide variety of attractively designed titles are available including narrative nonfiction, image-laden books that are great for browsing, and “active” nonfiction that teaches the skills to make or do something. For a helpful guide to 5 overall categories of nonfiction books, please see the posts about The Nonfiction Family tree on children’s author Melissa Stewart’s blog, such as this article.

How are book-based activities useful?

Reader engagement is increased by activities that help students think deeply about and work with the text, images, vocabulary, diagrams, and other content in the book. Writing, drama, art, and other creative projects require multiple learning styles and brain pathways, and help make the information much more memorable. Let's explore some options!

Blog post: 21+ activity ideas for nonfiction children's books

Introducing the book

Make it as simple or involved as you prefer. Sometimes it's fine to jump right into reading a book with little advance preparation and go with the flow. Here are some additional approaches to try:

• Preview a book’s content ahead of time to get kids thinking about it. For example, to introduce the topic of my book Step by Step, show a photograph of animal tracks and invite guesses about which animal made them.

• Read a page or two aloud with students and ask for predictions about what the rest of the book will contain. Take a survey to see what students believe about the topic.

• Students can complete a KWL chart to record what they Know before reading the book, what they Wonder about while reading, and what they Learn from it.

• Older students can choose a book to read on their own then create a project based on its content. Suggest a few ideas such as the ones listed below to help them get started.

• Read a fictional story that relates to the nonfiction book’s content.

Record the content

During or after reading, make a list, mind map, or topic cloud of the subject matter, themes, and curriculum connections for the book. The image below lists the topics in Step by Step.

Click the book cover image to get FREE Step by Step activity pages in my TPT shop

Inspiration for creation

Brainstorm activities that will allow students to think carefully about, research, write, and create using the book's content. Some may require advance prep by the teacher. Below are several examples that work for many nonfiction books, depending on the age level.

• Scavenger hunt inside the book for vocabulary words, facts, and/or pictures
• Coloring pages, a craft, diorama, mobile, drawing, or painting
• Diagram with labels
• Write a song, chant, or poem
• Book review in a unique form such as comic book style
• A new front cover design
• Sequencing cards to put events in order
• Illustrate and describe a step-by-step process
• A follow-up slide presentation about the content
• Poster to summarize or promote the book
• Mini-book or class book inspired by the topic
• A chart or map of the information
• A board game, illustrated glossary, skit, or bulletin board display
• Think of a food tie-in such as this example of animal tracks snack ideas

Putting it all together

Round up some materials, help the kids start planning, and let the creating begin! The activities will vary depending on the book, student level, and time available. And based on my experience, kids find book-inspired projects challenging, enjoyable, and very memorable.

Hopefully this article has given you some fresh ideas for nonfiction book extensions to help your students get more out reading informational texts. If you would enjoy more posts about children's books, classroom activities, educational resources, and freebies >>> please subscribe on the blog sidebar. Thanks so much for coming by!

Happy reading,

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

21+ Activity Ideas for Nonfiction Children's Books

Plant Adaptation Book and Activities

Amazing Plant Powers has been out for awhile but I just got around to making these FREE printable activity pages...oops! This picture book is full of information about plant adaptations and has received nice reviews such as "A great supplement to plant units, and a welcome introduction to informational texts,” from a review by School Library Journal. More info is available on this page of my web site.

Click book cover image to get FREE activity pages in my TPT store.

My husband Andy and I co-wrote it and took most of the photographs, which are the primary images in the book. Andy has a Ph.D. in plant pathology so that was a big help! Amazing Plant Powers is available from the usual sources so request it from your librarian or order it from a bookstore to make use of these printable pages.

The objective for these activities is to engage students in looking closely at the text, photographs, vocabulary, and other content in the book, per the Common Core State Standards for Reading Informational text. Here is what is included:
• a photosynthesis diagram to label
• plant power searches
• book report poster activity
• plant superhero writing prompt
• plant product search
• scavenger hunt
• journal note pages

Click image to view FREE printable pages for Amazing Plant Powers.

I hope these pages will be useful and enjoyable for your classroom or library. Thank you so much for coming by, and if you’d enjoy more posts about children's books, classroom activities, educational resources, and freebies >>> please subscribe on the blog sidebar.

Happy reading!

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

Animal Tracks Snacks!

To celebrate my new book Step by Step, I’ve been brainstorming ideas for using it in the classroom, such as in this previous post. Recently, while browsing through Instagram, some creative posts under hashtags such as #funfoodforkids and #healthykidsfood inspired me into a flurry of scribbling. Wouldn’t it be fun to munch on some pepperoni paw prints or deer footprints in cream cheese “snow”? 

Scribbling down some #funfood ideas for snacks that look like animal tracks.

To briefly summarize the book, each right hand page has tracks made by a variety of baby animals including mammals, reptiles, birds, and invertebrates. Each adorable (or at least intriguing) baby is revealed to young readers on the next page. The simple repetitive text and realistic illustrations make it an ideal informational book for PreK, Kindergarten, and First grade classrooms.

Cover and pages from Step by Step, a book of baby animal  tracks. Click image to get freebie pages in my TPT shop.

The appetizing snack examples shown in the photos are duckling, fawn, puppy, and penguin tracks, which are easy to make. The paw prints are cut up pepperoni slices, the fawn track is an almond cut in half, and the penguin’s are pretzel sticks carefully “sawn” with a serrated knife.

Just a few of the yummy snacks you can make to tie in with animal tracks, baby animals, nature, wildlife, and similar themes.

The duckling tracks started as a square slice of cheese. Cut as seen below: gently slice horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Trim corners off as shown. I also cut off the pointy back part of the duckling footprint. 

Duck track cheese cutting diagram (have you ever seen one of these before, lol?!?) 

Here are some useful ingredients for making animal track snacks:
 BASE LAYER Rice cakes • Crackers • Bread slices • Pancakes • Sliced vegetables such as cucumbers
 STICKY LAYER  Cream cheese for “snow” • Peanut butter for “soil” or “mud” • Butter “sand”
 TRACKS Pretzels • Deli meats • Cheese slices • Salami • Nuts • Pieces of fruits and vegetables

Pretzel sticks, pepperoni slices, and, cheddar cheese make penguin chick, puppy, and duckling tracks.

You’ve probably noticed by now that these examples use non-sugary ingredients. But cookies, frosting, and candies could provide similar results. If you make any animal track snacks, please let me know because I would love to see what you come up with! 

Thanks so much for coming by. If you’d enjoy more posts about children's books, classroom activities, educational resources, and freebies >>> please subscribe on the blog sidebar.

Happy reading!

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

Making Animal Tracks Step by Step

If you're planning baby animal, nature, or habitat themes for primary kids in your classroom or library, my new nonfiction picture book Step by Step will come in handy. The book starts with pages full of muddy paw prints and the question, "Who walks in the mud?” When young readers turn the page they'll find the answer (a puppy.)

A puppy walks in the mud, that’s who! 

The next page asks, “Who waddles to the pond?”  It turns out to be a mallard duckling. The simple pattern of the text combined with realistic illustrations make it an ideal informational text for Preschool to Grade 1 readers (or readers-in-training.) It works well as a read aloud and for individual perusal. The back matter includes additional facts for kids to discover.

The book's first review has already come in and is very positive (whew!):
“...The simple, patterned presentation neatly imparts multifaceted information, and a handy, succinct addendum will encourage second and third views. Effortlessly enlightening.” Kirkus Reviews

I'm super excited that a board book edition of Step by Step for babies and toddlers will also be available. Though I've been in the children's book biz since 1984, this is my very FIRST board book. The official publication date is in May.

Let's brainstorm a few ways to use this book, shall we?
 THEMES
 • baby animals and their names
 • animal tracks
 • nature
 • habitats
 • doing things “step by step”

CONTENT
 • tracks • footprint • paw print • toes • claw • walk • waddle • crawl • run • hop • dig • mud • sand • snow • mammal • bird • reptile • invertebrate • insect • crab • birth • hatch • egg • baby • grow

ACTIVITY IDEAS
 • Whose Tracks are These? Cut sponges into animal footprint shapes, glue to corregated cardboard, then print tracks with paint. Draw a picture of the animal that corresponds to the tracks.
 • Who’s Making Tracks? Trace around feet on construction paper, cut out and make tracks leading to each child’s picture on a bulletin board.
 • We Learn Step by Step: bulletin board promoting perseverance, grit, staying on task.

For FREE printable activity pages that tie in directly, please click on the image below to pick them up in my TPT shop:

Click here to view the Step by Step activity pages

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you'll come back for more posts about children's books, classroom activities, educational resources, and freebies! >> Please subscribe on the blog sidebar if you get a chance>>>

Happy reading!

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

Easter egg math activity with symmetry

The Easter bunny wants a selfie too, and one with symmetry is extra special, don't you agree? Any image with line symmetry can be used; the idea is for Kindergarten to Grade 4 students to make every shape on one half the same color as the corresponding shape on the other half. For example, if one cheek is pink, they will color the other cheek pink also. Here are a few symmetry words and concepts this activity will review:
• Half • Whole • Line of symmetry • Match • Equal • Repeat • Mirror image •
Supports the Common Core State Standard for 4th grade geometry: 4.G.A.3.

Click image to preview Easter eggs with symmetry in my TPT shop

To do this activity from scratch, you could fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise and crease it to make the line of symmetry. With the paper folded, cut out the shape of half an egg. Unfold, then draw a design on one half, then repeat it as a mirror image on the other half. Color so that both sides match. Another idea is to use construction paper to make the egg, then put splotches of paint on it, fold on the crease and press, then open the egg and allow to dry.

For a low prep printable version, check out my Symmetry is Eggciting! resource. It was recently updated to include 3 levels of difficulty for each of the 10 designs to allow for differentiation:

Print one level or let students choose what they're comfortable with.

If you already have this printable activity, please check on your My Purchases page on Teachers Pay Teachers to download the updated version that now includes the intermediate option. The finished symmetrical eggs make a beautiful bulletin board or door display.

I hope you and your class have a wonderful spring!

Loreen Leedy
Children's author-illustrator
Instagram: @loreenleedybooks
Pinterest: @LoreenLeedy
Facebook: @authorLoreenLeedy

From print to digital with a picture book

Some years ago I wrote and illustrated a nonfiction picture book about the life cycle story of sea turtles that was published by Doubleday. Tracks in the Sand had a starred review, multiple printings, and was named an Outstanding Science Trade Book by the National Science Teachers Association. But like most books, it eventually went out of print and could only be found in libraries or perhaps a used book store.

The funny thing is, the sea turtle life cycle has not changed in millions of years. So the content of this book is still accurate and useful for general informational reading as well as Ocean, Reptile, or Turtle units in classrooms. When the technology for digital books became readily available, especially tablet reading devices, it seemed like a great opportunity to bring Tracks back to life. Here are the basic steps I followed:
• Ask the publisher to return all rights.
• Revise the planned layout and/or text as needed.
• Scan the artwork and adjust colors.
• Reformat the pages to fit tablet and projection screens.
• Place type on the pages.
• Save in desired format.
• Upload to online shop or bookstore.

It actually took weeks to get it all done. Some other requirements came up because the first digital version was for the iBookstore, so each page had to be cut in half to work with their "page-turn" animations, and a half-page cover had to be created. To see a preview of how it looks as an iBook, click here. Personally, I'm not a fan of the whole page-turn thang, it just seems kind of silly. And I really dislike how the digital “gutter" is so visually prominent. Too distracting and phony.

Picture books present some tricky issues when adapted into a digital format. Unlike text, images don't easily reflow, and if a two-page spread was originally designed as one wide image, it doesn't work well to split it up. The only alternative is to make the wide image very small, then the reader has to zoom in and swipe around to see it up close. Awkward.

My solution for Tracks was to completely redesign the pages—each digital page is about 75% of a two-page spread from the print book. Some people may prefer to keep a digital book as similar as possible to the original print version which is certainly an option. Not me, I enhanced the contrast in the art, left out some images entirely, and moved some seashells around. I also made a few minor changes to the text, such as moving a text reference to “mating” from the beginning to the end of the text.

Recently I decided to put Tracks in PDF form, which can be read in the iBooks app (without any page-turns), viewed in a PDF reader app, or shown via a projection system in a classroom. Here is a composite image which also shows the printable activity pages. To see a preview in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop, click here.

Hopefully this post gives a helpful overview of what is involved in putting an out-of-print picture book into digital form. If you're really organized, you could design the book from the start with digital in mind. Step one might be to avoid double-page spreads. Not sure if that's a good idea, but it's something to consider.

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Loreen
Children's author-illustrator
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