By Sam Swope

In 1995, writer Sam Swope gave a workshop to a third-grade class in a Queens school bursting at the seams with kids from around the world. So enchanted was he with his twenty-eight students that he \"adopted\" the class for three years, teaching them to write stories and poems. I Am a Pencil is the story of his years with this very special group of students. It is as funny, warm, heartbreaking, and hopeful as the children themselves. Swope follows his coloring troop of resilient writers from grades three to five, coaxing out their stories, watching their talents blossom, explode, and sometimes fizzle. We meet MeiKai (whose mom is a Taoist priestess), Aaron (who cannot seem to tell the truth), and Noelia (a wacky Dominican chatterbox). Preparing his students for a world of adult dangers, Swope is astonished by their courage, their humanity, and, most of all, their strength. I Am a Pencil is a book about the power and magic of imagination, providing a unique window on the immigrant experience as seen through the lives of children.

By Vivian Gussin Paley

As she enters her final year of teaching, Vivian Gussin Paley tells in this book a story of her own farewell, as well as a story of self-discovery of Reeny, a little girl with a fondness for the color brown. Led by Reeny, Paley and the children develop a passion for the books of Italian author Leo Lionni, and reinvent their classroom around discussions of these stories. Through Frederick the mouse and Lionni's other characters they explore themes of race, identity, gender, and the essential human needs to create and to belong.

By Vivian Gussin Paley

Visiting a London nursery school, Vivian Paley observes the school children's reception of another visitor, a handicapped boy named Teddy. A predicament arises, and the children's response offers Paley the purest evidence of kindness she has ever seen. In subsequent encounters, "the Teddy story" draws forth other tales of impulsive goodness from Paley's listeners, and resonates through this book as one story leads to another.

Illustrated by Vivian Gussin Paley

'Paley's vivid and accurate descriptions depict both spontaneous and recurring incidents and outline increasingly complex interactions among the children. Included in the narrative are questions or ideas to challenge the reader to gain more insight and understanding into the motives and conceptualizations of Mollie and other children.'-Karen L. Peterson, Young Children

By Read to Me Program 2005

This video presents 50 families as they read with their children under two. The babies have their own delightful ideas about what to do with books. Their parents do their best to keep up!

By Iona and Peter Opie

The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren, based on contributions from 5,000 schoolchildren all over Britain, was the first book in which children themselves were consulted about their traditions and beliefs. The result was a revelation, and the book has remained the Opies' best known.