Hello, I'm Patrick Adams. And I'm Caroline Legere.
And this is Librarians of Littles, a podcast
where we discuss books, give makerspace ideas,
and give tips and tricks for working with our
youngest readers. This week we are going to be
talking about two wonderful books that come from
the Texas 2x2 list for 2025. The Texas 2x2 list
is a list created by the Texas Library Association.
It includes 20 books that are perfect for children
between the ages of two and second grade. And
so this week we're going to discuss two books
from our Texas 2x2 list, the first of which is
Bears Lost Glasses. It's written and illustrated
by Leo Timmers. It is published by Gecko Press
in 2024. So this book is on the Librarian Favorite
Award List of 2025, the Children's Favorites
Award List of 2025, and the Texas 2x2 list for
2025. Leo Timmers also was on the New York Times
best illustrated children's book of 2019 for
his book, Monkey on the Run. Leo Timmers was
born in 1970. He studied advertising and graphic
design and worked for many years as an illustrator.
He made his debut as a picture book author. in
2000 with Happy with Me, and Leo's books have
been translated into 32 different languages.
Some of his other books are Kind Crocodile, Gus's
Garage, Monkey on the Run, Frankie, Elephant
Island, and Where is the Dragon? And so the summary
for this book, Bear has lost his glasses and
he cannot see without them. Believing that he
has left his glasses at Giraffe's house, Bear
goes to find them. Along the way, Bear sees many
animals that he didn't know were around. As he
finally makes it to Giraffe's house, Giraffe
helps Bear find that his glasses are actually
just on top of his head the whole time. As he
explains to Giraffe all of the amazing animals
that he believes to have seen, they walk back
towards Bear's house, passing all of the objects
that Bear saw that he believed to be different
animals. In the end, as Giraffe is with Bear,
Bear slides his glasses up and believes to again
see another animal. In fact, he believes to see
three lions. As giraffe looks we as the readers
find that they're actually just three large sunflowers
or dandelions and so this is a really cute silly
kind of story. It's pretty simplistic as far
as the the storyline goes, but this is going
to be one of those books that a lot of kids are
going to enjoy because it's that kind of silly,
goofy, like that's not what that is type of books.
The bright pictures with the large white backgrounds
makes those images pop and will keep the students
engaged and keep their attention. The pictures
and the creativity are wonderful for this book.
And I think that, like I said, a lot of kids
are going to like this. It's going to bring a
smile to their face because there just kind of
seems to be that goofy character that he forgot
his glasses were on top of his head. He thinks
he's seeing all of these different animals. And
so it's one of those books that I think a lot
of kids are going to enjoy. It's probably definitely
one of those books that is going to be better
for pre -K and maybe kinder. Above that, the
kids, it might just be too simple for like older
kids, but this is a perfect one for the younger
ones. I think that I would say this is probably
a four out of five bookmarks book. I think it's
a lot of fun. Sounds like it's a really solid
choice. I haven't had the privilege of reading
it just yet, but it sounds like it would be a
lot of fun. And I don't know, for me personally,
as one who has needed glasses a lot my whole
life forever, like I feel that pain. I... It
sounds like without having read it, it would
also be kind of good for like we, my kid's elementary
school used to have a unique week where they
kind of celebrated a different, I guess, disability
every day throughout the week. And they would
do something different every day. And this I
think might be a good one for learning about
people who might have visual impairments or might
have difficulty seeing something. might be a
good way for kids to relate to that because it
can be kind of hard for kids to learn that other
it just learning that just different people's
different abilities i guess might be a better
better way to say that yeah um yeah i think this
one might be a good one for that kind of find
that connection that way yeah for sure yeah because
you're right having to wear glasses having a
hard time seeing being visually impaired to the
point where maybe you need to use one of the
walking sticks so that you can feel what's in
front of you to be cautious and that way a lot
of those things some of these kids haven't had
to experience haven't been exposed to and so
yeah this might be a great way to introduce some
of those ideas which I love that because then
making using the book to help make the entire
campus a more accepting An accessible place for
a lot of kids. I love that idea. That's excellent.
Alright, so for the makerspace activity, this
would take a little bit of prep work, but I think
it would be fun. You could. Pre cut some construction
paper shapes. Now when I say pre cut, you could
use a die cut. You could just like randomly cut.
Some different shapes just kind of freehand.
however you want to do it but I like the idea
of giving the kids a pre -cut shape and a piece
of paper having them use some glue or a glue
stick to put their pre -cut shape somewhere on
their paper and then tell them that now that
they've got that shape there they need to make
it into some kind of animal similar to how Bear
sees these random shapes and thinks that they're
certain animals so Give the kids a pre -cut shape
and say, OK, put it on the paper. Now make it
into an animal you think Bear might think it
is without his glasses on. And have the kids
get to use some of that creativity that they
have, because so many of them have so many ideas.
So give them an outlet for that. Have them be
creative. What kind of animal could this shape
turn into? And have them use their colored pencils
or crayons or markers to make the shape into
that animal, have them add the scales or the
teeth or the arms and legs and kind of give them
the freedom to create that animal based on the
simple shape that they're given. The other option
is that you could pre -print a piece of white
paper that has like a the start of a shape kind
of drawn, which I've seen people do that before
where they get like they just draw like a squiggly
line and then have the kids decide what that
squiggly line could become. So you can do that
too, but I like the idea of having like a specific,
like just a random shape that they work with.
But either way, this would give them the opportunity
to use that creativity to come up with something
to make one thing into something else, you know?
just like bear as he's walking past a tree and
assumes that it's a deer or when he walks by
bushes and he thinks it's a crocodile. So letting
the kids take a shape that could be one thing
and thinking about it as what another idea of
what it could be and getting them to be creative
like that would be a lot of fun to see what they
come up with for sure. I love that. I love that
it kind of gives the kids Um, just enough guidance
to, it gives them enough guidance that they're
not completely lost, but gives them enough creativity
that they can really go with it and make it their
own. I love that idea. I like it a lot. And like
I said, I think that it would just be fun to
see what kind of creative ideas they come up
with. I'd be, cause I know that there'd be some
really cool ideas that would come out of that.
That'd be a lot of fun. Yeah, I agree. Some of
them are probably just going to scribble a little
bit and be like, I did it. And so, but I think
most of them, like you said, we're going to have
some like really creative things that they come
up with that I know I wouldn't come up with on
my own. All right. This week for our library
of little tips and tricks, we are going to discuss
the importance of advocacy. We want you to advocate
for your library and advocate for makerspace
and having a plan for when someone questions
why is the library so important? Why are they
just playing in the library? Why are we doing
all of these things? So we as librarians going
through being coming certified to be librarians.
We know the importance of all of the things that
we're doing in the library, but those on the
outside who have not had the experience have
not had the education that we've had. It does
sometimes look like we're just letting kids play
and just having kids check out books and not
really. There's not always. It's not always the
most structured environment in the building and
so. Being able to advocate for yourself, being
able to explain, this is why we do this, this
is why it's important, especially for our youngest
learners, is something that we cannot under emphasize.
It's so important. And so some important things
to do to think about so that you're ready if
your administrator or some other teacher asks,
why are you doing these things? Well, first,
coming up with some kind of a mission statement
for your library, having a plan as to what your
goals are, how you're going to achieve those
goals and how you're going to know when those
goals have been met. Planning out a mission statement
for the library in general really does help with
that because then you can say, well, I'm trying
to do this. This is what I'm doing to get to
that. And here's how I know when I'll be there
and when the kids will be there so that you can
be well articulated and have a clear plan to
express yourself with those people is extremely
important. And then having some backup documents
coming up with either some research -based studies
or having some other Other sources that can you
can refer people to to explain why we do the
things we do in our library is also really helpful
in Your district Caroline they made an entire
early childhood makerspace kind of one pager
that explains This is what we expect to be happening.
Here's why and then here are all the things that
are really happening it might not look like that,
but when we as Educators are interacting with
these students. This is what we're really doing.
We're including critical thinking and communication
and collaboration and allowing the kids to be
creative. And so having that one page kind of
flyer that just is like, here's what we're doing.
Here's what makerspace really is. Here's what's
actually happening when the students are working
on these activities. And here's why that's all
important. If you can come up with something
like that and plan it out so that you're prepared
before people start asking and you have those
answers ready. I think it really helps to solidify
your role and to help people. Get on board with
okay. It's not that they're just letting these
kids play. There's a reason behind it There's
a purpose there are skills that are being practiced
and taught and worked on with these activities
that we do Being able to express those things
and having it ready before anyone actually ever
asks just makes it a lot easier to have a steady
Steady footing for that discussion Absolutely.
It really is critical that we as librarians are
kind of prepared for those hard conversations
because they're happening a lot right now. And
especially when we're doing something that, like
MakerSpace, that definitely looks like it's just
play and looks like it's just a free -for -all,
but it's actually very intentional. It is imperative
that we're ready for those conversations and
we can say the why behind why we're doing what
we're doing. And it's important for us to remember
that as educators, we know that so much of learning
happens through play. But those people that come
into our buildings may not have that background
that we have or may have been so far removed
from that background that they forget those things.
And so it's our place to remind them of that.
Why is the work of early childhood? Absolutely.
And so that's something that needs to be reiterated
and oftentimes people need to be reminded of
that over and over again. And so that's part
of our job and we want to make sure that people
understand that libraries are those places where
students have access to books and we're going
to do everything we can to make sure students
get to hear more stories and are exposed to more
literature and have access to all of those books.
we're also there to help them grow and learn
and have fun and make connections and That's
a lot of what makerspace is doing also and so
yeah, we need to be able to express that clearly
So that people understand the why Mm -hmm All
right for our second book today that we'll be
talking about It's called Ahoy. It's published
by Anne Schwartz Books in 2024. The author and
illustrator of this book is Sophie Blackall.
This book is a Children's Book Council Librarian's
Favorite Award 2025, Horn Book Fanfare 2024,
ALSC Notable Children's Book 2025, Junior Library
Guild Selection 2025. Naturally, it's a Texas
two by two, which is why we're talking about
it today for 2025. And it's also on the Colorado
Bell Picture Book Awards for Early Literacy Shortlist
for 2025 and Best New Books for Missouri Students
2024. Sophie Blackall is written and illustrated.
No, scratch that. Sophie Blackall has illustrated
over 50 books for children. including the New
York Times best -selling Ivy and Bean series.
She is originally from Australia and she now
lives between Brooklyn, New York and the Catskill
Mountains and she and her husband run a retreat
for the children's book community called Milkwood
Farm. She has won the Caldecott for both Finding
Winnie in 2016 and She wrote and illustrated
Hello Lighthouse, which won the Caldecott in
2019. I think that's it. But yeah, she's had
over, she's illustrated over 50 children's books,
so she's done quite a bit of work in the children's
book community. The summary for this book is,
there's a parent vacuuming a blue rug at home
when a young child comes in the room and brings
some props to build a ship on a rug and warns
that a storm is coming. Initially the parent
says that the cleaning must be finished right
away, but soon the parent becomes a sailor and
accepts the young captain's commands and together
they sail the seas on the blue rug until the
other parent comes home and joins in the fun.
Really liked this book a lot and the more I looked
at it the more I loved it I think for this one
for me. It's a five out of five Initially, like
it really does read like an episode of Bluey
like it feels very much like it's just a single
episode of Bluey words just a kid's gonna play
and the parents gonna join in the fun and that's
about it, but it It actually starts out with
like the very first page that you see is a glossary
that defines these awesome nautical terms for
children with terms that I didn't know and still
I need to read it again apparently to learn some
of them. But it like defines like the poop deck
and things like that but like like you hear it
and you know it's a nautical term but you don't
maybe don't know I didn't know. What technically
what it was until i read the glossary for this
book. Even though the like when you're reading
it there's no the only text is just the dialogue
between the characters there's not really anything
like moving the story along it's not. There's
not a whole lot of words in it a lot of the story
is told through the pictures but you still get
all of that. Wonderful vocabulary in it. There
were like 10 different terms that were defined
in it, which I think is kind of great Initially
when I was reading it I read it to be like When
I was reading it, I like I I imprinted my own
social constructs onto the characters Where I
was like, oh, that's clearly the mom vacuuming
because the mom vacuums I guess and that's just
like what my brain saw right away But then when
I was reading it again for the summary, I was
like, wait a minute No, it was not a mom actually
I have no idea like all the characters are kind
of androgynous and you can kind of Define it
how you need to define it based on your family
and your background. So I thought that was super
cool when i was looking back through it like
they have like beanies on the character so that
you don't have a lot of hair everywhere so it
can really kind of go either way and you can
define it yourself and the same with the child
that the parent calls the child peanut throughout
so it's like an endearing term it's very sweet
but you know again. Could let it go either way
and it's not really a real name and. It could
be anything. Same with like their skin tones
where it's just kind of an average could be any
ethnic background. You kind of as the reader
you kind of get to decide all of those things.
So I loved that that it kind of made it really
accessible for like really everyone in the world.
That was very cool. And that was definitely something
I missed the first time around reading it. I
had to read it twice to really get that. And
it really. And it was just, I don't know, I just
loved it. It was a very simple story, but very
sweet love that it's the parents are building
that relationship with the child and kind of
putting the child first. But they still, you
know, the parent takes a break in the middle
of it to take a phone call. So like it still
shows the parents taking care of the business
that. Needs to be taken care of but then they
always come back to the child because that's
what really matters and the family is important
I loved this one. I'm going with five out of
five Yeah, I agree. This was such a cute story
and I love the illustrations were just Amazing
and bright and colorful and just kind of popping
off the page. It was wonderful I really enjoyed
the story. It was super cute and I agree. It's
just one of those it's a Just a kind of a perfect
picture book for for kids to show that first
off you can Use your imaginations and you know
what? Sometimes adults can take a break and join
you and have fun with you and you get to spend
that Quality time together. It was it was really
cute book. I agree. Excellent Yeah, so I think
for the makerspace activity Mean really and truly
you could do any kind of a make -believe activity
because it does start out with like the parents
just Vacuuming that big blue rug and they turn
the big blue rug into the ocean and they have
all these You know things that you would just
find randomly throughout the house to build a
you know make -believe ship So you could really
just do any kind of a make -believe activity
and that would work but if you wanted something
more specific you could just Like build your
own ship of any kind in the library i feel like
a lot of us have a lot of legos hanging out because
legos are fabulous mayor space tool so. Very
specific activity that you can do is just build
a ship with with legos so you could since they
use it blue rug. In the book you could for the
ocean you could just have like small blue towels
or small blue any kind of scrap. Really I mean
it could just be a blue piece of construction
paper for your ocean if you need like underneath
the Legos Ideally obviously you'd have the big
blue Lego plates But if you don't have those
readily available or if you have like the green
ones And then you need the blue ones you could
just use a blue sheet of construction paper and
build on top of that So you would have your ocean
and you know build your little ship on on top
of that. And because it does have all of that,
the glossary with all the terminology, you could
challenge the kids, which I know not all of them
would be able to do it at the pre -k level, but
definitely some of the older kids I think would
be able to include some of those different parts
of the ship that were defined and were shown
earlier in the book and kind of have a more complex
structure. I think kids would really enjoy to
be able to get to have the chance to build with
Legos because like you said kids love the Legos
and then to try and include as many parts of
the ship as possible I love that because then
you're working on those vocabulary words and
they are showing you that they're they're comprehending
and they understand what they're doing I love
I love that idea I think that would be a lot
of fun and I bet that you'd Find a lot of interesting
kinds of special ships being built that be a
lot of fun to see what comes like what gets made
Yeah, I think you could Yeah, the kids could
really be created with it. And yeah, you're right.
They could build their own kinds of ships, too
That would be a lot of fun Yeah Very all right.
I love that idea Well, thanks Well, thank you
all for joining us today on this episode of Librarians
of Littles. We hope you found some fresh ideas
for inspiring our youngest readers. Please be
sure to subscribe and connect with us on social
media. Happy reading! Thank you for listening
to this episode of Librarians of Littles. We
hope that you've enjoyed it. Check back each
Wednesday for a new episode. Librarians of Littles
is a podcast produced and hosted by Patrick Adams
and Caroline Legere. Editor, Patrick Adams. Our
theme song is performed by JD Adams. You can
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