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 some tips and tricks for working with our
youngest learners in the library setting. This
week, we will be discussing two more books from
the Texas 2x2 list. The Texas 2x2 list is a list
of 20 books. Created by the Texas Library Association,
these books are ideal for students between the
ages of two and second grade. And so this week
we have two more Texas 2x2 books to share. The
first one being the book Spider in the Well.
This is a book written and illustrated by Jess
Hannigan and it is published by Harper Collins
in 2024. The list of awards include the ALSC
Notable Children's Book for 2025, Children's
Favorite Award Grades K -2 for 2020. 2025, the
Junior Library Guild Emergent Selection for 2024,
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
for 2024, and Georgia Children's Book Award Grades
K -4 for 2026, as well as the Texas 2x2 list
for 2025. And our author and illustrator is Jess
Hannigan, who also works in editorial illustration,
and she considers herself an all -purpose author.
She lives in Ontario with her partner Dan and
her cats, Mac and Theo. She has one other book
that just came out in April of this year, The
Bear Out There. And so the summary for this book
is a book told in parts. It is the story of a
newsboy that is basically being taken advantage
by the town. He is selling newspapers and cleaning
chimneys and delivering milk and shining shoes.
And in the process, he delivers the bad news
that their magic wishing well is broken. After
learning the supposed wishes of some of the townspeople,
he goes to look into this broken well to try
and fix it. And he finds that in that well, there
is a spider that has been listening to those
wishes and catching the coins. In that process,
he finds out the actual wishes of those townspeople
and they're not as kind and all caring as they
originally explained. And so, through a little
bit of coercion with the spider and the boy the
power shifts in town as the townspeople take
on some of those responsibilities for the newsboy
and the newsboy and the spider both leave a little
more money in their pockets um and so it's a
it's an interesting story it was kind of odd
but it was definitely like a fun story i enjoyed
it it was cute um There is some deception and
some kind of just, it was, it was a unique story.
The illustrations were very interesting to me.
I liked, they had just this unique style. There
were a lot of dark colors that were used with
some just like vibrant splashes of brighter colors.
They gave it kind of just an interesting effect.
The story itself, I think is entertaining enough.
that it will definitely keep the students' attention
when it's coupled with the pictures. I want to
say that I think this could be used for a lot
of different lessons on being truthful, on sharing
the... expectations in the workload in like a
group setting. Like I think you could read this
before you do like group work and kind of talk
about like making sure that it has an equal load
of the work when you're doing those kind of things.
Because that's clearly not what happened originally
in this story. Yeah, and just I don't know, it's
I think it's a fun story that I think a lot of
the students will enjoy. It's it's kind of off
the beaten path as far as like what I would have
expected from a book. Definitely. TLA picked
for this. I think it's a great story. I think
it's fun. It's just not. It's very normal mold,
you know? Yeah, it's it's it's a good book, though.
I really enjoyed it. It was it was fun. It was
clever. There were points where I was just kind
of like laughing because it was just so silly.
So I really did like it. I enjoyed it as well.
I as an adult, as an adult, I love it. Like just
reading it for funsies. I know like I mean I
Really enjoy reading children's literature, obviously.
That's why I became a librarian And I just like
even though it's such a quick read. It's it's
a lot of fun. I love the illustrations that's
hands down my favorite part and I think I love
the contrast in all the pictures and Just with
the coloring that was chosen. I feel like it
it just it It feels like Halloween to me, even
though it's not really Halloween themed at all.
Like the color scheme was very Halloween -ish.
It was very, and I really enjoyed that it was
written in parts. I like that it was divided
up that way. And I think even if you did it with
older kids, you could like, you'd be like, this
is the beginning, you know, like separating the
parts of the story and like for them creating
their own stories. like it's a good way to teach
something like that. I feel like it's pretty
morally gray and that I would struggle to read,
not struggle, but I feel like if I was gonna
do it with pre -K, I don't know. There would
be a lot of... I would feel like I would need
to stop a lot and explain a lot of the characters
motivations and such. I think for pre -k specifically,
there's a lot that's like, I think because it's
so morally gray, it's maybe those parts are a
little, it's too nuanced maybe that, I don't
know. I think some kids could get it. Maybe this
is because I have some, much most of my teaching
experience comes from pre -k special ed and so
I'm used to very much having like black and white
like in the classroom kind of experience with
like I'm teaching students with autism or something
so we're like really like there's no grade yet
like they'll get there but like with the students
that I've worked with for pre -k in particular
They're not just not ready for gray yet. So maybe
that's where my feelings are coming from. But
actually, overall, really enjoyed it. And I do
think that older kids would still enjoy it because
because of all the nuance. And I do think since
it is written in parts like you could definitely
do it like as a part of a writing lesson where
you're teaching like parts of a story and such.
Those are my complicated feelings on this book
that I did genuinely enjoy. I agree with you.
I think that there is a lot of nuance. What I
didn't consider, because I definitely thought
like with the older kids, like the gray area,
the nuance of like right and wrong and that kind
of thing. I definitely considered that for like
my older students. For kinder and pre -K, I honestly
don't know how much they'd notice. I think this,
if a kinder or pre -K kid reads this story, there's
the... the kid is the hero and the townspeople
are the bad guys and the hero wins and I don't
know how much gray they'll notice in that maybe
story you know I don't know I could be wrong
but that when I was reading it that's what I
was thinking that the students would think as
far and as far as that and that's true that some
of them might notice the gray but I don't know
how many of them really would at that age I don't
know you're right i know it's very clear that
our older students fourth and fifth grade students
would definitely be like this oh yeah sketchy
situation yeah for sure i feel like even like
second grade kids like probably yeah yeah um
but yeah like kinder and pre -k though i'm i'm
not sure if they would notice so much because
it's just the mean people that make him do all
the work and then they were trying to better
themselves and lied about it and then they end
up doing all the work kind of thing they help
they take on some most of his jobs kind of thing
so i don't know that's true um but maybe we don't
go over their heads yeah there is definitely
a lot of gray and i like that i like that they
it's not a clean i liked it too i i just like
i said complicated feelings that's all yeah You're
welcome to your complicated feelings, that's
good. So I think as a book for a pre -k lesson,
I would say this is probably, I would probably
give it like a four out of five, because like
you said, there is some stuff in there that might
be a little harder to explain. have a little
bit more conversations about kind of thing. As
a book overall, personally, I really enjoyed
it and I love it. But I think for like a lesson
with pre -k students, I'd give it like four out
of five bookmarks. Yeah. Yeah. And then if we
were to take this lesson and use it to inspire
a makerspace activity, honestly, this makerspace
activity I came up with is kind of more of a
craft, but I think it would still be fun. to
do. And I think it would be cute to see what
comes of it. You'd need some of the small paper
plates, some pipe cleaners, markers, like some
googly eyes. And if you give the students each
a paper plate with some pre hole punched holes,
the kids can use the pipe cleaners to make spider
legs and decorate their own mischievous spiders
to have to be able to like take home and tell
their parents about the story kind of thing.
Yeah, decorating their own little spider making
it their own I'm sure you can come up with different
ways. You don't need just markers I'm sure you
could come up with other ways to decorate the
the spiders you could either have them like tear
construction paper or Use tissue paper all sorts
of other things too, but you get some cool -looking
spiders Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun.
I'm sure kids would love doing that and they'd
I'm Sure have a lot of fun after they've made
their spiders. Yeah Having them play tricks on
other people. I think that would just happen
Which I think is still fun because you're still
kind of reenacting the story a little bit. Yeah
Yeah, it's a good time Absolutely, it'd be fun
All right So for our library of littles management
tip this week, I think we've mentioned this slightly
before, but we need it to come back. We're at
the beginning of the school year. And so this
is something that we have been working on for
the last couple of weeks and will continue to
work on is sticking with consistency and those
routines to get these students to understand
the expectations and just kind of reinforce that
we're going to be there to correct them and make
sure that they know what is supposed to be happening
when they're in the library setting. And so like
I always Try to stay consistent with the expectations
in the library before my students come in I make
sure they know that I'm expecting them to have
those calm bodies and their walking feet as they're
coming in and Like once they're on the carpet
and sitting we go over the expectations of how
their body should be calm and their hands should
be to themselves and they should be ready to
learn and listen and Keeping up with that and
making sure that when a student is struggling
with that to reinforce and remind and give those
positive praise when the students are doing what
they're supposed to and reminders when they're
struggling and staying consistent with that.
And then also, which is something that helps
with that, is to have a set routine of what you're
doing. Like, first we come in, then we sit down,
then we do our story time song, then we read
our book and staying consistent with those routines
so that the students know what to expect. and
staying consistent with those expectations so
that they know what they're going to be able
to get away with and what is the appropriate
behaviors is so important at the very beginning
of the year but throughout the year as well yeah
yeah but yeah you're right laying the foundation
at the beginning of the year is just absolutely
imperative and the campus i'm at right now this
is my um first year here and i'm the third librarian
to be here in three years the first librarian
was there for until she retired for a very long
time and the second librarian was only there
for two years and I can just the both Lowe's
librarians did such a good job laying the foundation
for me before I got here that like I can literally
see when like before I give the kids any instructions
I can see like the difference between like the
third fourth and fifth graders are still doing
the things that the first librarian had set in
place like before even say a word they come in
and they all sit at specific spots at tables
and like this and I can just tell this is what
they did and I was fortunate enough to get to
have a conversation with that librarian. And
sure enough, that that was their routine. They're
still living it out, you know, years later, because
she just worked so hard making that setting that
laying that foundation for me. And then I can
tell with our first and second graders, like
they know when they check out books, there's
a certain spot that they go put it in the room
that I didn't I didn't have to teach them that.
Like the librarian for the last couple of years,
she had a Those were the her newer kids. So those
were the ones that she like really worked hard
laying the foundation with them. And I can again,
I can see like this is when they checked out
books, this was their process and they're still
living it out for me every day. And I happen
to really like that process. So we're probably
going to keep doing that one. But it's yes, it's
it's super imperative to be consistent, lay the
set those routines early on so that you can have
a good school year. And even, I mean, especially
as librarians, like we get them for, we're fortunate
enough to have the same kids year after year,
um, in this role. So if you work hard in the
beginning, kind of front load all the things,
set those expectations, they'll keep doing it
for years to come. It's wonderful. Yes. And I,
like I was telling you, like a lot of the kids
I'm having right now, I'm having to be that guy
that's like hard on them and like, Nope. This
is, this is what we do. You can't put your hands
on other students. You can't be rolling around
on the floor. Like in a lot of these students,
I think, I don't know if it's something that
they get at home or not, but I think it's something
that they, they look for because so many of these
kids that I'm having to be hard on and say, no,
this is not how we're doing this. You need to
sit still. You need to, are the same kids that
are coming to me being like, I'm so happy we
get to come to library because I think most of
these kids, they want. that structure they want
to know the boundaries and being consistent and
upfront and sticking with it that's the biggest
thing is you got to stick with it and yeah make
sure that they know that you're not going to
go lax on it yeah um but doing that it's true
it's something that these especially the younger
students they really need that because it helps
control their their situation and it's a way
for them to know that there's somebody there
that's that's keeping an eye on them and and
There to make sure that they don't get too far
gone from there what they're doing kind of thing
You know, like it's really helpful for them and
they might not like it in the moment when you're
correcting them but I think they appreciate that
you're there and That consistency is comforting
to them. So yeah Well, our next book that we're
going to talk about today from the two by two
list is called Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm. And
it was published by Astra Young Readers, an imprint
of Astra Books for Young Readers in 2024. The
author is Lindsay H. Metcalf and the illustrator
is Jin Li. This book is a junior library guild
selection for 2024, a Kansas notable book 2025.
Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book Award 2024,
and of course the Texas 2x2 2025. And for our
author history, Lindsay Metcalf is a journalist
turned award -winning author of non -fiction
and poetry for young people. She lives with her
husband, two sons, in a menagerie of pets a few
miles from the Kansas farm where she grew up.
Some of the other books that she's written are
Tomatoes on Trial, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham,
Beatrix Potter scientist, illustrated by Junyi
Wu, no brain the same, there's no named illustrator
yet and it's to be published in June 2026. And
she's written a middle grade non -fiction book
called Farmers Unite, planting a process for
fair prices. And she's written a young adult
nonfiction book, which is called Footprint, Eunice
Newton Foot at the Dawn of Climate Science and
Women's Rights. Cool. All right. And the illustrator
Jin Li was born in China. Her parents named her
after the city that she was born in, which is
Jincheng. She is a children's author and illustrator.
Her goal in creating books for children is to
leave children with a sense of being understood.
She currently lives in Norway with her spouse
and daughter. Some of her other books. First,
the one that she wrote and illustrated is, I
Lived Inside a Whale. And then books that she
has illustrated, You Are Not Alone by Ingrid
Law. You and the Universe by Stephen Hawking
and Lucy Hawking. The Star Makers Apprentice
by Sam Hay. You Are Home by Mackenzie Porter.
And I Love Chinese New Year by Eva Wong -Nevah.
And in this book, it kind of follows these two
pen pals, which are called Ephraim and Emma.
Each of them grow up on a different kind of farm
one isn't I mean just based on the title you
can probably figure it out one is an indoor farm
and one is an outdoor farm and it kind of shows
the different processes at first it kind of highlights.
how different the farms are where one farm, you
know, the outdoor farm is, you know, more traditional
farming methods. And obviously there's soil everywhere
and things like that. And the indoor farm, there's
no soil growing and we're, you know, it's a very
different process. It kind of, and it goes through
all four seasons throughout, it prankels it through
a whole year. So you can see how everything changes
from season to season. You can see that like,
things are growing at different rates from the
indoor farm from the outdoor farm and as it's
written there's very few very little text on
each page um there's only a couple lines on each
page and it's and it's all kind of rhyming and
it flows really well i really liked the cadence
of it all um and you can it's all it is a non
-fiction it's non -fiction is ish um lots of
facts thrown in there obviously emma and effron
are fictional characters, but the rest of it,
all the information is very much nonfiction.
And I just, I really enjoyed the illustrations.
It was very kind of calming. You can kind of
see everything growing really well. And at the
end of the book, I really loved that there was
a lot of back matter explaining in more detail.
some of the different processes that they use
with farming. So it was just a really great,
you could use it with a lot of different age
levels, I think, because of the back matter that
was added at the end to kind of make it a little
bit more complex and kind of tailor it to your
students. And I just thought it was a really
excellent teaching tool for really just growing
food and where food comes from. So many of our
pre -k, I think. Pretty much everyone forgets,
I think, where food actually comes from, because
it does just magically appear at the grocery
store. But especially for our pre -K students
who have no concept of how anything gets anywhere,
this is a really great way to introduce, you
know, the food doesn't in fact magically appear
at the grocery store. And it does have to come
from somewhere. We do have to grow it. And it
is important to have good farming processes.
I thought it was, if you have anything to do
with food in your curriculum, this is a really
excellent book. Like for the purpose of teaching
anything with that. So I think I would give it
a five out of five with respect to that. So yeah,
it was a good one. Agreed. I really enjoyed it.
I thought it was very cute. I love like even
I was learning some fun things about like the
indoor, like the hydroponics and all that kind
of like there's some really cool stuff in there
and I think that a lot of kids will find it interesting
because you're right a lot of these kids have
no idea where their food comes a lot of these
kids think all the foods that they have come
from cans or boxes and that's where they came
from you know yeah so to go beyond that to where
like the actual origin point yeah something that
like the kids know what farms are in uh like
we sing they do that's true animals and that
kind of thing but like making the connection
that this is where it's grown and it goes from
there and there's a process for it to get to
my plate is a whole other thing. And so like
introducing some of this is really cool. And
I agree. I think so many lessons can be, this
book can be used for like talking about food
or just like making healthy choices for foods
that we actually grow instead of just. the stuff
that's just completely processed and all that
kind of stuff, like so many different things
to use with it. So love it. Love this book. Excellent.
Yeah, this was a great one. I think for a makerspace
activity, really, because there is such a heavy
emphasis, I mean, it's really all about farms.
So you could do anything with farms, really.
There's so many different directions you could
go and there's I mean, if you need something
just quick and easy, I feel like almost every
classroom ever has the little animal manipulative
counters that use with math so you could just
like throw those in with a bucket of blocks and
just have kids like build farms if you just need
something that you know has literally zero prep.
If you're feeling brave and I have in the past
I don't know if I'm brave enough this year I
don't think I have enough time in my schedule
this year and I haven't figured out how to paint
yet and with my current schedule. But if you're
feeling brave, I think a fun thing to do with
this kind of a book is at vegetable prints and
like getting like a stalk of celery and like,
you know, cutting it off so you can print it,
put the end of the celery in some paint and then
put that on a piece of paper and that, you know,
makes that fun rose pattern. And then Apples
are always a fun one to cut up and do that, too,
because it has a little star shape in the middle.
So when you cut that in half, you can see the
little star inside. And again, you dip it in
the paint and then put it on a piece of paper.
And that's always a fun one to do as well. And
potatoes are another. And carrots. I think most
vegetables or hard fruits like that are really
fun to just paint with. But then you're getting
messy. I don't know. It's a risk. No prep is
always fun too, which is building a farm for
little farm animals. So either way is fun. I
like the idea of doing the vegetable prints and
stuff. I think that would be fun. We would definitely
need to make sure we contain it, but it would
be fun. I've done it before and I've enjoyed
it, but I had help. That was when I had a paracubbing.
I don't know if I could, I don't know. I don't
know. I haven't figured out painting in my current
situation yet. I don't know. We'll see! Not today.
Maybe someday. I hope so. Sure. It'll be fun.
Yeah. Well, thank you all for joining us today
on this episode of Librarians of Littles, and
we hope you found some fresh ideas for inspiring
young 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.
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