Printables – Peachtree Publishing Company Inc.

Spring Babies & Summer Babies: Celebrate the Wonder of the Seasons with Babies in the Park

Peachtree Publishing Company — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 20:00:14 +0000

Spring Babies and Summer Babies
Written by Kathryn O. Galbraith
Illustrated by Adela Pons

The babies are back! As the days start warming up and daylight gets longer, celebrate the wonder of blooming spring days and balmy summer afternoons with the fun-loving babies in the Babies in the Park board book series! From award-winning author Kathryn O. Galbraith and illustrator Adela Pons (our very own in-house graphic designer!) come the last two books in the series, featuring a set of energetic characters who love to play in the park all year long.

“Vibrant, jewel-tone artwork and simple texts are the hallmarks of these engaging introductions to the natural world… Upbeat and active early concept books for young explorers.” —School Library Journal

“With its companions, a sweet and cheery introduction to the seasons for the youngest readers.” —Kirkus Reviews

All four of the Babies in the Park board books celebrate their respective seasons with bright, inviting color palates and talk of typical seasonal activities and outdoor occurrences, such as rainy days and dandelions, butterflies and bees.

Spirited, rhyming text coupled with colorful, graphic art help to introduce early concepts such as shapes, numbers, and repetition, while also encouraging an appreciation for nature and imaginative play. Each board book makes for a great stand-alone read, but when the books are looked at side-by-side, readers can see the familiar park landscape change according to each season.

For fun activity suggestions and inspiration for seasonal outdoor play, check out our Babies in the Park activity sheets for spring and summer, as well as for autumn and winter. You’ll find fun ideas for celebrating the wonder of each and every season!

Curious about how illustrator Adela Pons created the beautiful artwork for the whole series? Check out the feature, “From the Sketchbook: Adela Pons” from Children’s Book Council!

Get your copies of Spring Babies and Summer Babies on Amazon or at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble!

Dr. Carter G. Woodson: Father of Black History Month

Peachtree Publishing Company — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:00:33 +0000

Each year in the month of February, we celebrate the lives of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, and many other famous African Americans. Yet there are many African Americans throughout history who have made great contributions we know nothing about. Carter Reads the Newspaper is picture book biography of one man, Carter G. Woodson, and his commitment to learning, truth, and the creation of Black History Month.

Carter Reads the Newspaper
Written by Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrated by Don Tate

Carter G. Woodson was born to two formerly enslaved people ten years after the end of the Civil War. Though his father could not read, he believed in being an informed citizen. So Carter read the newspaper to him every day. When he was still a teenager, Carter went to work in the coal mines. There he met a man named Oliver Jones, and Oliver did something important: he asked Carter not only to read to him and the other miners, but also research and find more information on the subjects that interested them. “My interest in penetrating the past of my people was deepened,” Carter wrote. His journey would take him many more years, traveling around the world and transforming the way people thought about history.

“Young readers will be caught up in his story…. Quotes are seamlessly woven into the narrative, and a time line, list of sources, and bibliography add research appeal. Of special note are the illustrations, which include more than 40 portraits of black leaders… Their images and one-line biographies will pique further interest, making this a valuable resource for school and public libraries.” ―Booklist

“Hopkinson skillfully shapes Carter’s childhood, family history and formative experiences into a cohesive story.…the inclusion of notable figures from black history reinforces the theme (a key is in the backmatter). An important and inspiring tale well told.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Conversational… Delicately textured mixed-media illustrations…offer spare, stylized images…” ―Publishers Weekly

“Thorough back matter… A charmingly illustrated picture book biography for elementary schoolers.” ―School Library Journal

“Exemplary… This inspiring picture book combines a rich but focused text with clear, expressive mixed-media illustrations. It sheds light on an important, inspiring, but little-known subject, and the supplemental back matter gives weight to the exceedingly important takeaways that history must include all people, and that anyone can change history.” ―Shelf Awareness

Facts about Dr. Carter G. Woodson:

Carter G. Woodson was born December 19, 1875 in New Canton, Virginia.
He worked as a coal miner for three years before he finished high school.
At the age of 37, Carter earned a PhD in history from Harvard University, the second African American to do so.
Carter was the first and only Black American whose parents had been slaves to receive a doctorate in history.
In 1915 Carter founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, an organization still thriving today.
In 1926 Carter founded Negro History Week (which became Black History Month), to be observed in February, in honor of the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

It’s surprising that someone so integral to our celebration of Black history does not have more books written about his life. Carter never wrote much about his own personal history. But we know that he listened and learned from those around him, and then shared what he learned with others.

Because of Carter’s great and lasting contribution to Black history, throughout the month of February in celebration of Black History Month, we will spotlight the lives and legacies of Black men and women who have contributed to our history, and share resources to help young readers learn about the significance of Carter G. Woodson’s life and his contribution to society. Follow along on our Twitter page as we highlight some important and lesser-known figures in Black history throughout February to continue Carter Woodson’s goal of celebrating a history “void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice.”

Here are more resources to help celebrate Black History Month:

Download your own Carter G. Woodson poster.

Check out the teacher’s guide for Carter Reads the Newspaper.

Print out your own copies of the endpapers of Carter Reads the Newspaper,
which features portraits of Black leaders throughout history.

Read our Q&A with author Deborah Hopkinson and illustrator Don Tate.

Check out our round-up of books to read during Black History Month and beyond.

Carter Reads the Newspaper is available at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble!

Saying Good-bye with Mrs. McBee

Peachtree Publishers — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Gretchen Brandenburg McLellan, author of Mrs. McBee Leaves Room 3, knows the bittersweet of saying good-bye to a lot of people and places, which was part of her inspiration for writing Mrs. McBee Leaves Room 3. In the book, the students of Room 3 find out Mrs. McBee will not be returning to the school for the next year. As each student helps their teacher prepare the classroom for next year’s students, the children each find their own way of saying good-bye by celebrating their beloved teacher and remembering the wonderful memories they have together of that year.

Along with her debut picture book that encourages readers to acknowledge and celebrate transitions like the end of school, McLellan prepared an activity guide for anyone who is preparing to say good-bye. With the end of the school year looming, and Teacher Appreciation Day just around the corner, these activities can help make saying good-bye to your favorite teacher more sweet than bitter.

Make a Memory Box with everyone who helped make a certain place special. Each person can contribute their favorite memory, and then the best of a classroom or building or house is preserved in the box.

Pictures are one of the best and easiest ways to preserve good memories. By creating a place or people-specific book, the story or narrative of time spent together will be easy to see and easy to enjoy all over again.

Every person has their own way of helping to say goodbye! Make everyone an “expert” certificate to designate jobs and responsibilities in cleaning and preparing to leave a classroom or building.

Get the full activity guide on Pinterest or download it here! Get to know the author and creator of the activity guide and Mrs. McBee Leaves Room 3 in this Q&A.

You can find Mrs. McBee Leaves Room 3 at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble.

Fall Scavenger Hunt Printable!

Peachtree Publishers — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 18:00:00 +0000

In Can I Come Too?, animals band together to search for the biggest creature in the whole world.

While you may not have whales in your pond or tigers in the forest behind your house, you do have lots of Autumn nature to discover!

So, print out this Fall Scavenger Hunt list (or make your own!), grab your scarf, and head into the great outdoors!

Click HERE for your printable Can I Come Too? scavenger hunt sheet!

Claude’s Picture Adventure

Peachtree Publishers — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 18:38:00 +0000

Alrighty, friends, today we’re doing something crazy! We’re doing something nuts! We’re doing a…D.I.Y. post!

So roll up those sleeves and get ready to make your very own Claude and Sir Bobblysock cut-out!

For those of you who have yet to meet this charming traveling duo, there are just a few things you ought to know about Claude and Sir Bobblysock (besides the fact that Sir B is extremely photogenic):

1.) Claude is a small, plump dog who wears shoes and a sweater and a rather nifty beret. (See diagram below.)

2.) Claude’s best pal in the whole world is both a sock and quite bobbly. (Though, what it means to be bobbly, he has yet to explain.)

But most importantly…

3.) They love to go on adventures!

In fact, Claude and Sir Bobblysock are looking for new places to go this summer, AND THEY NEED YOUR HELP! Whether it’s to the beach, a theme park, a big city, or a neighborhood cookout, these two want to come along! Look, they’re already packed!

So here’s the D.I.Y. bit:

1.) Print this Claude and Sir Bobblysock cut-out on plain white paper. (Hint: If you use card stock it will work better!)

2.) Gather your other supplies! (Glue, scissors, & a Popsicle stick)

3.) Use scissors to cut along the dotted line.

4.) Glue or tape the cut-out to the Popsicle stick.

5.) Take a picture of Claude and Sir Bobblysock on your trip!

6.) Finally, send your pictures to publicity(at)peachtree(dash)online(dot)com by August 31, 2014 at 11:59pm EST.

Are you on social media? You can post them there too! Just post your photos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and tag us with #ClaudesPictureAdventure so we can see the fun! (And don’t forget to follow us!)

After the summer is over, we’ll put all the pictures we receive together in a video montage/slideshow so everyone can see all the exotic places Claude and Sir Bobblysock went!

Need ideas?

Take a look at their past adventures, Claude at the Beach, Claude at the Circus, and Claude in the City. And get ready for their next adventure, coming out in October, Claude on the Slopes!

Happy adventuring!

Printable CLAUDE Coloring Book Pages!

Peachtree Publishers — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:17:00 +0000

Question: What is the most fun thing in the world that doesn’t directly include reading?

Answer: Coloring in the illustrations from your favorite picture book.

Before you start typing horrified comments, hear me out.

When I was in second grade, my school library was giving away old books. We all know, getting a free book is great any day, but this was no ordinary time…

This was in the glory days of gel pens.

You remember, right? Showing up to school with that rolling backpack filled with Lisa Frank folders and a 45,832 pack of gels… Yeah, the 90’s were awesome.

Anyway, while I would normally cringe at the thought of defacing a book, these books were sad. Their plastic covers were yellowing, they were stamped with a scarlet DISCARD. I wanted to rescue them and make them beautiful again. So I adopted my orphan book specifically because it was filled with black and white line-drawing illustrations–perfect for coloring with gel pens.

You know which books also have excellent gel pen-ready illustrations?

While I wouldn’t dare take a writing implement of any kind to the pages of Alex T. Smith’s cheeky stories, I would make you printable coloring pages 🙂 Yep, everybody’s favorite posh pup is yours for the coloring.

Just click the link below, download, and color away! If you’re feeling really ambitious, snap a picture and tweet it at us ( @PeachtreePub ).

Enjoy!

Download your FREE printable coloring book pages from Claude at the Beach!

Pick up a copy of Claude at the Beach at your local bookstore, and visit Alex T. Smith‘s website to see his other fabulous work!