student Archives - Page 16 of 18

Happy Birthday to You!: The Sisters Who Wrote the Most Famous Song in the World
by Rachelle Burk (Author) and Abigail Lashbrook (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Patty and Mildred Hill are the most famous composers you’ve never heard of. They came up with “Happy Birthday to You!” in an effort to make something all children could easily sing. They ended up with a tune the whole world loved.

“Happy Birthday to You!” has been sung to presidents and kings, on big stages and in outer space. And it all started in a kindergarten classroom with a teacher coaxing her children to sing an easy tune all together.

Snippet:

The author, Rachelle Burk, is one of my former students.
Copyright © 2025 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)

onceuponelephant
Once Upon an Elephant
by Linda Stanek (Author) and Shennen Bersani (Illustrator)

Booktalk: From slowing wildfires to planting seeds, one animal is the true superhero that keeps the African savanna in balance. Elephants dig to find salt that other animal lick, their deep footprints collect water for small creatures to drink, and they eat young trees to keep the forest from overtaking the grasslands. In every season, the elephants are there to protect the savanna and its residents but what would happen if the elephants were only once upon a time ? Discover the important role this keystone species plays in the savanna and explore what would happen if the elephants vanished.

Snippet: Once upon an elephant, the sun beat down on the hot, cracked earth. Rivers ran dry. The animals of the savannah risked dying from thirst.

But the elephants were there.

They dug in the riverbanks with their tusks. They cracked the hard soil, shoveled through mud, and reached water. And the animals gathered ’round and drank.

Linda is one of my former students!

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)