Blog

For centuries, Black people have added immeasurably to the American culture in many and varied areas, including science, music, art, acts of humanity, and sports—Black History Month is a time to recognize these important accomplishments. In this month’s Patty’s Picks, our Education Director selected titles that illustrate a few of the many hardships endured, triumphs earned, and contributions made by the Black community to make the world a better place.

Founded in 2010 by LitWorld, World Read Aloud Day unites millions of readers, writers, and listeners from communities all across the world in reading and sharing stories to honor the power of the read aloud, ignite the joy of reading, and expand global literacy. Vooks supports this mission by offering teachers, parents, and children the opportunity to celebrate the power of the read aloud anytime, anyplace. Here are Patty’s Picks for this special day!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... and when the beholder is a child (or a grownup with childlike wonder!), even something as simple as a scribble can be a masterpiece. Author illustrator Diane Alber knows this well, and has her son to thank for opening her eyes to the power of scribbles. Her newfound belief that everyone should scribble led her to write and illustrate countless children's books, including the A Little SPOT Series, I'm Not Just a Scribble, Scribble Stones, Never Let a Unicorn Scribble (now available on Vooks!), and many others—as well as found National Scribble Day.

Just in time for holiday gatherings, our Education Director is sharing her favorite family & togetherness stories, as well as helpful teaching and learning tools for each, including vocabulary, discussion questions, and activities.

As a director, Caitlin Wilbert does it all. From collecting research to selecting just the right voice-over artist, deciding on the animation style, choosing the music and directing that process, and overseeing sound design, there's virtually no aspect of the creation of an animated storybook that Caitlin doesn't touch in some way. She is the glue that pulls together all of the creative and ensures it all works as one, cohesive experience. To prove that she really does it all: Caitlin created an alien language for one of our newer titles, Mr. Wuffles!

If you're anything like us, you and your little readers believe it's never too soon to make merry. Ready to jingle? We've pulled together a few of our favorite winter holiday titles as well as activity-packed holiday resources that are perfect holiday travel, on-the-go companions, but equally as awesome at your kitchen table or in the classroom. So before you deck the halls, sit down for some holiday storytime!

This Sunday marks the end of daylight savings. While the adjustment may wreak temporary havoc on little ones' schedules, the upside is we gain an extra hour in our day! Here are 7 ideas for how to spend it...

Sometimes we choose our path in life, and other times, our path chooses us. Such was the case with author illustrator Kelly Collier, the talented mind behind two Vooks favorites, A Horse Named Steve and Team Steve. While Kelly originally intended to pursue animation, a slight detour on that journey led her straight to where she is today—and how lucky we all are for that! We caught up with this artist to chat about her humorous illustration style, what inspired her first Vooks title, and more.

From astronauts to doctors, scientists to construction workers, little kids often have big dreams for their futures. It's that sense of endless possibility—and his desire to positively affirm his young daughter's belief that she truly can be whatever she wants—that led Portland, Oregon-based father and author Nate Carter to pen Party Nazari's Fantastic Future.

Being a teacher is a demanding job—and one of the most important ones. But faced with limited time, resources, and support, it’s an uphill battle achieving the crucial goals you’ve set for yourself and your students. Here are 9 of our favorite ways teachers can use Vooks in their classroom routines to level up their students' literacy.

Being a parent is one of life’s greatest joys, but with it come some of our biggest challenges—like finding a few moments in the day to tackle your to-do list without interruption. Here are 9 of our favorite ways parents can use Vooks in their daily routines and reclaim their time.

Yogi Roth has been driven by the power of sports and story for over 20 years, as an on-air college football analyst, Elite 11 coach, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, New York Times best-selling author, and an Amazon best-selling author. But if that list of accomplishments and credentials weren't enough, Yogi has a new one to add: children's book author.