Author Archives: Katy Beattie

About Katy Beattie

Katy Beattie is the Teacher-Librarian at Pioneer Elementary School (Olympia, WA). She has been teaching for 16 years and been a Teacher-Librarian for more than half that time. She has an Australian Labradoodle and two young boys (ages 7 and 10). Her favorite books are anything by Kate DiCamillo and Jason Reynolds, Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie, and The Woman Who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle. Her favorite things to teach are coding/robotics and Battle of the Books.

Boxitects by Kim Smith

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Creativity. Teamwork. STEAM. These three themes make this book a hit with all readers

The story follows Meg, a boxitect, as she creates magnificent structures at Maker School. Problems arise when another boxitect enters the school and suddenly there is competition. Meg and Simone have very different styles. When the end of year showcase requires them to work together, will they let their competition and differences keep them from winning? Or can they work together to create something even more magnificent?

The book ends with instructions to make your own box creations. A perfect book for kids who have just moved and may have a plethora or boxes sitting around. Points of note: book cover is different than the jacket.

Louis by Tom Lichtenheld

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Have you ever thought about how your favorite stuffed animal feels about being squeezed around the neck? Squashed while you slept on him? Matted with food dripped on her? This story explores a boy’s unending, unforgiving, and maybe at times, suffocating love for his best stuffed bear, Louis. Louis has plans to run far away from this life as he has been stuck with needles (sewn back together), thrown into hurricanes (washed in the washing machine), and stranded places (accidentally forgotten on a bus). Will he succeed in running away or will he give in to being needed and loved?

This is a fun story with perfect, simple illustrations that are necessary to the story. Louis is a great tool for teaching point of view and would be a great addition to a library collection. Points of note: book cover is different than the jacket; Tom Lichentenheld’s real stuffed bear is photographed in the author bio at the back jacket flap; illustrations by Julie Rowan-Zoch.