Kelsey Rae Dunckel - If Monuments Could Talk

Kelsey Rae Dunckel - If Monuments Could Talk Hello! My name is Kelsey! I am a children's author, librarian, and historian. Currently, my focus is history represented in children's literature. Link in bio!

Children's writer, early literacy specialist, children's librarian, and historian!
- Author: If Monuments Could Talk Notre-Dame
- Sharing nonfiction & historical literature for children As a professional my mission is to support parents and guardians in early literacy and reading recommendations. I am a children's author and early literacy librarian, dedicated to empowering parents and caregivers

in their child's scholastic journey. Historical literature explores past events and their effect on modern-day life. In addition, historical literature introduces research elements like glossaries, timelines, and bibliographies that are important for future scholastic studies. History helps us learn from our mistakes, and it guides us to a better future. Our children need to be fully educated on historical events and the ways to study history.​​

My new children's book, "If Monuments Could Talk Notre Dame" aims to educate children (ages: 8-13) on historical events in Paris from the time it was constructed to the current day. Using historical figures, terminology, and vivid illustrations, my book highlights major events that shaped modern-day Paris and universal culture. You can support self-publishing authors by purchasing my book!

Christmas in Oregon just hits different.🌲❤️I’m back home visiting my parents in Salem, Oregon, and I couldn’t resist bri...
12/21/2025

Christmas in Oregon just hits different.🌲❤️

I’m back home visiting my parents in Salem, Oregon, and I couldn’t resist bringing along a holiday favorite: ’Twas the Night Before Christmas in Oregon”. This book is a cozy, Oregon-themed twist on the classic poem—packed with familiar scenes, like the capital in Salem and the Oregon Duck Football stadium in Eugene. 🦆

And since I’m posting this with the Oregon coast behind me… here are three fun facts about this stretch of coastline: 🌊

🐧 It’s puffin country. In late spring and summer, spots like Haystack Rock (Cannon Beach) can have tufted puffins nesting on the sea stack—one of the cutest wildlife sightings on the coast.

⛱️ The whole coast is basically “public.” Oregon has strong protections that keep most oceanfront beaches publicly accessible, which is why you can walk long stretches without “private beach” signs.

🦀 Tidepools are tiny oceans. At low tide (especially during king tides in winter), you can find sea stars, anemones, crabs, and urchins in rocky coves—like a real-life aquarium you can walk through.

Happy Holidays, wherever you celebrate! 🎉

Happy Wright Brothers Day (Dec. 17)! ✈️📖 “Who Were the Wright Brothers?” (from the Who Was? series) tells the true story...
12/17/2025

Happy Wright Brothers Day (Dec. 17)! ✈️

📖 “Who Were the Wright Brothers?” (from the Who Was? series) tells the true story of Wilbur and Orville Wright—two brothers who loved to tinker, test ideas, and solve problems. Kids will learn how they went from curious kids (and even running a bike shop!) to experimenting with flying machines, facing setbacks, and eventually making the first successful powered flight.

Fun Facts about the Wright Brothers: ⭐️

✈️ They weren’t college scientists — they were self-taught inventors who ran a bicycle shop, and that work helped them understand balance, control, and mechanics (all key for flying).
✈️ They cracked the “control” problem first — before worrying about speed or power, they focused on how a pilot could steer and stay stable in the air. That’s a huge reason they succeeded when others struggled.
✈️ Their first powered flight was super short — on December 17, 1903, their first flight lasted only about 12 seconds and went roughly 120 feet… but it proved humans could fly under power and control.

📚 The Who Was? series is great because it turns real history into easy-to-read chapters, with simple explanations and illustrations that help kids stay engaged. It’s a perfect “first biography” series for kids who want to learn about real people and big moments in history—without it feeling like a textbook.

❓Question to ask your child: What would you invent if you could build anything?

11/26/2025

✨ Kid-Ready History ✨ Featuring The True Story of the First Thanksgiving 🌽

📖 Highlighting: Race to the Truth: Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs

This powerful middle grade nonfiction title zooms in on the Wampanoag Nation and tells the real story behind colonization, the Mayflower, and what we now call the “First Thanksgiving.” Instead of the usual feel-good tale, readers hear directly from an Indigenous perspective about what those events meant for the Wampanoag people, before and after 1621.

For my Kid-Ready History post, I love using this book to help kids (and grown-ups!) rethink Thanksgiving as more than pilgrims and a turkey dinner—and to remember that the Wampanoag were thriving on this land long before the English arrived.

🦃 3 “myth-buster” facts to share with kids this Thanksgiving:

1️⃣ The menu was very different: The 1621 harvest feast likely featured venison brought by the Wampanoag, wild fowl like duck or goose, corn, and seafood—not mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and canned cranberry sauce like we see today.
2️⃣ The Wampanoag weren’t just “helpful guests”: The Wampanoag had their own government, diplomacy, and reasons for interacting with the English. Their presence at the feast was part of a political alliance for survival after devastating disease, not a simple invitation to a friendly party.
3️⃣ Thanksgiving wasn’t the start of peace forever: While there was a brief alliance, colonization quickly brought land theft, violence, and broken agreements that deeply harmed the Wampanoag and other Indigenous nations. The holiday story often skips what happened next.

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family, share gratitude, and celebrate life. However, we cannot mask the history behind our holidays. ⭐️

11/26/2025

🍂 Harvest Days: Giving Thanks Around the World by Kate DePalma 🌎

“Harvest” is the time of year when communities gather the crops they’ve been growing all season and give thanks for the food that will carry them through the year. 🌾 In the United States, Thanksgiving grew out of harvest traditions too — a time to share a meal, give thanks for the land’s abundance, and gather with family and friends. 🍽️

This beautiful picture book travels around the globe, highlighting how different cultures celebrate harvest time with food, music, dance, and gratitude. With rich illustrations and kid-friendly text, it’s a perfect Thanksgiving read-aloud for talking about thankfulness beyond one day of the year.

✨ A few of the harvest celebrations inside:

🇧🇴 Bolivia – Martes de Challa (Carnival)
🇮🇷 Iran – Mehregan
🇰🇷 South Korea – Chuseok

💛 Why I love this book as a children’s author & librarian:

• it includes a timeline showing when each harvest festival happens on the calendar.
• it offers interactive discussion questions that make it easy to talk about gratitude, seasons, and celebrations with kids.
• the back invites further research into each festival, culture, and tradition—perfect for curious young readers (and grown-ups!).

📚 If you’re looking for a Thanksgiving book that goes beyond one table and one country, Harvest Days is a beautiful way to show kids how families around the world give thanks.

11/18/2025

🎥🌟 Sneakpeak at my new series “Reading with River” now on YouTube! 📚🐱

In this series, River and I explore books that build early reading skills, promote compassion and understanding, and encourage learning and exploring! 📖

This is my first long-form video on YouTube, and I’m excited to create and share more content for caregivers and educators to utilize for their littles’ education! 👩🏻‍🏫

Welcome! I hope you enjoy! And please don’t forget to like, comment, share, and subscribe for more Reading with River! 👍✍️📲📩

Link to my YouTube channel can be found in my bio! ⬆️

✨ Big News… I am officially making long-form content on YouTube!🎥 My first video drops today @ 4 PM (Central)!I started ...
11/17/2025

✨ Big News… I am officially making long-form content on YouTube!

🎥 My first video drops today @ 4 PM (Central)!

I started with the series: Reading with River—a calm, kid-friendly space where I share book picks, gentle learning, and cozy vibes (with my buddy River the cat nearby 🐾).

📚 Here’s what you’ll find on my channel:

• Reading with River🐱- book recommendations directed at caregivers and educators, promoting early reading, compassion and a love for learning.
• Story Time How-To 🙌🏼 - bite-sized finger plays, songs, rhymes, and movement ideas for caregivers, educators, and librarians.
• Kid-Ready History🗿- quick, easy history facts for parents to share with kids—always paired with a children’s book.
• Cat-Walk Chronicles🐈 - how I travel with my cat River: her adventures + my tips & tricks for stress-free cat travel.
• My Book ✍️ - behind the scenes of If Monuments Could Talk: Notre-Dame and my indie author journey.
• Tons of Shorts 📱- fast book recs, especially nonfiction & history for kids.

🎥 First long-form video drops today - link in bio!
💬 Tell me what you want to see next.
📌 Save this to check out the playlists later.

👍 Don’t forget to like, comment, share and subscribe! 🔔

Happy ! 🥾🌍Carl Honoré’s Slow Adventures: Enjoy Every Moment whisks kids to trails across the world—Inca paths, canyon c...
11/17/2025

Happy ! 🥾🌍

Carl Honoré’s Slow Adventures: Enjoy Every Moment whisks kids to trails across the world—Inca paths, canyon corridors, stone-circle strolls—but the real magic is this: you can slow-hike almost anywhere, including your own block. 🌻

Try these neighborhood hike ideas:

🥾 Instead of ancient paths, do a history hunt: look for old trees, plaques, or sidewalk dates. Get to know your neighborhood, town or city!
🥾 Instead of a canyon walk, do a sound safari: pause on a quiet street and list 5 sounds from near to far. What can you hear? What do you think the sounds are? Are they cars, trains, planes, birds, babies laughing?
🥾 Instead of a volcano trail, do a texture trail: collect different items and explore their textures—bark, brick, gravel—describe them with adjectives like “sharp”, “smooth”, or “bumpy”.
🥾 Instead of exploring the coast, as about the wind: feel the breeze and notice how leaves, flags, or hair move. Is it cold, wet, or warm?

Taking kid-friendly hikes can be interactive and engaging, even in your own neighborhood. Exploring the world outside your door is a sensory-oriented experience. ☀️

📖 Why this book works: although the hikes explored in this book are in far-off places, it inspires adventure and outdoor wonder in your own backyard. Hiking at nearby parks, schoolyards, even your sidewalk can spark joy and learning!

11/15/2025

♻️🌎 Happy America Recycles Day! 🌎♻️

Today I’m sharing a few of my favorite children’s books that help kids learn how to care for our planet — from smart recycling to everyday eco-friendly habits. 🌱

♻️ Can I Recycle This? By Jennie Romer: A kid-friendly guide that explains what can and can’t be recycled, and how to cut down on single-use plastics.

🌍 You Can Save Planet Earth by Melanie Hibbert & Richard Watson: An interactive and STEM inspired guide to making the planet cleaner.

🌱 A Child’s Introduction to the Environment by Michael & Dennis Driscoll: A browseable, activity-filled book about air, water, earth, and how our choices impact the planet.

🌈 Change Starts with Us by Sophie Beer
A bright board book showing little ones how small habits — turning off lights, reusing items, caring for animals — help our earth.

✨ These books make it easy for kids to see that every small choice adds up to a cleaner, kinder planet.

11/14/2025

🌍💛 Happy World Kindness Day! 🌎💛

Today I’m sharing two beautiful children’s books that remind us that small acts of kindness can make a big difference.

📖 Human Kindness: True Stories of Compassion and Generosity that Changed the World by John Francis — shares real stories of people who changed history through empathy, courage, and care. From environmental heroes to everyday helpers, it shows kids how kindness can encourage others to be kind and how kindness can make big change!

💬 Giving real moments in history, this book provides real-world examples of kindness and doing the right thing.

📖 Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer — part of the Cool to Be Kind board book series — celebrates the simple ways kids can be kind every day: sharing, helping, listening, and loving. Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers learning that kindness comes in many forms.

💬 Bright and bold, this board book develops sight word recognition while teaching littles about active ways to be kind.

🔔 How did you show kindness today?! Comment below! ⬇️

🇺🇸⭐️ Happy Veterans Day 🇺🇸⭐️Today I am reminded of so many men and women who sacrificed their freedoms so that we may ha...
11/11/2025

🇺🇸⭐️ Happy Veterans Day 🇺🇸⭐️

Today I am reminded of so many men and women who sacrificed their freedoms so that we may have ours. 🫶🏻

One individual I recently learned about is Jose de la Luz Saenz who served during World War I in the Intelligence Division. Because he could speak Spanish, English, French and German, he assisted in translating codes and messages. ✏️

Although he wasn’t treated with equality back home in the United States, he served his nation with pride and dignity.

When he returned home, he spent his life fighting for Latinx rights, war veterans of Mexican origin, and equal rights for all. 🇺🇸

A true American hero. ❤️💙

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