Knit One, Purl Two
Two for the Show
Phyllis: Two sticks and some string. That’s the most basic definition of knitting. The sticks might be metal or wood. The string might be yarn or flax. But in the hands of a knitter, even an unskilled one such as I, they become magic. In the chilly months, we bundle up in cozy sweaters, snug mittens, […]
In the Driver’s Seat
Writing Road Trip
To be able to learn how to get somewhere, I have to drive the route myself. Riding shotgun doesn’t work if I’m trying to memorize the route; somehow the feeling of the necessary twists and turns has to seep up through the steering wheel and into the pores of my hands for me to be […]
Connecting Kids to Nonfiction:
Personal Experience Matters
Nonfictionary
Personal preferences and experiences guide our life choices. They impact what we wear, eat, do, even the people we spend time with. It should come as no surprise, then, that personal preferences also affect what we read— maybe even whether we read. Studies show that young readers who feel a personal connection to what they […]
Brenda Sederberg and Her Reading Team
February 2019
Raising Star Readers
For this addition to our new Raising Star Readers feature, we’re honored to be showcasing a brand-new Star Reader: Baby Sylvie was only two days old when this photo was taken! She’s pictured with Gram (Brenda Sederberg), as the two of them share Debra Frasier’s classic picture book On the Day You Were Born at […]
Bim, Bam, Bop … and Oona, an Interview
Red Reading Boots
Poor Oona—she’s always the last duck to the pond…. But then her frog friend Roy reminds her: you’re good with gizmos… And so Oona the duck goes to work in the barn on her gizmos, pouring her creative and determined self into getting to the pond before the faster ducks. Along the way, she learns there […]
Bridging the Gap Between My Writing and Reading Selves:
an Author’s Experience of Recording an Audiobook
Knock Knock
“The woman who read Climbing the Stairs aloud did a great job,” my friend said. She was telling me, with delight, how her children and their friends—two girls and two boys—listened with rapt attention to the audio book version of my debut novel, refusing to get out of the car when the trip ended but […]
Perfect Pairs
Articles
Bookology is delighted to feature a sample lesson from Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, K-2 by children’s book author Melissa Stewart and master educator Nancy Chesley (Stenhouse Publishers). When this book (and its companion for grades 3–5) first came across our desk, we were blown away by its […]
Pairing Nonfiction and Fiction
Nonfictionary
Nonfiction and fiction are like peanut butter and chocolate. Each excellent on its own, but when combined…so sublime. INVITE A DISCUSSION My nonfiction account Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune (2016, grade 6 and up) describes the dramatic rise and fall of a 12th-century samurai. One of the joys of researching the life […]
Glory Be!
Page Break
Glory be! I’ve sent off the revised book! I really, really like it. But will my editor?
Bookstorm™: The Stuff of Stars
Bookstorms
Before the universe was formed, before time and space existed, there was … nothing. But then … BANG! Stars caught fire and burned so long that they exploded, flinging stardust everywhere. And the ash of those stars turned into planets. Into our Earth. And into us. In a poetic text, Marion Dane Bauer takes readers […]
Puppet Mania
The Lamppost
Using Puppets to Enhance the Storytime Experience “Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me. ” ― Fred Rogers I recently watched Won’t You Be My Neighbor, the new documentary on the life and career of Fred Rogers … Mister Rogers. At the conclusion of the documentary, […]
Deb Andries and Her Reading Teams
January 2019
Raising Star Readers
We’re delighted to feature Bookology follower Deb Andries and her grandchildren to kick off our new Raising Star Readers column! The column’s goal is to showcase different Reading Teams as they read together during milestone celebrations. Deb, a.k.a. “Grammy,” was able to enjoy two milestone read-togethers to kick off her Christmas season. In the photo […]
Curiouser and Curiouser with Lee Bennett Hopkins
Curiouser and Curiouser
As I read each of Lee Bennett Hopkins’ collections of poetry, I find my curiosity piqued: “How does he do this?” When I was a grad student, I came across Mr. Hopkins’ book, Books Are by People: interviews with 104 authors and illustrators of books for young children. Those interviews provoked my imagination and propelled my […]
Skinny Dip with Padma Venkatraman
Skinny Dip
We’re pleased to welcome author Padma Venkatraman, whose every novel I have found delightful. Her perspectives as a world citizen and an oceanographer and a person who cares fervently about children’s well-being give a powerful depth to her writing. We asked Padma to answer the Skinny Dip questions that appealed to her: How many bookcases […]
Books Books Books
Reading Ahead
Books Books Books Mick Manning and Brita Granström Candlewick Press, 2017 Book lovers appreciate the beauty, rarity, inventive design, and content of all types of books. Those in the vast collection of the British Library (more than 150 million literary artifacts on 15 floors and 400 miles of shelving) will help to make book lovers […]
Teaching Passion
Big Green Pocketbook
When the director of Hollins University’s graduate program in children’s literature asked me to teach a critical class on the history of children’s book illustrators, I said no. Even with an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College, an MA in children’s literature from Hollins, scores of published books, and years of teaching graduate-level […]
Serendipity
Teach It Forward
I love the word “serendipity.” I also love when I actually experience the feeling of serendipity. It shows up unexpectedly in moments when I feel a surprising connection or happy coincidence between two seemingly separate things. It makes me believe in the power of the universe and often leaves me questioning whether these occurrences are […]