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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Traction
Writing Road Trip
I try to deliver regular advice you can use to aid and inspire your young writers, but this week I’m leaning on the wisdom of others. This is advice I’ve found helpful those times it feels like my writing wheels are stuck in deep mud and spinning wildly and I’ll never gain traction again. Here, […]
Olive, The Other Reindeer
Red Reading Boots
I’m writing this on the birthday of my dear friend, Molly. She is one of my bestest friends from college days. It’s a big birthday—well worth celebrating, which she’ll do next week with a rollerskating party complete with musical hits from the 1980’s. This is very Molly—the kids immediately said, “Only Molly!” Molly is, quite […]
Winter Extravaganza
The Lamppost
The first snowfall is like being transported inside a snow globe. The landscape transforms with a fresh sprinkle of snow on everything from the trees to houses. “Crunch, crunch” can be heard from the boots of families making their way outside to experience the first snow of the season. Snow is an experience where families […]
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 […]
It’s the Little Things That Lift Us Up
When the Big Things Bring Us Down
Teach It Forward
Recently I had “one of those days” in room 212. A day that brought me to tears and had my heart aching. Driving away from school on a Friday afternoon I knew my fun weekend plans would be interrupted now and again by thoughts of my kids and some of the tough stuff going on. […]
Teaching Writing to Reluctant Writers
—and Who Isn’t One?
Articles
“What’s next?” kids—ask, as they whiz through life at warp speed. You’ve seen them constantly check their phones for texts, Snapchat, and Instagram. Kids at video game kiosks hunch over the controls, zapping animated figures and blowing up characters by the dozens. Should the adrenaline abate for even a second, they turn to the next […]
Nonfiction Setting and My Comfy Chair
Nonfictionary
I’m fussy when it comes to choosing where to sit. The comfy chair or the well-worn red sofa? Lights on high or nicely dimmed? Soft throw blanket? Sometimes even in a restaurant, I ask to sit at a different table than the one the host chooses because it doesn’t feel right. My husband rolls his […]
Books about Somali Immigrants/Refugees
Quirky Book Lists
In an effort to help my children understand more about their own heritage, I have searched far and wide for books by or about Somali immigrants or refugees. Here are some of the best ones we have found. Though a number of these titles have not been written by Somalis, they have at least been […]
Virginia Euwer Wolff: The Guys’ Clubhouse
Knock Knock
I didn’t even ask why I was turning into Holden Caulfield. I was fifteen, a brochure girl for postwar innocence. And I was a farm kid, three thousand miles away from Holden’s Manhattan; I took violin lessons, rode my bike through orchards, memorized social studies facts, picked strawberries to make money, earned Camp Fire Girl […]