An unsung hero and literacy champion whose teaching changed many lives. An excellent homage to an African-American woman who taught ahead of her time. – Kirkus Reviews In Mississippi in the mid-1800s, it was illegal for enslaved people to learn to read and write. Getting caught meant thirty-nine lashes with a whip as punishment. But…
How to Write a Descriptive Essay
What is a descriptive essay? The descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe something—object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc., according to Purdue University. Create reader interest with a catchy introduction, reads page 167 of Writing With Power by Perfection Learning. The text suggests that you try out several…
A Walk to Remember
I can say however, that A Walk to Remember was my favorite novel to write. I enjoyed the process of capturing the voice of a smart-alecky 17-year-old kid. Likewise with Jamie Sullivan. There was something intrinsically sweet about her character that gradually seemed to take over the book. – Nicholas Sparks There was a time when the world was…
Drones, robots and slime … oh my!
Things got pretty wild at the Statehouse on Tuesday when kids took over the Rotunda with flying drones, robots and Play-Doh. Students from elementary to high school showed off their technology and engineering skills to lawmakers in celebration of STEM Matters! — a campaign to raise awareness about science, technology, engineering and math in Idaho. The…
If the morals you find in these pages aren’t exactly, well, moral…just don’t pay any attention to them!
In this new edition of the classic companion to Tales for the Perfect Child, Sergio Ruzzier lends his signature humor to Florence Parry Heide and Sylvia Worth Van Clief’s delectably subversive fables. Genevieve is careless. Muriel is discontented. Phoebe is always putting off until tomorrow what she should be doing today. And Chester is the…
STORYSTORM 2018 Day 10: Heidi E. Y. Stemple Keeps Every Single One
Originally posted on Writing for Kids (While Raising Them):
by Heidi E. Y. Stemple I, like every author on the face of the earth, am always asked where I get my ideas. We all, pretty much, have the same answer. Ideas come from everywhere. It sounds too pat and too vague. But, frankly, it’s the…
Harry Potter. A Journey Through A History of Magic.
Originally posted on Bobs Books Blog:
Harry Potter. A Journey Through A History of Magic. Pub. Bloomsbury, 2017. For enthusiastic readers who want to know all about the magic in the Harry Potter Series. This well illustrated and very informative book has the original synopsis of the Harry Potter series that was sent to Bloomsbury…
The Bad Mood And The Stick by Lemony Snicket & Matt Forsythe (Andersen Press)
A highly observant and witty tale which follows a bad mood as it moves from person to person, wreaking havoc but also leaving a trail of unexpected emotions in its wake. All the while, the treacherous fate of a solitary stick seems to determine the next victim of the bad mood. In this Lemony Snicket…
Time Travel Thru Outer Space with Timothy Young (plus a giveaway!)
Originally posted on Writing for Kids (While Raising Them):
by Timothy Young In my new book I’M GOING TO OUTER SPACE! I tell the story of a boy named Luis who tells us all about the exciting things he wants to do and see when he gets to outer space. I was inspired to write…
Using Music to Stimulate Children’s Writing
In 1979 I remember sitting in the front of the tent at summer camp, with the music of Boston blaring from the radio. Since their songs endure today, I have been pondering how to use such creative motivations from my youth to help stimulate creative writing in my classroom. In recent discussions with professional development…
