Happy New Year! Here’s a winner in my book: *Picture book, contemporary, for preschoolers through 2nd graders *Little girl and BIG dinosaur as main characters *Rating: As I said on Pinterest and Goodreads, this is a book that takes everything parents are saying and says it (MIND YOUR MANNERS!) in a non-threatening and engaging way. [...]

It’s that time of year–time to take a week blogging break and enjoy some time with my family. I’ll be back next Monday, Dec. 31, to ring in 2013! Have a great week. Merry Christmas!

*Picture book, fantasy, preschool to third graders *Young boy as main character *Rating: Magical Matthew is a sweet story for children about magic and friendship. Kevin Collier’s illustrations make this book fun for children to read on their own or for their parents/teachers to read to them, too. My two-year-old loves flipping through it. Short, [...]

I realize it is a few short days before winter break. You may not read this post until doing a search for lesson plans for supply and demand or if you decide to use my book in your classroom or home school program, and you are looking for lesson ideas. But either way, you can [...]

I am happy to welcome middle-grade author Angela Shelton to my blog today for her book, The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton (Book One: Crash-Landing on Ooleeoo). I am really excited about this book, which kind of reminds me of A Wrinkle in Time. If I was still teaching elementary school, I would choose this book [...]

When the news started coming out about the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, many of us have been reacting strongly on social media sites and sharing in the disbelief that something so horrible could happen in an elementary school in an idyllic New England town. We have watched the stories of sadness and heroism on the news. [...]

I’m welcoming Alex Boles, whom I met through my critique group (she’s the sister of one of our members) and who has a very exciting and important website and book! I encourage everyone to check out the website here and then the book through the Amazon link at the bottom of the post. I will [...]

One of the Common Core State Standards under reading standards K-5 literature for fifth graders is: “Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.” Using a historical fiction novel to teach this standard is perfect–in Finding My Place: One Girl’s Strength at Vicksburg, there are a few events that [...]

Kaolin, the author of Talking About Race (publisher: Crandall, Dostie & Douglass Books, Inc.), contacted me about her book, and I thought it sounded so interesting that I told her to send it to me. And I’m so glad she did. This post is going to be a little different than my normal posts about [...]

*Picture book, preschool through 2nd grade, humorous *Harry, a little boy, as main character *Rating: Harry Goes to Dog School is right up my family’s alley. My 2-year-old LOVES “woof-woofs,” and this book teaches a lesson in a subtle way–the grass is not always greener on the other side. Although for just one day, I [...]