As a writer, there are some books that when I start reading them, I think, I wish I would have written this. Not because it’s on the bestseller list, although that would be nice!, but because it’s an original idea and well executed, and you know that people are going to love it. This is [...]

*Picture book, contemporary, for preschoolers through second graders *Young girl as main character *Rating: I loved this book, Someday by Eileen Spinelli. It’s clever and cute and full of imagination. Illustrations by Rosie Winstead are also super cute, as you can tell by the cover! Short, short summary: The pages in this picture book alternate [...]

This originally appeared on a great blog by Anne E. Johnson, JESTER HARLEY’S MANUSCRIPT PAGE, where she reveals her own writing as well as highlights several fiction authors in all genres! Check it out here: http://anneejohnson.blogspot.com/ When I do school visits, I often talk to students about “potato ideas.” These are ideas that are not [...]

Adam Shepard is a very interesting man. That’s him to the right with a mustache that he grew as part of his list of things he wanted to do in his life. This list became a new book, One Year Lived, where Adam recounts a year of his life that he spent traveling and reading. [...]

*Picture book, preschoolers through first graders *Young girls as main characters *Rating: Here’s what I said on Goodreads: “I like this book. I think the message is important. I picked it up because my two-year-old is in love with the Disney princesses, and her favorite color she informed me is pink. So, the only complaint [...]

Teaching protagonist and antagonist and studying how the author created each one can help students understand story elements better and their own fiction writing. (If you are a writer, this can also help you!) When I do school visits about my writing process, I share with students information about my main protagonist, Anna Green (13-years-old), [...]

Before I get to today’s clever book, I want to announce the winner of my book, Finding My Place: One Girl’s Strength at Vicksburg from Juanita Noble’s blog. Drumroll. . . and the winner is Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan of Pittsburgh, PA! Thanks for entering, Elizabeth. I hope you enjoy the book! If you haven’t checked out [...]

No one can write thank you notes like elementary students. Remember that show Bill Cosby hosted–Kids Say the Darndest Things? That’s what it’s like when an author receives thank you notes for a school visit or a letter about a book. It’s the greatest thing ever and always brings a smile to my face. I [...]

**Humorous picture book about homophones for preschoolers through third graders (although adults will learn something here!) **Dear deer and Aunt Ant as main characters **Rating: I think a book like this is the type of material we should use to teach children, teenagers, and adults the English conventions. Gene Barretta’s book is funny and meaningful [...]

*Nonfiction picture book about the U.S. presidents’ mothers for upper elementary *Mothers as main topics in the book *Rating: I adore this book, First Mothers written by Beverly Gherman. The language is perfect for kids–she took a difficult subject & did a wonderful job with it! The illustrations by Julie Downing are even better–there’s even [...]