Original Content (Free subscription) | 11/16/2009
This year's Connecticut Children's Book Fair was a great day for me. My presentation went well, pretty well attended and with me coming in under the twenty-minute time frame I had been given so that the audience had time to ask questions. Plus my PowerPoint slides were some of the nicest I saw because my computer guy is an artist. For my signings I was set up between Pegi Deitz Shea , who I've known...
Done Daisy (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
Recently I was commissioned by The American Place Theater to make a costume for their latest project, a one man show of the Lois Lowry book “The Giver”. Since it is actually a one WOman show and the main character is a 12 year old boy, we went for a structured, but loose tunic and [...]
Crave RSS (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
Russ with Hova--no big deal. (Credit: Russ Frushtick) Russ Frushtick from MTV's Multiplayer blog joins us on today's episode of The 404 Podcast to give us the rundown of this month's upcoming video game releases , but first we have to give a quick head nod to the Yankees for winning the World Series and, of course, Matsui for coming through with the MVP of the series. Also, were you as annoyed with...
Blog Fabulous (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
During my substitute teaching activities, I recently discovered two books that second graders enjoyed. The teacher had left these for me to read if I had time. I selected The Scarecrow’s Dance by Jane Yolen and Crow Call by Lois Lowry. They liked the rhyming in The Scarecrow’s Dance. Also, the illustrations are lovely. The youngsters liked those, too. Since I write children’s stories...
Shelf Elf: read, write, rave. (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
Crow Call is Lois Lowry’s first ever picture book. Hard to believe that she’s never ventured into picture books, given that Ms. Lowry has been writing for a long time, and has written to so much acclaim. Number the Stars is among my favourite books ever, and I know many children who would say the [...]
At Home With Books (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
The goal of the Book Awards Challenge III was to read, over a five month time period, five books that each had won a different award. Here are the books that I read: The Giver by Lois Lowry - NewberryMedal Winner 1994 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - RITA Award 1992 Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Orange Prize 2007 Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer - Prix Aurora Award 2000 The Oxford...
Blue Rose Girls (Free subscription) | 10/17/2009
In two weeks, I’ll be heading up to New Hampshire for the Keene State College Children’s Literature Festival. Look at the fabulous lineup of children’s authors and illustrators who will be the featured speakers this year: Lita Judge Beth Krommes Lois Lowry Katherine Paterson Jane Yolen Festival Information Date: Saturday, October 31, 2009 Place: Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire...
Sarah Miller: Reading, Writing, Musing... (Free subscription) | 10/10/2009
Know how to pronounce Brian Jacques's name? How about Jon Scieszka's? Are you sure? Now you can be: Author Name Pronunciation Guide Roughly a hojillion authors' names, spoken aloud for your pleasure and edification. Don't scoff at that link if you're already a pronunciation prodigy -- the voices that guide you belong to none other than the authors themselves, and many of them treat you to the stories...
At Home With Books (Free subscription) | 10/10/2009
I've been very excited about planning my reading for the 24 Hour Read-a-thon , and I've been adding books to my reading pile and then swapping them out to add others. It's been a lot of fun so far, but I know I've got far too many books to read in a 24 hour period. However, I have heard from several people that it's good to have a variety of books to pull from, so here are my choices so far: Gossamer...
A Year of Reading (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
This week, we are having a Scholastic Book Fair at our school. It is always fun to watch kids shop for books! There are lots of books we'll add to our library and several that I will put on my "Next-Read Stack". But, I do have 3 books that I just LOVE. For totally different reasons. They are new-to-me books and I am happy that I had time to discover them. CROW CALL by Lois Lowry is an amazing...
The PlanetEsme Plan: The Best New Children's Books... (Free subscription) | 10/04/2009
PICTURE BOOK S IS FOR STORY by Esther Hershenhorn, illustrated by Zachary Pullen (Sleeping Bear Press) Y is for Your Story, yours to live and grow, of all you do, and where you've been and where you hope to go. Well, I have stopped regular hours of the PlanetEsme Bookroom while I pursue my Master's in library science, but I HAD to open it up again today at 2:00 p.m. to celebrate the release of this...
Poetry for Children (Free subscription) | 10/02/2009
Once again I find myself apologizing for being gone awhile. I think I hit the blog “wall” and ran out of steam for a bit, but I’m back with a slew (as we say in Texas) of poetry news! One of my favorite teaching resources, Book Link s magazine, has merged with it’s parent, Booklist , to become a regular supplement beginning this month. It’s still full of all kinds of wonderful...
The Crayon Box (Free subscription) | 10/01/2009
2008: Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson Philip Pullman, Lauren Myracle, Jim Pipe, Alvin Schwartz, Chris Crutcher, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Rudolfo Anaya, Stephen Chbosky, Cecily Von Ziegesar 2007: Robert Cormier, Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Philip Pullman, Kevin Henkes, Lois Lowry, Chris Crutcher, Lauren Myracle, Joann Sfar 2006: Chris Crutcher, Justin Richardson...
Christian Science Fiction (Free subscription) | 09/30/2009
I picked up The Giver at a local used bookstore. It is a thrilling thing to buy a book on a whim and then discover an incredible story wrapped within. To know absolutely nothing about the author or the book, and then feel the full rush of a masterfully told tale. I've felt this sensation before, many times (as I discover more and more authors whom I love to read), but each time it's the same...like...
Abby (the) Librarian (Free subscription) | 09/28/2009
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo . (Grades 4-7?) Candlewick, September 2009. Copy checked out from the library. Because libraries are awesome and where would we be without them? Peter is a 10-year-old boy, an orphan training for a life as a soldier. When his master sends him to the market with a coin to buy bread, Peter makes an impulsive decision and spends the coin at a fortune teller's...
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