I just saw an article on Facebook discussing how Joanna Gaines has written a children’s book…and before I could check myself I had rolled my eyes so hard I could see the back of my own skull. That totally isn’t fair. I’ve never read her book, and it could be fabulous. But whenever I see…
Let’s face it–standard book reports can get a little bit dull. Even enthusiastic readers are turned off by writing a book report. And yet, responding to a book, summarizing its contents, and describing its setting and characters are important skills. So here are 3 fabulous ways to shake up those book reports! A book…
What’s a decibella? Actually it’s a who and there’s a fifty-fifty chance you have a real one in your classroom. Decibella is a spunky, spirited book character who loves using her loud voice at all times. Her real name is Isabella, but everyone calls her Decibella because she is just soooooo LOUD. She simply doesn’t…
When someone dies, no matter who it is, I feel sadness—and I feel for the people who were close to that person and now have to move forward in life without them. I always feel worse when the person is a children’s book author. I think it’s because I assume that person had all of…
One day when I was young—probably around 12 years old—my mother read in one of her women’s magazines that the best way to get all the ketchup to the top of the large, plastic squeeze bottle was to grasp it by the bottom and swing it around in a giant circle. It really works! It…
Tomorrow, the beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary turns 100. A couple of weeks ago, I watched Ms. Cleary being interviewed by Jenna Bush Hager. At first I thought the interview was a rebroadcast of a conversation that had taken place several years ago. But no, it was a current interview with a woman who was…
I’m not wearing green. Not a stitch. I often show up lacking in color for a lot of holidays because I tend to gravitate toward neutral clothing. If you could peek in my closet right now, you would see a sea of gray, black, and beige. (You would also tell me very sternly that I…