Small Reads for Brighters Days
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Howdy, everybody! Thanks for all your well wishes–my back is feeling better! It’s been a super busy February so far with author visits, my 35th wedding anniversary <3, freelance deadlines, and endless promotion for my 3 spring books. But I’m really trying to hang in […]
Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) Many folks in the Poetry Friday community have been sharing their poems from What Is a Friend?, edited by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. This book benefits IBBY, with the editors and poets all donating their efforts. I’m thrilled to share my poem with you, […]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was a byr a thoddaid, a Welsh form. Last Thursday, my husband and I went on a road trip to see Tears for Fears in Chicago! Awesome concert. On the way, I wrote or worked on […]
Last month, I had a guest post on the fabulous Melissa Stewart’s blog. Do you know Melissa? If you teach any nonfiction reading or writing in your classroom, Melissa is somebody you should be reading (her children’s books, her blog, and her professional books). She’s doing a series of posts by children’s writers called “My […]
Friends–I’m doing a virtual library storytime on Monday, Jan 10, at 6pm Central Time. Family and friends with kids in the 4-9 range, hope to see you there! I’ll be sharing picture books about water, winter, and getting yarn from sheep. Learn about states of matter, animal adaptations and behaviors, and the miracle of sheep […]
Thank you so much to those of you who were able to come to my online launch event last week with Red Balloon Bookshop! It was just lovely to see some familiar names in the Chat–really warmed my heart. Since I had gathered info and thoughts in preparation for the event, I thought I’d create […]
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome, everyone! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.) A quick invitation before my poem today! Click on the graphic for details and free registration. So, this month, our Poetry Princess challenge was a Wordplay poem, my choice–whee! Now, lots of poems have wordplay in them, of course, but what I’m talking […]
I was so honored to be part of the SCBWI/Smithsonian Nonfiction Conference! I was on a panel Saturday about The Personal Journey to Nonfiction. (It started right after Biden’s win was announced, and I was positively shaking with excitement and relief!) The panel was based on Melissa Stewart’s fabulous new anthology, Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep. […]
Hey, guess what? Author Angie Quantrell interviewed me for her blog, and the post is live! It’s not too long and has pictures of donuts, treadmill desks, adorable kids, and did I mention donuts? And a bit about my writing process for Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten. I hope you’ll stop by and say hi! […]
Hi, teachers! I’m sharing some thoughts on how using some game strategies in your classroom can free kids up to be braver, more creative writers. You can check it out at Mackin’s Teacher Talk blog here. Enjoy! “As a former eighth-grade English teacher, I realize that you have SO MUCH to fit into so little […]
