[See yesterday’s post for my Friday at IRA.] Saturday at IRA, I went to a fantastic session called The Power of Poetry to Provide Teachable Moments (I’m going to do a separate post on that soon). I was with Janet Fagal, and we had a blast–and the presenters performed “The
Sharing another video this week. This one isn’t a trailer for Water Can Be…, but a quick video I hope educators might find useful. And here’s a classroom guide. Lots of ideas there for your unit about water, which I’m excited about. I’ll also be creating a CCSS-referenced reading guide
Excited that Water Can Be… got a lovely review in this month’s Booklist: Like its predecessor, A Leaf Can Be … (2012), this picture book explores an aspect of the natural world in a way that is imaginative but ultimately informative. A fine choice for reading aloud in the classroom
Yikes! My pub date (April 1) for Water Can Be… (Millbrook) is fast approaching! I’m thrilled that the book got a starred review from Kirkus, and I’ve been working on a set of five different short videos for it. Two are basic trailers, one focuses on WaterAid and global water
Recently, I?accepted a short assignment doing teacher tips on lesson plans. It was my first assignment with a new company, I wasn’t sure I precisely understood the requirements, and I was pretty sure I would barely break minimum wage.?Was I insane? Yes, probably! But I did have reasons: try a
Forget setting goals! No, don’t do that. I love goals, and I make tons of annual goals, monthly goals, weekly to-do lists, etc. It’s the only way I can accomplish at least 50% of all the things I want to do. My goals are measurable, realistic, and within my control.
Each year, I choose an annual theme, an idea I originally got from Steve and Vicki Palmquist of Children’s Literature Network. My word for 2012 was Focus. I think I got better at focus last year. I learned to do better at blocking out my to-do list and focusing in
Hi, guys–Happy New Year! It’s good to be back! There was a piece recently in Publishers Weekly about the cover of Steam Train, Dream Train, the follow-up to Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. So much thought goes into figuring out book covers. For my next book with Millbrook Press, Water Can
My husband is the best. A box arrived Friday marked “Perishable.” Oh, that can only be good things. Turns out Randy ordered me cookies (cinnamon shortbread!) from Baking for Good, an online bakery that creates treats and donates some proceeds to the cause of your choice. So check out the
My Writing Book of the Day: Letters to a Fiction Writer, edited by Frederick Busch. Letters from great writers like Ray Bradbury, Raymond Carver, Flannery O’Connor…This isn’t so much a how-to book, but it’s a book full of lessons, to be sure. Quick quote: “The one thing I know about
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