I was looking for a poem about staying late at work until my desk was completely. cleaned. off. Or one about what it feels like to (finally) look up and see different stuff on the big bulletin board in the classroom, or one about that feeling when I remembered that my students have a guidance lesson, (which means I have the gift of time). I needed a poem about turning a corner and feeling like maybe, just maybe, the worst was behind us for a little while.
You can see what I found. It's a poem about happiness. That scoundrel happiness who decided to mosey on back, and who we (as always) welcome with open arms.
It is the time of year where lots of people give back to families and organizations. We all have causes that are important to us and we support those causes in many ways. I wanted to share two of my favorite organizations.
The Reading Village is an organization that brings books to children in Guatemala. There are many organizations that bring books to kids but this one is a little different. If you visit the website, make sure to watch the video about the founder. Instead of just bringing books to kids, Reading Village is committed to creating a culture of reading in Guatemala. They do this by training teen volunteers and making them leaders in their communities. The things that are happening are amazing as lives are being changed by books.
An organization I just recently learned about is Hannah's Socks. Again, I am in awe of an amazing child making a difference in the world. Hannah began collecting socks for people when she realized that many people in the homeless shelter where she was serving food, had no socks. She is now 9 years old and hopes to donate 60,000 pairs of socks this year.
These are two of the organizations I will be supporting this season. I would love to hear about the organizations you are supporting this year. I have learned of so many great organizations from blog posts I've read.
This is a book about life, and joy, and celebration around the world.
"Humankind just cannot resist a celebration -- whoever we are and wherever on Earth we may be, someone has a reason to cheer..."
Picture after picture, page after page, we see that people around the world are not so very different from us in the urge to celebrate births, weddings, new homes, new leaders, religious events, graduations, parades. Picture after picture, page after page, we see that even though the urge or event is similar, the way it is celebrated is as diverse as the people who celebrate.
Here is a sample:
This would be a great book to give as a gift, and a great book to put on your coffee table.
I'm thinking it will also be a great book to have out for my 4th grade classroom right now.
My students are beginning work on multimedia multi-genre projects that are based on a literary theme each of them has chosen from a big list we've created from reading fables and other theme-rich stories (friendship, family, perseverance, use of power, etc.) and this book provides a way for me to show them how this author gathered images on the theme of celebration.
We can study the way he organized his images, and study the essays he includes at the beginning of each section of the book (Cycles of Life, Around the World, Life of the Party).
We can look at the way each photograph is attributed to the photographer with information about the city, country, photographer and year, along with a short descriptive caption.
And we can study the photographs themselves, identifying the ones that speak most strongly to us and figuring out what the photographer did with light and composition (and sometimes luck) to capture the moment in a way that makes us want to look, and look again.
This will be a great mentor text for our theme project, and a fabulous look at celebrations around the world!
This is the story of a girl growing up in a culture that values boys. Luckily, her mother scrapes together the money to send her daughter to school, where Yeung Ying falls in loves with books and stories and writing.
This is the story of a writer being born -- it is about her false starts and first steps and her perseverance and her dream.
This is the story of the impact a few good writing teachers can make on a writer's early life. The poem, "mr. hon," (did I mention, this is an autobiographical novel in verse?) tells about Yeung Ying's 4th grade teacher:
He reads us
a Chinese translation of a story
about three American boys from
a long time ago,
who rode a raft on the Mississippi River.
.
.
.
And Mr. Hon is the first teacher
who displays my stories
marked, "Great work!"
on the classroom bulletin board
even though
I
am
just
a
girl.
Not until her seventh grade teacher does Yeung Ying get encouragement again, when she hears, "Your story really comes to life" and "You write very well./ Keep trying./ You can be a writer someday."
I nominate Mr. Hon and Mr. Lee for inclusion on our list of 100 Cool Teachers in Children's Literature. (We are up to 128 Cool Teachers. Has there been a Cool Teacher in a book you read recently?)
For a fabulous review of Tofu Quilt, complete with mouth-watering photos, head on over to Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup.
The dedication of this newest Frankie Pickle adventure reads, "To my dad, who is always there to help -- even when I don't know how to ask." I'm thinking there is perhaps a fair amount of autobiography woven into this story, and as a child whose earliest mantra was, "Do it SELF," this book rings true for me as well.
Frankie gets too tied up in his own imagination to receive his Possum Scout merit badge for knot-tying. This means he won't move up in rank from Pygmy to Shrew with the other boys in his troop unless he wins the Pine Run 3000. Which is this weekend.
I won't reveal the rest of the plot, which involves messes, mistakes, revelations, disqualifications, and unlikely displays of good sportsmanship.
This book is another winner by Eric Wight, and luckily, we will only have to wait until June for book three!
My review of the first book, Franki Pickle and the Closet of Doom.
SLEEP, BIG BEAR, SLEEP! by Maureen Wright and illustrated by Will Hillenbrand will make a fun winter read aloud. As everyone knows, bears sleep through the winter and it's time for Big Bear to do just that. Old Man Winter keeps telling him to "Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep", but Big Bear doesn't hear very well and he thinks he is hearing different directions--such as, "Drive a jeep." and "Dive Deep." Bear does as he thinks he is being told, but he is very, very tired!
This is a fun book and the repeated phrase, "But Bear didn't hear very well; he couldn't sleep in his den in the dell..." is one that will invite kids to join in on the reading. As always, Hillenbrand's illustrations are wonderful and the feeling of winter is clear. I will add these to my other great new winter books! Kids seem to love to hear stories about the seasons. These will be great to read when we get our first snow. (I do remember that last year, in early March, when we were all sick of snow and cold, one little first grader came in demanding a book about SUMMER! So, I'll read these winter books in the early part of winter when we enjoy winter and snow!)
*This book is a review copy provided by the publisher, Marshall Cavendish Children's Books.
Some of those close to me are dealing with the tragic loss of young lives, and others with the painful loss of parents or friends to cancer or Alzheimer's. It's easy to be angry and disbelieving and sad to the point of drowning.
from "Elegy" by Diane Ackerman
The world is breaking someone else's heart
today, the roses are busily mumbling scent,
all the greens of summer have blown apart...
...My own sorrow starts
small as China, then bulges to an Orient.
The world is breaking someone else's heart.
All the greens of summer have blown apart.
Eventually, acceptance is necessary in order to go on another day.
from "We Die" by Diane Ackerman
...Lost friend, you taught me lessons
I longed to learn, and this final one I've learned
against my will: the one spoken in silence,
warning us to love hard and deep,
clutch dear ones tighter, ransom each day,
the horror lesson I saw out of the corner of my eye
but refused to believe until now: we die.
And if we are to live joyfully in the midst of tragedy, loss, and the breaking of hearts, then we must learn to praise our destroyer.
I stepped off the treadmill of school life on November 2 and went back home for two weeks to help my mom while she recovered from surgery.
Back Home.
I've lived in Ohio longer than all my growing up years in Eastern Colorado, and yet I still go Home. Home to the streets I rode my bike on, the house where my kindergarten teacher lived, and the place where the glow of a lamp and the view from the back windows is as familiar as the scar on my knee from the incident with my cousin's Shetland pony and the barbed wire fence.
Home is where my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Bryner, still lives. I visited her in the nursing home and we talked about the importance of finding a way to love every child so that you can reach them and teach them. ("And," she said with a twinkle in her eye, "some children are harder to love than others!") True then, true now.
I had one day to unpack and repack my suitcase, and then we were off to Philadelphia for NCTE for five days.
For one day on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and then again on Monday, November 30, almost exactly a month from the day I stepped off the treadmill, I stepped back on the treadmill of school life...or at least I attempted to. In the weeks I was gone, someone ramped up the speed...or I lost some of the stamina I'd built up to deal with the unrelenting onslaught of meetings, meetings, meetings, planning, teaching, report cards, committees, behavior issues, homework issues, meetings, meetings, meetings, report cards, PD, data, grouping, grading, meetings, meetings, meetings...
I drove to another building for a committee meeting after school yesterday. On the streets leading up to the school are "traffic calming" humps. I've learned it's not worth it to zoom up to one and then screech down to 25 mph to go over and zoom up to the next one and screech down. It's better just to go a steady 25. It's calming.
It's calming. And I'm not just talking about traffic here. By the time I got to the committee meeting, my brain had slowed down and my blood pressure had fallen and the clutter of my brain had settled down somewhat.
I need some speed humps in my life to keep things calm and steady. I need to try to quit zooming and screeching. I need to find a steady speed I can maintain.
I am excited to add LETTERS TO A SOLDIER by First Lieutenant David Falvey and Mrs. Julie Hutt's Fourth-Grade Class to our school library. It is hard to find a book that answers kids' questions about a soldier's experience in a way that makes sense to them. But this book does just that. In 2008, while David Falvey was serving in Iraq, Mrs. Hutt's fourth graders decided to write letters to a soldier--thanking him and finding out a bit about his life there. This book is a compilation of the letters that Mrs. Hutt's fourth graders wrote along with the responses that Falvey sent back. Each two-page spread gives us a copy of a letter by one of Hutt's students along with Falvey's answer. In his introduction, Favley talks about the importance of the letters and the challenges at answering some of the questions. The book is filled with children's honest questions and a soldier's honest answers. The questions go from very big questions (Why are we at war?) to questions that had to be a little bit more fun to answer (Are you a Red Sox fan?). Some photos are included that give readers a little more insight into life as a soldier in Iraq. This would be a great book to share near Veteran's Day or at any other time during the year. I imagine it will be checked out from the library quite often.
There seem to be a lot of generic books about soldiers and things but none as personal and as geared to children's real questions as this one is. First Lieutenant David Falvey seems to be the perfect person to answer these questions for children in a book. His answers are authentic and respectful and we learn a lot about his life as a soldier.
*This book was a review copy provided by the publisher, Marshall Cavendish Children's Books.
I received three books that I'll add to my books to share with kids when we are thinking about words and language. When I think about talking to kids about words, I want a variety of books to share. I want fiction and nonfiction. I want books with strong language and books that just have fun with words. I want my students to look at words and how they are used in many different types of text. Today, I found three books that will be great additions to word study talk. COOL DOG, SCHOOL DOG by Deborah Heiligman is just plain fun. If you remember the book FUN DOG, SUN DOG, this is a sequel. Tinka is the dog in the story and each page tells us a bit about her . She is "a fun dog, a sun dog, a run-and-run-and-run dog". The pictures and the rhyming, rhythmic phrases help us get to know and come to love this dog! This would make a fun read aloud and kids will love the sing-songiness of the book. With older kids, I might really look at the way the author uses these fun phrases to tell us so much about this dog. Word choice is critical!
THE BUSY TREE by Jennifer Ward is a different type of book altogether. It is not quite nonfiction but it is a close look at one tree-a busy tree. The book starts at the roots of the tree and looks at so many part of the tree. We see how much can go on in one tree. The thing I like most about the book is the language used to tell about what is going on. Each page has 2 lines of rhyming text but I like so much more than the rhyme. What captured me was the way that each thing is described. For example: "These are my branches, leafy and high, a sidewalk for squirrels that soar through the sky." I can see using this book in Writing Workshop and looking closely at the words the author uses to describe the tree.
SNORE, DINOSAUR, SNORE by John Benall-Brunello is a story told in VERY few words. Three little dinosaurs are trying to wake their mother up. But she won't budge. Each page uses only 3 words but the combination of words and pictures tells a great story. Younger kids will love the story and will do lots of picture reading. For older kids, I think this book would start great conversations about the great verbs that tell the story.
Between NCTE and my trip to Cover to Cover today, I have lots of books that I am hoping to read in the next several weeks. Here are a few that are on the top of my pile:
CLAIM TO FAME by Margaret Peterson Haddix--I was so excited to see a new book by Haddix. I haven't been paying attention to new releases so I wasn't even aware that this was coming. This does not look to be part of any series that Haddix is so famous for. It is a stand-alone book that reviews say is for ages 9-12. From the inside flap, it sounds like the book is about a girl who is a TV star and then she realize that she can hear anything that anyone says about her. This become quite awful so she goes into hiding. I love all of Haddix's books and I think the 4th and 5th graders at school will be thrilled to see a new book by Haddix!
I am going to give myself permission to read more YA this year. I love it but always feel like I should be reading children's books that make sense for our K-5 library instead of YA. But this year, I plan to give more time to reading YA--just because I love it and I think YA books are some of the best out there. Two that I have been hearing a lot about, that I picked up today are THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner and CROSSING STONES by Helen Frost. I am a huge Helen Frost fan and Mary Lee cannot stop recommending CROSSING STONES so I picked it up. And THE MAZE RUNNER is another one I keep hearing about. I love the whole concept of this book-a closed-off world where kids enter. I keep hearing that this is one of those books that you can't put down once you start it so I am anxious to read it!
BUCK FEVER by Cynthia Chapman Willis caught my eye for several reasons. First of all, the cover is intriguing. A boy hunting for a deer, but clearly not shooting it. When I read the inside flap, the premise reminded me a bit of Wringer--a boy's father wants him to carry on the tradition of hunting but the boy (Joey) isn't interested in hunting and can't imagine killing an animal. This sounds like a great story about a boy growing up.
Another book I picked up was WILLIAM S. AND THE GREAT ESCAPE by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. This one is about four children who run away-to their aunt's house. It looks like this book is about their runaway adventure and their journey for a home and a family.
And, finally, I picked up LOVE YA BUNCHES by Lauren Myracle. It is one that I have been seeing a lot--definitely marketed to upper elementary girls. The inside format is fun and it looks like a great book about friendship.
I am sure I will add many more to my list before winter break begins but these are a starting point. Now, if I didn't need to do any holiday shopping, baking etc., I'd be set! I doubt Ill get as much reading time as I am hoping but I have plenty to read for the time I do get!
Steve Jenkins is one of my favorite nonfiction authors/illustrators. I love the way he organizes information and the combination of his words and his art is always a great combination.
I love this new book. So many of Jenkins' books are difficult to read aloud because there is so much on the page. But I think this new one, NEVER SMILE AT A MONKEY: AND 17 OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER would make a great nonfiction read aloud. The premise of the book is that things are dangerous. In his introduction Jenkins says, "What makes these animals dangerous? And what should you NEVER do if you encounter one of them?" He then goes on to tell us.
Each page focuses on one important thing to remember such as NEVER PET A PLATYPUS or NEVER STARE AT A SPITTING COBRA. Following the directive is a paragraph explaining a bit about the animal and why the creature may react to such a behavior. A large illustration of the animal also accompanies the text. There is a lot to learn in this book and kids are always fascinated by animals --especially the dangerous ones. The back of the book includes additional information about the creatures in the book.
So many books are written about a specific animal and I always love the uniqueness of Steve Jenkins' book topics. I think a nonfiction author study on Jenkins would be great. I also think his books have great lessons for our nonfiction writers in writing workshop. I can't wait to see what he writes next!
I visited my grandparents' house every Sunday throughout my childhood. I tell the story often of going up to her attic each week and choosing a new Nancy Drew book. But, until recently, I had forgotten about the trunk of comic books that they had in the entrance hall. A chest filled to the top with magazines and comic books. I loved going into that trunk to see what I might find. It was packed full with great reads. I was not an avid comic book reader but it was fun to read a few comic books each week at my Grandma's while the adults chatted. I am not sure if it was more fun to hunt around in the trunk to see what I might find or to actually read the books. Either way, I have great memories of many of the comics I read there. Some of my favorite were Little Lulu, anything with Disney Characters, Richie Rich, Dennis the Menace and Archie's gang. I hadn't realized what a role these comics had in my reading life until I discovered the new book THE TOON TREASURY OF CLASSIC CHILDREN'S COMICS selected and edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly . So many of my favorite characters as well as some stories and characters I had forgotten about these nearly 350 pages.
The book is divided into sections--giving categories to some of the comics that the editors hope are rediscovered by today's children-especially those who love graphic novels. There is a chapter of comics about kids (the first being Clifford by Jules Feiffer!), a chapter about Funny Animals, Fantasyland and more. So many great comics from the 1930s to the 1960s. Treasury is definitely the right word for this collection!
The introduction to the treasury is by Jon Scieszka and he shares his own experiences with comics as a child and some history of comics. There is also an introduction for grown-ups about the comic book in general, complete with a photo of a Comic Book burning in 1949. The editors make a case for comic books and the that parents might have in sharing our old favorites with our children.
This is a huge book and I am excited to put it on the shelves in the library. I am still trying to figure out how to house more comic books in the library since graphic novels are so popular. I can't keep them on the shelves. So I am sure that this book will definitely be a hit. It would also make a great holiday gift!
If you liked MONKEY WITH A TOOL BELT by Chris Monroe (and how could you not have), you will LOVE this new book about the same character. I was thrilled to see MONKEY WITH A TOOLBELT AND THE NOISY PROBLEM when I was at NCTE. How did I miss this book about a character I love?
I loved the first book about this monkey because, well, how could you not? A monkey with a tool belt is a very funny idea and I loved it from the start. But, to be honest, I was worried that a new book about this character might not be so funny since I was already used to the idea of the monkey and the tool belt.
I was pleasantly surprised. As I was reading the book to myself at the kitchen table, I must have laughed a little too loud because my husband asked what I was laughing at. I don't want to give the story away, but Chico Bon Bon (the monkey with the tool belt) can't figure out what it is that is making the loud noise in his tree house. He knows he can fix it if he can just figure out what it is that is making the noise. He uses many tools to investigate. He finally does find the noise and solves the problem (but I can't give this part away.) There are so many things that made me laugh in this book--his tools, his 100-watt flashlight, his earplugs and especially his "hear-a-lot tool". I loved the illustration of his house with a bazillion rooms. And I so loved the 12 steps he used to solve his problem (by using more of his clever tools!).
This is a great story. I keep finding things that I missed during the first read. I am thinking it will make a great read aloud this week. Definitely not a disappointment -this character is definitely one that I hope to see again (and soon) in more books! The author is a genius!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! This poem seemed to be appropriate not just for all of the feasting that took place yesterday, but also for the Black Friday grabbing shopping that is taking place even as I sit at my quiet kitchen table and compose this post. All I plan to buy today is a haircut, so the rest of you can knock yourselves out (and maybe each other) getting great deals and spending lots of money.
So, I have to add TURKEY TROUBLE by Wendi Silvano to my list of "Books I Could Read A Million Times". I loved it when I first read it but then I read it to nearly every class over the last few weeks. It is a fun read EVERY time and kids in grades 1-5 got quite a kick out of it. The older kids picked up a lot of the word play. And the book never got old for me. A great read.
And OTIS by Loren Long might be one I could read a billion times! It is absolutely wonderful and was quite fun to read to kids of all ages.
I reviewed both of these books before I shared them with lots of kids and I realized later that they were both perfect additions to my BOOKS I COULD READ A MILLION TIMES list. I'll never get tired of either of these!
We feel lucky to be included in the blog tour that the author and illustrator team of Joey Fly, Private Eye are one. We are so happy they stopped at A Year of Reading. If you are like us, you are on the hunt for great new graphic novels to add to your classroom or school library. This new book--that will hopefully become a series--is one of the best new ones out this year. This book is a mystery--full of fun. The story, the language and the art are all quite fun. How could it not be fun when the characters are bugs? You get a good sense of the book and the type of humor when you watch the book trailer.
When my copy of JOEY FLY arrived, it was sitting on the island in the kitchen. My 10 year old daughter, Ana, immediately asked if she could read it. She couldn't stop talking to me about the book and I would hear her laughing aloud as she read. She loved it. So, we thought it would make sense for Ana to ask the interview questions for this blog tour. We were curious as to what a 10 year old would ask the author/illustrator team after reading the book. So, here is Ana's interview:-)
Ana: Where did you get the idea for this story?
Aaron: Originally, the book was called Joey Off, Private Fly (you know, Off…like bug spray?). That was all I had…a title, which is often how it works for me. I’ll get a title in my head that seems funny or inspires some cool ideas, and off I go. So, when I thought of the title, it seemed funny, a snarky insect mystery. It wasn’t until I sat down to write it that some of the details came along, like Sammy Stingtail and his tail of horror, and Delilah and her stolen pencil box. Most times, I don’t think out the story in advance…I sit down to write the idea, and the story comes along the way.
Ana: Why did you choose to make the characters bugs?
Aaron: I love bugs…they make great characters because there are so many different kinds and they’re all so freaky and unique looking. I have several other books that feature bugs, including Tiger Moth, Insect Ninja and The Tale of the Poisonous Yuck-Bugs. In real life, I don’t mind bugs, but I can’t stand spiders. Yechhhh…too many legs=gross.
Neil: And yet Aaron put a giant hairy tarantula in the second Joey Fly!
Ana: How did you decide when to switch colors for things going on in the story?
Aaron: That was totally Neil’s thing. Fill her in, Neil.
Neil: Yes! Well, originally, I thought it would be fun to try a different take on the whole black and white thing, you know, like old film noir movies. But since sometimes black and white can be boring, I changed it up to blue and white! The flashback scenes made sense as another color, because they take place in a different time frame, and at the last second, we decided to add reds for all the outdoor daytime scenes, just to spice things up a bit. It worked out even better than I thought, and is now part of the storytelling that makes Joey Fly unique.
Ana: How did you get the idea for Joey to talk to himself/the reader in the squares throughout the book?
Aaron: Well, turns out, all those language arts words they make you learn in school aren’t a waste of time. The book is written in first person point of view, which means that the main character talks directly to the read about themselves and their story. When I started writing, this is just how things came out. Joey had lots of running comments or sarcastic little opinions he wanted to throw into the mix, so I wanted to give him the chance to talk directly to the reader without the other characters hearing it or being part of it. In a graphic novel, the best way to do that is in caption boxes, which are those little squares that he talks to you in. These are different from speech balloons, which is the stuff he says to other characters.
Ana: Will there be more Joey Fly books?
Aaron: Definitely! The second book is done and Neil is already finishing the art for it. I’ve seen his sketches and they are AMAZING! It’s better than the first book. And I’m currently working on the third book and have cool ideas about a fourth. So, we’ll keep going as long as the publisher lets us and the ideas keep coming. That is, if Neil is okay with that…
Neil: Of course I’m ok with it! The second Joey Fly is the most fun I’ve ever had on a project! I can’t wait to read the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh!
Ana: Which other books, especially graphic novels, would you recommend to kids who like this book?
Aaron: I really a huge fan of graphic novels for kids…there’s a new one out called The Amulet by Kazi Kibuishi that I LOVE! The second one just came out. I also love the Artemis Fowl graphic novel…definitely worth checking out if you haven’t seen it. Also Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale is AWESOME! I’m also a huge fan of an old European comic called Asterix. I used to buy them as a kid at flea markets and they are still SO FUNNY.
Neil: Old Mickey Mouse comics have great mystery and suspense, Tintin by Herge, Super Mario Adventures by Kentaro Takekuma and Charlie Nozawa, and if you like the wordplay in Joey Fly, check out The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster!
They have made several other stops on this tour. You may want to visit to learn as much as you can about this book and this great team. A few of their stops have included:
Our 5th grade Graphic Novel Club in the library is well underway and a few of the kids have already read this title. I am thinking I might offer this as a book club title to 3rd and 4th graders this winter. It is a great new book with so many fun things to discuss. I think it is worth buying several copies.
I picked up two new picture books for winter. I think they will both be fun read alouds. Both are about the joys of winter. Now, I am not a big fan of winter. But these books do remind me of the fun of winter play. Kids will definitely relate to the fun that the characters are having in both of these books.
HERE COMES JACK FROST by Kazuno Kohara is about a a little boy who hates winter...until he meets Jack Frost. When he does, they have a great time together--playing in the snow, ice skating, and sledding. As long as the boy doesn't mention anything warm, they can have a great time! The illustrations are great--all done with blues and white. The illustration on the cover was what drew me to the book.
The other book is CHAUCER'S FIRST WINTER by Stephen Krensky is a fun book about a little bear who wants to know what winter is all about. But, bears sleep through the winters. Chaucer decides to go out while his parents are sleeping. He learns all about winter and has a great time with his friends--slipping and sliding and having snowball fights. He finally goes back home excited about all that he has discovered about winter.
Disclaimer: All blog posts, opinions, grammatical errors, and spelling mistakes are our own.
Franki and Mary Lee are both teachers, and have been for more than 20 years.
Franki is a fifth grade teacher. She is the author of Beyond Leveled Books (Stenhouse), Still Learning to Read (Stenhouse), and Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop (Scholastic).
Mary Lee is a fifth grade teacher. She is the author of Reconsidering Read-Aloud (Stenhouse) and has poems in the Poetry Friday Anthology, the Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School, the Poetry Friday Anthology for Science, the Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations (Pomelo Books), Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems, National Geographic Books of Nature Poems, The Best of Today's Little Ditty (2014-15 and 2016), Amy Ludwig VanDerwater's Poems are Teachers, National Geographic's The Poetry of US, and IMPERFECT: Poems About Mistakes.
