The TeachingBooks Blog
Books are often inspired by moments of magic. I will never forget an encounter I had with Granny, the one-hundred-year-old matriarch of the clan of endangered orcas that lives in Pacific Northwest waters. I was on a whale-watching boat when Granny swam alongside, raised her head above water and looked directly into my eyes for several moments.
Poetry forces me to be brief. All the facts and figures won’t fit in my verses, so I choose only those details that are most meaningful to me. My hope is that the uncrowded page will invite both reluctant and passionate readers.
I’d never written anything quite like Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses. It is, after all, a collection of fairy tales. And what’s a seventy-two year old man doing fooling around with fairy tales?
As a YA author, I’ve written from the perspective of a guardian angel, a were-opossum, and even a pesky human or two. But the “character” who was hardest to connect with was my own teen self.
In this month's post, we highlight some useful thematic booklists from a variety of professional sources. Please note that the TeachingBooks.net display of the instructional materials and websites has changed. We've added cover images; information on each title can be tapped by rolling over the pictures. We hope you'll agree that our snazzy new design is reminiscent of library displays, and that it's easier to find materials that meet your needs.
A new book or project always starts with an idea. My participation in I.C. Springman’s More (Houghton, 2012) actually began in 1995 with an idea I had for a story about a crow that collects too much stuff, builds multiple nests in a tree, and ultimately feels worn down by the sheer number of objects he has to curate. But the tale was way too long and hopelessly preachy. I don’t like message-forward books, and although I had a suite of sketches I was eager to turn into finished paintings, I never got around to submitting them. Over the years I went back, searching for a better way to tell the story, but I couldn’t find a way in.
Authors are used to pretty standard questions during interviews, but I thought this one was fascinating: What did you struggle with during the writing of The Galahad Legacy?
First: If anyone tells you that writing is easy, you have my permission to remind him or her that if writing were that easy, everyone would be doing it. What I do (almost) every day is play with words. I love it, couldn’t live without it. But the “playing” part is a bit of a misnomer. Wordplay demands a comfortable chair, lots of coffee, and seven carts of patience pulled by tireless oxen.
Students of all ages benefit from quality books that authentically portray a variety of cultures. Librarians and teachers are aided in their efforts to diversify their collections through the work of the American Library Association's affiliates and roundtables that recognize distinguished titles for children and teens.
I’ve worn glasses since childhood. I really wanted them. I considered them an accessory rather than an albatross. I remember holding the huge black letter “E” in the wrong direction in the optometrist’s office, even though I could see the vision chart clearly. The doctor must have seen right through this ploy because my first pair of glasses did little to change my nearly perfect vision. Still, for the first week or so, I wore them religiously, glad to come into my third grade classroom appearing a little different than I had just days before.
The American Library Association's Youth Media Awards, announced each January, are a high point on the book community's calendar. For this month's post, TeachingBooks.net contacted and recorded conversations with the award winners, asking them to share their inspirations and influences.