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.
During 15-plus years of researching nonfiction for young readers I’ve learned that every project includes at least one pinch-me-is-this-really-happening moment. Such was the case as I researched the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike of 1968 for Marching to the Mountaintop: How Poverty, Labor Fights, and Civil Rights Set the Stage for Martin Luther King, Jr’s Final Hours (National Geographic, 2012).
The reason there is so much history, especially African American history, in so many of the books I write is because I am African American, and it’s a part of me like my blood. – Jacqueline Woodson, author of 2006…
Today, TeachingBooks.net welcomes author Gae Polisner as she stops by on her blog tour to discuss her new book The Pull of Gravity (Frances Foster Books/FSG, 2011).
The Pull of Gravity (Frances Foster Books, 2011) follows two teens—Nick and Jaycee…
With No Name-Calling Week occurring January 23-27, 2012, this is a perfect time of year to integrate multimedia resources into your anti-bullying curriculum.