TeachingBooks.net is bringing summer reading 2011 to life. Whether you're promoting the program theme of One World, Many Stories, You are Here,Splash! Celebrate Summer, or another topic, the authors and illustrators presented in this month's column are bound to be on your list. From audio to video recordings, TeachingBooks.net has something for you.Nick’s Picks: Summer reading fun
TeachingBooks.net is bringing summer reading 2011 to life. Whether you're promoting the program theme of One World, Many Stories, You are Here,Splash! Celebrate Summer, or another topic, the authors and illustrators presented in this month's column are bound to be on your list. From audio to video recordings, TeachingBooks.net has something for you.
Many of us have come to the field of education because of our own love of learning. But with all the daily demands on our time, it can be difficult to manage our teaching responsibilities and feed our professional passions.
Stones for my Father is a book I had been meaning to write for a long time. My mother’s family is South African and I have always wanted to explore that part of my history. I was also interested in the Anglo-Boer War. To me, it is one of the most fascinating and overlooked conflicts of the twentieth century. 
Recently I've been watching and listening to elementary school students as they engage with nonfiction. The range of topics that excite them is extraordinary and their conversations about their reading remind me how powerful a stimulus books can be to exploration and critical thinking.
Would you like to listen to this year's award-winning authors and illustrators on their inspirations and influences? In this post, enjoy brief TeachingBooks.net recordings with the 2011 John Newbery, Randolph Caldecott, Michael L. Printz, Robert F. Sibert, Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpré, and Theodor Seuss Geisel medalists.
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave (Little, Brown, 2010) is based on the true story of Dave, a man born into slavery in 1800 who created approximately 40,000 ceramic pots in his lifetime. Dave was owned by six slave masters, but was ultimately sold to a plantation that produced large clay pots. It was on this plantation that Dave was trained to make pottery and became a master potter.