In the second half of the Victorian dramatic monologue “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning, the speaker of the poem, allegedly so overcome with Porphyria’s goodness and virginal beauty (and thus wanting to prevent her from spoiling her innocence), commits the following act: “A thing to do, and all her hair/ In one long yellow string […]
Author Archives: CBethM
June
17
“I Like Your Hair Better Down”: An Examination of YA Male Protagonists and Their Obsession With The Way Females Wear Their Hair by Janine Quimby
posted by CBethM
June
15
Dog Man to The Rescue: How Book Access Saved My Third Grade Student by Renee Bowman
posted by CBethM
Teachers, you already know the student I am about to describe. The one who arrives halfway through the year from out of state, with a mother unsure of which grade her son was in just last week. The 9 year-old who carries a chip on his shoulder as if he were 29. The third grader […]
June
11
Book Clutchers by Megan Frazer Blakemore
posted by CBethM
At the beginning of the school year, in preparation for an upcoming book club, I had the book York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby on display at the circulation desk. One of my fifth graders passed by and gave the book a gentle pat. Another child gave a Mercy Watson book a squeeze before […]
June
10
Why the School Nurse’s Office Should Have a Well-Stocked Library by Melissa McDonald and Melanie Roy
posted by CBethM
Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele wrote “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” Being a school nurse teacher I deeply believe in this quote. My mother instilled in me a deep love of reading. Growing up I witnessed her donate countless books to projects and children in need. When I […]
June
08
TEN COZY AND MAGICAL BEDTIME PICTURE BOOKS by Megan Wagner Lloyd
posted by CBethM
I’m about five years old, and my dad has just declared it to be bedtime. But I want to stay up late! After all, a dear family friend, who always spoils us kids with gifts, is visiting. “But I’m not tir—” I begin— And interrupt myself with a massive yawn. My dad and our guest […]
June
06
After the Fire by Will Hill – Review by Shannon Baer
posted by CBethM
BEFORE Everyone has their own concept of what creates a family. For Moonbeam, it is her mom and the other members of the Holy Church of the Lord’s Legion. Set in Texas, the group resides on a compound just outside of town. They are a mostly self-sustaining group, and in the past have driven to […]
June
03
What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do – Why I Wrote How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? by Vanessa Bayer
posted by CBethM
There are so many things I learned from being a teenager with leukemia: hospital food is often weirdly unhealthy, daytime TV has a very specific demographic (I admit I still watch General Hospital), medicine is an inexact science. But perhaps most surprising was that people in general, of all ages, donʼt know what to do […]
June
01
When a List Is More Than Just a List by Kirsten LeClerc
posted by CBethM
A few years ago I wrote a Nerdy Book Club post that was widely shared and (mostly) well received. It was titled “Windows, Mirrors, and Portals to Magic”. I made a mistake in that piece, though. I neglected to cite Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, the scholar who came up with the concept of windows, mirrors, […]
May
30
Squint by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown – Review by Susie Highley
posted by CBethM
Yes, the cover of Squint is very intriguing and appropriate: a bright green textured background that blurs out of focus, with a large pair of glasses and… a superhero? Flint Keith Minett is in a race against time: he is nearing the deadline to finish his entry for a comic book contest at the […]
May
28
“HEY, YOU GOT YOUR FICTION IN MY NON-FICTION!” OR TWO GREAT TASTES THAT TASTE GREAT TOGETHER: THE TRUTH OR LIE SERIES by Erica S. Perl
posted by CBethM
I’ve always been a fiction writer. You might even call me a fiction snob. But whenever I do author visits, I meet some kids who prefer non-fiction. Kids who dismiss fiction as “made up.” I usually go to great lengths to show them that fiction can be every bit as fun/interesting/cool. To write fiction, […]
