When I was a very little girl, my hero was a small grey mouse named Frederick. Frederick was a picture book mouse. His author had a wonderful, alliterative name that I loved to say out loud. Leo Lionni. Leo Lionni. The syllables were like a yodel that called my tongue to flicker. Every night, I […]
Author Archives: CBethM
October
05
Is the Podcast Mightier Than the Book? by Sheela Chari
posted by CBethM
This year, walking outdoors has been my exercise, my solace, my home away from home. When I walk, I always bring my headphones. It’s me, nature, and a good podcast. Podcasts are audio files you can download from the Internet onto your computer or mobile device such as a smartphone. They can be on […]
October
04
WE CAN’T ALL AFFORD GOOD TOILET PAPER: WHY YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS NEED TO READ STORIES ABOUT KIDS WHO STRUGGLE FINANCIALLY by Donna Gephart
posted by CBethM
Growing up in a tiny row house in Northeast Philadelphia with my single, working mom, my older sister and I couldn’t afford reduced-price lunch tickets at school. They cost 40 cents a piece. So every Friday, we stood in line to be handed a strip of five bright orange tickets, which entitled us to free […]
October
02
Cover Reveal of Don’t Call Me Fuzzybutt! by Robin Newman
posted by CBethM
When I tuned in to watch the first presidential debate with millions of other Americans, I listened in horror as the two candidates berated one another with some of the most unpresidential words I had ever heard. And all that was running through my mind was, what kind of impact will this have on our […]
September
24
Investigating Beyond the Book with Fiction and Facts by David A. Kelly
posted by CBethM
Did you hear about the first major league baseball team to hire a group of dogs? One of the great things about writing the Ballpark Mysteries chapter book series is that I get to visit, and research, baseball stadiums and teams. Heck, I even get to expense my hot dogs and pretzels (and perhaps a […]
September
22
Book Trailer Reveal: SWISH! THE SLAM-DUNKING, ALLEY-OOPING, HIGH-FLYING HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS by Don Tate (illustrator) and Suzanne Slade (author)
posted by CBethM
Three years. That’s how long it took me (Suzanne) to gather the courage to start writing Swish!: The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters. There was never any doubt I wanted to write it. I’ve been a huge Globetrotter fan as long as I can remember. Plus (little-known fact), the team began […]
September
21
The Do’s and Don’ts of Raising Readers by Jen Kleinknecht
posted by CBethM
Air conditioning taught me how to read. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. We didn’t have central air conditioning in the home where I grew up. We could have afforded it, but we didn’t have it. What a blessing that I didn’t have everything we could afford. It gave me a reason to work […]
September
18
A HEART IS BORN by Carol Coven Grannick
posted by CBethM
In February, 2020, I revealed the cover of my debut novel in verse, REENI’S TURN, here at Nerdy Book Club, writing about the struggle to hold on to the heart of the story through years of contradictory input and my own discovery of story and character through the writing, rewriting, re-visioning. The book’s virtual launch […]
September
16
On reading by Poppy Nwosu
posted by CBethM
Growing up in an isolated cane-farming community in central North Queensland, reading was a very important part of my childhood. We lived an hour drive away from our nearest town, so had to travel that far to buy groceries or visit a shopping centre. I spent a lot of time sitting in the car and […]
September
09
Unchildrening the Children by Beth Kephart
posted by CBethM
July 2020 Something terrifying happens when people in power don’t steal away to the shade beneath a tree (or a corner in a house, or a private place inside a plane), open the pages of a good novel, and read. When they don’t train their brains on the lives of others. Don’t put themselves […]
