Imagine taking your child to the station, saying goodbye, and then watching them get on a train with hundreds of other children, bound for another country where they don’t speak the language, to live with a family you’ve never met and know nothing about. Now imagine you have no idea when, or if, you’ll ever […]
Category Archives: Book News
Cover Reveal: The Songbird and the Rambutan Tree by Lucille Abendanon
posted by CBethM
Q&A with author Lucille Abendanon Q: What inspired you to write this book? A: A lifetime of conversations with my Oma, Emmy who survived the infamous Tjideng prisoner of war camp in Batavia, Dutch East Indies in WW2. We were very close, and she would tell me about her life in Batavia before the war […]
Respect the Mic Poetry Competition – An Invitation from Peter Kahn
posted by CBethM
This post is written by Peter Kahn, teacher and editor of Respect the Mic, a expansive, moving poetry anthology, representing 20 years of poetry from students and alumni of Chicago’s Oak Park River Forest High School Spoken Word Club. When I began my career as a high school English teacher in 1994 I soon realized […]
Cover Reveal: I’m an American by Darshana Khiani
posted by CBethM
I’m an American, my second book, launches on May 2nd, 2023. I’m excited to be revealing the cover to this wonderful, inclusive, thoughtful book-loving community. I’m an American features a classroom of diverse students exploring the question: what does it mean to be an American? My writing is inspired by the questions I wonder and […]
Cover Reveal: IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY by Sydney Dunlap
posted by CBethM
Hi everyone! It is such an honor to have a chance to introduce myself and my book, IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY. This story began a long time ago when I was teaching elementary school in Virginia and used to flip through TV channels at night before going to sleep. One evening, I landed on a […]
Cover Reveal: Elf Dog and Owl Head by M. T. Anderson, Illustration by Junyi Wu
posted by CBethM
Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson Illustrated by Junyi Wu Publication Date: 4/11/23 From the singular imagination of National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson comes a magical adventure about a boy and his dog—or a dog and her boy—and a forest of wonders hidden in plain sight. Clay has had his fill […]
Cover Reveal of Trucker Kid by Carol Gordon Ekster
posted by CBethM
Trucker Kid, my sixth book to come into the hands of children, launches on January 1, 2023. I’m excited for book-loving nerds to be the first to see the cover. Nerdybook Club is where my two passions, education and books, come together with like-minded #kidlit folks. I taught fourth grade for 35 years where everything […]
Cover Reveal for Rare Birds by Jeff Miller
posted by CBethM
IN THE WORDS OF JEFF MILLER… Maybe it’s because I grew up near a lake, but I always like to imagine good stories as life rafts. I picture them slowly coasting towards anybody feeling alone or adrift in open water. Maybe that someone is tired from swimming through a difficult time. Or maybe they just […]