In Grace Lin’s best-selling nonfiction book, Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods, she shares that “every mouthful you eat from a Chinese take-out box was born of centuries of ingenuity, myths, and legend” (257). This groundbreaking book urges readers to recognize that our favorite dishes have fascinating and powerful origin […]
Category Archives: Pay It Forward
March
01
A Recipe for Book Joy: Collaborative School & Public Library Author Visits by Eti Berland, Emily Day, Kelli Pilmer, Muffy Pinney & Alicia Wiechert
posted by CBethM
January
20
Books That Make A Difference by Lorraine Radice, PhD
posted by donalynm
When the two big “new year” markers come around – a new school year in September and a new calendar year in January – I like to pause and reflect on the books that have made a difference in my heart and mind over the course of the year. Much like special people or meaningful […]
June
24
The 2023 Book Love Foundation Book Club by Clare Landrigan
posted by donalynm
“Because one day you will share something wonderful that only you know how to make.” ~ Danielle Davis from To Make The Book Love Summer Book Club officially launches on Monday. The words from one of our book club texts this year, To Make, by Danielle Davis and Mags DeRoma, beautifully reflect this annual event: […]
April
25
Protecting the Right to Read by Becky Calzada
posted by donalynm
Yesterday was Right to Read Day; it’s been one year since Unite Against Book Bans (UABB) was launched by the American Library Association (ALA). On this occasion, ALA is calling upon on readers, advocates, and library lovers to fight back against censorship in this national day of action to defend, protect, and celebrate your right […]
December
02
Our Eleventh Nerdversary: Where Have All the Nerdy Readers Gone? by Donalyn Miller
posted by donalynm
I don’t ask people, “How’s it going?” anymore. The pre-pandemic response, a reflexive, “It’s fine,” doesn’t really cut it these days. People have something to say about how it’s really going. No one is fine. The challenges of the past three years have carved us down. Parts are sharper. Parts are missing. Some parts are […]
November
12
A Menu of Mentors: Reading for Possibility by Lynsey Burkins and Franki Sibberson
posted by CBethM
“Educators ‘layer texts’ when they teach and learn from multiple powerful texts. These texts are print and nonprint and are intellectually compelling.” Dr. Gholdy Muhammad, Cultivating Genius Anyone who knows us knows that we love a good text set! There is nothing like curating a set of books that helps move children forward as readers […]
October
16
Working on the Nonfiction Sections in my Classroom Library by Colby Sharp
posted by Colby Sharp
In writing The Commonsense Guide to Your Classroom Library with Donalyn Miller, we wanted to make it very clear that we didn’t have all of the answers when it comes to classroom libraries, and the work of a classroom library is never complete. As we read more children’s books, get to know more readers, and […]
September
02
Sharing Your Purpose and Talents with the World by Jacqueline Liesch
posted by CBethM
We walked as a group up the red dirt road, past the schools, up the gravel walkway to the library. The hand-carved doors to the library show different parts of the reading process: between mother and child, a child carrying books, reading around the fire, while symbolizing opening the doors to the community’s future through […]
June
10
Book Walks Are Back by Kate Narita
posted by CBethM
We just finished our nonfiction book walks, and my students are more excited about reading than ever. Wait! What’s a book walk? I first learned about book walks on Twitter in the fall of 2019 from Maryland school librarian, Karina Hirschorn. She posted pictures book piles on her library tables and students rotating, exploring the […]
October
02
Verse Novels: The Genre We Need Now by Jen Kleinknecht
posted by CBethM
Poetry is, and always has been, my favorite genre. The musicality, the imagery, and the bare-boned simplicity of saying so much with so little are what make me love poetry. It’s no surprise then, that I love verse novels. The verse novel is defined by the Academy of American Poets as a hybrid form in […]
Nerdy Book Club 