JENNIFER: Long before Chris and I got married, I used to double-date the Beatles. Well, not all the Beatles — only Paul and John. And they weren’t technically Beatles anymore, the band having broken up many years earlier. And these dates, if you must know, occurred only on paper — in sketch comedies that my […]
July
11
Two (or More) of Us: How Writing Communities Shaped the Authors We’ve Become by Jennifer Ziegler and Chris Barton
posted by CBethM
July
10
Other Duties As Assigned by Emily Visness
posted by CBethM
Summer is here, and as the weeks of shuttling my kids to swim team practice, swim meets, and for-fun swimming consumes many of my waking hours, I also spend time chipping away at my enormous “To Be Read” list. Like many readers, my TBR list is an ever-growing mountain, and each time I read one […]
July
09
How Soldier Boy by Keely Hutton Came to Be by Kate Olson
posted by CBethM
An incredibly powerful YA book with an amazing creation story – read on to learn about how Soldier Boy by Keely Hutton came to be….. Several months ago, I was sent a box of books from a publisher, mostly advance reader copies. When I get these books, I always put them on my ARC […]
July
08
Authors’ Advice for a Better Writing Life: Read Widely by Marci Glaus
posted by CBethM
In an attempt to capture the recursive, complex, messy process we call writing, I started asking authors from my state to do something extremely awkward. I asked them to allow me, and sometimes a small crew, to enter into their personal writing space to film them while they were writing. I also asked them talk […]
July
06
Looking Forward and Looking Back: Impyrium by Henry H. Neff – Review by Oona Marie Abrams
posted by CBethM
I consider it providential that I started reading Impyrium, a young adult science fiction fantasy novel, on the same evening as parent orientation at the local middle school. My husband Jason had drawn the short straw that evening, and was across town at our son’s baseball practice with the whole brood. As the orientation proceeded, […]
July
04
I’m a Gamer by Jaleigh Johnson
posted by CBethM
I had planned to take this opportunity doing a guest post to talk about the experience of writing a middle grade series of standalone books all set in the same world. I still plan to do that. But I realized I was typing this blog post, sipping coffee from a mug with ‘Gamer’ emblazoned on […]
July
03
#classroombookaday & The Power of Shared (Picture Book) Stories by Jillian Heise
posted by CBethM
It started with inspiration from Donalyn Miller, as many great things do. It started three years ago with a few extra minutes of class time, and thinking about how best to use them. It started with lamenting that I wasn’t sharing enough picture books with my students, and their request for more. It started with […]
July
02
My Reading Journey by A.F. Harrold
posted by CBethM
Jorge Luis Borges said, “I think of myself as being essentially a reader. As you are aware, I have ventured into writing; but I think that what I have read is far more important than what I have written. For one reads what one likes – yet one writes not what one would like to […]
July
01
Top Ten MG Books to Use as Read Alouds Beginning of Year by Cassie Thomas
posted by CBethM
When students enter the classroom at the first of the year, a lot of schools are spending days/weeks on ensuring respect, understanding, and creating a classroom culture of family. To do this more effectively and spark conversation, I have learned that opening each year with a book that touches on character traits such as respecting […]
June
30
Truths and Lies by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson
posted by CBethM
Many people have been surprised to learn that when we first conceived of the idea that eventually became Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive! in 2013, we weren’t thinking at all about information literacy. We just thought the world was an endlessly fascinating–and sometimes hard to believe–place. As we started collecting ideas for stories to include […]
