Tag Archives: @ProfessorNana

February 13

Cover Reveal: The Joy of Reading by Donalyn Miller and Teri S. Lesesne

In my December Nerdversary post, I wrote about my dear friend, Teri Lesesne, and mentioned the two of us had been working on a book for seven years. I am heartbroken that Teri passed away last August and will not see the published book, but I am thrilled that The Joy of Reading is now […]

December 01

Our Tenth Nerdversary: One Nerd Can Make a Difference by Donalyn Miller

How are you? I miss you. I miss the pre-pandemic days when I ran into other book-loving teachers and librarians on my travels. I miss travels. I miss Nerd Camps. I miss conferences and school visits. I miss talking about books in banquet lines and elevators. I miss walking out of a classroom with thirty […]

January 23

A Reading Life…Interrupted by Teri S. Lesesne

My earliest memories are of reading.  I recall the smell of Old Spice as my PopPop read me Pat the Bunny while we balanced in his wheelchair (he was diagnosed with MS the year I was born).  I loved the rides via streetcar from our house to the Carnegie Library in downtown Pittsburgh.  And then […]

May 30

The Top Ten Things I Learned in my #bookaday Reading This Week by Teri S. Lesesne

If it is May, there is a good chance there will be rain in Texas.  The last few weeks have been more like hurricane season than a lead up to summer.  Houston received almost a foot of rain on one day.  Our lake, the one nearly drained a few years ago due to droughts, is […]

March 29

Community: It’s What You Make of It by Teri Lesesne

A former principal of mine began each year with the same story, a story about some boys who approached a wise man with a question. “We have caught a bird in our hands, old man. The question is, is it alive or is it dead?” The wise man replied, “My sons, it is what you […]

December 26

2014 NERDY AWARDS FOR FICTION PICTURE BOOKS ANNOUNCED BY TERI LESESNE

I have read a ton of picture books this year.  That ton might even be a literal ton given the number of them packed into boxes  (see photo) so that they can “float on” to new owners after the holidays plus the ones forming the base for my book tree (see photo).   I have read […]

December 03

This Book Makes my Heart Sing! by Teri Lesesne

A review of WILD THINGS! ACTS OF MISCHIEF IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE Written by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson, and Peter D. Sieruta Candlewick Press, 2014. $22.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-45150-3 278 pp. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Charlotte Zolotow was writing William’s Doll (Harper & Row, 1972) or when Tomie […]

August 10

Preaching to the Choir: Singing the Praises of Books and Reading by Teri S. Lesesne

I know a posting here at Nerdy Book Club is truly preaching to the choir, and I did hesitate to write this post.  But a couple of weeks ago, I did a little preaching to the Arkansas Association of School Librarians about the power of books and reading.  After I finished the keynote, a librarian […]

May 14

Of Stanks, Swamps, Cane, and Courage: Boys of Blur by N.D. Wilson; Reviewed by Teri S. Lesesne

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested…” Sir Francis Bacon The prologue opens with this sentence: “When the sugarcane’s burning and the rabbits are running, look for the boys who are quicker than flame.” And ends with this: “There’s quick and there’s dead.” From […]

Ten Treats For Your Ears by Teri Lesesne

I bought a car after the first of the year.  It was time to retire my old SUV and move to something a bit scaled down.   The car came with a 90 free trial of Sirius XM radio. I will not extend beyond the 90 days, though. You see, I hardly listen to the radio […]