Trying to get back in the swing of things with my author and illustrator interviews…. Man, you get behind in one thing and it’s impossible to catch up in everything else. How are you doing with the flu where you are? Our poor little school is swimming in germs right now. 1/3 of the fifth [...]
Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers Are on a Roll by Mary Amato Orville and Wilbur Riot are two brothers who never stop. Never stop talking, stop joking, stop hatching plans. Whether it’s Pufferbelly Point Punt (popcorn table hockey) for breakfast or leading a lost mummy to the Egypt room at the museum, [...]
So, when I get super busy (i.e. during the school week) I tend to read nonfiction. It’s perfect for my drained mind and snippets of time. Not that nonfiction is light reading. But I do read it differently than fiction. I begin with a quick flip through the illustrations and their captions. Then a scan of chapter titles [...]
Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata Cracker starts out life as a championship show dog, but then a broken leg sends her to twelve-year-old Willie and his family as a pet. But when Willie can’t keep her, she becomes a U. S. Army dog, assigned to newly-enlisted teenager, Rick Hanski. And there, [...]
With its moody, atmospheric cover, When the Whistle Blows may not be the first book boys and kids will reach for. Mr. E was skeptical when I first brought it home as our next read-together. But it didn’t take much convincing. As soon as I mentioned football championships, tricking the nasty school principal, and Halloween [...]
Who was the worst, the meanest, teacher you ever had? I once knew one that made a girl clean up her own mess when she got sick in class. A first grader! And another mountain of a man who’d bellow from the front table anytime he thought someone wasn’t paying attention. “Paul! Get up here! Bring [...]