When we were in China, we were often asked what dish our part of the country known for. This was a stumper. Um, venison? Lutefisk? Then we realized it wasn’t so much a dish as a food group we should be sharing. And we started talking about cheese. I don’t know why we didn’t think [...]
(Things have been a little quiet around here lately, huh? Yeah, some extra, unexpected stuff happened last week. But things are coming closer to normal now.)
Last week, a fifth grade girl came into the library after school. She’s one of my “regulars.” I’ve often suspected she comes more for the chats than the books. She’s [...]
Last week when I wrote about The Dunderheads, I forgot to link to some of the other online reviews. One of my favorites is by 100 Scope Notes. Yes, he created a “Toon Review”!
Once I got past my jealousy of not thinking of doing “Toon Reviews” first , I had to check out the [...]
So, in trying to get back to my regularly scheduled blog posts (nothing like traveling across the world to throw you for a loop)…I’m still interested in trying out some of the websites that AASL deemed “the Best,”and seeing how I can put them to use in my writing and librarianing lives. My next up is Wordle.
Disclaimer:if [...]
First up from the AASL Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning (remember, I warned you about this?), Animoto.
Do you know Animoto? I confess: I did not. But it’s been a lot of fun to play around with. Basically, Animoto is a web-based tool that allows you to plunk in your photos, add some music [...]
I love lists. So last week when the American Association of School Librarians announced their 25 best sites for teaching and learning, I couldn’t wait to click over to it. And, while many of the sites are familiar, there were a couple I hadn’t used yet and a couple I hadn’t even heard of. For your [...]
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Out of the huge stack of books my boys collected at the ALA conference last week, this was the very first one that Mr. E (10) picked up and devoured. I know why. With science gadgets you wish were [...]
Whew! What a whirlwind trip. We did the visit-the-relatives, attend-part-of-ALA, tour-Chicago combo vacation. We even celebrated a birthday in there!
Our Nonfiction Book Blast presentation at ALA on Sunday was a huge success. The (enormous) room was full. We had crowds waiting to come in! This was–frankly–amazing to me. Not because we didn’t deserve it (all [...]
Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
We now have a couple of Frankie Pickle fans here in our house! Frankie doesn’t see the point in cleaning his room–it’ll just get messy again. So when his mom finally agrees with him, he’s delighted. Only…things get really deep and dirty and smelly fast. [...]
Yes, I am! In fact, I’m presenting there. And signing books (Lerner booth, Sunday 12:15). Come see me! Here’s the scoop on the presentation:
Nonfiction Book Blast!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Convention Center Room W181
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
ALA Annual Conference, Chicago
wiki at http://nfbookblast.pbworks.com/
Track: Children & Young Adults; Literature & Collection Development
Despite the emphasis on fiction for leisure [...]
This is what they’ll walk out with. Or at least the three boys I took to the bookstore to spend a $120 gift card for my school library. They debated so seriously about what to get and were so excited to eventually see them on the shelves! In fact, we had so much fun and [...]
I just found out from Scholastic and Booklinks that my Booklinks interview with Cynthia Lord is going to be included in a new paperback teachers’ edition of Cynthia Lord’s Newbery Honor-winning novel, RULES. The entire article will appear in the back of the book–including the sidebar on the literature circle blogging unit I did at my school with the book! [...]
