Category: Uncategorized

Letting Go of Labels and Trusting Reading Identity by Dr. Jennifer Scoggin and Hannah Schneewind

I have little happy, hopeful tears. Wonderful, revealing article. Thanks for sharing.

CBethM's avatarNerdy Book Club

My son pours over illustrations and devours graphic novels, especially those with sophisticated potty humor. Dav Pilkey has mythical status in our house. Garfield comics abound. Chris Van Dusen’s illustrations merit hours of close study.

Yet despite his love of reading at home, my son did not see himself as a successful reader at school. During independent reading, he studied the illustrations and rarely focused on the words. By October of first grade, he was labeled as “disengaged” and a “struggling reader.” And although those words were never said directly to him, he felt their weight.

My son watched his friends read increasingly difficult texts and was aware that he could not read the words with similar success. His teacher tried to support him. However, she inevertantly made the all-too-common, label-led decision to focus on what my son was not doing as a reader. She focused on word solving strategies…

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February 15 – It’s Library Lovers Month |Recommendations from Celebratepicturebooks.com

About the Holiday For bibliophiles, this may be the best month of the year! Not only does your local library have shelves stacked with books, magazines, movies, and music of every kind, it offers comfy chairs, fascinating lectures, kids programs, and more! While this year most libraries have been closed for in-person visits or offered…
— Read on celebratepicturebooks.com/2021/02/15/february-15-its-library-lovers-month/

Storystorm 2021 Registration is OPEN!

Welcome to Storystorm 2021. For me, Storystorm: The Musical Edition. Psyched!

Tara Lazar's avatarWriting for Kids (While Raising Them)

Every year when Storystorm rolls around, I like to pick a theme for this registration post.

This year’s theme will come as no surprise…

WE FINALLY MADE IT THROUGH 2020!

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Welcome to STORYSTORM 2021!

Four years ago I changed the name and month of my annual writing challenge, from Picture Book Idea Month (PiBoIdMo) to STORYSTORM. Why? Answer’s here.

Although this challenge begun as a picture book writer’s event, any writer interested in brainstorming new story ideas in January is invited to join the STORYSTORM challenge of 30 ideas in 31 days. Any genre, any style; student, amateur, hobbyist, aspiring author or seasoned professional.

How does STORYSTORM work? It’s simple…

  • Register.
  • Read the daily posts on this blog, beginning January 1st.
  • Write down one (or more) story idea daily.
  • At the end of January if you have at least 30 new…

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LATKES FOR SANTA CLAUS by Janie Emaus (plus a giveaway)

Tara Lazar's avatarWriting for Kids (While Raising Them)

According to the Pew Research Center, 1 in 5 U.S. adults were raised in an interfaith family. While that doesn’t necessarily mean a Christian/Jewish upbringing, it is the most common mix…which makes me wonder why there aren’t more books that explore this dynamic.

Well, Janie Emaus has a sweet (and savory) picture book for those families! Introducing LATKES FOR SANTA CLAUS!

Janie, what was your inspiration for this story? 

I grew up in a Jewish family and celebrated my first Christmas after marrying my husband. When our daughter was born, we had a Christmas Tree and a Menorah. As she grew up, I wondered if it was ever confusing for her. I looked for books with characters she could relate to and not finding any that were written in a fun, entertaining way, I decided to write my own. And because there weren’t any books, I thought, this would sell…

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