Monthly Archives: May 2012

Summer Reading

Recently, I stumbled across this article in the New York Times: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/summer-must-read-for-kids-any-book/ It’s a great article, that talks about the importance of letting children choose their own books, especially over the summer.  Have you ever heard of the “summer slide?”  … Continue reading

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Filed under Questions for You, Reading in the Schools, Thoughts on Children's Literature

“On Three Ways of Writing for Children”

“I think there are three ways in which those who write for children may approach their work; two good ways and one that is generally a bad way.” So begins C.S. Lewis’s short essay, “On Three Ways of Writing for Children.”  The … Continue reading

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Filed under Academia, Book Reviews, Children's Literature Scholarship, Thoughts on Children's Literature, Writing Exercises, Writing Tips

Jack Gantos and Childhood History

The protagonist of Jack Gantos’s Newbery Medal-winning novel, Dead End in Norvelt, who just so happens to be named Jack Gantos, spends a summer, grounded, learning about the history of his town from a quirky old woman who lives down the … Continue reading

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Filed under Book Reviews, Writing Exercises

Goodbye, Maurice

It would be a shame to let the month pass without mentioning the death of a crucial writer for children.  As most of you know, on May 8th, Maurice Sendak died at the age of 83.  His work was crucial because … Continue reading

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Filed under Authors, Book Reviews, Thoughts on Children's Literature

(More) About Me

It was always my dream to write books for children. But I was always afraid. Children’s literature occupies a magical space in my mind.  I had learned how to write–but writing for children was something else altogether.  When I was … Continue reading

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