I just finished Write This Book, by Pseudonymous Bosch, author of the Secret Series.  While this was a fun book to read and write with my own kids, I don't know if it would be as much fun it you hadn't already read the Secret Series.   As I was reading it though, I kept thinking it would also make a great classroom tool.  So great in fact, that I am going to use…

Yesterday, I posted this about a publisher launching an imprint aimed at boys ages 9-14.  I also shared this info on an  educational website, School Leadership 2.0, where I received an interesting comment and follow-up email.  Both of which got me thinking about the kinds of books I recommend to reluctant readers who are boys, or to my girlfriends for their sons to read.

Starting with the most…

July 21, 2013

September 1, Enslow Publishing will launch a new imprint aimed at boys ages 9-14.  Read all about it here.

Happy reading,

Christine

bookgirlblogger.blogspot.com

July 20th is Moon Day in honor of the Apollo 11 mission that landed man on the moon.  Nearly everyone has some connection to that story.  Perhaps you have a relative  who worked on the lunar landing module, or perhaps you or a relative know exactly where you were at the time of the landing. 

A few summers ago, my kids and I were visiting a friend's summer rental on Fire Island, and a neighbor told us that when he was a kid he watched the landing in the very house my friend was…

July 17, 2013

Do you read aloud to your own children or students?  If so, I'd love to hear from you.  I'm currently researching read alouds for an upcoming article and your story could appear in a national magazine.  I'm especially interested in teachers or parents who continue the read aloud into upper elementary and middle school grades.  If you have a story you'd like to share, leave a comment here, or email me…

In  preparation for teaching the new 6th grade module next year, I am reading The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan.  Fantasy usually isn't my thing, but this book is great, and ties in perfectly with the sixth-grade social studies curriculum here in New York. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and I can't wait to see the movie…

Ooh la la.  Today is Bastille Day, or the French National Day.  If you're looking for a quick summer read that will evoke the city of light, why not try French Lessons, by Ellen Sussman?  Ms. Sussman lived in Paris for five years, and her novel about three tutors and their American students in a French language immersion program will put you in the mood for all things French.  For a little French Chef nostalgia, enjoy the video of Julia Child's famous Boeuf Bourguignon…

July 11, 2013

Yesterday's Newsday contained this article on the two finalists for the redevelopment of the Nassau Coliseum.  If I were teaching summer school in Nassau County, I would use this informational text as a multi-day lesson for my students.  After a close read of the text, we would complete a…

July 10, 2013

I saw this on  an education writing blog:

NEED YOUR HELP ON AN ARTICLE

I originally posted this on November 30, 2011:

July 3, 2013

Happy (almost) Independence Day!

Yesterday, a friend and I took our children to the New York Public Library to see an exhibit of one of two known surviving copies of The Declaration of Independence, written in Thomas Jefferson's own handwriting.  According to the exhibit, before the Declaration of Independence was…

July 1, 2013

My book review in the July 2013 issue of Parenting: School Years is all about keeping kids reading during the long summer break, but what about writing?  How can you keep your kids from losing the  important literacy skills of writing?  Create summer journals!

Take ordinary composition notebooks ($1.00 or less on sale) and any craft materials you already have at home; construction paper, scrapbook paper, stickers, duct tape, seashells, etc., and…