Kirby Larson's Blog, page 52

Two Cool Nerds

I don't know when Mr. Schu (librarian, John Schumacher) and Colby Sharp (4th grade teacher) ever sleep. Not only are they superheroes to their students, they are reading heroes to the rest of us. 

Founders of the Nerdy Book Club, they are attempting to read all of the Newbery award winners since the Newbery Award began. I have not accepted their Nerdbery Challenge, (my experiences with Hitty and Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field and The Moved-Outers, by Florence Crannell Means, held me back), but many have. You can learn more here about the challenge and see a great interview with this dynamic duo here.

I've made the big time

Look at Hattie, rubbing shoulders (practically) with D.H. Lawrence.
Thanks to my friend, T.L. Stewart for taking this photo

Fan Letter Friday

I mentioned that I was at the Shaw Island school a few weeks ago. Look at this adorable packet of art the primary kids sent me! (I'll share the intermediate kids' art next Friday). Love the details! And all of these works of art came in a charming accordion fold book. There are some awfully clever folks living in the San Juans!
Love the dialogue on the left: Lucy's getting even with that creep, Delbert!
Lucy at the museum -- so excited she walks right out of her shoes
Future Matisses!
Lucy, on the left, with a dirty face.
Love the way these two images complement each other

Thursday's Thought for the Day

"The only certain thing about the future is that it will surprise even those who have seen furthest into it."E.J. Hobsbawm

Double Take

I thought this was just another cute cat picture, of the sort my friend Vivian Sathre likes to send me.
Then I looked again.
Do you see what I see?
(hint: Viv lives in the Arizona desert)

Let me brag a bit

My darling friend, Robyn Hood Black (that's her real name! How cool is that?) has two poems in a wonderful book, just out:

I'm thinking we should all rush out right now and buy it. From our local indie bookstore, of course.

That Barbara O'Connor

 [image error]Don't you just wish you'd had a chance, when you were a kid, to make up a character that some amazing author like Barbara O'Connor would write about?
Well, that's what happened to a boy named Ryan Holdridge, winner of this year's Scholastic Storyworks contest. Read all about it here.

Fun Friday

I found this book at the wonderful bookstore on Vashon Island (Washington) --perfect thing for nosy Rosies like me and for anyone else who enjoys books plus surprises.

Thursday's Thought for the Day

"Through kindness, you can change your fate." 
~Nguyen T. Nguyen~

Who or Whom

I missed the good grammar genes when they were being handed out. Sometimes I get excited when I'm writing and switch from past to present tense. Sometimes I even write sentence fragments. And I never ever can remember when to use lie or lay.
When I'm really corn-fused (as we like to say at the Larson house), I turn to this trusty tome by Martha Brockenbrough, the founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG). [image error]Not only does she make me laugh, she steers me right every time.

I have also recently discovered Grammarly, an equally awesome resource because you can paste in chunks of text and, voila!, get a report highlighting your shameful mixing of metaphors or failure to use different from (I don't know why, but different than sounds better to my ear) or dangling participles. There's a free 7-day trial, so give it a whirl!

Those of you who are not Martha Brockenbrough: what grammar tools do you use to keep those copy-editors from breathing down your neck?