Carolee Dean's Blog, page 7

Great Minds in Your Neighborhood - Reflections on a Writer's Retreat

We know the names of the Great Minds around the world, but it is just as important to discover the Great Minds in our own neighborhoods. They may not get the same recognition as scientists like Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking. Their work may not be as easily recognized as that of Steven Spielberg or J.K. Rowling, but they are special to us in different ways. They are much more accessible, and they teach us that genius is all around us. I have been reflecting on this idea since attending a writer's retreat earlier this summer in New Mexico at the Norbertine Abbey. Twelve of us got together to write by day and talk about writing by night.

I left New Mexico in 2017 after spending nearly 30 years there. Every June I return for an informal writer's retreat loosely organized by one of our previous SCBWI regional representatives. The group includes both published authors (see some of our book covers below) as well as pre-published authors. One of our greatest joys this June was celebrating Susan Wider and her book It's My Whole Life: Charlotte Salomon: An Artist in Hiding During World War II. Her book won the 2023 Jewish Book Award for Juvenile Fiction. A few years ago,  Susan was one of our pre-published writers, wondering if she would ever find an agent and an editor. Now she is an award-winning author with worldwide recognition. Check out her book at Norton Books for Young Readers. 

Vaunda Micheaux Nelson has been a celebrity in our little circle for many years. She has a knack for finding little-known heroes and telling their stories. Let 'er Buck! George Fletcher, The People's Champion illustrated by Gordon C. James tells the true story of an African American black rodeo champion. Vaunda won the Coretta Scott King Award for Bad New for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. I love sharing this book with my struggling readers. Bass was a former slave and had to memorize the arrest warrants because he could not read. Unrelated to Vaunda's book, I recently found out that the creators of the Yellowstone series are creating a TV series based on Bass Reeves.  Vaunda has a wonderful blog called the Book Itch. It was inspired by her book,  The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore, also illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Check out The Book Itch and scroll to the bottom of Vaunda's blog to sign up for email updates.

Sharon Sivinski, a retired middle school science teacher, has decided to tell her non-fiction STEM stories via a fun YouTube channel called STEM with COG.  I just watched a 9-minute video on How Crude Oil and Transportation Produce Carbon Dioxide. Her style has a definite Bill Nye the Science Guy feel to it. She explains complicated concepts in engaging and visual ways. 

Kimberley Griffiths Little has published multiple children's book series and is now publishing sweet romance and romantic suspense under the pen name of Kimberley Monpetit. She has a YouTube channel where her many book trailers may be found.  

Chris Eboch, who has published several children's books has recently created two different romance series under the pen name of Kris Bock - The Accidental Detective and The Accidental Billionaire. Check out her page at Tule Publishing. 

Molly Blaisdell started joining us a few years ago from Texas. My husband and I split our time between Denver and Texas these days, so Molly and I are almost neighbors (except for the fact that Texas is a VERY large state). She has more titles than I can count, many of them with a science emphasis. Check out her books at https://www.mollyblaisdell.com/

Cynthia Grady, poet and picture book author has a website at https://cynthiagrady.com/books/. Her most recent book Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind includes excerpts of correspondences between one caring librarian and her students who were interred during World War 2.

Last of all, check out the titles from my new project, The HOT ROD series of Decodable Books, on my website at https://www.wordtravelpress.com/. Scroll to the bottom of the home page to see my list of titles, and then explore the rest of the website. There are pages full of strategies and free activities for working with struggling readers. Read Hank the Tank for free if you are a member of Kindle Unlimited.

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter to receive updates about my new decodable book series.

The members of our little retreat are just a few of the many talented authors I have met through the local New Mexico Chapter of SCBWI.  When my husband and I moved to Colorado and I joined the Rocky Mountain SCBWI, I met dozens more. Whether you are an illustrator, an author, or a teacher wanting to connect with authors, checking out your local SCBWI chapter is a great place to start. You may just meet some great minds in your own backyard.

FREE Activity Guide for HANK THE TANK

I am excited to announce that my decodable reader, Hank the Tank, is available now in hardcover, paperback, and e-book formats. The e-book version is FREE if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. The Activity Book is coming on August 1, 2023. Watch this blog or sign up for my newsletter for updates. This is a great book to share with kids who may be traveling to bear country this summer!

For a preview of the first chapter of the book, Download the FREE Hank Activity Guide. It includes a Scavenger Word Hunt based on Part 1 of the book (included in the Activity Guide.) The purpose of the Word Hunt is to encourage rereading in a fun and engaging way. Other activities cover phonological awareness, rhyme, and alliteration. There is also a fun Snack Attack Word Mash Up where kids get to invent their own words from food combinations. 

FREE Hank Activity Guide

The story is based on real events. In February of 2022, a black bear by the name of Hank the Tank made international news after he reportedly broke into dozens of homes in South Lake Tahoe. Concerned citizens made over 100 calls to the local authorities about a bear scavenging for food and destroying property. Authorities feared they would have to euthanize Hank.
 
Fortunately, Hank’s life was saved by science. Wildlife biologists made a very interesting discovery in the DNA left behind at the break-ins. Read the story to find out what happened. It is written in verse and is a fictional account, but it was inspired by real events. Then read the background information in the book to learn about the Real Hank, interesting facts about black bears, and tips for coexisting with wildlife. 
 
The story portion of the book was written to align with Level 2 of the HOT ROD Series (Higher Order Thinking Through the Reading of Decodables). It focuses on closed vowel sounds, digraphs (ck, ch, sh, th, ng), combinations (wh, qu), and nk. The Background Information section was written at approximately a 6th-grade reading level for independent reading (5th-grade for instructional level).
 
This book was specially designed for older students (grades 4 and up) and even adults who would benefit from controlled reading practice. Specific modifications are provided for grades 2-6+. Books in the series may be used to complement any reading program but were specifically designed for teachers who are implementing the Science of Reading in their instruction. There are also tips for parents on how to use a strategy called Pair and Share reading. The adult reads the Background Information, and the student reads the story, which is the portion written as a controlled text. Because of the focus on specific sound patterns, this book also provides an opportunity for children with articulation disorders to work on words in a story context with a speech-language pathologist. The higher-level vocabulary used in the background information section makes this book appropriate for students in general education as well. Lists are provided for target sound words as well as two different levels of vocabulary.
Books may be ordered through your local bookstore, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.

For more information about the series and to find the Scope and Sequence, visit www.wordtravelpress.com.  

Children's Books Explore The History Behind Juneteenth

Juneteenth became a national holiday in 2021, but many people don't know its background or why June 19th has historical significance. Fortunately, there are several wonderful children's books that explore the history behind Juneteenth.

My first knowledge of Emancipation Day, celebrated across the nation before it ever became a federally recognized holiday, was through a book by my friend, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson co-wrote with her husband, Drew. The book is entitled Juneteenth and was published by Millbrook Press, an imprint of Lerner Books (2006). Read more about the book on Vaunda's website. You can also sign up for her blog while you are there. It is called, The Book Itch. As a retired librarian, she has many insights about books and the writing process. 

Lerner Books, has a website called the Lerner Blog. They just posted What is Juneteenth? They have also published several books for a variety of ages on the topic, including Vaunda's, which may all be found HERE. 

The Emancipation Proclamation which promised freedom to slaves was made on January 1 of 1863. It was a huge success for abolitionists, but most slaves were not actually freed until much later. The Proclamation only gave freedom to slaves in states that had seceded from the Union. Those states no longer recognized Lincoln's authority, so the South did not honor the Proclamation until they were forced to do so at the end of the Civil War. Ironically, the Proclamation did not free the slaves in the southern states that had remained loyal to the Union, though those states did finally have to acquiesce. The slaves in the District of Columbia had already been freed by a law passed in April of 1862. Slaves in US Territories were freed by a law signed by Lincoln in June of 1962.  
Nonetheless, the Proclamation was an important document. As Henry Ward Beecher stated, "The Proclamation may not free a single slave, but it gives liberty a moral recognition." It gave the Union a focused motivation for the war and opened up the admittance of black soldiers. By the end of the war, 200,000 black men had enlisted. 
What does June 19th, 1865 have to do with all of this? It is significant because it was the date when Union troops led by General Gordon Granger marched on Galveston, TX, and read the order announcing that the slaves had been freed. The war had ended two months earlier, but no one had told the slaves they were free. Finally, the vision of the  Emancipation Proclamation was fulfilled. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution that abolished slavery was ratified on December 18 of 1865.
The first official celebration of June 19th came one year later in Galveston in 1866 and spread through Texas. As people moved to other parts of the country, they took the tradition with them. Texas was the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday in 1980. It became a federal holiday in 2021.  
Juneteenth has become a day celebrated by people of all colors. It symbolizes the end of slavery, but more than that, it has also become a symbol of hope, resilience, and freedom for all people. Be sure to check out books on Juneteenth by Lerner.
Sign up for my newsletter to keep up with upcoming author interviews and book news. Visit the Sign Up Page on my website at www.wordtravelpress.com for details and discover free offers. The website has several free downloadable activities including an activity guide for my new decodable book, Hank the Tank.

So Many Amazing Children's Authors!

There were so many amazing authors (32 to be exact) at the event on Saturday, June 3, hosted by the Bookies Bookstore in Denver, CO, and the Rocky Mountain Branch of the Society of Children's Book Writers ad Illustrators (SCBWI). I sold all of the Hank the Tank books that I brought with me and was delighted to discover how many people have such a strong interest in decodable books. I am in the photo above on the far right. My two new friends, Christine Layton (middle) and Lauren H. Kerstein (third from the right), are at the same table. Lauren H. Kerstein is a social worker who writes books for children and young adults about social-emotional issues. Her new book, Home for A While, is about a boy in foster care finding a place that he can call home even if it's just for a while. I love social workers. They are some of my favorite people. Her book is important not only for kids living in any kind of transitional situation but also to help more advantaged children develop empathy and understanding. 

Christine Layton is a brand new author who was at the bookstore with her debut book, Light Speaks. It is a picture book that reads like a poem while the back matter delves deeper into scientific concepts like how light waves travel through space and how we can still see stars today that died thousands of years ago. Christina has been an early childhood educator and is currently the Director of Adult Education at a public library in Colorado. You can tell from my book purchases below that I spent a fair amount of time shopping at this event.

I also had the opportunity to connect with familiar faces. Jolene Gutierrez is on the right below with Mac and Cheese, a book about respecting personal space. She has a new book coming out in August entitled, Too Much. It's about sensory integration and kids who are sometimes overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. She will have two occupational therapists at her book launch on August 5 at Second Star on the Right to talk about how the book can be used with kids with sensory integration issues. You can get more information HERE. Jolene is a teacher and librarian who works with kids with learning challenges. We recently did a presentation, along with author Beth Anderson, for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the International Dyslexia Association on "Using Narratives as a Bridge to Informational Text." Check out my interview with Jolene about her non-fiction book, Bionic Beasts.

Below are some of the other authors I got to meet at the Bookies. I will be interviewing several authors over the next few months.  Polly Holyhoke is the creator of the new middle-grade fantasy series, Skyriders. The main character is dyslexic, so you can be sure I will be talking about this book in October for Dyslexia Awareness Month. Kimberlee Gard is the author of The Mighty Silent e! I always love a book that plays with sound and spelling the way this book does. Finally, Nyasha Williams is the author of The ABC's of Inspiration for Black Kids. Her book offers many messages that are inspirational for all kids but that are especially important for kids who don't always see characters that look like them in picture books. My favorite message is, "I am my ancestors' wildest dreams." Nyasha's motto is, "Writing to Change the Narrative." I'm sure her ancestors are quite pleased with her success.

Support events like this one by shopping at local bookstores like THE BOOKIES and ordering books directly through the store. Any of the books mentioned here may be ordered through the The Bookies. Many are still on their shelves. They will be moving to a new location this fall at 2085 S. Holly Street in Glendale, CO. Their new building will have even more space for events and gatherings. Call them at 303-759-1117.  

Keep up with upcoming author interviews and book news by signing up for my newsletter. Visit the Sign Up Page on my website at www.wordtravelpress.com for details and discover free offers. The website has several free downloadable activities including an activity guide for my new decodable book, Hank the Tank.

THE WORDS WE KEEP - YA Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award

Keeping with this year's theme of resilience, this week I'm sharing two award-winning young adult books. The Words We Keep by Erin Stewart won the 2023 Schneider Family Book Award this year for the best teen title. This award showcases books that highlight the disability experience. 

Lily embarks with a fellow student on a search to find poetry in unexpected places for a class project. In the process, she learns to use art and verse to deal with anxiety and depression.. The book speaks to anyone dealing with any sort of mental health challenge or any challenge at all. In addition to anxiety and depression, the story tackles bipolar disorder, self-harm, suicide, and OCD. Ultimately, through the voice of the protagonist, it lets teens know they are not alone in their struggles whatever those struggles might be. 

Breathe and Count Back from Ten, written by Natalia Sylvester, is a Schneider Family Teen Honor Title. It is also a Pura Belpre Honor Book. The latter award is given to Latina/Latino authors and illustrators. Like the author, the main character is a Peruvian-American who suffers from hip dysplasia. See the author interview at Publisher's Weekly where Natalia Sylvester talks about her own experiences with being an immigrant with hip dysplasia. The story is so personal, she could have written a memoir but decided to create a work of fiction instead. It's interesting to read her reasons for that choice. It helps us understand how much personal information can go into a work of fiction. It might be interesting for high school students to compare this book to the picture book memoir, Watercress by Andrea Wang which reflects on her experiences as a Chinese American.

In the novel, Breathe and Count Back from Ten, the main character, Veronica swims as a form of therapy. When she wants to become a "mermaid" at a local Florida attraction, she clashes with her traditional Peruvian parents. The book explores themes of immigration, body image, and disability justice. It also delves into mermaid mythology in a variety of cultures.

Denver Bookies Event

I will be at the Bookies this Saturday, June 3, with 29 other SCBWI Colorado Children's Authors to help kick off the bookstore's summer reading program. If you are in the Denver area, please stop by. The Bookies is located at 4315 E. Mississippi Ave, Denver, CO  80246.

I will be giving away a Free Activity Guide for Hank the Tank at the event.  Hank the Tank is my new decodable book based on a real bear in the Lake Tahoe area. The Activity Guide includes a Scavenger Word Hunt based on Part 1 of the book which is also included as a preview. Other activities include a Snack Attack Word Mash Up. If you can't attend, don't worry. A link to the PDF will be available in my June newsletter. If you are not a newsletter subscriber, sign up HERE.

The Hank e-book is available now on Amazon. I will have a few preview copies of the paperback for sale at the bookstore. The paperback version will be available on Amazon in mid-June. I hope to see you there!!

Resilience and English Language Learners

Recently I've been sharing stories of resilience. With that topic in mind, today I’m interviewing author, Beth Anderson, about her experiences as a teacher for English Language Learners. Beth and I will be serving on an author/educator panel along with Jolene Gutierrez for the annual Reading in the City Conference on April 15, 2023, in Denver, CO. The topic is “Using Narratives as a Bridge to Informational Text.”  See last week's interview with Jolene.

Carolee: You have written several narrative non-fiction picture books about real-life characters overcoming adversity. I’m sure that many of your students who were English Language Learners faced extreme adversity in their early lives. Did you find that certain stories resonated with them more than others?

Beth: Some of my students had dealt with things unimaginable to most Americans, but stories of real people facing challenges rang across culture, time, and place. True stories always opened up thinking as they inspired questions and connections. Most were stories of struggles, survival, life-changing choices, and trying to claim one’s place in the world. I think many immigrants and refugees have a stronger connection to these stories than many of us as they’ve lived these kinds of challenges.  Not only do those stories connect to students, but they also have potential to contribute to the classroom community with shared understanding. 

Carolee: Did you ever use picture books with teens? If so, what tips do you have for teachers who may want to use picture books with older readers?

Beth: I used picture books ALL THE TIME! Before we had an ESL curriculum, they were the springboard for content units that built language skills. Using the term “illustrated texts” can help with older kids who may be offended by “picture books.” I used them with high school English language learners and all the time with middle school kids. They were perfect for so many reasons: length, illustration support, rich language, embedded content, text/page, and more. I could teach all the language arts skills and also sneak in content support and academic vocabulary. Narrative nonfiction is dignified and inspiring for any age. Nothing “childish,” nothing that talks down. That’s the key. So my advice is to choose books that kids can relate to, that contain themes and characters suitable for maturing minds, and use high-quality art.

Carolee: In your book, Tad Lincoln’s Restless Wriggle, Tad had difficulty with reading as well as speaking. When a student is struggling to learn English as a second language, it may be difficult to tease out which ones may have speaking or reading challenges in their original language. Do you have any tips for identifying or working with these students?

Beth: Identifying learning issues and challenges is always extremely difficult for English language learners. While we don’t want to make hasty assumptions, we do want to get a student the support they need to be successful. It requires observing and taking notes as you try different approaches over an extended period of time. Learning as much as possible about their schooling history and past academic challenges through family interviews and any records you can obtain is helpful. Knowledge about their first language can shed light, too. The ability to test in the first language can be the only way to surmount some of the barriers, but not all school systems have that ability for every student. 

Carolee: One of the topics that you are planning to discuss during our panel is the Affective Filter. Can you tell us more about that topic and its implications for struggling learners?

Beth: The Affective Filter is a metaphor for how attitudes affect language acquisition. When cognitive overload and the inability to connect and create meaning from input result in frustration and failure, learning shuts down. The goal with ELLs is to scaffold and design instruction to make the classroom a learner-friendly environment where students can be successful. If you can lower the filter, learning happens. I think the affective filter is real for all students facing learning challenges. We all know how stress affects us—not only physically, but mentally and emotionally, too. The more support educators can provide to relieve classroom stresses and support struggling learners, the better chance they'll have to achieve and find their way in the world.

Carolee: Thanks for your insights. I look forward to our panel next week!

Find out more about our upcoming author/educator panel on "Using Narratives As a Bridge to Informational Text" HERE. Read the interview with co-panelist, Jolene Gutierrez, HERE. 
Learn about Beth's latest book, Cloaked in Courage and explore last year's Q&A with Beth about Tad Lincoln's Restless Wriggle. Download the free activity guide.

Keep up with my book reviews and discover more exciting stories of resilience by signing up for my newsletter. Visit the Sign Up Page on my website at www.wordtravelpress.com for details and discover free offers. Check out the first book in my new decodable book series - No Gift for Man. It is available for FREE as an e-book if you have a Kindle Unlimited account, or it can be purchased as either an e-book or paperback.

The Resilience of BIONIC BEASTS: Q&A with Author Jolene Gutierrez

Today I’m interviewing author, Jolene Gutierrez, about her experiences working as a teacher and librarian for diverse learners. Jolene and I will be serving on an author/educator panel along with Beth Anderson for the annual Reading in the City Conference on April 15, 2023, in Denver, CO. The topic is on “Using Narratives as a Bridge to Informational Text.” Since the theme of this year's blog is resilience, I wanted to ask her some questions about her experiences as an educator as well as her new book, Bionic Beasts: Saving Animal Lives with Artificial Flippers, Legs, ad Beaks 

Carolee: I have been sharing your book, Bionic Beasts, with my students with dyslexia. They love the stories of animals with physical disabilities overcoming challenges by using prosthetic legs, fins, and beaks. Your title, BIONIC Beasts, not only normalizes the use of prosthetics (or any aids for that matter), but it even makes these animals sound a bit like superheroes. In your work with struggling students, how have you seen stories help them to develop a growth mindset?

Jolene: Wow, Carolee! My hope for Bionic Beasts is that it’ll inspire young readers to think about how they might help animals through technology, and I so appreciate you sharing it with your students! 

One of the biggest gifts books give us is the ability to broaden our world by learning about others’ experiences–stories help students become more compassionate and open to others’ viewpoints. Many of my students have connected with characters who have had challenges in their lives. I think it’s comforting to know that you’re not alone in your struggles, and books help young readers to see that. 

Carolee: Stories of resilience are so important to kids with learning challenges. I’m sure that in your role as a librarian, you have had the opportunity to connect readers to books that help them see real-life or even fictional examples of resilience. Are there any particular titles that you recommend?

 

Jolene: Learning differences don’t figure into most of the author Avi’s characters, but Avi has a long history with our school and has spoken candidly with our students about his own learning challenges. It’s inspiring for our students to have a personal connection to an author who has become so successful despite his struggles in school. We’ve also had visits with Henry Winkler and Patricia Polacco, both of whom spoke about how dyslexia impacted their lives. Because of these author visits, our kids love the Hank Zipzer and Here’s Hank! series as well as Polacco’s picture books. For more in the realm of books written by people who have experienced challenges themselves, we love Elana K. Arnold’s A Boy Called Bat trilogy, Leslie Connor’s books, Cece Bell’s graphic novel El Deafo, and Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novel Guts.

 

Carolee: In your Bionic Beasts chapter about Lola, the Sea turtle, I was struck by how depressed she seemed to get when she couldn’t swim without bumping into the side of her tank. She basically gave up and sat at the bottom waiting for food. Then when she received her prosthetic fin, she made a complete turnaround and swam all the time. What do you think animal emotions can teach kids about their own emotions? 

Jolene on the farm

Jolene: I think understanding that humans aren’t the only creatures who experience emotions will help kids to better understand their larger connection to the world and, again, this is a chance for them to practice compassion. I grew up as a farm kid in a very small community, and even though I was surrounded by animals my entire life, books like Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White and A Horse Called Dragon by Lynn Hall helped me become a more thoughtful human being. In my personal and professional experience, many kids love nature, science, and animals, and sometimes, they connect with animal stories more deeply than stories with human characters. 

 

Carolee: Thanks for your insights. Check out our upcoming panel HERE. Check out more of Jolene’s books at https://www.jolenegutierrez.com/.

 

 Keep up with book reviews and stories of resilience by signing up for my newsletter. Visit the Sign Up Page on my website at www.wordtravelpress.com for details and discover free offers.

Wildoak - Middle-Grade Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award

The 2023 Schneider Family Book Awards were given out in January. The award honors an author or illustrator for "... the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences." This week I'm sharing the 2023 middle-grade award winner, Wildoak, written by C.C. Harrington.

Maggie Stephens goes to stay with her grandfather in the country. Her parents hope that some time in Wildoak Forest will improve her stuttering. While Maggie is there she finds a snow leopard cub that had been purchased as a gift and then abandoned. It is set in 1963 when a wild cat like a snow leopard could actually be purchased at Harrods in London from the exotic pet department that they called Pet Kingdom. Fortunately, that ended in 1976 with the Endangered Species Act.

Although Maggie stutters when she speaks to humans, she is able to speak quite clearly to animals. The story is about communication on many different levels. Even the forest has a voice. It is ultimately a story about compassion and understanding. This is author C.C. Harrington's debut novel. She has experience teaching students with learning differences. Perhaps that is what makes her so empathetic to people who are different. One of the most poignant quotes is, "... there's room in this beautiful, complicated world of ours for all of us. Just as we are. In fact, there is a need for it."

Middle-Grade Honor Titles included Honestly Elliott by Gillian Dunn and Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd. Honestly Elliott is a story of a boy starting middle school who struggles with ADHD while Hummingbird features a twelve-year-old girl who uses a wheelchair due to brittle bone disease.

For more stories of resilience, check out these books:

Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion written by Shannon Stocker and illustrated by Devon Holzwarth

It's My Whole Life: Charlotte Salomon: An Artist in Hiding During World War II  by Susan Wider 

Jubilee: The First Therapy Horse and an Olympic Dream written by KT Johnston and illustrated by Anabella Ortiz.

Keep up with my book reviews on more exciting stories of resilience by signing up for my newsletter. Visit the Sign Up Page on my website at www.wordtravelpress.com for details and discover free offers.

Using Narratives As a Bridge to Informational Text

I'm thrilled to announce that I will be presenting on an author panel with Beth Anderson and Jolene Gutierrez at Denver Academy for the annual Reading in the City Conference on April 15, 2023. The subject is "Using Narratives As a Bridge to Informational Text." 

Many students struggle with understanding story structure. Even those who do have a good understanding of narrative text still have difficulty making the leap to understanding informational text.

Narratives and Informational Texts actually have a lot in common, especially when those narratives are based on the type of real-life heroes and celebrities that Beth and Jolene write about in their books. Some of those characters are even animals! Narrative non-fiction picture books, biographies, personal interest stories, and scientific innovations told from the perspective of the characters who experience them can all be used to help students form a bridge between narratives and non-fiction. 

Watch my blog in April for Q&As with these two amazing authors and learn more about their books. I will also be sharing tips for comparing narratives and informational pieces from my book, Story Frames for Teaching Literacy.

These women are not just successful authors. They are also educators. Beth is a retired ELL teacher who spent many years teaching English Language Learners. Jolene works with students with learning challenges as both a teacher and librarian. 

The regular registration price for the conference is in effect through March 30. Find out more information at https://idarmb.org/ritc-speakers/. 

Keep up with book reviews and stories of resilience by signing up for my newsletter. Visit the Sign Up Page on my website at www.wordtravelpress.com for details and discover free offers.