Beginning, middle and end. (El principio, el desarrollo y el final.) True confession: I’m an improviser. (The Jazz Fly series is partially autobiographical!) But I really do benefit by keeping story structure in mind. Basic story structure is especially useful in the context…
Here’s a true story to lift the spirits of anyone devoted to nurturing young people. We cannot foretell exactly how, but the activities you present to children today may leave a positive impact for 50 years! Recently, Debbie Clark Anders,…
One reason why I add foreign phrases to my picture books is to welcome readers into a new world or mindset, or to acknowledge the mindset they may already share. (It’s easy to forget that millions of U.S. citizens, for…
Since spring, with schools closed due to the new Coronavirus, teachers and librarians have taken to story time by remote. And my in-box has been filled with requests from around the country for permission to read my books, including The…
Last week at this time, I was getting acquainted with Emporia State University, home of Kansas’s annual statewide Reading Recovery conference. Title of my luncheon keynote speech: “Teach Reading Like a Jazz Musician!” Jazz musicians specialize in what I call…
Last weekend at the annual CRA conference (California Reading Association), I had the pleasure of hearing, then actually meeting, “The 2 Sisters,” Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, authors of “The Daily 5.” They are teachers making a big impact on…
