I just got an email from my niece who works with troubled youth in Pennsylvania. She described trying to help 13 and 14 year olds who are “totally illiterate.” My only challenge in responding was limiting my list of immediate…
This summer, I was honored to be interviewed for the National Association for Music Education. The editor, Tom Amoriello, a guitarist and educator, described himself as a longstanding fan of the Jazz Fly books. So he chose that focus for…
Greetings Teachers, Librarians and Administrators, As schools gear up for another fall semester, there are still some days left to walk around in sandals, enjoy chilled watermelon, and daydream about how to make this year a great one for students….
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…
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…