Literacy – Page 2 – Booktalking #kidlit

Road Work Ahead (in the book club!)

My Book of the Week

Road Work Ahead by Anastasia Suen
A transportation picture book

Copyright: April 2012
Ages: 3-5
Hardcover
Publisher: An April 2012 Scholastic Book Club paperback!

“Suen’s sparse rhyming verse leads readers through the busy scenes and uses simple vocabulary that suits both the youngest listeners and those just beginning to read.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

“A batch of Grandma’s homemade oatmeal cookies beckons, but for this backseat narrator, the sights and sounds along the road to her house are equally compelling.” ~ Publishers Weekly

Activities:

Play the Road Signs Matching Game.

Find out more about Cars, Trucks, and Construction Play.

Watch the construction site video.

Make a Traffic Light Necklace with yarn and stickers.
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Picture Book of the Day

The Adventures of Granny Clearwater and Little Critter
by Kimberly Willis Holt (Author) and Laura Huliska-Beith (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The Clearwater family is heading west in their covered wagon. But when Granny and Little Critter are accidentally thrown from the back, they are suddenly on their own.

Snippet: They flew through the sky for almost a mile until they landed stuck to a prickly pear cactus. Granny kept napping as if nothing has happened, but Little Critter’s eyes popped open wide as he watched his family’s wagon disappear from the horizon.
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Gray Wolf Throne (A Seven Realms Novel)
by Cinda Williams Chima (Author)
528 pages

Booktalk: Han Alister thought he had already lost everyone he loved. But when he finds his friend Rebecca Morley near death in the Spirit Mountains, Han knows that nothing matters more than saving her. But nothing prepares him for what he soon discovers: the beautiful, mysterious girl he knew as Rebecca is Raisa ana’Marianna, heir to queendom of the Fells.

Snippet: Three lean young men in Ardenine civilan garb played cards at a table by the door. Four had come in, but one of them had left a while ago. Several times, Raisa looked up and caught one or another of them staring at her. Apprehension slithered down her spine. Thieves or assasins? Or just young men showing interest in a girl on her own?

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/bXksII_uVG8]

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Literary Links

Ready to write your children’s book? Apr 4-May 23 (online) writing workshops begin next week!

How can you help your child learn to read?
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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Here Comes the Bus

My Book of the Week

Here Comes the Bus by Anastasia Suen
A Bebop Easy Reader

Reading level: Guided Reading™: B DRA: 2 Intervention: 2
Paperback: 8 pages
Publisher: Bebop Books

A Chinese American girl takes the bus to school and greets her friends, one by one, at each stop.

Also available in Spanish as Ya viene el autobús

Activities:

Use the lesson plans from the 91 page Illinois School Bus Safety Program.

First School has school bus music, coloring pages, crafts, and online games.

Play the online School Bus Safety Games.

Visit the Traffic Safety Kid’s Page for coloring pages, puzzles and a word scramble.

Download Free Bus Safety Presentations in PowerPoint.

Use these lesson plans with your class.

See inside the book
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Picture Book of the Day

St. Patrick’s Day
by Anne Rockwell (Author) and Lizzy Rockwell (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Mrs. Madoff’s class celebrates St. Patrick’s Day!

Snippet: On St. Patrick’s Day, I wore my green shirt, green pants, and even my green striped socks. Pablo wore green sneakers.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Tails of Spring Break
by Anne Warren Smith (Author)
128 pages

Booktalk: Everyone, it seems, is going somewhere fun for spring break-everyone except Katie Jordan and her family. Even her best friend, Sierra, is going to Hawaii! But then Katie realizes she’s not the only one being left behind-what about all those poor lonely pets? And so Katie sets out to save her spring break with a pet-sitting business. But Katie hadn’t bargained on having a business partner-especially not someone as awful as Claire Plummer!

Snippet: On the last day of school before spring vacation, it sounded like almost every kid in my fourth grade class was getting away from Oregon. They were going places where the sun was shining. Places like Disneyland and San Diego. Even Hawaii!
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Literary Links

Research Shows that Books without Text Can Increase Literacy, Vocabulary Skills in Children with Developmental Disabilities

Join @CBCBook in celebration of the 93rd annual Children’s Book Week, May 7-13, 2012! #CBW
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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Goodbye Cancer Garden
by Janna Matthies (Author) and Kristi Valiant (Illustrator)

Booktalk: After Mom and Dad tell Janie and Jeffrey that Mom has cancer, the whole family goes to the doctor to ask questions. “Is Mom better yet?” Jeffrey asked. “Not yet,” she said. “But we’re working very hard to make her better-probably by pumpkin time.” That gave Janie an idea…the family plants a vegetable garden. As the garden grows, Mom’s treatment progresses…surgery, chemo, head-shaving and other side effects, radiation…and when it’s all done, there are healthy pumpkins and a healthy Mom!

Snippet: One sunny Saturday in March, Dad and Jeffery dug the vegetable bed while Mom and I drew a map.

“Everybody choose two vegetables,” I said.

I already knew mine–cucumbers and tomatoes.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Juniper Berry
by M. P. Kozlowsky (Author) and Erwin Madrid (Illustrator)
240 pages

Booktalk: Juniper Berry’s parents are the most beloved actor and actress in the world—but Juniper can’t help but feel they haven’t been quite right lately. And she and her friend Giles are determined to find out why.

On a cold and rainy night, Juniper follows her parents as they sneak out of the house and enter the woods. What she discovers is an underworld filled with contradictions: one that is terrifying and enticing, lorded over by a creature both sinister and seductive, who can sell you all the world’s secrets bound in a balloon. For the first time, Juniper and Giles have a choice to make. And it will be up to them to confront their own fears in order to save the ones who couldn’t.

Snippet: One night, when they thought I was asleep, they left the house and walked into the woods. I followed them. I didn’t want to be caught so I kept far back. They walked for a long time, almost in a daze.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGBlysm1JCY]
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5 Great Basketball Books

It’s almost time for March madness!

Basketball’s Greatest Players
by Sydelle Kramer (Author)
Uncover basketball history in this Level 5 easy reader biography.

Cool Basketball Facts
by Abby Czeskleba (Author)
Learn cool basketball facts to share with your friends. Easy reader

Fair Game
By Trisha Speed Shaskan (Author) and Erik Christenson (Illustrator)
The new kid doesn’t play fair…what will the others do? Easy reader

Let’s Talk Basketball
by Amanda Miller (Author)
See how the game is played in this easy reader illustrated with photographs.

Michael Jordan
by Lisa Wade McCormick (Author)
Find out about one of basketball’s greats in an easy reader biography.
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Literary Links

Ready to write your children’s book? Mar 7-Apr 25 (online) writing workshops begin today!

Short Genres, Big Messages: writing workshops for 3rd-4th grades (via @ChoiceLiteracy)
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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

Chicken Butt’s Back!
by Erica S. Perl (Author) and Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Booktalk: As Mom shops for groceries, she falls victim to a flurry of jokes using homonyms and homophones…

Snippet:

BOY: You know what?

MOM: What?

BOY: Chicken butt!
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Chapter Book of the Day

Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life
by James Patterson (Author), Chris Tebbetts (Contributor) and Laura Park (Illustrator)
288 pages

Booktalk: Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix. Luckily, he’s got an ace plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off: With his best friend Leonardo the Silent awarding him points, Rafe tries to break every rule in his school’s oppressive Code of Conduct.

Snippet: It feels as honest as the day is crummy that I begin this tale of total desperation and woe with me, my pukey sister, Georgia, and Leonardo the Silent sitting like rotting sardines in the back of a Hills Village Police Department cruiser.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mL2Dyh5Gck]
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5 MORE Great Books About Spring

And the Spring Grass Grew All Around
by Emily Bolam (Illustrator)
The classic children’s song is now a Level 1 easy reader.

Spring?
by Patricia Whitehouse (Author)
The sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of spring in a simple easy reader.

Spring Is Here!: A Story About Seeds
by Joan Holub (Author) and Will Terry (Illustrator)
The Ant Hill kids plant their own garden. Pre-Level 1 easy reader

Spring Showers
by Samantha Brooke (Adapter) and Mike Giles (Illustrator)
It’s spring in Gabba Land, and that means spring showers. Pre-Level 1 easy reader

The Busy Spring
by Carl Emerson (Author) and Cori Doerrfeld (Illustrator)
Emma and Owen visit Old Oak at the park in the spring. Science easy reader
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February 2012 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

Have you visited the February Carnival Of Children’s Literature
at the The Fourth Musketeer yet? You’re in for a treat!

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Literary Link

If you are worried about how your images are shared, you can keep your work off Pinterest (via @GalleyCat)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Pink Party
by Maryann MacDonald (Author) and Judy Stead (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Rose and Valentina both love pink. But whenever Rose gets something pink, Valentina gets something even pinker!

Snippet:
“Is it okay if I get one, too?” Valentina asked.
Rose’s heart tripped, then tumbled…
but she was afraid to say no.
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Chapter Book of the Day

My Frozen Valentine
by Eric Fein (Author) and Gregg Schigiel and Lee Loughridge (Illustrators)
56 pages

Booktalk: It’s Valentine’s Day in Gotham, but not everyone is celebrating. Victor Fries (aka Mr. Freeze) has never gotten over the death of his wife, Nora, and he’s not about to let anyone enjoy this painful holiday. Only Batman can stop the cold-hearted criminal before Victor refrigerates the city!

Snippet: “It’s not just the cold temperatures,” Gordon said. “We’ve been getting reports of strange objects hovering over the city. They look like flying saucers with some kind of weapon attached. One police officer said it was a cannon that fired rays of ice.”
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5 Great Books About Presidents

George Washington — Soldier, Hero, President
by Justine Fontes and Ron Fontes (Authors)
See George Washington grow up in this Level 3 easy reader biography.

I’m Going to Washington to Visit the President
by Harriet Zeifert (Author) and Tanya Roitman (Illustrator)
Go on a tour of tour nation’s capitol. Level 1 easy reader

Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President
by Shirley Raye Redmond (Author) and John Manders (Illustrator)
Explorers Lewis and Clark try to find a present for President Thomas Jefferson. Level 3 easy reader

Presidents’ Day
by Margaret McNamara (Author) and Mike Gordon (Illustrator)
The kids at Robin Hill School celebrate Presidents’ Day. Level 1 easy reader

Presidents’ Day
by David F. Marx (Author)
Learn the facts about Presidents’ Day. Level 1 easy reader
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Literary Links

Penguin has a new app to help break through writer’s block (via @ebooknewser)

Easy directions for making a pop-up book (via @imaginationsoup)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

Tyrannosaurus Dad
by Liz Rosenberg (Author) and Matthew Myers (Illustrator)

Booktalk: What’s forty feet long, fifteen feet high and wears a necktie? (Tobias’ Dad! He is, after all, a Tyrannosaurus.)

Snippet: With Tyrannosaurus Dad around, he never felt afraid of spiders or strange noises at night, Still he couldn’t help wishing his father would be — well, a little more part of things. His dad was always, always working.
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Buddy Files: The Case of the Fire Alarm
by Dori Butler (Author) and Jeremy Tugeau (Illustrator)
144 pages

Booktalk: On Buddy’s first day at school. someone sets off the fire alarm. Who could have set it? A kid? A ghost? Buddy is on the case!

Snippet: “There was a fire at our school a long time ago, and part of the school burned down. This girl–her name was Agatha Curry–she got burned up in the fire and now her ghost haunts the old part of the school.”
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5 Great Books About Valentines

Arthur’s Great Big Valentine
by Lillian Hoban
Arthur argues with his friend on Valentine’s Day. Level 2 easy reader

Clifford’s Valentines
by Norman Bridwell (Author, Illustrator)
Clifford makes his own Valentine. Level 1 easy reader

It’s Valentine’s Day!
by Jack Prelutsky (Author) and Marylin Hafner (Illustrator)
This classic poetry collection is back in print with new illustrations. Level 3 easy reader

Let’s Get Ready for Valentine’s Day
by Lloyd G. Douglas (Author)
A young girl gets ready for Valentine’s Day in this photo-illustrated easy reader.

Scooby-doo Reader #10: Valentine’s Day Dognapping
by Gail Herman (Author) and Duendes Del Sur (Illustrator)
Scooby-doo finds pizza and witches in this Valentine mystery! Level 2 easy reader
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Literary Links

Citing High Implementation Costs of Local Taxes, Powell’s Closes Pennsylvania Affiliates (via @publisherslunch)

Babies Don’t Just Listen, They Try Lip-Reading While Turning Babble into Words (via @washingtonpost)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

100 Day

My Book of the Week

100 Day by Anastasia Suen
Math easy reader

A class of kindergarten children celebrate the 100th day of school.

Copyright: 2011
Guided Reading level: C
Intervention Level: 4
DRA Level: 3
Paperback: 8 pages
Publisher: Bebop Books

Book Activities:

Use these 100 Day Lesson Plans and Printables.

Make your own 100 Days of School book.

Use these 100 Day with your class.

Also available in Spanish

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Picture Book of the Day

A New Year’s Reunion
by Li Qiong Yu (Author) and Zhu Chen Liang (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Little Maomao s father works in faraway places and comes home just once a year, for Chinese New Year. At first Maomao barely recognizes him…

Snippet: Papa bries a coin in one of the balls and says, “Whoever finds the ball with the coin will have good luck.”
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Chapter Book of the Day

Tempest: A Novel
by Julie Cross (Author)
352 pages

Booktalk: The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps– it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Snippet:
The first time I jumped was about eight months ago, during my first semester of college. I was sitting in the middle of a French poetry class. I nodded off for a few minutes and woke up to a cold breeze and a door slamming me in the face. I was standing in front of my dorm. Before I even had a chance to panic, I was right back in class again.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/sidaeJl0qOE]
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Literary Links

Reading Comprehension Strategies (via @rourkebooks)

YA novel readers clash with publishing establishment (via guardian.co.uk)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye
by Jane Yolen (Author) and Jim LaMarche (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Tiger Rose has lived a long cat’s life, so she says goodbye to one and all before she dies. (A gentle look at death from the pet’s point of view.)

Snippet:
“It is time,” Tiger Rose said to the jay,
to the butterflies,
to Rowf, deep in his doggy dream.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Tiger’s Voyage
by Colleen Houck (Author)
560 pages

Booktalk: In this third volume of the Tiger’s Curse, eighteen-year-old Kelsey must embark on a third voyage. She must find the goddess Durga’s sacred pearl necklace and free her beloved Ren from both the tiger’s curse and his sudden amnesia.

Snippet: It had been more than a month since we had rescued Ren from Lokesh’s Baiga camp and three weeks since my terrible birthday party–and life was purgatory.Even though I gave him my journal and used up all the flour baking double-chocolate peanut-butter cookies, Ren still had no memory of me. We were reunited, but we weren’t together.
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CYBILS Early Chapter Book Finalists

The new CYBILS Early Chapter Book Finalists are…

Clementine and the Family Meeting
by Sara Pennypacker (Author) and Marla Frazee (Illustrator)
What will Clementine do about the new baby? Early chapter book (176 pages)

Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!
by Atinuke (Author) and Lauren Tobia (Illustrator)
Anna Hibiscus leaves her home in Africa to to visit her grandmother in Canada for Christmas. Early chapter book (109 pages)

Just Grace and the Double Surprise
by Charise Mericle Harper (Author, Illustrator)
Grace and her best friend in the whole world, Mimi, have two big surprises. Early chapter book (176 pages)

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie
by Julie Sternberg (Author) and Matthew Cordell (Illustrator)
Eleanor’s beloved babysitter, Bibi, has to move away and things just aren’t the same without her. Early chapter book (128 pages)

The Trouble with Chickens: A J.J. Tully Mystery
by Doreen Cronin (Author) and Kevin Cornell (Illustrator)
Can J.J. Tully, a a former search-and rescue dog, find the missing chickens? Early chapter book (128 pages)
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Literary Links

Another Makeover for B&N: Spinoff of Nook, sale of Sterling would return company to its roots (via @publisherswkly)

Tips from @ReadingRockets: Building Your Child’s Vocabulary (via @jensbookpage)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Golden Dragon Parade

My Book of the Week

Golden Dragon Parade by Anastasia Suen
Holiday easy reader

Chinese New Year is here.
Come along to the Golden Dragon Parade.

Guided Reading level: B
Intervention Level: 2
DRA Level: 2
Paperback: 16 pages
Publisher: Bebop Books

Book Activities:

Welcome in the Year of the Dragon on January 23rd with stories and games.

Enjoy these Chinese New Year crafts, puzzles and games.

Make a Chinese New Year Dragon.

Use these Golden Dragon Parade lesson plans with your class.

Also available in Spanish

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Picture Book of the Day

The Very Fairy Princess
by Julie Andrews (Author), Emma Walton Hamilton (Author) and Christine Davenier (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Her friends and family may not believe in fairies, but Geraldine knows, deep down, that she is a VERY fairy princess. From morning to night, Gerry does everything that fairy princesses do…

Snippet: The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is put on my crown.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Calvin Coconut: Kung Fooey
by Graham Salisbury (Author) and Jacqueline Rogers (Illustrator)
144 pages

Booktalk: Calvin Coconut’s fourth grade class meets Benni Obi, a weird and likable new kid. Benny brags about knowing kung fu, wears mirrored sunglasses, eats worms, crickets, and chocolate-covered scorpions, and says all the wrong things to bully Tito. Uh-oh. Meanwhile, the neighborhood kids and pets clear the road—Calvin’s babysitter Stella is learning how to drive. She’s got a lead foot.

Snippet:
Before lunch at school that day, right in the middle of our silent reading time, in Mr. Purdy’s class, this new kid walked in with Mrs. Leonard, the principal.
I looked up.
Whoa!
I stopped breathing.
The whole class did.
The new kid looked us over, his eyes scrunched.
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Literary Links

Study: Children Prefer eBooks (but remember less with “enhanced” ebooks) (via @eBookNewser)

Peskin to Head FSG Books for Young Readers (via @publisherswkly)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

Bouncy Baby

Booktalk: A fun book for baby play! Under each flap is something for baby to do…

Snippet:

Bouncy baby
Bouncy lap

(Lift the flap and see…)

Little baby
Likes to
clap clap clap
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Sign of the Black Rock (Three Thieves)
by Scott Chantler (Author, Illustrator)
112 pages

Booktalk: In this comic, Dessa, Topper and Fisk continue their search for Greyfalcon in hopes that he will lead them to Dessa’s brother. But a terrible storm drives the three thieves off the road. Drenched, they take shelter at the Black Rock Inn–only to come face to face with their pursuer, Captain Drake.

Snippet:

QUINN: They tried robbing the royal treasury. It’s all anyone’s talking about on the east shore. Guess the news hasn’t reached here yet.
TULLY: Until now. Heh.
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STEM Friday on January 6, 2012

STEM Friday is coming! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

The STEM Friday Round-up on January 6, 2012

is at rovingfiddlehead kidlit.

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Literary Links

10 bold predictions for book publishing in 2012 (via @drydenbks)

Love children’s and YA poetry? Join the new Poetry Ambassadors listserv!
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)