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2018 Successes
Each year, I love to reflect on all the things that I’ve done. For the past several years, I have participated in Julie Hedlund’s 12 Days of Christmas for Writers program. It’s a great way to reflect on the year that has passed. Each year we make a list of SUCCESSES instead…
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NF10for10 2018: Sidebars are Not for Skipping
As a kid, I’m pretty sure I only read sidebars if they looked interesting. But there are a whole bunch of nonfiction picture books with excellent sidebars. As a writer and a librarian I’ve been keenly interested in nonfiction books that have two levels of text—a main text and…
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Research Site and Instagram
Research Site I have a number of nonfiction writing projects going on right now. I found myself trying to organize the sites I go to often in the research process. For most projects, I often start with Google and Amazon to find out what books are already out there,…
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Poetry Mentor Texts: A Rock Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas
A Rock Can Be… By Laura Purdie Salas Illustrated by Violeta Dabija Millbrook, 2015 On Tuesday, my students and I had a Skype visit with Laura Purdie Salas. Just hearing her talk about her process was so encouraging to all of us. In preparation for her Skype visit, we…
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Mentor Texts for Writers: Writing Picture Book Biographies by Sarah Glenn Fortson
Many of you may have read some of my posts on historical fiction vs. nonfiction and picture book biography structures, so you might know this post is right up my alley. What I also love is that we mention some of the same books, but Sarah thought about…
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NF 10 for 10: Nonfiction Poetic Picture Books
I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction picture books lately because we are doing a nonfiction mentor text book study at my school using FINDING THE HEART OF NONFICTION by Georgia Heard. One of the things I admire about nonfiction is an author’s ability to convey facts…
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Historical Fiction and Nonfiction Mentor Texts
Mentor Texts Whenever I’m reading someone else’s work for critique or whenever I’m struggling in a particular area of my writing, I always turn to mentor texts. They are like “guiding lights.” I’ve been involved in some discussions online that are asking for great suggestions for picture book biographies…
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Poetry Month: Papa is a Poet
Papa is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost By Natalie S. Bober Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt, 2013 This story is told in first person, through the eyes of Robert Frost’s daughter, Lesley. Lesley tells of the time when the Frosts lived on a farm…
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Nonfiction Mentor Texts: Book Review of FINDING THE HEART OF NONFICTION
FINDING THE HEART OF NONFICTION: TEACHING 7 ESSENTIAL CRAFT TOOLS WITH MENTOR TEXTS by Georgia Heard Heinemann, 2013 I love books for teachers that are so practical that you could read them on the weekend and use them the very next week in your classroom. FINDING THE…
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Writing Wednesday: Using HERE COME THE HUMPBACKS as a Writing Mentor Text
HERE COME THE HUMPBACKS By April Pulley Sayre Illustrated by Jamie Hogan Charlesbridge, 2013 This nonfiction book about humpback whales combines lyrical first lines on each page, with narrative facts and separate factoids on each page. Beautifully written and chock-full of information that will delight animal lovers, it…
