Podcast appearances and mentions of John David Anderson

Do you ever think about how the words we say...and the things we hear...haunt us? Just like a ghost. Thanks to a beautiful quote from the author John David Anderson, Mama D talks about how words are like ghosts.Petals of Support is brought to you by Spreaker Prime Please be sure to Rate and Review this episode. Subscribe and Share Email me at: petals.s@aol.com X: @PetalsofSupportInstagram: @PetalsofSupportTikTok: @PetalsofSupportThreads: @PetalsofSupport https://linktr.ee/petalsofsupportPlease consider donating throughhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/petalsofsupport Petals of Support is a member of the Unfiltered Studios Networkhttps://www.unfpod.com

Summary:Tweens and teens can have a difficult time with grief as they understand the concept of loss, but have many questions about what comes after? Does anything come after? As parents and grandparents we would like nothing better than to have stock answers, but oftentimes we have the same questions. Our guest today, John "David" Anderson, has written several books with loss and grief in a plot both suitable for and recommended for ages 8-14, that may help with this issue. Listen in...Notes:John David Anderson is an American writer of middle-grade fiction. His works include Finding Orion, Ms. Bixby's Last Day, Stowaway, One Last Shot, Riley's Ghost, and numerous others.  Anderson attended Indiana University, where he received an undergraduate degree in English literature, and the University of Illinois, where he received a master's degree in the same. He is a full-time writer and frequent presenter at schools across the country. His books have been featured on many state and library reading lists.Contact:www.asiliveandgrieve.cominfo@asiliveandgrieve.com Facebook:  As I Live and Grieve Instagram:  @asiliveandgrieve To Reach David:Website: http://www.johndavidanderson.org/Email: johndavidandersonauthor@gmail.comCredits: Music by Kevin MacLeod Support the show

The first chapter can make or break a reader's engagement with a story. We as writers must craft brilliant opening pages in order to hook those picky readers, so let's study the stories of others to see how they do it! Yes, this is an MG novel, but a paranormal mystery for a kid can be a fun read for an adult, too! My daughter Blondie has been on my case to share this book on the podcast, so this week I'm buckling and here we are. :) Honestly, though, I'm glad I did. The book Riley's Ghost by John David Anderson begins with a graphic description of a dead body...a dead frog body. It's a wonderful way to set the tone for this school setting: the "barbarian" seventh grades, the disconnected teachers, and Riley, who just doesn't feel like she belongs and would rather forge an adult's signature to escape accountability rather than get help. Blondie promises very creepy moments are in store for anyone who loves a ghostly read, and if you've listened to my December 2021 collabs with Blondie, you know she wouldn't gush about a story if it wasn't worth reading! And what will you, fellow creatives, make of these first five pages? Let's find out!

It's the fourth mega-sized Middle Grade Ninja clips show, featuring snippets from episodes 101 through 146 that aired in 2021. This episode is so stuffed with incredible content it had to be broken up into TWO PARTS Don't miss PART TWO. New episodes are scheduled to return January 8th. Until then, enjoy this compilation of clips from conversations with AUTHORS Christina Li, Caroline Gertler, Rucker Moses, Theo Gangi, Donna Galanti, Mike Johnston, Lisa Fipps, Nick Goss, Esabella Strickland, Carrie Seim, Dorothy A. Winsor, Carole Boston Weatherford, Kyle Lukoff, Luke Cunningham, David LaRochelle, Mike Wohnoutka, Alane Adams, Susan McCormick, Robert Beatty, Payal Doshi, Jasmine Warga, Erin Entrada Kelly, Ali Standish, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Melissa Hope, Alyson Gerber, Kathleen Burkinshaw, John David Anderson, Chris Negron, Sara Pennypacker, Jessica Vitalis, Rajani LaRocca, Katherine Paterson, Gayle Forman, Sarah J. Schmitt, Diana Rodriguez Wallach, Ross Carley, Karen Phillips, Mary Ann Koontz, Elizabeth A. San Miguel, Diana Catt, Tony Perona, Elizabeth Perona, David Neilsen, Michelle Jabès Corpora, Samantha M. Clark, Alda P. Dobbs, Aura Lewis, Emily Barth Isler, and Seanan McGuire, LITERARY AGENTS Saba Sulaiman, Holly McGhee, Mary C. Moore, Marie Lamba, and Becky LeJune, EDITORS Sara-Jayne Slack, Sailaja N. Joshi, Amy Maranville, and Leila Sales.

It's the fourth mega-sized Middle Grade Ninja clips show, featuring snippets from episodes 101 through 146 that aired in 2021. This episode is so stuffed with incredible content it had to be broken up into TWO PARTS Don't miss PART ONE. New episodes are scheduled to return January 8th. Until then, enjoy this compilation of clips from conversations with AUTHORS Christina Li, Caroline Gertler, Rucker Moses, Theo Gangi, Donna Galanti, Mike Johnston, Lisa Fipps, Nick Goss, Esabella Strickland, Carrie Seim, Dorothy A. Winsor, Carole Boston Weatherford, Kyle Lukoff, Luke Cunningham, David LaRochelle, Mike Wohnoutka, Alane Adams, Susan McCormick, Robert Beatty, Payal Doshi, Jasmine Warga, Erin Entrada Kelly, Ali Standish, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Melissa Hope, Alyson Gerber, Kathleen Burkinshaw, John David Anderson, Chris Negron, Sara Pennypacker, Jessica Vitalis, Rajani LaRocca, Katherine Paterson, Gayle Forman, Sarah J. Schmitt, Diana Rodriguez Wallach, Ross Carley, Karen Phillips, Mary Ann Koontz, Elizabeth A. San Miguel, Diana Catt, Tony Perona, Elizabeth Perona, David Neilsen, Michelle Jabès Corpora, Samantha M. Clark, Alda P. Dobbs, Aura Lewis, Emily Barth Isler, and Seanan McGuire, LITERARY AGENTS Saba Sulaiman, Holly McGhee, Mary C. Moore, Marie Lamba, and Becky LeJune, EDITORS Sara-Jayne Slack, Sailaja N. Joshi, Amy Maranville, and Leila Sales.

Y'all know I love all things Jason Reynolds. He is a national treasure. Did you love hearing the first story in Look Both Ways? Here are more books you might want to try: Class Act by Jerry Craft The Perfect Score by Rob Buyea Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson Black Boy Joy by Kwame Mbalia Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson

John David Anderson and I talk about a little bit of everything in this far-ranging conversation between two Hoosier authors who like STAR WARS and Kurt Vonnegut. We chat about Anderson's newest novel, STOWAWAY, as well as his classic, MS. BIXBY'S LAST DAY. Also discussed: writing two novels a year, leaving your heart on the page, space pirates, communicating messages to young readers, the Grateful Dead, flying saucer disclosure potentially messing with our science fiction, the value of writing during a pandemic, mythological action figures, cloning authors in the future, and so much more. John David Anderson is hardly ever called John David Anderson. He is called Dave by most people who know him, John by the IRS, and Mr. Anderson whenever he's inside the Matrix. He wishes he could go by J.D., but Salinger beat him to it. If he was a Star Wars character he would want to be a Jedi named Raith Starglider, but knows he would more likely be a used Bantha salesman named Bobba Twinklebeans. A graduate of Indiana University and the University of Illinois where he majored in reading Moby Dick over and over, Dave "Twinklebeans" Anderson is now the author of several books for middle grade audiences, including Sidekicked, The Dungeoneers, Ms. Bixby's Last Day and Posted. The backs of his novels claim that he is "critically acclaimed." His son thinks he is the best writer that ever lived. His daughter thinks he's just alright. His Mom always seems to think he needs to eat more. This last bit is definitely not true. Dave believes in the power of books to enrich young people's lives and help them to ask (and answer) deep questions while simultaneously laughing so hard they snarf soda through their noses. When he eventually grows up he wants to be Indiana Jones. Till then, he wants to be a root beer connoisseur. He lives with his wife, two kids, and vast Lego collection in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Cohosts, author-illustrator Shanda McCloskey and author Bonnie Clark have a conversation with elementary school librarian and media specialist, Beth Mitchell, about what makes an author visit fantastic and memorable (from her point of view). Beth has been a media specialist for 11 years starting in South Carolina and then moving to GA. She has an outstanding husband and is the proud mother of two sweet little girls. Who they love reading with. Beth is a "dream big" kind of librarian. She loves working alongside teachers and students to make dreams realities. In 2014 she brought Jan Brett to her school after winning an international contest! At her current school, she has brought in multiple authors, illustrators, and storytellers like, Peggy Eddleman, Shanda McCloskey,  Tim Lowry, Jerry Pallotta, John David Anderson, and Bonnie Clark. You can get in touch with Beth at: emitchell@gcbe.org This podcast is sponsored by AuthorVisitCentral.com and produced by Ben McCloskey of EngineIndustries.com. And if you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and share it with others who might enjoy it too! Thanks for listening to our 10th episode of the Author Visit Podcast!  Kid book review by Paisley (3 years old) Resources and books mentioned in this episode (with affiliate links that help support this podcast): Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin (Author) and James Dean (Illustrator) Groovy Joe: Ice Cream & Dinosaurs (Groovy Joe #1) by Eric Litwin (Author) and Tom Lichtenheld (Illustrator) Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion (Author) and Margaret Bloy Graham (Illustrator)

Lindsay talks with Justin Schroeder about Vue Formulate, a form library with some new ideas. We discuss how to build forms, the straightforward API for creating inputs, and how to customize the form. We also discuss how developers can bind directly to the form, rather than each component, and how validation is layered in at every step. Finally, we discuss form generation from JSON or objects, and how to create form groups. Sponsors CacheFly Panel Lindsay Wardell Guest Justin Schroeder Links https://vueformulate.com https://dev.to/justinschroeder/introducing-vue-formulate-truly-delightful-form-authoring Using Tailwind with Vue Formulate https://wearebraid.com https://twitter.com/jpschroeder Picks Lindsay Wardell: Granted by John David Anderson Justin Schroeder: The All-In Podcast Disney Plus Hamilton Follow Views on Vue on Twitter > @viewsonvue

Lindsay talks with Justin Schroeder about Vue Formulate, a form library with some new ideas. We discuss how to build forms, the straightforward API for creating inputs, and how to customize the form. We also discuss how developers can bind directly to the form, rather than each component, and how validation is layered in at every step. Finally, we discuss form generation from JSON or objects, and how to create form groups. Sponsors CacheFly Panel Lindsay Wardell Guest Justin Schroeder Links https://vueformulate.com https://dev.to/justinschroeder/introducing-vue-formulate-truly-delightful-form-authoring Using Tailwind with Vue Formulate https://wearebraid.com https://twitter.com/jpschroeder Picks Lindsay Wardell: Granted by John David Anderson Justin Schroeder: The All-In Podcast Disney Plus Hamilton Follow Views on Vue on Twitter > @viewsonvue

In this episode of Views on Vue, Lindsay talks with Callum Macrae about the impact of the tech community on climate change. We discuss the impact of data centers and data transmission over the internet, some of the tech industry’s support of carbon emissions, and how we as individuals can make a difference. Sponsors CacheFly Panel Lindsay Wardell Guest Callum Macrae Links https://www.iea.org/fuels-and-technologies/data-centres-networks Google Halts AI Tools For Oil Extraction https://unboundwellness.com/dairy-free-queso ​​​​​​​ Picks Lindsay Wardell: Granted by John David Anderson Callum Macrae: The All-In Podcast Disney Plus Hamilton Follow Views on Vue on Twitter > @viewsonvue

In this episode of Views on Vue, Lindsay talks with Callum Macrae about the impact of the tech community on climate change. We discuss the impact of data centers and data transmission over the internet, some of the tech industry’s support of carbon emissions, and how we as individuals can make a difference. Sponsors CacheFly Panel Lindsay Wardell Guest Callum Macrae Links https://www.iea.org/fuels-and-technologies/data-centres-networks Google Halts AI Tools For Oil Extraction https://unboundwellness.com/dairy-free-queso ​​​​​​​ Picks Lindsay Wardell: Granted by John David Anderson Callum Macrae: The All-In Podcast Disney Plus Hamilton Follow Views on Vue on Twitter > @viewsonvue

Author John David Anderson talks his latest middle-grade novel, "One Last Shot," empathizing with middle schoolers, connecting emotionally with characters and more. Anderson is the author of the acclaimed middle-grade novels "Mrs. Bixby's Last Day, "Posted" and more.

Podcast #078 For my seventy-eighth Dream Gardens children’s books podcast, I interviewed author John David Anderson about the middle grade fantasy novel The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, which is the first book of his Chronicles of Prydain series. Taran, tired of being just the assistant pig-keeper, wants a life of adventure. So when … Continue reading The Book of Three- The Chronicles of Prydain, Book #1: an interview with John David Anderson → The post The Book of Three- The Chronicles of Prydain, Book #1: an interview with John David Anderson appeared first on Dream Gardens.

Talked with Jennifer McQuown, Youth Services Manager, Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. They are hosting the annual BAM Festival (Books, Arts and Music) coming up on March 2nd. Their mission is to provide a great literary experience for all of South Florida by bringing together authors, artists and musicians with the members of the community to share their love of B.A.M. The 400 block of Clematis will be closed and there will be artists and music on the street level. They have a very dense schedule of author presentations starting at 10am in various locations. The authors/illustrators include: Elizabeth Acevedo, John David Anderson, Tracey Baptiste, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, Susan Campbell Bartoletti, John Becker, Phil Bildner, Ross Burach, Cathy Camper, Lauren Castillo, Tara Dairman, Eric Elfman, Robert Forbes, Stephanie Garber, Charise Mericle Harper, Deron Hicks, Justina Ireland, Brendan Kiely, Greg Logsted, Frank Morrison, John Parra, LeUyen Pham, Stacie Ramey, Sherri Duskey Rinker, Connie Schofield Morrison, Neal Schusterman, Dashka Slater, Nic Stone, Laini Taylor, Raul the Third, and Sherri Winston. Listeners do need to pre-register for the story time at the Brightline Train location, they can do that and get more info at www.bamwpb.org

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to the Books Between Podcast! I believe in the power of stories to brighten our world and spark change within ourselves.  My goal is to help you connect kids with those amazing stories and share inspiring conversations with the authors and educators who make that magic happen. I am Corrina Allen - a mom of two tween girls, a 5th grade teacher, and surrounded by slime. Oh. My. God. There is no escaping this stuff - it’s like a preteen version of The Blob with sparkles and glitter and sequins and now - foams beads! This is Episode #46 and today I’m sharing three books featuring the magical power of dogs, and then I’ll share with you a conversation with Karina Yan Glaser - author of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street! Two quick announcements before we get started - the MG at Heart Twitter chat about  The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is tomorrow night - Tuesday, April 3rd at 8pm EST using the hashtag #MGBookClub. And if you want to get ahead with your reading, the April Middle Grade at Heart Book Club pick is The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson and the May pick is Every Shiny Thing by Laurie Morrison and Cordelia Jensen. I was excited to have Laurie join me today to interview Karina and can’t wait to have her back to discuss her own debut. Book Talk - Three Novels Featuring the Special Magic of Dogs In this section of the show, I share with you a few books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book.  This week I’ll be talking about three awesome middle grade novels about separation, unlikely friendships, and the special magic of dogs. Now I will admit up front that am not a huge dog person. I mean - a well-trained dog is an amazing pet, and I love visiting with my friend’s dogs but I am more than okay with not having one of my own. But these three books hit me hard - and if YOU love dogs, they will wend their way into your heart even more. The books this week are Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart, Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, and Granted by John David Anderson. Good Dog First up -  Good Dog! Just….wow - Dan Gemeinhart hits another one out of the park! He is already a favorite author of so many of my students, and I’m glad to have another title to recommend after they have finished Scar Island or Some Kind of Courage or especially - The Honest Truth. This novel has a slightly different feel than his previous books. It is told from the point of view of Brodie - a dog who we meet just after he’s entered the great beyond after his death. And as our Brodie figures out the rules of this new place, and makes some friends, he remembers more of his past life on Earth. And remembers the danger that his boy, Aidan, is still in. And Brodie has to decide whether to move on to that ultimate Forever or if saving his boy from that threat is worth the awful price he’ll have to pay to even attempt helping him. Here are three things to love about Good Dog: The afterlife concept in this book. So - I don’t believe in life after death, but if it existed - I would hope it’s like this one. Going to an in-between place, a passing-through place where peace will rise up to you through your remembering as the goodness in you shakes off the last bits of darkness and sadness until you can move on to that final Forever. Tuck. I loved this dog - this sweet can’t-stand-still, can’t-be-quiet, always-running heart of gold black pit bull who was a good dog - even when it was hard. This dog who maybe - sort of - sold a bit of his soul for a French Fry. (Hey, I can relate!) It’s hard to explain how much I came to love this book without giving away a major spoiler. And I had prided myself on the fact that even though others had warned me to have tissues handy, I was fine... no tears, just FINE. Until page 285 when I learned that tiny but significant detail about the narrator that had me a sobbing wreck and needing to reread the entire thing! Hello, Universe The second book I want to tell you about this week is the 2018 Newbery Award winner - Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly. This one has a special place in my heart because it’s a novel that my daughters and I experienced together. We listened to the audio book throughout December and January and grew so attached to - well, I was going to say, to all the characters in the book, but I’ll say all but one. Hello, Universe is a quietly powerful story told from the point of view of four children. Virgil Salinas, a shy and quiet boy who longs to be recognized as more than just the “turtle” of his family. And who wants to be friends with Valencia - the girl in his special needs class at school. His close friend is Kaori Tanaka who has this physic business for kids and who places a lot of stock in signs and horoscopes and telling fortunes and the concept of Fate. And the final of the main trio is Valencia Somerset, who loves nature and adventure and who is also deaf. She and Virgil attend the same school but haven’t really met. However, they’ve both met Chet Bullens - the school bully. The entire story takes place over the course of one day when at various times, all four children end up in the woods near their school. And one of them falls in an abandoned well. Here are three things to love about Hello, Universe. The blend of the mystical and the modern intertwined with Filipino folktales that really show the power of those stories across generations. And how those archetypes of heroes can inspire us to our bravery. Or as Virgil’s grandmother says, to discovering your inner “bayani” - your inner “hero”. Valencia! She was my favorite character - wise and clever and stubborn - and so attuned to others’ reactions to her deafness. Someone pointed out that hers is the only point of view told in the first person so maybe that’s why I identified so much with her. It’s a tiny moment but when she describes sneaking tupperware bowls of food into the woods to feed this poor stray dog, and how she never remembers to return them….. I felt like the author captured something so real there. I remember taking my mother’s measuring cups and spoons out to play in the dirt until suddenly we had none left. And there was this one summer where I fed this stray cat in our neighborhood for weeks...one can of tuna fish every day. I felt like there was something very true to preteens about that mix of compassion and cluelessness. The role of the dog in this book. Like I mentioned, Valencia has befriended this stray dog who lives in the woods. And he doesn’t play a huge part in the story - at first - but his role is crucial in surprising ways later on. He didn’t turn up when I thought he might. But I felt as though he could have known Brodie and Tuck from Good Dog. If you have kids who are looking for a fast-paced, action-filled novel, Hello, Universe isn’t that book. But it has wit and warmth and philosophical depth explored through really relatable and unique characters. I just loved it! Granted And the final book I want to talk about this week is Granted by John David Anderson. You probably know him from the incredible Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and Posted. Both of those novels were realistic fiction, male protagonists, with stories centered around school. Granted is totally different - it’s about a fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets. One of the dwindlingly few fairies in the Haven entrusted with the job of Granter - a fairy who ventures out of their safe community and into the dangerous human world to grant a wish. So - everyday, people wish on stars, or candles or wishbones - and each of those wishes (if they follow the rules) are entered into a lottery of sorts. But in the fairies’ world - their magic has been decreasing and the number of wishes they can grant has plummeted to the point where on Ophelia’s first day on the job only a handful are scheduled to be granted. So she has two problems on her mind - is the wish-granting system they’ve always followed breaking down and if so, what can they do to fix it? And… how to complete her mission to grant one lucky 13 year-old girl’s wish for a purple bike. All Ophelia has to do is fly to Ohio and find the nickel the girl used for her wish. But what should be a routine mission turn into this epic quest that has Ophelia questioning so much of, well - what she took for granted. Here are three things to love about Granted: The fairies’ names! They receive their middle name first - which comes from the plant where they were born. (Like Rose or Oak or Daffodil). Their last name is given by their Founder - the fairy who discovers the newborn sprite and oversees their early care and adds a name that expresses something about their personality. (Like Fidgets or Crier). And their first name is completely random. So you get names like our protagonist Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets, her best friend Charlie Rhododendron Whistler, May Rose Crier,  or...Gus Fothergilla Gaspasser! Sam!  The mangy, smelly golden-haired mutt who after first wanting to eat then chew then chase Ophelia, offers to help her track down the wish she must grant. And.. maybe get to eat some donuts along the way. Ophelia is definitely NOT into this arrangement. Their conversations are HILARIOUS!   Ophelia’s song. So - every fairy has a magical song that they can sing for a particular effect- perhaps enchanting the listener or having a more negative effect. And while most fairies opt for a traditional tune like “Greensleeves” or “Rolling in the Dew” or maybe even a Sinatra song, Ophelia’s song is….  oh I so want to tell you what it is! But you just have to read it! Let’s just say, it’s something more….modern! Granted and Good Dog, and Hello, Universe are three books that will cast a magical spell on your heart.   Karina Yan Glaser - Interview Outline Joining me this month for our Middle Grade at Heart interview with Karina Yan Glaser is author Laurie Morrison. We got an opportunity to sit down together last month to chat about brownstones, balancing your reading life, and of course - The Vanderbeekers! Take a listen... The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street CA: Can you tell us what this story is about? LM: I love that the book is so balanced between the Vanderbeekers and has five equally developed main characters. Was one of the kids especially challenging or especially fun for you to write? Do you have any advice for other writers who are working on stories with ensemble casts? CA: One of the things that made me fall so hard for this book was that vibrant Harlem, New York setting with Castleman’s Bakery and the brownstones and City College in the background…  Was the Vanderbeeker’s neighborhood modeled after your own? LM: I’ve seen many readers comment that the book feels classic or timeless or old-fashioned. What do you think it is about the book that makes it feel classic to readers? LM: I noticed that you created the wonderful illustrations inside the book. How did you decide to include those, and were they always a part of the manuscript? CA: I noticed that you have an adorable bunny! Can she do tricks like Paganini? Your Writing Life LM: I’m so excited that there are two more Vanderbeekers stories on the way! Did you always know there would be more than one book, and what has it been like to write more Vanderbeeker adventures? LM: I know you’re a contributing editor at Book Riot and write a weekly newsletter. That must mean you do a lot of reading and a lot of writing outside of your fiction! How do you balance those different kinds of book-related work? Your Reading Life Sometimes it only takes that one adult in a kid’s life to influence them as a reader - either in a positive way to spur them on and spark that passion in them, or sometimes to squelch it. CA: Was there an adult in your life who impacted you as a reader? LM: I think The Vanderebeekers of 141st Street would be a fabulous book to read aloud to kids. Do you have any favorite books to read aloud to your own kids or kids you’ve worked with in the past? CA: What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked?   Links: Karina’s website - http://www.karinaglaser.com Karina on Twitter and Instagram BookRiot’s Children’s Section Books & Authors We Chatted About: Charles Darwin’s Around the World Adventure (Jennifer Thermes) Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail (Jennifer Thermes) The Penderwicks at Last (Jeanne Birdsall) Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbitt) See You in the Cosmos (Jack Cheng) Ginger Pye (Eleanor Estes) The Moffats (Eleanor Estes) The Hundred Dresses (Eleanor Estes) The Land (Mildred T. Taylor) Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry (Mildred T. Taylor) Every Shiny Thing (Laurie Morrison & Cordelia Jensen) They Say Blue (Jillian Tamaki) Front Desk (Kelly Yang) The Right Hook of Devin Velma (Jake Burt) Greetings From Witness Protection (Jake Burt) Closing Alright, that wraps up our show this week! If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. And - if you are wanting more discussion focused on middle grade, check out the new podcast called Lifelines: Books That Bridge the Divide hosted by authors Ann Braden and Saadia Faruqi. I’ll drop a link to their first two episodes in our show notes, and I am really excited to see more middle grade podcasts out there. Books Between is a proud member of the Education Podcast Network. This network features podcasts for educators, created by educators. For more great content visit edupodcastnetwork.com Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show at MGBookVillage.org. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher so others can discover us as well. Thanks and see you soon!  Bye!  

A dueling opinionated podcast! This week Jess and Maggie talk about Granted by John David Anderson (author of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day and Posted). Who will you agree with?----more---- Everyone who wishes upon a star, or a candle, or a penny thrown into a fountain knows that you’re not allowed to tell anyone what you’ve wished for. But even so, there is someone out there who hears it. In a magical land called the Haven lives a young fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets. Ophela is no ordinary fairy—she is a Granter: one of the select fairies whose job it is to venture out into the world and grant the wishes of unsuspecting humans every day. It’s the work of the Granters that generates the magic that allows the fairies to do what they do, and to keep the Haven hidden and safe. But with worldwide magic levels at an all-time low, this is not as easy as it sounds. On a typical day, only a small fraction of the millions of potential wishes gets granted. Today, however, is anything but typical. Because today, Ophelia is going to get her very first wish-granting assignment. And she’s about to discover that figuring out how to truly give someone what they want takes much more than a handful of fairy dust. GrantedAmazon . B&N Ms. Bixby’s Last DayAmazon . B&N PostedAmazon . B&N Other Books Mentioned in This Episode Harry Potter: Amazon . B&N Half Magic: Amazon . B&N WE’RE RUNNING A GIVEAWAY! Maybe. Our next giveaway will be: February 22, 2018 – February 28, 2018 and we will be giving away an ARC (Advanced Reader/Reviewer Copy) of: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi so long as: we have 100+ subscribers to the podcast. If you want this giveaway to fly make sure to share our episodes and subscribe! Follow Magdalyn AnnBlog . Twitter . Facebook . Instagram Follow Jessica M TuckermanBlog . Twitter . Facebook . Instagram Follow Booked All Night@BookedOwlNight POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKSSUPPORT THE BOOKED ALL NIGHT PODCAST BY PURCHASING YOUR NEXT BOOK OR MOVIE THROUGH OUR AFFILIATE LINKS. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bookedallnight/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bookedallnight/support

Panel:  Charles Max Wood Aimee Knight Cory House AJ O'Neal Joe Eames Aaron Frost Special Guests: Dave Geddes In this episode, the JavaScript Jabber panelists talk with Dave Geddes about CSS Grids. Dave quit his job about a year ago and has been living the entrepreneur and programmer life since then. Now, he builds mastery games to help people learn CSS. Dave discusses the differences between Flexbox and CSS Grid and how the games that he creates can help people learn CSS Grid in a fun and interactive way. In particular, we dive pretty deep on: CSS Mastery games FlexboxZombies.com GridCritters.com Uses spaced repetition and delayed recall to learn CSS Grid Flexbox CSS Grid as the cake and Flexbox as the frosting Edge spec What Flexbox can do Sub-Grids Geddski.com Nesting Grids Old Grid vs New Grid layout Why would you move from Flexbox to CSS Grid? CSS Grid tools GridByExample.com Education and Gamification Pick a UI that interests you For a discount on Grid Critters: enter JS Jabber for 20% off And much, much more! Links: Linode FlexboxZombies.com GridCritters.com Geddski.com GridByExample.com FreshBooks @Geddski Picks: Charles R Pods Earphones Aimee NEU Cleanse “At Age 6, Girls Are Less Likely to Identify Females As ‘Really, Really Smart’” Cory Cory Tweet AJ How to Start a Startup Made in America by Sam Walton Joe The Dungeoneers by John David Anderson NG Conf Aaron Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff Dave They Are Billions

Panel:  Charles Max Wood Aimee Knight Cory House AJ O'Neal Joe Eames Aaron Frost Special Guests: Dave Geddes In this episode, the JavaScript Jabber panelists talk with Dave Geddes about CSS Grids. Dave quit his job about a year ago and has been living the entrepreneur and programmer life since then. Now, he builds mastery games to help people learn CSS. Dave discusses the differences between Flexbox and CSS Grid and how the games that he creates can help people learn CSS Grid in a fun and interactive way. In particular, we dive pretty deep on: CSS Mastery games FlexboxZombies.com GridCritters.com Uses spaced repetition and delayed recall to learn CSS Grid Flexbox CSS Grid as the cake and Flexbox as the frosting Edge spec What Flexbox can do Sub-Grids Geddski.com Nesting Grids Old Grid vs New Grid layout Why would you move from Flexbox to CSS Grid? CSS Grid tools GridByExample.com Education and Gamification Pick a UI that interests you For a discount on Grid Critters: enter JS Jabber for 20% off And much, much more! Links: Linode FlexboxZombies.com GridCritters.com Geddski.com GridByExample.com FreshBooks @Geddski Picks: Charles R Pods Earphones Aimee NEU Cleanse “At Age 6, Girls Are Less Likely to Identify Females As ‘Really, Really Smart’” Cory Cory Tweet AJ How to Start a Startup Made in America by Sam Walton Joe The Dungeoneers by John David Anderson NG Conf Aaron Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff Dave They Are Billions

Panel:  Charles Max Wood Aimee Knight Cory House AJ O'Neal Joe Eames Aaron Frost Special Guests: Dave Geddes In this episode, the JavaScript Jabber panelists talk with Dave Geddes about CSS Grids. Dave quit his job about a year ago and has been living the entrepreneur and programmer life since then. Now, he builds mastery games to help people learn CSS. Dave discusses the differences between Flexbox and CSS Grid and how the games that he creates can help people learn CSS Grid in a fun and interactive way. In particular, we dive pretty deep on: CSS Mastery games FlexboxZombies.com GridCritters.com Uses spaced repetition and delayed recall to learn CSS Grid Flexbox CSS Grid as the cake and Flexbox as the frosting Edge spec What Flexbox can do Sub-Grids Geddski.com Nesting Grids Old Grid vs New Grid layout Why would you move from Flexbox to CSS Grid? CSS Grid tools GridByExample.com Education and Gamification Pick a UI that interests you For a discount on Grid Critters: enter JS Jabber for 20% off And much, much more! Links: Linode FlexboxZombies.com GridCritters.com Geddski.com GridByExample.com FreshBooks @Geddski Picks: Charles R Pods Earphones Aimee NEU Cleanse “At Age 6, Girls Are Less Likely to Identify Females As ‘Really, Really Smart’” Cory Cory Tweet AJ How to Start a Startup Made in America by Sam Walton Joe The Dungeoneers by John David Anderson NG Conf Aaron Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff Dave They Are Billions

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love.  I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom, and spending a lovely weekend with my family inside away from the bitter cold playing epic games of Sorry and watching all the Star Wars movies. Again. This is Episode #41 and today I’m sharing with you some fabulous 2018 titles to look forward to this year and an awesome interview with EngiNerds author Jarrett Lerner! Book Talk - Most Anticipated Middle Grade Books of 2018 Typically in this segment, I share with you a few books centered around a theme. And during the last few episodes I was all about looking back at some of the best middle grade fiction and graphic novels of 2017. (If you missed those, go check out episodes #39 and #40.) But this week I want to talk about some of the most anticipated books of the upcoming year.  Some are long-awaited sequels or new installments in well-loved series. Some are new ventures for favorite authors. And some are by debut authors. So, buckle up and and get ready to add to your wish list. And just a reminder - before you scramble for a pen and paper. You can find every book mentioned here AND a picture of the available covers AND a link to pre-order them right through the Books Between Podcast link at AlltheWonders.com.  I’ve got your back, I know you’re busy, so it’s all right there for you.  And I’ve come to really love pre-ordering - it helps out favorite authors and it’s like a little gift to your future self. Two quick things to mention before I start. One - this is just a sampling of all the incredible books coming out this year. I’ll add some links to some great resources in the shownotes where you can find more complete listings of titles to browse through and discover some gems: http://www.readbrightly.com/middle-grade-books-2018/ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/98185.Middle_Grade_Novels_of_2018 https://mgbookvillage.org/2018releasedates/ https://electriceighteens.com/ And second - publication dates do change, so while I’ve mentioned the book release month - things sometimes change. All right - let’s get to it! Coming in January… Let’s start with the some sequels because there are some AWESOME sequels coming our way to give us something to look forward to during this dreary month…. Linda William’s Jackson’s follow-up to Midnight Without a Moon - A Sky Full of Stars is out this January as Rose struggles with the way to face the rising racial tensions in her community. Ooooo - and the new Fenway & Hattie is out this January!!!  I just can’t get enough of that little dog!  This third one is called Up to New Tricks so definitely snag that one for your Fenway fans - and for you, too! And Gordon Korman’s Supergifted is also set for a January release - this is the sequel to Ungifted - a great book about a boy named Donovan who is mistakenly transfering into a gifted program and has to figure out how to pass as brilliant.  This follow up is about his new friend, Noah. We are also getting another Terrible Two book in January - Terrible Two Go Wild! And a new Spy on History book - Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army! Ah!  And we a get a new HiLo book this January! It’s called Waking the Monsters! (As my husband said - yeah, that sounds like what I do every weekday.) Our 8 year old is SUPER psyched about this new book! - so keep ‘em coming Judd Winick! Okay - and it’s not really a sequel BUT - there is just released a GRAPHIC NOVEL version of the first The Wings of Fire book - ahhhh!!!  It’s illustrated by Mike Holmes and my students are going to FREAK when I tell them  tomorrow. Some other January releases that are looking fabulous are…. Betty Before X  - an historical fiction novel set in the 40s about 11-year-old Betty Shabazz - future civil rights leader.  This one is written by her daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz with Renee Watson Winterhouse by debut author Ben Guterson - this is an urban fantasy mystery set in a magical hotel containing a huge library with secrets to discover. We are also getting the first middle grade book by picture book author Angela Dominguez called Stella Diaz Has Something to Say! Another novel that looks REALLY interesting is called TBH, This is SO Awkward by Lisa Greenwald and it’s told entirely in texts.  So I definitely need to check that one out. And my friend Emily Montjoy has been raving about Just Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard so I’m looking forward to my turn with that one. Also - Leslie Connor, the author of the critically-acclaimed All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, has a new novel out in January called The Truth as Told By Mason Butte - so definitely check that one out. Natalie Lloyd also has a new novel coming out this January! So if you liked A Snicker of Magic or The Key to Extraordinary, look for The Problim Children - which is described as a mix between Lemony Snicket and the Addams Family... Annnd - the new Elly Swartz novel - Smart Cookie!!  I had a chance to read an ARC of this one with my daughters and oh I can’t wait for it to be out in the world! On to February … One that I’ve had a chance to read ahead of time is Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein by Jennifer Roy and Ali Fadhil.  I’ll talk more about this book later when I have time to really go into depth, but for now I’ll just say - preorder it. A great historical fiction about an Iraqi boy during the first Gulf War. Then we have The Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani DasGupta - a fantasy about a New Jersey girl discovering that she may, in fact, be an Indian princess. The 11:11 Wish by Kim Tomsic looks really fun. It’s about a dorky math nerd who vows to reinvent herself at her new school. And when she makes a wish as the clock strikes 11:11, she gets granted a magical object that might help her. Shannon Hitchcock, author of Ruby Lee & Me has a new novel coming out in February - this one is call One True Way. Another one to look out for in February is Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters. With all the buzz about Wrinkle in Time with the new movie coming out, this book looks really great. Aaand - we get a new John David Anderson novel in February!! This one (Granted) is so different from Ms. Bixby or Posted, but I just loved it! It’s a fantasy novel about a fierce fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets who runs into some trouble as she attempts to grant her first wish. In March, there are so books I am really looking forward to! My principal won’t mind if a take a month-long reading sabbatical, right? Like Vanessa is the debut novel by author Tami Charles - it’s set in 1983 and is about a young girl inspired by seeing Vanessa Williams get crowned Miss America and is encouraged by her teacher to enter a beauty pageant. Lauren Magaziner has a new book out in March called Wizardmatch that looks like a fun fantasy. And The Science of Breakable Things by debut author Tae Keller looks really good - a book about a scientifically minded girl competing in an egg-drop contest AND using those skills to try to help her mom deal with her struggles. In March we also get Colby Sharp’s Creativity Project! An “awesometastic” collection of short stories developed from the author’s prompts to each other. It is a fantastic read and such a clever idea!  Definitely one that teachers will want on hand to spark your writers’ imaginations. The Train of Lost Things  by Ammi Joan-Paquette is another favorite of my #BookVoyage friend Emily Montjoy - who has amazing taste by the way. (Definitely go follow her on Twitter @mrsmontjoyreads ! ) So I’m looking forward to a chance to read this one as well. Oh! And the next Dan Gemeinhart novel comes out in March!! It is called Good Dog and I can’t read the synopsis to you or I’ll start crying but it sounds simply wonderful. Of course it is - it’s Dan Gemeinhart! March lets us reconnect with some favorite characters with a great bunch of sequels coming out. We get a new Emily Windsnap book, Emily Windsnap and the Falls of Forgotten Island. And a new Star Scouts graphic novel - League of Lasers   The third Narwhal and Jelly book (Peanut Butter and Jelly) come out.   The 78-Story Treehouse as well as a new Dory Fantasmagory book called Head in the Clouds along with a new Stick Dog Stick Dog Crashes a Party.   We also get Elana Arnold’s follow up to A Boy Called Bat - Bat and the Waiting Game   And - probably the book that I have been waiting and waiting for. DYING to read with my daughters - is The Wild Robot Escapes - the sequel to Peter Brown’s incredible The Wild Robot!  So - mark your calendars for March 13th, pre-order this one, AND - if you haven’t yet read the first one…. well, what’s the matter with you? Get on that! In April we have lots to look forward to including sequels, like: The next Moon Base Alpha book called Waste of Space, Janet Tashjian’s My Life As a YouTuber , and Jasmine Toguchi, Drummer Girl will be out. And Adrienne’s Kress’ second Explorers book - The Reckless Rescue!   And the third book in Jason Reynold’s incredible Track series will be out! It’s called Sunny and follows “the chillest dude on the Defenders team”, but one with a troubled life at home that hides behind that sunny smile. And, the debut by Laurie Morrison and Cordelia Jenson, called Every Shiny Thing looks really really good…. I’m also looking forward to the new Jewell Parker Rhodes novel called Ghost Boys. It’s about a young boy who is killed by the police when they mistake his toy gun for the real thing. And as a ghost, he witnesses how that event unfolds in his neighborhood and meets other ghosts like Emmett Till. Oh that gives me chills just thinking about it! And - we get a new Kwame Alexander novel this year!  It is called Rebound - the much-awaiting prequel to his Newbery-winning The Crossover. This one about Josh and Jordan’s father, Chuck Bell. On to the awesome May releases to watch for: Terri Libenson’s new graphic novel - Positively Izzy looks great- it’s the companion to Invisible Emmie. And the The Cobalt Prince, the second 5 Worlds graphic novel will be out. Another May release that I am so so excited about is Most Valuable Players - the next Phil Bildner Rip & Red book. There are three books coming in May that have been getting a lot buzz lately - one is called Bob - written by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead. I can’t wait to see the awesomeness THAT collaboration brings! The second one is Aisha Saeed’s middle-grade debut, Amal Unbound, which is about a Pakistani girl forced into working as an indentured servant to pay off her family’s debts. Friends who have read this one are saying it is  incredible. And then I keep hearing about Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Let me just read you a bit from the description and tell me this doesn’t sound AMAZING! Okay, “Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. Number 1-She lives in a motel, not a big house. Number 2- Her parents hide immigrants. Number 3-She wants to be a writer.” In June we have some really cool books coming our way: Kate Messner’s new novel Breakout - based on some details from the real-life (and close to home for me) breakout of two prisoners in New York and how the community reacts to that situation. I can’t WAIT for this one!!   Also - Kate Beasley (of Gertie’s Leap to Greatness) and Dan Santat (of a million books you love, most recently the picture book After the Fall) are teaming up for a book called Lions & Liars - about a boy named Frederick who is sent to a disciplinary camp for troublesome boys. That one looks phenomenal!   And Laura Shovan’s new book Takedown is coming this June!  Can’t wait to read this novel about a girl who wants to join the wrestling team. I keep hearing people raving about it on Twitter. And Barbara Dee has a new novel coming out in June called Everything I Know About You.   We also get to read Wendy McLeod MacKnight’s new middle grade novel The Frame-up! I had a chance to read this one this past fall and it is phenomenal. It’s about a young artist who goes to live with his father for the summer and attends an art-camp at the museum where his father is the director. And he soon discovers that the paintings are alive! Truly - after reading this book, I’ll never look at another painting the same way again.  It’s so so good!   And thankfully I have July and August off from school, so I can catch up AND snag some summer release books such as…. Cindy Baldwin’s debut  - Where the Watermelons Grow And my daughter will be thrilled to know there will be a new Dog Man this summer called Lord of the Fleas!   Oh! And Denis Markell, author of Click Here to Start has a new novel coming this summer called The Game Masters of Garden Place. Also this summer is a cool book called Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya. Let me read you a blurb: “Marcus Vega is six feet tall, 180 pounds, and the owner of a premature mustache. When you look like this and you're only in the eighth grade, you're both a threat and a target.” And the rest of the description is so good - definitely check this one out. This August we also get a new Jess Keating book! This one is called Cute as an Axolotl: Discovering the World's Most Adorable Animals So after August, specific publication dates get a little harder to come by. BUT - a few things have popped up. Like.. A new Last Kids on Earth book called The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond   The new Nameless City graphic novel called The Divided Earth   The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden!! A new Beatrice Zinker book! And I can’t wait for Jarrett Krosoczka's graphic novel memoir coming out called Hey, Kiddo.   Also - I saw, I think... a Sarah Weeks has a sequel to So B. It coming out called Soof? That is definitely on my radar!   And the big news in my class this week - the 8th Amulet book!!!!!! Woohoo!!!  Oh my gosh - my students cheered when I told them that Kazu Kibuishi announced this on Twitter last week!  It is called Supernova and has a beautiful cover so go check that out and make all your middle grade readers happy by pre-ordering it now. So so much to look forward to this year! And of course - I’ll keep you posted about all the amazing books headed our way so we can stay up to date. And definitely make sure you check out the show notes and check out those links so you can dive deeper and discover awesome new books that you are looking forward to reading this year. Main Topic - A Conversation with Jarrett Lerner This week I am so excited to welcome to the show Jarrett Lerner - author of the fantastic middle grade novel EngiNerds. We chat about his plans for the sequel, the power of the perfect metaphor, and Project Runway! Take a listen….. Interview Outline: Enginerds Enginerds has been getting all kinds of love lately - congratulations!! I saw Colby Sharp used Enginerds as his example in his 5 ways to support authors you love video. For those who aren’t (yet!) familiar with Enginerds, can you tell what this story is about? What was your thought process like when deciding what your robots would look like and act like? Enginerds is in a long and glorious line of children’s books and movies and TV shows featuring robots. What are some of your favorites? We are getting a book two, right?! Other Middle Grade Projects So I saw on Twitter last month that you have teamed up with Analiese Avery (@_AJAvery) to launch @MG_BookBot. How did that get started and what are your plans?   And I am so excited about your new middle grade focused website -  MG Book Village!  Aside from the twitter hashtags, what are you hoping to include on the site? Tell me about your KidLit Mentorship Project…. Project Runway Your Writing Life What is your writing process like? What are you working on now? Your Reading Life One of the things I talk about a lot with other educators is the power of that one person to really influence a child’s reading life - either in a really positive way or sometimes in a negative way. Was there someone in your life who impacted you as a reader? What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked? Thank You!   Links: Jarrett’s Website - https://jarrettlerner.com Jarrett on Twitter and Instagram Books & Authors We Chatted About: Jasmine Toguchi Series Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus The First Rule of Punk Kurt Vonnegut Baby-Sitters Club Sweet Valley High Judy Blume Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker Clementine Ramona Jerry Spinelli The Game Masters of Garden Place Oddity Other Topics We Chatted About: MG Book Village Website #MGBookathon Electric 18 Debut Group Project Runway The Kentaro Dead Cat Scene Tim Gunn’s Golden Rules Melissa Roske’s Interview with Jarrett Lerner Closing Alright, that’s it for today! If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or a suggestion about a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please leave us some love on iTunes or Stitcher. Or even better - tell a friend about us! Thanks and see you soon!  Bye!

Intro Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom an 8 and 10 year old, and just finishing my first week back to school with my new 5th graders. And….YAWN!  Is there any tured that’s like that first few days of school tired?  I am gonna get some coffee and I’ll be right back…. This is Episode #34 and today I’m talking about studying genre and then I welcome author Danielle Davis to the show to chat about her debut middle grade novel Zinnia and the Bees, and finish up with a question about book recommendations for an advanced 6th grade reader. But before we jump into the show, I want tell you that this month’s episodes are sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and publishing platform that is just perfect for classrooms. It is incredibly easy to use and set up - and boy am I appreciating that at the beginning of the year!  I am also loving how engaged students are when they see their word count grow. And how that pushes them to write even more. And from my end, I love how I can analyze those word count statistics either as a whole class or filter for individual students.  So, if you’ve been searching for an engaging and authentic way to help your students write every day, definitely go visit WriteAbout.com to check it out. And at the end of the show, I’ll share with you my current favorite feature. Main Topic - Studying Genre As I start our new school year rolling and we are setting up our reading journals and discussing goals, one of the first things we do is have a quick crash course in identifying genres. So today I want to chat with you about why it’s a good idea for students to study genre, which genres to study, the difference between genre and format, and finally I’ll share some ideas and resources to get your students learning more about different genres. Why study genre? So, why study genre? We’ve already got a lot on our plate and a curriculum that is jam packed. Why is it important for students to know the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Or to know a mystery when they see one? Studying genre helps students expand their reading habits and get introduced to genres they might not have tried yet. Studying genre also expands students’ views of each genre and helps them realize that NOT all books in a genre are the same. Not all fantasy is about dragons or set in a medieval world. Some have cats like The Warriors series and some are even set in modern times!  And often, books are a blend of more than one genre - Historical Fiction AND Action-Adventure like the I Survived Series. Or Science Fiction with a twist of Mystery like Space Case. Studying genre helps with comprehension. Knowing how a certain type of book tends to go helps you figure out the plot, make predictions, and pick out themes and delve into character more deeply. For example, if you are reading a Fantasy you’re going to be on the lookout for a quest narrative, special magical objects, maybe a good character who turns out to be bad, and a theme that might be really about Good vs. Evil. If they are picking up a mystery, they’ll want to be searching for clues and twist endings. If reading historical fiction they might be looking for lessons that would resonate today. Studying past turning points helps us figure out who we are. Knowing those common tropes and knowing why those genres are important helps students dig so much deeper and can even change them as a person. And finally, learning about genre helps kids develop their own reading identity and figure out what they really like. Learning the language and vocabulary of genre is important so they have a name for the kinds of stories they want to read and can then go ask for it at a bookstore or the library or when they search online. So if they know that they like Magical Realism, they can ask the clerk to help them find more of those kinds of books.   Last week I was thinking about how the power of knowing the vocabulary can help you find what you like. My ten year old and I have recently been binge-watching A LOT of Project Runway. And I do not have any kind of background in sewing or fashion terms. For me, when I go shopping, I just kind of wing it and know what I like when I put it on. But after watching several seasons of Project Runway in a row you start to pick up the names of various fabrics and cuts and styles. And I realize - a-ha!  I do NOT like high-low hems or mermaid dresses. BUT - that kind of skirt that always seems to look okay on me? That’s an A-line skirt! SO now, when I go shopping and a clerk asks if they can help me, I will say, “Yes! Show me your A-line skirts and dresses, please!”  Basically what I’m saying is knowing the words for what you like is hugely helpful in efficiently getting you more of that. Which genres to study? I tend to focus on how the characters, setting, and plot are all clues to help you figure out the genre. And the fiction genres I focus on are realistic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, action/adventure, traditional literature (like folk tales, tall tales and fairy tales), science fiction, and fantasy. With a strong emphasis on how sometimes they can blend. And I don’t go into depth at 5th grade, but I do mention westerns, horror, and romance. And I’ll tell you - that Science Fiction/Fantasy genre always seems so imperfect.  I mean - a book with talking animals in it. IS that… fantasy? I wouldn’t put Charlotte’s Web with Eragon. So…. we do talk about how there is nuance and fuzziness in those categories and I introduce terms like speculative fiction, paranormal, magical realism and urban fantasy. I don’t expect mastery here. But - if they can read a book like, say, The Seventh Wish. And say things like “Well, it could be realistic fiction because it’s about a typical family in modern times going through real-life challenges but it might be fantasy because the fish gives out magic wishes.” That is what I’m looking for. Not certainty but the ability to have a discussion around genre and recognize the major elements of each one. What’s the difference between genre and format? One of the points of growth for me is really recognizing the difference between genre and format. Poetry and graphic novels are NOT really genres. You can have a novel in verse that is a memoir like Brown Girl Dreaming or realistic fiction, like Moo. And graphic novels span every imaginable genre from traditional literature in Fairy Tale Comics to fantasy in Amulet and science fiction in Hilo to realistic fiction in Roller Girl. And as much as I know that…. I still separate them out because their format does make them so unique. And so many of my students just gravitate toward those graphic novels. So I want to make it easy for them to find. And just last week, after much consideration, I finally caved and shelved Nine, Ten, Towers Falling, Eleven, and the other 9/11 books in historical fiction. (And now I feel really old!) Some ideas & resources We’ll wrap up this segment by sharing a few ideas about how to reinforce the study of genre in your classroom or library or with your kids at home! Here are 6 ideas to get you started: Keep track of those genres on a chart or graph. I have a circle tracker that I love to use that I’ll link to in the shownotes. It’s colorful and flexible and fun! Give students a stack of books and have them sort them by genre or identify the genre if they are all the same. And encourage them to use the vocabulary they’ve learned to back up what they’re saying. And look at the cover and back description of the setting, characters, and plot for those clues. Another way to go is to give them a stack and tell them the genre. And then THEY have to create a definition based on the books in that category. And then they can present to their peers. If you don’t have physical books to use, I’ve cut out pictures and blurbs from Scholastic flyers and you could also have them search a genre category on Amazon or Goodreads. Have students work together to create a genre display. Last year, right around Halloween I had a group of kids work on a mystery/paranormal display for our classroom door.  Kids could also work on a video project or a Google Slideshow to teach others about genre. I used Kahoot last year to reinforce genre and my students loved it! Kahoot is an online quiz site where teachers can create any type of quiz and students log-in with a Chromebook or ipad and take the quiz and get live results together. It’s fun, it’s interactive, and they have really awesome music on that site! Have kids make #BookSnaps highlighting the genre of the books they are reading!  I talked more about #BookSnaps in episode #19 which was all about alternatives to reading logs. But basically, kids take a picture of their book, maybe annotate it with a photo editing tool and post it to social media. So, you could direct them to simply post the cover and name the genre. Or you could ask them to find some evidence inside the book to back up why they think that book fits the criteria for that genre. And take a picture of page that offers a clue and then annotate it to explain. I use SeeSaw for #BookSnaps but older kids might like SnapChat or Twitter. Those are a few things that I have tried and plan to explore this year as I help students grow into self-aware and self-directed readers. But - I know how incredible my listeners are and I am sure you all have some fabulous ideas about how to teach and reinforce genre. Please share them with the rest of us! You can tag me on Twitter or Instagram - our handle is @books_between or email me at booksbetween@gmail.com . And I’ll share out some of your ideas. Interview - Danielle Davis Today I am thrilled to welcome Danielle Davis to the podcast. She is the author of the recently released middle grade novel Zinnia and the Bees. We chat about knitting, composting, and the surprising origins of her novel! Zinnias and the Bees Your debut novel Zinnia and the Bees was just released this month and I am so excited for my students and kids all around the world to meet these characters. For those listening who haven’t yet had a chance to read the book, can you tell us a bit about it?   This is an alternating point of view novel like none other that I have read... How did figure out that you wanted to include the bees’ perspective?   What sort of research did you do to make sure you got those details right?   So, I have to ask about…. KNITTING!   Your Writing Life Your blog is called “This Picture Book Life”. So how did you end up writing middle grade?   How does the final version of Zinnia and the Bees differ from earlier drafts?   What is your ideal writing space like?   What’s next for you - another middle grade or will you venture into Picture Books? Your Reading Life   You read a TON of picture books AND middle grade books!   What drew you to focus mainly on picture books?   Is there a type of story or a genre that others like a lot but you’re just not that into?   What were some of your favorite books as a child?   What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked?   Thank You!   Q & A Our third and final segment this week is Question & Answer time. Question: Today’s question was texted to me from a friend at school. She asked, “I have a friend who’s looking for some book recommendations for her going into 6th grade boy. He is an advanced reader and loves sports and music.” Answer: I had five suggestions - Ghost by Jason Reynolds which would appeal to the sports side - plus, it’s just amazing and if they like it, there is the newly released second book called Patina which is just as fabulous! Posted by John David Anderson is also incredible. And Solo by Kwame Alexander which would be great for a kid who likes music. But - that one veers a little more toward YA. So - while I love that book, maybe take a peek at the content and consider waiting maybe a year or two. I also recommended the March graphic novel series by John Lewis. I think that trilogy is so timely and should be read by everyone so I just have to give a push whenever I have the chance. And finally, I Am Drums by Mike Grosso is phenomenal for music lovers. I just loved that book and can’t wait to see what else he writes.   Closing   Alright - that wraps up our show this week. If you have a question or an idea about a topic we should cover, let me know. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.   And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - when you visit their website you’ll find fantastic ideas to get your students writing this year. Some of my favorite features are the feedback tools - including voice recordings for students to get immediate and personal suggestions from you right as they are writing.   Thanks again and see you soon!  Bye!   Episode Links:   Danielle Davis’ website: http://www.danielledavisreadsandwrites.com Danielle’s This Picture Book Life: http://thispicturebooklife.com   Zinnia and the Bees Pom Pom Craft: http://thispicturebooklife.com/pom-pom-craft-zinnia-bees-courtesy-sealed-kait/   Zinnia and the Bees: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781623708672   Books & Things Mentioned in the Interview:   Bees: Nature’s Little Wonders by Candace Savage: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781553655312   The Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780763679224   The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780142001745   The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=the+girl+flammable   The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780385720960   Alethea’s blog - Read Now Sleep Later: http://www.readnowsleeplater.org Roald Dahl books: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=Roald+Dahl   Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780547076805   Du Iz Tak by Carson Ellis: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=Du+Iz+Tak   A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780312367541   The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780679734772   The Red Tree by Shaun Tan: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780968876831   Benjamin Dilley’s Thirsty Camel by Jolly Roger Bradfield: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781930900608   Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly   The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez:  https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780425290408

The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation is once again honoring Hoosier authors with the Indiana Authors Award. Today on No Limits, a lively conversation with "middle grade fiction" author and Indianapolis native, John David Anderson and IPLF development officer, Caity Withers. Anderson is one of six recipients in 2017, winner in the category of Genre Excellence. His books for ages 8-12 include "Ms. Bixby's Last Day" and "Standard Hero Behavior".

Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson

Intro   Hi everyone - welcome to Books Between - a podcast focused solely on middle grade readers and to help teachers, parents, and librarians connect them to books they will love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two, a 5th grade teacher and still basking in the glow of getting to see Neil DeGrasse Tyson LIVE when he came to Syracuse! He talked about science in the movies and was utterly hilarious. If you ever have a chance to go see him, please do it!   This is Episode #23 and Today I am welcoming author Victoria Coe to the show and then chatting about two excellent new May releases that you won’t want to miss, and then answering a question about middle grade classics in the classroom.   Main Topic - Interview with Victoria Coe   Today I am honored to welcome Victoria Coe. She is the author of the amazing and fun Fenway & Hattie series which was just picked as one of the 2017 Global Read Aloud choices.  We chat about pets, Beverly Cleary’s Ribsy, what makes an author visit go smoothly, and lots of other things! Take a listen.   Global Read Aloud We’ve been working on having you come on to the show for a few months now but I am actually glad that the timing worked out for now so that I could talk to you about the Global Read Aloud! I admit, I actually screeched when I saw the announcement that Fenway & Hattie was selected for 2017!   How did you find out that Fenway & Hattie was picked? From the very first pages, I knew the Fenway & Hattie was a book that begged to be read out loud! Even when I was reading it by myself alone, I found myself mouthing the words and already figuring out where I would pause to let my students figure out what’s happening.   Could you tell us what the book is about for those listening who haven’t read it yet?   It wasn’t until I finished reading the book that I noticed the “1” written on the spine, so I was really excited to know that it will be a series and we’ll get to spend more time in Fenway’s world! I know the second one has come out already - Evil Bunny Gang.   Did I see that Book 3 was announced recently?   In Fenway & Hattie, one of the funny aspects of the story is the names that Fenway gives to the family. So, the dad is “Fetch Man” and the mom is “Food Lady”.   So - in your home, what would your pets call you? There is just something about dog books that have the potential to connect so deeply with an audience. In fact, you wrote a post on the Nerdy Book Club site called “How Ribsy Changed My Life”.   What was it about that dog and that book that fascinated you?   I follow you on Instagram and Twitter and I have to say that I love and appreciate that you and so many authors share aspects of their life - your writing process, your inspiration, your frustrations sometimes!  Recently I’ve seen a lot of pics of school visits.   What is a Victoria Coe school visit like?   So we have a lot of teachers and librarians listening who plan author visits.   What are some things that you appreciate and like as a visiting author? One thing that I am always trying to encourage in my students is developing a rich reading life.   How do you make time for reading in your life and what have you read lately that you’ve really liked? Book Talk - Two Excellent New Novels   In this section of the show, I share with you a couple books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I want to share with you two fantastic novels just released last week. Both are books about the seismic changes that can happen when someone new comes into your life.  They are Three Pennies by Melanie Crowder and Posted by John David Anderson. Three Pennies   I will start with Three Pennies by Melanie Crowder. This novel is about an eleven year old girl named Marin who was abandoned many years ago by her mother and has been bounced around the foster system in San Francisco since she was four. And she’s come up with these rules for survival which essentially boil down to this; BE INVISIBLE. Don’t bother the adults, don’t fight with other kids, but that makes for an incredibly lonely existence and a situation where a kid can all too easily get swept aside and forgotten. And at age 11, there’s little chance she’s going to get adopted. All Marin has from her mother are three things: fading memories, a ceramic piggy bank with one coin rattling inside, and a copy of the I Ching. Marin is constantly casting her three pennies and using the book to try to find her way back to her mother. But, the I Ching is also called The Book of Changes and Marin’s eleventh year is full of unexpected turns. Here are three things to love about Three Pennies:   Dr. Lucy Chang! She is Marin’s latest foster parent - a kind but clinal woman. And single. The reason why she’s single comes out in a dinner conversation where Marin tries to be rude to Lucy (because she fears being adopted and losing hope of that reunion with her mother.) Lucy is a science-minded surgeon and precise, but I love how she uses that in the service of being kind toward Marin.  For example, she shares these great analogies of the human body. Let me read you a couple. The owl in the story. Every few chapters we get a brief scene from the point of view of a young rehabilitated owl living among the tall buildings in San Francisco and observing what happens below. It’s a quieter and softer part of the book but I love how those chapters weave through the main parts of the story and especially how the owl connects and comes together with the other characters at the end.   And I can’t talk about that owl without mentioning the stunning cover art by artist Victo Ngai. It is vibrant with the golds and warm browns of this owl with piercing teal eyes. It’s a stunner of a cover and the artist has done work for The New Yorker and The New York Times - and her work is amazing. I’ll post a link to her site in the show notes so you can check it out.   Three Pennies is a beautifully written and gentle book about finding family. If you have kids who might love One For the Murphys or Counting by 7s, but you want something a little shorter and maybe easier to read on that same theme, this book is a great option.   Posted   Next up this week is a book I have been waiting to get my hands on - Posted by John David Anderson, who you might know from his most recent middle grade novel - Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. This story is about a tight-knit group of four middle school boys. Their nicknames are Frost, Bench, DeeDee, and Wolf. The story is told from Frost’s point of view. He earned his nickname (from Robert Frost) because he won a poetry contest in 5th grade. His parents are recently divorced. His close friend is Bench and he got his nickname because he’s always warming the bench for every team he’s on. He’s big and kind of their protector. No one messes with them when Bench is around. Then there is DeeDee who’s small, kinda geeky, dramatic and the Dungeon Master when they play D&D. Hence his nickname, DeeDee. And finally, Wolf. He is a lanky, quieter kid who’s a piano prodigy and got his name from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Each of them are kind of outcasts and outsiders in their own way.  But - they have found each other - their tribe as Frost calls it - and support each other. Until a new girl, Rose, shows up and things get thrown into turmoil in unexpected ways. Interconnecting with that dynamic is the fact that all cellphones have been recently banned at Branton Middle School and post-its have become the new contraband form of communication. And what starts off as DeeDee posting fun sticky notes on his friend’s lockers snowballs into this mess of a situation where their friendship is really tested. This is one of those books that the more you read, the more you want to slow down and savor the story, the language - and just spend time with these characters. Well - some of them.  There are so so many things I want to say to rave about this book! I have to limit myself to three - but honestly I could list at least 30. So, just as a small sample, here are three amazing things about John David Anderson’s Posted:   How much Anderson GETS middle school and the inner life of middle school kids. Before coming to teach 5th grade in an elementary school, I was a 6th grade teacher in a middle school for 8 years. And I used to joke that middle school is the Social Serengeti. There are predators and prey and you better do whatever you can to get cover within a group. And Posted absolutely captures this. Frost calls it the Middle School Minefield. And, oh the antics these four boys get involved in! From making homemade dynamite in their driveway to accidentally microwaving a can of Spaghettio’s and almost burning down the house. These are the stories every kid can relate to - and I’m sure they have some similar ones of their own. How well Anderson builds suspense by withholding information and slowly revealing it in pieces later on.  For examples, there are these various messages written on post-its throughout the story, phrases thrown at one of the characters, and an awful text that gets a girl suspended (which is the catalyst of the cell phone ban).  Anderson doesn’t reveal what those messages are at first, but describes everyone’s reactions to it.  Or he tells the consequences of a conversation, but the details come out more slowly - I LOVED it!Just like he did with Ms. Bixby’s Last Day, Anderson is masterful at sliding the pieces of the puzzle into your view until you start to see the picture yourself. How this book reminded me of the Netflix series Stranger Things. I know that sounds odd because they’re two completely different genres! But - both are about four close friends used to their own routines when a vulnerable yet powerful girl is suddenly in their midst. And how they handle that disruption and the decisions they make about who to protect could either fracture their friendship or bring them closer together. And - there’s lots of Dungeons & Dragons references! When you get a new book by an author whose previous work blew you away, you’re almost expecting to be let down. Posted was everything I was hoping for, and I think this one might actually be even more of a winner with kids because the conflicts are centered so clearly on their lives. Ya gotta get this one!   Q & A Our final segment this week is Question & Answer time.   Question: This question comes from Annamaria on Twitter “Hi, @Books_Between  I'm looking for "classics" to fill a bookcase in my classroom. Have Dahl, L I-Wilder, CS Lewis, few others. Rec's? Thx!”   Answer: Alright - yes! Here are a few titles and authors you might want to add. The Indian in the Cupboard (and the sequels) Harriet the Spy All the Beverly Cleary books! (Ramona books, Ribsy books, Mouse & the Motorcycle) The Wizard of Oz series Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry The Wind in the Willows Where the Red Fern Grows A Wrinkle in Time - that one is also a series E. B. White (Charlotte’s Web, The Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little) The Hobbit The Hundred Dresses Louisa May Alcott (Little Women and Little Men) The Boxcar Children Series Christopher Paul Curtis (The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 and Bud, not Buddy) Black Beauty Lots of the E.L. Konigsburg (books like From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler) Frances Burnett’s The Secret Garden and A Little Princess Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series Some really like the Betsy-Tacy series - I haven’t read them but would feel remiss if I did not mention them Mary Poppins Series Anne of Green Gables books Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass All the Judy Blume books! (well, wait - careful, she does have some adult books out, but definitely Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blubber)     You know, in looking at this list, there are so many that I grew up loving but I recognize that in many “classics” lists, the titles and authors do lack diversity and also, where you do find some diverse characters, they’re often not portrayed that well. So in considering including classics in your library, that is an aspect to think about.   So, listeners - I know I have forgotten some. What other “classics” would you add to this list and especially, what are some more multicultural “classics” that should be included?  We will absolutely revisit this again with some updates.   Closing   Alright - that’s it for our show this week. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they will love or an idea about a guest we should have or a topic we should cover, please let me know. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Also, we have just launched a newsletter. So if you are interesting in more middle grade goodness, I’ll post a link to sign up for that in the shownotes.   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of the show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.   And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks again and see you in two weeks!  Bye!   Links: https://www.amazon.com/Nutcracker-Mice-Kristin-Kladstrup/dp/0763685194   https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2015/09/15/how-ribsy-changed-my-life-or-it-all-depends-on-your-point-of-view-by-victoria-j-coe/   FENWAY AND HATTIE resource padlet: https://padlet.com/victoriajcoe/mr9wmo96cm65   https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2017/04/07/and-the-winners-are-global-read-aloud-choices-2017-gra17/   Info about my author visits: http://www.victoriajcoe.com/school-visits   author page at PenguinRandomHouse.com where you can click on all three books for a description and order/preorder links: http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2109553/victoria-j-coe   http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780380709557   http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781481492065

An Interview with Jen Garthe For my eighth Dream Gardens podcast, I interviewed former teacher, aspiring writer, free-lance editor, and kids’ book enthusiast Jen Garthe about the middle grade children’s novel  Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson.  It is a story about three young boys who go on a quest to give their favorite teacher … Continue reading Podcast #8: Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson → The post Podcast #8: Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson appeared first on Dream Gardens.

Intro   Hi and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect middle grade kids to books they’ll love.  I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a 5th grade teacher, a mom of two daughters, and happy to be DONE with 2016 and onward to 2017! Typically we have a New Year’s Eve party at our house - last year was a disco theme - but this time my kids were not feeling so great and instead we had a quiet night. I set up my new bullet journal with my reading goals, played canasta with my kids, crocheted, and just cuddling on the couch under the heating blanket. I know - NOT a very cool New Year’s Eve celebration. But - it was wonderful and I hope yours was as well. So - hello to 2017!   This is Episode #14 and today we are discussing some fun reading challenge ideas to kick off your new year, the most anticipated middle grade books coming out in 2017, and I’ll answer a question about what books to recommend for a 5th grader who has a high school reading level.   Main Topic - Reading Challenges for the New Year   One of the best things about the New Year is the reset that happens when December flips over into January and you have a full twelve months laid out in front of you with all the possibilities in the world! You’re past the indulgences of the holidays and ready to refocus, make some resolutions, build better habits, and set some goals.  So today I’m going to talk about a few fun ideas for reading challenges this year that can help you connect with your community, keep you motivated, and maybe spur you to stretch yourself as a reader in 2017.   Now our conversation today is geared toward personal reading goals for you, but these same ideas can be shared with the students and the children in your life. And as the lead reader in your library or classroom or home, sharing your own reading goals shows that you take your reading life seriously and that we’re all in this reading community together. I know that my first day back with my class, I’ll be sharing my Reading Challenge list with my students and helping them set up their own. So - if you are thinking about doing a reading challenge this year, here are a few ideas for you:   Challenge Idea #1 - Set a number goal.  Maybe that’s forty books or sixty books or a hundred books! Something that’s a bit of a stretch but still doable for you.  Last year, I participated in the #SixtyBooks Challenge  - I happened to see the hashtag last January and I thought, “I can do that!” And it’s been fantastic. One thing that kept me motivated was connecting to others doing the same challenge on Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads. So - if you decide to do any kind of challenge, connecting with other readers through social media helps keep you stay excited about it through the year. And if you want to join me this year, just check out #SixtyBooks and we can support each other!   Challenge Idea #2 - Set a goal based on type of book.  These can be found all over the internet this time of year. They are usually focused on adult books but you can easily read middle grade books within those categories and maybe make just a couple adjustments.  A really great one is Book Riot’s yearly Read Harder Challenge which this year features tasks like read a debut novel, read a travel memoir, read a superhero comic with a female lead, or  read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative.  Those last two are definitely going on my list.  I’ll leave a link to that in the show notes and what’s nice about the Book Riot challenge is that they have suggestions for each category, a Goodreads group, and in-person meetups throughout the year.     Another Reading Challenge that my friend Emily told me about is the one from PopSugar. They feature 40 book categories with this year’s theme of diversifying and expanding your reading - love it! Some of their reading prompts are a book involving a mythical creature, a book recommended by a librarian (I love that one), a book by or about a person who has a disability, a book with a main character who is a different ethnicity than you, and some fun ones like a book with a red spine or a book set in a hotel. PopSugar also has an extra twenty prompts for those hardcore readers who finish early. They also have a Goodreads group and printable lists, and I’ll link to their site too so you can check that out.   Another 2017 Reading Challenge that I discovered last week is one hosted by a site called Modern Mrs. Darcy. (Now - already with that name - I’m in!) What I really like about this challenge is that there are two paths you can follow: Reading for Fun or Reading for Growth.  Each have just 12 tasks so they are doable and you might even have time to do both! On the Reading for Fun list are topics like a juicy memoir, a book you chose for the cover, and a book by a new favorite author. Those all sound comfy and great. On the other hand, if you want to stretch yourself and go for the Reading for Growth path there are options like a book that addresses current events, a book by an #ownvoices or #diversebooks author, or a Newbery Award winner or Honor book.  That all sounds exactly what I need this year.   Challenge Idea #3 - Create a Reading Time Capsule for the year.  I wish I could remember where I saw this so I could give them proper credit, but this idea is similar to the practice of families jotting down happy memories throughout the year and tucking them into a jar to read on New Year’s Eve. This idea is to jot down favorite quotes and inspiring ideas from the books you’ve read throughout the year. I’m thinking that a nice adaptation would be instead of putting it in a jar, write it down in a journal or if you want to go more 21st century - challenge yourself to post on social media one inspiring quote or idea about every book you’ve read this year.  And that could also make a very cool classroom project.   Challenge Idea #4 - Do a Library Crawl!  Unlike a pub crawl, which is typically done in one night and you can’t bring your kids. Or well, you really shouldn’t bring your kids. A Library Crawl can span the whole year, the summer, or maybe just Spring Break. And it’s way better when you bring your kids!  Basically you challenge yourself to visit a set number of libraries in a set amount of time. Last summer, I was looking for some inexpensive things to do with my girls that would be fun, educational, and get us all out of the house and away from the electronics. So we challenged ourselves to visit 16 libraries during the summer of 2016. And we almost made it! I have a lot more to share with you about Library Crawls, how to do them, some fun ideas, and the unexpected benefits that I think I need to do a whole episode on it.     Challenge Idea #5 - Little Free Library Challenge.  Oh how I love Little Free Libraries!  They are popping up all over my community, my friends are all getting them, my school is putting one up this spring, and that is our family summer project. There are a couple ways you could go about doing a Little Free Library Challenge. One idea is to simply visit as many as you can this year and maybe document your travels on social media. If you go to the Little Free Library website, you can find listings of all your local registered libraries shown right on a map.  If you wanted to extend that into a Pay it Forward challenge, you could donate one book to each Little Free Library you visit.   Challenge Idea #6 - Design Your Own Reading Challenge!  Think of it as a 2017 Choose-Your-Own-Reading-Adventure.  Take the best ideas of the options out there and create something for yourself. And these ideas are easy to layer.  So you can set a number goal, participate in say, the Book Riot challenge or pick your own categories to read from the options you like, and maybe pick up those books while you do your library crawl.     Whatever you decide, get your kids and students involved, too and I’d love to see what you’ve got planned for the year!  You can send me an email at booksbetween@gmail.com or connect on Twitter or Instagram with the handle @Books_Between.   Book Talk - Most Anticipated Middle Grade Books of 2017   In this segment, I share with you a few books centered around a theme. This week I’m highlighting some of the most anticipated books of the upcoming year.  Some are new books in favorites series. Some are by favorite authors. Some are by debut authors. And some just sound fantastic! So, get ready to add to your wish list. And just a reminder - that you can find every book mentioned here AND a picture of the covers AND a link to pre-order them right through the Books Between Podcast link at AlltheWonders.com.  So, no need to scurry and write things down. I’ve got your back, I know you’re busy, so it’s all right there for you.   One quick note before I start - publication dates do change, so while I’ve mentioned the month each book is expected to release - things sometimes change.   All right - let’s get to it!   http://www.readbrightly.com/middle-grade-books-2017/ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/74235.Middle_Grade_Novels_of_2017   Coming in January…   Scar Island - a new action adventure by Dan Gemeinhart. So if you liked his other novels The Honest Truth or Some Kind of Courage (which I know you did!) , definitely get this one. A new Jerry Spinelli novel - The Warden’s Daughter. It’s set in 1959 Pennsylvania and oh it looks fantastic! Also in January, we’ll get the third Terrible Twos book - The Terrible Two Go Wild by Mac Barnett & Jory John. And the second Audacity Jones Book - Audacity Jones Steals the Show.  AND another Victoria Coe Fenway & Hattie book - the Evil Bunny Gang! If you were a fan of Counting by 7s, like I am - then look for Holly Sloan’s new novel called Short - it’s about a small-for-her-age girl who gets cast as a Munchkin in a production of The Wizard of Oz. So fans of Oz will have something to love in this book, too! One book I’ve been really looking forward to this year is the short story collection put together in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. It’s called Flying Lessons & Other Stories and features authors like Grace Lin, Matt de la Pena, Jacqueline Woodson and so many others. If you’re like me, and part of your Reading Challenge this year is to read more nonfiction and to read more diversely, then there’s two books to look for this January Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls by Tonya Bolden Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Powell.  It’s the story of the civil rights case set up as a novel in verse. That should be amazing. Coming in February …   This time I’ll start with nonfiction: We have Bats: Learning to Fly - the newest volume in the nonfiction graphic novel series called Science Comics. Then we have Kwame Alexander’s latest called The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life. A great nonfiction pairing for fans of Booked and The Crossover. Also in February, the highly anticipated Judd Winnick graphic novel Hilo 3 - huzzah!   And the debut middle grade novel by picture book author and All the Wonders friend Carter Higgins. It’s called A Rambler Steals Home and it’s about baseball, and family, and friendship, and sweet potato fries - it’s incredible - you absolutely need to get this one!  In fact, if you preorder A Rambler Steals Home from the Once Upon a Time Bookstore, Carter has offered to sign it for you before they ship it out to you. It’s a win-win-win! You get a signed copy of an awesome book, you support an independent bookstore, and you support an author you know and love. So, I’ll include that link in the show notes for you. In March, there are four books I am really looking forward to: Gone Camping: A Novel in Verse by Tamera Wissinger, which is the companion book to the 2015 book Gone Fishing. Forget Me Not by debut middle grade author  Ellie Terry featuring a science-loving main character, Calliope, who has Tourette syndrome. A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold This one is about a kid who ends up caring for a baby skunk and tried to convince his mom to let him keep it.  What could go wrong? And - we get a new Nathan Hale book this year!  It’s not a Hazardous Tale’s book. In fact, it’s almost the opposite of that. It’s set in the future and Earth is being attacked by aliens who suck up the energy from electrical devices leaving our civilization under threat. And there’s a robot pony. It’s so different from Hale’s work that I’m familiar with, but it looks original and fresh and amazing and I can’t wait to read it.   In April we have: The first book in a new mystery series by Adrienne Kress called The Explorers: The Door in the Alley. My students are really loving mysteries this year so this will make a great addition to my classroom library. Tito the Bonecrusher by Melissa Thomson. This is the story of a boy who seeks out the help of his favorite lucha-libre wrestler / action star to save his father from being deported to Mexico. That sounds fantastic and funny and... timely!   May is going to be a stellar month for reading: Georgia Rules by Swing Sideways author Nanci Steveson And a new Lisa Graff novel called The Great Treehouse War.  So if you liked Absolutely Almost or Lost in the Sun, look for this one this spring. A new Gordon Korman stand-alone novel called Restart about boy who was a bully who loses his memory and gets a fresh start. What an interesting premise! Another May release that I am so so excited about is Posted by Ms. Bixby’s Last Day author, John David Anderson. I loved Ms. Bixby so much - I can’t wait to see what Anderson has in store for us next! Then there’s a nonfiction book about Hamilton! It’s called Alexander Hamilton: How the Vision of One Man Shaped Modern America by Teri Kanefield And finally - mark your calendars and pre-order Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder because this book has been getting all the buzz. This novel keeps popping up everywhere I look!   In June we have: A 6th Ranger in Time book called Escape from the Great Earthquake   The third book in Phil Bildner’s Rip & Red series!  This one is called Tournament of Champions. My students are going to psyched about this one!   And a second book from A Distance to Home author Jenn Bishop called 14 Hollow Road. It’s about a 6th grade girl whose town is torn apart by a tornado and her family ends up living with the family of her crush, Avery, after both their houses are destroyed.   A fun book in a new non-fiction series called Two Truths and a Lie: It's Alive! So, basically the reader is presented with three stories about the natural world and you have to guess which one is the lie. Sounds fun - and good practice for life.     It’s a good thing I have July off from school, because there are some seriously awesome books being released that month: Including a new Comics Squad!  Comics Squad #3: Detention I love these! They’re fun, they’re quick, and they introduce kids to new writers. Another book to look forward to in July is Our Story Begins : Children’s Authors and Illustrators Share Fun, Inspiring, and Occasionally Ridiculous Things They Wrote and Drew as Kids Oh - now that should be good! And also in July, we’ll get Spirit Hunters - the first middle grade novel by Ellen Oh - this one is the first of a new ghost story series. Can’t wait for that! And - I am also excited for July because that’s when Abby Cooper’s second novel, Bubbles, comes out!   In this one, the main character can see other people’s thoughts. Oh god - can you imagine?   August August is going to be fabulous because we get a new Cassie Beasley book. If you liked Circus Mirandus, her new novel is called Tumble & Blue and it’s about a curse, a swamp, and a golden alligator.   So after August, publication dates get a little hazy. BUT - I hear there’s a new Katherine Applegate book coming called Wishtree.  Also - there’s a fourth Al Capone at Alcatraz book coming out in the fall called Al Capone Does My Dishes.   And the Rick Riordon’s third Magnus Chase book: The Ship of the Dead . And the third Mr. Lemoncello's Library - the Great Library Race   And of course - I’ll keep you posted about all the amazing books headed our way so we can stay up to date. Those were some upcoming titles to look forward to in 2017. But. If I had to guess - the one book that you fall in love with this year, that one new book that your kids can’t put down. Is one that isn’t on this list and isn’t even on your radar right now. Most of my favorites of last year, I wasn’t even aware of them this early. And that’s exciting! There is so much to look forward to!   Q & A Our final segment this week is Question & Answer time.   Question: After sharing our Top 20 Middle Grade Books of 2016 list last week, I got this question from Jane: “Do you have an idea what book to get a 10-yr-old boy who reads on a 12th grade level?” And she added, “He is currently into the Warriors series.”   Answer: That can be a tough situation. He CAN read Young Adult or Adult books, but you’ve got to be careful of the content, which might not be okay for a 5th grader.     A quick example / horror story about that: when I used to teach 6th grade in a middle school, one of the reading assessments we gave was a computer program that would determine a reading level and would then print out a recommended list of titles for each kid. Sounds great, right? Well. I noticed that the kids who scored the highest were being recommended A CLOCKWORK ORANGE! I never ripped a piece of paper out of kid’s hand so fast! (Can you imagine if that went home?)   So - anyway - just because the reading level is a good match, does not mean the book is a good fit.   But - there are lots of middle grade books that have a higher reading level. And if he likes Fantasy, then there are some great books that I think he’ll like.  I might try the Wings of Fire series. It has some similarities to Warriors - there are clans and battles and shifting alliances - but it’s dragons instead of cats.  He might really like The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz or maybe The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin or even The Lord of The Rings which is more “high” fantasy.  Another option that a friend recommended is The Riverman Trilogy by Aaron Starmer.   So, Jane - let us know how things go and if you’ve found something that hits the mark.   Closing   Alright, that’s it for the Q&A section this week. If you have a question about how to connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love or an idea about a topic we should cover, I really would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show and all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com. And when you are there, check out Matthew’s interview with Cozy Classics creators Jack and Holman Wang. I cannot stop reading and rereading these adorable little board books. And, if you are liking our show, I’d love it if you took a second to leave a rating or review on iTunes or Stitcher.   Thanks, Happy New Year, and see you in two weeks!  Bye!

Intro Hi and Welcome to Books Between - a podcast to help teachers, parents, and librarians connect kids between 8-12 to books they’ll love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a teacher, a mom of two girls, and so excited to announce that this podcast has a new home at AlltheWonders.com - the place for readers to discover fabulous new books and experience those stories in amazing ways. I am beyond thrilled to be part of their team and help inspire more connections to books and authors. And to celebrate that, we have a gorgeous new logo designed by the incredible illustrator and author Brianne Farley. Her new picture book, Secret Tree Fort is a huge favorite in my home.  Also - we are celebrating with a great giveaway which I’ll tell you more about at the end of the podcast, so stay tuned! This is Episode #8 and today we’re talking about keeping track of your reading life, three incredible new school-centered novels, and I’ll answer a question about how to talk with kids about their book when you haven’t read it. Main Topic - Tracking Your Reading Life Lately I have noticed a lot of conversation and push back against the practice of requiring students to keep a daily signed-by-parents reading log to attempt to hold kids accountable for their reading.  As a parent and a teacher, I understand that impulse to encourage our children to read every day and to have something tangible as evidence of that. But I do think there are more authentic ways to help kids track their reading life that are based more on what strong readers actually do in real life.     I think about this conversation today as having two layers. First is tracking your own reading life to get more out of your reading and to be a strong role model for the children in your life. And second, guiding children to keep track of their reading lives.   So with that in mind, today we’ll discuss why you and your students should consider keeping track of your reading, thoughts about what to track, and then finally a few ideas for different digital or analog ways to track your reading life. Why You Should Keep Track of Your Reading Life To begin with, let’s talk about why you should keep track of your reading. I have gone through periods in my life when I am recording all different aspects of my reading, and there have been times when I’m not. But when that’s going well, you feel such a sense of accomplishment. It’s fulfilling to look back and see how many books or pages you’ve read. And that motivates you to keep going. Another thing that naturally comes out of recording your reading is that you start to notice patterns that otherwise you might miss. For me, I noticed that I was reading a lot of fantasy and very little historical fiction. Bringing awareness to those patterns and ruts can lead you to set goals and strive toward them. Another benefit of tracking your reading life is that it helps you remember more details about what you read, especially if you jot down a little bit of information about the setting, characters, or topics in a nonfiction text. Having that information really helps you make better recommendations to children and when they are recording what they read, they can make better recommendations to each other. And that’s really what you want to see - kids connecting kids with books.  And one more long-term benefit of tracking your reading is that after many years, those documents become nostalgic. They are a snapshot in time of who you were at that moment. One of my most treasured items from high school is the “To Be Read” list I started my senior year when I was really inspired by a teacher to push my reading in a different direction. So hang on to them! What to Track Now that I have hopefully persuaded you to track your reading and encourage the children in your life to do the same, let’s talk about what you could track. A good place to start is the basics of what you read: title, author/illustrator, date you started and finished. I also like to include a rating, a note about genre and who recommended it to me. Those are all items that I also ask my students to record as well. Another great thing to record is an ongoing TBR (To Be Read) list of books you want to read so you’re never left with that “I don’t know what to read next!” feeling. Of course, sometimes you can have the opposite problem of having TOO many awesome books to read next.  Also - recording progress toward reading challenges can be fun. I participate in the #SixtyBooks challenge and many of my students are doing the 40 Book Challenge so they keep track for that. Jotting down inspiring quotes or “Wow!” moments from non-fiction as well as your own reflections and connections to books, can be another way to get the most out of your reading life. And encouraging students to do that as well keeps things authentic. Reading habits are another really interesting thing you can record. For example, you could record the number of minutes you read each day, the number of pages, numbers of days in a row that you read at least 20 minutes, or track the genres you’ve read over a certain time frame. Some adults and some children really love to get into the nitty-gritty with keeping track of all kinds of things. During last summer’s library reading program, my older daughter got into setting a timer and inputting all the minutes she read into the computer to watch that number grow. And if something like that inspires a kid to read more, then great. For me, I’m always thinking of the balance between reading time and recording time and putting the emphasis more on the reading. Especially in the classroom where time is so precious. Ways to Track Your Reading Life Finally, let’s chat about some different digital or analog ways to track reading. Let’s start with digital. Some favorite spots for adults and older children are websites like Goodreads or LibraryThing where you can track books read, participate in challenge groups, and connect with other readers. Those sites are nice because they generate great statistics for you about your reading habits. If you are looking for something similar to Goodreads but for younger kids, Biblionasium and Bookopolis are worth checking out. A spreadsheet or word document works, too - and Google Docs are nice if you want to share your lists with someone else. There are also some apps you can use like Book Crawler, Litsy, or BookBuddy or even a basic To-Do app with “reading” as one of the items you track. I notice too that more and more people use Instagram and Snapchat as a spot to post the books they’ve read. All of those can be really engaging ways for you and your kids to connect with others about their reading.   On the other hand, you could go with a pen and paper analog method. During the first week of school, my students and I set up our reading journals with sections to record the books we’ve read, our TBR lists, and our new colorful circle genre tracker. If you are interested in taking a peek at that, I’ll post a picture in the shownotes and a link to where you can download the student version. The kind of notebook you use is really all about your preference. My students use spiral notebooks but composition notebooks are good, too. For me, I am very attached to my black Leuchtturm 1917 dotted hardcover notebook which I use as my bullet journal. So, if you’re not familiar with bullet journaling, it’s essentially a combination of planner, to-do list, and habit tracker. I use my bullet journal to keep track of everything including my reading life. I’ll post a few pictures on the website if you’re interesting in seeing how that looks. However, I’m really interested in seeing and sharing your ideas. What benefits do you see for tracking your reading life and what methods do you prefer? If you have a second, email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or tag me in a photo on Twitter or Instagram to share how you keep track of your reading life. Book Talk - Three Incredible New School-Centered Novels   In this segment, I share with you three books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I’ll be talking about  three fabulous school-centered novels that I have not stopped talking about this summer: The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Save Me a Seat, and Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary The first book I want to share with you and that I hope you share with your children, is The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan. This is a novel in verse, but it’s not like most other poetry narratives. The premise here is that the 18 children of Ms. Hill’s fifth grade write poems about their year to put in a time capsule to commemorate the closing of their elementary school. So the story is told one poem a day from the point of view of each of the students as some deal with personal struggles and some take on the task of saving their school. So here are three things to love about Laura Shovan’s The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary: There are tiny square sketches of each student to accompany their poems. And it’s a small thing, literally, but that touch really helped me imprint each different voice with the image of that character. It made it easier to recognize the narrative threads that pop up in later poems. How the author presents the problem of the school being torn down with nuance. It’s not that the Board of Ed is evil and selling out to some faceless corporation. And not all the students agree that it’s a bad idea. And yet, this novel truly recognizes how deeply meaningful a building can be. My middle school was torn down about ten years ago and even though my middle school years were rough, I felt so sad to see that building ripped down. It was beautiful with hardwood floors and a cool spiral staircase in the back. Don’t tell anyone, but I actually stole a brick from the construction site when they were tearing it down. Putting on my teacher hat now - the poetry resources in the back of this book are phenomenal. I got ridiculously excited when I saw them. You get great descriptions of every type of poem used in the novel, topic suggestions for kids, and it tells you the page number where you can find the examples of that kind of poem in the book. Also - it has 15 poetry writing prompts that I’m really excited about sharing with my students this year. This is a book that teachers are going to want within reach when planning to teach some poetry - either within a full poetry unit or throughout the year for some fun writing exercises. It takes so much skill to tell a cohesive story from multiple points of view and so much skill to convey a narrative through poetry that this novel amazed me. Kids who really like that growing field of novels in verse are going eat up this book. And if you know a kid who likes to write, this book would be the perfect one to put in their hands to inspire some creativity. Save Me a Seat Another new and wonderful school - centered novel released recently is Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan. This is another multiple point of view book, alternating between the perspectives of two 5th grade boys -  Joe and Ravi. Joe is tall, a little awkward, and is working through a learning disability. Because of that, he’s a target for the popular, thieving school bully, Dillon Samreen. At least, he is until Ravi arrives. Ravi is small, self-confident (at first), and as a recent immigrant from India, he is a bit socially awkward. I read Save Me a Seat as our bedtime read aloud at home with my daughters over the summer. My nine-year-old loved it so much that she swiped it from my nightstand and snuck it into her bedroom with a flashlight to finish reading it on her own. Here are three reasons why we all loved this book: The authors recognize the importance of pronouncing names correctly.  My youngest daughter, Helena, and I both have names that are often mispronounced and I deeply appreciate people who try to get it right. My former principal called me “Core-IN-uh” for the entire time I knew her. And she was wonderful and fiercely protective of her staff but I was so intimidated by her as a young new teacher that I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her that she was saying it wrong. So, I think a lot of kids can relate to Ravi’s frustration when everyone calls him RAH-vee instead of Ra-VEE. Story structured around the lunch menu for the days of the week. The novel only takes place during the first week of school but so much happens that I had to go back and double check. At first I thought, “Oh, that’s a cute device” that the first part is Monday: Chicken Fingers, Tuesday: Hamburgers, but when I got to Wednesday:Chili, I started to realize how the lunch food each day ends up playing a much bigger part than I first thought. At the back of this book, there are also two recipes that also play a part in the story: Apple Crisp and an Indian cookie named Naan Khatai (NON-cuh-tie). In this book, there is that rare and perfect balance of tension and humor. Often, the reader knows the trouble that’s coming because Joe is well aware of Dillon Samreen’s bullying and thievery.  But Ravi doesn’t know all that. And Ravi reasonably thinks that Dillon might be a good friend and ally - he’s also from an Indian family and Dillon has been smiling and winking at him. Dillon is a great villain and you just want to keep reading to see if he gets what’s coming to him.   Save Me a Seat is a fantastic book for kids who enjoy humor mixed in with a really inspiring story. And - you can try out some recipes when you’re done reading, too.   Ms. Bixby’s Last Day Our final school-centered book this week is John David Anderson’s novel Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. This book is amazing and there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by since I read it that I haven’t thought about it.  It’s about three 6th grade boys (Topher, Brand, and Steve) who find out that their teacher, Ms. Bixby, has cancer and her last day at school will be next Friday. The whole class plans a going away party for her but she unexpectedly ends up in the hospital earlier than she thought. And so, these three boys decide to bring their amazing “last day” celebration to her. I’ve read a lot of great books this summer, but this one was different. I found myself slowing down as the pages dwindled because I didn’t want to let those characters go. I just wanted to spend a little more time with them.  There are so many fabulous things to say about this book that it’s hard to narrow it down to just three, but - here we go: How much the storyline is a Quest - Topher, Brand, and Steve are three intrepid heroes braving dangerous territory (skipping school and taking a the bus downtown alone) to collect their sacred objects to make their farewell to Ms. Bixby as perfect as possible. Throughout their journey they have side excursions into dusty old book shops, a bakery, and even a run-in at a liquor store. It’s a small thing, but if you have the hardcover and peek under the dust jacket, you will see a little hidden message from the boys. I think it is so fitting because at the end of the story as you learn more and more about the boys’ relationships with Ms. Bixby through their flashbacks, it’s revealed that Topher, Brand, and Steven each have a small but powerful moment with her that they have kept secret. Topher’s breakdown of the six kinds of teachers you get like the worksheet loving Zombies, the jittery fast-talking caffeine-addicts, the strict Dungeon-Masters, or the Spielbergs who just show movies all the time. But - Ms. Bixby is what he calls a Good One. And he names a few cool things about her like her pink hair and her python. But I think this paragraph gets at the heart of it. Let me read you a bit from page 30. “There were other things, too, little things. Like how she always chose The Hobbit as the class read-aloud and had different voices for every character. How she could be strict when she needed to be and sweet when she wanted to be and kind of a smart aleck all the times in between.  But mostly there was the way she listened to you, giving you her full attention. All the other teachers, they’d keep looking around the room when you talked, but Ms. Bixby fixed you with her eyes and waited for you to finish no matter how long it took you to figure out what you wanted to say.” This is a book that will live in your heart and your students’ hearts for a long, long time. As a side-note - I SO want a taste of that white-chocolate raspberry supreme cheesecake!   You and your students are going to love Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. And at the end of the show today, I’ll tell you how you can get a chance to win a class set of this book. Q & A Our last segment this week is Question & Answer time. Question: Last week at my school we had Parent Information Night and one of the questions asked of my teammate was, “How can I talk to my child about their reading, if I haven’t read the book?” Answer: We chatted about it for a little bit that night, but I didn’t get across what I wanted to, and I have been stewing about it for the last few weeks. So, if I had a do-over, here is what I would say: First, it’s fantastic that you’re making time to connect with your child about their reading. Simply expressing interest and enthusiasm about their book is more important than any particular question you could ask. Sometimes a simple comment like, “That book looks interesting - what’s it about?” opens up the conversation in a more natural way than if you try to read off a set of predetermined questions that never changes. Or, if you want to ask more targeted questions, instead of “Please describe three traits of the main character.” you could say “Tell me more about Ramona. What kind of person is she?” I think that’s especially important at home when you want to keep reading time enjoyable and not a chore that they start to dread. Closing Okay - that wraps our Q&A section this week so on to the details about the giveaway! To help us celebrate our relaunch of the Books Between podcast at All the Wonders, Walden Pond Press has so kindly offered a set of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day. The contest runs from October 10th - October 24th, 2016 and the winner will receive one class set (30 hardcover copies) of Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson. You can enter by heading to the post for this episode at AlltheWonders.com and entering the giveaway at the bottom of our page there. Good luck and I just know you and your class will LOVE this story. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they’ll love or thoughts about any of the topics we’ve discussed today, please email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between. Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can get a full transcript of this show with links to every book and resource I talked about today by going to BooksBetween.com/8 which will take you to our new home at All the Wonders. And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. Thanks and see you in a couple weeks!  Bye!

John David Anderson (@anderson_author), author of Ms. Bixby's Last Day, stops by the podcast to talk about trying to find the hero of the story, the shared narrative that exists among any group of friends, and the presence of Obi Wan Kenobi teachers.

Bob Harbin's company, Bobdirex, produces 1960's "Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical", author John David Anderson's last young adult book, "Sidekicked", and a conversation with Elsy Benitez and Lelier Meier about Indy Parks and The Garfield Park Arts Center partnership with The Museum of Bad Art.

Author Michael Martone, Poet Chris Forhan and local young adult author John David Anderson.

John David Anderson's book SIDE KICKED, the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble presents Nutcracker and Kenzie Sutter the life of Disney princesses after "happily ever after".