“You can’t be a good writer without being a devoted reader.” – J.K. Rowling “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” – Stephen King. The Number One […]
Continue ReadingStorytelling Games That Will Get Your Kids Thinking Out of the Box
Engage kids with storytelling games. Once kids start telling fictional narrative stories out loud, it will improve their written stories. When I teach kids how to write stories, we generally start out loud. In other words, we think, plan, and share orally before writing silently. Of course, not all kids are oral processers but sharing out loud helps organize our thoughts and gives […]
Continue ReadingNew Chapter Books! (September 2020)
Wow, I have SO MANY incredible books to share with you! If you like adventure, don’t miss The Hacker’s Key and The Canyon’s Edge. If you love animals, you’ll want to read A Whale in the Wild and The Endangereds. If you like amazing, real-life books, you’ll want to read Tune It Out, Fighting Words, and The Brave. Full disclosure, I […]
Continue ReadingShort Story Books for Middle-Grade Readers (Ages 9 – 12)
A reader wrote to ask me for a list of books with short stories for middle-grade readers, ages 9 – 12. Interestingly, short story anthologies are not in abundance for tweens but even still, there are some good options to keep kids reading. Short stories offer students an alternative to a long chapter book and […]
Continue Reading17 Ways for Kids to Learn New Vocabulary
Fluent readers need a big vocabulary. The more words a child knows, the better reader and writer they are. (Anderson and Freebody, 1981; Graves, 1986; Stahl, 1998) (DOE, NAEP, 2011) It’s up to us as parents to help our children learn and develop a large vocabulary. The best way to learn new words is to […]
Continue Reading31 New Picture Books, September 2020
You probably can guess what I’ve been doing lately — reading piles of picture books! This month’s selection explodes with many can’t-miss treasures to add to your libraries and classrooms. Because there are so many new books, I organized the list by topic. Enjoy! Table of Contents Identity / Antiracism […]
Continue Reading5 Parenting Strategies to Develop a Growth Mindset
I have a daughter who dislikes challenges. She’d rather give up than persevere. This is probably hugely affected by her sensory processing disorder and ADHD. How, I don’t really know. But I do know that she does not have what professor Angela Duckworth calls grit and author Carol Dweck calls it a growth mindset. Or at least it’s hidden […]
Continue ReadingSeven Secrets to Raising Eager Readers
Hi. I’m Josh. I write picture books like Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast. The 4th book in the series, Short & Sweet, releases next week! Because I’m an author, you might assume that I’ve always loved to read. You’d be wrong. I felt reading was a chore and grew up without an appreciation […]
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