Text Scaffolding in Student Nonfiction Writing
Marlene Correia and I included a section about how text scaffolding can help young readers in Chapter 5 of 5 Kind of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books. But last summer, I had a conversation with literacy educator Xenia Hadjioannou that has led me to think more deeply about it in terms of […]
How Young Writers Can Avoid Plagiarism, Part 2
On Tuesday, I shared a video in which I discuss how two personal experiences helped me develop the lens of gratitude that makes my new book Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight so much more than just a matter-of-fact book about how moonlight affects animals. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to view it and […]
How Young Writers Can Avoid Plagiarism, Part 1
Yesterday was the Full Beaver Moon, so it seems like the perfect time to share the video that accompanies my new book, Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight. On October 24, I wrote a blog post discussing how two personal experiences helped me make Thank You, Moon a unique book that only I could write. The […]
Moon Book Parade: An Interview with Jessica Lanan
Welcome back to the Moon Book Parade, highlighting some fantastic 2023 picture books that feature the Moon. You can scroll down to see earlier posts in this series. Here’s a list of all the books: Full Moon Pups by Liz Garton Scanlon and Chuck Groenink Night Owl Night by Susan Edwards Richmond and Maribel Lechuga A […]
Thank You, Moon: Making It Personal
Once I had a plan for how to organize the animal examples in Thank You, Moon, I needed a beginning and an ending. In early drafts, I started by contrasting bright nights and dark ones, but I kept looking back at my original brainstorming sheet. I loved the phrase “constant companion in space” and I wanted […]
Moon Book Parade: An Interview with Irene Latham
Welcome back to the Moon Book Parade, highlighting five fantastic 2023 picture books that feature the Moon. You can scroll down to see the first three posts in this series. Here’s a list of all the books: Full Moon Pups by Liz Garton Scanlon and Chuck Groenink Night Owl Night by Susan Edwards Richmond and Maribel […]
Thank You, Moon: Choosing a Text Structure
Last week, I described how I decided to look at the role of the Moon in animals’ lives through the lens of gratitude. That was an important first step in creating Thank You, Moon, but I still needed a text structure, and that’s often the biggest challenge for me. Nearly all narrative nonfiction has a sequence […]
Moon Book Parade: An Interview with Kate Allen Fox
Welcome back to the Moon Book Parade, highlighting five fantastic 2023 picture books that feature the Moon. You can scroll down to see the first two posts in this series. Here’s a list of all the books: Full Moon Pups by Liz Garton Scanlon and Chuck Groenink Night Owl Night by Susan Edwards Richmond and Maribel […]
Thank You, Moon: Finding a Hook
Today is the official release date for Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Night Light, and I couldn’t be more excited. The story behind this book traces back to February 2020. Editor Katherine Harrison tagged me on Twitter, alerting me to a conversation about how animals respond to the Moon’s cycle, and asked “Is this something you’d potentially be […]
Thank You, Meg Medina and NCTE
In January, Newbery Medalist Meg Medina was named the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Meg’s platform is ¡Cuéntame! Let’s Talk Books, and the amazing video she released on March 6 makes it clear that she’s deeply committed to making nonfiction part of the conversation. This is wonderful news! And what’s even better is that it’s the […]