Why I Picked It Up: This was a classic case of “Sherry” and “Jessica” books. In preparation for our Head to Head session, we each needed a novel-in-verse to read and review. Jessica had already fallen in love with The Crossover, so I had to find my own novel-in-verse that was different enough to be competitive in our […]
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Book Review: Hippos Are Huge, by Jonathan London
Why I Picked It Up: Is it weird to have a fascination with hippos? I can’t say that I think they’re cute or that they’re my favorite animal, but they’re so peculiar – dare I say boring? Therefore, I am fascinated by people who would go out of their way to write a book about […]
Website Review: Voki
Voki is an oldie but a goodie! I keep coming back to this uber fun technology tool. My personal children and I spent five minutes creating a Voki for a book we read and about 15 minutes playing with it and laughing! Of all the tools I have shared with teachers this has been a […]
Book Review: A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson
Why I Picked It Up: I originally picked up this picture book thinking it would be a biography. Sherry and I are always working on expanding our popular session Historical Fusions, and so we are continuously searching for quality biographies to add to our collection. Why I Finished It: This book is different from any I have […]
Book Review – Update: The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander
** Contact us if you would like to have one of our engaging mentor text sessions come to your campus! ** Almost a year ago, I reviewed The Crossover with lesson ideas and then began shoving it (sometimes unwillingly) into teachers hands. It seemed like the golden ticket to reluctant adolescent readers. Why would they not […]
Book Review: Ike’s Incredible Ink, by Brianne Farley
Why I Picked It Up: Simple! There’s an ink blot on the cover. That same ink blot apparently has a name and it’s IKE! FABULOSITY!! I assumed that the book would be perfect for Writers’ Workshop and I was correct… Why I Finished It: …but I had no idea just how perfect it would be! […]
