This Week’s Greatest Thing Ever: XTRANORMAL Turns Text Into Movies!
Sunday, August 29th, 2010 Posted in In the Classroom, Justin Fisher Declares War! | 1 Comment »I just discovered xtranormal, a wildly fun, easy-to-use, possibly addictive website that allows you to create animated movies on your computer. As they put it, "You type. The 3D actors speak. It's that easy." Intrigued, I checked it out. Without putting ...
Literate Lives Reviews “Justin Fisher Declares War!”
Thursday, July 29th, 2010 Posted in In the Classroom, Justin Fisher Declares War! | 1 Comment »My friend Bill Prosser over at the outstanding Literate Lives blog just read and reviewed my new book, Justin Fisher Declares War! You can read that review in full by clicking here. My favorite part of the review: "It's short!" Ha! Actually, Bill ...
A Comment from Geoffrey Hayes: Books for Boys
Thursday, February 18th, 2010 Posted in In the Classroom, Readings | No Comments »I don't usually highlight a reader's comment in this way, but comments to old posts tend to get lost in the slipstream. I recently heard from author/illustrator Geoffrey Hayes, recent Geisel Award winner, in response to something I'd written a ...
Dear Teacher: An Author’s Take on School Visits
Monday, February 15th, 2010 Posted in Greatest Hits, In the Classroom, School Visits | 4 Comments »I have been enjoying school visits for the past 15 years. I've played a role in great successes and I've had visits that have felt flat and, for me at least, unrealized. Same guy. What was the difference? Which is another way ...
“Teachers Make A Difference,” performed by Taylor Mali
Thursday, January 28th, 2010 Posted in In the Classroom, Interviews & Appreciations | 1 Comment »I understand that in some exotic cultures poetry -- actual poetry -- is celebrated on Fridays. For example: here, and here, and here. This week I decided to play along. But with a difference. Here at JamesPreller.com, we're all about ...
Hiccups for Elephant: The Play
Sunday, June 14th, 2009 Posted in In the Classroom, School Visits | No Comments »On a recent school visit to Middleburgh Elementary, I was handed the day's schedule by librarian Jeni Friedland. Besides time for lunch, book signings, and the usual author presentations for grades PreK-5, the schedule read: 2:00: Surprise! I imagined all sorts of ...