Been away on a school visit to Bailey Elementary in Dublin, Ohio, with Karen and Bill of Literate Lives. Since they’ve already threatened to blog about it, I’ll refrain from much comment. Especially as I’m a little fuzzy in the Brain Department this glorious morn. The students were great, happy and well-prepared, and the overall team effort — from principal to PTO parent — made it all feel like a cohesive, coordinated success. Beyond the whole “content delivering” aspect, we all enjoyed some laughs along the way and made new friendships. A happy time; I’m grateful for the experience.
And I ate like a king (thanks, Amy and Keyburn).
* My brother from another mother, Matthew Cordell, blogs about the beginnings of our new picture book, Mighty Casey. Very interesting to get an illustrator’s perspective on the process, including early (rejected) sketches.
* The Reading Zone recently reviewed Along Came Spider, and even (insanely!) used the M-word. That’s overstating it for sure, but I appreciate the enthusiasm. The money quote:
This is a great book and one I can’t wait to share with my students. I think it will resonate with boys and girls alike. James Preller has crafted yet another masterpiece for middle grade readers!
* Bill Prosser did his first-ever interview over at Literate Lives, sitting down with author N.D. Wilson. A very nice job, especially for someone who went twenty minutes before realizing he forgot to turn on the tape recorder! Check it out and encourage Bill to do more.
* Lastly, I recently directed a teacher friend to visit The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks, which is on my fabulous blogroll on the right sidebar, under Random Pleasures. For anyone who enjoys language, and grammar, and unintended humor, this is a fun, quick site and worth seeing. I can’t imagine a language arts teacher/person not enjoying it. I love when a blog gets very specific like this, mining that one vein.
* Lastly, Fan Mail Wednesday has been moved to Friday!
