Author Archives: AJ Cattapan

2013 Edgar Nominees: My reading list for the next few months

Posted on January 19, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

This past week the Mystery Writers of America announced the nominees for the 2013 Edgar Awards. The winners will be announced at the Gala Banquet on May 2. My goal is to read all of the nominees for the juvenile … Continue reading →

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My Article in Highlights: A Childhood Dream Come True

Posted on January 13, 2013 by AJ Cattapan

If you’ve liked my Facebook page, you’ve already heard the news. My author’s copies of Highlights arrived in the mail! This is definitely one of those childhood dreams come true. My parents ordered Highlights for my brothers and me when we … Continue reading →

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Foreshadowing

Posted on December 30, 2012 by AJ Cattapan

In writing, there’s a little trick called “foreshadowing.” It simply means to hint at something that will happen later in the story. As one of my high school English teachers liked to say, “If there’s a gun on the wall … Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday: Its vs. It’s

Posted on December 12, 2012 by AJ Cattapan

The words its and it’s are often confused. The good news is that the difference is pretty simple. Its is a possessive pronoun. That means you use it to show that an object owns something. For example: To keep the … Continue reading →

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Monday Book Review: Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai

Posted on December 10, 2012 by AJ Cattapan

I picked up Shooting Kabul this past summer because it was one of the summer reading choices at my school. It’s also nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award this year. The book takes a rare look into the … Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday: Lie vs Lay

Posted on December 5, 2012 by AJ Cattapan

Last week I went over the differences between lie and lay with my students. As I warned them, it’s probably the hardest grammar rule out there. I’ll try to make it as simple as possible. There are two basic steps: … Continue reading →

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Monday Book Review: Magyk by Angie Sage

Posted on December 3, 2012 by AJ Cattapan

Have a young Harry Potter fan who is looking for a different wizard series to try? Check out Magyk (and its sequels) by Angie Sage. I met Angie Sage when she visited my classroom. (Man, I miss the author visits … Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday: Is it time to give up the “Can vs May” debate?

Posted on November 28, 2012 by AJ Cattapan

During my undergraduate years, I had a fabulous linguistics professor who told us that people often had the same response when they learned what he did for a living: “Oh, you’re an English professor? I guess I better watch my … Continue reading →

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Monday Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Posted on November 26, 2012 by AJ Cattapan

Years ago, Trenton Lee Stewart came to speak at the school where I was teaching. He read a portion of his first Mysterious Benedict Society book, and I thought, “Wow, not only do I want to read that book, but … Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday: Perfect Verb Tenses

Posted on November 21, 2012 by AJ Cattapan

Did you know some verb tenses are “perfect”? Everyone knows about the three “simple” tenses: present, past, and future. However, we also have three “perfect tenses” in English: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. So what makes a tense … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar | 2 Comments