The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin includes everything I love about middle grade mystery books: quirky characters, clues the reader can solve, and just enough suspense to keep you going without giving you nightmares. Title: The Westing Game Author: Ellen Raskin Age range: middle grade (ages 9-12) Genre: mystery Synopsis: Sixteen people move into an […]
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 and young adult categories before then. Stay tuned for my reviews. In the meantime, here’s […]
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 were young. My favorite part was the Hidden Pictures, but I enjoyed reading the stories […]
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 in the first act, you can bet it will go off by the third act.” […]
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 coconut fresh, store it tightly sealed in its bag. (The bag belongs to the coconut.) […]
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 flight of refugees from Afghanistan just prior to the 9/11 attacks. Title: Shooting Kabul Author: […]
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: 1) Decide what meaning you want. “Lie” means “to rest or recline.”* “Lay” means “to […]
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 we had at my old school! We don’t get them at my current school.) Title: […]
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 grammar around you.” His response: “Well, you can watch your grammar if you want, but […]
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 I wish I’d written it!” In the years since that author visit, I’ve not only […]
