Category Archives: Uncategorized

Today we’re looking at part II of Joseph’s Campell’s theory of the monomyth as discussed in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. I discussed the first phase, separation, here. In this post, we’ll look at the second phase: initiation. … Continue reading →

During the summer (probably into the fall as well), I’ll be reviewing some of the 2014 Rebecca Caudill nominees. First up is a historical fiction novel that takes place during the early part of the Cold War and mixes in … Continue reading →

“I’ve always tried to be aware of what I say in my films, because all of us who make motion pictures are teachers — teachers with very loud voices.” –George Lucas As a teacher myself, one of the writing techniques … Continue reading →

Tomorrow (June 4) will be the release day for The Well, the debut novel by Stephanie Landsem. Stephanie and I first met through the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). When she told me last year about The Well, she explained that she … Continue reading →

On the eighth season finale of How I Met Your Mother, they finally revealed “the mother,” the girl Ted Mosby will marry. The show has only one season left, and we’d been promised for a while that we’d meet Ted’s future … Continue reading →

An infinitive is the basic form of a verb. In English, we express it as “to + the verb.” For example, to give, to run, to sleep, to travel, to speak. An infinitive is “split” when an adverb is placed between … Continue reading →

Yes and no. I did correctly predict the YA winner: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. Not too hard to do given the fact that it’s well written, has some great twists, and covers a popular topic (World War II) through an … Continue reading →

On May 2, the Mystery Writers of America will announce the winners of the 2013 Edgar Awards. Since I’ve read all the nominees for best YA mystery, I thought I’d share my prediction. In case you missed any of my … Continue reading →

While grading a student essay recently, I came across a sentence like this: “My friend past by me.” It’s easy to overlook the spelling mistake in this sentence, so let’s take a moment to figure out the difference between passed … Continue reading →

This is the fourth children’s mystery I’ve read of the five nominated for this year’s Edgar Award. When I started reading it, I thought, “Let’s see–baseball, Italian Americans, and a mystery to find a hidden treasure–yep, sounds like my kind … Continue reading →