Congratulations to the new Sibert winners recently announced. The Robert F. Sibert Award is awarded to the most distinguished informational book. Congratulations to Kadir Nelson – We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball(Hyperion/Jump at the Sun). Congrats also to the Sibert honor recipients: Barbara Kerley – What to Do About Alice? (Scholastic… Read more »
I’ve included a link to Sir Ken Robinson’s 2006 speech at the TED conference about how education is teaching creativity out of our kids. The twenty minute presentation is funny and thought provoking. There is much truth in what Sir Robinson says. However, he doesn’t address the problem faced by teachers who are constrained by… Read more »
I’ve decided to add a new feature to my blog posts: Books I’m currently reading, Recommended reading for fiction and nonfiction, and a daily quote. Currently reading:Crusade for Kindness: Henry Bergh and the ASPCA by John J. Loeper (Atheneum, 1991)New York of the 1800s is vividly described: the horrific abuses of work animals, the unsanitary… Read more »
Thank you to Ms. Mustain’s fourth grade class who proved to be a wonderful audience for my speel on revision today. I am always so flattered when teachers ask me to share my humble experience with the students. Regardless of the format, revisions are terribly important, aren’t they? I don’t think kids will ever truly… Read more »
A big shout out to Ms. Brown’s second grade class in Round Rock, Texas. I was invited to present an experiment and interactive demonstration to the class last week about musical glasses. They have recently learned the basic science behind sound in general. Because of my recent Odyssey article and my book-in-progress about Benjamin Franklin’s… Read more »
Can we say Drive-by giggle? Sometimes it’s best to post nothing but a funny photo. Happy Sunday all!
If you are anything like me, the day after Obama’s inauguration just felt different. A little like a semi-arranged marriage might feel: anxious, nervous, excited, scared, hopeful. Blogs around the world have been popping with comments. Most agree that Obama’s speech was inspiring and that the new first family has already shown tremendous grace. There… Read more »
During their move last year, my in-laws generously gave us a dining room set that had once belonged to my husband’s beloved grandparents. It was/is not an antique, but the twenty-year old set is lovely and classic with the added sentimental attachment. Perfect for our breakfast room. So, we happily discharged the multi-purpose bumper pool… Read more »
Is it wrong to conduct experiments on your own kids? If so, I’m guilty. The eventual outcome of my risky test will either correlate with or disprove the common discussion about what boys will read. It comes up at every writing conference and workshop and on countless blogs. Boys won’t read books with a female… Read more »
A strange thing happened when the holidays arrived in my house. I mean besides the kids being home and the bank account being depleted by Christmas purchases. I unintentionally put aside my nonfiction obsession and picked up fiction books. Wow! Because my current writing projects are research-heavy nonfiction, I regularly pour over great nonfiction books… Read more »
All materials copyright © 2024 Donna Janell Bowman. All rights reserved. Website by Websy Daisy.