World Read Aloud Day is on March 6

Monday, January 21, 2013


It is incredibly easy to celebrate World Read Aloud Day. All you have to do is read to family, friends, students, colleagues, neighbors, strangers, pets, stuffed animals, etc. The possibilities are endless. 

If you're an educator, I hope you'll connect with classrooms around the world, contact authors and illustrators to arrange Skype visits, and encourage your entire school to read aloud and take action on March 6, 2013. 

Download the World Read Aloud Day activity kit. 

The World Read Aloud Day event kit will help you plan your  reading and storytelling celebration. 

Worldwide at least 793 million people remain illiterate.
Imagine a world where everyone can read...

It's Monday! What are you reading? 1/21/13

Sunday, January 20, 2013
Jen and Kellee host a weekly meme called "What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA." It encourages you to share what you read during the previous week and to plan what you're going to read/review during the current week. Thank you, Kellee and Jen, for hosting this fun meme.


If you looked inside my lesson plan book (it is a Google document), you would find the following book trailers listed under the section entitled "Make sure you share these trailers throughout the week." 




Candlewick's description

World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on the home front, the injustice of discrimination against African Americans plays out as much on Main Street as in the military. Enlisted black men are segregated from white soldiers and regularly relegated to service duties. At Fort Benning, Georgia, First Sergeant Walter Morris’s men serve as guards at The Parachute School, while the white soldiers prepare to be paratroopers. Morris knows that for his men to be treated like soldiers, they have to train and act like them, but would the military elite and politicians recognize the potential of these men as well as their passion for serving their country? Tanya Lee Stone examines the role of African Americans in the military through the history of the Triple Nickles, America’s first black paratroopers, who fought in a little-known attack on the American West by the Japanese. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, in the words of Morris, "proved that the color of a man had nothing to do with his ability."
They became America’s first black paratroopers. Why was their story never told? Sibert Medalist Tanya Lee Stone reveals the history of the Triple Nickles during World War II.




Open This Little Book. Written by Jesse Klausmeier; illustrated by Suzy Lee. Chronicle, 2013. 

Chronicle's description

What will you find when you open this little book? A fun story? Sweet characters? Enticing pictures? Yes! But much more. Open this book and you will find...another book...and another...and another. 



Flora and the Flamingo. Illustrated by Molly Idle. Chronicle, 2013. 

Chronicle's description

In this innovative wordless picture book with interactive flaps, Flora and her graceful flamingo friend explore the trails and joys of friendship through an elaborate synchronized dance. With a twist, a turn, and even a flop, these unlikely friends learn at last how to dance together in perfect harmony. 


Visit Oliver Jeffers' website to learn more about him and his books. 



The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The February #SharpSchu Book Club Meeting

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Colby Sharp and I hope you can attend the February meeting of the #SharpSchu Book Club.


7:00-7:15 P.M. CST: Q&A with Laurel about Good Night, Laila Tov and Inside the Slidy Diner.


7:15-7:40 P.M. CST: Bigger Than a Bread Box discussion.

7:40-7:55 P.M. CST: Q&A with Laurel about Bigger Than a Bread Box.

I am giving away three paperback copies of Bigger Than a Bread Box.

Rules for the Giveaway

1. It will run from 1/20 to 11:59 P.M. on 1/23.

2. You must be at least 13.

3. Please pay it forward. :)