Congratulations to Susan Rice who won One Red Sock on last week's blog. REVIEW I'm a pretty big Avi fan, so when I found The End of the World and Beyond in the Recorded Books catalog, I knew it was a book I'd want to pass along. (I heard Avi speak at the SC Reading Association conference… Continue reading The End of the World and Beyond by Avi: A Review and Audiobook Giveaway
Congratulations to Kathy Dykstra, an “old” friend who is new to my blog, for winning Four Seasons of Fun and to Connie Saunders for winning Lulu & Rocky in Milwaukee. I was already an Avi fan when I had the privilege of hearing him speak at the South Carolina Reading Association. I’ll never forget his… Continue reading The Player King: An Audio Book Review and Giveaway
Congratulations to Connie Saunders who won CALL ME SUNFLOWER from last week's blog. This week I'm taking on a difficult topic: life after death. I have recently read two middle grade books which include references to eternal life. Although not the central theme of Avi's THE BOOK WITHOUT WORDS or Jonathan Auxier's SOPHIE QUIRE, protagonists in… Continue reading Avi, Auxier, Life after Death, and "Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard" Giveaway
As many of you who have taken my "Red Pencil" workshop know, I believe that teachers must communicate to their students that real writers revise. This was confirmed when I heard Avi, one of my favorite authors, say at the South Carolina Reading Association that he revises each of his books 60-70 times! That's a… Continue reading The Red Pencil is Avi’s Best Friend Too
This is a magnificently written story of two individuals whose lives intersect in medieval England. The first is Crispin, an orphaned peasant boy who is pursued by nobles suddenly seeking to kill him. The second is Bear, an itinerant juggler and a member of an underground movement pursuing freedom from the same nobility who are… Continue reading Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi