New Beginnings!

It's always exciting getting ready for a new school year...whether you are a pre-school teacher, elementary, middle school, secondary or college professor... but right about this time I start panicking, wanting each year to be the best yet!!!  So, I will kick off this year with some of my favorites... books, authors, illustrators, researchers, resources, and literacy events. Feel free to respond and add ideas of your own!!!

August Week 1 Countdown to a Terrific Year

Celebrate an author, illustrator or poet each month 

in your classroom tied to his or her birthday month!

A Few September Contenders: Jim Arnosky, Toni DeTerlizzi, Jack Prelutsky, Jon Scieszka, Kevin O'Malley, Carmen Agra Deedy, Roald Dahl, Mildred Taylor, John Steptoe, Tomie dePaola, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Shel Silverstein, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Bernard Waber, Marissa Moss, Janet Wong

Wow! Who knew so many great authors, illustrators and poets had September birthdays!!! Click on the names above to get information and resources from the writers'/artists' websites.

Ideas: Create a corner in your room to showcase books. Create a display that students can add to as they read books, choose favorites, and find interesting facts about the book creator. A picture is always great to include so that students can see the author or illustrator behind the pages. Or create clues that have students guessing who the mystery author or illustrator of the month will be. Lead up to an exciting "unveiling."

If you can, find a book about the author that you can share with students. Richard Owens Publisher has a good "Meet the Author" series. Even better, check and see if your celebrated author or artist has written a memoir or autobiography that can be shared with students. One of my favorites is Jon Scieszka's Knuckleheads. It's a "laugh-out-loud" read aloud that regales stories of the six Scieszka brothers growing up in Michigan! Scieszka (rhymes with Fresca!) also has the Guys Read site to "help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers," a great website for students and teachers to visit for book recommendations. Many authors and illustrators are willing to do "skype" visits with classrooms. Google to find the most up-to-date lists and really bring your author or illustrator to life for your students with a "visit" during the celebration month.

More Resources to Connect with Authors & Illustrators:
School Library Monthly (Author Birthdays Almanac)
Teaching Books.net "Meet the Author" movies and book readings; also fun are the author and illustrator audio name pronunciations.
Children's Literature (book reviews and author-illustrator events)
School Library Journal also has articles, interviews, video clipss and much more.
Reading is Fundamental (RIF) has many archived interviews as well.

What authors and illustrators do you celebrate in your room? Who do you plan to first introduce to your students this fall?