In my recent set of posts about Author Studies, I have been using Kate DiCamillo as an example. Dicamillo is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Each of her fellow ambassadors would also be a good subject for an Author Study. These authors have written a wide range of books, from picture books […]

In one of my recent posts about Author Studies, I mentioned that such studies are not limited to reading the author’s books. Let’s dive into exploring the author’s perspective through examining informational texts. According to the Virginia Standards for Learning for English, students are meant to work with informational texts. The Standards aim to expose […]

Yesterday, I wrote about how author studies can be used to incorporate picture books and early readers into all classrooms. This allows late-emerging readers an entry point into reading and combats the decline in reading enjoyment and frequency among middle-school and high-school students. From the Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report: The Virginia Standards of […]

If you’re teaching, building a collection, or hoping to learn more, one doorway into the world of kid lit is via authors. An author study can also be a good way to help learners explore literature. They frequently create a reading ladder, helping readers increase their reading comprehension and graduate to more complex works. Take […]

The 2025 Lodestar Winner has been announced! Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger  Lodestar Award “Familiar both with tracking to survive in the wilderness and counting change to survive under capitalism, Shane possesses the resourcefulness of an irresistible protagonist. Her practicality also provides the perfect foil for her extraordinary ability—inherited from her four-great-grandmother—to summon dead […]