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 […]

(WIP stands for Work in Progress) Each school year, I create a Google document to compile the award-winning and starred children’s, middle-grade, and YA books into one document for easy access. Today, I added the Edgar and Eisner award winners. Tonight, the Lodestar award winners will be announced. In honor of that upcoming announcement, here […]