Among our basic needs is a place of safety and belonging, yet many children face situation where their communities are under threat. A panel of middle-grade author/educators will model how they use literature to spark conversations on home and community, security, and identity. Three brief lesson plans, centered on exploring the meaning of place and […]
July 2018
Sunday, 22 July 2018
Friday, 20 July 2018
Going to ILA 2018 in Austin this weekend? I’ll see you there! This is where you’ll find me. Sunday, 7/22, 12 pm — Autograph session at the Random House Children’s Books booth. Sunday, 7/22, 5 pm — Panel session, “A Sense of Place: Middle-grade Novels on Loss and Connection.” With author/educator Ruth Freeman, […]
Thursday, 19 July 2018
Business first, then a poem. First, Tabatha Yeatts, you are the winner of the NITA’S FIRST SIGNS book giveaway! Congratulations! Second, I am heading to the ILA conference this weekend. Look for a post later this afternoon with details about my panel session with MG authors Tricia Springstubb, Karina Yan Glaser, Janet Sumner Johnson, and […]
Tuesday, 17 July 2018
Welcome, readers. We’re going on a field trip today! Don’t worry, there are no planes, trains, or automobiles involved in this trip. To join me on Louisiana’s Bayou Teche, all you need to do is open the pages of a book. We have two tour guides to the plant and animal life, the sights and […]
Thursday, 12 July 2018
Hi, friends and poets. Happy Poetry Friday! A few weeks ago I went to a friend’s book launch. I’ve blogged about YA author Kathy MacMillan before, when her debut novel SWORD AND VERSE published. (Read my post about SWORD AND VERSE here.) Kathy’s latest book is something completely different: A board book story that teaches […]
Wednesday, 11 July 2018
I’m on the road today, heading back to Maryland from NerdCampMI. One of the best parts of NerdCamp happens on Day 2 in the afternoon, nErDCampJr. That’s when the kids arrive and have mini-sessions with authors. Because my new book, TAKEDOWN, is about a boy and a girl on a competitive wrestling team, it is […]
Tuesday, 10 July 2018
It’s my second year at nErDCampMI and I’ve been having a blast! My favorite thing about this event is that authors and educators are learning together — sharing our best practices, concerns, and experiences with connecting students and books. As promised, I am posting the slide presentations for both Day 1 panels I participated in. […]
Laura Shovan is the author of the award-winning middle grade novel, The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. Her second book, Takedown, is a Junior Library Guild and PJ Our Way selection. Look for A Place at the Table, co-written with Saadia Faruqi, in 2020. Laura is a poet-in-the-schools Maryland.
