I'm giving away 10 SIGNED COPIES of Ruthie Rose's Big Idea for one teacher, teacher-librarian, or public librarian to GIVE AWAY TO STUDENTS. Repost by 11:30 p.m. CT on February 20 to enter the drawing. I'll buy the copies from Anderson's Bookshop. andersonsbookshop.com/book/9781536...

A Poem for Kfir ❤️

Thinking about reading A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall as our next class read-aloud- If you are a teacher who is also reading this w your class & you’re interesting in having our classes collaborate- pls let me know

Laced with glaze icing A majestic canopy Winter wonderland #haiku

🚨 🎉 Book Giveaway!!!! 2025 Caldecott Award Winner: CHOOCH HELPED by @andrealrogers.bsky.social & @treeoflifestudio.bsky.social! 1. FOLLOW 2. REPOST 3. TAG A FRIEND! #FBF #Edusky #kidlit #giveaway

The freeze has broken Chaotic chorus assails- Spreading warm Welcomes! #haiku

Past the tree branches Extended gnarly fingers, Buttery sun melts #haiku

Usually Grace Lin sends out an email with a video demo of how to draw the symbol for that year’s Lunar New Year animal. Our students always love it. Hoping Grace will send it this year too!

Getting ready for 2025… what should be my first read of the year?

Strands puzzle, I’m deeply disappointed in you. “Festival of Lights delights”- featuring foods typically eaten on Chanuka. But, 3 of the 5 foods are NOT Chanuka foods- they’re just quintessential Jewish foods. Now I understand why stores lump all Jewish foods together on Chanuka displays!😮‍💨

This book by Brooke Hartman and Maria Garcia is fantastic! Each page is full of fascinating facts about cute animals and what makes them dangerous. My five year old AND my ten year old both love it and beg for “just one more page!” Definitely preorder! #BookAllies

This beautifully illustrated book by @kirstenpendreigh.bsky.social and Katie Melrose is perfect for teaching kids about ocean animals and onomatopoeia! I especially love all of the informative back matter! My daughter and I loved reading it together! Two fins up! #BookAllies

Our class pet turtle, Truffle, is having a sleepover at my house over winter break. She got to meet my pet axolotl, Red Velvet, who seemed briefly curious before going back to minding her own business. My living room sounds almost like Niagara Falls with the filters…

Today’s Connections…???😳 I got one set but the rest has me baffled

Tonight I’m starting When We Ride by Rex Ogle. So excited to dive in. If you haven’t read Rex’s books, definitely pick them up! #BookAllies

Ho! Ho! Ho! I'm giving away 4 Sherlock Society Gift Packs. (Signed book, enamel pin, and holiday card.) One each on FB, X, IG, and Bluesky. Repost and you're entered for a chance to win. I'll randomly select the winners this weekend!

Hi BlueSky, it's giveaway time! #teachersky and #librarians! 🤩Win a FREE virtual class visit w/3 middle grade authors! 🎟️Follow @mgauthorcade & Repost to enter ⏰Ends Wed Dec 11 Open to US/CAN 🤞Good luck! #mglit

Today we welcomed our new class pet (which we went to pick out during lunch), now named Truffle! She is very much adored by her human classmates and teachers 😁

Our class was fascinated by City of Leafcutter Ants @amyhevron.bsky.social today as we read this 2nd book for our #SibertSmackdown! These are our notes—

Just thought of an idea! @pernille.bsky.social has mentioned Jólabókaflód- Iceland holiday involving giving & receiving books. Maybe in our classroom, ea kid can reflect on books they’ve read/ enjoyed, and think about which book they’d want to give someone as a gift. A warm way to share #BookJoy

Just when I thought ALONE by @meganefreeman.bsky.social was absolutely incredible, then comes the companion AWAY… just as immersive! A mix of novel in verse, movie script, letters, production diary, and newspaper articles. Comes out in Feb 2025! On to @mrsalberque.bsky.social #BookAllies

What a powerful way to reflect!

About to start watching Out of My Mind movie w my son!!

Ohhh!!! One of my treasured favorites now too!!❤️❤️❤️

You don’t want to miss this!

Giveaway time, my little butterflies. To celebrate FRANCES AND THE WEREWOLVES OF THE BLACK FOREST's Page Turner Award win, I'm giving away 3 series sets to 3 lucky winners. Repost and follow to enter. If you're an educator or librarian, let me know in the replies for an extra entry. Good luck!

Time for a book giveaway! If you'd like me to mail you an advance copy of my Apr. '25 MG novel in verse THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES, follow & share this post. Bonus entry if you also reply w/ a pic from a recent hike! I'll draw winners on 12/1. About the book: bookshop.org/p/books/the-... #edusky

Teacher & librarian friends! I'm working on this year's list of author volunteers who'll be offering Zoom read-alouds for World Read Aloud Day on 2/5/25! It should be ready in a couple of weeks - be sure to follow if you'd like access to the list & please share this post to let your colleagues know!

Ok here is a starter pack of many of the authors and participants of #MGBookChat. I know I am missing many and some have not transitioned here YET. Let me know who needs to be added or wants to be added. go.bsky.app/4aiDvMC

If you want a MG book that’s creepy but funny, & deep down it’s really about being true to your culture & heritage- you’re in for a treat! Mari & the Curse of El Cocodrilo @adriannacuevas.bsky.social captivated me w an inimitable cast of characters. Peak Cubanity!

Please know this has been clarified that it was Islamic Jihad group’s misfired rocket that hit the hospital in Gaza (they launched it from nearby the hospital), not IDF’s. Horribly tragic that so many civilians were killed

Thank you @adriannacuevas.bsky.social for the awesome book package! Can’t wait to show my class tomorrow! We will “sigue leyendo” 😊

✨GIVEAWAY✨ To say thank you to all the readers who boost my books, I’m giving away three copies of Mari and the Curse of El Cocodrilo. To enter, share this post and comment your favorite book by a queer or POC author. Ends 10/9. Good luck!

How do you pick names for your characters?

Do we do giveaways here? I need to free up some shelf space (+feeling blue skies ahead with the writer's strike!)... so let's try! Follow & RT (hah! do we say RT?) by 5pm EST on Sun 10/1 for a chance to win: 6 MG novels with BLUE SKIES on the cover (2 signed by me!) US only. #kidlitchat #EduSky

Looking forward to tmrw, my new weekly self-imposed self-care: going to Dunkin’ Donuts right after work to sit, relax, & write (& maybe sip some frozen hot chocolate). Starting to work on a MG (epistolary) novel! Here’s to rejuvenating Wednesdays! 😊

What’s a good way to plan out the plot of a middle grade novel? I’ve seen writers w a slew of color-coded post-its & wondering how it’s done.