The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael Lopez is magical. I hope that all kids get a chance to experience this book with their classmates. Please check out my video book talk below. Giveaway details can be found in the video. 

Purchase the book through Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780399246531

If you’d rather purchase the video from Amazon you can find an affiliate link for that here:

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Book description (from the publisher):

There will be times when you walk into a room

and no one there is quite like you.

There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it’s how you look or talk, or where you’re from; maybe it’s what you eat, or something just as random. It’s not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it.

Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical text and Rafael López’s dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.

Check out my 2018 Middle Grade Novel Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM5ylqxs3RWhViM7BR0enfqBNMcZ_Jxpf

Check out my 2018 Picture Book Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM5ylqxs3RWileOTtdP8cBQoFjI0ZtLwJ

Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids:

https://amzn.to/2wHjjVR

The Creativity Project edited by Colby Sharp (ME!)

http://amzn.to/2pqudvN

Places to find me:

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I believe that author visits are an amazing way to inspired kids as readers and writers. In this video I share a story about seeing one of my former students at a book store, and how our conversation quickly turned towards her favorite day of elementary school.

Check out the video below to hear the rest of the story!

Setting up a classroom for a new school year always takes more time than I think it will. I blame the books. I had an awesome time getting my room set up for the upcoming school year.

I wrote a book about book access with my good friend Donalyn Miller. If you’d like to pre-order the book just click on the image of the cover below.

I love shopping for books! A couple of weeks ago I was at the Chicago Scholastic Reading Summit. They had a pretty sweet book fair there. It was similar to your typical book fair, but it also had tables of books created by Scholastic book lovers John Schu and Donalyn Miller. During one of the breaks in the day, I bought a bunch of books. Check out what books I got in the video below.

In other news, my next book is available for pre-order. I had so much fun working on Game Changer: Book Access for all Kids with Donalyn Miller. She is brilliant, and I learned a ton working with her on this book. If you liked to pre-order a copy, just click on the cover below.

Check out a description of the book from the publisher:

Literacy advocates with a deep passion for books—bestselling author Donalyn Miller and 5th grade teacher Colby Sharp—showcase the power of children’s access to books, providing teachers and administrators with the tools and information they need to increase children’s meaningful engagement with books and to launch or sustain book access initiatives in their communities.

Through research and testimonials from voices in the field and their own classroom experiences, Miller and Sharp provide practical and resourceful information on a range of topics, including examples of successful school and classroom libraries, the power of book ownership, the importance of access to culturally diverse books, and meaningful family-community reading engagement.

In Game Changer! You’ll Find:

• • Years of independent reading classroom program know-how and research for educators at every level.

• • Routines, rituals, and lessons for developing a community of readers in schools and classrooms.

• • Practical tips on ways to develop children’s positive reading identities, reading engagement, and academic growth.

• • Tactics to increase access to and use of diverse children’s and young adult literature and an appreciation for its role in children’s literacy development.

• • Suggestions for fostering independent reading habits at school and at home.

 

 

At a recent Scholastic Reading Summit, I had the opportunity to talk to Global Read Aloud founder Pernille Ripp about this year’s books. I am excited to participate in the Global Read Aloud for the first time this year.

To learn more about GLA check out the website: https://theglobalreadaloud.com/

Check out the books we talked about in the video here: https://theglobalreadaloud.com/2018/0…

Jarrettt J. Krosoczka’s graphic novel memoir is unforgettable. Readers are going to fall hard for this one.

Purchase the book through Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780545902472

If you’d rather purchase the video from Amazon you can find an affiliate link for that here:

https://amzn.to/2IphJuT
Book description (from the publisher):

In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka’s teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett’s family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett’s life. His father is a mystery — Jarrett doesn’t know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents — two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along.

Jarrett goes through his childhood trying to make his non-normal life as normal as possible, finding a way to express himself through drawing even as so little is being said to him about what’s going on. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father.

Hey, Kiddo is a profoundly important memoir about growing up in a family grappling with addiction, and finding the art that helps you survive.

Check out my 2018 Middle Grade Novel Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM5ylqxs3RWhViM7BR0enfqBNMcZ_Jxpf

Check out my 2018 Picture Book Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM5ylqxs3RWileOTtdP8cBQoFjI0ZtLwJ
The Creativity Project edited by Colby Sharp (ME!)

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Gordon Korman’s Restart is awesome. I think most kids think about what it would be like to have a fresh start. This book will make kids think and feel so many things.

Purchase the book through Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781338053807

If you’d rather purchase the video from Amazon you can find an affiliate link for that here:

https://amzn.to/2K2dtY5

Book description (from the publisher):

Chase’s memory just went out the window.

Chase doesn’t remember falling off the roof. He doesn’t remember hitting his head. He doesn’t, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name.

He knows he’s Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return.

Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him.

One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets.

Pretty soon, it’s not only a question of who Chase is–it’s a question of who he was . . . and who he’s going to be.

From the #1 bestselling author of Swindle and Slacker, Restart is the spectacular story of a kid with a messy past who has to figure out what it means to get a clean start.

Check out my 2018 Middle Grade Novel Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM5ylqxs3RWhViM7BR0enfqBNMcZ_Jxpf

Check out my 2018 Picture Book Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM5ylqxs3RWileOTtdP8cBQoFjI0ZtLwJ

The Creativity Project edited by Colby Sharp (ME!)

http://amzn.to/2pqudvN

Pernille Ripp is an amazing teacher. The work she does in her classroom changes the lives of her kids. I thought it would be cool to ask her what advice she would give herself if she could go back in time and talk to herself before her first year of teaching. Her response is amazing.

Click below to purchase Pernille’s book Passionate Readers:

https://amzn.to/2JFDw7i

Follow Pernille Online:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/pernilleripp

Website: https://pernillesripp.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pernillesripp