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Velma Wallis & Two Old Women
One of thirteen children, Velma Wallis was born in a remote Alaskan village near Fort Yukon, accessible only by dogsled, snowmobile, airplane, or riverboat. Her father passed away when she was just 13...
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Hello, WattPad!
I heard about WattPad on a podcast I was listening to recently, and then a couple of days later one of my favorite teenagers told me that she reads on WattPad all the time. So I checked it out, and I...
View ArticleWattpad Supplemental Videos
One thing I love about historical fiction is that it makes me want to go learn more about history. Since discovering Wattpad, I realized that I can provide a little history right there with each...
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Mildred D. Taylor and Creating Fiction from the Family Tree
By any measure, Mildred D. Taylor is a successful author. Her nine novels have earned her a slew of impressive awards such as the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Award, NSK Neustadt Prize for...
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New Release! Six Floors from Somewhere Now Available
Six Floors from Somewhere, available in paperback and ebook formats Have you met Megan McCoy?The pint-sized protagonist of Six Floors from Somewhere is ready to take on the Big Apple in her quest to...
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Using Frame Stories in Fiction
Recently, the kids and I read a few of The Canterbury Tales. We talked about the idea of frame stories. The Princess Bride is a good example of a frame story. There’s the whole narrative about...
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What Are You Using for Literature Curriculum Next Year?
What are your plans for literature curriculum for the coming school year? If you’ve ever thought about combining literature with history or other academic subjects, give unit studies a try. Literature...
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A New Library to Haunt
The first public library I remember going to was the Mission Viejo Branch in the Aurora Public Library system. I'm sure it wasn't the first library I went to, but I don't remember much from before I...
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2 Productivity Apps for Better Writing Focus
If you’re like me, sometimes it’s very difficult to sit down at the computer and write. After all, the Internet has made it so that the entire world is accessible right there on the screen. It’s all...
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Why Generalizations are Bad (Oops! Did it Again!)
I have a soft spot for how-to books. I think it’s partly because I like learning how to do things, but there’s probably also a voyeuristic aspect to it. I like to learn things by peering over people’s...
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