What's New

February 2013

• Newsletter 2013, Issue 1. Book Reviews.

September 2012

• Newsletter 2012, Issue 2. Sports.

January 2012

• Newsletter 2012, Issue 1. Author: Richard Peck.

July 2011

• Newsletter 2011, Issue 2. Insects and Spiders.

February 2011

• Newsletter 2011, Issue 1. Snow, Winter and Weather.

November 2010

• Newsletter 2010, Issue 5. Book Reviews.

October 2010

• Newsletter 2010, Issue 4. Three New Featured Book Teacher Guides, Grades PreK through 8th. The Tiny Seed, Catwings, and Wringer.

September 2010

• Newsletter 2010, Issue 3. Mysteries in the Classroom, Grades PreK through 9th.

May 2010

• Newsletter 2010, Issue 2. Book Reviews, Grades PreK through 10th.

February 2010

• Newsletter 2010, Issue 1. Deserts through Kids' Books. Literature Based Classroom Unit. Grades PreK-9.

December 2009

• Newsletter 2009, Issue 7. Book Reviews.

November 2009

• Newsletter 2009, Issue 6. Featured Book Article on Where the Wild Things Are with activities, related books and links. An Author Study of Maurice Sendak.

September 2009

• Newsletter 2009, Issue 5. Teaching History with Time Travel Fantasies.

July 2009

• Newsletter 2009, Issue 4. Book Reviews.

May 2009

• Newsletter 2009, Issue 3. Picture Books in the Math Curriculum.

March 2009

• Newsletter 2009, Issue 2. Reviews of New Children's Books.

January 2009

• Newsletter 2009, Issue 1. 200th Birth Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.

June 2008

• Newsletter 2008, Issue 3. Reviews of nonfiction titles and web links.

January 2008

• Newsletter 2008, Issue 1. Reviews of books (Novel, picture book, nonfiction, professional and more).

January 2007

• Newsletter 2007, Issue 1. Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff.

August 2006

• Newsletter 2006, Issue 1. Reviews of New Release Books.

July 2005

• Newsletter 2005, Issue 3. Featured Book: The Breaker Boys by Pat Hughes.

March 2005

• Newsletter 2005, Issue 2. Featured Book: Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata.

February 2005

• Newsletter 2005, Issue 1. Featured Book: Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes.

November 2004

• Newsletter 2004, Issue 8. Featured Subject: The Holocaust.

October 2004

• Newsletter 2004, Issue 7. Featured Subject: Time of the Pilgrims: 1600-1700

September 2004

• Newsletter 2004, Issue 6. Featured Book: Charlotte's Web by E. B. White.

August 2004

• Newsletter 2004, Issue 5. Featured Book: Look to the North by Jean Craighead George.

July 2004

• Newsletter 2004, Issue 4. Featured Book: Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel.

May 2004

• Newsletter 2004, Issue 3. Featured Author: Susan Goodman.

April 2004

• Newsletter 2004, Issue 2 Attaboy, Sam! by Lois Lowry.

January 2004

• Newsletter 2004, Issue 1 The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein.

November 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 9 Weather in Kids' Books.

October 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 8 A Killing in Plymouth Colony by Carol Otis Hurst and Rebecca Otis.

September 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 7 Letting Swift River Go by Jane Yolen.

August 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 6 contains the featured subject: Slavery in Children's Books.

June 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 5 contains the featured book: Far North by Will Hobbs.

May 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 4 contains the featured author: Mitsumasa Anno.

March 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 3 contains the featured book: In Plain Sight by Carol Otis Hurst.

February 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 2 contains the featured subject: Folk and Fairy Tales, Tongue-in-Cheek Versions.

January 2003

• Newsletter 2003, Issue 1 contains the featured book: The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco.
  • News.
  • The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco.

November 2002

• The November Newsletter contains the featured subject: Kids' Books Set in School.
  • News.
  • Kids' Books Set in School.

October 2002

• The October Newsletter contains the featured title: Keeper of the Doves.
  • News.
  • Keeper of the Doves by Betsy Byars.

September 2002

• The September Newsletter contains the featured subject: Biographies and Memoirs.
  • News.
  • Biographies and Memoirs.

August 2002

• The August Newsletter contains the featured subject: Reading Aloud grades PreK - 9.
  • News.
  • Reading Aloud grades PreK - 9.

June 2002

• The June Newsletter contains the featured author/illustrator: Arnold Lobel.
  • News.
  • Arnold Lobel.

May 2002

• The May Newsletter contains the featured subject: Buildings and Architecture in Children's Books.
  • News.
  • Buildings and Architecture.

April 2002

• The April Newsletter contains the featured book: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park.
  • News.
  • A Single Shard.

March 2002

• The March Newsletter contains the featured subject: The Great Depression and Children's Books.
  • News.
  • The Great Depression and Children's Books.

February 2002

• The February Newsletter contains the featured subject: States and Children's Books.
  • News.
  • States and Children's Books.

January 2002

• The January Newsletter contains the featured subject: Wind and Children's Books.
  • News.
  • Wind and Children's Books.

December 2001

• The December Newsletter contains the featured author/illustrator: James Stevenson.
  • News.
  • Work and Children's Books.

November 2001

• The November Newsletter contains the featured subject: Work and Children's Books.
  • News.
  • Work and Children's Books.

October 2001

• The October Newsletter contains the featured book: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse.
  • News.
  • Out of the Dust.
• There have been more web links and related books added to the Featured Book: Snowflake Bentley.

August 2001

• The September Newsletter contains the featured book: Snowflake Bentley.
  • News.
  • Snowflake Bentley.

July 2001

• The July Newsletter contains the featured subject: Your Summer Reading.
  • News.
  • Your Summer Reading.

June 2001

• The June Newsletter contains the featured subject: Looking Critically at Picture Books with Students.
  • News.
  • Looking Critically at Picture Books.

May 2001

• The May Newsletter contains the featured subject Guided Reading in Good Literature.
  • News.
  • Guided Reading in Good Literature.

April 2001

• The April Newsletter contains the featured subject Local History and Family Stories with books, activities and web site links.
  • News.
  • Local History and Family Stories.

March 2001

• The March Newsletter contains the featured subject Women's History with books, activities and web site links.
  • News.
  • Women's History.

February 2001

• The February Newsletter contains the featured author Richard Peck with commentary, biography, books and links.
  • Workshop and Website News.
  • Richard Peck.
• There is a new featured subject Characters as Readers in Children's Books
  • Featured Subject: Characters as Readers.
• The Association of Jewish Libraries 2000 Notable Books listing is out.
  • Read More

January 2001

• The January Newsletter contains the classroom theme "Flight" with picture books, novels, nonfiction, links and activities.
  • Newbery and Workshop News.
  • Flight and Children's Literature.
• The Newbery and Caldecott Book Awards have been announced!
  • You can read our thoughts about them and order the books online as well as find reviews and other materials on all the books here.

December 2000

• Educational news feeds have been added to the sidebar on this page. Please let us know how you like this new service.
• The December Newsletter contains the classroom theme "Winter" with picture books, novels, nonfiction and activities.
  • Workshop News.
  • Winter and Children's Literature.

November 2000

• The November Newsletter contains picture book recommendations for all ages in the History, Math and Science programs.
  • Picture Books across the Curriculum

October 2000

• The October Newsletter contains 6 new book reviews.
  • Workshop News
  • Book Reviews
    • Uri Shulevitz's Snow
    • John & Ann Hassett's Cat Up a Tree
    • P. D. Johnson's Henry Hikes to Fitchburg
    • Mary Lyn Ray and Barbara Cooney's Basket Moon
    • Robert Cormier's Frenchtown Summer
    • Bruce Brooks' What Hearts

May 2000

• The May Newsletter contains lots of classroom ideas for Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.
  • News
  • Featured Book: Walk Two Moons Sharon Creech

April 2000

• The April Newsletter is out. Read about our favorite books of poetry.
  • News
  • Poetry Books

March 2000

• We've taken 100 more book reviews that were lurking in the background listed only in the by author sections and tied them in with the by titles and by grades listing so that now they're all easy to find.

February 2000

• The February Newsletter contains lots of classroom ideas for the latest Newbery award winner.
  • News
  • Featured Book: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

January 2000

• The January Newsletter contains a collection of resources for Martin Luther King Day.
• There's a new review by Knowledge Quest of our book Using Literature in the Middle School Curriculum.

December 1999

• The December issue of the Newsletter is out.
  • Web Site News
  • Featured Book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

November 1999

• 11/23/99: Your responses to the question of how often to publish the Newsletter were overwhelmingly in favor of a shorter newsletter published more frequently. So as soon as possible we'll start sending out bonus issues. Thank you for all your kind words.
• The November issue of the Newsletter is out.
  • Web Site News
  • New Book Reviews
  • Featured Subject: Fools and Tricksters
  • Featured Book: The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
  • Featured Author: Virginia Hamilton
  • Behind the Desk.

October 1999

We've installed a new search page. The old one which used Infoseek was getting crowded with advertising and links to other sites. It had become harder and harder to find the results of your searches. Now we are using a service from BeSeen which uses the AltaVista database to search our site. The results are clearer, more thorough and more up-to-date. Let us know what you think.

More cross referencing has been added on many pages including cities and towns, rivers, new book reviews and many other pages. This should help people find what they're looking for.

There's a new navigation bar at the top and bottom of each page including new links to the author page, and to Carol Hurst's Consulting page. You'll also notice a side bar with smaller sponsorship ads. These ads help maintain and expand our site. Please visit our sponsors whenever you can and make sure you let them know where you heard about them.

Speaking of sponsors we'd like to welcome a new sponsor. MariInc.com will be running a banner ad on our home page for the first week or so every month through June 2000. They are the largest single source for literature teaching guides. They also carry paperback children's books and reading teaching resources. Check them out.

September 1999

Our book Using Literature in the Middle School Curriculum was reviewed by VOYA. We've posted their kind words here so you can read it yourself.

We've added links here and there including links to good lists of authors' sites.

August 1999

• The Late Summer newsletter is out:
  • Web Site News
  • New Book Reviews
  • Featured Subject: Cities and Towns
  • Featured Book: Heartlight by T. A. Barron
  • Featured Author: Seymour Simon
  • Behind the Desk.
• More information has been put online about several of our latest professional books including sample chapters and ordering information:
  • Open Books: Literature in the Curriculum Kindergarten through Grade Two.
  • Using Literature in the Middle School Curriculum.
  • Friends and Relations: Using Literature With Social Themes, K-2.
  • Curriculum Connections: Picture Books in Grades 3 and Up.

June 1999

• Web Site News
• New Book Reviews
• Featured Subject: Quests
• Featured Book: Black and White by David Macaulay
• Featured Author: James Marshall
• Behind the Desk.

May, 1999

• Great News!! There are over 100 new book reviews on the site. They have not yet been fully integrated with the previous reviews but you can find them under the by author listing. In the coming months they will be cross referenced by title, type and grade level.

February 1999

• Web Site News.
• Featured Subject: Oceans.
• New Book Reviews:
• Featured Author: Kathryn Lasky.
• Behind the Desk.

January 1999

• Check out the new pages about Carol Hurst's Consulting services.

December 1998

• The latest issue of the newsletter is up.
• Table of Contents:
  • Featured Subject: The Civil War
    
  • Book Reviews
    
  • Featured Author: Jean Fritz
    

August 1998

• The latest issue of the newsletter is up.
• Table of Contents:
  • Featured Subject: Geology
    
  • Book Reviews
    
  • Featured Author: Phyllis Naylor
    

July 1998

• Now you can help support this site at no cost to you! A new deal with Amazon.com allows us to set up a special page. Shoppers who enter Amazon.com through our special page will see no difference in their shopping experience once they enter but 5% of their purchase price will be contributed to this site for further expansion. Bookmark This Page now. We also have search forms for Amazon.com at the bottom of each page which give back the same 5%. More Information.

May 1998

• The latest issue of the newsletter is up.
• Table of Contents:
  • Featured Subject: Bullies
    
  • Featured Book: Going Through the Gate
    
  • Featured Author: Barbara Cooney
    
  • Notes From the Road

January 1998

• The latest issue of the newsletter is up.
• Table of Contents:
  • Web Site News
    
  • Featured Subject: Mysteries
    
  • Book Reviews
    
  • Featured Author: Katherine Paterson
    
  • Notes From the Road

November 1997

• Featured Book Article on Little Blue and Little Yellow.
• Featured subject article on Color and Children's Literature.

October 1997

The latest issue of the newsletter is up.
Table of Contents:
Web Site News
Featured Subject: Mythology
Book Reviews
Featured Author: Eric Carle
Notes From the Road

August 1997

The latest issue of the newsletter is up.
Table of Contents:
Web Site News
Featured Subject: Families
Book Reviews
Featured Author: Avi
Notes From the Road

June 25th

We have signed an agreement with CliqNow to sell ads for all our pages. We are doing this in order to fund further expansion of the site. We apologize for the intrusion into your browsing but we believe it is the best way to provide you with more content. Let us know your reactions to this.

We are excited about the new possibilities this will open up for the site.

April 30th

• April Newsletter
  • Featured Subject: World War II
  • Featured Author: Dr. Seuss
  • Book Reviews
  • Notes from the Road

February 10th

At long last the January newsletter is now available. My apologies for the delay. You can view this latest issue on the web or subscribe to have it sent to your email address.

Table of Contents:

• Featured Subject: Picture Books in the Classroom, PreK-9.
• Featured Author: Lois Lowry
• Book Reviews: Best Books for 1996
• Glimpses From the Road